Welcome to Part Two of my conversation with Carey Jenkins. If you missed Part One, then you can listen to it here. Carey took an unconventional path to CEO of Substantial, a Seattle-based digital product studio. And while you may not know who Substantial is, their clients do. Clients that include such big names as Amazon, Mercedes Benz, and the Wall Street Journal.
A theater major who also pursued a journalism degree, Carey had to discover what moves her. An adventurous spirit combined with strong motivation, she found Substantial to be a welcome fit. She joined their client services team in 2012.
Carey began working with a career coach to ready herself for a CEO position at Substantial before it was even available. She became Substantial’s CEO six short years later in 2018.
Carey knows how to turn dreams into reality. This episode is packed with tips and pointers that will propel you to growth in your current role while helping you to think about the next one. There is so much good content here and I note my key takeaways below.
Key Takeaways From Part Two
- Transparency and authenticity will always benefit a transition
- It’s up to you to search out those who would benefit from your experience – it’s invaluable when you make yourself available to those who are looking to grow
- You get energized when taking on the opportunity of a lifetime; just remember that others are not living the same change you are – give people time to adjust and energize on their own timeframe
- Momentum and progress take time – being impatient will make this more difficult and increase the likelihood you internalize it as failure
- Recognize and celebrate incremental progress
- Sacrificing your health or sanity is not going to serve you in the long term
- Technology is a large part of our lives and needs – manage it thoughtfully and ethically
- Great product builders deeply understand a problem and then successfully build the simplest solution possible that makes life better
- Become a better storyteller, especially the way you talk about yourself
Regardless of the path taken, unconventional or typical, you can leverage your experiences and commit to learning how to think like a CEO or other c-suite executive.
Resources Mentioned In This Episode:
Substantial’s Hello Epics Trello Power-Up for creating easily identifiable links between cards on your Trello board
Follow Substantial on LinkedIn
Connect with Carey on LinkedIn
Any links to Amazon are affiliate links. The price doesn’t change, but I receive a commission for purchases made through those links.
Thanks for Listening!
I want to hear from you! I appreciate your honest feedback so reach out and:
- Leave a note in the comment section below.
- Email a question to mark@markslemons.com.
- Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
Listen to the show using your favorite platform: Spotify | iTunes | Stitcher | Android | RSS
Now, go lead like someone you would want to follow!
Leave a Reply