The Wall of Inspiration

Yes, I miss seeing my colleagues in person. I miss the good Italian coffee in our conference room. I miss the power of commercial grade wi-fi. But I also miss my wall. We moved into our office space in 2013 and in the Spring of that year, I started building my wall of inspiration. I suffer (and sometimes benefit) from an active mind. My wall of inspiration functions as a centering force.

There are now 23 pieces of content on the wall. I thought that I would share a little bit about each piece.

1.   Curious vs Defensive Approaches to Learning: Kerry Doughty, of blessed memory, was CEO of Butterball. I met Kerry in 2003 as an SAE on Perdue Foodservice. I started out scared of Kerry, but by the time he passed away I was in awe of his leadership style. Kerry gave me two important opportunities in my career, and I will forever be indebted to him. Each year at his team meeting, Kerry would bring in guest speakers. In 2013 he brought in someone who spoke about curious vs defensive approaches to learning. Participants were encouraged to check off evidence of their open and curious and closed and defensive behavior. At the conclusion of the speech Kerry stood up in front of the company and started ticking off the closed and defensive things that he tended to do. It was such a powerful lesson in leadership – the senior most guy in a room, recognizing his flaws. It represents a style I aspire to emulate. So, when I got back from Raleigh, I hung my sheet up on my office wall for my team to see.

2.   Problem/Insight/Advantage/Strategy Model: This is courtesy of strategist and teacher Mark Pollard. A great construct for developing strategy. https://courses.sweathead.co/

3.   “Ideas come from curiosity.” – Walt Disney: This quote was included in our check out package form an overpriced Disney trip. I often talk about Marriner as a culture of curiosity, and this was a nice reminder and the only souvenir I could afford for myself after buying my kids sweatshirts. :)

4.   Big Seven: This is courtesy of my brother in law, a bonafide CMO with an MIT MBA to boot. I’ve always learned from his big-league experiences. He was a guest on a podcast where he spoke about how he looks at B2B marketing. I thought it was a tight construct, so I jotted it down. The areas are: research, content, sales enablement, awareness, demand generation, partnership and customer retention.

5.   Everyday Holiness – Soul Traits: I once asked our Rabbi, Craig Axler, for a book on Jewish morals. He recommended Everyday Holiness by Alan Morinis. I identified thirteen soul traits to focus on and pinned them up on the wall.

6.   2019/2020 Carpool Schedule: My amazing wife develops a color-coded schedule for me each school year. This one stopped being relevant on 3/13/2020.

7.   25 Principles of Adult Behavior by John Perry Barlow: I am a Grateful Dead greatest hits kind of fan, but this made the rounds when Barlow died and it captured my attention. https://www.mickeyhart.net/news/the-25-principles-for-adult-behavior-by-john-perry-barlow-25395

8.   David Ogilvy on Agency Culture: Not a bad idea to learn from the best. https://www.emotivebrand.com/how-i-see-our-culture-david-ogilvy/

9.   Seligman’s PERMA Model: I believe there is a place for positive psychology in business and more specifically in marketing. https://positivepsychology.com/perma-model/

10. Outward Bound: Principles and key takeaways from my 2015 Outward Bound expedition that I wrote about in a previous post.

11. Abundance Without Attachment: Key takeaways from this 2014 column by Arthur Brooks. I often reference the “center of your wheel” when interviewing candidates. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/opinion/sunday/arthur-c-brooks-abundance-without-attachment.html

12. Five Questions: Rabbi Daniel Cohen (of Stamford, CT!) offers five questions to consider in your life. I did just that on 1/3/18. https://www.rabbidanielcohen.com/

13. Three Words for 2020: I read somewhere that you should not have specific goals for a year, but you should have intentions. In 2020, I jotted down these words – consciousness, non-attachment and recipient.

14. Be You: From another Kerry Doughty guest speaker who reminded our group that we were hired because of who we are.

15. “Fix yourself, help others. Not the other way around.” A quote from the columnist Connie Schultz. Connie and her husband Senator Sherrod Brown are champions for the working class. She is a great follow on Twitter. https://twitter.com/ConnieSchultz

16. Einstein’s Tip: Einstein once scribbled this note in lieu of a tip, “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.” It sold for $1.3 MM in 2017. https://www.npr.org/2017/10/25/559963919/albert-einsteins-quote-about-living-a-modest-life-sells-for-1-3-million

17. Seven Challenges Successful People Overcome: Good advice from EQ expert Travis Bradberry - https://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2015/07/21/7-challenges-successful-people-overcome/?sh=1d9aa08713a3

18. Mentally Strong People: The 13 Things They Avoid: I still struggle with a few of these, namely number five. https://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2013/11/18/mentally-strong-people-the-13-things-they-avoid/?sh=75fb89016d75

19. Outtakes from 10% Happier: This includes the five classic hindrances, the RAIN model by Tara Brach and “the way of the worrier.” https://www.tenpercent.com/

20. 10 Things to Look for in a Leader: More great guidance from Ogilvy. https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/06/11/david-ogilvy-10-qualities-of-creative-leaders/

21. BHAG 20 Year Goal: Written in 2015, I previously posted about this.

22. Two Mindsets: From Carol Dweck. I read her book after my oldest child came home from school talking about “the power of yet.” I aspire to a growth mindset, but sometimes get pulled into a fixed mindset.

23. Hector’s Lessons on Happiness: Antoine Remy served as the General Manager of Away from Home at Danone during our time as AOR. He is another great client who gave me several big opportunities and a valuable lesson in developing two by two's. He also introduced me to the novel Hector and the Search for Happiness. A wonderful read (and a mediocre movie). The 23 lessons are summarized here - https://www.gyaco.com/2011/01/hectors-list-of-happiness/

I hope you find some inspiration in my wall of inspiration! I look forward to building it out in 2021 and getting a new carpool schedule up come September.