Whitney Johnson

“The more closed your network, the more you hear the same ideas over and again, reaffirming what you already believe, while the more open your network, the more exposed you are to new ideas.”

“At a career peak, there is certainly the specter of competition from below, but just as importantly, there’s the risk that if we aren’t on a curve that satisfies us emotionally, we may be the cause of our own undoing.”

“In discovery- driven planning, learning is the essential unit of progress. A course correction isn’t equivalent to failure, it’s an opportunity to re-calibrate so you can move more quickly up the learning curve.”

“We frequently applaud failure in theory, but the dirty little secret is that it makes all of us feel at least a little ashamed.”

“When you make the decision to start something new, first figure out the jobs you want to do. Then position yourself to play where no one else is playing.”

“It is vital that we are equipped with the humility to understand that changing the world and keeping innovation alive require that we change ourselves.”

“When you disrupt yourself, you are looking for growth, so if you want to muscle up a curve, you have to push and pull against objects and barriers that would constrain and constrict you. That is how you get stronger.”

“Disrupting yourself is critical to avoiding stagnation, being overtaken by low-end entrants (i.e., younger, smarter, faster workers), and fast-tracking your personal and career growth.”