Your Creative Mind

Access your inner creative with this simple tip

Access your inner creative genius with this simple tip.
This episode is brought to you by Brain.fm. I love and use brain.fm every day! It combines music and neuroscience to help me focus, meditate, and even sleep! Because you listen to this show, you can get a free trial.*URL: https://brain.fm/innovativemindsetIf you love it as much as I do, you can get 20% off with this exclusive coupon code: innovativemindsetIt's also brought to you by Gloria Chou's PR Starter Pack. If you want to get featured in the media, this is your best first step. I've used these techniques to get featured in magazines, newspapers, and podcasts. They work! https://izoldat.krtra.com/t/so6Aw0yCuva4
In this episode, I detail how to spark that creative genius when your muse plays hide the inspiration.
* I am a Brain.fm affiliate. If you purchase it through the above links and take the 20% off, I’ll get a small commission. I'm also a PR Starter Pack Affiliate. I use Gloria's methods to get featured in the media often. And please remember, I’ll never recommend a product or service I don’t absolutely love!

How Slowing Down Can Help You Go Faster

In this week's show, I explore how slowing down can help you get more productive and creative. It's counterintuitive, I know. We tend to think that to achieve more, we have to do more. But oh my stars, that isn't always true.
Do you have to do something? Sure. Do you have to do everything? Nope.
Here's how you can get more attention so you can give more attention.
First, try the one-minute breathwork assessment. Try it for a week. Note how you feel before you do this 53-second exercise and then note how you feel afterward.
You can find the video on the Back To Basics Meditation page. You'll also find a link to an easy little assessment you can do for yourself. You'll see the proof with your own eyes.
It's super easy.
Click the link to the document.
Make a copy of it for your own use (Go to File and select Make a Copy)
Enter how you feel (the date and time will appear automatically right next to your feeling).
Do the super short activity video.
Enter how you feel (the date and time you do it will appear again)
After a week or two, evaluate the difference. I'm betting you'll see one.
Here's what the document looks like.
Get in touch and let me know what differences you notice in how you feel before and after. I'd love to hear from you.
Connect with me
https://www.instagram.com/izoldat/
https://www.instagram.com/innovativemindsetpodcast/
https://twitter.com/IzoldaT
https://www.linkedin.com/in/izoldat/
https://IzoldaT.com
https://podcast.izoldat.com
Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] That's one of the best reasons to slow down. You begin to notice things again, instead of letting them streak by you. You actually have enough attention to pay attention.
[00:00:16] Hello, and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. Izolda Trakhtenberg on the show. I interview peak performing innovators in the creative social impact and earth conservation spaces or working to change the world. This episode is brought to you by brain FM, brain FM combines the best of music and neuroscience to help you relax, focus, meditate, and even sleep.
[00:00:36] I love it and have been using it to write, create and do. Deepest work because you're a listener of the show. You can get a free trial head over to brain.fm/innovative mindset. To check it out. If you decide to subscribe, you can get 20% off with the coupon code, innovative mindset, all one word. And now let's get to the show.[00:01:00]
[00:01:01] Hey there and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. My name is Izolda Trakhtenberg, I'm super thrilled that you're here and I'm excited to talk to you about this week's topic. It's about a surprising thing that you can do to increase your overall productivity, creativity, and sense of wellbeing. And here's the surprising thing it's slowing down.
[00:01:25] I believe that we're so busy with what we should be doing, that we don't really think about what we want to be doing. And I'm recording this episode the day after the big Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram crash, or whatever it is that happened. And it was amazing to me how often mindlessly, I was going to Facebook and to Instagram to check in, even though I knew.
[00:01:50] But there was nothing going on there that there was nobody that the sites were down, but it didn't seem to matter. There was a mindless sort of, oh, let me see what's going on. [00:02:00] And so when I slowed down a little bit and started thinking about it, it changed a lot. For me, it changed how I was looking at.
[00:02:10] Downtime, slowing down time. And, and the question to ask is what if you took that time, how would it be? What might you do if you were slowing down? Would it be okay? Does it work. Are you feeling pressured and pushed into directions? You don't want to go and therefore don't really take the time. Right. So, so let me ask you, what did you do with the time that you couldn't be on those platforms yesterday?
[00:02:38] I mean, I spent more time on Twitter, but I also spent more time looking at the cool art on the walls of the study room at the New York public library, which is where I spent the day where. And I see, I find a need, a change of venue to create as well as my trusted brain FM app. I have to admit that, but yeah, I take the time to [00:03:00] go take the subway and go to the library and I go outside of my home.
[00:03:06] So I use the subway ride to chill out and I used to try to listen to podcasts or send emails or read emails, but I've stopped doing that because I can't hear much because of how loud it is. And it's hard to write. So nowadays, when I ride on the subway, I daydream, I imagine I come up with new ideas or even.
[00:03:24] I meditate. And how hilarious is it to spend 20 minutes in deep meditation and forget where you are to open your eyes and see a guy speaking with deep love to his cup of coffee, surrounded by people in various stages of napping or yapping, but it lets me be here now. And that's a cool place to be. The other day, I noticed the core graffiti, some enterprising artist has painted in the dark tunnels in the space between stops.
[00:03:49] There are miles of darkness and there are sometimes small lights that punctuate the darkness to sort of illuminate the space maybe for workers or something like that. And someone or [00:04:00] a number of someone's painted cool art right below the lights on one of the lines. You see a sort of movie unfold as you look at the lid spots.
[00:04:07] Two people meet, try to be romantic decide they can't be, and instead become friends. And I'm not sure if it's there still, because since periodically someone from the subway comes along and paints over the art to base it black, but it's super cool when you notice it. And if I didn't take the time to slow down, I would have never noticed it.
[00:04:26] And that's one of the best reasons to slow down. You begin to notice things again, instead of letting them streak by you, you actually have enough attention to pay attention. And I wouldn't see any of that if I didn't slow down and I love art where you find it, right, art, illuminates life for us, it highlights the bizarre, the fun, the tragic, the on inspiring the human condition.
[00:04:52] And so when you take the time to slow down even a little bit, you get to take in. All of this other amazing and cool [00:05:00] stuff. And it also gives you time to imagine, to get new ideas, new thoughts, new insights. So I wanted to talk to you a little bit about different ways to slow down. My favorite of course is meditation, but you don't have to do that unless you want to.
[00:05:15] And I'm going to talk to you a little bit more about that in a sec. You can doodle, you can daydream, you can take time off social, right. And taking time off social does something very interesting. It helps you stop consuming content. So your brain is more free to create it. And I don't mean create content for necessarily posting on social media or whatever, but creating new ideas, new creative ways of doing something.
[00:05:41] Thinking about something of what you're going to cook for dinner. It doesn't matter what, what the creation is. It lets you be creative. Instead of watching other people be creative or listening to other people be creative. And it also helps you stop the comparison game, right? It gives your eyes and your ears arrest.
[00:05:57] It helps you stop comparing your life to. [00:06:00] Because you're the only person living your life. You're the only person telling your story. So giving yourself permission to do that is an incredible thing. And one of the ways to do that is to take a little time to slow down and not consume content as much as so many of us do myself included.
[00:06:16] Right. It also resets your mind, right? So going for a slow walk, it gives you time to sort of breathe and be and chill out and you can also do. One minute slow down to breathe, right? It's a way of filling the, well, it gives you the opportunity to do that. Very thing to just sort of go, okay, that's it.
[00:06:36] I'm going to slow down and. I'm going to give you a mission, right? If you meditate, keep doing that. If you don't consider starting, and I'm going to talk to you about that right now. So how do you start? If you, if you don't meditate, how do you start doing it? How do you get into that space? Well, I've created a start where you are a meditation and that's great.
[00:06:58] If you're already set, if you [00:07:00] already know where you are, that's terrific. But if you don't, if you're a little bit lost, then it becomes tougher to figure out exactly what to do and how to do it. And this is where I come in. So meditation, why, why do people meditate? We've sort of talked a little bit just about that earlier.
[00:07:17] Right? Slowing down is beautiful, but it also, there are lots of reasons, right? If you're a monkey, you might do it because it's a way of getting closer to God or closer to whatever you hold sacred. If you're a lay person, you might want to do it because you want a greater sense of peace in your life. A greater sense of patience, a little bit more stability, that kind of thing.
[00:07:33] And that's the whole point, since we're talking about how you can be more productive and creative. Yeah. Slow down. Meditation helps with that because it gives you space in your mind and your body and your heart and your soul to have that well, be filled with something that's positive and creative and maybe even productive, but at the very least positive and creative.
[00:07:54] So there are lots of different reasons. There are people, like I said, who use meditation for [00:08:00] opening up their creative channels. Some people use it for developing better relationships, you know, with yourself as well as with other people in your life. For me, meditation has been about being creative without meditation.
[00:08:11] I wouldn't have read it written seven books, but it's also about learning about yourself, you know? What the lessons are that you need to learn to know yourself better and to also be connected to something greater than yourself. If you, if you take that time, in my case, if you knowing myself better, that's about the earth and all the critters on the earth.
[00:08:33] Right. But it could be whatever it is that makes you feel like you're connected. It's also way first and foremost, for me to get back into myself, finding that space within me, that helps me reset. And especially if I'm. I use a lot of breathing techniques to help with that, to help with being stressed, to help with releasing some of that Trent stress or anxiety.
[00:08:56] I feel with my history, I have a lot of reasons [00:09:00] to be anxious. And I work through that often because as a, as a survivor of child abuse, as an immigrant, as someone who lived in a war zone, as someone who overcame a huge public speaking phobia, there are lots of reasons for me to be. And sometimes that anxiety rears its ugly head.
[00:09:19] And I need to have tools in my toolbox to figure out how to deal with it and how to release the anxiety and as much as possible, the stress, right? That's the whole point of that. But again, it depends on who you are and what you want out of it, but a lot of it is going to end up, use it for what works for you.
[00:09:39] If meditation is something that works for you, it's going to work for you. If it doesn't. Then my suggestion is. Keep trying until it does, but you're going to have to make your own way. Whatever meditation means to be. There are some tried and true techniques that work, there are some tried and true techniques that you start with.
[00:09:55] And in the show notes, I'll, I'll give you a link to a meditation. That's [00:10:00] all about. The really simple breathing exercise and your mission to begin a very easy practice. It does not have to be a huge, I'm going to sit for half an hour, a day kind of thing. It just doesn't to begin with. You can do something very simple and very easy, and there are lots of different ways to meditate.
[00:10:20] And we're going to talk about that in the weeks to come, but at its root, most of the time meditation is going to have some sort of breath work. When we do that, right? It's going to be with just simple breath work and, and meditation exercise. And as you develop your practice, you're going to have to see what works for you, because what I'm doing might not work.
[00:10:44] There are apps you can use. There's calm and Headspace and balance. And my current favorite brain FM, there's listening to music. Vegging out as long as you've edge out without falling asleep, that's kind of meditative. And in fact, I dare say that there are gurus out there, [00:11:00] meditation teachers out there who would say that if you do anything mindfully that washing dishes can become a meditation, Allah tech, not Hahn, certainly something like Tai Chi is a moving meditation.
[00:11:10] Things like that. There are lots and lots of different ways to meditate and that I'm developing and I'm going to be releasing meditation packs of different sorts of meditation in the coming weeks. But for today, we're just going to do a very back to basics kind of thing. Right. We're going to just breathe and that's your mission, right?
[00:11:30] So here's, here's what I'm going to ask you to do in the show notes. There's a link to a little YouTube meditation that I developed. That's all about breathing. Very purposefully if you will, for even less than a minute. And here's the mission, the mission is that I'm going to ask you to go to the Google doc that I have.
[00:11:55] There are two things to do here. I know more than one is, can be confusing, but the reason I'm [00:12:00] doing this, because there are two different things for you to do here, right? Developing an assessment or evaluating for yourself, how you feel before you meditate and how you feel after you meditate. And since breathwork is the root of meditation, we are going to do a very simple breathing meditation that takes less than a minute, but here's the thing.
[00:12:24] If you go to the Google doc and you can see the image of what the Google doc looks like in the show notes, if you go to the Google doc, there's a little thing that says, how do I. And you're going to make a copy of that Google doc. So you can do this for yourself and you're going to write out how you feel.
[00:12:42] Do you feel stressed? Do you feel anxious? Do you feel good? Do you feel hungry? How do you feel? And then. Once you do that a little date and timestamps is going to show up. And once that date and timestamp shows up, that's the before, right. And then do the breathing exercise in that little YouTube video.
[00:12:59] So click [00:13:00] on that link and you're going to see that that actually gives you another sort of minute of that breath work that we were just talking about. And after you've done with that, go back to that Google doc and then. Type in how you feel now. So you're going to have a, before I do the breath work and after I do the breath work kind of thing happening, and the link to the YouTube video that does this little 53 seconds of meditation is right there in the Google docs.
[00:13:31] So all you need to do is go to the Google doc, go to. Got to make a copy, make a copy. Cause you can't add anything into the, into that file so that lots of people can use it, but then you'll get a way of assessing for yourself. Does it make a difference? Right. I'm very practical when it comes to this stuff.
[00:13:47] I love having the notion of does it make a difference and can I measure it? So that is what we're going to do. Right. [00:14:00] And w the way to look at meditation to begin with is that right? You, you have to give yourself permission to stop the rush every once in a while, take a minute and breathe. And so that's what this, this sort of test for yourself is going to be right.
[00:14:17] You're going to write down how you feel beforehand, and then you're going to write down how you feel afterward, just so that you can have this notion of. Breathing and meditating and see if it makes any kind of difference for you. Try it for a week and note any differences for yourself. And I'm going to bet that you can just see some and you'll notice how much even a minute of sewing down will help you feel better and think better.
[00:14:43] And if you decide that you want to go even further, then I'm going to invite you to go to yet a third thing to do. I can't believe I'm putting so many things in the show notes here. But there's a, there's a back-to-basics meditation that you can grab for yourself. And it's just just an MP3 file of me [00:15:00] talking you through this back to basics meditation.
[00:15:03] What does it take to get to very, very beginning of breath work and you can feel free to grab it. It's yours for the keeping it's right there on that page. You can just grab it. And in fact, what I think I'm going to do now that I think about it is I'm going to put the link to that Google doc and the link to that YouTube meditation right there, so that you can have all three in one place.
[00:15:26] And you'll notice that one of the things that happens when you do this before and after. Breathing assessment. You're going to notice changes in how you view everything. And once you notice those changes, you're also going to notice that you have more awareness to some of that, that stuff that let's use slow down, and some of the stuff that's going on around you, that you've been too busy and too stressed to notice.
[00:15:48] That's really cool and really beautiful. So I'm going to invite you to do that and see. What it does for your productivity, because if you approach this stuff from that place of, I feel [00:16:00] peaceful and I don't feel stressed and rushed, you won't forget things as much. You'll have an easier time completing things.
[00:16:06] You'll have an easier time of conceptualizing things, which means you're going to be able to see the whole picture, which is a beautiful thing when you're trying. Productivity to be part of your life. And you'll also see inspiration. And that's where that creativity thing, that creativity piece for me happens most when I slowed down enough to see it, to pay attention to it when it happens.
[00:16:28] So if I, if I believe, and I do that, that innovation happens when. Someone who's creative sees a problem that they can solve and comes up with this really cool creative way of doing it. That's innovation. Well, if you want to innovate, if you want to create something, no one's ever created before first, you have to have the mental and sort of heart emotional space.
[00:16:52] To be open to the inspiration, which is what a really easy, simple meditation practice will allow you to do. I hope that [00:17:00] you've enjoyed today's episode. I know that it's a lot of stuff to think about. Please head over to the back to basics meditation page it's is old, a t.com/back to basics. Made it back to basics meditation.
[00:17:12] Oops. I said the wrong URL is older t.com/back to basics meditation. There, you will be able to find a Google doc that lets you do that. Evaluation the link to the YouTube video. That is the less than a minute of breathing. That's the thing to do when you're doing the before and after, and also the back-to-basics meditation, the exact, how the heck do you start a meditation that will help you?
[00:17:38] Into that space of breath, breath, work, and breathing. I hope you've enjoyed the episode. I'd love for you to let me know what you think. If you're doing this for a week or even a few days, and you notice a difference, please let me know. Drop me a line is older@hisoldat.com. And if you're enjoying the episodes themselves, please rate and review the show, tell a friend [00:18:00] about the work that we're doing here and the cool stuff that we're exploring until next time I remind you to listen, learn, laugh, and.
[00:18:07] A whole lot.
[00:18:13] Thanks so much for joining me today. I really appreciate you being here. Please subscribe to the podcast if you're new and if you like what you're hearing, please review it and rate it and let other people know. And if you'd like to be a sponsor of the show, I'd love to meet you on patrion.com/innovative mindset.
[00:18:31] I also have lots of exclusive goodies to share just with the show supporters. Today's episode was produced by Izolda Trakhtenberg and his copyright 2021 as always. Please remember, this is for educational and entertainment purposes. Only past performance does not guarantee future results, although we can always hope until next time, keep living in your innovative mindset.[00:19:00]
 

Build Your Awareness Muscle With This Easy Tip

Build Your Awareness Muscle With This Easy Tip
This episode is brought to you by Brain.fm. I love and use brain.fm every day! It combines music and neuroscience to help me focus, meditate, and even sleep! Because you listen to this show, you can get a free trial.*URL: https://brain.fm/innovativemindsetIf you love it as much as I do, you can get 20% off with this exclusive coupon code: innovativemindsetIt's also brought to you by Gloria Chou's PR Starter Pack. If you want to get featured in the media, this is your best first step. I've used these techniques to get featured in magazines, newspapers, and podcasts. They work! https://izoldat.krtra.com/t/so6Aw0yCuva4
Episode Transcript
 
Hey there and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. I'm your host. Izolda Trakhtenberg welcome to mindful Friday. If that's, when you're listening to the show, if not, then it might be mindful Monday or mindful Tuesday. I wanted to talk about awareness in last week's mindful Friday, we talked, uh, I talked a little bit.
I explored what it means to start building that. And this past week, we've been talking about ideas. And how does having an idea give you the potential to change the world? Right. If you listen to the idea of when it comes up, if you, if you note it down, if you follow it, if you find collaborators. If you have compassion, it can definitely help.
There are lots of layers to this, but it's really important to keep thinking about it in these terms, because that's how it's done. Right? You find your creative genius inside yourself. You listen to the ideas that pop up out of your subconscious and then you. Find the team, you build the team collaborators, but before any of that happens, you have to have the awareness to be present and ready for whatever idea will.
And I talk about meditation a lot and it's hard because we're not all able to find the time to sit down and meditate for half an hour a day. I try to find that time, but it's sometimes really difficult. I have to admit I'm up to 15 minutes, twice a day. And, uh, there are times that I'm like, hurry up, hurry up.
And I have to be okay with that. Right. And waiting for the little alarm to ring, to tell me that my meditation time is over. I don't know if you watch the TV show, billions, but all of the main characters meditate. That's one of the things that they do because they realized that it gives them an edge, right.
That, that ability to be agile. Happens when you meditate, you're more agile, you're more aware you're more present and you're able to respond better and faster if you're in that mindful state. So when Bobby Axelrod from the show, billions needs to be mindful. He meditates beforehand. So yes, I am going to advocate for meditation almost every mindful Friday, for sure.
But what if you just don't have time? So here's a really great. Easy way to build some mindfulness into your commute. Right? And I'm not a, if you're driving, I'm not saying you need to close your eyes or anything, please don't drive safe. All of that. Absolutely. You must drive safe. You must stay aware of what's happening on the road around you.
But I am going to ask you to start thinking about when you're at red lights. For example, if you're, if you're driving to work and you're at a red light, uh, let the red light guide. So while the red light is red, breathe in for a count of four and breathe out for a count of four and breathe in for a count of four and read out for a count of four.
And then when the light turns green go, and hopefully you're not stuck in traffic. I know, uh, And if you're walking or if you're commuting, commuting is beautiful. If you happen to take the subway, you can look at the lights that pass through the windows and just notice each light. You don't have to do much of anything else with it, but it's a way of getting into that mindful meditative state without having to sit on a cushion and breathe rarefied air.
If you're walking count, you remember that, uh, uh, It's a horrible little thing, but it's like walk a step on a line, break your father's spine thing, and step on a crack break your mother's back. I mean, they're horrible. They ha they are horrible, uh, little sayings, but kids play like that. Right. So, but you can use that.
You can use that as part of. Mindfulness training. Just notice each line and notice whether or not you stepped on the line or off the line and just pay attention. Right? That's all I'm asking you to do is pay attention to each the lines and the sidewalk, or if you're taking a bus, uh, notice the colors of the trees and as you pass by them, and if there aren't any trees, then notice, find something else to notice because the more we build that awareness muscle.
So you can improve your skills, your awareness skills, the easier it will be when you need to innovate. When you need to create, when you need to access that ingenuity, it will be easier on you. To do it if you've already built that awareness muscle. So this is a very short episode today, but I want to encourage you on your morning commute or evening commute.
And if you're working from home, by the way, as many of us still are that's perfectly. Okay. You can do the same exact thing by looking at what's outside your window and look at it for 10 seconds. And then close your eyes and see if you can remember what you saw. That's another way of building that awareness muscle.
It's a great exercise. And in fact, I'm going to put something in the show notes about that. All right. I hope that you enjoy today's episode. This is his older Trachtenberg reminding you that if you're liking the show, if you're liking this new five day a week format, I'd love to hear from you comment, rate and review.
Tell a friend, uh, we'll see how long this goes. I'll be honest with you. Uh, I love talking to you about this stuff because it is my passion. I think this creativity and ingenuity and innovation is how we're going to change the world and save the world. I really believe that with all of my being, so I hope that I will be able to.
Growing this podcast and this conversation really, uh, on how we might change the world for the better for all of us. If we are all creative, curious, compassionate, collaborative, and mindful until next time, this is Izolda. Trakhtenberg reminding you to listen, learn, laugh, and love a whole lot.
 
* I am a Brain.fm affiliate. If you purchase it through the above links and take the 20% off, I’ll get a small commission. I'm also a PR Starter Pack Affiliate. I use Gloria's methods to get featured in the media often. And please remember, I’ll never recommend a product or service I don’t absolutely love!
 

Improve Your Collaborative Skills By Knowing Who You Are

Improve Your Collaborative Skills By Knowing Who You Are
This episode is brought to you by Brain.fm. I love and use brain.fm every day! It combines music and neuroscience to help me focus, meditate, and even sleep! Because you listen to this show, you can get a free trial.*URL: https://brain.fm/innovativemindsetIf you love it as much as I do, you can get 20% off with this exclusive coupon code: innovativemindset
It's also brought to you by Gloria Chou's PR Starter Pack. If you want to get featured in the media, this is your best first step. I've used these techniques to get featured in magazines, newspapers, and podcasts. They work! https://izoldat.krtra.com/t/so6Aw0yCuva4
 
Your gift! The Idea Document. Head over to it, make a copy of it, and keep track of your ideas!
Episode Transcript
Hey there and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. My name is Izolda Trakhtenberg and I'm thrilled to welcome you to collaboration Thursday. So let's talk about collaboration. What does it mean in the simplest terms? Of course it means working together as a unified team to achieve a goal. Right?
So you work with other people in order to achieve the thing you're trying to achieve. When you have a lots of personalities, that can be a challenge. So you need good communication skills, uh, for sure, to be able to collaborate well and effectively, but you also need to know who the people are, what their skill sets are, and also who they are, how they operate innately.
And. There are these personality traits that I've been thinking about a lot. And there are other people who talk about them too. There are lots of tests that you can take, you know, you can, you can do the Myers-Briggs or, or discuss or whatever. All of those things are absolutely valid. Uh, I think, and yet to me, they break down into some very basic form.
Uh, I mentioned this yesterday in the compassion Wednesday episode, but I want to go a little bit deeper into it. A specialist. What is the specialist? A specialist to someone who is great at the one thing, right? Albert Einstein, Mozart, they were specialists. They were amazing at the one thing they were great at and maybe not so great at other things like, uh, paying the bills or.
I don't know, picking up after themselves, I guess. I'm not sure what, I'm not sure that, uh, I don't know exactly what kind of housekeeper boats art was, but I imagine he was so full of the one thing he was great at, which was music that he let everything else sort of float away. So that's what a specialist is the opposite of that, or along the continuum of that is the generalist.
And the generalist is someone who may not be grand at any one thing, but they're really very good at a whole bunch of things. And that person is able to see assess, evaluate. Different, uh, ideas, notions factors, components of things, and then see a way to make them work together. So you can have the specialist.
Who's great at the one thing, but maybe not great at other things. And the, the generalist who isn't great at the one thing, but is really good at lots of other things or lots of things I should say. Then you have the visionary versus the implementer. This is sort of the grid that I've developed and the visionary is.
The person who can see the whole lay of the land, right? They can, they have the idea, they can see all of the different parts, but they may not be the person who can implement it to make it actually go right. So they can envision the engine, but they may not be the person who builds the engine. That job falls to the implementer, the implementers, the person who's got the skills to actually make it happen.
Right. And if they don't have the skills to make it happen, then they know how to form a team. Of people who will have the skills to make it happen. Right. I know it sounds kind of confusing, but we need all of these kinds of people on projects in order to make them go. You need the visionary, you need your Elon Musk, right?
He's the visionary, he's the one who's going to be out there with, with the huge ideas. The Steve jobs is another one. But you also need the implementer. You need the person, the Tim cook, let's go with apple. The Tim cook is the one who's gonna be the implementer. He, he may not have the vision, uh, of huge revolutionary change for apple, but he certainly knows how to implement the things that that need to be done in order to keep apple being one of the biggest companies on the planet.
And he also knows how to build a team of people that will, uh, that will help him do all of that. As I said, specialists or people like, uh, Mozart and Weinstein. One of the things that I think a generalist does is they're able to do a lot of different things. And when I think of a generalist, I think of.
Oprah is one of those people who she's got a lot going on. Right. She can write the story. She can act, she can produce, she can direct. She can do just about anything. She's a journalist she's she has many, many, many different skills. And I'm not saying she's not great at them, but she's not known for the one thing that she knows how to do.
She's got. That she can draw on. And that is really important because when she needs any one of those strengths, they're there and she knows herself well enough to know that if she's not the person with the, the unique, uh, special. Skills she'll find that person and she will have them do the work. That's one of the gifts of the generalist is that, you know, when you're not great at something and it may be frustrating, but if you collaborate with those who are specialists, if you find them.
Communicate to them, what you need from them. Then the specialists will be able to do the thing they're great at so that the generalist doesn't have to be the person who actually does it and all together, those four can work in, in that collaborative. To create the project that needs to be created in order for things to work.
I'm going to delve much more into this in the coming weeks and months, because I think it's really important for us to think about who we are and I'm in the middle of developing a, an assessment so that you can figure out. Am I a specialist or am I a generalist? Am I a visionary? Or am I an implementer?
And once you know that it'll be a lot easier to know what role you will best play in any kind of collaborative or project situation, but you need to know what that is. And I'm going to have that available, hopefully within the next few weeks, maybe by the beginning of November, so that you'll be able to take a, an assessment and figure it out for.
It won't be long, but it will be illuminating. I am sure because it will give you in some ways, permission. To play to your strengths because there are times when we don't do that, we go, oh, but I want to be great at the one thing. And maybe we're not. And we have to be okay with that because if you're a generalist trying to live the life or the, do the work of the specialist, you're going to be knocking your head against the wall a lot.
And in many ways, vice versa. So at some point it becomes better, more optimal, and we'll give you a better outcome if you. No, who you are, know your skills, know your strengths, and then find the people who will compliment what, you know, how to. In a way that will be substantive and will help you get the job done without you needing to get a bruise on your forehead.
From, as I said, knocking your head against the wall. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. This is his older Trakhtenberg. I'm reminding you. If you are enjoying this podcast, this new, shorter formed, uh, Tuesday through Friday. Please, please please rate and review it. Tell a friend, these are short and sweet episodes are pretty much never going to be longer than about 10 or 12 minutes.
I just want the Tuesday through Friday to be something that is actionable in the four CS that creativity and compassion and curiosity and collaborations. And of course Fridays are mindful Fridays, so we're doing everything. And then the long form, of course, the long form Monday morning shows that are the interview shows are going to be a continuing they're not going anywhere.
Having said interview shows. I do have one more long-form me episode this coming Monday. So I hope that you will stay tuned for that. It's all about how slowing down can make you faster until next time till tomorrow. This is Izolda. Trakhtenberg reminding you to listen, learn, laugh, and love a whole lot.
 
* I am a Brain.fm affiliate. If you purchase it through the above links and take the 20% off, I’ll get a small commission. I'm also a PR Starter Pack Affiliate. I use Gloria's methods to get featured in the media often. And please remember, I’ll never recommend a product or service I don’t absolutely love!

How Compassion Can Help You Complete Complex Projects

Compassion Wednesday
This episode is brought to you by Brain.fm. I love and use brain.fm every day! It combines music and neuroscience to help me focus, meditate, and even sleep! Because you listen to this show, you can get a free trial.*URL: https://brain.fm/innovativemindsetIf you love it as much as I do, you can get 20% off with this exclusive coupon code: innovativemindsetIt's also brought to you by Gloria Chou's PR Starter Pack. If you want to get featured in the media, this is your best first step. I've used these techniques to get featured in magazines, newspapers, and podcasts. They work! https://izoldat.krtra.com/t/so6Aw0yCuva4
Episode Transcript
Hey there and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. My name is Izolda Trakhtenberg. I am your host, and I'm really happy that you're here. I want to talk to you about thinking differently about compassion today. This is compassion Wednesday. I'm super, I'm super excited about this because I'm going to talk to you.
I'm going to bringing back a, a topic that. Addressed a few weeks ago with the co-founder and the director of the wild tomorrow fund Wendy Hapgood. The wild tomorrow fund is, uh, an organism, a nonprofit organization that does wildlife conservation and habitat reclamation in South Africa. And what their goal is, is to provide habitat for the species, especially endangered species, but the, the indigenous species of animals that live in Southwest.
And they're not just going, okay, we're going to, we're going to fund or support anti-poaching efforts because yes, that is important. And in fact, Wendy told me that the very first thing that they ever did was that they were at first raising funds to buy. Replacement boots for the Rangers that are trying to keep the animals safe, which I think is an incredible thing.
You don't think that they're going to need boots, but yeah, of course they do. They need boots, they need clothes. They need whatever Rangers need in order to do that very important job. But then when he talked about how they thought, when they were developing, while tomorrow fund even further, they thought, okay, saving the animals is great, but we need to say.
Uh, and reclaim land for these animals to live. Right. So that's one of the reasons. Wildlife conservation. Isn't just about wildlife conservation or as, as in saving the animals, Wendy and John, her co-founder decided that what they were going to do was figure out a way to reclaim habitat, to reclaim land, to make sure that there was dedicated land for these animals to live.
They have, they have a habitat, they have a range, these animals that they need to have a freedom to move. In order to thrive. And one of the things that Wendy told me recently was that they've just had baby giraffes, born, and animals do not reproduce if they feel stressed. So, uh, if they don't feel stressed or threatened, they're more likely to reproduce.
So that should tell you that having enough habitat for these drafts means that these drafts are reproducing on their own and they're getting to live the way they were meant to. And so in order to look at, at this, we have to look at things differently. We have to sort of turn things on their head, right?
You can't just go, I'm going to just save animals. That's my entire goal, because just saving an animal, it means nothing. If that animal doesn't have. Water, fresh water, clean water, a food supply of some sort, whether it's a, a predator or an herbivore, doesn't matter, they're going to need food and, or access to food, I should say.
And they're going to need that range that I was just talking about that, that place to live. Right. So without those. The animals will not survive. And so Wendy and John and their team at wild tomorrow fund went, okay, we need to think of this differently. And when you have compassion, your tendency, your instinct, I think, is to just go fix the thing, right.
Let's save the animal. And that is a very important part of it. But if you're going to look more long-term, you're going to have to look at how. That compassion needs to ripple out into different ways of assessing and acting on the. So when you feel the need to look, uh, to look into something like we talked about yesterday, with curiosity, when you feel the need to look at something and you have an idea, the idea, can't just be the one thing.
It, you have to end up looking at what kind of infrastructure you're going to need to establish and foment in order to. Let this compassionate idea that you have grow, right? You don't, it won't grow in a vacuum and it can't be single-minded. You're going to have to look at different ways of doing what you're trying to achieve in order for it to work.
And so. Compassion is a great motivator. Absolutely. That feeling the feelings that, that you want to help in some way, especially those who are less fortunate, uh, endangered species, children, uh, abuse survivors, so many different, uh, beings, the habitat itself, the environment. There's a lot of, oh my goodness.
Just thinking about it as a little overwhelming. You know how I like to say small steps are still steps. So even taking a small step is a, is a good thing. Uh, and sometimes especially a small step is a good thing because you don't want to overreach, but yet you want to be sure that you're paying attention to the, the rivulets to go out, not just in the straight line of I'm going to go save that animal, but all the way around.
To habitat to food supply, to access, to clean, fresh water, uh, to being free from being hunted. If, if it's a critter, there are lots of different things that we need to look at as part of our compassion up as part of our purpose driven mission. And you have to think of it in those terms, it cannot be the straight line you're going to need to have, you know, the straight river goes on one direction, but there are lots of tributaries and you need to pay attention to that.
And that brings me to the notion of visionary versus implementer and specialist versus generalist. If you've, if you're a longtime listener of the show, you've heard me talk about this before. It's really important. And I want to address that a visionary will have the one vision, the implementers, the person who's going to have to go figure out all the different rivulets, right.
Specialist will have, uh, uh, the one talent and the generalist will have the capability of doing multiple things at once, or at least have, uh, at least. Expertise of a number of different, um, factors in what you're trying to achieve and the way those, those interplay with one another is what's going to make projects succeed.
And I'm going to talk a lot more about that tomorrow when we do communication Thursday, but I wanted to at least put that bug in your ear. So you come back tomorrow. And we can go delve deeper into the difference between a specialist and a generalist and a visionary and an implementer, and how those working in concert, we'll get you in from the spark of an idea, to being curious about how it could work to developing a plan and then implementing that plan.
And having a go to fruition and tomorrow we're going to talk about mindfulness mindful. Friday's going to be about how you build the awareness, not just the curiosity, but the awareness that the idea is there to begin with. Now. All righty, I am super excited that you were here. If you enjoy this episode, drop me a line and let.
And, uh, and, or leave a review of the show. I would love it. Tell a friend, all of those things. I am giving you a 42 things that I'm asking you to, but it wouldn't have seriously. It would, it would mean the world to me. If you were to leave a review for the show, I would really appreciate it until tomorrow.
This is Izolda. Trakhtenberg reminding you to listen, learn, laugh, and love a whole lot.
 
* I am a Brain.fm affiliate. If you purchase it through the above links and take the 20% off, I’ll get a small commission. I'm also a PR Starter Pack Affiliate. I use Gloria's methods to get featured in the media often. And please remember, I’ll never recommend a product or service I don’t absolutely love!

How Curiosity Will Ignite Your Inner Innovator

Creativity Tuesday.
This episode is brought to you by Brain.fm. I love and use brain.fm every day! It combines music and neuroscience to help me focus, meditate, and even sleep! Because you listen to this show, you can get a free trial.*URL: https://brain.fm/innovativemindsetIf you love it as much as I do, you can get 20% off with this exclusive coupon code: innovativemindsetIt's also brought to you by Gloria Chou's PR Starter Pack. If you want to get featured in the media, this is your best first step. https://izoldat.krtra.com/t/so6Aw0yCuva4
 
[00:00:00] Izolda: Hey there and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. My name is Izolda Trakhtenberg, I'm super happy that you're here and I'm also happy to talk to you about creativity today. Creativity, Tuesdays are going to be a thing from now on, and I'm really excited to do this in part, because I want to really get down into the nitty-gritty of the four CS that's creativity, compassion.
[00:00:28] Collaboration and curiosity and curiosity and creativity, they go together. And I actually looked up the exact definition of curiosity in the dictionary, and it's really very simple. It is the desire to learn or know about something being inquisitive. And so the question then becomes. What is curiosity's role in creativity?
[00:00:56] Curiosity is the thing that gives you the need to follow the thread of [00:01:00] an idea. Right? So if we think of creativity as following the spark of the idea, the, the, the notion that you decide you want to do something, curiosity is the need to know about it, or to learn about it, to see where it's going to go.
[00:01:15] So that need to follow the thread of an idea because. Really important. But before that you don't want to discount the idea or the thought when it pops up, instead of. You can get curious as to why it bubbled up in the first place, what it is and if applicable, what problem it solves. If your idea's creative in nature, it can go one of three ways.
[00:01:39] It can simply exist and be part of the world's stories. It might be a painting or a piece of music or an interpretive dance or performance art that adds to the human experience and the human condition. Right? If you, if you decide to write a book or a short story or a poem, it is part of that human experience.
[00:01:58] And it becomes [00:02:00] an excellent opportunity to get creative and curious about what that notion is trying to tell you if you're an artist of some sort and, you know, I believe that we're all artists in one way or another, you'll need to figure out for yourself whether or not this idea, this seed of creativity is something you want to pursue.
[00:02:17] If you're curious, of course you want to pursue it. You might have to rearrange your schedule or figure out a way to pursue it, but pursue it. Yet you have to figure out for yourself whether or not it meets one of the other two criteria. The next criterion is you might be interested in making an impact.
[00:02:38] You might be interested with this idea in sort of affecting people or situations or the world at large. You might want to get them thinking or doing things differently. The last has. Driven creators and innovators and adventurers for ever. I'll have a lot to say about this, but, but this [00:03:00] one is super important.
[00:03:02] Let's look at why. And here's what I mean by that. If you are a creative and you have a mission, if you're trying to solve a particular problem, all of a sudden you slide into. Being an innovator, right? To me, an innovator is a creative person with a mission. And so you might want to solve the problem to make things easier or to help, right?
[00:03:34] You want them, you might want to make money and making money is great. No question. But there can be something infinitely, more satisfying because you're compassionate about something or you're solving a problem to help yourself. But also others. The inventor of the, uh, electric washing machine remains unknown.
[00:03:53] The actual person, various people hold patents for various parts of it and various advances. But let's [00:04:00] look at the notion of going from beating clothes against rocks, to putting them in a drum and rolling them around to putting in paddles inside the drum so that the clothes get agitated even more and get cleaner to all of the various types and iterations until we come to the modern washing machine, then pretty much do everything.
[00:04:22] And here's, here's an example of why this kind of innovation and creativity can be a really beautiful thing as far as helping others and, or solving a problem. I was standing in line the other day at, uh, the kitchen bus at union square and in Manhattan, uh, they were, they're giving out free slices of vegan cheese pizza, and I was waiting to get my slice of vegan cheese.
[00:04:48] Cause they've released a new vegan mozzarella and it's fabulous. And I started talking to the woman in line behind me. Then she was upset because there's too much technology. She said, it's too much. It's going too [00:05:00] fast. And then she said something I found very interesting. She said, Technology's going to take all our jobs.
[00:05:06] And that actually gave me a wonderful opening. And I said, but what about the jobs nobody wants to do? Let's take, for example, uh, uh, look at all of the garbage on these New York city streets. What if there were robots who went around and picked up all the trash, then people wouldn't necessarily need to be the ones doing it.
[00:05:26] And robots would probably be doing a better job and they also wouldn't necessarily mind. I, this is my own judgment here. I do not like the notion of being a, uh, a garbage picker-upper. They made, there may be people who love it, it's it, it is not for me. And I imagine some jobs are not jobs. Any human is going to want to do so getting a robot or some other tech to do, it might be a beautiful thing.
[00:05:53] And her eyes lit up. Like it was Christmas morning. She said, you mean we'd have garbage pickup that worked. We wouldn't [00:06:00] have bags and torn stuff all over the streets because robots are do it. I told her sure it was possible. I mean, maybe not today, but someday. And she loved the idea. She'd been thinking about all the jobs that would be lost, but she hadn't been thinking about the fact that some of those jobs are jobs that we humans don't want to do and robots wouldn't mind doing it all.
[00:06:20] So that notion of. Solving problems and creativity becomes really. And she said you've changed my mind. And I was actually surprised about that, but she, she did, she, she asked a question that I thought was a Stute. She said, but how are those people going to make money? And I said, well, wouldn't it be cool if they didn't have to pick up garbage and were therefore freed up to follow a different path, maybe they want to be a writer.
[00:06:46] Maybe they want to drive a bus. Maybe they want to have their own business delivering roller skates or electric bikes to houses. So the people who want them don't have to go hunting for them, but can just have. Delivered. I'm not sure what they could do, but it seems pretty limitless. [00:07:00] And I'm not saying everybody has to become an entrepreneur, but some of these jobs that we don't really want to do, I'm assuming here, I admit they could be moved away through new inventions and new innovations.
[00:07:10] And then those people who'd been doing those jobs can do something else. And what that is, I'm not. And of course we'd have to look at the infrastructure of things like that. And of course, we would have to take care of the people whose jobs would no longer be to pick up garbage for example. But what if we made that change?
[00:07:27] What if we looked at this all a little differently? How cool would that be? If somebody is innovation, somebody's creativity. Being driven by wanting to solve a problem, allowed people the freedom to pursue different kinds of work or pastimes, right. Anything that helps us save time. Because remember time is, is finite, right?
[00:07:53] We all only have so much time. And so if something comes along that allows you to save time, like [00:08:00] the dishwasher, for example, right? You doing dishes by hand is one thing, loading the dishwasher, having to do all the work and then just taking the dishes out and putting them away. That's that's an hour or so that's saved, right?
[00:08:12] That's that's yours. And we don't tend to think of it. If we have a dishwasher, we don't tend to think of it as, as a big deal, but it's a huge deal. Remember if you ever lived in a time where you didn't have a dishwasher or a place where you didn't have a dishwasher, it is a big deal. So, and there are still parts of the world, certainly where there are no dishwashers.
[00:08:31] So when we look at this sort of thing, when we look at the innovations that come in and help people save time, so that those people are then freed up to do other things. That's a really big deal. And in fact, I was just talking to a couple of podcast guests who are going to be on the show soon about the little sun.
[00:08:51] Uh, it's a, it's a solar powered light. It's called a little sun shaped like a flower. It's really cute. And the reason this little [00:09:00] sun is a beautiful thing is because the person who and I can never remember his name, he's an architect who lives in Iceland, but I just can't remember his name. I'll have to put it in the show notes, uh, Elias somebody, anyway, he invented this little solar powered light, and every time you buy one, they send.
[00:09:18] To somewhere in Africa that does not have a light infrastructure. They don't have in indoor lighting. And so people who want to read at night or who want to do, do things at night after working, if they want to hang out and play a game or read or learn or study or work or work, even they can now do it because that little second.
[00:09:39] Is solar powered. So you charge it during the day. And then in the evening you have light and in an area of the world where there isn't that kind of artificial light happening. Uh, that's a huge, huge deal. It saves people a lot of time and it actually doesn't save them time. It gives them time. It [00:10:00] gives them time to be able to go ahead and.
[00:10:05] Do things that would otherwise be impossible. And so this notion of being creative, this guy's an architect, the guy who started it, he's an innovator because he's doing it. You know, he's being creative with a mission. He got curious about what, what kind of thing he could do to help people who don't have a way of seeing at night?
[00:10:27] How cool is that? That, that he got curious about it and he didn't stop. Right. When the idea came to him, what if I did that? What if I created something that would help people in parts of the world that don't have artificial light for nighttime? What if I did something to help them see and he didn't go, yeah, that'll never work.
[00:10:45] Instead he went home. Okay, let me pay attention to this. Let me get curious about what I could do. And that brings me back to that notion of curiosity. What do we need to do? To [00:11:00] follow the curiosity to follow the idea. I mean, what do we need to do? How, how do we keep space? Well, being mindful about, or being aware that the idea has come and honoring that instant is really important.
[00:11:16] So here's my mission for you. As I, as I said earlier, you know, I believe that we are all creative people. We are all innately possessive of our own unique creative genius. And so you have ideas, ideas come to you, and I'm going to ask you to either go to the idea document, and I'm going to put a link to it in the show notes that I developed.
[00:11:40] Uh, it's it, it's yours for the keeping, right? You can go to the idea document and add your ideas in, and it's not my idea document. You would actually make a copy of it, grab it and use it to your heart's content. It's it will be yours. Cause you'll make a copy. That's going to be your personal copy, but it gives you the opportunity to jot down [00:12:00] your ideas and or you could keep a notebook, whatever it is you must for the next week.
[00:12:07] Jot down those ideas in the idea document or a little notebook or a piece of paper or on your phone and your notes app. However you do it. If an idea comes to you instead of going, no, no, no, I don't have time for that right now instead go, okay. This idea came, whatever it is, it could be. I know what I want for dinner.
[00:12:25] It could be, I figured out how to do, uh, flying cars. It doesn't, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you, instead of going out, I don't have time. Stop what you're doing and note it down, jot it down, uh, recorded into your, into your voice memo app on your phone, whatever it is, note down, whatever ideas you have and at the end of the week, go through and listen to, or read your ideas and see if any of them have merit.
[00:12:58] If any of them [00:13:00] spike your curiosity. Having the idea and getting curious about it is the first, there are the first two steps of unleashing your inner. Ingenious innovator. And that is what we're talking about here. Creativity doesn't happen in a vacuum. It happens when the idea strikes from inspiration from without, or from your subconscious or from a dream doesn't matter.
[00:13:25] But then you have the curiosity about it to see where it will take you and that desire to know or learn about something is what will propel you forward to make curiosity and creativity a bigger part of your. All righty. So you have your mission. I'm going to put the idea documents, uh, in the show notes, the I, the link for the idea document in the show notes, and I hope that you've enjoyed today's short episode.
[00:13:51] I am Izolda Trakhtenberg and I will be back tomorrow to talk about compassion. I have a feeling we're going to be talking about the wild tomorrow fund and the. [00:14:00] Amazing people who run it. Uh, Wendy Hapgood was just on the show a few weeks ago. And I'm going to talk a little bit about what they're trying to do and the difference between, uh, or actually the relationship between wildlife conservation and habitat reclamation, because compassion Wednesdays are just as important as creativity, Tuesdays and collaboration, Thursdays and mindfulness Fridays.
[00:14:24] So we're going to have a whole bunch of different ways of looking at innovation and. I will talk to you tomorrow, but if you're liking this episode, I would love it. If you would review the show, tell me what you're thinking, and if you really love it, tell a friend until next time, this is his older reminding you to listen, learn, laugh, and love a whole lot.
 
* I am a Brain.fm affiliate. If you purchase it through the above links and take the 20% off, I’ll get a small commission. I'm also a PR Starter Pack Affiliate. I use Gloria's methods to get featured in the media often. And please remember, I’ll never recommend a product or service I don’t absolutely love!

How Bob Lesser‘s Peak Performance Formula Can Turn You Into a Peak Performer

Bob Lesser, Author, Coach, Psychotherapist on His Peak Performance Formula and How it Can Help You Become a Peak Performer
This episode is brought to you by Brain.fm. I love and use brain.fm every day! It combines music and neuroscience to help me focus, meditate, and even sleep! Because you listen to this show, you can get a free trial.*URL: https://brain.fm/innovativemindsetIf you love it as much as I do, you can get 20% off with this exclusive coupon code: innovativemindsetIt's also brought to you by Gloria Chou's PR Starter Pack. If you want to get featured in the media, this is your best first step. https://izoldat.krtra.com/t/so6Aw0yCuva4
Bob Lesser is a founder, psychotherapist, and executive coach. From 2010-2017 Bob founded and led Mott Hall Charter School, an innovative public school serving low-income students in the South Bronx section of New York City. The school combined rigorous academics with cutting-edge social and emotional health supports enabling its students to defy the odds and attend top, college-bound high schools in New York and beyond. During that time Bob managed a rapidly growing organization that tripled in size over three years. Bob is also a trained psychotherapist and executive coach working primarily with start-up founders in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Boston, Canada, and elsewhere. He studied management, negotiation, and leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government where he holds a Master's Degree and obtained his BA in sociology from Vassar College. Bob lived in Vietnam where he studied meditation and Buddhism. He lives in Oakland, California with his wife and three children.
Connect with Bob to Learn More About Peak Performance
Twitter - @lesser_bob
Instagram - @bob_lesser
www.boblesser.com
https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-951412-20-3
 
Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Bob Lesser: The purpose helps us clarify what really matters. And it points us to what we should be using our skills and talents for. It gives us courage to act in conditions of uncertainty and difficulty, and it functions as both. This kind of it's sort of a grounding for us, but it also helps us move forward. So it's kind of like our north star.
[00:00:25] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Hello, and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. I'm your host Izolda Trakhtenberg. On the show, I interview peak performing innovators in the creative social impact and earth conservation spaces or working to change the world. This episode is brought to you by brain FM brain FM combines the best of music and neuroscience to help you.
[00:00:43] Focus meditate and even sleep. I love it and have been using it to write, create and do some of my deepest work because you're a listener of the show. You can get a free trial head over to brain.fm/innovative mindset. To check it out. If you decide to subscribe, you can get 20% [00:01:00] off with the coupon code, innovative mindset.
[00:01:03] And now let's get to the show.
[00:01:09] Hey there. And welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. My name is Izolda Trakhtenberg. I'm your host. I'm super happy that you're here and I'm really excited to speak to this week's guest. You have got to hear this. This is so cool. Bob lesser is a founder psychotherapist and executive coach. From 2010 to 2017,
[00:01:28] bob founded and led. Mott hall, charter school an innovative public school, serving low income students in the south Bronx section of New York city. And you know how much that is close to my heart since I'm a new Yorker. Now the school combined rigorous academics with cutting edge, social and emotional health supports, enabling its students to defy the odds and attend top college bound high schools in New York and beyond.
[00:01:50] Yes, I'm all about education. So this is thrilling for me. During that time, Bob managed a rapidly growing organization that tripled in size over three years. [00:02:00] He's also a trained psychotherapist and executive coach working primarily with startup founders in the San Francisco bay area, New York city, Boston, Canada, and all sorts of other places.
[00:02:10] He said he management negotiation and leadership at Harvard's Kennedy school of government, where he holds a master's degree and obtained his BA in sociology. From foster college, Bob lived in Vietnam. Wow. Where he studied meditation and Buddhism also. Wow. He lives in Oakland, California with his wife and three children.
[00:02:27] Bob, thank you so much for being on the show. Welcome
[00:02:29] Bob Lesser: pleasure. Or that, that guy that you just introduced. Sounds really interesting. I'd love to hang out, hang out with them.
[00:02:35] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Let's go have a cup of coffee,
[00:02:36] Bob Lesser: hard to, hard, to hard to believe, but that's me. My hair at all.
[00:02:41] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Yeah. I, you know, all at once it can sometimes be a little like really.
[00:02:45] Okay. I guess that yes, I did that step into that power. Right. So I I'm, I am excited beyond. Imagining talking to you about everything that you've done. I'm a huge proponent of education. I was a NASA master [00:03:00] trainer working in schools all over the world for many years. And I, I want, I'm dying to find out from you how you combined.
[00:03:09] The flow of I'm going to start an innovative public school working with low-income students to being an executive coach for fortune 500 companies. Where, how did that start and what led you down that path?
[00:03:24] Bob Lesser: Yeah, it's a, it's a great question. And I think it's, it's kind of the crux of it is, has to do with purpose and has to do with.
[00:03:33] Identifying sort of the essence of who I am and the impact that I want to have. And so, you know, like most of us, you know, young getting out of college, you know, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, or at least, you know, the next few years of my life. Following following my passions, I'm a native new Yorker.
[00:03:52] I came back to New York city and, and participated in a very cool fellowship in New York city government called the New York city urban fellows [00:04:00] program and worked in city government for the first, the first part of my career first at the New York city correction department. And then for the New York city police department and ultimately from the New York city department of education.
[00:04:12] Where I worked with aspiring school leaders who were founding schools, founding new schools, founding charter schools. And we're creating these innovative new school models. And I got into my, into my head that I could do it just as well or better than the folks that I was I was working with and supporting.
[00:04:31] And so I pulled together a team and we wrote up a charter application and. We got approved and we opened a school and that school was my hall charter school, which, which coincidentally is, is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year. And yeah, and so so I did that and I did it and it was really hard.
[00:04:51] It was, it was, it was harder than I ever thought it would be. And it really kicked me out. And while I think I did a great job, I also know that [00:05:00] I was quite exhausted by, you know, the, the fourth year, the fifth year. And I was kind of running out of gas and I knew I needed to hand it over to somebody who had, you know, sort of like hand the Baton to somebody who had more energy and, and, and, and, and, and, and endurance and more passionate about.
[00:05:17] Than I had. And, you know, I found a great successor and transferred, you know, transition the leadership of the school over to her, and she's still there and doing an amazing job. And when I was really soul searching about, well, what, what, you know, what's next for me? And what about this experience is you know, was essential.
[00:05:36] What I determined was that it was, it was that process of start. Creating something from nothing. That was what my passion was and, and what kind of, what my sort of deeper purpose was, was that sort of create that, that, that component of creativity, you know, taking an idea and making the reality and doing the heavy lifting of getting it up and running.
[00:05:57] And so that's how I transitioned over then to working [00:06:00] with with founders as an executive coach. And working primarily now with founders of startups mostly in the, in the tech startup space, because that's, you know, that's obviously, that's sort of where the, the sort of the, the, the startup ecosystem is still working with some education leaders and organizations.
[00:06:17] But primarily we're working with some of the kind of best and brightest minds in Silicon valley helping to, you know, get these amazing ideas that they have for changing the world off the ground.
[00:06:30] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Yea, all of that. I I'm going gonna, I want to take a second and, and sort of so-called have that in because every word that you just said was music to my ears.
[00:06:40] And first of all, kudos to you for realizing when your work with the school was done and passing the Baton. I think that's, that's very self-aware and, and I'm grateful that you. That you did that because it allowed you to go to this next place. And you said, you're going to, you're you're moving into, or you've moved [00:07:00] into working with tech startups who want to change the world, which again, music to my ears.
[00:07:04] And yet I can't help thinking that there, that that word that you used early on purpose is really a part of. The sort of the foundation of what you do. And it seems like it was that way with students and it seems like it could be. And is that way with the founders that you're working with in Silicon valley?
[00:07:24] Can you talk a little bit more about what you mean by purpose? Is that an internal purpose or is it the purpose of the startup or what you want for other people to experience? How does all of that flow and what do you bring to it? And.
[00:07:40] Bob Lesser: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It start, it starts off as a very individual thing is, is what is my purpose?
[00:07:45] What's my why. And the way I, I define it is it's really the expression of what's most deeply meaningful. You can know who you are at your essence. We've we all have this sort of deeper level of purpose of, of kind of [00:08:00] who we are at our essence. What's most deeply meaningful to us. And you know, it, it purpose helps us clarify what really matters and it points us to what we, what we should be using our skills and talents for.
[00:08:14] Right. It gives us, it gives us courage to act in conditions of uncertainty and difficulty, and it functions as both this kind of it's sort of a grounding for us, but it also helps us move forward. So it's kind of like our north star. And so knowing, knowing our essence, knowing who we are at our essence and how we want to express that in the world is in my mind, that's required for anyone that wants to do anything.
[00:08:41] And, you know, starting, starting a company, you know, that it has never been started before in you know building and creating a product that's never been created before creating anything that's never been, been done before, or, or even that you've never done before is going to be hard. And so having this strong sense of grounded.
[00:08:59] [00:09:00] Of this is part of this is deeply personal and meaningful to me and, and it's, it's on purpose for me. So it starts with that and it starts, and that's often where I start with the founders that I work with is helping them to clarify their purpose and articulate their purpose. Purpose also extends to organizations, organizations need to know why they exist.
[00:09:22] They need to know, you know, kind of who they are at essence and so far. So great organizations have well articulated purpose statements and, and purpose has kind of for many organizations supplanted, the old mission statement, you know, the sort of, you know, we exist to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
[00:09:41] Versus. Our purpose is, this is, this is why we exist. This is our why, this is why we do this work. As one request an organization, this is the impact that we seek to have. And so it's, it's very powerful for organizations as well, to know who know who they are, know what impact they're trying to have [00:10:00] and be able to clearly articulate that for both their employees and their clients or customers or people they serve.
[00:10:07] Izolda Trakhtenberg: And I would imagine. Extending that to the community, the organization is in that, that, that, that knowledge of purpose serves a bigger ecosystem than just the organization or the company. Can you talk a little bit about. If, if there is, because one of the things that I do when I work with people and companies and organizations, we talk a lot about compassion.
[00:10:32] That's that's in intwined with purpose and compassion to me means that you're not just thinking about yourself or your organization. You're thinking about how you. Everyone in that ecosystem for you, when you work with a founder who has this vision to make these changes, how much of the extended family, if you will, are you focusing on or is it first an internal process and then maybe someday they'll get to that other place.[00:11:00]
[00:11:00] Bob Lesser: Yeah, that's a great question. I, I, I would say that. The vast majority of ones, you know, sort of, if you take sort of everyone, who's sort of thought about their purpose and has a kind of well articulated sense of, or even a, you know, half halfway, half baked, you know, articulated sense of that purpose.
[00:11:20] It, their purpose has to do with with the community with others. Very rarely is one's purpose solely focused on. Themselves. Okay. And you know, you'll see this, you know, sometimes you'll see this with elite athletes who are sort of, you know, training for themselves training training for, for their own sort of to achieve their own highest potential.
[00:11:39] But very often you'll hear them talk about how they want to be an inspiration or a role model for others. They want to show they want to show that, you know, someone from this city or this town or, or, or this, you know, th this background. Can make it and so, so very, very often I'd say more often than not, there is a component that [00:12:00] involves being of service to inspiring helping others in, in one's purpose.
[00:12:07] Izolda Trakhtenberg: I'm taking all of that in for a second because I, it, the Olympics just happened and we just had all of these people when all of these metals and so many of them. When they were talking about having one we're talking about, you know, winning it for the team or for their country, it's always something that is, that is greater than themselves.
[00:12:29] And when you do the work you do and. Everything I've read about you. Doesn't say that you were specifically with athletes, you're working with founders, but it's still, they're still trying to be the very best. And so I know we're going to talk a little bit about the book that you've written, which I'm excited to delve into, but the big thing, I there's something about the words.
[00:12:51] Cause I talk about this also peak. That just inspires me. It's also, like you said, it's [00:13:00] grounding, but also it lets you fly a little bit because it means that you've, that you've got this vision that you want to achieve someday. Can you talk a little bit about what it means to be a peak performer, physically, mentally, professionally?
[00:13:12] What does peak performer mean to you? That you are spending so much of your life and your work studying it and working.
[00:13:20] Bob Lesser: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My definition of peak performer is, is maybe a little different than, you know, some of the others are some, some, you know, what, what sort of, how it's talked about in the field.
[00:13:30] I defined peak performer as, as being your best, not being the best necessarily, but being your best, really living up to your potential. And it's, and it sort of has two parts to it. One is it is about achieving results or, or, you know, sort of meeting your goals, but it's also about 50. And being, being, and feeling fulfilled.
[00:13:54] And I, I, you know, I kind of believe that one without the other ultimately is kind of [00:14:00] flimsy and on some level is empty. So just achieving you know, without a sense of fulfillment, still feeling like you're not enough or still feeling like you haven't really done what you've been put on earth to do is, is not going to be that satisfying being just fulfilled and sort of feeling great and, you know, You know, feel happy and I'm hanging out on the beach here and, you know without achieving your goals, the things that, you know, you know, you are capable of or you believe you're capable of, or you're, you wonder if you're capable of is also going to ultimately feel this, you know, maybe hedonistic and, you know, at the end of the day, Kind of get boring.
[00:14:35] So it's, it's both of those things. It's achieving your goals that you set for yourself feeling feeling you know, kind of optimal fulfillment and being, being the best that you can be being your best. And that's how I think about peak performance. And I think most, if not everyone wants that.
[00:14:56] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Sorry, I'm taking all that in that last sentence made me go. Hmm. [00:15:00] I wonder if they do I do, because, because there are lots of people, you know, I've heard, I've heard therapists say this before that in any moment whoever's doing the, they might be doing the most awful thing, but they are doing the very best they can in that moment.
[00:15:14] And so, so that, so that I get, but at the same time, I wonder sometimes. How, how do you know if you're being a peak performer is somebody who's spending their life on the couch, watching jeopardy and eating Cheetos. Being a peak performer, if that's what they want to do, like if their goal is I'm just going to chill through my life all as well.
[00:15:39] Is that them being a, be a peak performer or is that them being a little lackadaisical about the goals they might have?
[00:15:47] Bob Lesser: Yeah, it's a, it's a kind of a slippery question because if it is truly that person's goal. And if, if I sort of, before I get into [00:16:00] goals, I talk about vision and vision for me is one of the, is one of the peak performance pillars.
[00:16:06] There are three peak performance pillars. There's purpose, there's values, and there's vision. Vision is about where we want to. And in our life, it's, it's the, it's the destination. And the more clear we can be about that, the more, more able we are to design our lives and our actions and behaviors to get there.
[00:16:28] So if that is really, truly Aligned with an in support of one's vision, if, you know, hanging out, you know, sort of on a couch and, you know, eating, what are they eating? Doritos
[00:16:40] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Cheetos.
[00:16:43] Bob Lesser: Yeah. Well, if you know, if they're snacking and that, and they're doing that, you know, you know, for, you know, large parts of the day, and that is, is somehow aligned with their ultimate vision, then yes, I would say, and they're feeling fulfilled and they're achieving then.
[00:16:56] Yes, I would say they are, they are being a peak performer under [00:17:00] my definition. However I would say we, there, there, and this, this is, this is what I, I, I termed the performance paradox. There are a number of ways in which we work against ourselves from really getting what we want, achieving what we want and feeling fulfilled.
[00:17:20] And we can, in some ways, fool ourselves or talk ourselves out. Doing the things that will actually get us what we want or even, or even really being honest about what we want. And so there, there are ways that we're, it's, it's, it's, we're, we're kind of built in and I have sort of five major ways that I think about this.
[00:17:43] We're kind of built to kind of work against ourselves and work against our achievement of what it is we really want.
[00:17:51] Izolda Trakhtenberg: I that's there. Believe it or not. This reminds me of a Terminator movie. I am a huge that my, a friend of mine coined the [00:18:00] term cinephile nose tele parable. That's what it is. I am a cinephile, but he quoted, he, he coined the term tele parable because I use movie quotes.
[00:18:08] To give lessons a lot. And there's a moment in which Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator says, you know, you humans, it is in your nature to destroy yourselves. And what you said kind of sparked that for me, because I I'm sitting here and I'm going, is that part of it? Is it, is, is it that, or is it fear?
[00:18:27] Like what keeps us from acting in our own best interests in, in that.
[00:18:34] Bob Lesser: Yeah. Yeah, I love it. I don't think it's, it's this sort of death wish that, you know, sort of Suman Freud talked about early on in his, in his, in his theory. I think it's actually more maladaptive mal adaptive survival mechanisms that have not evolved with us in our, in our modern world and our sort of vestiges of, you know, sort of the old.
[00:18:58] When we were, you know, [00:19:00] evading the, the saber tooth tiger. And when we had predators and when we were, when we were really you know, it was all about survival and, and, and our lives were literally in danger. You know and, you know, for most of us, that's not the case anymore, but our minds and our nervous systems have really not evolved to kind of to meet, meet the demands of the modern world.
[00:19:22] And I think, I think it's mostly, I think it's, it's more of that. And if, if you want, I can, I can also, you know, kind of quickly go over these sort of five things that I think sort of stand in our way of really really, you know, sort of being a peak performer, achieving what. The stage
[00:19:38] Izolda Trakhtenberg: is yours.
[00:19:38] Absolutely. I'd love to hear them. Are you
[00:19:40] Bob Lesser: kidding? All right. Wonderful. So the first, the first one is the unconscious mind. This is our unconscious mind. This is where, you know, 95% of the action is happening in our mind is unconsciously out of, out of conscious awareness. We, we don't know it at times. It, it sort of peaks up and become semi-conscious and we have [00:20:00] some, some idea of it, but mostly it's happening out of our conscious awareness.
[00:20:03] These are our organizing patterns. This is where our, our self-limiting beliefs live. You know, it's, it's, I'm not good enough. You know, I'm unworthy, I'm unlovable. You know, the world is unfair. That's where all that stuff lives. It's where our internal saboteurs live. You know, and this sort of, you know, sneaky, you know, and insidious thing called imposter syndrome that many of us face.
[00:20:25] So that's where all of that stuff kind of lurks and it lurks again without our awareness and without our consent and, and it's, but it's there and it's sort of running us you know, personality experts believe that our, our personalities are mostly. Defined by the time we're about five years old in terms of our sort of basic organizing patterns and beliefs about the world.
[00:20:46] So essentially, you know, that means we have a, five-year-old running the show and that's kind of scary to think about, you know, I know at five, at five years old, I was, you know, I was eating dirt. So, you know, So that's the first one, [00:21:00] our unconscious mind. The second one is our self-conscious mind. This is to the X, the extent to which we value and probably overvalue other people's opinions.
[00:21:10] And we are so concerned and worried about what other people will think. How we will look about belonging to the in-group that we it, it, it keeps us from doing things that we want, that we think where we may look dumb, or we may look, you know, we may be rejected. And it also, when we become overly, so self-conscious when we are trying to do, to do, to do something, to perform it impedes performance.
[00:21:35] We we've all been there where, you know, once you start sort of, you know, wondering what other people are thinking about, you, you know, you start, you know, it really messes up. Right. So that's the second one. Self-conscious mind. The third one is, is squarely the sort of biology physiology that I was talking about.
[00:21:50] You know, we're designed to conserve energy as, as animals, as, you know, as a, as a species like other animals are, we want to conserve energy. [00:22:00] We don't want to expend energy when we don't have to. So that is, that is. We may want to sit on the couch and eat Doritos instead of, you know, go out for that run or, you know, do the thing we know that's going to be really hard.
[00:22:10] And so we need to be able to push through that that energy con conservation, because most things that we want to do in life that are going to be really fulfilling and rewarding are also going to be demanding and challenging, and we're going to require us to expend some energy. The other part of that is, you know, this is sort of the.
[00:22:30] No human capacity to worry. Have anxiety stress out that animals, you know, don't have other animals don't have that we have. And it really makes, keeps our nervous systems kind of on high alert. You know? So there's this, this, you know, the stress response system is, is sort of is, is, is, is primed to activate you know, when we get cut off in traffic it's as if the saber tooth tiger is like, is coming to.
[00:22:57] And, and when, you know, when, in fact it's not. [00:23:00] And so so the, the way that our stress response system is sort of is, is, is, is overactive for, for many people, unless somebody, unless you've really trained yourself through meditation and yoga and breathing and, and practices of that, of that nature you are often getting hijacked by your by your amygdala and the stress response.
[00:23:21] System is again, running, running your responses rather than your rational mind. So that's the third one. The F the fourth one is I call the hedonic treadmill. And this is a psychologist Barry Schwartz talks about, about this in his book that the paradox of choice and this to me, the, so the hedonic treadmill is this notion of how we, our brains are wired to be attracted, to shiny the shiny new object, right?
[00:23:47] Novelty novelty is one of the. That our motivation system works. It's how we become excited about things is when they're new and novel. That's great for getting out in the world and sort of finding food and, you know, you [00:24:00] know, you know, kind of inventing tools that are help us survive. But we also quickly get disinterested in things.
[00:24:07] And we get excited about the next. And we get disinterested in that and we get excited about the next thing, and we get disinterested in that. And that's this treadmill, hedonic, treadmill metaphor. And what that does is it makes it hard for us to sustain our focus on things that matter. When things start getting feeling a little mundane or boring, we've got to put in repetition to do things and to become really good at, we got to, we know we have to put in, you know, we've got the 10,000 hour rule.
[00:24:35] It's it's, it becomes hard to stay focused and interested in things. Are meaningful to us, but because of the way our brains work become boring. And our minds you know, men in Buddhism, there's this notion of the monkey mind, the way our minds work, our distracted mind. It's very hard to focus very hard to kind of keep our minds on one thing.
[00:24:58] And [00:25:00] and to not give into this, this hedonic treadmill of, you know, the next shiny new object that we're ultimately gonna get. The last one is this the way our minds are wired for negativity. This is something that, you know, neuroscientists have dubbed the negativity bias. We are much more attuned to and amplify negative things.
[00:25:21] Things that are pretend may be potentially harmful to us. Maybe threatening to us than we are to, you know, the good things. So this is, you know, we're walking through the forest and we're much more attuned to, you know, that twig that looks like a snake, you know and stepping out of the way of that and looking for, you know, looking for anything that might be dangerous than we are noticing the beautiful flowers that you know, can sort of leave us in.
[00:25:48] And so this, this negativity bias really over it has this, over-index some things that may be dangerous or harmful. It leads to anxiety, risk, aversion and pessimism that [00:26:00] you know, is not so helpful to us in our pursuits. When what we really need is optimism, especially when things are getting checked.
[00:26:08] So those are, those are the five, you know, performance paradoxes that I kind of outlined the ways in which, you know, we are in many ways designed to work against ourselves and what it is we really want.
[00:26:23] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Wow. Wow. Okay. So much, so much. I, I, I appreciate you outlining them and I, a lot of this. First of all, it's so succinct and I'm really grateful that you have it so well down. I'm excited to talk about the book and and see more about how you detail these things. I have a couple of questions though, about, about these five and about something that you said.
[00:26:52] About the five-year-old the, the, the emperor, the five-year-old emperor of your, of your brain. [00:27:00] When you talk about that. Cause I do want to talk about these five pillars, but there's this is, this is something that I wonder about children who go through. For example, if, if we're in that space of child abuse or some other kind of, of trauma of children in war zones, what kind of challenges, extra challenges do those children then have to get past?
[00:27:24] Not just the inner five-year-old, but the trauma that they survived in order to become peak.
[00:27:31] Bob Lesser: Yeah, it's a great question. I mean, they, they, they certainly are going to have organizing patterns, limiting beliefs about themselves in the world that are going to impact how they behave. The actions they take, the actions, they don't take the, the, the relationships with others.
[00:27:51] And You know, not to say that it's going to be, you know, impossible for them. Cause you know, certainly people who have suffered trauma have gone on to [00:28:00] be, you know, perform at the highest selfless to become, you know, to be elite performers. But it's, it's, you know, they're gonna, they're gonna struggle.
[00:28:08] They're gonna suffer in the ways that we all do, but maybe more. And you know, so it does, it does go back to this sort of ultimately the question becomes what are their core beliefs about themselves and what are their core beliefs about the world? And You know, how will that enable them or get in the way of their doing the work to get what it is they want in life and to feel fulfilled doing it.
[00:28:34] So that would be the, sort of the big question that I would have, or I would look at with anyone who has suffered a trauma early. Early in life is, you know, are they are they able to do still do the things that are necessary to achieve their goals and, and feel fulfillment? And a lot of that does come down to, you know, their, their perceptions in themselves or perceptions of others, or ability to have re have healthy relationships[00:29:00] their ability to stay the course when things get difficult and be consistent, you know, the consistency required.
[00:29:06] To do anything worthwhile and challenging. So, you know, certainly not not impossible, but you know, it's, it's it's, it's hard, you know, it's hard anyway. And especially if you've had trauma, hopefully they've been able to get support and get help and, you know, be able to, to, to come to terms, you know, with with what happened and maybe use it as.
[00:29:26] You know, I think, I think you see that in a lot of elite performers who have had early hardship is they've been able to use it as fuel to help motivate them and to keep them going and to sort of, you know you know, and it's, it's, in some ways, you know, built their resilience and their, and their, and their they're on their toes.
[00:29:43] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Yeah, it's so interesting that you, that you said that, that, that that's this notion of using it as fuel because these pillars that you're talking about, I can see the self-conscious part of that and the sort of the expectation of being cared for as a baby, all of a sudden that's [00:30:00] not there. Right? So how people think of you and how you think they think of you is, is an unstable foundation.
[00:30:07] So that's why I was wondering about how someone who has survived trauma. Deal with these five pillars and, and still perform at a peak level. I wonder the other one that I, that sort of was like, Hmm. What about people who have attention deficit issues? How do they deal with those issues to then sort of climb up and become peak performers?
[00:30:34] Bob Lesser: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I mean, hopefully, you know, they have been able to find ways to manage their ADHD. They've maybe they've found, you know, a meditation practice. Maybe they found medication that has worked for them. Hopefully they've chosen endeavors that are well sort of, well-suited to you know, to sort of you know, maybe more distractable.
[00:30:57] And, you know, have maybe gravitate it to something that, you know, [00:31:00] maybe, you know, that's like sort of like startup entrepreneurs tend to be people who are like interested in a lot of things and you have to be focused on a lot of different things when you're starting and leading a company. And, and so, you know, hopefully they found pursuits that are.
[00:31:14] You know, sort of you know, not impeded, not overly impeded by, you know, their, their challenges in focusing. And you know, and yeah, it's, you know, you know, again, you know, I think. These, these couple of questions that you have you know, we're all, we are all flawed. We are all, you know, challenged, we all suffer.
[00:31:37] So, so it is, it is the human condition and it is about figuring out. How to work within the constraints that we have to meet our highest potential. And we all have constraints, you know, I am never going to be an NBA basketball player because I'm five, seven. Right. So, you know, and I'm never going to be an astronaut because I'm too old [00:32:00] right now.
[00:32:00] So these are real constraints. So when we talk about one's potential, we're not talking about, you know The sort of, you know sort of potential without constraints. And I think that's important is for us all to understand who we are, what the constraints are that are, are kind of, you know, sort of you know, that we're, we're working with.
[00:32:19] And so the question becomes, how do we maximize ourselves, given the constraints that we face, given who we are. And, and, and not, you know, deny those things or not be ashamed of those things, but to really know, like, this is a constraint I have, so I got, I have to work with, you know, I have to work with it.
[00:32:37] Izolda Trakhtenberg: And that goes back right to the very first thing you said, which was, it's not about being the best, it's about being your best. Right. And, and I, I love that. And it ties beautifully into this idea of, of what you said about vision values and purpose that having that amalgam and then being able to work through.
[00:32:58] And with it allows you to get to [00:33:00] that place, which dovetails beautifully into talking about the peak performance formula, your book. I would love it. If you would talk a little bit about, let me, let me just give the whole title because I love it. I think it's so wonderful. The peak performance formula, achieving breakthrough results in life and work.
[00:33:17] Yes. You're again, you're singing my song, Bob. So I would love to hear from you a little bit about. First of all, what prompted you to write it? And second of all, what is it that you want the book to do for the people who read it?
[00:33:34] Bob Lesser: Yes. Well, what prompted me to write it was really, you know, I, you know, work with my clients is an executive coach.
[00:33:42] And prior to that, as a psychotherapist and, you know, do this really. Intentional work that you know, yields great results helps people to be their best and developing tools and techniques throughout the years that have been really effective in helping people deal [00:34:00] with the. Unique, but not but unique, but also somewhat universal challenges that that, you know, these, these founders and executives and leaders you know, we're facing and.
[00:34:13] I wrote the book because I wanted to make it accessible to a larger audience, not just, you know you know, the, the, the you know, the, the tech, startup CEO, or though, you know, leader of the big organization you know, that I'm working with to my executive coaching practice, but I want to make it accessible to really anyone, anyone who's trying to get better at anything, whether that's, you know, a student who's trying to get their grades up in school, you know, The new college grad, that's trying to figure out how to, you know, kind of, you know what to do with, with, you know, the sort of next phase of their lives.
[00:34:43] A manager in a company who is trying to move up somebody who's thinking about starting their own company you know, really anyone who's like, you know, I need some tools and tactics to to, to. Achieve the things that I, that I want to achieve. And I, and I want to do it in a way that [00:35:00] is about me, what matters to me and will bring me fulfillment, not what society says or thinks I should do.
[00:35:06] So, so that that's, that's why. To sort of make it, make it try and make that more accessible. And the set was the second part of the
[00:35:15] Izolda Trakhtenberg: question. What is it that you want readers of the book to get out of it? Like what, what is, what is your desire for someone picks up the book reads it? What do you want them to have that they didn't have before they picked up the book?
[00:35:31] Bob Lesser: Yeah, I, I think it's, it's a sort of tools and tactics to, to allow each individual reader to become a peak performer in their, in their own lives. And, and, and, you know, make the kind of you know, breakthrough achievements that maybe have. Holding the things that have been holding them back or or things that they've been, you know, really wanting to do, but just, you know, you haven't had the tools to do that to really provide those, [00:36:00] those sort of tangible tools and tactics to allow people give people some tools to really know themselves, better understand themselves better.
[00:36:07] There's a lot of that in the book of, you know, helping them, giving them guided exercises to. Define what their purpose is to articulate their core guiding values, to to articulate their vision from, for themselves and where they want to go in their lives. So, so, so that sort of self knowledge, then those tools and tactics to, you know, to be one's best to, you know, transform, you know, the imposter syndrome, if that's something that they face to.
[00:36:39] Con be able to come to see failure as, you know, not somebody to be scared of, but actually something to embrace to, you know, really make sure that they are doing the sort of baseline things that we know will help anyone trying to do to do anything important in their lives around physical health and energy [00:37:00] management training one's mind.
[00:37:02] To again, overcome some of these performance paradoxes that we talked about in the beginning and to sort of master the techniques that they need to master in whatever endeavor it is that they're that they're pursuing and to, to, to, you know, use tried and true tools and tactics to do that.
[00:37:20] Izolda Trakhtenberg: You keep stopping me. I kind of go, ah, I need to take all this in because there's so much there's so, so much rich stuff in, in, in what you're saying, something that I'm really curious about with, within that. I love that it's tactical. I love books that, that don't just go, let me just strategize for you.
[00:37:39] And then you go and try and do it all by yourself. So I'm so glad that that's, that that's in the book. Something that I. That I'm wondering about is when, like you've said this a couple of times already, not in these words, but that we have a tendency toward entropy that we kind of don't [00:38:00] work at our best within the book.
[00:38:04] What are the steps? Someone who has that tendency to sit on the couch and eat Cheetos and then dream about doing more. What's the first step? What do they do for.
[00:38:16] Bob Lesser: That's a good question. I mean, I, I start, the book starts with. Because I think, I think purpose is this really, this sort of motivator, the purpose gives us motivation, the stronger our purposes.
[00:38:28] The more motivated we will be, the more motivated we are, the more energy we will direct to do something. It'll get us off the couch, the stronger our purposes. And, you know, you hear these stories about, you know, parents were able to lift heavy cars up, you know, you know, to save their children, you know, this sort of the strength.
[00:38:46] It, that comes from purpose, the motivation, the energy that comes from purpose. So I like to start there because that is a sort of an Energizer. And then, you know, I, I do think [00:39:00] You know, vision coming, you know, really helping people sort of co if they, if they don't have that strong vision from themselves.
[00:39:06] Cause that's that you know, Lewis, Carroll, the author said, you know, if you don't know where you're going, any road, any road will do. And, and so, you know, we need to know where we're going, where we want to go. And once we know that once we have a, a as clear a picture of where we want to go, what we want in life as we can, then we can start to set some goals around it that are based on you know, this, this, this real, you know sit this real sense of like, wow, if I could, you know, if I could just make it.
[00:39:37] You know, how great would that be? And so, so then, you know, so you've got the, you've got purpose, you've got vision and then values are the beliefs that drive our behaviors. And so once we begin to, you know, we, we know who we are, what's deeply meaningful to us or energized around that. Our purpose, we have our vision, which is telling us, you know, Hey, this is kind of, this is where I want to [00:40:00] go.
[00:40:00] I've got some now some concrete goals that are gonna are gonna make sure that. I'm getting there, then our values become about what are the behaviors that are going to, if I do those things day in, day out, I practice those behaviors day in, day out. They're gonna, they are gonna you know, kind of like the oars of you know, of a, of a canoe.
[00:40:20] They're going to row me in that, in that right direction. They're going to be the thing, that sort of guy that keeps me moving in that right direction through these, through. Practice of these core values. So that's how the kind of the peak performance formula works in practice. So purpose, vision values.
[00:40:39] Come together to give us this really strong foundation. And then, and that's the first part of the book. And then the second part of the book is about these sort of tools and tactics. And these are these things, you know, you know, I break down into sort of three categories, you know, physical, the physical.
[00:40:54] The second is that is, is, is the ticket. And the third is, is, is the mind [00:41:00] training the mind? So the physical is, is stuff that we, most of us know about. But we need to be reminded about, about the optimal amount of sleep to get that kind of diets. We should be eating the ways we should be moving our body and the amount of exercise we should be getting the ways we should really be managing our energy to optimize that energy for the things that are important.
[00:41:20] That the technique piece is giving people some, some tools through a method called deliberate practice. Your PR you probably need to get better at you're at some technique. So if you know, part of my goal or vision is maybe to, you know, play competitive tennis I'm going to need to work on aspects of my game.
[00:41:38] I'm going to need to, you know, practice my, you know, my serve or my overhead, or, you know, whatever shot needs improving or shots need improving. So I, I need to I need to design some deliberate practice in order to actually get better. At the, at my craft. And so, so that section of the book really addresses some best [00:42:00] practices and how to improve your technique and whatever it is you're trying to improve.
[00:42:04] The third, third piece of this is, is training the mind. And this, this, again goes back to a lot of the performance products stuff that gets in our way. And this is through, you know, through things like meditation. Practice, you know, I'm a big proponent of, of meditation because of the, you know, the, the incredible benefits that it has and the scientific data that is now available, that backs up the benefits of meditation in terms of, of, you know, what it can do for our nervous system, our immune system how it can help us focus and constant.
[00:42:35] Better. And so it's really this mental training. That's important in order to kind of, and, you know, and, and to overcome the negativity bias, to be able to practice optimism and learn to I learned optimism. So things of that nature tools of that nature that are gonna help us to have some control over our minds to, you know, kind of make sure that we're able to stay on the [00:43:00] path of, of, of our, of our vision.
[00:43:06] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Again, I'm thinking I want to take all of that in. Ah, wow. So it's, I mean, yay. This is so exciting and it's, it takes me back to something. That I'm that a lot of times when I work with my own clients, we talk about the, the foundation, which is you have to remind yourself that you deserve to be here. You know, that, that that's so much of it.
[00:43:32] And as a meditator, I that's, that's part of my daily meditation. Right. So when I'm, and I'm gonna use myself as, as the The research tool, I guess when I'm meditating, when I'm in that space. And if I'm trying to do my vision and purpose and values, and I'm trying to get to a place where I feel like I can act on the things that you're talking about, the tactics, the actual step-by-step stuff [00:44:00] that you detail in the book, how do I remain consistent?
[00:44:06] What does someone need to do? If, if for example, they're not having results yet, or, or it's taking a long time or things are moving slower than they might want or need. How do you maintain a consistent level of the practices that, that you outline in the book? If you are someone who's, who doesn't have Bob lesser as a coach to sort of talk through it.
[00:44:30] So you're the you're, you know, Jane Schmoe and you are. Trying to work through and develop these, this, the values, the vision and the purpose.
[00:44:41] Bob Lesser: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That's it. It's a good question. There's a couple things. So one of the things I talk about in the book is an as again of practice practices of high-performers one of them is to build.
[00:44:52] Around you that will support you. And, you know, the team is going to look a little different depending on, you know, what it is you are trying to achieve and get [00:45:00] better at and and, and optimize. So, but we all need, we all need a team. We all need a support. We all need support. Nobody does it alone. That team part of that, part of what that team does is hold you account.
[00:45:10] As well as support you. And, and so having a team in place that will help you to stay on track, stay on the path that when things aren't working, we'll brainstorm with you, what's not working, what do we need to do differently? And and, and so, so thinking about yourself, just like athletes, do athletes have their, you know, tennis players have their teams of, you know, Their coach, their physiotherapists, their acupuncturist, their dietician they're right there.
[00:45:36] You know, their fitness coach. They've got all these people that are specialized to help them be the best tennis players they can be. Right. What I'm suggesting is that we all need that in our lives. We need our own sort of personal teams that will help us be. You know, w person that we can be the best, you know, whatever it is, you know, fill in the blank that we want to be.
[00:45:58] So part of it is, is, is [00:46:00] really formulating that team and, and, and using that team. And then the other piece is at the very end of the book, I include a 30 day peak performance challenge which walks the reader through how to implement the concepts in the book over a 30 day period on anything that they want.
[00:46:17] They want to get better at anything they want to make sort of breakthrough performance in and what that does. And the reason I included that is because it's both showing people how tangibly and practically to implement these concepts and day-to-day life. And it also helps to make it. Doing this over 30 days is gonna, is gonna start to build these practices as habits.
[00:46:42] And, you know, it is checking in on purpose, going back to purpose. It is checking in on your values and make sure you're doing those behaviors. It is checking in with your vision. And, and it is also making sure. The goals that you have said are are the right goals and that you are monitoring and measuring them.
[00:46:59] And so I [00:47:00] include a process that's taken, actually taken from Google and w what Google uses to manage its its own performance. Called objectives and key results. And I've adapted that to personal use so that you are basically setting goals for yourself. And then you're breaking those goals down into, into monthly objectives and key and key results that are kind of the measurable indicators that tell you the, what progress you're making towards achieving those objectives.
[00:47:32] And you score yourself. On them and, and it's as great tool for staying. Seeing where you're where you're not on track, where you're maybe behind and where you need to pick up the pace on things. So that's a, that's a very concrete tool that I offer and I use myself that I've been doing for years that really has helped me stay consistent.
[00:47:53] Because every week I'm looking at my goals, my objectives for the month that are based on my goals for the year that are based on. [00:48:00] Long-term vision for myself. And I score them and I say, yeah, you're doing, you know, you're on track this week or, Hey, you're, you're behind schedule and you have to pick up the pace.
[00:48:09] And I used that process to, you know, to kind of, you know, stay, stay on, you know, on track, you know, month by month till I hit six months. And I revisit my annual. To make sure that it's still relevant and see if anything has changed or if I want to make any modifications. And then I keep going and hopefully by the end of the year, I'm a step closer to achieving my vision.
[00:48:33] Izolda Trakhtenberg: I love that. I love that. That's again, to me, consistency is so important because you can have the absolute best intentions, but, but if you're not consistent with it, then. Then you're going to have a lot of extra challenges, I think. Yeah.
[00:48:49] Bob Lesser: I, and I, and I actually just won one saying that I really love is that elite performers are not consistently great.
[00:48:57] They're great at being consistent. And [00:49:00] so. Consistency showing up day in, day out is, is the name of the game. And so I'm glad you brought that up because that, that is, you know, it's not about these heroic performances or, you know you know, going, you know, all 110% all the time. It's about showing. You know, doing our best day in day out and being consistent and by being consistent is going to be how we become better and ultimately great at something
[00:49:31] Izolda Trakhtenberg: 10,000 hours.
[00:49:32] Yes, absolutely. And that's, that's the epitome of consistency. You have to do it for 10,000 hours on Malcolm Gladwell. We love him and we hate him at the same time. Bob, I'm so grateful that you. Took the time to chat with me about your work and the book. I'm super, super excited about it. I would love it if you wouldn't mind.
[00:49:53] Cause I'm sure, you know, someone's listening to this going, I need this book. I need to know more about [00:50:00] Bob Lester and the work he's doing. How does someone connect with you? What, where are the places that someone could find you and also where can the book be found?
[00:50:09] Bob Lesser: Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. I mean, you know, I'm on social media.
[00:50:12] You can find me on Instagram at, at Bob underscore lesser. I'm also on Twitter at lesser underscore bomb. So you can find me both of those places. And you can also go to my website to learn a little bit more about me and my work and. Read some, some articles that I, you know, kinda my new, my new stuff.
[00:50:31] And that's www.boblesser.com. The book can be ordered it's out and can be ordered on Amazon Barnes and noble bookshop and indie bound. So, you know, any anywhere, you know, where you prefer to, to, to buy books, those are all the online sources. And the name of the book is the peak performance formula achieving breakthrough results in life.
[00:50:53] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Fabulous. And I'll put the links to everything in the show notes so that we don't have to be typing furiously down [00:51:00] everything. So writing it all, noting it all down. Whenever somebody says to me, you know, oh, can you spell that for my name? For example, I'm always like, oh, you don't want to do that. Let me just send it to you either that, or I say write small because my name is very long.
[00:51:14] Once again, Bob, I'm so grateful that you took the time to be here. I have just one last question that I. Everybody who comes on the show. And it's a silly question, but I find that it yields some profound results. And the question is this. If you had an airplane that could sky write anything for the whole world to see, what would you say?
[00:51:41] NEF said. All right. Well, that's, that's about the most succinct I've had there. That's yeah. Three, three words. That's good. Cause you can't, you can't. Too many words. So there you go, Bob. Thank you once again for being here. I really appreciate it.
[00:51:59] Bob Lesser: Although my pleasure. [00:52:00] Thanks for having me.
[00:52:01] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Wow. So you have gotten it from Bob lesser.
[00:52:04] You're going to need to go out and get the peak performance formula. Be consistent in your practices. Figure out your vision, your purpose, your values, and live your best life and do your best work. It's really the way it's all about. I am. Izolda Trakhtenberg for the innovative mindset podcast. And I'm hoping that you enjoyed the show.
[00:52:24] I'm hoping that you are enjoying your day, and I'm hoping that if you do like what you're hearing. Drop a review, tell a friend about this episode so that more people can learn about Bob and the incredible work he's doing to help people be peak performers until next time, remember to listen, learn, laugh, and love a whole lot.
[00:52:49] thanks so much for joining me today. I really appreciate you being here. Please subscribe to the podcast if you're new and if you like what you're hearing, please review it and rate it and let other people. [00:53:00] And if you'd like to be a sponsor of the show, I'd love to meet you on patrion.com/innovative mindset.
[00:53:06] I also have lots of exclusive goodies to share just with the show supporters there today's episode was produced by Izolda Trakhtenberg and his copyright 2020. As always, please remember, this is for educational and entertainment purposes. Only past performance does not guarantee future results, although we can always hope until next time, keep living in your innovative mindset.
 

A Birthday Routine to Make Your Year Amazing

Mindful Friday
On my birthday, I follow the same routine as other days. I wake up and meditate. Then, I do yoga, and I journal. However, the journaling I do on my birthday is a bit different. Instead of my usual ramblings, I do a check-in. I try to answer the following questions.
What went right this year?
What could I have done better?
What lessons have I learned?
Which of the goals I set for myself for this past year have I accomplished?
Which are still works in progress?
What am I grateful for?
What do I hope to learn this year?
What are my goals for this coming trip around the sun?
What is the biggest adventure I can have?
After I'm done journaling, I light a candle, make my wishes, and set my intentions for the coming year, and I blow it out to send the wishes out into the world.
Do you have any birthday routines or rituals? What are they? I'd love to know.

Peter Shankman, Futurist, Author, Corporate Keynote Speaker

Peter Shankman Discusses How He Innovates With ADHD As His Superpower 
This episode is brought to you by Brain.fm. I love and use brain.fm every day! It combines music and neuroscience to help me focus, meditate, and even sleep! Because you listen to this show, you can get a free trial.*URL: https://brain.fm/innovativemindsetIf you love it as much as I do, you can get 20% off with this exclusive coupon code: innovativemindset
It's also brought to you by Gloria Chou's PR Starter Pack. If you want to get featured in the media, this is your best first step.
What a great episode! Peter innovates and moves faster than normal. We dig into how he does it and we can do it too.
The New York Times has called Peter Shankman "a rockstar who knows everything about social media and then some." He is a 5x best-selling author, entrepreneur, and corporate keynote speaker, focusing on customer service and the new and emerging customer and neuroatypical economy. With three startup launches and exits under his belt, (most notably Help a Reporter Out) Peter is recognized worldwide for radically new ways of thinking about the customer experience, social media, PR, marketing, advertising, and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and the new Neurodiverse and Remote economies.
In addition to his passion for helping people and companies find success, some of Peter's highlights also include:

Founder of HARO - Help A Reporter Out, which became the standard for thousands of journalists looking for sources prior to being acquired three years after launch
Futurist-in-Residence at Epic Marketing Consultants, focusing on the customer experience of tomorrow
Faster than Normal - The Internet's #1 podcast on ADHD, focusing on the superpowers and gifts of having a "faster than normal brain,” which has helped thousands of people all around the world realize that having a neurodiverse brain is actually a gift, not a curse.
The ShankMinds Breakthrough Network, an elite, online mastermind of thought leaders, business experts, and change-makers

Peter is a worldwide influencer and/or spokesperson for several global brands including Sylvania, National Car Rental, Manscaped.com, Sealface, Thule, and many others.
Finally, Peter is a father, a 2x Ironman triathlete, a class B licensed skydiver, and has a pretty serious Peloton addiction. When he’s not traveling around the world speaking to companies big and small, he's based in NYC with his seven-year-old daughter and 20-year-old cat, both of whom consistently refuse him access to the couch. 
Connect with Peter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petershankman/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeterShankman
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petershankman/
Website: https://www.shankman.com/
Episode Transcript
Peter Shankman
[00:00:00] Peter Shankman: You know, at the end of the day, if you don't like where you are, you can move. Cause you're not a tree, but sometimes that takes time and that's fine. But the only thing I have a problem with is, is if you're spending the few hours of free time, you're not making arrangements to change down the road, but rather bitching about your situation.
[00:00:18] Then I kinda have a problem with it because you have the opportunity to at least start the process.
[00:00:27] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Hello and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. Izolda Trakhtenberg. On the show, I interview peak performing innovators in the creative social impact and earth conservation spaces or working to change the world. This episode is brought to you by brain FM, brain FM combines the best of music and neuroscience to help you relax, focus, meditate, and even sleep.
[00:00:48] I love it and have been using it to write, create and do. Deepest work because you're a listener of the show. You can get a free trial head over to brain.fm/innovative mindset. To check it out. If you [00:01:00] decide to subscribe, you can get 20% off with the coupon code, innovative mindset, all one word. And now let's get to the show.
[00:01:12] Hey there and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. My name is Izolda Trakhtenberg. I'm your host and I'm super happy. You're here. I'm also really happy and honored to have this week's guest. The New York Times has called Peter Shankman a rockstar who knows everything about social media and then some he's a five-time bestselling author, entrepreneur, and corporate keynote speaker.
[00:01:34] Focusing on customer service and the new and emerging customer and neuro-atypical economy with three startup launches and exits under his belt. Most notably help report her out. Peter is recognized worldwide for radically new ways of thinking about the customer experience, social media, PR marketing, advertising, and ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
[00:01:57] And the new neurodiverse and [00:02:00] remote economies, in addition to his passion for helping people and companies find success, some of Peter's highlights also include founder of HARO helper reporter out, which became the standard for thousands of journalists, looking for sources prior to being acquired three years after launch futurist in residence.
[00:02:17] Epic marketing consultants, focusing on the customer experience of tomorrow, faster than normal. The Internet's number one podcast on ADHD, focusing on the superpowers and gifts of having a faster than normal brain, which has helped thousands of people all around the world realize that having a neurodiverse brain is actually a gift, not a curse.
[00:02:39] The Shank Minds, breakthrough network, an elite online mastermind of thought leaders, business experts, and change-makers. Peter's a worldwide influencer and a spokesperson for several global brands, including Sylvania national car rental, and many others. [00:03:00] Finally, Peter is a father, a two-time iron man triathlete, a class B licensed skydiver, and has a pretty serious Peloton addiction. When he's not traveling around
[00:03:10] speaking to companies big and small, he's based in New York City with a seven-year-old daughter and 20-year-old cat and dog. All of whom consistently refused him access to the couch theater. I'm super thrilled that you're here. Welcome.
Peter Shankman: Hey, great to be here. Thanks.
Izolda Trakhtenberg: I am. I'm a big, huge fan. I have read faster than normal before, and I just got a copy for my husband because the audiobook is out and cause he's not a big reader.
[00:03:37] He has ADHD and he's plowing through it and loving it. And he now of course from the movie up, keeps going squirrel. So, at all sorts of times, I want to jump right on it. If that's okay with you. You, it's been said, have an incredible imagination and incredible intuition. And [00:04:00] I'm wondering, how does, how do those, those parts of you relate to ADHD if they do and how do you use them to make it your superpower?
[00:04:11] Peter Shankman: Oh yeah. That's interesting. I think that, you know, people would say anything. I think that, that for me, a lot of it. When you have a faster brain, you have a couple of options. You can try to slow down to match everyone else. Or you can accept that that's really, really hard to do, and you can sort of learn to, to speak slower than you think.
[00:04:32] So what do I mean by that? I will sit there and come up with 15 ideas in five minutes because it's fun. 13 that might be beneficial to, there might be terrible, whatever, but I will spend time to sort of understand. What's going on and then present the top couple of ideas of the world. The difference is, is that I've accepted that no matter how calmly I do that, that'd be really think that he is crazy.
[00:04:55] And so the goal is to learn, not to care about [00:05:00] what people think and never let that prevent you from doing something fun or doing something that you want to do or creating something, something, something new.
[00:05:07] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Okay. So within that people might think it's crazy, but you come up with the idea and I'm wondering, are you in that moment trying to solve a problem that you've seen or is it just the ideas of rapid-fire and how do you reconcile the two?
[00:05:21] If for example, you come up with an idea that someone else might think is crazy, but it's
[00:05:26] Peter Shankman: not okay. You know, it it's, it's sort of stealing yourself in the fact that when you present the idea, there's going to be at least one person that knows what the hell is wrong, you know, but, but then understanding that, that, that, that the situations and the ideas that you presented in the past that actually benefit, you know, I have a little bit of a positive track record in that.
[00:05:45] And I've had several ideas of the past that have actually turned into, you know, great companies or, you know, a million multimillion dollar exits, things like that. So that gives you a little bit of credibility. The key though, is to keep moving forward. The thing about ADHD is that is the [00:06:00] forward motion.
[00:06:00] Whether you're in, whether you are, you see you and your entrepreneur forward, motion is thrilling. And if you're not going forward, even if you're just standing still, it kind of feels like you're going backwards. And that's a problem. So for me, it's always about forward motion. If I have an idea and it doesn't work, I try and do it right.
[00:06:14] That is where I try another one. And they're going to be ideas of work. It happens all the time. So the key is to keep moving forward.
[00:06:22] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Okay. And yet there are times when ADHD is something that allows you to think laterally, to look at things from a different angle. How does that align with the forward motion that you're talking
[00:06:32] Peter Shankman: about?
[00:06:33] There's several ways. I mean, I mean, the, the, the premise of you know, just this morning, I was on a call with a client and, and, and the client was coming back and forth on an idea that they just, they didn't see it working and see it working. And rather than try to sort of convince them that what I said, what if we take it?
[00:06:45] What if we go 45 degrees to the left and look at it? And all of a sudden, oh, okay, well maybe that, you know, it's all this stuff that I got in trouble for in school. Right? Speaking, out of turn you know, cracking jokes. [00:07:00] Disrupting the class. Cause I talking about something that completely come up with something completely different type thing.
[00:07:04] All of that has sort of given, allowed me to, to, to use that to my benefit as a, as a, you know, as an adult. The key is to be in an industry to be in a place, to be in a world where, where creativity is, lauded is not pushed down and, and, and, and, and thrown away. You know, I know that some ideas I'm gonna, I'm gonna put the effort.
[00:07:22] We're not going to do that and that's not going to happen. And sort of once you realize there's gonna be people like that, and you just move on, you find your people, you find the people who, who, who appreciate what you can bring to the table. I heard a great quote once cause there've been times that I've had to let people leave my table because we just didn't, you know, they couldn't understand my speed.
[00:07:43] I couldn't understand their non speed. And I heard a great quote. Just because we're no longer friends doesn't mean I wish you ill. I don't want you to starve. I just don't want you to eat at my table. Right. And if [00:08:00] you are creative and your, and your brain does work differently, occasionally you have to realize that not everyone's gonna think like you, and if you spend your entire life focused on the fact that that things you do are not.
[00:08:12] Always going to be understood or are not always going to be accepted or, you know, you're not, you're going to be asked. Why aren't you normal things of the day. If you spend your entire life being upset about the fact that's happening, you're never gonna be able to grow. I think Winston Churchill said, you'll, you'll never reach your destination if you stop to yell at every dog barks.
[00:08:29] Right. So sometimes you just have to make it on your own and, and, and, and move forward and understand that. Yeah, here we go. And it's, it's, I've found. That's a great success in that. It took a long time and a lot of a lot of therapy. But in the end I realized that, you know, the idea that I've had, some of them have been very beneficial, so it'd be great.
[00:08:48] Some of them failed, but I will never stop continuing to do that.
[00:08:55] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Yeah, nor should you, I mean, there, there are certain ideas, certainly heroin is one of the ones that I love help a reporter [00:09:00] out. I've used it myself and continue to use it. And th th that, that begs the question that you've had these successful companies, some of them have been multi-million dollar ends, it's you?
[00:09:10] And then you're moving forward when you're doing that. There are times, and I've, I've, I've been lurking on your blog. You talk about feeling like an imposter. Okay. So what was that? God? Yes. Okay. So, so how, how does that work? Is that, is that the ADHD brain, is that your personality? And if so, w which, which would, whichever one it is, how are you making those work for you?
[00:09:34] Peter Shankman: It's a little bit of everything. I think there's a part of it that. No matter how I could give a speech to 30,000 people and get a 30,000 person standing ovation. If one person doesn't stand up, that's the person I'm gonna focus on. Oh my God, everyone hated it. It was terrible. Let alone the fact that, that my eyes are literally telling me the 29,999 people like.
[00:09:54] Right. There's always been a little bit. And again, that's something you have to work on constantly because a lot of times, you know, [00:10:00] growing up with ADHD, growing up with, sit down, you're disrupting the class disease and growing up with you're wrong and you're weird. And why are you so stupid? And why are you so strange?
[00:10:06] You know, no matter how much success you have that tends to stick in your brain. And that tends to pop up the most inconvenient times. It's taken years to get over that, but every little bit of success, I have everything that I do that tends to benefit, you know, from that I tend to to learn a little bit more and chip away a little bit more at what I call junior high school, Peter the guy who, who, who took all that shit seriously.
[00:10:28] You know, the, the PERT example, we're talking about the triathlon. I ran this Sunday, my friend my coach and my friend was at the finish line. He grabbed this photo of me coming across and my. Oh, my God, I am disgusting. I'm sweaty. I'm gross. I still have 25 pounds to lose. I don't look like a triathlon or triathlete.
[00:10:45] It looks some fat guy who just got, and then I had this moment where I saw the finish line sign behind me and realized, no, maybe just a guy who just did this race and that's a shit ton more than most people did today. And once you own that, right. And it was this wonderful feeling of release and feeling of, of, of, of freedom that, [00:11:00] yeah, I did just do this and I can, I can appreciate myself for what I do.
[00:11:06] And it it's, it's hard to get there because you know, you sit there a lot of times with your, with your, with your, your, your ADHD and, you know, your concept that, that today's the day when I wake up today is absolutely the day of the New York times gonna have written a huge article about about what a fraud I am and everything I've done is just been locked.
[00:11:21] And then when they don't, it's obviously, because I'm not important enough to be written up by the New York times, you know? So there's this constant battle with yourself, but. You know, you do what you can do and, and, and you, every day, you chip a little bit more away at it. Yeah.
[00:11:37] Izolda Trakhtenberg: It's so fascinating that you say that because again, my husband has add, and he, and I talk about this a lot about the notion that no matter, no matter what he does, he doesn't think it's good enough, no matter how he's an artist in a clown.
[00:11:50] And he always comes back with stories of not thinking that no matter how well he did. It just wasn't good enough. And on some level it might lead him to strive, but there are times [00:12:00] when he just gets down on himself and it's very hard for him to motivate himself and it's impossible for me to motivate him.
[00:12:06] So do you get to those places where you actually just stop and go, you know what, I just can't today or are you always going, no, this is it right? Yeah. There
[00:12:14] Peter Shankman: all the time. And you know, I have ways to make sure that I am like don't let them. Perfect. You know, let it affect me as, as little as possible, but that way I I, I, exercise is massive, right?
[00:12:26] I have to exercise. I have to work out. I have to get that brain chemistry growing in my brain every single day. I was up at 4:00 AM this morning. I was on the bike for an hour. It just, it gives me the, the chemistry I need to, to quiet those demons. Right. For lack of a better word. It's certainly not easy to do, but you know, if I don't exercise my day, And so the key is to find a way to build that into everything I needed.
[00:12:58] My dad you know, it's not, [00:13:00] it sounds easy, but you know, when, when you've had it, when you worked late or you had a late dinner or whatever, you know, you get to bed at midnight and it's 4:00 AM and you have to wake up and work out. It's it's difficult, but I know what will happen if I don't. And I certainly don't want that.
[00:13:17] So, you know, I it's, I've heard it's called playing the tape forward. Alcoholics talk about it a lot. The premise of that you know, okay, I'm going to have this one drink, well, if have this one drink where I'm going to be in 12 hours and it never ends well when you think of it that way. So the key is to not think about it that way, the key is to not have that first drink.
[00:13:35] For me, it's sort of the same thing. If I don't. It'll be 6:00 PM or 4:00 PM and 12 hours we'll have passed either way, but what kind of a damn right, will it be a better day or a worse day? And so that easily enough to get me up. And again, this is enough to get me, but not all the time. I'm not perfect.
[00:13:51] You know, I will sleep in every once in a while ago. And honestly, Ben and I will, I will, I will scale workout. The key is not to not to get into such a rut where you [00:14:00] are, where you are without one MIS becomes a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 weeks cycle. That's you, you know, you don't want to so was one of the reasons I rarely drink anymore is because I would, I would, I would, you know, I wasn't going to have to get drunk, but I, oh, I'm going to client event free.
[00:14:14] Great. I'll have four drinks. I'll have five drinks. I wasn't getting drunk, but I. You know, I come home a little, hung up, not hung over, but you know, I'd be a little dehydrated. I wouldn't wake up the next morning and workout. Well, I'm not okay. I might as well. You know, I blew it. I blew the workout this morning.
[00:14:27] I might as well get a bacon, egg, and cheese at Suffolk degrees or two of them. Well, I do want my breakfast sized back and let's just get dinner. I'll have a pizza. I'll start tomorrow. All of a sudden it's two weeks later, right. Have gained eight pounds and I'm sitting there what the hell just happened.
[00:14:38] So, you know, was a great line from the movie war games where the computer realizes that line wards is the only winning. And for me very often, the only one who move is not to play, I have I heard another great quote, read something like the demons in my subconscious are too hard to be there for us simply [00:15:00] must not.
[00:15:02] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Oh, both of those quotes are fantastic. Yeah. I love it. I loved it. First time I saw war games and heard Whopper say that, you know, interesting game, the only way you move is not to play. What's interesting. What was that? Yes, I, yes, exactly. Favorite and. Here's the thing. There are times when we're in situations where, you know, there are people with ADHD who are in jobs that they hate, or, or, you know, are doing the nine to five when, when they're not suited for it.
[00:15:27] They're neuro-typical how, what is your, what is your guidance for someone who is, who perhaps hasn't gotten to the point where they want to be an entrepreneur or whether they want to start their own business or where they can be on their own? What do you tell someone who's in that nine to five, who might hate it is not well suited for it because of some of the neuro-typical situations in their lives.
[00:15:47] What are your thoughts on that?
[00:15:48] Peter Shankman: I think the first thing to understand is that I'm there. I would never judge anyone on what's a job they're doing or how they're living their life. Is, are they happy if they're not going to have the, to change that? You know, there are people, I, you have these, you have these [00:16:00] sort of entrepreneur gurus.
[00:16:03] I can't stand it. You know, if you're not happy, you hate your job. You should quit go out on your own, you know? And if you have to work 22 hours a day, so you just told someone to, you know, give them some of the recipe to kill themselves. That's not recommended. Right. Right. So I'm not going to say, oh, you're a miserable job.
[00:16:16] Quit. We don't have that opportunity. Right. And, and it's, it's really privileged to mustard. Everyone can do that. So I don't think that way, but I do have everything is that if you understand that you are not happy where you are, you have to start making the correct arrangements so that at some point down the road, You can quit so that you can change your life so that you do, you know, at the end of the day, if you don't like where you are, you can move.
[00:16:44] Cause you're not a tree, but sometimes that takes time and that's fine. But the only thing I have a problem with is, is if you're spending a few hours of free time every day, not making arrangements to change down the road, but rather bitching [00:17:00] about your situation, then I kind of. Because you have the opportunity to at least start the process, right?
[00:17:08] So if you're miserable and where you are look to things and don't just look for a new job, because it's better than your old job, look for something that will truly make you happy and then work backwards and figure out how to get there. Again, it's not easy. I don't expect you to do it tomorrow, but it is doable.
[00:17:21] I didn't become an entrepreneur until I realized I could. I didn't think that's what you did. Both of my parents were teachers. I didn't know anyone was entrepreneur. I figured you worked for someone else. You've worked 40 years. Got a gold watch and retire. I got laid off from America online and my first job out of college and sit in the parking lot, went what the hell just happened?
[00:17:38] And I realized I'm going to try it. I'm going to go out on my own. I know how to do PR. I learned from me, well, I'm gonna try it without what's. The worst can happen when it, I literally said when it fails, I'll get a job. Not if it fails when it fails, I'll get a job. It's been 98 to almost oh eight, 18 and almost 24 years later.
[00:17:53] And I haven't had good job. So I've been incredibly lucky. That being said there been incredible highs, incredible lows. [00:18:00] But yeah, if you're miserable where you are, figure out what you can do and how you can improve your current situation to get to where you want to be.
[00:18:12] Izolda Trakhtenberg: That makes a lot of sense. I I'm going to, I'm doing rapid fire because I know we don't have that much time.
[00:18:17] I would love to know from you, you talk about in faster than normal, your fabulous book. You talk about how your body, and I don't know if it's actually all ADHD people, but you say that your body does not produce enough dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline. And I'm wondering how those. Okay. So how does that, how does that relate?
[00:18:36] What, what is, what is, what does that do for you and how do you address that issue?
[00:18:41] Peter Shankman: So a combination of domains, serotonin adrenaline allows you to focus. It allows you to sit down and do the things that you don't necessarily love to do. So I'll give you an example. In school. I was the class clown, and I would get in trouble for me in the class.
[00:18:54] Clown. Why was the class well in the subjects that I loved English. [00:19:00] In social studies. I was never the class clown. I paid attention like the greatest dude in the world, in math, in science and things I wasn't good at. I was the class clown. What I realized 30 years later is why I was making jokes and cracking up and cracking jokes and cracking wise because when I made a joke and other students laughed, they laughed at something I did, which actually gave me a dopamine hit.
[00:19:23] And all of a sudden I could focus. Of course I was getting in trouble. But I was actually, if you look at it, the big picture I was getting in trouble because I wanted to learn now I've since learned better ways to get my domain, get my adrenaline and get missing and turn it into meetings with bad jokes.
[00:19:41] But the logic is sound right. It is the same thing. You know, we all know every single one of us, there's not a person in the world who understand, who doesn't understand that texting while driving is dangerous and will kill you. Here's how so many people still do it. Why? Because every time we hear a text, [00:20:00] every time we see a message, every time we get a tweet or reply, whatever our brain actually releases domain it's addiction.
[00:20:09] So no different, if don't mean, it gives us that focus chemical and that ability to be happy then. Yeah. Obviously you're going to want it and you're going to look for it. So the key for kids today in school, we now understand how to find a better way to get it. I've spoken to schools where they've installed something called bouncy bands.
[00:20:27] They're these little bands that sit on the, on the legs of the chair and the kids can bounce their legs without making any noise. And just that gives them some adrenaline kids are allowed to get up, go to the back of the room, right, hang out and and just, you know, work, standing up whatever little things more recess, less carbs at, at, at lunch things.
[00:20:44] Izolda Trakhtenberg: You know, what's interesting about what you just said. It bringing up education in my mind, the whole, the whole education system. If I were queen, I would redo it because sitting kids who have such incredible amounts of energy down for so many hours a day, I think is a mistake. [00:21:00] I worked at NASA as an educator for many years and I watched it happen.
[00:21:02] I watched kids be bored and they weren't, it wasn't necessarily that they were ADHD. Necessarily, I don't know what their diagnoses, and I know you don't like that word what their, what their state was, but at the same time, I think so many children have trouble with that. And so if, if we, if you were king and I were queen, what would we do?
[00:21:21] How would we address kids today? And the education system to help them learn better in ways that work for them, whether they're neuro-typical.
[00:21:31] Peter Shankman: Well, you have to, I mean, it's tough because you know, one teacher, 30 kids, you can't make three different ways of learning, but what you can do is you can level the playing field in your, in your favor, right?
[00:21:40] So you can create you can create Situations where kids don't come in as entirely high energy. Right? So the premise of the kid wakes up instead of the kid waking up eating two bowls of chocolate, frosted sugar bombs, and sitting in front of television for 45 minutes at school, wake up, have a couple of hard boiled eggs, have some protein.[00:22:00]
[00:22:00] Walk to school run around for 45 minutes, go to the school. You've got, you know, have a zero period class that's recess, let the kids work out exercise first, then bring them into school. They did a study in Texas with a school district in Texas, where they did exactly that they, they gave them 90 minutes of recess a day as opposed to 20.
[00:22:16] And they upped they, they changed the carb. They dropped carbs in breakfast and lunch by 70% and upped protein by 50% like that. And they saw a 29% decrease. ADHD outbursts in boys and 20, not a 24% increase in girls getting involved in the class discussion. Those are huge numbers. They really are.
[00:22:36] Right. So it's those little tiny things that you can do that really do make a huge change.
[00:22:41] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Fascinating. I did not know about that study. I'm going to have to go look it up and I'm gonna swing it right back to you and ask you about something you said in, in your book. Again, you said that skydiving, which you are a master skydiver, which I think is great.
[00:22:54] It gives you a productivity high. I would love to hear from you. What about a dive? I've been skydiving [00:23:00] once I loved it and I want to do it again, but what about it is your rush? What, what is the productivity high? That's kind of. Well
[00:23:07] Peter Shankman: don't mean you're basically jumping on a plane, you're doing something.
[00:23:10] Every single molecule or brain says dumb ass. You don't need to do this. The plane can land. And you're literally fighting against that. The second you enter the atmosphere. Second, you jump out of the plane. You're in, you're in air. You're in freefall, your body. You have two choices. I can open my parachute live, or I cannot have my parachute and die.
[00:23:23] That's it. There are no other options. It is the most free you'll ever get. And when that parachute opens and you've quote unquote to fight death, I hate that term. But when you, when, when the parachute opens and you've slowed down and the world comes back into focus and you know, your hearing comes back and it's no longer just the wind and, you know, you.
[00:23:41] You have this feeling of euphoria and that is all the domain serotonin and adrenaline firing at once. And so I, and that just doesn't go away. That needs to dissipate over time. So I will drop my parish. I will, I will land, I'll put a parachute full, you know gathered up, throw it in the corner of the, of the, of the, of the hanger, pull out my laptop lean on the parachute and then, you know, write 10, 20,000 words in [00:24:00] an hour, right?
[00:24:00] Because I'm so high with, I double triple, quadruple the amount of those chemicals in my brain, that focus is. The easiest thing in the world and I'll do it and I'll get it done. And it's interesting because I was dating a woman once years ago, 20 years ago, it was a PhD candidate or double PhD, something way too smart for me, we should not have been dating.
[00:24:21] And one of the things she was doing was like, she got paid the government, she got government grants to FICO, came to rats to learn about addiction and pathways and things like that. And, and I'm like, so you get free cocaine. She's like, yeah, let's just table that discussion right now. But the point was.
[00:24:34] She took my blood once and she said, I want to, I want to take your blood and see how you are after a jump. And she goes, yeah, yeah. It just comes back a week later. She's like, yeah, you're basically half a molecule off from being a full, a full on cocaine addict. I'm like, I don't do cocaine. She's like, no, it's the same exact chemistry.
[00:24:47] I'm like, huh? I'm like, so instead of if I need to focus, I just to go to cocaine, she goes, Peter, you're really not listening. But the premise was that I was getting that same high, but the difference was I was getting it naturally. When you do [00:25:00] cocaine, as I actually taught me The brain fires all those those receptors at once.
[00:25:05] Because it doesn't understand what's going on. When you're skydiving, even though you need all those receptors to just keep you alive, the brain is still smart enough to keep some in reserve. It's why after I finished skydiving and finished writing 20,000 words, I could still drive home. I don't know crap.
[00:25:22] I don't need to immediately do it again. Right. My body is able to process that keeps on the don't mean for later we turned some of the serotonin things like that, as opposed to illegal drugs, which are, you know, drugs period, which, which don't do that. They just, oh, send it all. Okay. Now you're empty. Right?
[00:25:35] It's the equivalent of, of, of being in a helicopter and having 10, 10 minutes of reserve fuel in case in times of war. So, you know, your body is very smart that way, and if you can figure out how to adapt it for me, it's skydiving or running or exercising or public speaking, you know, my. Knows me so well that when I do a corporate keynote, she will attempt to get me back in my seat, on the airplane home within two hours of my coming off the stage, [00:26:00] because that's around the time that I, that I started to come down from the high.
[00:26:03] Right. And if she times it well, and there are no delays, I will sit down that plane and I will fall asleep until we get home. And it's the greatest feeling in the world. It's the deepest sleep I'll ever get.
[00:26:12] Izolda Trakhtenberg: I it's great to have someone that knows you so well. And that actually brings me to my next question.
[00:26:17] Are you one of those people who you're able to start the project and then see it through, or do you get into what my husband and I call shiny, pretty producing things syndrome and go, oh, the next thing squirrel. And then you move on and if so, what kind of support do you have or need to stay on track?
[00:26:33] Yeah,
[00:26:33] Peter Shankman: it's a dos attention deficit. Ooh, shiny. I have, what I have is a very, very, very powerful calendar. There is not 20 minutes out of my day that is not scheduled. It was brutal during the beginning of COVID. All my keynotes, which went virtual. I had a keynote in Stockholm. Okay. Well, I know I'm taking most of my day to fly there.
[00:26:51] I'm going to sleep. I'm waking up the next morning. I'm speaking, I'm spending the day there next morning. I'm flying back home. That's three full days, right? That's 14 hours on a plane and round trip. That is [00:27:00] a. You know, a lot of scheduled time where I can right now that same keynote that would the 45 minute keynote that we want to take three days.
[00:27:06] Now it takes about 45 minutes. So I'll do it at 4:00 PM or 7:00 AM or whatever on a, on a Tuesday at my apartment. And I've done it 7 45. I've just done all my work for the week. And I'm like, okay, well, got a lot of free time. Huh? I can start another company or maybe try meth, you know, it's like, yeah. So one of the things I realized, right, beginning of COVID is I have to schedule shit.
[00:27:30] Doesn't matter if I have nothing to do, I'm going to schedule something to do. So I spent a lot of time. I bought kettlebells, I've gained 16 pounds of muscle in the past two 14 months, because what the hell else I'm gonna do? Right. But I made sure that my schedule was full and. You know, it's again, it's putting these rules in the plate.
[00:27:46] I don't allow myself to ever say, oh, watch it on Netflix. No, the only time I allow myself to watch Netflix or Hulu is when I'm on the bike. Because if I allow myself to do it once I will watch Netflix and Hulu every day and that's it, I will never get anything done. So I only allow myself to do it when I'm working out, because I know I can't do that [00:28:00] forever.
[00:28:00] So it has to be about putting these rules into place. Same reason I don't same reason they don't you know, that I have, I have two sides in my closet and they're labeled, right. I wake up in the morning. Okay. Am I on the road today? Am I speaking somewhere? Am I on TV? No. Okay. T-shirt and jeans. Oh, am I traveling?
[00:28:16] Am I, am I, or am I, am I speaking somebody? Okay, great button down. Shirt, jacket, jeans. That's it. My sweaters, my best, my scarves, all that stuff. It's in my daughter's closet. So I have to see it because God's been ahead of look at the stuff. Oh my God. What should I wear? I know, I remember that sweater.
[00:28:27] I'm like Largan. That's what I wonder how she's doing. I should look her up, you know, it's it's three hours later. I'm naked the living room on Facebook. I haven't left the house.
[00:28:35] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Oh, it's like your it's like I'm living with you instead of that's when that's exactly. It's exactly how he does things. And, and it's interesting because that notion of decision-making.
[00:28:47] What you, it sounds like you have developed specific processes to, to address the fact that you have sometimes issues, either making decisions or getting onto the next thing. Do [00:29:00] you detail them somewhere? Are there places where if someone goes, okay, I want to know how Peter Shankman does it, where can someone go if they are interested in finding out more about your process and how you've managed to make ADHD
[00:29:12] Peter Shankman: or superpower?
[00:29:13] So I occasionally. Now for halibut coaching. I have a site for that called shank minds.com/adhd coaching. Love coaching. I'm not, I don't call myself a coach, but I occasionally help people. I talk about this stuff all the time on at shankman.com. I talk about it on any of my social channels all the time, which is at Peter Shankman and all the channels.
[00:29:32] I encourage people to email me. You are welcome to, to reach out if you want to go for a run or, you know, the only thing I will not do is sit down with you for a meeting, but you want to go for a walk and talk. You wanna do an Aaron Sorkin style Westwind meeting. We walk 25 blocks and you know, never stopped.
[00:29:44] I'm happy to do that. I I'm always, you know, what I used to do when I'd go to the airport is if you really want me bad enough, you will take a ride to the airport with me. Right. We'll take New Jersey transit from the city to, to the airport. And you'll have me for about 40 minutes. Talk about what you want.
[00:29:57] Right. And, and you'd be amazed how many people would do that. So yeah, for me, [00:30:00] it was really about about Knowing what works for me, understanding that it might not work for everyone else, but happy being happy to share what I do.
[00:30:11] Izolda Trakhtenberg: I love that. And I'm so grateful that you said that because I'm at some point going to take you up on that.
[00:30:15] I won't, I won't run, but I'll walk. So I have just a couple more questions if that's okay. I wanted to ask you about new ideas. They come to you fast and furious. Where from what does your brain do differently in that way? And how do you file them? Or do you just remember the.
[00:30:32] Peter Shankman: I write them down. I write everything down.
[00:30:33] When I run, when I exercise, I use my apple watch. They make, they make notes. They make memos. This morning on, on, on the Peloton at 4:00 AM, I came up with two video ideas. I put them both on this to remind me in three hours to try this or that, you know, as long as it's written down somewhere, I can then translate it three hours later.
[00:30:47] When it reminds me I could transfer it to a Google spreadsheet or whatever. And I'm able to, to keep this on when I need to do okay. I gotta write, gotta create something this weekend went, oh, look, all this stuff I have. Right. So, so. Everything because you know, some of the greatest lies in [00:31:00] the world you know oh, I'm only five minutes away is right.
[00:31:03] You know, those great, great lies the checks in the mail. And I'll remember it when I wake up.
[00:31:08] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Oh, absolutely. I never do. And I keep, I do keep a journal right by my bedside so that I can write first thing in the morning. That is so important to me as someone I don't have ADHD or add, but I do forget, and I get lots of ideas.
[00:31:20] So I think I'm so glad that you said that about writing everything down. I think it's such a fantastic way of, of making sure that the things that you think are important, actually get down and kept. And kept as important. I I'm so grateful. I know this has been fast and furious. I am so grateful that you took the time to join me on the show.
[00:31:39] And I'm going to put everything in the show notes as far as where people can find you. And I have just one last question that I ask everybody who comes on the show. And it's a strange little question, but I find it comes with some profound answers. And the question is this, and you as a skydiver will have a particular opinion on this, I think.
[00:31:55] And that is this. If you had an airplane that could sky write anything for the whole world to see. [00:32:00] What would you say,
[00:32:08] Peter Shankman: love yourself?
[00:32:11] Izolda Trakhtenberg: That's beautiful. Thank you, Peter. I really appreciate it. I appreciate you being on the show. Thank you so much. My pleasure. This is all the Trakhtenberg for the innovative mindset podcast. I'm super grateful that you joined us. This has been a fabulous, I'll be a quick conversation with Peter Shankman.
[00:32:26] Maybe we'll be able to get him back on the show again, to talk even further about the ADHD brain and how you can use it to innovate and create and be creative until next time I remind you to listen, learn, laugh, and love a whole lot.
[00:32:43] Thanks so much for joining me today. I really appreciate you being here. Please subscribe to the podcast if you're new and if you like what you're hearing, please review it and rate it and let other people know. And if you'd like to be a sponsor of the show, I'd love to meet you on [00:33:00] patrion.com/innovative mindset.
[00:33:01] I also have lots of exclusive goodies to share just with the show supporters. Today's episode was produced by Izolda Trakhtenberg and his copyright 2021 as always. Please remember, this is for educational and entertainment purposes. Only past performance does not guarantee future results, although we can always hope until next time, keep living in your innovative mindset.
 
 
 
* I am a Brain.fm affiliate. If you purchase it through the above links and take the 20% off, I’ll get a small commission. I'm also a PR Starter Pack Affiliate. I use Gloria's methods to get featured in the media often. And please remember, I’ll never recommend a product or service I don’t absolutely love!

Norm Snyder, CEO of Reeds, Inc. on Innovating in the Ultra-Competitive Soda Industry

Norm Snyder Discusses Innovating in the Ultra-Competitive Soda Industry
This episode is brought to you by Brain.fm. I love and use brain.fm every day! It combines music and neuroscience to help me focus, meditate, and even sleep! Because you listen to this show, you can get a free trial.*URL: https://brain.fm/innovativemindsetIf you love it as much as I do, you can get 20% off with this exclusive coupon code: innovativemindset
Norm Snyder joined Reed’s Inc. in September 2019 as the Chief Operating Officer. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer in March 2020. Prior to joining Reed’s, Norm served as President and Chief Executive Office for Avitae USA, LLC, an emerging premium new age beverage company that markets and sells a line of ready-to-drink caffeinated waters. Prior to Avitae, he served as the President and Chief Operating Officer for Adina For Life, Inc., President and Chief Executive Officer of High Falls Brewing Company, and Chief Financial Officer, and later Chief Operating Officer of South Beach Beverage Company, known as SoBe. In prior experience, Norm served as Controller for National Football League Properties, Inc., and in various roles at PriceWaterhouse during an eight-year tenure. Norm earned a B.S. in Accounting from the State University of New York at Albany.
Connect with Norm
https://drinkreeds.com/
Drinkvirgils.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drinkreeds/
Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Norm Snyder: I have one prerequisite for people that come to work for us. You want to be there and it's just not a job, right? You want to be there to make a difference.
[00:00:13] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Hi, and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. I'm your host. Izolda Trakhtenberg on the show. You get my conversations with peak performing thought leaders, creatives, and entrepreneurs. We explore how you can innovate through creativity, compassion, and collaboration. I believe that innovation combined with compassion and creative thinking can save the world and I aim to bring you ways.
[00:00:35] You can do it too. If you're enjoying the show, I'd be super grateful. If you could support it by buying me a cup of coffee, you can buy me a cup of@buymeacoffee.com slash Izolda tea. And now let's get on with the show.
[00:00:57] Hey there and welcome to the innovative [00:01:00] mindset podcast. My name is Izolda Trakhtenberg. I'm super happy that you're here and I'm so honored and happy to have this week's guest on the show. Check this out. Norm Snyder joined Reed's incorporated in September of 2019 as the chief operating officer. He was appointed chief executive officer in March, 2020 prior to joining Reed's norm norm.
[00:01:21] I love that norm served as president and chief executive officer of Avita USA, LLC, and emerging premium new age beverage company that markets and sells a line of ready to drink caffeinated waters prior to a VTA. He served as the president and chief operating officer for Edina for life. He was president and chief executive officer of high falls brewing company and chief financial officer.
[00:01:44] And later chief operating officer of south beach beverage company known as Sobe in prior experience. Mr. Snyder, norm served as the controller for the national football league properties that tells us something about norm and in various roles at Pricewaterhouse during an [00:02:00] eight year tenure norm earned a BS in accounting from the state university of New York at Albany.
[00:02:05] Wow. You have quite the resume norm. Thank you so much for being on the show. Welcome.
[00:02:11] Norm Snyder: Thank you. Good to be
[00:02:12] Izolda Trakhtenberg: here. I am. First of all, you have such a wide range of experience and you began. As an accountant, which I think is so it's so fascinating because accounting is in many ways, everything, knowing where you are, knowing where you want to go and knowing the sort of the, the numbers behind it is, is incredibly fascinating to me.
[00:02:37] And I'm wondering, how did you get from? I started in accounting to, I am the CEO of one of my favorite beverage companies reeds. Cause I love the ginger beer and ginger ale. How did that
[00:02:48] Norm Snyder: happen? Well, you know, it kind of goes back to the, before I went to school and, and figuring out what I wanted to do and I, I always had a pension for business [00:03:00] and, but I also thought I wanted to be a lawyer.
[00:03:03] And somehow I threw that into a cup and shook it up and threw it out and accounting came out. And I thought, you know, the, the real basic premise behind it was, is it exactly you touched on if I understand the, you know, the numbers guide, every business, I understand where all the numbers are coming from.
[00:03:21] It would be a great way to learn. It would be a star. So, you know, I spent the formidable part of my career, really working with big fortune 500 corporations and really got to see a lot how they operated and really use the numbers, how to, how to dig in and understand that. And then when I got on the business side, I loved it even more.
[00:03:41] So I knew that, you know, businesses where I really wanted to be and, you know, in an operating role. And as I progressed, I just, I loved it more and more. And then I found at the end of the day, it really gave me a competitive advantage, being a CEO that understood [00:04:00] numbers and how things work. So I always felt like when it came down to financial negotiations, nobody could, nobody could top me.
[00:04:06] So it was kind of a stepping, stepping stone or a ladder is how to start and where I wanted to go. Then once I got into that side of the business, I fell in love with it. And I just, you know, I knew that was that's where I wanted to be. And, and that's where I am now.
[00:04:24] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Oh, that's fascinating to me, this notion of having a springboard and then you innovated from there and you develop this incredible career from something that is as basic as numbers, but they can be really complicated and.
[00:04:40] It's interesting to me because reads is I am going to be very I've. I've been drinking reads since the nineties, when I first heard about it and, and started, it was only available like in the natural health food stores type places, it wasn't widely available and yet you've been innovating and making it so much more [00:05:00] prevalent everywhere.
[00:05:00] I would love it for, for those of you listening, who have not heard about reeds, you need to go out and get it's so good if you, especially, if you like ginger, but norm I would love it. If you would talk a little bit about reads where it was when you started and where it is today. And if you could tell just a little bit about what the company is, I would love that.
[00:05:19] Norm Snyder: Well, let me just, let me, let me say a couple of things before I answer that. Number one. I started drinking it in the nineties too. So, you know, I've been in, I was a consumer long before I became involved with a company. The other thing too is, you know, throughout your career and I'll, I'll say this to any young people that are looking for advice, I've also had great mentors.
[00:05:41] And one of the reasons why I'm here ironically, is a guy that I started working for over 30 years ago in NFL properties, named John bellow. And, and you know, if you look at spots on my resume, there's a lot of spots that he was involved with. And, and he has been very instrumental in my career in terms of [00:06:00] learning and pattering pattern things of him.
[00:06:04] So that's important too. Now reads reads is a, a great company. And one of the things that I love about it and this, this is what makes me feel good when I wake up every morning. And I talk about. You know, we just came out with this campaign called Reno reads is real or reads. I got to make sure I get this right.
[00:06:25] You know, real real is always better. That's it? And we, if you take a look at our ingredients panel and if you know how we make our products, they are so far superior than any of our competitors by far. And that makes me feel really good because we're offering consumers, you know, the best ginger beer, the best ginger ale, you know, the best craft sodas that we have.
[00:06:52] And, you know, Reed's was, it's a 30 year old company started by a gentleman in Southern California named Chris Reed who had this [00:07:00] idea and he loved ginger. And that the world really knew nothing about ginger, except for maybe, you know, in a Chinese food menu. Right. And all the great properties that ginger has.
[00:07:13] And created this all natural, better for you drink. And which started because if you go back in 30 years ago, the only, the only, the only channel that would carry such a thing was that were natural stores. Right? And then it morphed into grocery stores because groceries as natural stores became bigger and started stealing business from grocery stores, grocery stores said, wow, we've got to start offering more natural products, right.
[00:07:39] And you know, most mainstream grocery stores today have a fairly large section of natural products or have natural products that are interspersed within the regular categories. So we kind of morphed off into that. And you know, we've been growing ever since because obviously [00:08:00] as people become more educated and understand the great properties that a lot of these products have and become more knowledgeable.
[00:08:09] And want better for you products. You know, it's the classic supply meets demand scenario, and we've been able to fill that gap.
[00:08:19] Izolda Trakhtenberg: I'm taking all of that in for a second because it's in many ways looking at it from, from an economics standpoint, that whole idea of supply and demand is it's as old as time.
[00:08:32] And yet there are some innovations here that are, that are fascinating to me because the innovation, when Mr. Reed started the company was all natural ingredients as specially focusing on actual ginger instead of this sort of, oh, ginger, if you will. And, and that was different. That was really different. I remember thinking that when I first started drinking it and that, that it tasted like ginger, not [00:09:00] fo ginger, if you will.
[00:09:01] And so. How does that work when you're starting something like this. And I know you haven't been with the company all that long, but, but you're still innovating. You're coming out with new campaigns. How does, how does somebody decide, you know what, I'm going to do things in a way that people aren't thinking about like all natural ingredients, actual, fresh ginger in the sodas, instead of fake ginger or whatever, what do you think the mindset has to be of someone who takes that kind of chance?
[00:09:32] Norm Snyder: I think they truly believe in and stayed true to their convictions of this is what they want, and this is good. And I'm spin up persevere and educate as many people as possible. And hopefully they'll feel the way I do. I mean, obviously anybody that takes that type of risk, right. And anybody that creates something that sticks for 30 years has done something pretty tremendous my view.
[00:09:56] And so one of the things we, we, we, we [00:10:00] haven't deviated. From its founding guiding principle that Chris started. And that's why, you know, it came back to this whole thing. That real is always better than, you know, 30 years we're still doing it the way he did it and his garage or his kitchen. Right. We were still using organic, real ginger that we import from Peru.
[00:10:28] And we still make it the same way and we still make it the, what he refers to as the Jamaican inspired recipe, which is fruit juices. So we use pineapple, lemon, lime and honey. Right. And you know, what I've tried to do is just improve the efficiencies of how we put all that together. Right. And not deviate, but as you mentioned, innovate, so.
[00:10:53] That's a great next step in you know, what, how we innovate is because if you look at the ginger beer category [00:11:00] relative to other beverage categories, it's, it's, it's kinda small. And, and a lot of competitors saw the successor reads as an up comment and obviously that takes market share. And if you look at, if you look at ginger beer consumers you know, it's kind of a mix and it's, it's, it's used as a mixer, obviously with the popularity of Moscow mules and dark and Stormys, and that's quite frankly how I met reads with overall Moscow over a few Moscow mules
[00:11:30] Izolda Trakhtenberg: in
[00:11:31] Norm Snyder: those special copper cups, but those copper mugs, right.
[00:11:34] And then. But you have some folks that like, drink it, like I use the Jamaican inspired recipe. We had to make a woman that worked for us and how everybody makes their own home version. But, you know, they, they drink it like a soda. So it's a mix that, you know, people that drink it like a soda they use it as a mixer, actually, there's people that drink it because of that helps their digestion.
[00:11:58] It helps them, they have [00:12:00] nausea. You know, we have a lot of like cancer patients, believe it or not that reach out to us because it helps them. So you know, kind of, that's sort of very limited type of audience. So, you know, one of the things that we thought of, which was kind of a natural is the ginger ale category, which people drink, drink ginger ale the same way.
[00:12:21] I mean, my grandmother gave it to me one in an upstairs upset stomach and my mother gave it to. If you go to the hospital, they give it to you. Right. But it's a much broader category. It's not as you know, you don't have quite the ginger burn that you do in ginger beer. But we sent cheese. Why aren't we in the ginger ale cannon?
[00:12:39] I mean, and as we peel back the onion a little bit, we found once again, that nobody's really using fresh ginger or real ginger, they're using ginger flavoring, ginger extracts. So we took that formula and applied it to our ginger ale. And again, it's one of our it's, it's probably our fastest growing product right now.
[00:12:59] [00:13:00] And you mentioned that you would be drinking your zero calorie, ginger beer. I've been drinking like zero calorie, ginger ELLs, like they're going out of style. Right? I just love the flavor. You know, it's, you know, it's, again, it's a great product. We took the foundation of our ginger beer and created this.
[00:13:19] You know, a great way we have innovated. Then we took it a step further and we came up with mocktails. Cause we found out that a lot of folks said, Hey, I want to go out, but I don't want to feel like I have to have an alcoholic drink in my hand. So, you know, and, and if I think in your, in your neck of the woods in Brooklyn, there's been non-alcoholic bars that have popped up, right?
[00:13:39] People would go off that want to have fun and socialize, but don't want to feel like they have to drink. So we came up with these ginger rail based mocktails, surely temp on our versions called Shirley tempting and then transfusion, which is you know, which has been a very popular drink. So obviously if you want to mix it with alcohol, you can.
[00:13:58] But if you don't, you have a [00:14:00] really great, healthy zero calorie beverage that you can enjoy and, and not feel like you have to have to have consume it with alcohol. So I think that's a great sort of three step, how we've really pivoted and innovative to give folks. A great quality product. It's all natural, but that they can drink at the, at the occasion that they'd feel the most appropriate.
[00:14:23] And the reactions then really, really possible.
[00:14:27] Izolda Trakhtenberg: And I'm so glad that you said that because I am not a huge drinker and I'm usually the designated driver, you know? So, so it's really nice to be able to go. I would like something that, that is going to taste great. It's going to, this is going to sound a little weird, but it's gonna look good if you see what I mean.
[00:14:47] I
[00:14:47] Norm Snyder: don't want to feel out of place. Right? You want to feel like you're you're, you're, you're, you're you're you fit in with everybody. And then that's the beauty of these things. And you know, one of the things that I do and I love part of my job is so [00:15:00] I, we have six production facilities across the country.
[00:15:03] Every production run that they do, they should product. So my office looks like a collection of bottles, right. And I have a mini refrigerator and I drink, I try and both warm, ambient temperature and cold, but I drink multiple products every day from different locations where they're produced to locate for quality, be for consistency.
[00:15:25] But I mean, I want to drink this stuff cause I want to know if a consumer says something, but I can say, look, I had that this is what I believe. Or, you know, do I detect there's an issue because if there's an issue we need to fix it. So I do that every day. I mean, I drink multiple products every day, seven, you know, all the time in the office, but I, but I have a collection of all of our production stuff, so I know what's going on and I know what our consumers are picking up.
[00:15:55] Izolda Trakhtenberg: I love that. I, you know, it's funny going, going into a bar or [00:16:00] pub and ordering something, nonalcoholic feels sometimes I've had people say, oh, you must be in AA. And I'm like, no, just didn't want to drink. And so, so this it's, it's a weird way. It's a weird way of passing actually, because fewer people will talk to you about that sort of thing.
[00:16:20] Not that it's any of their business, but yet something that, that is interesting to me about what you just said about making sure that the consumer experience is a positive one. That's, that's one of the, that's one of the results, right? Is that people feel more comfortable drinking it and something else that I would love to ask you about, you said, That you check in as far as whether or not things are going well from all the production facilities.
[00:16:49] And I like to say that an innovator is a creative thinker on a mission. And it sounds to me like you're embodying that this notion of checking in, of being very [00:17:00] practical. Can you talk a little bit about what those steps are? How does that, how do you keep innovating while staying very practical in the evaluation and assessment process?
[00:17:13] Norm Snyder: Well, because the innovation is the fun part, right? It really, it really is. I mean, you can, you can come up with a wackiest ideas and it's like a release, right? It's like, you can get all this stuff off your chest, off your mind. I mean, I'm like, it's kinda funny. It's ruined me forever being in the beverage business.
[00:17:35] Cause I can't go into a store and just buy stuff. I've got to go to the beverage section. I got to go to the coolers. I got to check out what's going on. You know, I look at there's all this scan data. So it's syndicated data that either Nielsen or IRI puts out that shows by category what's selling.
[00:17:53] What's not selling by package. I mean I love data too. So it's kind of like, see you assimilate all this stuff that [00:18:00] you're seeing, that you hear people talking about. I have I have three 20 year old children. Well actually I have five but three that are in their twenties and I'll watch what they drink and what their friends drank and what they talk about.
[00:18:12] Like I said, when I go into stores, I, no matter what I'm doing, if I'm going on mission a, I always end up in the beverage outlet, check out what's going on. So it's the fun part is the innovation thinking, this is what I think people want. We do a lot of research this based on what the research tells us people want.
[00:18:30] So we'll put together a product concept. This is what it becomes a little bit more formal, but a product concept, and then work with our R and D department to create something. And then the fun part is that, that first time that you taste it and does that product really reflect what you're trying to do.
[00:18:50] Right. And sometimes you get there very quickly and sometimes it takes a dozen iterations. And sometimes you just say, can't get there. Can't get there. No, [00:19:00] one's gonna, no, one's going to drink this. So that's kind of the fun part. Because it's part science part our, you know, part into it in intuitive and, you know, and I do it with, you know, a lot of people within our organization.
[00:19:14] Right. So it's just not me. It's everybody. And it's kind of like free flow. I've got to make sure I said that slowly free flow thinking where people can just kind of like, say what's on there. Right. And you know, you watch trends and you have data and you do other stuff and you try to put it all together and come up with a decision that makes sense.
[00:19:35] But you know, we do that on the premise of who we are and what are our, what are our key values, right? It has to be within those because what if we deviate from what our values are then who are we really? Right. So we try to, we try to stay within that sort of bandwidth of who we are and what we want to be.
[00:19:56] And, you know, some, like I said, sometimes it just feels really good. It's [00:20:00] like, boy, we nailed this. And sometimes it's like, well, it could be a stretch, but does it work? And sometimes we come back and just say, that's not us. So it's the fun part of the job. And it's the part that's unstructured and very loose and very flowing and it's fun.
[00:20:15] And you know, I'm really, I'm really proud that as an organization, we have no shortage of really good ideas. And, and, and like, you know, we, we've got the next two to three years covered, right? Not saying that if we, if something new comes up that we could react quickly, but we have that, we have that many ideas that are, that are good.
[00:20:37] Izolda Trakhtenberg: That's fantastic. And I'm, I'm struck by the notion of including everybody that it's not just you making the decisions, it's you working with your team with, with the people who make up the company. And I'm wondering that that's in many ways, an innovative thing. Also, I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about [00:21:00] how you structure that if there is a, you said it's free flowing, but there has to be some sort of a, almost a process when you're doing something iteratively like that.
[00:21:10] How do you do that?
[00:21:11] Norm Snyder: Yeah, what we we've, we've developed, not that we want to be burdened with structure. But at the same time, it just can't be shooting from the hip. So we develop. Can can you to develop processes once we get to that formal stage of, yeah, let's do this. But so my job is which is hire as many good people as possible.
[00:21:33] Right. And let them do the work and let me take the credit. Right. My, my job is to really kind of, I'm almost like the, the conductor in the orchestra and there's different sections and there's people with different strengths and different weaknesses. And after you work with folks, you get to, you get to know what their strengths are.
[00:21:53] So, you know, when something comes up like this person or that person, or this group of people are the ones that [00:22:00] I'm going to listen to a little bit more, that's shut other people out because you know, there's been good ideas that come from from people, you know, you don't expect, but, and it's sort of it's, and I'll tell you, it's kind of spontaneous because.
[00:22:14] I'll start on one project and it all either be bogged down or something else will come up and then I need a break and I'll just say, all right, let's cut. Let's taste. Right. Let's taste. We've got a bunch of stuff that we've been working on. Let's taste it and we'll sit there and you gotta be careful because you can't, once you taste too much, your taste buds become severely ineffective, as well as your ability to smell.
[00:22:40] So you really got to kind of measure yourself, but it could be spontaneous. Like let's do it, or let's talk about this. Or then we, or we schedule, you know, we have we, we have weekly meetings and deal with all these things and a lot of it starts, but then we may say, let's just have a meeting dedicated to this one topic on X date.[00:23:00]
[00:23:00] Right? So we, there is a little bit of spontaneity largely because of my schedule, but I think it works well. And sometimes people say, Hey, I've got this. What do you think? And I'm like, let's do it right now. So that, that makes it kind of fun too. But once we get serious, we do have a very documented process and we have people that are responsible for aspects of that development.
[00:23:24] And we fine tuned it over the line. We have fine tuned the process over the last year and it's gotten really good, really good. Like we're working on a couple projects right now. And because of that, I think we're ahead of the game ahead of where we, where we should be, because we've done a real good job of tracking ourselves and communicating.
[00:23:48] Izolda Trakhtenberg: I'm sorry. I'm pausing because I'm, I I'm taking all of it. Tracking yourselves and communicating those two are so collaboration to me is, [00:24:00] so it's people say it's a buzzword, but I think it's so important where everybody feels like they can contribute. And also that they're valued and valuable. So, so communicating their ideas, communicating through the process is fantastic.
[00:24:13] But tracking that, that to me as, as, as more of a creative thinker, the notion of tracking things like that makes my head explode. Just because it's, it sounds like there potentially so many details. Can you talk a little bit about what the, what the ideas are behind traffic tracking and what it is that you're actually tracking?
[00:24:35] Norm Snyder: I think you just answered the question. There's so many details, right? I mean, at the end of the day we build it forward, but I'm going to do it. I'm going to reverse engineer because I think this is easier to explain. Say you, you have this great concept and you know, right now everything's on cycle, right?
[00:24:59] So [00:25:00] the, sell it into a channel or, or a retail chain, you know, they have their meetings on X day and then they make changes on Y date. Right. And they're pretty, I mean, think about this. Cause you're dealing with hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of products and you just can't like do it every day and every week.
[00:25:21] So they have these fixed periods. So you know what those are and see your work backwards. And you say, okay, we're going to launch X, Y, Z product at this retailer because this is where we really feel like we have to start. So, you know, the date that you can present, you know, the dates that, that they'll do resets at store.
[00:25:41] Then you kind of work backwards and say, okay, what do we have to do to get to that point? Right. What are all the steps? And it's, you know, it's, it's starts at concept. The first thing is the liquid, you know, what's the liquid look and taste like, right. And what do you want that liquid [00:26:00] back to that whole, you know, that whole product brief, what does it represent?
[00:26:05] And then you kind of go forward into, okay, when do we, you know, final product approval. And then from there artwork and labeling package configuration, and then you've got to produce it. So you have to have all your, you know, source all your raw materials and just about every piece of raw material, except for the liquid itself is branded.
[00:26:28] And then, you know, legal, is it, you know, are we infringing in anybody's intellectual property? If not, is it available? Can we can. And then what sort of campaign are we going to have behind it? And then when are we w you know, when do we go, when do we actually scale up to a full production mode? And when can we have that product in our warehouses and when can we ship it?
[00:26:51] So it's, you know, all these various aspects, which involves every department, right? Sales, marketing, [00:27:00] operations, finance. So it's a multi, multi departmental collaboration and meeting where we're tracking and making, checking the box. Do we have that covered? Do we have that covered? Do we have that covered then?
[00:27:14] What's the timing? I mean, because depending on the package, if it's a specialized package, we may have to, we may have to put something in at the plant that produces it because they can't produce that package. So, so all these questions, you know, and, and where are you sourcing the ingredients and what's the lead times, right?
[00:27:33] So. Yeah, and you want to kind of time it, right? Where you have product packaging, you know, artwork that you can share to sell it in and they can taste it. And then to be able to put a final product on their shelves the day, the day that they want it. And that's the process. And if you don't document it, you're going to miss something.
[00:27:57] So, and it, you know, we have someone that [00:28:00] leads to that process that brings everybody together, then holds them accountable as to where do we stand with this? You're supposed to get back to us on that. Where do we stand on this aspect? Where's that aspect. And you know, again, it, it, it, it brings, you know, it brings the organization closer together.
[00:28:17] I mean, we're not a big organization and, and you know what, not just, not just brands, make organizations successful it's people and how they, how they play off and interact with, with one another. So, you know, you can understand like what, you know today. I remember when I was a little kid and the Beatles were popular right.
[00:28:37] Today, you put on a Beatles record and it sounds contemporary, right? Like they haven't lost anything. And, you know, granted they wrote great music, but together as a unit, what, what just, you know, one plus one plus one plus one was like 24 and I believe it, I believe organizations are the same way where if people click [00:29:00] together intellectually, if they, if they collect together spiritually, if they click together on so many different levels, you're more powerful.
[00:29:09] Right. And, and this process really brings out the best in an organization.
[00:29:17] Izolda Trakhtenberg: I love that you use the Beatles analogy. I mean, I agree the Beatles solo band on the run is a great album, but nothing can compare that they did solo two rubber soul and revolver. So I slightly completely take your point. And, and it's interesting to me how everybody, every person in your organization sounds again like, like they're encouraged to contribute and then also need to contribute.
[00:29:43] And that you, someone who is an implementer, someone who is, or maybe an integrator who goes, yes, this is my job to make sure that that everybody is on track. And again, that's one of my challenges I sometimes take on too many projects. Have you ever found that happens [00:30:00] with the course?
[00:30:01] Norm Snyder: How do you handle that?
[00:30:04] It's difficult. That's that's something that you have to watch very, very carefully, but it's something that C C w. I have one prerequisite for people that come to work for us, you want to be there and it's just not a job, right? You want to be there to make a difference and you could be the guy that mops the floors, but you're going to make a difference.
[00:30:26] Right? And I want everyone to feel empowered that they do make a difference in quite frankly, they do, because if one employee doesn't do their job, the whole company suffers. Right? So there's nowhere to hide. And I don't mean that to add pressure to people, but it kind of, it sets the, it sets the bar high, where I want you to be, want to be here.
[00:30:49] I want you to want to make a difference and I want you don't want to contribute. And when you have people thinking at that level you get great results and then, but you're right. But then the negative side is [00:31:00] you gotta be careful that people don't take on too much because when they do that's when errors occur and errors, aren't good.
[00:31:09] Because obviously it adversely impacts the company, but it adversely impacts that individual. Right. And I, you know, I also believe that look, I've, I'm a hard worker. I've worked hard my entire life. My family accuses me of being a workaholic. And there's been many Fridays when we're supposed to do something to grow some place and dad's still at work or on a phone and everybody's angry with him.
[00:31:35] But I also believe that you need time off to refresh your batteries and to have fun and enjoy your family or whatever you want to do during your time off. So I really encourage that as well. But when you're here, I want 150%. Now I want you to want to be here, but you're right. That, that the tough part is I've had several employees.
[00:31:56] I've had to, it's kind of funny. I've had to admonish and [00:32:00] say, I don't want you doing that. I want you to doing this. This is where you're the most effective. And I don't want you burnout. Or I had one employee. I told him if I saw an email from him after 11 o'clock at night, I was going to fire him because he was burning the candle at both ends.
[00:32:18] And I'm like, I don't want you doing that. So that, that, that's something you have to watch. And then, you know, I never thought about it to you brought that up, but that's something that you definitely have to watch is that people get so caught up in it and they take on too much. And it's, and it's not that a desperation because they want to, and they can.
[00:32:38] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Sure, but it doesn't matter does it because they can still burn out. Even if you care about something you can still burn out. So, so balance in all things I think is, is the way to go and something that I, speaking of balance, this is a weird transition, but here it goes. One of the things that I noticed as far as the packaging of reads, and this is because I'm a [00:33:00] artistic type person and I love colors from very early on.
[00:33:03] I remember thinking, wow, the ginger ale is more yellow. The ginger beer is more green and then there's always an orange accent. This is yes. I noticed these things in here. It is. So, so I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the design, how, if, you know, because you weren't at the company yet, but how did that all happen?
[00:33:24] What w what were the colors chosen? I know that they're white, yellow, orange, but, but how does that all translate into how you're innovating now with the, with the way the product is presented?
[00:33:38] Norm Snyder: I think we've, I mean, obviously we, we like that to sign cause we, we, we, we stay with it. I just think it sort of reflects that whole motif, you know, the Jamaican inspired ginger beer.
[00:33:49] I think that's what if I had to put my finger on it, it kind of comes down to that and it sends off that whole sort of tropical image, [00:34:00] which is reflects that, you know, the style of the, of the Jew, our ginger beer, and then something that like, if you look at now, we really use the Palm trees and our ginger ale and our mocktails.
[00:34:11] So we've kind of stayed true to that. And it just feels, you know, colors in the, in the whole creative element. Yes, I guess there is a bit of a science to it, but I look at a more of what's appealing to the eye and where, and where does your eye go and what, what does it catch and what does it reflect?
[00:34:31] And, you know, obviously there's, you talked to a designer and they're going to tell you, you should paint your kitchen, this color, because it, it creates appetite and, and vibrancy. And this room, you want this color because it creates that and bedrooms, you want this color because you want them to be serene and comfortable.
[00:34:48] And I think labels are kind of the same way. Right? And it just stayed on that whole sort of Jamaican slash tropical theme of who we were. And [00:35:00] the roots of it's really in the ginger beer. Right. And again, we haven't, you know, we've made it more contemporary, but we haven't deviated from that basic story.
[00:35:13] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Yeah, cause it works right. And it's instantly recognizable and that's something, that's something that was great for me again, when I started drinking reeds in the, in the nineties was that you could, oh, I could always find them. And, and I, I don't know how quite it was quite how to say it, but I'm just going to say it, it feels to me like the, the beverage industry is really crowded.
[00:35:36] You've got the, the big giant.
[00:35:38] Norm Snyder: Oh yes, it is. Yes. You know, you know, let me come back that for a second. The two things that are really haven't talked about is we've sort of dominated the conversation with our reads portfolio, but we also have another perhaps of portfolio called Virgil's. Right. Which is, you know, we bought it in 94, so that's [00:36:00] 27 years.
[00:36:00] So it's, you know, it's in the same age group is reads and again, it's, it's. But the same basic premise, all natural non-GMO. And we haven't talked about, you know, this aspect where a lot of consumers now, and the trends are, are no sugar, right? Zero calorie, no sugar. They're keto friendly, certified keto friendly.
[00:36:25] You'd mentioned you, you know, you consume the zero sugar, ginger beer. And I talked about the zero sugar ginger ale, but, you know, I drink a lot of I drink all of our stuff, but we've. Well actually reads had it. We brought it back, our doctor better, which is a pepper flavored item, but we have a great, you know, root beer among other flavors.
[00:36:47] And you know, we have this proprietary sweetening system, that's all natural that tastes gray and has no aftertaste. So one of the things about [00:37:00] zero sugar items, people tend to plug their nose and they can taste it because it's zero sugar, but it has a bit of an aftertaste. And our son doesn't and we haven't really spent a lot of, and so in terms of innovation now, we're, we're looking for something that has mouth feel and flavor that emulates a full sugar drink, but has no calories and is all natural.
[00:37:26] And, you know, again, that's a big part of our innovation. We're seeing a lot of growth at our zero sugar line, both reads and Virgil's, but you know, we think we have the best tasting zero sugar product, you know, on the market. And that's another thing where we've, I think done a really good job job of innovating.
[00:37:48] And again, staying true to who we are all natural, but trying to give the best experience to our consumers as possible. And like I said, I drank these every day and sometimes [00:38:00] I drink and I'm like, I have to look at the, I have to look at the label and say, damn, did we do we put sugar in this all of a sudden, because it tastes that good in the muffins that good.
[00:38:09] So those are two things, you know, virtuals and the zero sugar line, which we have across our entire portfolio. And we use, which I think gives a far superior taste and a taste. That really is the closest thing in the marketplace in Miami. That you can get to a full sugar equivalent.
[00:38:31] Izolda Trakhtenberg: It's so interesting.
[00:38:32] You're talking about mouthfeel. And one of the things I, I, my husband accuses me of being a supertaster because I can taste certain things from a mile away and what I don't like, I definitely don't like if you know what I'm doing, and what's interesting to me about drinking breeds, first of all, I'm vegan.
[00:38:50] And so the zeros, I know the other ones aren't vegan, but the zero sugar are vegan. There's no honey in them. And, and that makes me so very happy because now I can [00:39:00] drink reeds and again, and so what, what's fascinating to me about what you're saying this notion of, as I said, mouthfeel, is, is that it is about the experience, not just of drinking the drink, but how you feel after you've drunk it.
[00:39:16] And that's a, and maybe because I'm not as familiar with the beverage industry as, as I could be. I didn't think that that was something that a company would be thinking about. I would think that it would be, and this correct me if I'm wrong, that it would be more like, oh, you know, our products, you like our products, you buy our products.
[00:39:35] Yay. But mouthfeel is a post experience thing. Can you talk a little bit about what it is that you're trying to, what it is, what mouthfeel is just for clarification and also what it is that you're trying to achieve with the drinking experience for the person who's opened up a bottle of reeds?
[00:39:55] Norm Snyder: Well, let me, let me just make a comment about supertasters.
[00:39:58] They scare me, but I love [00:40:00] them at the same time, because it's a unique group of people. And I can tell when people comment I'm like, that must be a supertaster because they have the ability to taste things in both positive and imperfections. The vast majority of people don't taste. So that's always good.
[00:40:18] And w we actually, we have a couple of supertasters in our office, which I love to bring them in to taste stop, because they can pick up imperfections that most people can't. So that's a great skillset. So mouthfeel the best way to describe it, describe it as like, so take a glass of water and take a chocolate milkshake.
[00:40:37] Right. And those are like two extremes and how they're going to feel in your mouth. And it, and a lot of mafia is about what you perceive it to be. Right. So when you think about children and all my kids were really finicky eaters, it wasn't so much about taste. It's how that, that food felt in their mouth.
[00:40:58] Right. [00:41:00] So, so if mom feels such an important aspect of it, and again, a lot of it's perception, but so. In a typical beverage and let's go back to before zero sugar diet sodas were, were there the best way to describe it, let me see if I can get this right. So the flavor is the music, right? But the sugar is the amplifier, right?
[00:41:30] It takes it up a notch, it makes it loud. It makes it bold and it really gives it that mouthfeel. So you know, if you say you're vegan, I've been on a couple of these podcasts and other things with some other great entrepreneurial people in the food and beverage space. And when they talk about zero sugar for baking fill and mouthfeel are important because that's what you can't use, like Stevia at a banquet.
[00:41:57] Right. It just, it's just awful. [00:42:00] So. When you think about sugar, not only gives it that flavor, that amplification of those flavors and makes it pop it gives it that mouthfeel that you expect that again, that you feel like you're like, you could almost chew it, but you don't bite into with it. It tastes that good.
[00:42:17] And it's that satisfying? It's not just like, Kool-Aid, it's just not like flavored water. That's the big distinction between, you know, our craft sodas and our ginger beers is that mouthfeel. And when you take sugar out, right, and we use cane sugar. So cane sugar direct to me has better mouth feel than just regular sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, which the mass majority of mainstream beverages use.
[00:42:43] You take away that. And with the zero sugar, you can get the flavor, but then it tastes like flavored water. So you need that mouthfeel, that sort of bite to it. Makes it feel like you're drinking a full sugar because it's not just the flavor, it's the feel. [00:43:00] Right. And we've, that's we really taste, you know, mouthfeel when zero sugar, not just flavor, but sweetness and mouthfeel.
[00:43:10] It, does it feel light? Does it feel too heavy? Does it feel right? And we spent a lot of time on that and developing our zero sugar because we want it to emulate a full sugar taste. Most consumers have basically said, okay, I'll deal with a compromise on flavor. I'll compromise on mouthfeel. Cause I don't want sugar, make it to overstay.
[00:43:35] Say I'm going to pick and choose where I get my calories. I'm going to pick and choose if I want sugar where I'm going to get it from many, say I don't, I want to eliminate sugar entirely from my diet. So we want to give them. That product that they feel like they're having that indulgence. Right, right.
[00:43:54] Without the negative things that they're trying to avoid. And why should you have to, why should you have [00:44:00] to plug your notes are chunked down and just say, okay, the zero sugar, I'm going to accept it. Right. And we want to say to our consumers, or to all consumers, you don't have to compromise. You can have your cake and eat it too.
[00:44:14] So to speak, right. Zero
[00:44:16] Izolda Trakhtenberg: sugar cake. Yeah.
[00:44:18] Norm Snyder: Look at, I drink and that's what I drink. Zero sugar. So I'm, you know, personally motivated because I want drink the best thing and I can drink and have the best flavor. So we really take that very serious. And that's what, again, stay true. Who do we are the best tasting, all natural, bold flavors, real as possible.
[00:44:40] And when we develop products, that's the goal. And ML feels important because like I said, I've, I've opened a can of something I've drank it, like our black cherry. And I'm like, my God, this tastes so good. And I know what the answer is, but I still look at the back of the can to make sure it doesn't say sugar.
[00:44:59] Right. [00:45:00] And that's, I want, you know, and I want to feel that way about all of our products and that's our, that's our goal for, you know, for, for zero sugar products, make them feel like they're full sugar, then there's no compromise in the base. Fabulous.
[00:45:19] Izolda Trakhtenberg: That's awesome. And it's interesting to hear you talk about it with, with such passion about, about these products, because otherwise, why do it right if you're not going to, if you're, if you're not going to be really, really in love with, with the work and. And this is something that I, I love the way you described it.
[00:45:45] It feels almost like drinking. The drink is a tactile experience in addition to being a taste experience with. Yeah, it is. It really is. It's fascinating.
[00:45:55] Norm Snyder: I mean, even like look at our products are carbonated having the right carbonation [00:46:00] because that matters because people that like, I, I drink, I love carbonated products.
[00:46:07] I drink sparkling water. Right. I drink our sodas. I love carbonation. And I'm very particular about carbonation. Carbonation is almost like sugar. It's like the tone, right? It's the base of the trouble, the music, if it's right, it makes everything perfect. If it's off it, throws it off and you know, that's another, another element of mouthfeel.
[00:46:32] And then the attribute of the product that. We spend a lot of time in like sometimes when we do our samples, our samples lab can't get the carbonation level that we want. So we try to do our best with that, but it just shows you how important that aspect is too. And that we really watch and that's, and that's, you know, the thing I do when I open our product.
[00:46:57] Oh, easy. Does that twist open? Does it [00:47:00] make that pop? When I poured in, does it, you know, do we get that? Do I see the level of carbonation and fall? Cause that's another really important attribute of our products. When we develop to make sure that they're in the range of carbonation that we think makes the most sense to really accentuate the flavor.
[00:47:18] So it's really, I mean, it is, we are very passionate about it. You're right about it. And it's just not me. It's everybody in the organization. When we taste and we drink our stuff, but those are the things that. At that level and want to make sure that we have an absolutely perfect. So when consumers open that they feel the same way and there's, there's nothing more pleasurable when you get, when you get an email receiving an email from a consumer about your product and how they love it.
[00:47:46] But at the same time, there's nothing like a kick to the gut when somebody has a bad experience. And I'll tell you what, when they have a bad experience, they reach us. We reached back out to them to try to make it better, to try to get, you know, get their input, maybe [00:48:00] clarify something, maybe, you know, sometimes somebody misinterprets what a product really is.
[00:48:05] And you have to kind of help them get there. But, you know, that's that these are important aspects that we're very customer centric and want and are committed to put in the best quality products. And we take every aspect of those products very soon.
[00:48:23] Izolda Trakhtenberg: And that makes sense, right? That, you know, no company has anything without its clients and customers, you vacuum.
[00:48:29] So, and that's something that, that brings me to my next question. Cause norm, I'm going to keep you here for the next eight hours. I'm fascinated by the fact that people have their favorites, right? They, they might have their favorite as far as reads. They might have their favorite as far as Pepsi or Coke or whatever.
[00:48:44] And REITs has this reputation for being a cut above. But how does that affect the average person who wants to drink are the people who you're serving as a, as an organization, as a company. Are they people who are more discerning in a certain way, or are they people who are [00:49:00] healthier or who want to be healthier?
[00:49:02] How does all of that break down when it comes to what we were just mentioned a little while ago, there's pretty crowded beverage industry.
[00:49:11] Norm Snyder: Well, I think they're definitely discerning and you know, some are kind of sewers that love our product. You know, we're still, we still have growth with all of our full sugar line in today's day and age, which to me, I find amazing.
[00:49:29] I think most people are driven by healthier on natural. And I think that's really probably the mindset of our consumer. They want natural ingredients. They want healthier products. They don't want preservatives. They don't want artificial colors, artificial flavors. They don't want high fructose corn syrup if they're drinking sugar.
[00:49:52] So I think those are the things that they clearly read labels are. I think our consumers are label readers, which [00:50:00] I think is great for us because they know what they want and they're not going to compromise. And I think that the trends are going that way. I think those are the you know, Where people want and they, you know, and when they indulge, they want to indulge in something that's good for, you know, that's good.
[00:50:16] Not just something that's crap, that's artificial. So I think people are more, more educated obviously, and they know what they want in their diet, but they still, everybody still wants things that tastes good. Right. I mean, that's one thing that hasn't changed. So if you can deliver something that tastes fabulous but it's healthier and it's all natural.
[00:50:38] That's, that's our consumer. But in terms of flavors, everyone's taste buds are different. You know, you could taste something and I could taste it and we taste two totally different things. So that's what you have to be careful. That's why I called you. We can't be the empire that listens to the crowd.
[00:50:55] No, because the empire in a good day, when he makes 50% of the people happy. Right. [00:51:00] So we can't, you know, you're not going to make everybody happy with every flavor. Sure. People taste things differently and that's how they pick their flavors. But you hope that the flavors that they like that you satisfied it just, you know, the flavor spectrum and how people taste.
[00:51:16] It is wild. And even when we do our tasting, how people react to what they pick up on, but I mean, you can't criticize people because that's what they perceive and that's what they taste. Right. And you can't tell them what they taste. So that's always the big challenge. So it's kind of like stick to what you're trying to, what you're trying to produce, whether it's an orange or vanilla cream or a root beer, that's our best.
[00:51:40] And you hope that people like it, but you can't be. And then you can't get frustrated because people may have, I mean, cause what if somebody says, Hey, I bought this, this and this, I love this, but didn't like that. Well, you know, maybe you don't, that's not the flavor. Doesn't jive well with your, your, your taste buds.[00:52:00]
[00:52:00] So you can't let that discourage you too much because you're never going to have people like everything across the board, as much as we strive to, it's just not going to happen. So you know, we try to whatever flavor it is, this is what, we're one of them. This is what we want to achieve and we're going to make it the best tasting.
[00:52:20] So the people that like that will love our stuff, but you know, coming kind of back, I think that's where the trends are going. You know, obviously we talked about the non alcoholic beverage options, which is growing. We talked about all natural. We talked about zero sugar. And I think people just want healthier, better for you products.
[00:52:38] And then. And in the case where our ginger beer is where we're using ginger, you know, there's some efficacy with ginger, right? And that's, I think what sets us apart with our ginger rail and our ginger beer is we're getting, you're getting real ginger and those products and real ginger has a lot of great properties that we hear from our [00:53:00] consumers all the time, all the time, why they drink our product and how grateful they are, that it exists.
[00:53:06] And that, you know, we used real ginger in those products.
[00:53:11] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Yeah. I mean, I love it. When I go on the few occasions, I've had to go sailing in my life. I bring reads, frankly. I know I sound like a commercial for you all, but, but I bring it because to, to stave off being seasick, it's wonderful for that. So, so yeah, absolutely.
[00:53:28] I, I understand. And I love what you just said about perception and how. Your perception of what you're tasting is so unique to each individual person. I think that's, I think that's so important and, and you know, to me, something that's good for you and tastes bad is medicine and something is for you and tastes good.
[00:53:48] Doesn't necessarily have to be that way. It can be something that you're just enjoying and, and yet, you know, we've just, we're, we're sort of coming out of this pandemic where a lot of people [00:54:00] have had all sorts of obviously obviously big issues and Reed's play has played a role. I'm sure in many people going, okay, I need my comfort and this is, this could be my ginger ale and my ginger beer.
[00:54:13] What has gone on if you, if you can talk about it a little bit, what are some of the challenges that Reed's faced during the pandemic and, and the, how have you dealt with them and, and, and where are you going next with respect to this new future that we're going to be living.
[00:54:30] Norm Snyder: That's a great question. I was thinking about this.
[00:54:31] So I went out and I was at a one of our production locations yesterday. So traveling back, you know, you got a lot of time to think. So I'm thinking about that. And I'm like, man talking about the economy of two worlds. So during the pandemic, we actually benefited because people I think went back to brands, they could trust brands that reflect quality and brands that were healthier.
[00:54:59] [00:55:00] And we had a really good year right now. What I didn't really see coming post pandemic. And I don't think anybody did for that matter was what's going on with the supply chain and transportation in this country. There's so much pent up demand. Right. And then with people losing jobs like I was in I was in And Philadelphia last night at the, at the airport and the place was jam packed.
[00:55:29] Right. And I'm watching it. And I just, I love, I love seeing stuff happened and I've got a chance to talk to the manager. And you said, our business is up 30% over last year. Our staff has done 40%. I'm thinking, wow, that's, that's gotta be really taxing. So the point is the big challenge this year, which we had some issues that we, we, we, but we worked it [00:56:00] out.
[00:56:00] Supply chain is, is just been very difficult to manage. I mean, for example, you can get cans in the United States. Every Ken manufacturer is at capacity. So people are importing cans from all over the world. Well guess what happens with that? There's all the ports of this country are congested. So.
[00:56:21] What would normally be a four month lead time could be a seven, eight month lead time because we ordered something from Europe and it sat sad. The Pacific sat in the ocean for two months before it could even get a dock time. And then once you get a dock time to get through customs and get unloaded. So the supply chain it's been probably the most difficult I've seen in my entire career by far transportation.
[00:56:47] I talked about the port congestion. I think I read something for every truck. There's 12 loads to go on that truck. Wow. So, you know, it goes back to what I talked about supply versus [00:57:00] demand. Our transportation costs have gone up of double of double. Wow. And it's like, wow, where did this come from?
[00:57:09] Now? They're starting to come down and. Things are starting to look like they, by the end of the year, it could become more normal or at least in the first part of next year. But so requires you to plan things out more or you know, which we use for a raps in cardboard for containers have longer lead times.
[00:57:31] There's been a shortage of steel for caps to put on your bottles. There's been a shortage of carbonation because the primary supplier carbonation or ethanol plants, and when nobody's driving, no one's using ethanol, right? So the by-product of that. So carbonation is even gone up. What's gone up with pallets that you stack your product now.
[00:57:50] So virtually every aspect of our supply chain has been impacted. And we didn't see this during COVID, you know, we saw some tightening [00:58:00] labor is the other aspect to production facilities are having a hard time hiring people. So it's, it's really touched every facet of our business. So postcode, the post COVID year has been believe it, or not much more challenging than during the pandemic, which I thought once we got through the pandemic, the biggest challenge is going to be changing consumer preferences and tastes and how they shop.
[00:58:28] And that would be enough to challenge us. That's really been, the supply chain has been turned sideways, right? And so when people ask me what keeps you up at night? That's what keeps me up at night, pasta transportation. And snafoos in our supply chain because as good as our people are, we have to think out longer periods of time to avoid issues.
[00:58:56] And we've had a few, we've had a few of them [00:59:00] and it's really unfortunate because it's like, man never had to deal with this before. Not even close, like, as you get older and remember my parents talk about certain parts of life and yeah, I remember that, but we got through it, remember that and we got through it.
[00:59:16] But now this is the most unique I've ever seen, but you know what, we'll power through it. I mean, it's not like we're defeated and, or are hanging our heads down and say, we can't do it. We just work twice as hard. And we know that it's going to return to some aspect of normalcy, but it's been a bigger challenge than most people think.
[00:59:38] And if you pick up any financial press, it's in the paper every day, right. And look, every head impacts every aspect. I mean the buy cars, you can't buy a car, try renting a car. You can't even rent a car today. Right. Cause there's not available. Right. I tried to buy a steroid receiver. I couldn't find the, the brand and model.
[00:59:57] My wife wanted a new washer and dryer, [01:00:00] but we got the last one in the store. The model that she, it, otherwise we had to wait like two months, right? If you want to buy faucets faucets, you must have were out of stock. I mean, so it's impacted virtually every consumer category. There is imaginable this whole supply chain.
[01:00:17] So it's, it's been, it's been a struggle. Like I said, we'll power through it and we're not complaining, but it's, it's definitely changed how we, how we do business.
[01:00:31] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Oh, sure. I imagine, I mean, whatever supply surplus there was pre pandemic got used up during the pandemic. And now all of a sudden, if you didn't have a supply surplus to carry you for two years, yeah.
[01:00:44] You're going to be short. And, and who did, you know, no one ever thought during, during the pre pandemic or even during the beginning months, no one thought it was going to be this long. And so having to stay agile and having to stay sort of light on your feet[01:01:00] is, has become so important for so many companies.
[01:01:03] And moving, as I said, moving into the future, it's going to be fascinating to see how we all do. If, and when something like this ever happens again, how will we plan for it? And, and that sort of leads me to my next question. And I w I promise I will, I have like a bunch more questions, but I will, I will, I will absolutely stop soon.
[01:01:24] I, I was just wondering, what's your vision for reeds moving into the future? What is your vision for this company?
[01:01:32] Norm Snyder: Well, you know, I, I think we, we've probably talked about this before we w we went on air that the thing that I've seen that I'm really proud of, but it feels good too, is that we're pivoting that we're, we're kind of, you know, the, where we're, we're migrating from, you know, the, what I'll call them all natural ginger beer company that kind of played in one [01:02:00] category to something that's much more.
[01:02:04] Resonates with a much larger group of consumers that really satisfies their demand, but stays true to who we are. And it's been a subtle pivot, but you can see it in the products that are ordered. You can see it on what, you know, what's selling and what's not selling can see it in consumer feedback.
[01:02:23] So I think, you know, the, the vision is continue to produce great tasting all natural beverages and, you know, that are both ginger base, but also our craft, our craft sodas that are healthier that we have, you know, continued to develop great zero calorie, zero sugar products. But, you know, to really look into maybe additional categories, either in the beverage or the food space, but to be sort of that company.
[01:02:57] That really puts out [01:03:00] premium high quality, better for you all natural products. And you know, just like we were able to leverage and successfully grow our business, you know, on the whole premise of ginger, you know, there's other ingredients out there that, Hey, why can't reach, do that too? Right. So, you know, the future is, you know, being that company that really represents that product that consumers can trust that they enjoy drinking and they, they know comes from the finest ingredients source throughout the world.
[01:03:37] And, but also that, you know, we, you know, and we've talked about this too, and it's the first time I touch on this that, you know, really looking at as most companies are that have a, a conscience. You know, aspect of our day-to-day living. And part of that's going to be sustainability, you know, that we're looking into in digging deeper, but, you know, just being a company that, [01:04:00] that reflects the times that we live in, that, you know, doesn't just die and go away because they stayed true to what they used to be.
[01:04:10] I mean, there's so many great examples of that. So many products and companies when I was growing up that were like the big, big players that are just barely hanging on today. Right. And I don't want to be that company that doesn't recognize what consumers want and what are the current trends, but to be on the forefront of that.
[01:04:30] And I think we've really done a good job of pivoting to do that. Right. And that's where I get that sense of what's going on in our company. And I really liked that feeling that we're, we're putting out products that people want and that are happy to have in their hands. But also enjoy tremendously, right.
[01:04:49] And that are relevant to today's consumers. And that's what I want to be. I want to continue to be that way and, and, you know, start from this great idea that really was [01:05:00] innovative, right? Truly innovative in terms of ginger beer and using ginger and to continue on those, that whole premise, but you can't just stick to something and hope that it lasts forever, but to be able to respond accordingly.
[01:05:16] And I think we've, we've, that's been the real KIDO it's reflected in our innovation and who we are. And I think that's what kind of sets us apart too. And it makes it a great place to come to work because that's what we're doing.
[01:05:33] Izolda Trakhtenberg: That's fantastic. I love it. I love it. All right. So speaking of the place that you work if you don't mind, how do people find out more about reeds? Do you have a website and Instagram? Could you share that? Because I would love to have that
[01:05:49] Norm Snyder: WW dot drink, read sat com WW dot Frank burgess.com. We have, we have a Facebook page.
[01:05:57] We have an Instagram account. I have [01:06:00] them on my computer, so I just hit the button. But I mean, it's all linked. It's all linked on our on our website, but there's a tremendous amount of stuff there. We have an 800 number for tumors to call. Obviously you can comment on our social media, there's a consumer info email that people can contact us and we do, and we do reach back.
[01:06:19] So it doesn't just, it's not a one-way street. You know, we do respond to. And like I said, there's times that I pick up the phone or email. I mean, let me say we had a, we had a family that ordered some products on Amazon, in our, the, it was, unfortunately, we, there was only available glass, the product broke and they were disappointed.
[01:06:46] I was struggling like 10 year old son. So I read it and I'm like, wait a minute. They're were like two towns away. So I said, reach out to them and tell them that they're going to have a special gas. That's going to deliver the product. And I showed up at the, [01:07:00] and they wouldn't let me leave. The kid was self ticketed.
[01:07:05] I showed up with a case of the love and root beer. I showed up with a case of that. So I, you know, I look at things like that and I'm like, wow, I want to do this. So I'll say to work at team, let me handle this one. But I think that we're really good about that. Right. We take it very serious. No. So you can do our, you know, through our website and there's links to everything Instagram, whatever you could reach out to us and you're going to get a response.
[01:07:30] But if you, the websites to me are always the best because they have, they have the most information and they're linked. So you can go from one to the other. And it, but it talks about all our products. It talks about our history. It talks about how things are made. What's important to us. So there's a lot out there and, or just Google us.
[01:07:46] I mean, we're going to pop up and you're going to, there's a lot of information out there.
[01:07:52] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Yeah. There really is. And, and, and I'll just say it this way and they're really, they're just tasty and good. I know. I sound like I'm a commercial [01:08:00] for you all, but I'm not an affiliate. I just, I've been drinking reads for a long time and I love that.
[01:08:05] We love it.
[01:08:06] Norm Snyder: That's what we love to hear. We love it.
[01:08:09] Izolda Trakhtenberg: That's awesome. Well, norm I'm so grateful that you took the time to join me on the show. I have just one last question that I ask everybody who comes on the show. And it's a strange little question, but I find that it yields some fascinating answers. And the question is this.
[01:08:25] If you had an airplane that could sky write anything for the whole world to see, what would you say?
[01:08:35] Norm Snyder: What would I say, boy? You know, I've got to find a way to say that. Well, first of all, I, I guess I would go back to the whole, our whole campaign here is that, you know, reads is real right. And I can't emphasize it enough that, you know, we, there [01:09:00] is a difference between us and other products. There really is how we, what ingredients we use and how we make.
[01:09:07] And I love that. You know, real is always better. I think I would write that real is always better, but I guess I'd have to say reads. I mean, that, that's the me, it's like look, I, one of my hobbies is cooking. When you use real fresh ingredients, you can taste the difference and it doesn't have to be black.
[01:09:27] It could be the simplest thing, right. To go out in your garden and grab some fresh herbs. And that's, and you know, how I cook as I think reads is it's like real is always better. And we use real ingredients. We use the finest and it, and it, and how we make everything. So I would go with our Kent and our current campaign, which is really reflects who we've been from day one and who will continue to be real as always.
[01:09:57] And that's what I would write. And obviously I'd have to write [01:10:00] reads and virtual. So, because
[01:10:03] Izolda Trakhtenberg: it's a very big part of the sky, the plane has the notsell.
[01:10:07] Norm Snyder: I have the reads of Virgil's logo come after that, but I mean, that's who really we are. And it's pretty simple because we were sitting around talking about it and it's like, you know, that's, you know, it's, it's funny.
[01:10:22] Well, I won't get into that. It was a movie I saw online that
[01:10:24] Izolda Trakhtenberg: I love. I'm a big movie file. So go for it.
[01:10:27] Norm Snyder: Almost famous, which is now 20 years old, great movie, which is one of my favorite movies. And they get caught in a Russel and was the guitars for the band Stillwater and the, the enemy, you know, the reporter there.
[01:10:43] Well, who was, was portraying Cameron. And they, you know, they, there, they have, the ban is a fight over the t-shirt. They go walking out, the kid still needs to interview this Volkswagen mini bus pops up and says, Hey man, aren't you Russell from Stillwater. And he says, yeah, on my better days, [01:11:00] he goes, well, my buddy's having a party.
[01:11:02] And you know, we're real Topeka people. And you know, the whole, you know, they give him something and he's drinking the whole night he's gone. And this is real is flashing the lights on. This is real you're real. And I just, that, that sticks in my mind about being real. And I'm like, but when we were talking about it, I just felt like we're real.
[01:11:21] That's who we are real ginger real judge, not fake and all the other stuff. So I think that's what I would say real is always better. And, and probably, and we're real, Virgil's reads. And that's, that's, you know, it's that simple, but it's that powerful at the same time. And I think obviously being a supertaster, you could pick that up.
[01:11:43] You know, it, it does, it does make a difference. Sure,
[01:11:47] Izolda Trakhtenberg: sure. No, it does. It does. Absolutely. It does. And, and that's one of the reasons that, that my husband buys me, he goes, I get cravings and he goes out any buys me. He's a good [01:12:00] man. He's a keeper. Right? Once again, norm, thank you so much for joining me.
[01:12:04] I appreciate it. And I'm really grateful and I will toast you the next time I have a bottle of
[01:12:13] Norm Snyder: this has been a lot of fun. It's my pleasure. I mean, I could tell, you said eight hours. I could, I could be here for eight hours. This is my favorite topic to talk about. I mean, obviously I love what I do. I love the product, so not only am I the CEO, I'm probably the number one fan and a big consumer, but it's a fun job.
[01:12:30] And you know, I, I was passed the mantle. I didn't create it. And I tip my hat to the guy that did. And the folks that brought up this far. It's an honor and privilege to be at the helm and. I have fun every day.
[01:12:43] Izolda Trakhtenberg: That's amazing. And I love that you said that loving what you do, getting to that point where you really, really are a big fan of what you do is it's, it's aspirational.
[01:12:54] It's something that we can all aspire to, to just to just get to play and have fun while at [01:13:00] the same time creating something that is so, so beneficial to so many norm. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. This is, oh my pleasure. This is Izolda Trakhtenberg for the innovative mindset podcast. I'm super grateful.
[01:13:14] You were here. If you're liking what you're hearing, first of all, you need to go get yourself a bottle of reeds by four. They come into four packs and, and drink, drink a bottle of Reed's toast, norm Snyder and his team at reeds and at Virgil's. If you're liking what you hear again, leave a review of the show.
[01:13:33] I would love to hear from you any comments or ideas that you have, I'm all ears until next time. Again, this is Izolda. Trakhtenberg reminding you to listen, learn, laugh, and love a whole lot.
[01:13:50] Thanks so much for joining me today. I really appreciate you being here. Please subscribe to the podcast if you're new, and if you like what you're hearing, please review it and rate [01:14:00] it and let other people know. And if you'd like to be a sponsor of the show, I'd love to meet you on patrion.com/innovative mindset.
[01:14:08] I also have lots of exclusive goodies to share just with the show supporters. Today's episode was produced by Izolda Trakhtenberg and his copyright 2021 as always. Please remember, this is for educational and entertainment purposes. Only past performance does not guarantee future results, although we can always hope until next time, keep living in your innovative mindset.
 
* I am a Brain.fm affiliate. If you purchase it through the above links and take the 20% off, I’ll get a small commission. And please remember, I’ll never recommend a product or service I don’t absolutely love!