Phil McKenzie on How Brooklyn Builds Character and Confidence

In Chapter 5 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "What is Your Comfort Zone and What Do You Do to Break Free of Living in It?" McKenzie shares how growing up in Brooklyn during the 1970s and 1980s taught him to adapt and be comfortable in new situations. He takes this Brooklyn mindset with him wherever he goes and shares how it helps him appreciate diversity and connect with people in new places all over the world.

Philip L. McKenzie is the Founder of Influencer Conference, a global content platform that brings together tastemakers in the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology to discuss influencer culture. Previously, he led an influencer marketing agency and was an equities trader at Goldman, Sachs & Co. He earned an MBA from Duke University and a BBA from Howard University.

Phil McKenzie on Asking for and Receiving Critical Feedback

In Chapter 17 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "What Type of Feedback Do You Respond to Best?" McKenzie shares why he prefers constructive or critical feedback over positive feedback and reinforcement and how he seeks it out and uses it. He finds getting pushback criticism is especially helpful when you are very passionate about something and may not be able to see faults in an approach.

Philip L. McKenzie is the Founder of Influencer Conference, a global content platform that brings together tastemakers in the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology to discuss influencer culture. Previously, he led an influencer marketing agency and was an equities trader at Goldman, Sachs & Co. He earned an MBA from Duke University and a BBA from Howard University.

Mike Germano: Building a Business Based on Trust

In Chapter 16 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, VICE Media Chief Digital Officer Mike Germano answers "How Do You Establish Trust When Building Relationships?" Germano shares how he has built his business and his future based on trust. He finds he can identify whether or not someone is trustworthy in a short conversation. He looks for life examples and an overall sense of energy indicators in those three minutes. He also reminds himself that trust is mutual and that trusting someone else requires earning their trust as well.

Mike Germano is Chief Digital Officer at VICE Media, a global youth media company based in Brooklyn, New York. Germano joined VICE Media via its 2013 acquisition of Carrot Creative, a social media agency he co-founded and led as CEO. 

Mike Germano on Getting Better at Teaching Others What You Know

In Chapter 19 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, VICE Media Chief Digital Officer Mike Germano answers "How Are You Becoming a Better Teacher?" Germano shares how transparency helps him relate his experiences to mentees and staff in need of guidance. By making this connection, he can also find the right fit for students, putting them in a place where they will succeed, while sharing small lessons that over time add up to something larger and more profound.

Mike Germano is Chief Digital Officer at VICE Media, a global youth media company based in Brooklyn, New York. Germano joined VICE Media via its 2013 acquisition of Carrot Creative, a social media agency he co-founded and led as CEO. 

Audrey French on How to Measure the Quality of Personal Relationships

In Chapter 17 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, new mother Audrey Parker French answers "How Do You Measure the Quality of Relationships in Your Life?" French shares how she measures relationship quality by intimacy level, a feeling a connectedness, and an experience of realness. When these are present, she finds both sides of a relationship can open up, be vulnerable, and share in a way that is mutually enriching and supportive.

Audrey Parker French is a new mother living with her husband and son in Austin, Texas. Before leaving work to focus on family, French co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm she helped grow to #144 on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies and then sell to General Catalyst Partners. She graduated from Wake Forest University. 

Audrey French on Why Not to Fear Confrontation

In Chapter 18 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, new mother Audrey Parker French answers "What Has Experience Taught You About How to Better Manage Confrontation?" French shares how she has overcome a fear of confrontation by not taking emotional outbursts from others, especially anger, personally.

Audrey Parker French is a new mother living with her husband and son in Austin, Texas. Before leaving work to focus on family, French co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm she helped grow to #144 on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies and then sell to General Catalyst Partners. She graduated from Wake Forest University. 

Matt Ruby on Being Comfortable Not Getting Asked For Advice

In Chapter 5 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian and Vooza founder Matt Ruby answers "How Have You Learned to Give Better Advice When People Ask You For Help?" Ruby shares how he is not often approached for advice. He finds it may be due to coming across as unapproachable or doing work that is not fully understood by others. While Ruby does not try to avoid people, he shares that not being asked for advice is fine with him and allows him to be left alone.

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian based in New York City. He also founded Vooza, on online comic strip web series that makes fun of tech startup culture. As an actor, director, writer and producer, Ruby leads the creative direction for the team. Before his comedy career, Matt was employee #1 at 37Signals. He graduated from Northwestern University. 

Matt Ruby on Developing Characters for a New Comedy Series Pilot

In Chapter 8 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian and Vooza founder Matt Ruby answers "How Are You Challenging Yourself to Improve as a Writer?" As a comedic screenwriter working on a new comedy series pilot, Ruby learns to write characters that balance being grounded in reality with being absurd and silly. He avoids writing canned jokes and instead focuses his screenwriting to make fictional characters more human, relatable, and approachable.

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian based in New York City. He also founded Vooza, on online comic strip web series that makes fun of tech startup culture. As an actor, director, writer and producer, Ruby leads the creative direction for the team. Before his comedy career, Matt was employee #1 at 37Signals. He graduated from Northwestern University. 

Matt Ruby on How to Build an Online Community for a Web Series

In Chapter 16 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian and Vooza founder Matt Ruby answers "What Has Your Experience Developing Vooza Taught You About Building an Online Community?" Ruby finds two things are key to building audience relationships: having a consistent frequency of contact and staying open and approachable to communicating with his audience. The challenge with these online marketing initiatives is to find the time for them amidst the many other parts of the business.

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian based in New York City. He also founded Vooza, on online comic strip web series that makes fun of tech startup culture. As an actor, director, writer and producer, Ruby leads the creative direction for the team. Before his comedy career, Matt was employee #1 at 37Signals. He graduated from Northwestern University. 

Etiquette Advice for International Work Trips

In Chapter 16 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "How Have You Learned to Work More Effectively Across Different Cultures?" Law quickly learns different cultures do business in different ways. While in the UAE working in Dubai, Law makes a social faux pas around a Muslim woman and eases tension by making fun of himself.

Bryan Law is a Principal in the Global Business Strategy Group at Google and a board member at Angola University. Previously, he was a manager at Monitor, management consulting firm. He has worked in consulting roles at Watson Wyatt and Mercer. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business and a BA from Georgetown University. 

Ramsey Pryor on Building Trust by Having the Courage to Be Yourself

In Chapter 10 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, product management executive Ramsey Pryor answers "How Do You Establish Trust When Building Relationships?" Pryor finds to establish trust is to expose yourself as a human. By having the courage to be yourself you build a connection with the person you are meeting first. Pryor finds this especially helpful doing business in Asia when building relationships.

Ramsey Pryor is a product management executive at IBM focused on cloud-based collaboration and security software products. Previously he was VP Product Marketing at Outblaze, acquired by IBM. Pryor earned an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain and a BA in Economics and Spanish from Northwestern University.  

Louise Langheier on Asking For Advice Before Having a Baby

In Chapter 20 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, social entrepreneur Louise Langheier answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?" Nine months pregnant, Langheier shares how she openly seeks out advice from working parents on how they navigated parenthood and career after starting a family. She shares how she asks working parents and the way she asks follow-up questions.

Louise Davis Langheier is founder and CEO of Peer Health Exchange, a non-profit that trains college students to teach health education in public high schools. Louise was selected as a member of the 2011 class of Aspen Entrepreneurial Education Fellows, and was named an Ashoka Fellow in 2012. She graduated from Yale University. 

Newspaper Reporter Yoav Gonen on Building Communication Job Skills

In Chapter 10 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City reporter Yoav Gonen answers "How Are You Learning to Communicate More Effectively?" Gonen finds effective communication comes with comfort sharing your feelings. As he builds relationships in the office, he improves communication by getting more comfortable sharing his feelings about a story. Outside the office, Gonen learns the importance of getting potential sources comfortable talking to you before asking difficult questions. He also learns how to maintain open communication channels by gathering story evidence before asking sources to confirm or deny the story. Yoav Gonen is a reporter and City Hall Bureau Chief for the New York Post daily newspaper. Previously he spent nearly six years covering the education beat for the New York Post. Gonen earned a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Journalism from New York University.

Yoav Gonen on Managing Changing Relationships in News Reporting

In Chapter 13 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City reporter Yoav Gonen answers "How Are You Learning to Work More Effectively With Different Personality Types?" In six years reporting on the "education beat", Gonen shares how turnover in the Department of Education - or DOE - has required him to adjust to working styles of new DOE employees. Working a job where communication is important, he finds relying too much on email over phone or face-to-face is not a good idea and is challenged by new DOE employees who prefer email over phone calls. Yoav Gonen is a reporter and City Hall Bureau Chief for the New York Post daily newspaper. Previously he spent nearly six years covering the education beat for the New York Post. Gonen earned a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Journalism from New York University.

Michael Margolis on How to Find the Right Project at the Right Time

In Chapter 8 of 17 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, educator and entrepreneur Michael Margolis answers "How Do You Filter and Find the Right Project at the Right Time?" Running a fast growing storytelling business communication business, Margolis looks for client stories his team can believe in and invest in to tell a bigger story. This then requires Margolis and team to select companies who are willing and open partners in the transformational storytelling process. Michael Margolis is founder and president of Get Storied, an education and publishing platform dedicated to teaching the world how to think in narrative. He earned a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Tufts University.

Richard Moross on How to Be a More Approachable Company Leader

In Chapter 8 of 14 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, Moo.com CEO Richard Moross answers "What Does It Mean to Perform Under Pressure in the Work That You Do?" Moross notes how he faces a daily pressure of feeling like he needs to be everywhere at once. This is compounded by the business growing both in headcount as well as geographically. He realizes these facts mean he no longer can engage with employees as frequently as in the past and works to make sure he makes himself available and approachable to compensate. Richard Moross is founder and CEO of award-winning online print business Moo.com. He is a member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and a board member at Ladbrokes PLC. Before Moo.com, Moross was a strategist at design firm Imagination. He graduated from the University of Sussex.

Doug Jaeger on Making an Art Gallery for His Community

In Chapter 5 of 14 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and brand marketer Doug Jaeger answers "What Have You Learned From Starting an Art Gallery in New York City?" Jaeger shares what he and his partner, Kristin Sloan, have learned from starting an art gallery in their Lower East Side New York City studio space. From working with artists to curating shows to bringing art to the community, Jaeger seeks ways to make art more approachable in ways that bring people together. Doug Jaeger is co-founder and creative director at JaegerSloan Inc. where he focuses on brand and experimental marketing for clients such as Squarespace, Samsung and PwC. He is an adjunct professor at New York's School of Visual Arts (SVA) and co-curator of JnrlStr. He graduated from Syracuse University.

Ken Biberaj on Creative Ways to Campaign for Office on a Budget

In Chapter 12 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council Candidate Ken Biberaj answers "What Different Approaches Are You Taking to Connect Personally with Voters?" Limited by budget from running radio and television ads, Biberaj connects with voters by taking the campaign to them. He holds house parties in their buildings, visits grocery stores in their neighborhoods, and, for over a year, stands outside subway stops each day to say hello and talk to voters.

Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Democratic Candidate for City Council in New York City. He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing. Previously Biberaj was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. Biberaj holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University.