Jullie Gordon on How Giving a TED Talk Benefits Career

In Chapter 12 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, motivation teacher Jullien Gordon answers "What Do You Find Most Exciting About Giving a TED Talk?"  Gordon finds TED Talks increase his ability to make an impact by giving him a platform to reach a larger, targeted audience.  The TED Talk also helps Gordon focus his message to make it more memorable.  Gordon is the founder of the Department of Motivated Vehicles, a personal and professional development company that helps clients identify purpose and map it to successful outcomes. Gordon has written five books and speaks regularly to college students across America.  He earned masters degrees in education and business from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from UCLA.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  What do you find most exciting about giving a TED talk?

Jullien Gordon:  The impact.  The impact.  I know that these videos reach thousands and thousands and thousands of people just by the views on TED.com and I’ll be honest that I feel like I’ve had some difficulty actually sharing my messages widely as it needs to be heard and so the opportunity to share this and hopefully touch thousands and thousands of lives online moves me a lot and makes me take this moment very seriously. 

I just did a TED talk in Chicago for TEDx Midwest and now I’m doing one for TEDx Brooklyn in December.  So I’m really taking these spaces seriously and it really makes me think about if I had one thing to say to the world, what would that thing be?  And so I have some insights that I’ve garnered through my own life and my own experiment and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to maybe shift the way 1, 2, 3 or 3000 or 4000 people think about their lives going forward as a result of these short 10 to 18 minute videos.

Jullien Gordon on Building a Teaching Career Outside the Classroom

In Chapter 13 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, motivation teacher Jullien Gordon answers "How Has Your Professional Experience Directed Your Passion for Teaching?"  Gordon notes how, upon graduating UCLA, he applied but was not accepted to Teach for America.  He pursues teaching experiences outside the classroom, preparing students by providing them tools, systems and processes to use.  This helps Gordon shape into the motivation teacher and public speaker he is today.  Gordon is the founder of the Department of Motivated Vehicles, a personal and professional development company that helps clients identify purpose and map it to successful outcomes. Gordon has written five books and speaks regularly to college students across America.  He earned masters degrees in education and business from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from UCLA.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  How has your professional experience directed your passion for teaching?

Jullien Gordon:  So coming out college I originally applied for Teach for America.  I thought I wanted to be a teacher and for some reason they said my application was incomplete and after a while I realized that you know what?  The classroom wasn’t actually where I wanted to be.  So you know I teach -- I consider myself a motivation teacher more so than a motivational speaker because a motivational speaker come in and get you excited for 30 minutes then you leave and they leave and that inspiration fades away after like another 30 minutes, right? 

As a motivation teacher I always try to leave people with tools, systems and processes that they can use and that will carry them on beyond my presence and that’s what I think a teacher does.  They leave you with formulas, tools, processes and ways of thinking about the world and your life that will last beyond their presence.  You can think about some of your most amazing teachers, Luigi Santini, Chip Anderson, Father Marlow. These are people who have touched me in ways that have long outlasted their presence in my life and so when I share messages that’s where I’m coming from.  I’m really trying to share life changing and transformative messages, not just inspiration.

Jullien Gordon on How to Take Action on an Inspiring Moment

In Chapter 14 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, motivation teacher Jullien Gordon answers "What is Your Process for Designing Career Learning Products and Programs?"  Gordon goes into detail on how he takes action on inspiring moments and creates learning products and expeirences that help others.  Gordon shares the step-by-step evolution of that idea and how he packages the idea and delivers it to an audience.  From this, Gordon, develops an annual framework that allows him to continuously turn new ideas into learning and career education products.  Gordon is the founder of the Department of Motivated Vehicles, a personal and professional development company that helps clients identify purpose and map it to successful outcomes. Gordon has written five books and speaks regularly to college students across America.  He earned masters degrees in education and business from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from UCLA.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  What is your process for designing career-learning products and programs?

Jullien Gordon: The first process is for inspiration.  For instance, the Route 66 tour started out of being inspired by a statistic from the National Association of Colleges and Employers in 2009, that only 20% of college grads had jobs on hand at graduation and I had two little brothers who had been through college and that was inspiration.  I was just like, you know what I have to do something about this, this is a huge problem. 

From there I wrote a blog entry called 66 things to do before you graduate then I tried to share that blog entry with as many people as possible so I reached out in the National Society of Collegiate Scholars who I was a member of during undergrad and all I originally wanted them to do was send it out to their membership. When they saw it, they invited me in to come share it as a presentation.  They loved the presentation and we formed a partnership and that became a tour.  So that’s kind of been processes starting with being fully inspired and committed to solving a particular specific problem, from there packaging it or creating some sort of comprehensive way of delivering it. For this instance we chose a book and a presentation and a tour and then from there just going and doing the work. 

So I noticed that I have this rhythm in my life that has been occurring for the past three years, which is in the summer is like my down time when I’m actually in creation mode.  That’s when The Innerview was produced, that’s when 8 Cylinders of Success was produce, Good Excuse Goals, Route 66, those were all produced in this summer type area and then I go out in the fall and I try to test them.  I test them in small places at first and then to see if they work in those test markets and once I get proof that they work then I commit the rest of the next year to actually expanding them and spreading them as widely as possible. 

So I have this rhythm in my life of this creation phase like in June, July, August, this experiment phase towards the end of the year and then this execution phase from January to June of the next year.  So that’s kind of been my cycle and my rhythm of creating the products that I’ve created.

Jullien Gordon on How to Make Great Products

In Chapter 15 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, motivation teacher Jullien Gordon answers "What Have Your Experiences Taught You About What Makes a Product Great?"  Gordon explains how he has refined his products by listening to how users are using the products each day.  This allows him to iterate the products and tailor them to core user needs.  Additionally, he looks for multiple product uses that fit into an ecosystem.  He offers an example from one of his books, "Good Excuse Goals" and the learning programs that connect the book content into his other products.  Gordon is the founder of the Department of Motivated Vehicles, a personal and professional development company that helps clients identify purpose and map it to successful outcomes. Gordon has written five books and speaks regularly to college students across America.  He earned masters degrees in education and business from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from UCLA.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  What have your experiences taught you about what makes a product great?

Jullien Gordon:  The number one thing for a great product is knowing that it’s never done and that there’s constant iteration that needs to occur. So for instance, the Innerview is actually an iteration of the career change challenge, 101 things to do before you graduate is an iteration of what I experienced on the Route 66 tour but the only way you can iterate properly, because you can constantly iterate, but the only way you can iterate properly is by listening very carefully to the people who are using your product on a daily basis and seeing how they’re using it and what issues that they’re having in order to make it constantly better. 

So there’s constant improvement in regards to a product development.  The next thing is I think creating an ecosystem.  When you look at for instance iPod, right?  You have iPod and then you have iPod speakers, you iPod cases, you have iPod this, headphones etcetera.  You create an ecosystem around a product so that people can use it in different ways.  I like to use the notion of the snowball and ice cream scoop, right?  So a snowball scoop sells in the winter.  Ice cream scoop sells in the summer but when you look at their physical definition they’re actually the same device and so you can figure out how to use this one device and actually create multiple use cases for it kind of like baking soda as well.  Baking soda is used for toothpaste, to clean things, to keep your refrigerator smelling good. So when you think about all the uses of your products I think and build an ecosystem that allows people to use it and access it in different ways I think that that’s what makes a product great.  So iteration and an ecosystem.

Erik Michielsen:  Give me an example of how an ecosystem works for one of your products.

Jullien Gordon:  So I have my book, Good Excuse Goals, right?  And it’s not just a book there’s actually a community of people who are in 30-day do-it groups around the country who are using this methodology in their lives.  So the 30-day do-it groups work kind of like alcoholics anonymous which I talked about last year where you get in a group of people, you set one goal for the month, it’s called a new month resolution and you hold each other accountable to that one goal that you set.  So that’s an ecosystem that’s built as another layer beyond just the book, right? 

The Innerview is not just a book there’s also videos and at Indiana University and at Cornell there’s actually a class that I come and help teach in order to deliver that curriculum.  So it’s constantly layering on value to the base product which is the book or the formula but you know a lot of people write books, self-help books but what’s the next layer, what do people need after they’ve read and digested the information that’s gonna support them to actually integrate those insights into their lives on a daily basis.  So constantly layering, which is the iterative process, and then ultimately once you continue to iterate that creates an ecosystem of other things to use.

Jullien Gordon on How Self Publishing Helps Personal Brand Marketing

In Chapter 16 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, motivation teacher Jullien Gordon answers "What has the Self Publishing Process Taught You About Personal Brand Marketing?"  Gordon finds self-publishing books - five to date - an excellent way to distribute products and build his personal brand.  He notes the importance of understanding alternative distribution options and how commitment to a goal opens doors to new opportunities.  Gordon is the founder of the Department of Motivated Vehicles, a personal and professional development company that helps clients identify purpose and map it to successful outcomes. Gordon has written five books and speaks regularly to college students across America.  He earned masters degrees in education and business from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from UCLA.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  What has the self-publishing process taught you about personal brand marketing?

Jullien Gordon:  Especially in this kind of economy and when you look at the music industry and self-publishing industry I think you actually want to demonstrate that you can create value on your own first before you go to a big person, a big player in the game.  So I wasn’t gonna let a publisher or wait for a publisher to give me permission to write my own books.  That would be stupid. That would be ridiculous. 

So I’ve been able to distribute over 10,000 copies of my books on my own and now if I was to approach a publisher I would have a different stake in the negotiation, more leverage in the negotiation but even then some publishers have approached me and the margins that they’re trying to give me off of my own products despite their wide distribution just hasn’t made financial sense and so it’s been very powerful to do something independently.

If I could find the right distribution partner, then I’m open to it because that means more impact, and more spread of these messages and ideas, right?  TED is an example of a distributor, they’re not a distributor but they are creating a platform for me to distribute some of my ideas through TEDx, etcetera.  So I love partnerships but the partnerships have to also make sense.  So I think what attracts people is when you’re already in motion on yourself – on your own.  You’re already making progress on your own, not I’m at a standstill I have this idea, will you come support me.

People like to support things that are already in motion. So when it comes to personal branding and getting your products out there, you want to get things in motion as fast as possible using your own resources and we have hidden resources all around us that we don’t acknowledge.  Your friends, your parent’s friends, your parents, organizations right around the corner from you, if you just really are committed to getting it out there as far as you possibly can on your own, when you tap out that’s when I’ve noticed that other relationships have emerged to expand your ideas even further.

What Gets Easier and What Gets Harder - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 1 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "What is Getting Easier and What is Getting Harder in Your Life?"  Ferrentino notes how as his kids age, he finds parenting more approachable.  This also comes with finding the children schools and getting them enrolled.  He notes how challenge boils down to managing time, schedules, and commitments to stay balanced with the kids and each parent's respective career.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

How to Use Your Network to Make Big Life Decisions - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 2 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "How Do You Use Your Network to Get Help Making Career and Life Decisions?"  Ferrentino speaks about career and life challenges, especially at forks in life and how networks can help.  He notes how specialization makes the network more valuable, especially around career choice, family, and financial planning.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

How Marriage Exemplifies Teamwork - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 3 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "What Has Marriage Taught You About Teamwork?"  Ferrentino notes how the relationship with his spouse is a peer relationship built on trust, communication, and shared responsibility.  He notes how having a sounding board enables improved iteration and collaboration which provides support in a two working parent household.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

How Work at Home Parent Stays Productive - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 4 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "How Do You Manage the Balance Between Working from Home and Being a Parent?"  Ferrentino shares home office challenges, including face time with colleagues, and benefits such as eliminating a commute to spend more time with the kids.  Over time, he learns discipline that increases his productivity.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Learning Holistic Leadership Working at Salesforce - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 5 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "When Are You at Your Best?"  By working at Salesforce.com, Ferrentino learns to blend the creative side of creating and sharing a vision across a company with working with various teams - sales, marketing, product - to execute upon it.  Through the process, he learns on the job to understand how this integrated approach translates into on-message, seamless customer product experiences.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

How Vision Enables Technology Leadership - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 6 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "What Does It Mean to Be a Leader in What You Do?"  Ferrentino believes leadership in software starts with setting a vision and building a corporate culture around it.  He notes how setting the vision in a large organization comes with challenges of scale not seen in startups.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

How Corporate Leadership Creates Innovation Culture - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 7 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "What are the Challenges of Applying an Entrepreneurial Approach in a Large Company?"  Ferrentino notes how it is more challenging to make change in an established company than in a small one.  He notes innovation blockers such as political barriers, including fiefdoms, as well as concerns about meeting Wall Street expectations as a publicly traded company.  He shares how some companies can create innovation or incubator groups and how that can work; however, in fast moving industries such as software, the innovation must be embedded in culture and that, he shares, is a top-down executive responsibility.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

How to Find Purpose in Technology Leadership Career - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 8 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "What Makes Your Work Meaningful?"  Ferrentino enjoys not only doing something that has not been done, but more importantly driving people - teams, partners, consumers - toward that vision.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

How to Build a Career by Solving Personal Problems - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 9 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "How Has Solving Your Own Problems Shaped Your Business Career Path?"  Ferrentino notes how his engineering and technology career has been built by solving problems that affect his life and why living these problems helps him build product to address them.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

How to Design a Corporate Social Network - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 10 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "So How Has Your Approach to Solving Problems You are Having Led You to Developing Social Tools for the Enterprise?"  Ferrentino, who concepted a corporate social network called Chatter, walks through the process that informed why and how Salesforce Chatter was built.  He compares and contrasts corporate social networks with consumer social networks and what he learned about applying Web 2.0 and social tools in an enterprise environment.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

How Experience Shapes Product Design Excellence - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 11 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "What Have Your Experiences Taught You About What Makes a Product Great?"  In addition to solving a problem, Ferrentino underscores the importance of consistently delivering great experiences via product design.  As a result, he notes the importance of having one person responsible for managing that experience choreography.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Learning the Science of Sales at Salesforce - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 12 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "How Did Working at Salesforce Teach You to Be a Better Salesperson?"  Over an immersive 18-month rotational training program, Ferrentino learns sales the a culture built on founder and CEO Marc Benioff's mission in cloud computing enterprise software.  With a better understanding of enterprise sales strategy and solution selling, Ferrentino is better prepared to excel in his senior leadership role.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

How Passion Improves Storytelling Prowess - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 13 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "How Have You Learned to Be a Better Storyteller?"  Ferrentino questions whether storytelling is a learned or innate skill.  He notes how having passion for your story and believing what you are saying helps get points across and energize others.  With this passion as a base, he notes how then dramatic tools can be layered in to increase effectiveness.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.