💉 TED talk: Great Leaders Do What Drug Addicts Do 💪

The only money I had was the money I stole from my friends.

Drug addiction is horrible.

Michael Brody-Waite is a drug addict turned CEO.

In rehab, drug addicts are taught to follow these 3 principles to avoid relapse:

1. Rigorous authenticity.
2. Surrender the outcome.
3. Do uncomfortable work no matter what.

Very same principles make great leaders.

Be authentic

The alternative to authenticity is wearing a mask. Who are you trying to impress?

Don’t like on your resume. Don’t sugar coat that email.

Show vulnerability, be humble, just be yourself.

From a drug addict perspective: “It’s about whether you want to stay clean”.

I found freedom of just wearing my face.

There’s a study that says 60% of adults can’t go 10 minutes without a lie. We’re living in a world that practices the opposite of authenticity.

Surrender the outcome

Don’t obsess over outcomes you can’t control.

Do uncomfortable work no matter what

Don’t hide the hard truth.

Extreme Ownership book immediately comes to mind.

Question from the interview: What’s one of your greatest weaknesses?

Great candidates should be authentic to share a real one, not “I buy too many shoes”.

And he delivered the talk wearking flip flops. ❤️