ROBIN PASSIAS: Hello, it’s Robin Passias, Chilly Name producer right here, popping into the studio to document this particular episode with host Brian Kenny.
BRIAN KENNY: Hello.
ROBIN PASSIAS: And audio engineer Craig McDonald.
CRAIG MCDONALD: Hi there once more, Robin.
ROBIN PASSIAS: We’re re-sharing a few of our favourite episodes from 2024. We thought it will be a enjoyable solution to kick off yr ten of Chilly Name, earlier than we dive into all new episodes beginning later this month.
So, one in all my favorites aired in March, that includes Professor Frances Frei and case protagonist Paul English. The episode known as, The best way to Convey Good Concepts to Life: The Paul English Story. And I actually like how they discover questions like, what’s the distinction between a good suggestion and a nasty one? And what’s one of the simplest ways to develop new concepts rapidly? Frances ties among the findings into analysis from her ebook, Transfer Quick and Repair Issues, you heard that proper, repair, not break, that encourages experimentation, but additionally enduring success. Right here’s a clip:
FRANCES FREI: I’m a really impatient particular person, which is usually a curse, however it may be a blessing. And so I used to be impatient with progress, and so we began wanting round at, properly, who’s capable of transfer quick? What we discovered, sadly, is that the corollaries, anytime you say transfer quick to somebody besides Paul, they assume you’re going to be reckless. And that’s due to Mark Zuckerberg made well-known transfer quick and break issues. After which, Elon Musk, properly, he doesn’t say it, he simply does it, the transfer quick and break issues. And the issue with that’s not solely that going quick means you break issues and the collateral injury is it’s usually human, however it’s how many individuals had been scared into going gradual and what we name accountable stewardship. And that’s essentially the most well mannered method we will say going gradual. And I discovered it tragic. I discover it tragic that within the face of essential challenges, we’re encouraging each other to go gradual out of concern of being reckless.
PAUL ENGLISH: I believe that velocity is misunderstood. Some folks assume velocity is recklessness. It’s not essentially that. Typically velocity means you have got the method fine-tuned. The instance I all the time give, in case you watch Method One Racing and also you watch the pit crew at how briskly they will change tires.
FRANCES FREI: Lovely.
PAUL ENGLISH:
They make a mistake, somebody dies. In order that they’re actually, actually good at altering tires. They’re extremely quick they usually’re good at it. So for me, going quick generally means, if it’s a repeatable course of, simply get actually good at that course of.
FRANCES FREI: That is certainly what’s inherent within the transfer quick and make things better. And I do assume it’s virtually genetic in you. There’s nothing reckless about what you do and also you do it with such reverence for course of and programs and the repeatable nature of it. I really like the Method One instance, however even immediately, we’ve got by no means met anybody who did one thing profitable in change who has ever mentioned, “I want I had executed much less,” or has mentioned, “I want I had taken longer.” And but, go down the corridors of any group and you’ll hear folks making an attempt to seduce each other into going slower and doing much less. And so the audacity and that lack of recklessness, that’s why we wrote the ebook. I would like extra Paul Englishes on this planet. I would like extra issues to be solved at extra tempo.
ROBIN PASSIAS: Over to you, Craig.
CRAIG MCDONALD: Thanks, Robin. One episode that basically caught out to me this yr is from August. It’s referred to as, Angel Metropolis Soccer Membership: A New Enterprise Mannequin for Girls’s Sports activities. It was with senior lecturer Jeffrey Rayport, and case co-author Nicole Keller. And one of many protagonists, which I do know is one in all Brian’s favourite issues to have the visitor out there for the present, membership co-founder Kara Nortman. Since its airing in August, we came upon that Angel Metropolis Soccer Membership has a valuation of $250 million, which is taken into account one of the vital beneficial ladies’s skilled sports activities groups on this planet. It’s fairly unbelievable contemplating its three feminine founders who got here from outdoors {of professional} sports activities. I used to be additionally impressed by their final aim of higher pay fairness in ladies’s sports activities. This clip is about how they used extra of a non-traditional method of funding the crew than we’re sometimes used to listening to about. Hope you get pleasure from it.
KARA NORTMAN: The backgrounds had been, we got here out of tech, we got here out of startups, we got here out of Hollywood, so we might inform tales, however we additionally weren’t afraid to query assumptions and execute, and execute rapidly and make errors, but additionally actually deeply grounded in mission. And we knew the place to prioritize not being profitable to be genuine in mission. And that’s one thing that I believe is a large differentiator for us at Angel Metropolis as properly.
BRIAN KENNY: How does that mission-driven focus, influence the best way that you just run the group? What are you making an attempt to attain and what are among the methods these issues are manifesting themselves?
KARA NORTMAN: Yeah, properly, to begin with, simply to form of discuss by way of how we set this up, as a result of the best way a crew is capitalized and structured lets you make more durable choices. And at first, we had been searching for a management proprietor that may personal the entire thing and fund the entire thing, as a result of that was how we had been informed it was executed in sports activities and we couldn’t discover a conventional management proprietor. We couldn’t discover the billionaire who wished to provide us cash. So I wish to say, we acquired 99 nos after which we did elevate one million {dollars} with a substantive quantity of it coming from Alexis Ohanian’s fund initialized simply earlier than COVID to personal 15% of the crew. After which Julie, Natalie and I personal the opposite 85%. So, we structured it as a C corp in the best way you’d construction a startup.
This can be the primary and final time that’s ever executed in sports activities, however due to that, we had a board the place the founders had basically a voice the best way Mark Zuckerberg would have a voice at Fb, the place we might present up and simply execute with out a whole lot of interference. And that is the way it’s executed in sports activities and mission was simply a part of why we began it. Natalie and I began working with the US Girls’s Nationwide Group Gamers Union on their pay fairness struggle and their early title and likeness income. And so it began from the attitude of how do you get the gamers paid? And so once we rolled out fashions like our sponsorship mannequin, we rolled out fashions that may give again to neighborhood.
And so I can go much more deeply into it, however each step of the best way, we’ve got an investor who doesn’t align with our mission, what can we do? What do we are saying? Can we get that investor to depart? What’s the lavatory scenario on the stadium? Are there rooms for girls to nurse or to breastfeed? And so we discuss a whole lot of the larger matters within the case and our 10% sponsorship mannequin, however there have been little issues that occurred each single day that Julie and Natalie and I spoke about with out a heavy-handed form of affect within the room.
CRAIG MCDONALD: Brian, you’re up. What have you ever acquired for us?
BRIAN KENNY: Thanks, Craig. Hey, can we simply cease for a minute and simply replicate on one thing that Robin mentioned within the very starting, which is that that is a part of our kickoff yr to have fun our tenth anniversary of Chilly Name. That’s an enormous quantity for a podcast. So a whole lot of our listeners clearly hearken to different exhibits. We’ve been round for a very long time. I don’t assume we’ve ever missed a drop. Each two weeks for the final ten years, we’ve been delivering an episode of Chilly Name. It has been one in all my nice pleasures that I really like doing in my job and I really like working with you guys like a terrific crew. And I really feel like we must always simply replicate on that for a sec.
ROBIN PASSIAS: I utterly agree. It’s been such a pleasure to supply this podcast. We be taught a lot from our unbelievable college and from one another simply working collectively so carefully to carry you, our listeners, a brand new episode each two weeks. It’s fabulous.
BRIAN KENNY: I didn’t wish to let this episode go with out mentioning that. So I’ll get into my work now, as a result of Robin’s given me the evil eye so I higher get transferring. These are each terrific episodes and actually fascinating case research. And I’ve one which I wished to share. I’m usually requested what my favourite episode of Chilly Name is, and I’m being truthful once I say, I don’t have a single favourite episode, however I’ve classes of episodes that I actually like. I really like the enterprise historical past circumstances just like the one we did about IBM selecting to remain in Nazi Germany again through the World Conflict II, the one which we did concerning the United Fruit Firm on the flip of the century within the 1900s and South America. These are great episodes. You’ll be able to be taught a ton from historical past. It has quite a bit to show us. However the different class that I actually like are those that we do about folks.
On the finish of the day, most of our circumstances are about folks. And we’ve executed circumstances about folks that we all know properly, like Muhammad Ali and Madame Curie and Martin Luther King, after all. However we additionally do circumstances about individuals who aren’t family names, and that’s one of many circumstances that I wish to advocate immediately. So I wish to invite all people to hearken to an episode that we did final yr that includes senior lecturer Tony Mayo, discussing the resilient chief and Harvard Enterprise Faculty alumnus Ray Jefferson. Ray sadly handed away this yr, however his story is totally outstanding and compelling. The episode known as How One Chief Overcame Profession-Ending Adversity, and it traces Ray’s private {and professional} journey from upstate New York to the US Army Academy at West Level and ultimately to the Obama administration. His resilience and vulnerability actually formed his management type, and I believe we’ve got quite a bit to be taught from his instance. So, right here’s a clip:
BRIAN KENNY: Now, up to now in his life, he’s had some adversity. He’s had the troubled marriage together with his dad and mom, however the adversity is about to essentially get a lot worse. So perhaps you’ll be able to discuss what occurred in Okinawa.
TONY MAYO: To speak about Okinawa. We in all probability ought to discuss a bit bit about what acquired him there to start with. So when he was at West Level, he graduated, he joined the presidential honor guard and as a part of that, he needed to go to Ranger Faculty, which is that this big grueling expertise for him. And one of many issues he wished to do there’s to get this Skilled Infantry Badge, which is among the most troublesome badges you could get. And he ended up having to take this navigation course, acquired misplaced, needed to name Ranger Management.
BRIAN KENNY:
It’s not what you need in your navigation course.
TONY MAYO:
No, not what you need. It’s tremendous embarrassing. However I believe the explanation I say, the story is that that is one other sense of defeat the place he is available in final on this navigation course after which the next yr he is available in first. He’s capable of determine this out, to maneuver ahead. And so ultimately, he passes Ranger Faculty and he leads to Okinawa and in the very best bodily form he’s been in. He’s revered by his teammates. Actually, a few service members asking him to really lead their specific group. It’s an ideal expertise. And one of many issues he was doing in Okinawa, they had been testing stun grenades. And one of many issues while you do with a stun grenade is while you pull the pin out and also you maintain it in your hand, nothing’s purported to occur. Once you launch your hand and also you get able to throw it, you hear a whoosh of air and then you definitely’ve acquired a number of seconds to throw it out earlier than it detonates.
And so he’s testing these as a part of this vital mission that they’re preparing for, and he pulls the pin out and he hears a whoosh immediately, which you’re not supposed to listen to in case you’re holding it in your hand. So he’s pondering, Oh, my God, I’ve acquired a faulty grenade. And he’s pondering, What do I do? And so if I might throw it up within the air, it could not come down, or it could come down too quick and I might blind myself or blind others. If I throw it shut proximity to the place I’m, there are different teammates there, they might get damage.” So, it’s choice, reject, choice, reject, making an attempt to determine, “What do I do?”
BRIAN KENNY: All inside seconds.
TONY MAYO: You get 4 seconds. So that is like 4 seconds, longer than what I’m telling to clarify it. After which he takes it in his left hand, he presses it towards his thigh and it explodes and he loses the entire fingers on his left hand and most of his palm, and he severely injures his thigh and he figures in that specific second, my life is over. And it has as I do know it, it’s over. In a matter of seconds, all the things has modified for him.
ROBIN PASSIAS: Thanks once more for tuning in immediately for a fast stroll down reminiscence lane. Pay attention for brand spanking new episodes beginning subsequent week and a few particular video content material and dwell occasions this yr as we have fun ten years of Chilly Name.
BRIAN KENNY: Yay!
ROBIN PASSIAS: We recognize your loyalty and would love to listen to from you. Please electronic mail us at coldcall@hbs.edu.
BRIAN KENNY: Thanks, Robin. Echoing Robin right here. Thanks a lot for becoming a member of us. We hope that you just be a part of us for each episode. We couldn’t do it with out you, our listeners. I’m your host, Brian Kenny, and also you’ve been listening to Chilly Name, an official podcast of Harvard Enterprise Faculty and a part of the HBR podcast community. Comfortable 2025.
If you happen to get pleasure from Chilly Name, you would possibly like our different podcasts, After Hours, Local weather Rising, Deep Objective, IdeaCast, Managing the Way forward for Work, Skydeck, Suppose Huge, Purchase Small, and Girls at Work. Discover them on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you bought your podcasts. And in case you might take a minute to fee and overview us, we’d be grateful. If in case you have any ideas or simply wish to say whats up, electronic mail us at coldcall@hbs.edu. Thanks once more for becoming a member of us. I’m your host, Brian Kenny, and also you’ve been listening to Chilly Name, an official podcast of Harvard Enterprise Faculty and a part of the HBR podcast community.
