Authored by Dorie Clark

Interview Insights

Top 3 Takeaways from this Interview

• Powerful decision-making is key to growing a company. Leaders should not shy away from tough decisions.
• Anyone can manufacture a ‘crazy busy’ schedule — stop viewing it as a point of pride and stop using it as an excuse for not pursuing more long-range, meaningful goals.
• You can put a schedule on your calendar dedicated to pursuing your dreams.

Read the Show Notes from this Episode

• Dorie describes optimizing projects and career trajectories. [01:43]
• CASE: Marian Stoddard, an 80-year-old housewife, who was the heroine of Dorie’s documentary, shared a piece of advice that really stuck to her, ‘whenever you have a choice of what to do, choose what’s more interesting.’ [02:51]
• Always an advocate of networks and relationships, Dorie talks about landing a friendship with Susan Stoddard, a volunteer supporter of a candidate she was also supporting, which lead her to meet Marian. [04:22]
• CASE: Francis Fry and how many companies are afraid to make hard decisions.  [09:09]
• CASE: Derek Sivers, a musician turned successful entrepreneur. [12:32]
• The downsides of having an overly busy schedule and how to choose instead to add space to pursue long-term goals. [15:13]
• The pandemic comes with uncomfortable things that businesses need to deal with preventing business leaders from pursuing more meaningful goals. [17:10]
• CASE: Dorie’s friend Petra Patrick and her initial fear of pursuing a dream due to lack of experience but how through dedication and motivation, she made her dream of deejaying achievable. [21:37]
• Dorie talks about working with Forbes. [28:30]
• My Quest for the Best Lightning Round begins.[34:33]

Expert Bio

Dorie Clark helps individuals and companies get their best ideas heard in a crowded, noisy world. She has been named one of the Top 50 business thinkers in the world by Thinkers50 and was honored as the #1 Communication Coach in the world at the Marshall Goldsmith Coaching Awards. She is a keynote speaker and teaches for Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Columbia Business School. She is the author of Entrepreneurial You, which was named one of Forbes’ Top 5 Business Books of the Year, as well as Reinventing You and Stand Out, which was named the #1 Leadership Book of the Year by Inc. magazine.

A former presidential campaign spokeswoman, Clark has been described by the New York Times as an “expert at self-reinvention and helping others make changes in their lives.” She is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, and consults and speaks for clients such as Google, Yale University, and the World Bank. She is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, a producer of multiple Grammy-winning jazz albums, and a Broadway investor. You can download her free Entrepreneurial You self-assessment workbook at dorieclark.com/entrepreneur.

Contact Info and Social Media for Dorie Clark

• Primary Website
• Travels from: New York, NY
• Connect on Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Resources Mentioned During the Interview

• My Quest for the Best interview: 327: Accelerating your entrepreneurial journey to the top ranks with guest expert Dorie Clark
• Frances Frei and Anne Morris – authors of Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business 
• Derek Sivers – an American writer, musician, programmer, and entrepreneur, best known for being the founder and former president of CD Baby, an online CD store for independent musicians.
• Forbes
• Columbia University

Books Authored by Dorie Clark