Christopher Lochhead Follow Your Different

In today’s episode, we have legendary combat veteran Navy seal Brent Gleason. He's got a red, hot, rocking, new book out called Embrace The Suck. Brent is a successful entrepreneur, author and speaker and his new book is catching everybody's attention. Today, we get into why Brent thinks we need to lean into pain, how to deal with failure and rise up to any challenge, no matter what. Bio: Brent Gleeson was a member of SEAL Team 5, some of the first SEALs deployed to Iraq in early 2003. He completed combat deployments in Iraq, Africa, and other theaters of war. After returning to civilian life, Brent earned an MBA and has built award-winning, multi-million dollar organizations that have repeatedly landed on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies. He is the author of TakingPoint and has starred in several reality shows including Mark Burnett’s ‘Stars Earn Stripes.’ Links: Taking Point Leadership Taking Point Leadership - Books Twitter: @brentgleeson Linkedin: Brent Gleeson We hope you enjo

Our guest today Michael Juergens, is a senior partner at Deloitte. He's also a super wine geek of the highest order and on a trip to the Bhutan in 2016 , he discovered there was no vineyards there at all. What you're about to listen to is the real story of how Michael, by accident, connected with government leaders in this magic little country to become the founder of a new industry and is pioneering the last great wine frontier. Bio: Michael Juergens doesn't fit into a simple box.   As a senior partner in a large global consulting firm, he's a seasoned business executive who spends his time advising Fortune 500 organizations.   His passion for wine has led him to be a candidate to become the 45th American to qualify as a Master of Wine and he started the wine industry in the Kingdom of Bhutan in the Himalayas.   He also owns the award winning SoCal Rum company. He's an internationally known speaker and author, and also is a professor at the University of CA, Irvine.    He plays the drums in a punk rock

Imagine sitting on a wonderful backdoor deck, overlooking the vast beautiful bluey green Pacific ocean as sets of waves. Roll in on a perfect warm sunny fall day in beautiful Santa Cruz, California. Then imagine a funny, ADHD infused conversation between two buddies with the beers and tequila flowing. Well, that's what we have today, with none other than Santa Cruz, icon, surf/skate legend, host of the mega popular podcast Off The Lip, Neil Pearlberg. In this episode, we get silly. We swear a lot and have tons of fun. I invite you to crack open a cold one and join Chris and Neil for a lot of fun. Bio: Since September 2009, Neil Pearlberg has written over 200 articles covering the sport of surfing, as well as skateboarding, and soccer, for the Bay Area News Group, & Santa Cruz Waves.  He is also the host of the “Off the Lip Radio Show”, & Hour Local Radio Show aired on Santa Cruz Radio Show KSCO AM 1080, FM 104.1, ksco.com and streamed on Santa Cruz Waves Facebook Page. Neil has also published articles in A

In this episode we go deep into the life, lessons and learnings of a legendary musician, singer, producer, and songwriter Sharon Vaughn. Sharon has written hits for legends like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reba McEntire, The Oak Ridge Boys, George Jones, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, Patty Loveless, Agnes, and Kate Ryan. In 2019 Sharon was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. If you’re a creative person, if you love music and if you find inspiration in stories of amazing triumph, you’ll love this episode. Pay special attention to Sharon’s thoughts on the grand dame of country music, Dolly Parton. Bio: Vaughn moved to Nashville in her early 20s. In 1974, she charted two singles as a performer for Cinnamon Records: a duet with Narvel Felts titled "Until the End of Time", and "Never a Night Goes By". A year later, she signed with Dot Records and released a third single, "You and Me, Me and You". She was also the lead singer in the Lea Jane Singers, and worked with the Jordanaires, the Nashv

We continue our run on legendary authors today with none other than NY #1 Best Selling Author, Ryan Holiday. You see, the only authors we ever have are the ones that we think have ideas, teachings, and stories that are worth digging into.  Today, we go deep into the teachings of some of the greatest thinkers in history. Ryan helps us see the events of today through the lens of powerful philosophers and history, providing today, in an incredible context. We deal with big topics like truth, character, pain, and suffering humor, and a lot more. Invest Time in Reading Chris lauded Ryan for writing a historical book in the age where almost everyone is addicted to selfies. Ryan was actually amazed himself how in this age and time, people still invest in time and money reading books. He shares what he thinks about good books and why people still opt for a book, instead of getting validation in social media.  “I opened the book, there's a story about Xenos, the founder of Stoicism. You get this prophecy as a young m

In this episode, a truly legendary conversation with two extraordinary men, men who are on a mission to stop deadly wildfires. First, we have Charlie Croker, the founder and CEO of Zone Haven. Zone Haven is using data to everything technologies, to help government agencies and citizens both plan for and respond to serious disasters.  Our second guest is Chief Jonathan Cox, CalFire Executive who is responsible for fire operations in this region.  Together, Charlie and Jonathan share how firefighting heroes stop these fires and save countless lives and billions in property. A Night Californians Will Never Forget  The night of Saturday, August 15 2020, a massive lightning storm hit the region. Approximately 12,000 strikes of lightning hit Northern California which caused massive fires. The wildfire lasted for weeks and it destroyed almost 10,000 buildings along with the big basin redwoods State Park, and took the life of one person. “It was a horrifying fire and it started eating the mountainous area that has

This is Christopher. I wanted to let you know that we are going to take the pause that refreshes here as America votes. The entire attention of the United States is on the election as it should be. Much of the attention of Americans and the entire world is focused on this election. We thought the wise thing to do would be to take some time off and come back after the election. The good news is if you love either of our podcasts, we have a tremendous back catalog. Unless you've listened to every Follow Your Different™ and every Lochhead on Marketing™ episode, there's probably some gems in there you could really benefit from. If you want a break from all of the political news over the next handful of days, there are some amazing conversations, legendary even that you might enjoy. I want to ask you to vote If you're an American, I believe voting is a civic duty. I think it's important to remember that. Democracy can't happen without participation from its citizens. I think it's important to rememb

In this episode, we do have a world changer. She's both an entrepreneur, author, and podcaster. She's the category queen of a new category of flavored healthy water. Her name is Kara Goldin and she's the founder and CEO of a product you probably have tried and most likely love called Hint water. Fortune named Kara one of the most powerful women entrepreneurs and Forbes says she's one of the 40 Women To Watch Over 40. Today, she reveals how Hint Water could have just been another idea that never went anywhere if she had let her own doubts or the doubts of others be the end of the story. Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters Kara has recently launched a new book called Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters. It is currently number one on the Amazon charts. IN fact, Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer at Facebook says it's a great read for entrepreneurs looking for proof that her dream can come true.  Even if you're not an entrepreneur, you're going to love this conversation with Kara and the story

Robert Rosenberg is a legendary entrepreneur CEO and author who has helped change the world today. He also has a brand new book, Around the Corner to Around the World: A Dozen Lessons. In his book, he talks about how he ran Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins. Today, we have a real conversation with Robert about his story and the lessons that he has learned through the successes and setbacks in his life. He lets us in on the real story behind one of the most legendary marketing campaigns of all time. He even shares with us the story of how munchkins a.k.a doughnuts holes came to be, and so much more exciting topics! The Best and The Brightest Robert specifically talks about David Halberstam’s book: The Best and The Brightest. The book made him realize the importance of humility and listening, rather than talking. He discusses how this has led him to place processes and policies that have helped strengthen and grow the business even further.  “It was a learning moment, I was maybe 35. So it was 10 years, I'd lov

We continue our run on legendary authors with our guest today, Annie Duke. She's got a new book out called How To Decide: Simple Tools For Making Better Choices. In this episode, she teaches us about how she thinks about decisions, and how building stronger decision skills can make a difference at a time of crisis, particularly like the kind of time we're living in now.  She was one of the world's top professional poker players. She tells us how to think about the possible and the probable, how to think about the different futures that could occur. Anne’s got a very provocative point of view about luck that I think you'll find fascinating. In addition, I would suggest you pay close attention to her thoughts on the power of a hedge.  Bio: Annie Duke has leveraged her expertise in the science of smart decision making to excel at pursuits as varied as championship poker to public speaking. Annie’s latest book, How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices, is available on September 15, 2020, from Portf

This is a giant one! Our prediction is that this episode will break the internet. Today, the second part of the series, we go deep with the Forbes reporter who, in all likelihood knows more about President Trump’s business, than anyone outside The Trump Organization, Dan Alexander. He’s got a deeply researched book called Whitehouse Inc. How Donald Trump Turned The Presidency Into A Business. We think it is important for every American voter, whether you love President Trump or not, to know what kind of business person he is. President Trump has promoted himself as an entrepreneur, so now we get to go deep into his business. Stunning Revelations There are many stunning revelations in this first part of the series. Dan answers the question, is the President actually a billionaire. He examines for us how well or how poorly the president businesses are currently doing, where he makes money, and loses money. He also dives deep into how much the President would have made if he had sold all of his assets, and put

This is a giant one! Our prediction is that this episode will break the internet. Today, the first of two episodes, we go deep with the Forbes reporter who, in all likelihood knows more about President Trump’s business, than anyone outside The Trump Organization, Dan Alexander. He’s got a deeply researched book called Whitehouse Inc. How Donald Trump Turned The Presidency Into A Business. We think it is important for every American voter, whether you love President Trump or not, to know what kind of business person he is. President Trump has promoted himself as an entrepreneur, so now we get to go deep into his business.  Stunning Revelations There are many stunning revelations in this first part of the series. Dan answers the question, is the President actually a billionaire. He examines for us how well or how poorly the president businesses are currently doing, where he makes money, and loses money. He also dives deep into how much the President would have made if he had sold all of his assets, and put the

We have another super special episode for you today. Recently, Christopher was lucky enough to get an opportunity to start a new podcast with Navin Chaddha, who leads Mayfield, one of the top venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. What you're about to listen to is a recent episode of the brand new podcast called Conscious VC. It's with an extraordinary man named Sal Khan. In this episode of Conscious VC, Naveen and Christopher have a riveting conversation with Sal, he takes you into why his mission is free education for everyone in the world. He unveils some of his biggest learnings in building an incredible education nonprofit, the Khan Academy, and his key learnings for entrepreneurs. Bio: Navin Chaddha Navin Chaddha leads Mayfield. He has ranked on the Forbes Midas List of Global Tech Investors 12 times, including being named a Top Five investor in 2020. During his career as a venture capitalist, he has invested in over 50 companies, 17 of which have gone public and 20 have been acquired. Some of his

We continue our run on legendary, bestselling authors today with Kevin Maney. Kevin is a technology executive who's covered tech for over 25 years for outfits like USA Today, Newsweek, and many others. He's the co-author of my first book: Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, Innovators Create and Dominate Markets. Today, we have a fascinating conversation about how technology is driving a massive shift from traditional approaches to health care — which Kevin sort of frames as “sick care”— to a new category that he and his co-authors called health assurance. Conscious Capitalism Kevin believes that consumers will start to embrace new and interesting products and services when the pandemic ends. In fact, the VC community and Fortune 500 companies started to realize a massive shift within their policies and are now focusing on conscious capitalism. “We're actually embarking on a huge project that has around this idea of, call it what you will, conscious capital of responsible innovation.” - Kevin Maney From Boo

Today, we have a riveting conversation with bestselling author and artist Meera Lee Patel. She’s got a new book out called Create Your Own Calm: A Journal for Quieting Anxiety. We have a powerful conversation about dealing with anxiety and why Meera thinks, “the more you run away from something, the more it follows you.” You’ll also enjoy Meera’s thoughts on self-acceptance, why journaling is a powerful conversation with yourself, and pay special attention to Meera’s ideas around “the only way out – is through.” Dealing With Anxiety Meera describes where she is at the moment. She is in an in-between/transition time where she is feeling overwhelmed. Further, she shares that she is struggling to be “at the moment.” She is at, exactly what Christopher describes as, the “cocoon period.” “I feel unable to act sometimes to take action and that's on several different levels. Personal, emotional professional, I feel like I can't take action or make the changes that I want to make. Some of them are true, some of the

Bruce Feiler is a legendary thinker and writer and unlike in a normal interview, we do deep in this episode. Bruce has a monster new book out called Life Is in the Transitions and it is one of the seminal books of our time. His book, COUNCIL OF DADS was made into an NBC show. His work has been on GMA, and TODAY Show, Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, to name a few.  Today, we have a very big conversation about what Bruce calls “life quakes,” both voluntary (new job, getting married, moving) and involuntary (death of a loved one, loss of a job, divorce, etc). Bruce has some fascinating research on what percentage of voluntary and involuntary we all experience in life, how many we’re likely to have, and, most powerfully how we navigate life quakes and turn them into powerful life transitions. We also talk about why the linear, up and to the right “hero story” we get told about life is bullshit, why C19 is a collective, involuntary, life quake, what that means for all of us, and much more! Bio: B

Today, we have none other than Matthew Cowan of Next47. Matthew and Chris have known each other for almost 20 years now. He's been both an investor and an entrepreneur and has invested in a lot of category queens and kings companies. In this episode, we have a wide-ranging conversation with Matthew about venture capital, entrepreneurship, and a whole lot more. How The Future Looks Like Matthew shares that the first question we have to take into consideration is with respect to opportunities. Every evaluation should start with the question: can businesses scale and grow in the current economic environment? He cites his company as an example, Visible, a platform that has an event management software. Prior to Covid19, they had their fair share of challenges. However, they found themselves on the positive side of this “new normal” as most companies shifted their conferences and events virtually.  “All of our customers said, ‘look, I know we can't do these events in person, we still have to do these events. The

Tim Tully is one of the most legendary technologies and product leaders of this generation. He is the Chief Technology Officer of $35 billion market cap company Splunk. He also runs the engineering, product, and tech operations.  In this episode, we get into all of it, how to execute a big, bold product vision, what it takes to run a major technology organization in the era of COVID. Find out why Tim thinks that software needs to be indulgent in the way that it delivers an experience and much more. Born To Code Tim was at Yahoo for years. He did a ton for Yahoo's modern business. Most notably, Tim was on the team that helped to create the open-source database Hadoop. If you're in the tech world, you know how big a deal that is. If you're not, well Google it and you'll see but Hadoop is a major contribution to the data world.  He shares in this episode how he grew up from a “tech household,” as both his parents were programmers from Silicon Valley in the 70s.  “Obviously coding is one way that I can do a lot

Today, we speak with entrepreneur turned activist Andy Roo Forrest. He is the founder of a fascinating nonprofit called FeelGoodVoting.org who is on a mission is to get more people in the United States to vote. We dig into why there is a low voter turnout in the past elections, and most importantly, what can be done about it now. Andy and Chris also talk about how political attacks actually destroy the category called “politician.” Moreover, why this "attacks" drives disengagement and dissatisfaction among the voters. Lastly, find out how Feel Good Voting is creatively and innovatively using social media to encourage people to register and to vote. Apathy For President Did you know who won the last election in the United States? We all know that President Donald Trump won the electoral college and that's why he's president, garnering a total of 63 million votes. Hillary Clinton got 66 million votes.  “But here's the truth. Neither one of them is the real winner of the last election in the United States. You

Why is there a disproportionate impact against Black-owned and Women-owned Businesses? Today in Follow your Different, Robert Fairlie, a professor at the University of California and a researcher for the National Bureau of Economic Research, shares his research on the impact of Coronavirus on small businesses and black and women-owned businesses. Impact of COVID-19 Rob shares the alarming figures that small businesses faced. From 15 million active businesses to 12 million, to the 15% unemployment rate in just one month  (Bureau of Labor Statistics), Rob gives us facts and figures how devasting Covid-19 has impacted businesses. “I think they are starting to get become more attention focused on the business side of it and the importance of business owners. Not only do they create a route out of poverty or an alternative for income but they also create jobs.” – Rob Fairlie Impact on Black-owned Businesses Prof. Farlie says that there is a hugely disproportionate impact between White-owned businesses and African