Bonnie Wan on Being a Misfit, a Vandal, and a Wise Beginner
Release Date: 11/04/2024
Introducing Long Life Learning Season 2
Long Life Learning
Long Life Learning is back! Join us every Monday this May and June to hear Kavitha Bindra, Executive Director of the Yale School of Management Executive Education, speak with accomplished executives and thought leaders to discuss living with inspiration and vitality. Season 2 centers around leveraging dynamic leadership for global impact, inspired by the voices that come out of the Yale Global Executive Leadership Program (YGELP).
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Jo Ann Jenkins on Social Change and Lifelong Mentorship at AARP
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The final episode of season 1 features Jo Ann Jenkins, visionary CEO of AARP for the past 10 years. Jo Ann has revolutionized the mission of this “nonprofit, nonpartisan, social change organization” to help Americans embrace life after 50 as a vibrant time of transformation and connection. Jo Ann joins Kavitha to talk career pivots, lifelong mentorship, and legacy-making whose benefits extend to people of all ages. She invites us to consider the needs of an ever-evolving present day: one in which the fastest-growing age group in the U.S. is Americans 85 and up, and in which today’s...
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Bonnie Wan on Being a Misfit, a Vandal, and a Wise Beginner
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This week, CSO, leadership coach, and author Bonnie Wan shares with Kavitha a moment of crisis that changed her life. Back in 2010, Bonnie found herself devoted to work and saying “yes” to everyone but her husband, her children, and herself. Out of a feverish night of writing, the Life Brief was born: an approach to self-examination, a lifestyle, and, most recently, the title of Bonnie’s bestselling 2024 book. Join this week’s conversation to hear how Bonnie’s rise as a strategist led to her being named CSO of the Year, how she strives to “make the room smarter,” and what...
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Stephanie Dunson on Writing Your Way to Collaborative Discovery
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Marc Freedman on Seeking Curiosity and Purpose in Midlife Transitions
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In our first-ever episode of Long Life Learning, host Kavitha Bindra (Executive Director, Yale SOM Executive Education) is joined by Marc Freedman, Founder and Co-CEO of CoGenerate. Marc is dedicated to championing intergenerational projects for the greater good, and will serve as Faculty Director for the forthcoming Experienced Leaders Initiative (ELI) provided by Executive Education at the Yale School of Management. Together, Marc and Kavitha lay the groundwork for a dynamic first season, untangling myths around aging and celebrating the joy of embracing the second half of life. Join...
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Welcome to Long Life Learning!
Long Life Learning
Long Life Learning host Kavitha Bindra introduces the premise of Season 1: how to center purpose and meaning in the context of midlife transitions. Just like participants in Yale SOM Executive Education's forthcoming Experienced Leaders Initiative, guests on the show are embracing their personal and professional milestones with dynamic leadership and tenacity! Featured voices include upcoming guests Marc Freedman, Joanna Lohman, and Michael Swiatek.
info_outlineThis week, CSO, leadership coach, and author Bonnie Wan shares with Kavitha a moment of crisis that changed her life. Back in 2010, Bonnie found herself devoted to work and saying “yes” to everyone but her husband, her children, and herself. Out of a feverish night of writing, the Life Brief was born: an approach to self-examination, a lifestyle, and, most recently, the title of Bonnie’s bestselling 2024 book.
Join this week’s conversation to hear how Bonnie’s rise as a strategist led to her being named CSO of the Year, how she strives to “make the room smarter,” and what it means to “climb the second mountain” of your life purpose and career. Together, Bonnie and Kavitha explore what it means to take time with loved ones, engage in continual self-reflection, and pursue our deepest truths in response to the question, “What do I want?”
Transcript
Episode 5—Bonnie Wan Transcript
Links and Resources
Information on ELI and Yale SOM Executive Education:
Resources Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
- The Life Brief: Creative Practice for No Regrets Living by Bonnie Wan
- Jeff Goodby on being a vandal in advertising in 2023
- The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks
- People, Power, Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal by Marshall Ganz
- The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
Where to Find Bonnie:
- @bonniewanofficial on Instagram
About Today’s Guest
Bonnie Wan, Author and Creator of The Life Brief
Partner, Head of Brand Strategy at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners
Bonnie is creator and author of The Life Brief, a simple and profound action-driving practice that helps people navigate life’s biggest and trickiest decisions with clarity, creativity and courage. The Life Brief applies the art and science of brand strategy to how we live our lives, helping people get clear, take meaningful action, and live with greater intention and imagination. As Partner and Head of Brand Strategy at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (GS&P), Wan leads strategy for Fortune 500 companies including Blackstone, BMW, Comcast/Xfinity, Frito-Lay, and Kraft-Heinz. She also harnesses strategy to create powerful, provocative, award- winning campaigns fighting racial injustice, child sex trafficking, cyberbullying, college campus rape, and gender inequality. Wan has been named an Advertising Icon, an Ad Age Leading Woman, and Chief Strategy Officer of the Year. The Life Brief has evolved from an agency talk to keynotes, workshops and now a best-selling book. The Life Brief: A Playbook for No Regrets Living is the essential tool for aligning your daily actions with your ambition and values. As a Brand Strategist turned Life Strategist, Wan not only helps companies innovate from a place of purpose, but also guides everyday people who seek to realize their potential. Wan has taught The Life Brief at Accenture, AirBnB, Apple, Change.org, Chief, Google, SXSW, and World 50 Group as well as for Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, and Jane Goodall’s Activating Hope Summit. Wan appears in Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein’s Masterclass on Advertising and Creativity and is featured in the documentary film, The Big Flip, chronicling the lives of four women breadwinners and their families. She has also been interviewed on Katie Couric’s Katie show and HuffPost Live. Her articles have been featured by Fast Company, Campaign Magazine, AdAge, and Adweek.