Creativity, Curiosity, Purpose, & Resilience: Jon Fortt on Leadership, Media, and Revisiting Civil Rights Education

I saw Jon Fortt at all the big events, sitting under lights, earpiece in place, connected to New York, waiting for the throw from CNBC studios, giving them the latest technology news from The Sands in Las Vegas, Moscone in San Francisco, or Javits Convention Center in midtown Manhattan. Jon has interviewed most of today's top technology leaders, including Andy Jassy, Bill McDermott, Frank Slootman, Herbert Diess, Julie Sweet, Sandy Speicher, Satya Nadella, Shantanu Narayen, and many many more.

For those of you who don't follow Jon, let me introduce you to a real positive force in journalism, innovating in delivery, and leveraging his platforms to help others through education. I'm sure fans will enjoy getting to know another side of Jon, being on the other side of the questions.

I was excited to hear Jon's perspective on leadership attributes after spending so much time with such a variety of many of the contemporary leaders of our time. What can we learn from the consistent patterns he sees across the various personalities and individuals. I wanted to know more about his interview process, structure, adjustments, and opportunities since March 2020.

I wanted to learn more about Jon's creative process, not only in preparing and conducting his interviews, but also in the never-ending quest to make business news fresh and interesting and different, creating and writing new show concepts from 'On the Other Hand' to TechCheck, Power Lunch, and Squawk Alley (replaced by TechCheck) on CNBC. Beyond his journalism that has already included some of the biggest brands in newsprint (Knight-Ridder, San Jose Mercury News), magazines (Time, Business 2.0), and broadcast television (CNBC), Jon is exploring new media, publishing more on new platforms like Fortt Knox on YouTube, LinkedIn, and his own Fortt Media property.

I wanted to learn more about his personal and professional journey. Jon and I both do the same with our guests, so it was fun to have Jon in the guest chair for a change.

(If you'd like to jump to the full-length interview, click here for Youtube, here for Apple Podcast, and find 'Turn the Lens with Jeff Frick' where ever you podcast).

In this far-ranging discussion, Jon shares his take on leadership, culture, authenticity, and observations from spending quality time with the people running the largest companies in the world. We reviewed the evolution of media, and Jon's personal experimentation in varying content formats, structures, and delivery, stretching the limits inside, and outside the formal confines of CNBC. We recount a career journey starting as a 17-year-old at Knight-Ridder Washington DC bureau learning his first real lesson "Ask Somebody" to exploring the Death Valley Moments moments with CEOs.

Leadership

Jon has sat down with literally 100s of business leaders, so what patterns does he see? What's important? Turns out, he's working on a book on the topic.

I'm sketching out a book around the tactics, methods, principles that I find common across leaders. I'm focused on, Creativity, Purpose, Resilience, and Curiosity. The most effective leaders are able to find the points of connection to what motivated them, inspired them - Jon Fortt

Creativity, Purpose, Resilience, and Curiosity. Great set of attributes. And as he mentions in the quote, First Principles and finding the points of connection are also important for leaders.

We then shifted to Culture, one of the hottest topics of conversation companies deal with the multiple systems shocks from the intermittent global shelter in place orders over the last few years, to supply chain interruptions, a tightening labor market, to the great resignation, the role of culture in attracting, engaging, and retaining your people has never been more important, from the board room to the Chief People Officer, to the HR intern working on onboarding new hires. And while there has been a steady call for increased empathy, transparency, flexibility, belonging, and in the executive suite, Jon's take is that is less about one set of culture 'attributes values' being right or better than another, but that certain cultures work for certain organizations and leaders, that might not work for others. What's most important is that the leaders are authentic and consistent in their behaviors so the individual can decide to opt-in or not, give them a clear picture, and they can decide if it works for them. Steve Jobs was not an easy person to work for. There were huge opportunities working for him. Everyone has a different scale.

I'm intrigued how very successful companies can have very different cultures, we want to embrace one metahor ... Authenticity and Consistency seem to be more important than any one particular culture - Jon Fortt

This point is easily validated when looking across the broad range of cultures fostered and approaches taken by the many successful CEOs Jon has interviewed. There is not one size fits all. Be transparent and consistent.

Frank (Slootman) is a breath of fresh air in the current environment. It's important to get a broad spectrum of viewpoints and ask questions beneath the surface instead of pushing 'why don't you think this' - Jon Fortt

Frank is nothing if not authentic, consistent, and he has been successful multiple times at multiple companies.

We also discussed Satya Nadella, and how his family life impacted his view of accessibility through the eyes of his son, Zain, who was born with cerebral palsy (note: Zain Nadella passed away on February 28, 2022, between the filming and publishing of this segment, Our heartfelt thoughts, and prayers to the Nadella family).

Satya has successfully put his touch on today's Microsoft, and the results have been amazing by just about every measure. Note: I had the fantastic opportunity to ask longtime Microsoft Board Member John W. Thompson to compare the three Microsoft CEOs, click here for more on that conversation.

Media

Shifting gears to the modern media landscape, Jon has been very progressive and some might say aggressive in the exploration of alternate media properties, and alternate media channels, formats, and consumption types. And while there are a number of YouTubers, Bloggers, and Podcasters we could interview on the topic, Jon has a long and CURRENT career spanning three legs of traditional broadcast new media from newspapers (Knight-Ridder, San Jose Mercury News, etc.) to magazines (Time, Fortune, Business 2.0) to broadcast television (CNBC).

Concurrent to his day job, Jon's publishing longer-form media on YouTube, LinkedIn, and his Fortt Media website. How does this happen? How do you crack into new media, while thriving in 'traditional' media?

I've always been a bit of a rebel when it comes to this stuff. It doesn't take so many people to put a media brand, a story, together. Not just the written story, but even an audio-video story - Jon Fortt

Tools are fine, but what was the motivation to dive into producing longer-form executive leadership interviews? Jon shares the Fortt Knox origin story.

CEOs would be willing to give me an hour, but only 10 - 15 minutes is getting on air, sometimes five minutes or less. I thought "This is Terrible" Why shouldn't I create my own distribution for a smaller, more invested audience, I'll ask better questions, It'll yield better output, which will yield more guests, and so on - Jon Fortt

So now that he has the time, the process has evolved, and Jon's current interview format revolves around a few key themes captured in three consistent questions.

• What's the toughest problem you're facing right now
• Family backstory and history
• Death Valley Moment

He also discusses the challenge/opportunity when Covid forced remote-only interviews.

So many revelations from these interviews. I get off the stream and have to take a breath, 'Wow, I cannot believe we just talked about that' - Jon Fortt

In all forms of art, the output is partially defined by limitations and structures in the medium. For these interviews, Jon has found a formula that works, for the types of information he seeks, for his audience. What's interesting is how a series of seemingly serendipitous sequence of product events (LinkedIn Live with integrated Stream Yard) put the tools in the hands of preparation, enabling a lighter weight production, resulting in heavier weight content, produced on Jon's terms, with his own hands (and cloud-enabled SAS Apps). Technical details matter, if it can't be done easily and affordability, then far lower probability of success.

When I got into broadcast, it was so hard to record a remote. Lots of people, location issues, logistical nightmare. Now, I can do that same interview myself, involving no one else - Jon Fortt

Which is great. Guests are in, technology is there, but do the powers that be understand the benefits of a more intimate / less broadcast-centric form of media consumption?

You just need 100 of the right people .. if you're having the right conversations with the right people, you can convene at a level that's deeply meaningful ... Its credibility, understanding, relationship, and engagement - Jon Fortt

This is one of the great takeaways from our conversation, in line with my thoughts around focusing on the people that matter to you professionally, and the number is not millions or thousands, but much smaller.

Personal Journey

Can we get a shout out to all the teachers and guidance counselors and administrators doing their best, especially over these crazy challenging last few years, to do what's best for our kids? In fact, in Jon's cast, it was a guidance counselor from Montgomery Blair High who lovingly kicked him into his journalistic beginnings.

A guidance counselor said there's a scholarship, I should apply. On the day it was due, she asked if I'd turned it in, I'd forgot. She called the Washington Bureau editor and said 'I have your scholarship winner here. You'll have the application tomorrow' then turned to me and said 'Don't make me a liar' - Jon Fortt

After a stint at the Lexington Herald-Leader, Jon headed west to the San Jose Mercury News in late 1999, not long before the first internet crash of 2000, covering companies like Apple and Adobe

I was covering Apple, I was there at the launch of the first iPod, I reviewed Garage Band, it was tons of fun, but it started to feel like the Merc is going to have me doing this till I'm 50, and I don't want to do this til I'm 50 - Jon Fortt

So he took an editor job at the peninsula bureau up 101 in Palo Alto, cops, and courts, from Steve Jobs Keynotes to School District meetings. Eventually, another editing job opened up, real estate and personal finance, one step closer, he took it. And then a call from a new Magazine covering the next revolution in business, Business 2.0.

I was determined not to get stuck where I was. there were no editor jobs open, so I took a job covering education, cops and courts, then real estate and personal finance before I got a call from Business 2.0 - Jon Fortt

The lesson, there are no straight roads, take chances, and don't get comfortable, take the tough assignment, never know when or where the next door awaits. The only thing for sure, the road won't be smooth, easy, or linear.

Jon's Apple coverage opened up an opportunity to "talk about Apple" on CNBC (and of course, I asked him about interviewing Steve Jobs).

The first interview (with Steve Jobs) was when John Warnock, Adobe Co-Founder and longtime CEO was retiring, and Adobe had meant so much to Apple and Steve, that he wanted to talk about John in the local paper - Jon Fortt

And that time spent covering Apple became a recurring appearance as the solo tech reporter for CNBC in Silicon Valley.

Fortt Media & The Black Experience

While most are probably familiar with Jon's work on CNBC and Fortt Knox, you might not be familiar with Fort Media and The Black Experience In American, the Course by Jon Fortt.

When George Floyd was murdered, I was trying to figure out what to say to our kids, we had the conversation about the talk that black parents so often have with black kids around authority and police and things like that. But this was a lot deeper than that, there really needs to be a course - Jon Fortt

I took the course, learned quite a bit, and as always, viewing things through a different lens, from a different point of view, presents a very different picture of what's happening. Jon used a great mix of multi-media assets, including one piece that really struck me, this speech by W. E. B. Du Bois to the Wisconsin Socialist Club in April 1960, along with his seminal work, The Souls of Black Folk, published in 1903. Double Consciousness, False Restarts, Identity, and more.

I'm a fan of the way the country was founded and structured on ideals that it had not yet lived up to - Jon Fortt

I hadn't heard the concept of 'double consciousness before preparing for this interview, something closely related to 'imposter syndrome' which we hear about quite a lot. Or the concept of the 'middle passage' as a descriptive term for what must have been horrors beyond belief during the Atlantic crossings.

Thanks again Jon, I so enjoyed our conversation, as well as the process of digging deeper into your content library before, and with so much more context now and in the future. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.

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Links and References

Jon Fortt

LinkedIn Profile, CNBC Profile, Twitter, Fortt Knox LinkedIn Newsletter, Fortt Knox: Innovation Curated - Website, Fortt Knox - YouTube Channel, The Black Experience in America, The Course by Jon Fortt on Fortt Media, Mercury News

Select People

Andy Jassy, Bill McDermott, Bruce Chizen, Chuck Geschke, David Pottruck, Frank Slootman, Fran?ois Locoh-Donou, Hardika Shah, John Warnock, Josh Quittner, Larry Ellison, Maria Klawe, Mark Zuckerberg, Maxwell Meyers, Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Rubin Harris, Sandy Speicher, Satya Nadela, Shantanu Narayen, Steve Jobs, W.E.B. Du Bois

Select Media Publications

AOL, The Black Experience, Business 2.0, CNBC, Eyes on the Prize, PBS, Fortune, Gannett, The Industry Standard, Knight-Ridder, Lexington Herald-Leader, San Jose Mercury News, The Souls of Black Folk, Time

Select Companies, Shows and Properties

Adobe, Apple, Amazon, AWS, Career Karma, Charles Schwab, CNBC, DataDomain, F5, Facebook / Meta, Harvey Mudd College, IDEO, Kinara Capital, LinkedIn, Oracle, PointCast, Microsoft, SAP, ServiceNow, Snowflake, StreamYard

Sample of Jon's Shows

'TechCheck' (formerly Squawk Alley); 'On The Other Hand' appears on Squawk Box, 'Working Lunch' appears on Power Lunch

The Black Experience - https://www.forttmedia.com/take-the-course-online/

A Quest for Context, Three Cycles, Double Consciousness, How We Got Here, False Restarts

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William Edward Burghardt Du Bois aka W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963)

Wikipedia

W.E.B. Du Bois - Civil Rights Pioneer | Biography, Biography YouTube Channel, Jan 2013

"The day will come I suspect when Life and Look will pay their subscribers for the use of their names" - Quote from W.E.B. DuBois Speaks! Socialism and the American Negro, Matthew Siegfried YouTube Channel, May 2015 - The venerable W. E. B. DuBois (1868-1963), historian and activist, gives an address to the Wisconsin Socialist Club in Madison on socialism and the struggle of Black people in America. This speech was given on April 9, 1960.

The Souls of Black Folk, W. E. B. Du Bois, 1903, A. C. McClurg & Company, 1903

An Introduction to W.E.B Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk- Macat Sociology Analysis, Macat YouTube Channel, April 2015

Eyes on the Prize, America's Civil Rights Movement, American Experience, PBS Documentary, April 2021 - Awakenings (1954-1956), Fighting Back (1957-1962), Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960-1691), No Easy Walk (1961-1963), Mississippi: Is This America? (1963-1964), Bridge to Freedom (1965), The Time Has Come (1964-1966), Two Societies (1965-1968), Power! (1966-1968), The Promised Land (1967-1968), Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More (1964-1972), A Nation of Law? (1968-1971), The Keys to the Kingdom (1974-1980), Back to the Movement (1979-mid 80s), Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More (1964-1972), A Nation of Law (1968-1971), The Keys to the Kingdom (1974-1980), Back to the Movement (1979-mid 80s),

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Select Articles

Zain's Birth was a Turning Point in Satya Nadella's Life: tech boss says his sone taught him empathy, influenced Microsoft's Vision of accessibility, Economic Times of India, March 2022

IDEO’s CEO is applying design thinking to find balance in the pandemic era, by Fortune Editors, Fortune, March 2022

Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO: A Fort Knoxx 1:1, Fortt Knox YouTube, Sept 2021

Jon Fortt reflects on Black journalists who have influenced him, CNBC, Feb 2021

IDEO’s CEO, Sandy Speicher, Asks: What Is an Office Even For Now?, Harvard Business Review, Dec 2021

Hardika Shah ’92 Is Leading the Fight for Financial Inclusion in India, Jane Carson, Knox Magazine, Knox College, Fall 2020 - Winter 2021

John W Thompson, Lightspeed Ventures & Microsoft | The Churchills 2019, SiliconANGLE Media YouTube Channel, Fall 2019

The Best Business Breakthroughs Come from Moments of Doubt, Sandy Speicher, The Journal, IDEO Blog, via Quartz, July 2019

CNBC Names Max Meyers Executive Producer of Squawk Box, AJ Katz, TWNewser, Oct 2018

TEDxSFED - Sandy Speicher, TEDx Talks, May 2018

Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone, ?Satya Nadela, with Greg Shaw and Jill Tracie Nichols, Harper's Business, Sept 2017

'A Better Future is Possible': IDEO’s Sandy Speicher on Design Thinking in Schools, EdSurge, Mary Jo Madda, Nov 2016, Photo by Project Literacy Lab / Mary Jo Madda?

Get Started with Design Thinking, Design Thinking, Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University

IDEO’s Sandy Speicher on 7 Ways Design Can Change Learning, IDEO's Sancy Speicher predicts seven fundamental changes that will transform education, by Sandy Speicher, Metropolis Magazine, Sept 2015

A Good Fit, Jon Fortt '98 Made a Smooth Transition from Print to Broadcasting, Joan Oleck, DePauw Magazine, DePauw University, May 2015

Why Did David Potruck Care? The Former Charles Schwab CEO shares the story of one of his toughest challenges with Penn Students. by Emily Chisholm, Wharton Magazine, March 2015

Maria Klawe, Harvey Mudd College | Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing 2014, SiliconANGLE Media YouTube Channel, Oct 2014

How Naples, Florida money manager Bruce S. Sherman muscled Knight-Ridder—the nation’s second-largest newspaper company—into putting itself up for sale, Charles Layton, Monterey County Weekly, March 2006 , Updated May 2013

CNBC Names New Silicon Valley Correspondent, Staff Writer, July 2010 (Photo by Bob Amaral, March 2001)

Jon Fortt hired to cover Silicon Valley for CNBC, Associated Press, Mercury News, July 2010

Fortune Tech Reporter Jon Fortt Replaces Apple Fanboy Jim Goldman at CNBC, Erick Schonfeld, TechCrunch, July 2010

Bye-Bye, Business 2.0, Brian Caulfield, Forbes Staff, Forbes, July 2007

Apple WWDC: The Steve Jobs Keynote, Live Blogging, Jon Fortt, Fortune, June 2007

Examining data behind the debate on exec's pay, Jon Fortt, Mercury News, Feb 2007

Knight Ridder's Final Chapter, MPR News, St Paul Min, June 2006, Photo, Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

The Mac that roared, Jon Fortt, San Jose Mercury News, January 2004

Steve Jobs Introduces the Apple Store, Amazing Tech History YouTube Channel, 2001

Is Apple's success just interim? Jon Fortt, Mercury News, January 2000

Select Photo Credits - Andy Jassy, LinkedIn; Bruce Chizen, LinkedIn; David Pottruck, David Potruck; Frank Slootman, PR Newswire; Hardika Shah, LinkedIn, Twitter, Bio Page; John Warnock, Wikipedia; Jon Fort, Bob Amaral; Josh Quittner, Scott Beale, Laughing Squid; Knight-Ridder, Justin Sullivan, Getty Images; Larry Ellison, Wikipedia; Sandy Speicher, Mary Jo Madda, Project Literacy Lab; Shantanu Narayen, Wikipedia, Adobe Executive Profile

Topics for next time. Pop Culture, Music, Sneakers, Rap, Design, Creativity, Taste, Sports, new Power Centers, Creators, Power Dynamics, Direct to consumer relationships

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