Grow Your Business By Growing Your People

Marketing Podcast with Whitney Johnson

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview Whitney Johnson. Whitney is CEO of the tech-enabled talent development company Disruption Advisors. She is one of the top ten business thinkers in the world as named by Thinkers50. Whitney is an expert at smart growth leadership, and she co-founded the Disruptive Innovation Fund with Harvard Business School’s late Clayton Christensen. She’s also the author of a new book — Smart Growth: How to Grow Your People to Grow Your Company.

Key Takeaway:

Growing is the goal. Helping people develop their potential and become the self they want to be and are capable of being is what leaders strive toward. And as individuals grow, so do organizations. If you want to lead and scale an organization, that transformation starts within. In this episode, I talk with Whitney Johnson about how to grow a business — the smart way — by cultivating a culture of learning and growth.

Questions I ask Whitney Johnson:

• [1:26] How are you applying the S Curve of Learning to growth and leadership?
• [2:48] Sometimes, there’s a point in the S Curve of Learnning where even though it takes off, it can actually nosedive. Is this something you see happening with personal development?
• [4:09] I’ve owned my own business coming up on 30 years. And I feel like there’s not just one S curve of growth – what’s your view on that?
• [6:50] Would you say your book is as much about personal development as it is about leadership development?
• [8:14] What are some of the new habits or questions that people need to start asking themselves instead of just saying this is the new way we’re going to do things?
• [9:54] What advice do you have for people trying to get through the long part where they may not be seeing any advancement?
• [13:25] How can a leader or someone trying to develop personally apply the ‘collect like a child’ idea from your book?
• [15:43] Do you think the leadership part in your book might be harder to install because of the varying cultural aspects inside of different organizations?
• [17:19] Your book is filled with interviews – is there a story in the book that you feel has really nailed it?
• [19:37] Where can people find out more about your book and your work?

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This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network.

HubSpot Podcast Network is the audio destination for business professionals who seek the best education and inspiration on how to grow a business.