Finding Focus: Recent Episodes
Finding Focus
Finding Focus is a series of short, actionable conversations that uncover why and how people focus in today’s increasingly distracted world. Pull up a chair as we examine the obstacles, the a-ha moments, and the strategies that each unique guest uses to find focus. Hosted by Gated Cofounders Andy Mowat and Melissa Moody.
Gated Cofounder and CMO Melissa Moody hosts Alec Wons - a young man with big personality who recently wrote the book "Conquer Yourself" and is building a company to being better habits to sales professionals.
Key topics include:
Timeblocking and personal habits to get your inner voice on track, along with your physical self
Watching out for the pitfall of tunnel vision, when it comes to chasing success
Mental wellness and the resilient mindset
Self-belief and strategies for confidence building
Connecting sport to business
Shout-outs in the episode:
Alec's Book: Conquer Yourself
Habit Hackers Sales Method: https://habithackermethod.com/sales
Simon Sinek's Golden Circle
Cofounder and CMO Melissa Moody hosts Ryan Johansen - a professional stress management and productivity trainer who has real-life experience and carefully honed strategies in the areas of stress management and productivity. More informal than one of his developed courses, the episode uncovers Ryan's personal take on the challenge of staying focused, as well as the tips he recommends to clients (both individual and corporate).
Key topics include:
- Lived life experiences that lead to radical change
- Asking the hard questions both about how we THINK and WORK when it comes to stress management and productivity
- Mental wellness and the resilient mindset
- Digital boundary setting
- The perils of social media when it comes to our focus (and losing it)
- The reality of a social media detox
- Hedonic adaptation and always chasing the next "good thing"
Shout-outs in the episode:
- Chris Walker - and his rigorous priorities!
- Freedom app - https://freedom.to/
- Call Newport - author of Deep Work - www.calnewport.com
- Ryan Johansen's work and consulting - https://www.ryanjohansen.me/
Logan Lyles, Head of Partnerships at Teamwork, sits down with Gated CMO Melissa Moody to explore how he finds focus as a busy thought leader in product management, partnerships, and storytelling. What does it all come down to? Asking the right questions of ourselves, to ensure we're building a story that supports our goals and what we know is most important.
The episode touches on:
- the important skill of storytelling and the rise of journalism as a valuable background experience
- setting time as a boundary for focus and goals
- Tiago Forte's "building a second brain": https://fortelabs.com/
- The use at Pavilion (from Kathleen Booth) of sharing how you communicate proactively
- the cost and impact of NOT being clear in your priorities
- using tools that help you make decisions quicker (Teamwork, Asana, Superhuman)
- James Clear's Atomic Habits and the idea of accountability as core to habit changing
And don't miss Logan's "If you could wave a magic wand..." answer at the end of the episode!
Meet Sonia Nigam - CEO and Cofounder of Change (getchange.io) - a platform that enables any company to integrate immediately with 200k+ nonprofits to streamline giving and donations. Sonia's adventure as a founder and leader means she's incredibly busy - so the topic of staying focused is of critical importance to her personal and corporate success. Sonia and host Melissa Moody, CMO at Gated, touch on topics including:- finding fulfillment not just in your company's mission - but in the day-to-day work you are doing- personal strategies for staying focused, including grouping of weekly work into similar areas to be addressed in timeblocks- the influence of sound and music on focus, when you're trying to get work done- the role of human connection in operating as cofounders and business-people at large- Sonia's idea of Thoughtful Thursdays, to open up brainstorming and open up creative space for their hard-working teams
Jenn Steele, CEO at Kissmetrics, is a self-described "tangled knot" of expertise. With a background that includes being an early part of Hubspot, CMO at multiple well-known B2B SaaS companies, and a far-flung past in the IT world, Jenn is a fast-moving, brilliant thinker who needs to maintain laser focus in order to achieve her goals. With host Melissa Moody, CMO @ Gated, Jenn dives into her approach to identifying and focusing on problem areas as a CEO, her inspiration in pursuing an untraditional path in marketing and beyond, and her tendencies toward controlled chaos.
In this episode, host Melissa Moody (CMO @ Gated) chats with our first Engineering / Product leader guest, Chris Danner - Head of Product @ Charity : water. Chris and Melissa discuss:
- the archetypal (and real) product leader's approach to finding focus,
- the challenge of beginning a project,
- what is needed to set yourself up for successful deep work,
- finding a role you get fulfillment from,
- the philosophical role of product development (and how it connects to brand)
- and why listening to your spouse is always important (seriously, though).
In this episode, sit down with Anthony Kennada - CEO & Founder of AudiencePlus and former CMO at Gainsight, Front, and Hopin - as he peels back the layers of his 'why' and what it takes to get there. From family man to company leader, Anthony has a lot on his plate and shares how self-observation and taking care of his well-being leads to improved productivity, focus, and happiness.
In this episode, we'll dig into:
- the importance for marketers to understand their customer's WHY
- how family may take precedence over everything, and what that looks like in the day of a busy founder
- the critical importance of self-observation and listening to your body's signals to understand how you work best
- how to take the reins from the "never-slowing treadmill" - with examples of how Anthony operationalizes this in family life and company culture
- the undercurrent of social impact and meaning for Gen Z
Meet Rea Ross - a marketing expert currently with Finastra (financial software and solutions) - who explores how relationships are at the core of focus in your personal life as well as at work. Previously at Bombbomb and part of the team that developed Human-Centric Communication, Rea is a passionate advocate for battling against digital pollution and developing more human connections in this increasingly noisy digital world. She and host Melissa Moody, CMO at Gated, touch on topics including:
- improving personal wellness through behavioral change
- the human need for connection and community
- finding your end goal / focus for life, not just work
- how to focus when starting in a new role
- the dangers of digital pollution to health and focus
- future evolution of the marketing landscape, thanks to the relationship-driven focus of Generation Z
In this episode of Finding Focus, host and Gated CMO Melissa Moody sits down with Dr. Jim Kanichirayil, Talent Strategy Transformation Evangelist at Circa, podcaster, showrunner, salesperson, and so much more. The two fast-movers spend time reflecting on how people who love to go, go, go can still consider their focus as a means to success in this digitally noisy world.
Listen as Jim shares his perspective on: keeping your customer as the hero of the story, the secret to knowing when you are losing focus, the real intended meaning of the phrase 'master of none', and his own personal North Star.
In this episode of Finding Focus, host and Gated CMO Melissa Moody sits down with Ali (French) Seibel to explore how leaders in RevOps find focus in such a chaotic role, at the center of many fast-growing companies today. The two women discuss how listening is a core skill for any leader looking to reduce complexity, a few must-have traits for successful RevOps leadership, the importance of building in space and time for focus in both personal and work life, the value of unfocused time, and the slippery slope of always responding immediately in this noisy digital world.
Alex Boyd, RevenueZen CEO & Gated Advisor, caught up with Melissa and dove into how he's been refining his focus practices for years. From meditation to color coded calendars to the future of marketing - Alex covers it all.
Melissa Moody caught up with Oncue's VP of Revenue Adam Jay to dive into the best practices he's implemented to achieve the ultimate work/life balance. A religious calendar user, Adam has mastered the art of time blocking and turned it into his most effective method for focus.
This week Jeanne Hopkins, CRO of OneScreen.AI, joins Melissa to share how she strives to create a more focused and efficient team by refining where they use their resources. With an impressive resume in her back pocket, Jeanne dives into all things marketing, revenue and focus!
Ben Smith, COO of Knotch, sat down with Andy Mowat to dive into the most successful focus practices he has found over his 20 year career thus far. From a life filled with business travel to a primarily work from home present day, Ben has rigorously protected his time and thus expertly directed his focus.
This week, CEO Andy Mowat, CMO Melissa Moody, and Head of Product & Engineering Allen Hartwig talk shop and share everything from the "why" of what drives them to our teams ever-changing practices for focusing and productivity!
This week Drew Brucker, VP of Growth at Lasso, shares his best practices when it comes to focus. As a new father of twins and a VP in the remote work industry, Drew shares practices and preferences he utilizes to be the most efficient and effective version of himself.
Karrie Sanderson, CMO of Typeform, chats with Gated CMO Melissa Moody to share how she steers a ship through stormy seas while focusing on staying calm and moving the team in the right direction. With decades of year of experience under her belt, Karrie offers an incredible amount of knowledge for everyone from those who are entry-level to those who are at the executive level.
Milena Regos, founder of the Unhustle Movement, sits down with CMO Melissa Moody to explain how finding peace, passion and focus in your personal life is the gateway to professional success. A strong advocate against hustle culture, Milena dives deep into what true success should look like.
In a world where immediate responses and conversation are the expectation, Eddie Patzsch, CEO of PartnerPortal, discusses how he tries to buck those norms and set aside time for deep focus, family and fun. Andy Mowat explores all of this and more in the world of focusing as a CEO.
A former high school and collegiate athlete, Zoe Hartsfield explores how her recent focus on physical health is helping to unlock the the next stage of her career. As a community manager as Spekit, Zoe chats with Melissa about her best productivity practices and all the steps she's taken along the way to achieve her current success.
Andy sits down with Charles Hudson, Managing Partner at Precursor Ventures, a classic seed stage investment firm based out of San Francisco, CA. Charles dives deep into his struggles and successes when it comes to fining focus in the world of a busy venture capitalist.
Mitch Stein, CEO of Pond, sits down with Melissa to talk all things focus and productivity through the lens of an executive in the nonprofit space. From LinkedIn branding to smart and productive networking tips, we take a deep dive into Mitch's life as a CEO.
A self described data driven professional focused on building and scaling engaging products, Matt sits down with Andy Mowat to discuss everything from the importance of deep work time to something he calls "Sunday prep." Matt is the Vice President of Marketing and Strategy for Hatchworks and has a deep background in product strategy and marketing.
As the co-founder and CEO of TestBox, a company that makes it insanely easy for an enterprise to find the best software for their needs, Sam Senior has refined his productivity practices to a near science. Sam sits down with Andy Mowat to share what has brought him clarity in an increasingly chaotic world and where he feels there's still room for improvement.
Finding Focus is a series of short actionable conversations that uncover why and how people focus in today's increasingly distractive world. We'll be talking with people who are chasing big goals in their areas of expertise. So pull up a chair as we examine the obstacles, the ah-ha moments, and the strategies each unique guest uses to find focus. The podcast is produced by Gated, a solution designed to reduce noise in your inbox and benefit a cause you love.