245 Simone Stolzoff on the better ways to integrate work, life, and identity for more success and satisfaction
Release Date: 11/10/2023
250 - Defying the Odds - Season 14 Recap
Behind the Brilliance
Lisa summarizes Season 14, Defying the Odds, with reflections on the strategies shared and helpful recaps. 240 – Dr. Andrew Newberg 241 – Cin Fabre 242 – Tyler Denk 243 – Jim Fielding 244 – Dr. Valerie Daniels-Carter 245 – Simone Stolzoff 246 – Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg 247 – Andrew Barnes 248 – Jamila Souffrant 249 – Kevin Kelly Subscribe to CUE at to be the first to know when the new season streams.
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249 Kevin Kelly on Living and Working at the Intersection of Passion, Purpose, and Profitability
Behind the Brilliance
THE SHOW Kevin Kelly is a modern creative pioneer. He was a polymath before it was cool. His career as a writer, founder, photographer, and editor extends across industries and continents. A world traveler and lifelong learner, Kevin’s ideas such as 1000 True Fans have inspired a generation of builders and artists to exercise full agency over their creative pursuits. Kevin was on a short list of dream guests I’ve long held for Behind the Brilliance, and our conversation did not disappoint. He was candid and thoughtful as we covered a wide range of topics including career and life...
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248 Jamila Souffrant on Redefining and Achieving Financial Freedom
Behind the Brilliance
THE SHOW Jamila Souffrant’s expertise in personal finance is informed by her own experience turning financial uncertainty into financial freedom. She and her husband saved $169,000 in 2 years and redefined their future with smart money decisions. Now she’s guiding people from diverse backgrounds to more fulfilled lives through her personal finance podcast, Journey to Launch, and her new book, Your Journey to Financial Freedom. Jamila’s work has been featured in Money Magazine, CNBC, and more. The Journey To Launch Podcast was listed by the NYTimes as a podcast to help you get...
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247 Andrew Barnes on why (and how) a 4 Day Work Week is the secret to success at work
Behind the Brilliance
A dynamic and growing group of companies and organizations are moving to a 4 day work week. Andrew Barnes is the pioneer behind this movement. It all started with an experiment to see what would happen if his team worked 4 days instead of 5. The results were so breathtaking that he never looked back. Now there's an entire organization - including research, a book, and tools - dedicated to making the work world more efficient. Through his company – New Zealand's largest corporate trustee company, Perpetual Guardian – Andrew announced a 4 day week trial, with staff receiving an...
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246 Thomas Wedell-Wedellsbord on the Science of Effective Problem Solving
Behind the Brilliance
Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg is the author of which was released by Harvard Business Press. He is also the co-author (with Paddy Miller) of , a Harvard Business Review Press book on the art of driving innovation in regular organizations. Thomas has worked with managers in nearly all parts of the globe, including China, India, Russia, Singapore, Britain, France and his native country, Denmark. His research has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Economist, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, BBC Radio, Bloomberg Businessweek and the Financial Times. His work on innovation led HR...
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245 Simone Stolzoff on the better ways to integrate work, life, and identity for more success and satisfaction
Behind the Brilliance
THE SHOW Simone Stolzoff is a designer, and workplace expert who is the former design lead at the global innovation firm IDEO. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and many other publications. He’s the author of The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work. This conversation is, in my opinion, among the most important in the history of the show. It’s not particularly dramatic, but it’s hard for me to overstate the importance of the ideas and practical applications we discussed around life design, work, the relationship...
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244 Dr. Valerie Daniels Carter on how she turned a vision into reality with 100+ franchise locations
Behind the Brilliance
THE SHOW Dr. Valerie Daniels-Carter is founder and president of V&J Holdings, the largest female-owned franchise organization in the United States. As one of the best known fast-food operators in the United States with more than 130 units across multiple brands, Valerie has partnered with influential leaders like NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal to expand her operations. She sits on the board of the Green Bay Packers and is a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. As a seasoned leader, Valerie has learned what it takes to create and sustain success when you don’t have a head start. Valerie...
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243 Executive and author Jim Fielding on the secrets to building world class teams in high stakes environments and how to build a values-aligned career
Behind the Brilliance
THE SHOW Jim Fielding is casting the kind of light we all need to free us from the anxiety of being enough and doing enough. Throughout his illustrious career as an executive as the world’s most recognizable companies, he found that authenticity and kindness were the secrets to achieving the kind of success he most craved. But these realizations didn’t come easy. After struggling with coming out, building international teams, and climbing corporate ladders, Jim left it all behind to lean into a new chapter where he brings his whole self to his work. This conversation is a must listen for...
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242 Tyler Denk on the Serendipity of Startup Success
Behind the Brilliance
Tyler Denk is making a name for himself as a CEO who building a modern company that brings fresh energy to an old space: e-mail. He’s powering the world’s most beloved newsletters through , the company he founded in 2021. beehiiv is an all-in-one product suite for newsletter. Tyler joined Morning Brew as the second employee, leading product and engineering, and helped them scale up until the acquisition by Business Insider in 2020. He then had a stint at Google as a Product Lead on the YouTube Music team, before ultimately leaving to start beehiiv in 2021, where he is currently...
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241 Cin Fabré on How She Conquered Wall Street
Behind the Brilliance
Cin Fabré is the personification of grit. We hear that word used in personal and professional development circles, but her story, her mindset, and her confidence truly reflects it. Growing up, Cin Fabré didn’t know anything about the stock market. But she learned how to hustle from her immigrant parents. Through a tip from a friend, Cin pushed her way into brokerage firm VTR Capital―an offshoot of Stratton Oakmont, the company where the Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort, had reigned. She instantly felt the pull of profit and knew she would do whatever she had to do to be successful. ...
info_outlineTHE SHOW
Simone Stolzoff is a designer, and workplace expert who is the former design lead at the global innovation firm IDEO. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and many other publications. He’s the author of The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work.
This conversation is, in my opinion, among the most important in the history of the show. It’s not particularly dramatic, but it’s hard for me to overstate the importance of the ideas and practical applications we discussed around life design, work, the relationship between to work and identity, and why carefully curating these things instead of letting them happen is an absolute must if you want to create more meaning and satisfaction at the intersection of your work and life.
We covered a wide range of things including the Western tendency toward work as a status symbol, how to make a career pivot, questions to consider when reflecting on the context of your career in your life, how to recover from an achievement hangover, the joys and perils of being self-employed, and much more. No matter what your career or employment status is, there’s something for you in this conversation. It’s especially timely as we all start thinking about a new year and what we might want to change where our careers are concerned.
Behind His Brilliance: Amazing people who share their stories
Say hi to Simone on X/Twitter @simonestolzoff
THE GUEST
SIMONE STOLZOFF | AUTHOR, THE GOOD ENOUGH JOB
Simone Stolzoff is a designer, and workplace expert who is the former design lead at the global innovation firm IDEO. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and many other publications. He’s the author of The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work.
TOPICS COVERED
The problem with tying personal identity to work
How to diversify your identity outside of work
How to stop chasing status at work (and what to do instead)
Rethinking designing life around work
How to avoid achievement hangovers
Simone’s advice on pivoting and taking risks
The gift and challenge of being self-employed
How to create structural protection against overwork
And much more!