S4E01 - Seth Godin on intentional decisions and dancing with fear

Season 4

Aug 1

In this fourth season of the podcast, I'm bringing folks on the show who have influenced my work on decision-making. And who better to start with than Seth Godin, without whom this podcast would not exist.

Seth is an entrepreneur, an author of multiple New York Times bestselling books, writer of one of the most popular blogs in the world and a dear teacher of mine when it comes to dancing with the emotions that come up in decision-making. Today, we talk about making decisions with intent, the difference between intent and purpose, why fear is not a bad thing, and how to dance with fear when making decisions.

Topics Covered

02:20 Why is learning to make good decisions important?
03:39 Mindful decision making: intent vs instinct
04:56 The useful practice of meta-cognition
06:04 The difference between purpose and intent
07:51 Being on the hook is the best place to be
08:24 How to grapple with the fear of being on the hook
09:59 Staring down fear is a good signal
13:46 What's the payoff of dancing with fear?
16:01 Quality of decisions is distinct from quality of the outcome
16:36 How to dance with the fear of regret
16:36 Dancing with the fear of what others may think
21:52 Decision making as a posture
24:01 The freedom that comes with understanding sunk costs

Guest Bio

Seth is an author, entrepreneur, and most of all, a teacher.. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, he has written 20 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, and What To Do When It's Your Turn (And It's Always Your Turn). His book, This is Marketing, was an instant bestseller in countries around the world. The latest book is The Practice, and creatives everywhere have made it a bestseller. Though renowned for his writing and speaking, Seth also founded two companies, Squidoo and Yoyodyne (acquired by Yahoo!). By focusing on everything from effective marketing and leadership, to the spread of ideas and changing everything, Seth has been able to motivate and inspire countless people around the world.

Resources

The altMBA
Akimbo, home of The Podcasting Workshop and others
Annie Duke’s book, Thinking in Bets

Featured

About Michelle Florendo

Michelle Florendo is a distinguished decision engineer and executive coach who specializes in helping individuals navigate complex decisions in both personal and professional spheres. With a Bachelor of Science in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, Michelle employs a sophisticated blend of decision engineering, design thinking, and lean startup methodologies to assist her clients in charting their optimal path forward. She has guided hundreds of driven professionals in applying decision engineering principles to achieve greater clarity and reduce stress in their decision-making processes.

She currently teaches a decision-making course for Stanford Continuing Studies and has played a pivotal role in enhancing the curriculum on career decision-making in Stanford's renowned Design Your Life course. Her expertise has been recognized by various prestigious organizations, as evidenced by her involvement with Seth Godin's altMBA program, her founding membership in the Forbes Coaches Council, and her position as a faculty coach for the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute. For those interested in exploring Michelle's coaching and speaking services further, additional information can be found on her professional website at poweredbydecisions.com.