Voyager Talks

Every Brandeis student knows his name, but few have heard from the President directly. That changes today, as Zev sits down with President Ron Liebowitz.

Ron Liebowitz has served as the President of Brandeis University since 2016. The former president of Middlebury College, Liebowitz is a recognized administrative leader in higher education, whose academic scholarship centers on political geography, Russia, and higher education. 

In this episode, President Liebowitz and Zev cover a wide-range of topics, including:

• The easy decision to get a PhD
• Why Russian political geography?
• Wanting to become a sportscaster
• Why leave teaching to join administration?
• What does leadership mean to you?
• Going carbon neutral at Middlebury
• What might Brandeis not know about you?
• How would you spend $100 million to improve Brandeis?
• How students can maximize their time in college
• What new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life?
• Advice for a smart, driven college student

Steve Grossman, Former MA Treasurer and DNC Chair, and now the CEO of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, discusses running his family business for 25 years, reflections on both failed and successful campaigns, his advice for candidates, building trust as the new DNC Chair, leading the Democratic Party to pick up Congressional seats in the midterms (the first time in a President’s second term since 1822), depositing over $300 million of Treasury funds into community banks, how the ICIC is working to tackle the racial wealth gap, and advice from his grandfather that changed his life at 17.

Listen to the end to gain insight into walking with his wife during the pandemic, as well as his advice to be a great listener and follow your passion.

Top Three Takeaways:

#1 It may seem like tired advice to follow your passion, and it’s easy to brush it off. But I want people to pause for a moment and recognize that we must be hearing it so often for a reason. As Adam Selipsky, the CEO of AWS, told us in episode 7, it’ll be an uphill battle to go into work and compete with people who are passionate when you’re not. Don’t feel pressure to find the “one thing” for you, but try to find things that you’re capable of being passionate about.

#2 Steve told us that to be successful in politics, you’ve got to authentically listen to the people you serve, understand their challenges, and show a genuine interest in improving their lives. Listening is also incredibly important to gaining trust and buy-in as a leader. As DNC Chair, Steve asked team members for their opinion on how the organization can improve, and truly listened to their responses. When he incorporated their feedback into his plan, everyone felt excited to go execute the plan because they had helped build it!

#3 Another thing I notice about Steve is how deeply he cares about improving the community around him. Whether it’s central to your day to day job or something you do outside of work, it can bring you great joy, and it obviously benefits the community, when you’re involved in giving back.

Alan Frazier, a pioneer in the healthcare venture industry with $7.1 billion in capital raised, discusses starting his firm in 1991 with a $5 million fund, turning down the role of CFO of Microsoft, going from a CPA to CFO of a fast-growing biotech startup, how his childhood prepared him for life as an investor, the importance of hiring people with the right values, traits of great entrepreneurs, how storytelling allows venture capitalists to help build companies, and reflections on his professional career and community involvement.

Listen to the end to gain insight into spending more time with his foundation and giving back to the community in recent years, as well as his advice to find a group of mentors to support you on your journey.

Top Three Takeaways:

#1 Early in his career, Alan chose culture over money when he turned down an offer to become CFO of the 80-employee Microsoft. Although he had a feeling he might make a lot of money, he didn’t think Microsoft was a good culture fit or that he would enjoy his life if he worked there. This is a great lesson in the importance of finding an organization that fits your values and sticking to that even when facing a tough decision.

#2 In recent years, Alan has realized the importance of going beyond business and has gotten much more involved in giving back to his community through his foundation and nonprofit board roles. The things you do outside of work can bring a lot of joy, fulfillment, inspiration and energy in other parts of your life. In short, it’s good for yourself, good for your career, and of course good for your community to step away from work and be involved in your community.

#3 Alan stressed the importance of finding mentors who truly care for you to help guide you. This show is meant to help introduce the careers and advice of a couple of successful individuals, but it’s only meant as a starting point. Find mentors who have been where you want to go, who know you, care for you, and can share their specific experiences and feedback to support you on your journey.

At 33 years old, Ryan Frazier already has an impressive career. After his first company (launched a few years out of college) was acquired by Simply Measured/Sprout Social, he’s back in action with Arrived Homes, which he co-founded and leads as CEO. Speaking with us shortly after announcing a $37 million funding round with participation from Jeff Bezos, Marc Benioff, Spencer Rascoff, Arrived is at an exciting point in the startup journey. Ryan discusses the inspiration behind wanting to open real estate investment to the masses with Arrived, doubling in size this year, going through two acquisitions with his first company DataRank, being labelled the e-commerce kid in his first job out of college, lessons learned from his team of disruptive founder/investors, traits of great entrepreneurs and leaders, and the importance of listening and curiosity in the startup journey.

Listen to the end to gain insight into his effort to prioritize personal health as well as his advice to look for opportunities with personal growth and learning over salary early in your career.

Adam Selipsky, one of today's top CEOs, joins us this week to discuss returning to AWS, empathetic leadership, his effort to be a better listener and lifelong learner, bringing a heightened sense of mission to AWS, and his advice for young people to be highly observant and vocally self critical. Prior to rejoining AWS in May, he served as CEO of Tableau Software for four years in which the market cap of the company more than tripled, before being acquired by Salesforce for $15.7 billion. 

Top Three Takeaways:

#1 The importance of listening is an emerging trend in this series and is something we should all pay attention to. Take a cue from Adam and understand that we don’t learn by hearing ourselves speak, but by keeping our own mouths closed and paying attention to what others have to say. This also goes back to his effort to be a lifelong learner, which one can do by reading, listening, as well as being highly observant especially early in your career, where you can pick up what works and what doesn’t and improve yourself based on what you’ve seen.

#2 Be vocally self-critical. It requires self confidence, but taking an honest look at yourself and what you can do better is how you can begin to take action to improve yourself.

#3 Finally, I want to reiterate Adam’s thoughts on the importance of humility, listening, and empathy in leadership. People carry different backgrounds, assumptions, and world-views and it’s incredibly powerful as a leader to try to understand where people are coming. As for listening, know that there will be plenty of time to voice your own opinion and to instead give room to others. This is something that David Zapolsky in episode 3 mentioned that Jeff Bezos does — even though he’s one of the most brilliant leaders out there, he’s the last to speak because he wants the unvarnished opinion of others. Adam seems to have a similar view, understanding that getting to truth is more important than being right.

Matt McIlwain, one of the northwest’s top venture capitalists, discusses traits of great entrepreneurs and startups, triangulating feedback as part of the learning loop, being there at day one and for the long run, tough decisions along the startup journey, his personal journey of investment, consulting, and operating experience before becoming a venture capitalist, and the importance of curiosity, humility, and listening.

Listen to the end to gain insight into practicing essentialism, as well as his advice to make decisions based on the topics and people that you resonate with.

Top Three Takeaways:

#1 Matt advises young people to make decisions for early jobs based on the topics and people they resonate with rather than the prestige or salary of the position. You have to know yourself and the things you love to get out in the world and find people you can learn from. He did this early in his career, choosing a role where he could learn more about the relationship between the private and public sector over a prestigious job involving real estate. Relating back to what David Zapolsky said, being in these types of roles allows you to do your best work, which leads to people thinking of you for promotions or exciting opportunities.

#2 Matt mentioned curiosity, humility, and listening in multiple contexts. He and his team at GPC approached the idea of a joint venture with curiosity, which ultimately lead them to not pursue the idea. Great founders have curiosity and the humility and active listening that it embodies, to listen to customers, carry strong hypothesizes that are loosely held, and triangulate advice. The notion of a founder-market fit also stems from curiosity around a particular market and problem.

#3 Investible ideas, at the very basic level, identify a problem that isn’t being solved as well as it can be. A company has to have a team that’s passionate about solving that problem and understanding the market changes that could help them solve it at scale, helping give a startup the potential to be meaningful and large.

Kris Engskov, now a healthcare entrepreneur, discusses serving as the personal aide to President Clinton, the transformative experience of being a Starbucks barista for their executive training, pivoting to the health care industry first as President of Aegis Living and now as the cofounder of a venture-backed startup. He has fantastic insight into listening and asking questions, employee-first culture, servant leadership, and amazing stories from his time in the White House.

Listen to the end to gain insight into his deliberate and intentional learning, as well as his advice to get in the door at the right organization no matter the job title.

Top 3 takeaways:

#1 Listening is a fundamental part of leadership. Great leaders constantly ask questions and listen to feedback, understand that the best ideas come from others, and are able to be vulnerable and admit when they’re wrong. All of this takes humility, as does coming to work with a servant mindset in which leaders believe they work for their employees and not the other way around. Also worth noting is how Kris became a great listener in the first place; he analyzed and criticized himself to reflect on missed opportunities and improve his own skills. This internal dialogue and reflection is a common theme across leaders who live intentionally and is something we can all strive for.

#2 Kris is disciplined and intentional about his learning and thinking. He prioritizes time to follow his curiosity, avoids being led around by social media, and reads books to go deep on a subject and advance his thinking in an intentional way.

#3 People early in their career should focus on the organization, not job title. Getting your foot in the door no matter what level allows you to meet the team and be first in line for future opportunities. If you’re in the right organization, your excitement and energy and creativity plus already being an internal member will allow you to absolutely fly.

Ashleigh Hinde, Founder and CEO of Waldo Contacts, discusses industry disruption, the extreme highs and lows of the startup journey, seeking opportunities to travel, taking time away from the corporate world, traits of great entrepreneurs, and being told her business would be more successful with a male co-founder.

Listen to the end to hear about Ashleigh’s recent focus on training her mind to better serve her by stopping negative thinking, as well as her advice that you don’t need to do something you dislike just for the sake of a career.

Top 3 takeaways:

#1 Ashleigh took time away from the corporate world and her regular routine to figure out who she is away from work and to follow her interests. Taking a break from autopilot mode can at the very least allow for a reset but may also lead to a total career shift!

#2 Ashleigh’s habits of meditating, visualizing major developments and decisions, not being afraid to ask for help, and training her mind to better serve her all help her grow as a person and as a leader. Pick and choose which habits of successful individuals you might try to emulate, but these seem like good options to consider.

#3 From the very start Ashleigh knew she wanted to travel the world, and sought out opportunities both in the colleges she went to and the jobs she accepted. Decide what you want and go for it and don’t worry about what your peers are doing! Follow your passion and what interests you and know that you can make a career out of anything.

David Zapolsky discusses being hired as the only litigator at Amazon in 1999, how the legal department has transformed and stayed the same, Amazon’s leadership principles maintaining their culture, how showing ownership and curiosity allow employees to rise in organizations, a typical day at the office, and reminding himself he’s working on some of the most interesting and challenging business problems in the world.

Listen to the end to gain insight into David’s recent effort to sleep more and his advice to make your own luck by choosing roles where you’ll be happier and do your best work instead of resume-building.

Top Three Takeaways:

#1 Employees can set themselves up for success by going beyond the job description and showing ownership, displaying interest in other parts of the company and other ways of doing things, and being great communicators (both in general and within the style of the organization.)

#2 David told us about Jeff Bezos’ habit of waiting to speak until everyone has shared their view to hear unvarnished opinions and be careful not to influence ideas. Anyone in a position of power (whether a senior executive, manager, or teacher) should be aware of the impact of speaking too early and have the humility to admit they might not have the best solution. This connects to how David adjusted to be a leader; he first identified what he didn’t know. Having the humility to ask questions, admit you don’t have all the answers, and listen intently to others is a recurring theme in this series and is something we can all aim to improve.

#3 The way you make your own luck is by putting yourself in roles that bring you fulfillment. If you know the prestigious, high-paying, resume-building job isn’t right for you, choose the job that your gut tells you will put you on the path to fulfillment. You do your best work when you’re happy, which is how you make connections and impressions on people that lead to future opportunities and success.

Potential next steps: Research Amazon leadership principles and consider if I want to try and implement one or two of them into my own habits. Read Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker and consider changes to my own sleep routine. And Subscribe to Voyager Talks & follow on Instagram or LinkedIn for updates on new episodes!

Today we’re joined by David Billstrom, the CEO of Kitsbow Cycling Apparel, which manufactures 100% of their clothing in Old Fort, North Carolina. David tells us about being forced to shut down his first business, producing 120,000 face masks during the pandemic, a big failure and success with the 45 companies he’s been involved in, being a mediocre investor, why businesses should be involved in their community, and more.

Listen to the end to gain insight into David’s new practice of asking questions rather than making statements, and his 3 step plan for finding a job that includes not applying for jobs.

Top Three Takeaways:

While a manager at Intel, David got an 'MBA' on the street. He would study business books at night and try to apply the principles at the office. Being curious is one of the greatest traits a person can have (and something we can all aim to improve.)

Failures are the only way you learn. The successes are so dramatically influenced by luck and timing that it allows you to take credit when it’s not warranted.

David has recently been trying to ask questions instead of making statements. Particularly as a CEO, an incredible power is unlocked from asking these types of questions; you get more nuanced answers and create an environment where new ideas and possibilities can come to the surface.

PLUS David’s advice for finding a job: Use the power of the internet to research and find companies with a culture and values that are aligned with your own, as well as a boss you can learn and gain insight from, and ignore the actual job description.

Thank you all for listening and please remember to subscribe to the show and follow on Instagram @Voyager.Talks or LinkedIn for updates on new episodes!

Today we’re joined by Mary Kipp, the CEO of Puget Sound Energy, the oldest and largest utility in Washington State with over 3,200 employees and $3 billion in revenue. We discuss Mary’s journey from growing up on a cattle farm to majoring in theater, and being a prosecuting attorney before going in-house at El Paso Electric. She tells us how she rose in the ranks at El Paso Electric to become CEO, about her own leadership style and traits of great leaders, the most challenging parts of her job, and her deep commitment to fighting climate change as well as the personal impact of having those higher level goals. If you stay until the end, you’ll also hear which new belief has most improved Mary’s life in recent years along with her advice for college students.

Top Three Takeaways:

• Even though it was discouraging to see mostly white men in the officer ranks at El Paso Electric, Mary decided she was going to be optimistic and make the best of the situation. Her goal became to make her boss successful, because she was so deeply aligned with him on values and mission, rather than her own advancement. Hint: one leads to the other! Control the one thing you can control — yourself.
• Be committed to something big other than yourself. We all work for a paycheck, but knowing we’re making a difference on something bigger brings a sense of satisfaction, purpose, and meaning to our lives and work, particularly if we never have the opportunity to be a CEO.
• Search for the right culture with a boss with similar values and try to do something that is compelling to you even if it’s in a different direction from your peers.

Thank you all for listening and please remember to subscribe to the show/write a review if you enjoyed and follow on Instagram @Voyager.Talks or LinkedIn for updates on new episodes! - Zev