Seeking Wisdom with David Cancel

Latest Episodes:

Special Announcement: Meet the Brand New Podcast from Seeking Wisdom Dec 04, 2018

Show notes

We've got some exciting news from Drift and the Seeking Wisdom family of podcasts! We're launching a brand new show called Growth, hosted by Drift's Matt Bilotti, Senior Product Manager on, you guessed it, our Growth team. His show covers everything from growth tactics, the metrics that really matter to your bottom line, funnel mapping, how to run certain experiments, magic moments and so much more. You can also expect to get exclusive insider tips from growth leaders at top B2B companies on the tactics and strategies they use every day. Finally, a show for all you growth folks! Be sure to tune in. Plus, #Build is getting it's own dedicated feed! Make sure you don't miss an episode by searching for and subscribing to the Build from Seeking Wisdom feed today. Be sure to give all our new and existing pods ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and as always stay up to date with all things Drift at drift.com/blog.

#138: The 3 Types of Role Models Everyone Needs In Their Career Dec 03, 2018

Show notes

Mentors. Role Models. Learning from others. Those are topics we talk about regularly here on Seeking Wisdom – but there are actually 3 types of role models to follow and watch if you want to grow in your career, business, or personally. DC and DG break down Role Models, Reverse Role Models, Anti Role Models, and more on this episode of Seeking Wisdom. Before you go leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and share the pod with your friends! Be sure to check out more insights on the Drift blog at drift.com/blog and find us on Twitter @davegerhardt, @dcancel and @seekingwisdomio. In this episode: 0:31- Introduction to today’s topic on role models 2:00 - Role models in general and why you need them 2:20 - Role models allow you to see what’s possible. 3:00 - Learn what works and doesn’t work from other people. 3:21 - We are in a constant fight with our own egos. 4:35 - We all model throughout our lives, but we get to a point when we stop modeling. 5:25 - The best marketers learn faster than anyone else. 6:13 - The classroom example- Whose earnings would you choose? 7:11 - Selecting your Role Model(s) 7:44 - Find somebody that is doing the same thing you are doing today. (peer) 7:50 - Find somebody that is one level ahead of you. 7:57 - Find somebody who is multiple levels ahead of you. 8:10 - Reverse Role Models introduced 8:18 - DG goes to a dinner event in with CMOs 10:00 - Reverse Role Models help you figure out what is possible. 10:32 - Anti Role Models- Find the people exhibiting the traits that never lead to the things that you want. (Charlie Munger’s Inversion Theory) 13:15 - Getting caught up in equipment, what you look like 13:45 - Rate & Review! Links: Learn more about Charlie Munger’s Inversion theory: https://www.learning-theories.com/inversion.html

#Build 11: Julia Austin on the Making of a Great PM – Lessons from Harvard Business School, Digital Ocean, VMWare & Akamai Nov 30, 2018

Show notes

On this episode of #Build, board advisor and Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, Julia Austin, shares her point of view on what makes a truly great product manager. How does she know? Well years of experience spent as CTO at Digital Ocean and VP of Engineering at VMWare and Akamai. Julia also opens up about her time as a lecturer at Harvard Business School and experience serving as a board advisor to startups including Drift, Wistia, Help Scout, ZappRx and others. Before you go leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and share the pod with your friends! Be sure to check out more insights on the Drift blog at drift.com/blog and find us on Twitter @maggiecrowley, @drift, @seekingwisdomio and @austinfish. In this episode: 0:09 – Maggie introduces Julia Austin 0:40 – Introduction of the two big topics of today’s show: 1. What is a great product manager, 2. How one builds a carrier in production management 0:57 – Julia shares how she went from production itself to teaching about it 4:23 – Product manager is not a cool CEO position, but it turns ideas into made products and can be very gratifying 5:48 – The process of idea to realization in project management that she teaches in Julia’s class 8:32 – By taking a product management class one can walk through and gain knowledge about the whole process 9:05 – Kinds of people customarily being most successful in product management 16:29 – Julia explains what a ‘typical’ product manager looks like 20:24 – You don’t have to build the most fancy things all the time 21:57 – Sometimes you have to take scary risks 23:20 – What makes a great PM is someone who says ‘I know this is the right thing to do,’ and can make the call 23:28 – Julia shares advice on how one can get their first PM job 26:46 – Advice on how to evaluate the next carrier steps as a PM, and whether to go / remain in a big or a start-up company 35:32 – Julia shares some final pieces of advice 37:21 – Be willing to take risks 38:03 – Don’t be focused on titles, but on what you will actually do

#Exceptions 9: The Most Crucial Leadership Principle Most B2B Brands Miss Nov 28, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of #Exceptions, a revelation about leadership and team happiness and retention in B2B. Indianapolis startup Lessonly teaches us about the communication principle most needed but often overlooked across the corporate world. It's one that explains why customers send Lessonly unsolicited letters praising them, and why the company's VP of Marketing spent a recent evening alone in his garage, spray painting 700 toy llamas gold. This is an #Exceptions episode unlike any other. If you like it, be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and say hi on Twitter: @lessonly @kyleplacy @jayacunzo @seekingwisdomio.   In this episode:  0:35 - You’re only as good as your last at bat. 1:20 - Read Break the Wheel 1:56 - Meet Lessonly 2:56 - Jay reaches out to one of Lessonly’s happy customers. 4:10 - Putting the customer at the center of it all 7:17 - Jay explains Lessonly’s road map… with llamas. 9:00 - Jamie advocates really knowing what conference you’re going to. 10:09 - If Lessonly were a person it would be Jamie’s friend that would follow through. 13:00 - Psychological Safety introduced 13:17 - Employees are the best place to invest. 13:54 - Most marketers are reactive and skittish. 14:57 - At the core of psychological safety is trust. 15:21 - Marketing successes 16:40 - Caring about the whole person on our team 17:40 - Meet Kyle Lacy (Lessonly’s VP of Marketing) 17:47 - Non-violent communication & appreciative inquiry 20:53 - Katie Brunette (Marketing Manager) talks about Lessonly’s CEO & work/life integration. 23:40 - Kyle Lacy explains being too metric-heavy. 24:55 - The Golden Llama trophy 27:14 - The things that aren’t scalable are typically what works. 27:53 - Why Yellowship? 29:55 - Psychological safety while event planning for Yellowship 32:15 - Lessonly’s branding and unexpected touches 33:30 - Jay reads a letter from a customer. 35:54 - Gut-checking as a team 37:28 - The ability to help others do better work IS the platform.

#137: The Most Important Management Book Of All-Time Nov 19, 2018

Show notes

On this episode of Seeking Wisdom, DC and DG discuss former Intel CEO Andy Grove and his book High Output Management – which just might be one of the most important management books of all-time. Plus DC shares one secret tell that will show you who your next great manager might be. Before you go leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and share the pod with your friends! Be sure to check out more insights on the Drift blog at drift.com/blog and find us on Twitter @davegerhardt, @dcancel and @seekingwisdomio. In this episode: 0:47 - Introduction of the book covered in this episode, High Output Management by Andy Grove. 1:07 - How Andy Grove has made an impact 2:28 - Why it’s important to pair your learning with a moment in time 3:05 - Main lesson of the High Output Management: be conscious of how everything you do reflects on the people who work for you. 3:30 - Additional lesson: everything you do/don’t do counts and says something about you to your team. 4:17 - Be able to model good management and leadership for your team, as perception is reality 5:01 - “The streets are watching” - your team looks to you for cues on how they should act. 5:30 - Additional lesson: A manager’s output equals the output of his organization plus the output of the neighboring organization under his influence 6:27 - The secret to getting promoted is to go beyond doing 100% of your job 7:05 - DC and DG’s bonus tip on how to spot a natural born leader and your next great manager 8:15 - Additional lesson: saying yes means saying no to something else 9:30 - Be straightforward and leave the interview gimmicks alone so as not to leave the wrong impression 10:44 - Hiring is luck, so the interview process needs to be scientific 11:53 - Management should adjust based on talent and knowledge and the Task Level Maturity approach Books mentioned in this episode: High Output Management by Andy Grove

#Marketing: Lessons From The High Volume Business – Scaling Hootsuite, Vidyard & Constant Contact with Steve Johnson Nov 16, 2018

Show notes

On this #Marketing edition of Seeking Wisdom, DG syncs up with legendary marketing operator, Steve Johnson. Together they discuss his time at Constant Contact, Hootsuite, Vidyard and more. Before you go leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and share the pod with your friends! Be sure to check out more insights on the Drift blog at drift.com/blog and find us on Twitter @davegerhardt @seekingwisdomio. In This Episode: 0:33 - Intro with Steve Johnson 1:29 - The rise of social media 2:31 - Hootsuite and social media 3:51 - Lessons from the high-volume business 4:16 - Lessons from Constant Contact 4:34 - Fremium 5:43 - How did Hootsuite grow? 6:33 - Community marketing 7:25 - Ambassadors to reach area influencers 8:16 - Hoot-ups 10:52 - South by Southwest and an owl bus 12:02 - All a matter of marketing and public relations 12:34 - The move to enterprise 14:46 - The proliferation of free/enterprise combinations 15:44 - A lesson from Survey Monkey: switch to annual subscription 17:12 - A lesson from Survey Money: use an agency 17:28 - The most recent parts of Steve’s journey 17:40 - Lessons from Hootsuite: purpose and model 18:26 - On the need for an international move 19:24 - Things learned from Vidyard 20:45 - GoVideo success 21:30 - Fremium is good for horizontal markets. 22:25 - The attitude needed to build a big company

#Exceptions 8: How First Round Capital Bet on Brand to Change the VC Industry Nov 14, 2018

Show notes

First Round Capital is one of the most widely loved venture capital firms in tech -- no small feat for a VC firm to claim. Through their platform (VC for brand marketing and value-add projects), they've built the Harvard Business Review-of-Startups, hold 80+ events per year for their portfolio companies, and even help founders pitch them through a program called Pitch Assist. Today, host Jay Acunzo talks to First Round partner Bill Trenchard and how and why FRC bets on brand (and how that changed the VC world for good). We also hear from the founder of a growth-stage startup, Lloyd Tabb of Looker, who describes his experience with Bill and the First Round brand. Before you go leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and share the pod with your friends! Be sure to check out more insights on the Drift blog at drift.com/blog and find us on Twitter @davegerhardt, @dcancel and @seekingwisdomio. In This Episode: 1:00 - Overview of #Exceptions 2:02 - First Round Capital 4:40 - What do entrepreneurs think of First Round Capital? 7:30 - First Round’s alignment with entrepreneurs 9:00 - First Round’s programs & network of professionals 11:30 - Good behavior under stress: living out brand values 13:20 - Today’s big idea: Thinking long-term 15:11 - “What’s in it for the customer?” 19:20 - Shared experience & empathy 23:00 - Evaluating investment opportunities through empathy 24:33 - Companies with the best customer experience 27:28 - The ugly duckling vs. the swan 28:39 - Hacks vs. the long view 32:00 - Two tactics for handling the hard times in a VC 35:00 - Bill’s hard conversation with a founder 36:00 - Key learning points from this episode

#136: How To Become A Learning Machine (And Triple The Number Of Books You Read In 2019) Nov 12, 2018

Show notes

This week on Seeking Wisdom, DC and DG re-visit one of the most popular episodes of all time to share their secrets to reading more books. Why? Because reading is key to transforming you into a learning machine. And that means helping you get ahead in your career. Before you go leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and share the pod with your friends! Be sure to check out more insights on the Drift blog at drift.com/blog and find us on Twitter @davegerhardt, @dcancel and @seekingwisdomio. In this episode: 00:37 - Did you vote? Who are the copywriters for ballots? 2:00 - Why we made this episode 3:54 - You’ve been taught the wrong way to read 5:50 - The key to becoming a learning machine 7:30 - James Altucher: “Idea sex” 9:07 - Stop reading boring books 10:54 - How to stay inspired and keep learning 14:19 - A six-star review from Ethan

#Build 10: Atlassian's Joff Redfern on Scaling Product Teams through Hypergrowth Nov 09, 2018

Show notes

On today’s episode of #Build, host Maggie Crowley sits down with Joff Redfern, VP of Product at Atlassian. Together they talk through Joff’s time as VP of Product at LinkedIn, building a product org from 12 people to 650, the concept of a shipyard, why talent is priority 0, why he chose to join Atlassian and much more. Before you go leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and share the pod with your friends! Be sure to check out more insights on the Drift blog at drift.com/blog and find us on Twitter @maggiecrowley, @drift , @seekingwisdomio, and @mejoff. In this episode: 0:33 – Maggie introduces Joff 2:19 – Falling in love with the Atlassian vision, needing a calling 3:30 – How LinkedIn shaped Joff’s career 6:45 – Riding the double paradigm shift to mobile and social networks 7:48 – How to scale an organization...Building Your Shipyard 8:52 – Three pieces to a shipyard: values (8:59), people/talent (10:15), practices (10:43) 2:11 – What does it mean to be an Atlassian Product Manager? 15:40 – Having just one set of expectations for hiring, evaluating, and growing talent 19:15 – Keep it simple, because movements are built on slogans 21:52 – Creating autotomy and best practices across the organization 25:15 – Maggie shares about independent work with accountability at Drift 26:00 – Scaling really fast and incrementally improving 28:01 – Joff’s book list: Drive, Zero to One, Thinking Fast and Slow 30:18 – Don’t wait, don’t be afraid to look bad, and embrace creative confrontation

#Marketing: 5 Lessons You Can Steal From Today's Top B2B Brands (And The Process Behind Writing A New Book) Nov 05, 2018

Show notes

On this #Marketing edition of Seeking Wisdom, DG sits down with Jay Acunzo to unpack 5 lessons he learned from today's top B2B brands while working on season one of #Exceptions. Plus, get a behind-the-scenes look at the writing process for Jay's new book, the art of self-publishing and more.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Seeking Wisdom with David Cancel

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected