#132 From tech giant to embracing entrepreneurship with Glenn Block
Release Date: 10/03/2024
#150 Finding your voice and your value in times of change with David James
Another Door Stories
“It was a phenomenal time looking back, of anxiety at the beginning and disbelief that this was going to do anything for us, to finally being acquired at the end of 2021 in a life changing deal.” In this episode, I speak to David James about the reality of walking away from a, on paper, dream corporate role in search of something else. David left the Walt Disney Company and joined the startup world, he shares the story of facing into the setbacks, the moments of wonderful serendipity, the moments of deep, dark doubt (my words, not David’s!). We talk about the emotional...
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#149 Success isn't static: why we keep redefining what matters with Anna Lundberg
Another Door Stories
“What does success actually mean to me? Why did I quit my job really? How do I build this freedom, flexibility, fulfillment? How do I redefine it?” In this episode, I talk to Anna Lundberg, an executive coach, business mentor and strategic adviser who challenges us to think about success and what it means to us. Anna shares her career change from corporate marketing to creating a business with more freedom and fulfillment. We explore the evolution of success, exploring unexpected paths and random connections that shape our careers and personal growth, like finding me on...
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#148 Getting comfortable with the unknown with Suzanne Penny
Another Door Stories
“Sometimes the doors closing are not just physical things. Sometimes it is about closing the way we do something, the way we think, so that we can step into a different space for ourselves.” Have you ever felt the weight of certainty pull you down, trapping you in a life that doesn’t truly fulfill you? In this episode I sit down with Suzanne Penny, a transition and career coach, who shares her own transformative journey of leaving behind certainty in favour of embracing the unknown. Suzanne shares key turning points in her life that could have easily anchored her in fear and...
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#147 From law courts to catwalks: following your heart with Taiwo Meghoma
Another Door Stories
"I thought, if dressing people and making people look good makes them happy, then I would love to do this." Have you ever felt the weight of questioning your career path and wondered if there might be something else out there that's truly meant for you? In this episode, we take you on a journey with Taiwo Meghoma, a lawyer-turned-fashion-stylist. From a young boy in Nigeria discovering his love for fashion by helping his mother with her outfits, to sitting front row at major fashion weeks alongside his idols, Taiwo's story is about boldly opening new doors even when the world might tell...
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#146 How kindness shows up in moments of change with Graham Allcott
Another Door Stories
"When you have kindness in the culture, you build psychological safety. And from there you have high performing teams, better staff retention, creativity, resilience, like it really stacks up in terms of all the different benefits that you get by increasing levels of kindness and empathy in your business." Kindness can transform not just your personal well-being but also the landscape of work and leadership. In this episode, I reconnect with Graham Allcott, productivity expert, author, and now a passionate advocate for kindness in the workplace. We share the inspiration for his new book Kind,...
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#145 Fusing engineering with creativity to unleash rebellious curiosity with Yemi Penn
Another Door Stories
"The biggest thing was I wanted to be more responsible as a thought leader. And in a world where we have so much information, misinformation, disinformation, it was important that I went through a process of acquiring knowledge and creating new knowledge and it was the PhD." Ready to lead a curiosity rebellion? We have the inspiring Yemi Penn as our guest. Yemi is a trailblazer who has navigated and embraced change across continents, careers, and personal transformations. From her early beginnings in engineering to becoming a documentary creator and author, Yemi has followed her...
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#144 How six words can tell your life story with Larry Smith
Another Door Stories
"We tell stories in times of transition because in good times, bad times, lateral movements, figurative movements, we need to make sense of the world. Stories help us help us process. This is what makes us human." Can six words help you process change, and tell your life story? On the podcast Larry Smith shares how a simple Twitter experiment 15 years ago turned into a global storytelling movement - the Six Word Memoir project. Our conversation is not just word count. Larry shares his closing door life moments, from divorce, to relocation, to career change....
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#143 - Finding the courage to keep pushing forward with Devon Harris
Another Door Stories
“I grew up watching the Olympics and you see these athletes from around the world marching in the opening ceremonies. And then one day, you are setting foot in that stadium. 50,000 people screaming and you look to your right and you see more cameras than you can count. And in that moment that you are on TV around the world and some little kid is probably looking at you the way you looked at some other athlete." How do you find the courage to push forward when fear and uncertainty stand in your way? In this episode, I speak to Devon Harris, member of the legendary Jamaican bobsleigh team that...
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#142: How to start again after selling your business with Aimee Bateman
Another Door Stories
“My new mission in life...is about helping women be seen, heard, and valued in their space, whether that's in work and beyond” In this episode, I talk with Aimee Bateman, an incredible entrepreneur and advocate for women in the workplace. Aimee shares her story of how experimenting helped her through a closing door after selling her business Careercake. She had spent 10 years building a successful company, then sold it, which was the plan all along. But after the sale, she faced a new challenge: What’s next? She was also adjusting to life as a new parent,...
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#141: After the music stops, life after the boyband with Lee Murray
Another Door Stories
"For me opening the door was the same door that had shut in my face previously. But going back there and thinking, well, what am I able to do? …I tried many things, but I realised it's music. So I sat down with a blank piece of paper and thought, I've got to make my way again." Imagine being at the height of music stardom in the 90s, performing on Top of the Pops, being helicoptered between gigs, and having fans waiting outside your house. Then suddenly, there is silence. In this episode Lee Murray shares what happens when the music stops. Lee was the drummer in the band Let Loose, which...
info_outline“What if I could author my life the way I want it to be? What would that look like? And the more I started to think about that it was, you know, not working for anybody. It was creating my own spaces, creating my own company where I get to do the things I really care about, and where I can structure it”
Join me talking to Glenn Block, whose journey from corporate life to entrepreneurship is packed with valuable lessons and insights, and stories of how getting it wrong on the first go can turn out to be OK! Glenn shares the moment he decided to close a door on working in ‘big tech’ and launch not one but two of his own businesses. We discuss the magic of having unfiltered conversations with people when you first have an idea, our love of books and the importance of watching out for your mental health during life changes.
"Leaving corporate politics felt like closing the door on a toxic relationship; it was a necessary step towards reclaiming my mental health and professional integrity."
Here are the highlights:
06:47 MBA led to realisation: Leave the corporate for new opportunities.
20:39 Enjoying flexibility and fulfillment outside corporate environment.
22:30 Launched business in 2023; in a struggling economy.
30:01 ADHD's hyperfocus can lead to extreme productivity.
33:10 Learned more being self-employed than in a corporate job.
42:07 Seeking music to inspire hope during change.
51:57 Runway provides security and focus for success.
Glenn’s Another Door go-tos
The things that helped Glenn navigate change.
Book: “Leadership and Self Deception” by The Arbinger Institute
Music: "My Life" by Billy Joel
The one piece of advice: "Planning is crucial. Having a financial runway, for me it was a year-long plan, gave me the stability I needed to make the leap from corporate life to self-employment with confidence."
About Glenn Block
Glenn is a product and innovation leader with almost 30 years of experience in the tech industry. Throughout his career he has been at the forefront of building innovative enterprise solutions and advancing cloud computing. He has led initiatives at a number of top tech companies including Microsoft, Docusign, Auth0, and Splunk. After many years of witnessing the deep systemic inequities in the tech industry and how that impacts product development, Glenn started ProdSense where he advises organizations on how to build more inclusive products.
Glenn’s mission is to create a more inclusive and safe environment in tech. He invests a large amount of his energy in mentoring, advising, and sponsorship especially for black women, women of color, and the LGBTQ community. He has also worked in multiple organizations to change culture and policies, and has collaborated with several non-profit organizations as part of his mission including TechBridge Girls, Tech2Empower, and Code Nation.
He is a lifelong learner and received his executive MBA in leadership and social justice from Seattle University
Find out more: https://prodsense.net
Connect with Glenn:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gblock/
About your host Eleanor Tweddell:
Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it’s 121 coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training. Eleanor’s work centres around how we, as humans, work through change, embracing the messy bits, the role of playing, with the aim to see opportunity. “Too often we get stuck in the change happening to us, when just through that next door is an exciting next chapter.”
Eleanor is the founder of Another Door, and Get-Recommended.com and the author of Why losing your job could be the best thing that ever happened to you.
Connect with Eleanor:
Instagram:instagram/anotherdooruk
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-tweddell/
Website: eleanortweddell.com
Produced by winteraudio.co.uk