How Success Happens

"Witold Rybczynski an architect, professor and writer whose books often study the everyday things we sometimes take for granted, from the humble screwdriver to the ubiquitous plastic patio chair. He’ll talk to us about what we learn when we take time to study the things we might otherwise overlook -- and how an outsider’s perspective can give anyone an advantage.

Several years ago, kayaker and small apartment dweller Anton Willis became obsessed with origami. He had tapped the ancient art of paper folding to solve a unique problem -- designing a collapsible boat that could be stored in a closet. This obsession eventually became a business, and this architect became the founder of Oru Kayak. In this podcast he’ll talk about the long nights he spent tinkering in his living room and how it took 25 prototypes to perfect the design over several years.

Ever work hard for something only to realize you don't want it anymore? Robin Arzon, a former corporate litigator, knew she needed a change and transformed herself into an ultra marathoner, cycler, best-selling author and one-woman fitness brand. She'll explain how she made the change -- and other crucial decisions -- by being her own mentor and with the help of some simple but powerful inner mantras.

Matt Jozwiak is a chef by trade who knows the high quality ingredients left at the end of a restaurant dinner service often go to waste. It’s part of the reason he launched Rethink Food, a non-profit that transforms food that would otherwise be thrown away into delicious meals for hungry people. He'll tell us about why this simple solution required long chats with lawyers and the FDA and how his solution could even be a boon to low-margin food businesses.

Justin Schneider is an industrial designer who took the skills he honed designing athletic shoes for New Balance and Adidas to found Wolf & Shepherd, a line of performance dress shoes for men -- shoes that recently set an unofficial half marathon record at 1 hour 17 minutes. He’s also a decathlete who competed in track and field events while in college at Notre Dame. He’ll talk about the unique training decathletes endure -- and how that practice helps him even today as entrepreneur.

"Courage is just fear that held on a minute longer." That's the philosophy for Lissa Young, a former army aviator and current West Point professor. Her courage has guided her through a wide ranging career that has included flying Chinook helicopters in the Denali mountains, helping build a rum distillery in Massachusetts, shaping her own doctoral program at Harvard and coming back from a curveball that would change everything about how she thought her life would be.

Kyle Nel runs Lowe's Innovation Lab but he's not your typical tech guy. He's a behavioral scientist who uses his knowledge of how people work together (or don't) to get big changes to happen. His methods are non-traditional -- like giving comic books to execs. But they've helped build exosuits, holorooms and get a 3D printer into space. He'll explain the importance of behavior and and story to making the most of any real opportunity.

What Adventure Can Teach Entrepreneurs

Limor Fried of Adafruit Industries: You Can't Outsource Knowledge

Contently's Shane Snow: Look for Patterns of Success

Steve Hindy of Brooklyn Brewery: Be Calm and Do the Work

Will Dean of Tough Mudder: Strategy Can Be What You Don't Do

Kathryn Minshew of The Muse: Decide Who You Are, or Have it Decided for You

Shamus Jones of Brooklyn Brine: Don't Get Precious with Your Passions

Judith Glaser: Conversation is the Most Underused Innovation Tool