Thinkydoers®, hosted by Strategy Rebel and OKR Coach Sara Lobkovich, is a community for unconventional leaders, status-quo challengers, and workplace “square pegs.” Thinkydoers are individuals who navigate the journey from insight to idea, through the messy middle, seeking courage and confidence to bring their visions to life.
Thinkydoers are a diverse group. We're disproportionately (but not exclusively) introverted and/or neurodivergent, and regardless of personality or cognitive wiring, Thinkydoers are strategic thinkers often underserved and misunderstood in traditional business cultures. Whether you’re a leader, an aspiring leader, or a behind-the-scenes “clutch player,” Thinkydoers aims to help you find more satisfaction, less frustration, and greater flow in your work.
Learn to unlock your inner strategist with No-BS OKRs. Then, explore topics way beyond goal-setting, including strategy, behavior change, cognitive health, and motivation. Our guest episodes feature a wide range of perspectives to support you in building the work/life you want most.
Increase your impact, reduce overwhelm, avoid burnout, and make the unique impacts only you can bring to the world. Here, you’ll discover how to build and maintain a fulfilling career and lead transformative efforts with significant outcomes, all while putting human outcomes first.
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Ep 32 - Executing Under Pressure: High Stakes, High Performance, With Pro Racer and Firefighter Jayson Uribe
Saison 1 · Épisode 32
mardi 12 novembre 2024 • Durée 33:03
What does it take to perform at the absolute limit, every time you show up to work?
How do you navigate your own chemisty, and both objective and perceived risk when lives are actually on the line?
Find out in this conversation with professional motorcycle road racer, firefighter, and business owner, Jayson Uribe.
Jay and I work together in our moto lives -- he's one of the pro riders that I really enjoy working with in my capacity as a team principal for CW Moto Racing. In addition to being a very skilled, highly capable and accomplished rider in a sport where the rider is ultimately the one who goes out there and twists the throttle, Jayson's life and career have given him a unique perspective on teamwork that makes him truly fun to work with. He's also a talented development rider: his ability to give us technical information about his experience on track not only makes it possible for us to improve the bike for him; it also helps us improve our equipment for all of our riders.
Jayson agreed to join me for a peek inside his brain, to hear more about his experiences with balancing technical precision and emotional awareness in high-stakes environments. From his morning pre-race routines to his approach to failure and risk management, what he's learned about performing under pressure applies far beyond the racetrack or firehouse. Whether you're facing challenging decisions in your own work, managing teams through high-pressure situations, or simply curious about the psychology of peak performance, you'll find valuable insights in this conversation about what it really takes to execute at the highest level when it matters most.
Episode Highlights:
The learnable balance between technical expertise and emotional regulation
Achieving and maintaining flow states in high-pressure situations
How morning routines and preparation impact performance
Managing failure and using setbacks as motivation
Risk mitigation and decision-making under pressure
Transferable skills between racing and firefighting
The myth of natural talent vs. practiced fundamentals
Key Concepts Explored:
Flow state in high-performance environments
Technical precision under emotional stress
Risk assessment and management
Progressive goal-setting
Recovery and regulation techniques
Performance preparation routines
Notable Quotes:
"[High performance] is just perfect execution of fundamentals under stress. And the more perfect the execution, the better the outcome will be."
"The best races are the ones you don't remember. When you're riding the bike you're almost so focused that everything else is a blur."
"Being able to remove the emotional side of things... you got to lock into the moment of what you are there to do."
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Thinkydoers Podcast
00:56 Current Events and Connecting with Listeners
04:05 Deep Dive: Jayson Uribe's Multifaceted Career
06:51 Balancing Emotions and Technical Precision
11:32 Goal-Setting and Performance Mindset
19:28 Lessons from Racing and Firefighting
Guest Information:
Jayson Uribe is a professional motorcycle racer with both international and U.S. national career experience. He currently races in MotoAmerica, the U.S. national road racing series (and, with us -- CW Moto, during the off-season in the CVMA series in California). He is also a firefighter, and founder of Code Three Consultations, specializing in automotive forensics and investigations.
We cover a lot of ground here -- from how pro racing teams approaches to goal clarity, mistake recovery, and rhythmic learning can transform your leadership practice, to creating blame-free cultures, and mastering the art of strategic alignment.
In this lively and engaging conversation, you'll discover how racing's high-performance, high-stakes principles can accelerate your business performance—whether you're a motorsports fan or not.
Episode Highlights:
Three core principles business can learn from racing teams:
Crystal-clear goals and their role in driving focus
Balanced autonomy and alignment in high-performing teams
Rhythmic learning: how racing teams turn every moment into an opportunity for improvement
Creating blame-free cultures in high-stakes environments
The power of "even over" statements in explicit prioritization
Decision-making frameworks: understanding "hats, haircuts, and tattoos"
How consent and choice drive organizational ownership
Notable Quotes:
"Failure avoidance is more dangerous than failure recovery." - Jurriaan Kamer
"If you look at Formula 1 teams [...] execution is not 99% of the thing. They understand that everything they do is an opportunity to reflect and improve. These meetings, these rituals, are built into their cadence. It's not something somebody has to plan - it's just part of how they operate." - Jurriaan Kamer
Self-Leadership for Individual Contributors, with Sally Ivester
Saison 1 · Épisode 22
mercredi 28 août 2024 • Durée 30:15
Are you an early- or mid-career individual contributor, curious about how to showcase your contributions and gain the recognition your work deserves? This week's guest, Sally Ivester, brings us a fresh perspective on architecting your own career successfulness -- without trying to be someone you're not.
Sally is a chief of staff in big tech who had a career-transforming experience when she downshifted her approach to career before the birth of her daughter. She joins us this week to share her perspectives on making the shift to playing your career on "easy mode" for those of us more used to playing our careers on "hard mode."
We talk about the subject I personally love to hate: managing up. We also discuss the importance of proactively setting and communicating boundaries, and Sally's approaches to navigating feedback and what she calls "working loudly," (including a very introvert-friendly way to do so in writing). This short episode packs a punch of career development, for listeners who are looking to upskill at playing the corporate game (without masking or playing politics in ways that don't suit you).
Sally was also very generous in sharing resources with us -- check out the links below!
Introduction to Sally Ivester: Sally’s background and her focus on supporting early-career professionals.
Managing Up: Redefining the concept of managing up without masking or changing who you are.
Communicating Boundaries: The importance of setting and communicating personal boundaries at work.
Working Loudly: How to effectively showcase your work and contributions.
Feedback and Growth: Embracing feedback and the concept of “B+ is the new A+.”
Common Questions Notable Quotes from Guest Sally Ivester Sally's Links and Resources Sara's Links and Resources
Cracking the OKR Code: A virtual consultation with an OKR Coach
Saison 1 · Épisode 21
mardi 20 août 2024 • Durée 21:20
I know the first meeting with an Objectives and Key Results coach can be intimidating. Last week, I started building a virtual consult experience through my website and other technologies, because I know a lot of people want to learn more about working with an Objectives and Key Results coach or working with new ways of strategic planning and not everybody wants to schedule a meeting right away.
Ultimately, this expereince will allow you to do a self-guided virtual consultation. I recorded a video to support that and then thought, well, this is actually great information for a podcast episode, too. Here, you’ll find answers to the three questions I’m asked in almost every consult I do with a prospect, and get a huge head start on your confidence when seeking support from an OKR coach or other OKR professional.
So, give it a listen!
I can't wait to hear your questions, and if you'd like a personalized virtual consult, visit findrc.co/virtcon, and that'll take you to my coaching portal where you can complete an intake form that kicks off your personalized virtual consult.
As you're listening, jot down your thoughts about what questions you think I should answer in a virtual consult, and then send them my way. I'd love to address them either in my Frequently Asked Questions or in future versions of this virtual consult.
I hope you enjoy the episode, and again, I can't wait to hear your questions. This episode is packed with practical advice and answers to common questions about OKR coaching and implementation.
Episode Highlights
What are OKRs?: Understanding the basics of Objectives and Key Results.
Virtual Consultation Simulation: Sara simulates a consultation, explaining her methods and answering common questions.
Top-Level OKRs: Starting with senior leaders to establish best practices.
Senior Leadership Onboarding: Ensuring leaders can model OKR behaviors.
Notable Quotes Links and Resources
News Recap: "You Are A Strategist" Book Cover Reveal, Free OKR Coaching, and No-BS OKR Coach Training!
Saison 1 · Épisode 20
mercredi 31 juillet 2024 • Durée 13:23
In this Thinkydoers short, I'm sharing a few exciting updates from Red Currant Collective. For one, we just revealed the covers for my two upcoming books: the "No-BS OKRs Workbook" and "You Are A Strategist: Use No-BS Objectives and Key Results to Get Big Things Done." The Workbook, set to print in Q3, provides essential tools for creating effective OKRs quickly, while "You Are A Strategist" is a playbook for change-makers to connect strategy with goal-exceeding implementation and will fast-follow the Workbook's release -- all in time to help with your year-end reset!
Highlights:
Book Reveals: Sara announces the cover reveal of her two books, emphasizing the practicality of the "No-BS OKRs Workbook" and the strategic depth of "You Are A Strategist"
Not Sure You're a Strategist? Think Again!: A few quick thoughts on the importance of strategic thinking in today's fast-paced business environment, and an invitation to reflect on your own strategic capabilities
Live OKR Coaching: Sara shares her experience hosting a LinkedIn Live session, offering free OKR coaching, and invites listeners to participate in future sessions
Coaching Course: Details are provided about the upcoming "Coaching No-BS OKRs" course, designed for those looking to enhance their OKR coaching skills
Gratitude and Acknowledgements: Sara expresses gratitude for the support received during her book-writing process and teases future interview episodes for the podcast.
Call to Action:
Book Pre-Launch: Join the pre-launch crew for Sara's books at findrc.co/yaas
Coaching Course Registration: Apply for the upcoming "Coaching No-BS OKRs" course at findrc.co/okrcoachtraining
How to Suck Less As A Manager, with Ben Arendt
Saison 1 · Épisode 19
mercredi 17 juillet 2024 • Durée 37:25
Want to suck less as a manager? Or, do you work with a manager who sucks?
Either way, you are NOT alone. Many managers struggle to become good at the difficult job of management: whether it stems from insufficient self-awareness, ineffective communication skills, or a lack of necessary tools, Ben Arendt believes that all managers have a responsibility to improve themselves for the benefit of their careers and the teams they lead. Ben is Principal Consultant at Depth Charge Consulting and author of the recently-released book: How to Suck Less as a Manager: A Practical Guide to Making Your Team Less Miserable Today!
In this episode, you’ll learn practical strategies that managers can take right now to better understand, communicate with, and support their teams.
Ben highlights the far-reaching impact of leadership and management, we discuss the importance of intellectual humility and the role that vulnerability plays in leadership, as well as his some tips for managing yourself when your manager sucks.
We also take a side trip into why we both believe leaders should increase their awareness around skills for working with diverse teams and disabled team members, and a few insights on leading and being led while neurodivergent.
From fostering a positive work environment to driving team performance, this conversation is full of valuable insights that can transform your leadership approach today.
Ready to take the first step towards becoming a more effective and inspiring manager? You're in the right place.
Key Points From This Episode:
An overview of Ben’s fascinating career journey and how it led him to write this book.
The self-awareness and continuous self-improvement required to be a better manager.
How listening to and learning from others can help you develop intellectual humility.
Why difficult conversations with diverse groups of people are key to a leader’s success.
Real People, Real Stories: OKR Coach and Specialist Jason Johnston (Part 2)
Saison 1 · Épisode 18
mardi 9 juillet 2024 • Durée 19:15
How do you find balance as a Thinkydoer with a busy, curious, learning-focused brain? Today, we explore this question (and more) as I continue my insightful conversation with Jason Johnston, OKR Practice Lead at Genetec. (If you missed Part 1, pop back to Episode 17 and then come back here after.)
Tuning in, you’ll discover some of the most profound lessons from Jason’s unique and varied career.
From facing a career-altering setback J.J. considers his "greatest professional accomplishment," to finding new paths forward, his journey demonstrates the importance of adaptability and continuous learning.
Join us as we explore how personal passions outside of work--whether it's building LEGO, climbing mountains, or repairing antique typewriters -- can recharge our professional lives, and why disconnecting and taking proper breaks is essential for reconnecting with our intrinsic motivation.
Don't miss this enriching conversation as we dive deep into the human side of leadership!
What Jason considers to be his greatest professional accomplishment.
The biggest learnings that have propelled him forward.
Navigating setbacks and how to have a learning-focused career.
Lessons for making OKR work sustainable, including recharging outside of work.
How taking meaningful breaks can help you reconnect with your intrinsic motivation.
Sara and Jason’s mutual love for LEGO!
How having the mentality of a four-year-old benefits Jason’s well-being.
Jason’s top book recommendations.
Quotes:
“It is a failure, [but] I think the success comes [from] realizing that I didn't have control over it, and it's not my fault. Why should I let this get me down? You’ve got to keep going. You’ve got to keep moving.” — Jason Johnston
Meet an OKR Coach: Jason Johnston (Part One)
Saison 1 · Épisode 17
mardi 2 juillet 2024 • Durée 37:41
Establishing clear objectives and key results (OKRs) isn't just about direction and accountability. It’s about driving real change within organizations. Today’s episode kicks off our two-part conversation with the delightful Jason Johnston, OKR Practice Lead for Genetec, a technology company in the security products and solutions space.
Jason is also a veteran whose 20-year military career has given him a unique perspective on leadership and problem-solving.
Join us as Jason shares his insights on fostering an environment where OKRs can thrive, the challenges of shifting from a task-oriented to an outcome-oriented mindset, and the critical role of leadership in guiding teams. We also explore how positive reinforcement and diverse perspectives on outcomes can drive success and why so many OKR practitioners exemplify servant leadership.
Tune in to discover practical tips and inspiring stories from Jason’s journey, and learn how to navigate the complexities of OKRs in your own work environment!
Insight into Jason’s role as the OKR Practice Lead at Genetec.
Why he’s a self-described servant leader and why that’s often the case for OKR practitioners.
How he first started working with OKRs and got his company to create a position for him.
Driving change within a company by leading others rather than doing the work for them.
Jason’s unique career background and what initially attracted him to the practice of OKRs.
Lessons on heroism and preparation from his military career (and how it relates to OKRs).
The adaptive nature of Jason’s work environment: how it has facilitated his career transitions.
How the No-BS OKR class changed Jason’s approach to OKRs and made it more intuitive.
The biggest challenges Jason has seen when it comes to implementing OKRs.
Creating Leading Indicators in High-Stakes Settings with Elena Chopyak
Saison 1 · Épisode 16
mardi 21 mai 2024 • Durée 30:44
One of the most challenging things for people to wrap their heads around when learning to create No-BS OKRs is the power of progress key results, otherwise known as leading indicators. But leading indicators serve as critical data that may give you objective data on which to assess your progress, and, to inform decisionmaking. Today’s guest is Elena Chopyak, a self-professed "data nerd," who I met through our mutual friend Rachel. When Rachel introduced Elena to me as an expert in leading indicators, I couldn't schedule a coffee talk fast enough. That coffee talk turned into an invitation back for this podcast episode.
Aside from Elena's wiring for data and analysis, her career history also follows the Thinkydoer pattern: a winding, multidisciplinary path included interest in working outside the U.S., and curiosity in the emergency humanitarian space, which ultimately lead her to working with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Iraq for two years. She was brought on in a monitoring and evaluation role in child protection and education, where she became responsible for instrumenting, monitoring, and reporting on important indicators to assess impact; and then moved into a role in IRC's emergency response team that was focused both on monitoring and informing decisions about natural disaster and armed conflict responses (as well as deploying, herself).
In this episode, you’ll hear about Elena's experiences and learnings working with leading indicators in high-stakes settings, tips for creating leading indicators that are useful and actionable, and, more about her self-described "squiggly" career.
Also: the No-BS OKRs Workbook is live; we're getting ready to launch our No-BS OKRs Self-Assessment Tool; and the best way to keep track of what's happening with Thinkydoers and No-BS OKRs is to join our mailing list!
Key Points From This Episode:
How Elena ended up in the nonprofit space working on leading indicators.
What drew her to the data and analytics side of nonprofit work.
The purpose that leading indicators serve in resource-constrained companies.
Prepare for Q2 with Sara Lobkovich and No-BS OKRs
Saison 1 · Épisode 15
mercredi 13 mars 2024 • Durée 08:56
Are you ready to create big, bold goals for Q2 and beyond, and achieve remarkable results?
In this Thinkydoers Short, I'm sharing a slew of resources to help you get ready for Q2 -- whether you have a budget or not, and whether you are excited to get visionary and curious and plan your Q2, or are hoping to spend as little time as humanly possible, so you can get right to achieving your goals!
Show Topics:
It's OKR Quarterly Reset Time: Q1 performance review and Q2 goal-setting are upon us. Tune in to our LinkedIn Live sessions for my creative and generative approach to quarterly retrospectives.
No-BS OKRs Workshop: Our popular workshop is now available in a hybrid format. Join anytime, learn at your own pace, and get your OKRs written in just one week.
The Evolutionary OKRs Playbook:
No-BS OKRs Workbook: A 50-page download with essential OKR basics and valuable cheat sheets, available later this March!
No-BS OKRs Playbook: The "big book," covering deeper explanations and tackling OKR challenges, is scheduled for release in September.
Stay Connected: Shoot me an email at sara@redcurrantco.com if you have questions about anything mentioned here -- and I appreciate your shares on this episode!
"If you try to convince a group of people, the first thing you need to do is not tell them why you think you're right, but ask them what they think is going to go wrong. And then you can start to build conviction together." - Jurriaan Kamer
"We have to take a systemic perspective when things go wrong... As an outsider, you think 'Oh, this person needs to be fired, because they blew the chances of a victory.' Which is just very short-term focused because [mistakes] will repeat [themselves] if you don't understand all the factors that were at play." - Jurriaan Kamer
Guest Information:
Jurriaan Kamer is an organizational change expert based in the Netherlands and author of "Formula X: How to Reach Extreme Acceleration in Your Organization" and "Unblock." Drawing from his unique access to professional car-racing teams and extensive experience with self-managing organizations, he helps leaders worldwide create high-performing, adaptable organizations.
Personal Operating Model: How to create and share your personal operating model to set clear expectations.
What is managing up?: Managing up involves thinking ahead and aligning with your manager’s expectations without compromising your authenticity.
How can I communicate my boundaries at work?: Proactively share your personal operating model, including your preferred communication methods and working hours.
What does working loudly mean?: Working loudly means actively communicating your contributions and achievements to ensure they are recognized.
How should I handle feedback?: Embrace feedback as an opportunity for growth and aim for continuous improvement rather than perfection.
“Managing up isn’t about being pleasing; it’s about thinking ahead and aligning with your leader.”
“B+ is the new A+. Embrace feedback and aim for continuous improvement.”
“Working loudly means ensuring your contributions are recognized and valued.”
A free copy of Sally's usually paid-only product, her Project Tracker
Organization-Wide Communication: Sharing OKRs with the entire organization.
Localization/Scale Phase: Adapting OKRs to different organizational levels.
Common Questions:
Implementation: How to start or reboot OKRs.
Localization: How to cascade OKRs through the organization.
Integration with Personal Goals: Aligning OKRs with individual performance management and incentive systems.
“OKRs are a goal-setting framework used to increase focus, clarity, and alignment within organizations.”
“We start with those top-level OKRs with the senior-most leader so that we can establish what the best practice is going to look like for the rest of the organization.”
“The localization approach that I use with clients is a little bit different. We establish those awesome best practice top-line goals at the top of the organization, and then we do a first level localization to the functional orgs that report into the top-level.”
Podcast Participation: If you're interested in being a guest on Thinkydoers, use the link in the show notes to express your interest: Thinkydoers Podcast Guest Application
Closing Thoughts: Sara encourages listeners to focus on their important goals and looks forward to sharing more insights in the next episode.
Three types of activities managers need to do to improve their craft.
Practical advice for those who are dealing with managers that suck.
Why Sara coaches that “productive struggling” may be a learning step, but sufferring at work is not acceptable.
Ben's basic toolkit for better communication skills.
Strength in vulnerability: why leaders should embrace emotional transparency.
Why you should probably never be the smartest person in the room as a manager or leader.
Pro tips for leaders and aspiring leaders who are neurodivergent or "wired differently."
Major setbacks that helped to propel Ben forward in his career.
Three key similarities between OKRs and being a better manager.
Quotes:
“If you don't care, you don't deserve to be here [in management]. If you're not willing to listen to other people, you're probably going to do a bad job.” — Ben Arendt [09:50]
“Communication, as sophisticated as it is, is imperfect. There are a lot of things that we as managers – can do better, both to help people be [motivated and engaged], but also get them the things that they want so that their careers improve down the line.” — Ben Arendt [15:50]
“There are a lot of people that should not be in leadership [who] have become managers because that was just the next step in their career.” — Ben Arendt [18:38]
“Getting a diversity of thought and perspective is not value signaling. It's an imperative.” — Ben Arendt [24:18]
“It's about cutting yourself off completely [and] giving your brain time to think and do something else.” — Jason Johnston [08:38]
“Take what it is that you love, disconnect, and go do it. Make it big, whatever it is. Make it big. Make it worth a four-year-old's mentality.” — Jason Johnston [12:14]
“I consider myself a servant-leader, that’s how I function and how I act. I get my success from others succeeding. I don’t get my success from me succeeding.” — Jason Johnston [07:35]
“If we want to create real change in anything we’re doing, especially in the companies we’re in, somebody has to drive it.” — Jason Johnston [14:03]
“The No-BS OKRs class really kind of changed the way I look at OKRs and [made] it more intuitive.” — Jason Johnston [22:28]
“We have to put as much emphasis on the things that we accomplish as well as the things we don’t accomplish. And the process built around that is important.” — Jason Johnston [37:02]
Challenges of creating leading indicators that provide actionable data.
Two ways to determine whether or not an indicator is useful.
Why there is no such thing as a perfect decision, even in high-stakes settings.
Working back from your ‘why’ and other pro tips for creating leading indicators.
Reasons that intentionality and testing are so important.
Setbacks that ended up propelling Elena’s career forward.
The value of having thought partners and focusing on tangible change.
How continuous learning and mentorship can benefit your career.
Quotes:
“It’s important not to wait until something is a full-blown emergency and has made it to the news – One of our responsibilities is to be prepared – That’s why [leading indicators are] so important.” — Elena Chopyak [11:25]
“We don’t create leading indicators so that we have pretty numbers on a dashboard in any setting. We create leading indicators because we’re going to use them to inform a decision.” — @saralobkovich[15:50]
“It comes back to thinking about the why. Why are you going to collect this [data]? Who is going to look at it? Who is using it? – Who is actually going to make any actionable change based on the data you’re collecting?” — Elena Chopyak [20:33]
“If you have a squiggly career, just know there are people who appreciate that. There are people who themselves have linear careers and don’t understand you. That’s fine, but there are those people out there who will appreciate your varied background.” — Elena Chopyak [27:22]
Let’s set your Q2 goals up for inspiration, progress, and success! Tune in, subscribe, share with a friend or colleague, and let’s keep the conversation going! 🚀
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