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Previous Chapter

Index

Notes

Introduction

1. Whitney Johnson, interview/personal correspondence with Astrid Tuminez, April 14, 2021, and Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 232, September 7, 2021.
2. Whitney Johnson, “Disrupt Yourself,” Harvard Business Review, July–August 2012, https://hbr.org/2012/07/disrupt-yourself-3.
3. Both Disrupt Yourself and Build an A Team articulate the framework of Personal Disruption with its seven accelerants of self reinvention. These accelerants are tools in your backpack that help you succeed on an S Curve journey. For more on the Personal Disruption framework, listen to the Disrupt Yourself podcast, Episode 80, “Disrupt Yourself Today.”
4. Everett M. Rogers, ed., Diffusion of Innovations, 5th ed. (New York: Free Press, 2003), 13.
5. Whitney Johnson, “Throw Your Life a Curve,” hbr.org, September 3, 2012, https://hbr.org/2012/09/throw-your-life-a-curve.
6. The S Curve Insight Platform tracks the progress of individuals and teams, the tools being used to accelerate their progress, and generates insights on how to accelerate organizational growth. For further information, go to disruptionadvisors.co/scurveplatform.
7. Whitney Johnson, interview with Harry Kraemer, Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 236, October 5, 2021.
8. Bruce Japsen, “CEO Steps Up, Takes Blame,” Chicago Tribune, January 30, 2004, https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2004-01-30-0401300327-story.html.
9. Abigail Van Buren, “Dear Abby: Teen Tells Mom to Stay Away During His Band Performances,” Bowling Green Daily News, June 16, 2017, https://www.bgdailynews.com/community/dear-abby-teen-tells-mom-to-stay-away-during-his/article_bbbe40c4-f871-561e-9034-f749e755dc25.html.

S Curve Implications for Smart Growth Leaders

1. The Platform helps answer questions such as: Are my strongest performers potentially bored, do they need a new challenge, are they considering leaving? Which areas of the organization have a surplus of strong performers approaching mastery who could be redeployed? Where are we overindexed with people on the launch point? The platform also identifies culture hot spots—departments (and managers) where growth is happening. For further information, go to disruptionadvisors.co/scurveplatform.

Chapter 1: Explorer

1. Shakespeare is speaking through Brutus in Julius Caesar. Brutus is indulging in hyperbole. We are not fated for either happiness or misery, and our lives will offer many opportunities full of fortune. Given that Brutus chose the course that ended on his own sword, maybe he doesn’t know everything.
2. Whitney Johnson, interview with Mike Rowe, Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 231, August 31, 2021.
3. “What to Do When There Are Too Many Product Choices on the Store Shelves?,” Consumer Reports, January 2014, https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/03/too-many-product-choices-in-supermarkets/index.htm.
4. Nicole Spector, “Why Our Sense of Time Speeds Up as We Age—and How to Slow It Down,” NBC News/Today, November 26, 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/why-our-sense-time-speeds-we-age-how-slow-it-ncna936351.
5. In 1997, clinical psychologist James Prochaska identified five distinct stages for significant personal change. Prochaska studies the changes individuals must make to lower their risk of cancer and diabetes. Prochaska’s theory posits that those who achieve lasting change generally pass through five stages: 1) precontemplation; 2) contemplation; 3) preparation; 4) action; and 5) maintenance. Prochaska graphs these stages along an S-shaped curve, with slow progress at the base (precontemplation; contemplation), acceleration in the middle (preparation; action), and mastery at the peak (maintenance).

Prochaska teaches that those who achieve significant personal change start at the slow phase of precontemplation. “Contemplation,” Prochaska writes, “is the stage in which people are intending to change in the next six months. They are more aware of the pros of changing but are also acutely aware of the cons.” Hello, Explorers.

For more information see University of Rhode Island Cancer Prevention Research Center, “Detailed Overview: Transtheoretical Model of Change,” https://web.uri.edu/cprc/detailed-overview.

6. Whitney Johnson, interview with Marco Trecroce, “Take Time to Plan,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 150, February 25, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/marco-trecroce/.
7. Neville Goddard, The Power of Awareness (Seattle, WA: Pacific Publishing Studio, 2010), 54.
8. Whitney Johnson, interview with Marcus Whitney, “Create and Orchestrate,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 188, November 3, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/marcus-whitney/.
9. Marcus Whitney, Create and Orchestrate: The Path to Claiming Your Creative Power from an Unlikely Entrepreneur (self-pub., Creative Power, 2020), 39.
10. For more on this topic, listen to Whitney Johnson, interview with Bob Proctor, “Change Your Paradigm, Change Your Life,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 208, March 23, 2021, https://whitneyjohnson.com/bob-proctor/.
11. Thank you to James Clear for inspiring this process. Whitney Johnson, interview with James Clear, “Just One Percent Better,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 93, January 15, 2019, https://whitneyjohnson.com/james-clear/ and “Atomic Habits: Encore Episode,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 190, November 17, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/james-clear-encore/.
12. Whitney Johnson, interview with Darrell Rigby, “The Agile Life,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 176, August 11, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/darrell-rigby/.
13. Agile methods or agile processes generally promote a disciplined project management process that encourages frequent inspection and adaptation, a leadership philosophy that encourages teamwork, self-organization, and accountability.
14. Darrell Rigby, Sarah Elk, and Steve Berez, Doing Agile Right: Transformation without Chaos (Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2020).
15. Whitney Johnson, interview with Rita McGrath, “Inflection Points,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 126, September 3, 2019, https://whitneyjohnson.com/rita-mcgrath/.
16. Queens University, “Discovery of ‘Thought Worms’ Opens Window to the Mind,” Neuroscience News.com, July 14, 2020, https://neurosciencenews.com/thought-worms-16639/.
17. Whitney Johnson, interview with Tara Swart, “Unlock Your Mind and Reach Your Potential,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 156, March 27, 2020.
18. Brian Uzzi et al., “Atypical Combinations and Scientific Impact,” Science 342, no. 6257 (2013): 468–472.
19. Derek Thompson, Hit Makers: How to Succeed in the Age of Distraction (New York: Penguin, 2017), 79.
20. Whitney Johnson, interview with Jamie O’Banion and Melbourne O’Banion, “In Good Company,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 203, February 16, 2021, https://whitneyjohnson.com/jamie-melbourne-obanion/ and conversation with the author, March 29, 2021.
21. Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, and Karen Dillon, How Will You Measure Your Life? (New York: Harper Collins, 2012), 203–204.
22. Whitney Johnson, interview with Angela Blanchard, “The Measure of a Great City,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 146, January 28, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/angela-blanchard/.
23. For more on my foundational assumptions for this book, see disruptionadvisors.co/smartgrowthbook.
24. For more on shadow values, go to www.disruptionadvisors.co/smartgrowthbook.
25. Dartmouth University, “2015 Commencement Address by David Brooks,” June 14, 2015, https://news.dartmouth.edu/news/2015/06/2015-commencement-address-david-brooks.
26. Simon Sinek, “Friends Exercise,” accessed July 13, 2021, https://simonsinek.com/commit/test-your-why/.

Chapter 2: Collector

1. Whitney Johnson, interview with Mikaila Ulmer, “Bee Fearless,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 182, September 22, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/mikaila-ulmer/.
2. Christopher Ingraham, “Call Off the Bee-pocalypse: U.S. Honeybee Colonies Hit a 20-Year High,” Washington Post, June 23, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/07/23/call-off-the-bee-pocalypse-u-s-honeybee-colonies-hit-a-20-year-high/.
3. Kiki Schockling, “Data in Everyday Life: Are Honey Bees on the Decline?,” PQ Systems, May 14, 2019, https://blog.pqsystems.com/2019/05/14/data-in-everyday-life-are-honey-bees-on-the-decline/.
4. We always court the risk of sunk costs, luring us to continue to pursue something because we’ve already begun. It’s hard to pull the plug and lose our investment of time. Confirmation bias, the tendency to interpret new information as confirmation of what we already believe, is another lurking risk.
5. Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (New York: Ballantine Books, 2007).
6. Zachary Crockett, “Shark Tank Deep Dive: A Data Analysis of All 10 Seasons,” The Hustle, May 19, 2019, https://thehustle.co/shark-tank-data-analysis-10-seasons/.
7. Apple Montessori Schools, “Our Favorite Montessori Quotes,” https://www.applemontessorischools.com/montessori-quotes.
8. Joyce Sidman, The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018).
9. Max Roser and Estaban Ortiz-Ospina, “Literacy,” Our World in Data, 2013, revised September 20, 2018, https://ourworldindata.org/literacy.
10. Amanda Vickery, “Flora, Fauna and Fortitude: The Extraordinary Mission of Maria Sibylla Merian,” Guardian, April 1, 2016, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/apr/01/flora-fauna-and-fortitude-the-extraordinary-mission-of-maria-sibylla-merian.
11. Assuming there are sufficient resources for lilies to begin life in this pond, the lilies’ proliferation rate will actually be highest at the outset. In terms of the percentage of overall change (e.g., the percentage of growth between .5 and 1 is greater (100%) than that between 2 and 3 (50%), even though the actual gap between the latter two is greater). This is a metaphor for what happens at the launch point of the S Curve. Growth may not be evident, but below detection, considerable progress is underway. For more on the math, see www.disruptionadvisors.co/smartgrowthbook.
12. A third book, Let’s Learn Our Way Through It, Shall We?, chronicles her early years as chief learning and diversity officer at Kraft Heinz.
13. Tara Swart, The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain (New York: HarperOne, 2019), 195.
14. Daniel Goleman, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence (New York: Harper, 2015), 2.
15. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, “Managing Yourself: Zoom In and Zoom Out,” Harvard Business Review, March 2011, https://hbr.org/2011/03/managing-yourself-zoom-in-zoom-out.
16. Loren W. Christensen and Dave Grossman, On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace (self-pub., Warrior Science Publications, 2008).
17. Whitney Johnson, interview with Scott Pulsipher, “Disruptive Leadership in Higher Education,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 32, November 2, 2017, https://whitneyjohnson.com/scott-pulsipher/.
18. For more on Play to Your Strengths, listen to Whitney Johnson, “Play to Your Disctinctive Strengths,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 120, July 23, 2019, https://whitneyjohnson.com/distinctive-strengths/.
19. Whitney Johnson, interview with Sandy Stelling, “The Language of Growth,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, December 8, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/sandy-stelling/.
20. Gregory M. Walton, “The New Science of Wise Psychological Interventions,” Current Directions in Psychological Science 23, no. 1 (2014): 74.
21. Whitney Johnson, interview with Eric Schurenberg, “Be Discovery Driven,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 135, November 5, 2019, https://whitneyjohnson.com/eric-schurenberg/, and follow-up conversation.
22. Private correspondence with author.

Part 1: Launch Point for Smart Growth Leaders

1. Conversation with the author, May 17, 2021.
2. The S Curve Insight Platform tracks and monitors individual and collective progress. It informs talent development/retention/workforce and succession planning. (For further information, go to disruptionadvisors.co/scurveplatform.)

Chapter 3: Accelerator

1. Dr. Sejnowski and I were discussing his much-cited experiment, wherein Sejnowski and his colleagues at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies compared the brains of wild mice to the brains of mice raised in captivity. Sejnowski observed that “when mice are in the wild, where they can run and explore and acquire some stress, new neurons are born in order to survive.” The robust lifestyle of wild mice accelerates the synaptic uptake of fresh neurons into the animals’ brains. A physicist turned biologist, Sejnowski himself is no stranger to new S Curves. See Henriette van Praag et al., “Running Enhances Neurogenesis, Learning, and Long-Term Potentiation in Mice,” PNAS 96, no. 23 (1999): 13427–13431.
2. Whitney Johnson, interview with Jeremy Andrus, “Building Something of Value,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 148, February 11, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/jeremy-andrus/.
3. Aisley Oliphant, “CEO of the Year,” Utah Business, April 4, 2016, https://www.utahbusiness.com/ceo-of-the-year/.
4. Johnson, interview with Jeremy Andrus.
5. Wikipedia, “Saturn V,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_V.
6. Self-determination is a psychological concept referring to an individual’s “ability to make choices and manage their own life.” It impacts mental health, well-being, and motivation. See https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-determination-theory-2795387.
7. “The Traeger story is now aimed squarely at foodies and outdoor-loving Gen X-ers and Millennials,” wrote TechCrunch. See John Biggs, “Traeger’s Wi-Fi Connected Grill Is Delicious Overkill,” TechCrunch, February 12, 2018, https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/12/traegers-wi-fi-connected-grill-is-delicious-overkill/.
8. Whitney Johnson, interview/personal correspondence with Astrid Tuminez, April 14, 2021, and Whitney Johnson, Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 232, September 7, 2021.
9. Astrid’s wealth of human resources underscores the importance of relatedness, which we’ll talk about in a moment.
10. Whitney Johnson, interview with Liz O’Donnell, “Stepping Back and Showing Up,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 168, June 16, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/liz-odonnell/.
11. Anand Mahindra, Change the Rules (New Delhi: Penguin Petit, 2015), 7.
12. Priyanka B. Carr and Gregory M. Walton, “Cues of Working Together Fuel Intrinsic Motivation,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 53 (2014): 169–184.
13. See also Heidi Grant, “Managers Can Motivate Employees with One Word,” hbr.org, August 13, 2014, https://hbr.org/2014/08/managers-can-motivate-employees-with-one-word.
14. Whitney Johnson, interview with Zaza Pachulia, “The Game of Disruption,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 183, September 29, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/zaza-pachulia/.
15. Devin Kharpertian, “ESPN’s Thorpe Rips Kidd: ‘He’s the Worst Coach in the NBA’,” Brooklyn Game, November 15, 2013, http://thebrooklyngame.com/espns-thorpe-rips-kidd-hes-the-worst-coach-in-the-nba/.
16. Roy Baumeister and Mark Leary, “The Need to Belong: Desire for Personal Attachments as a Fundamental Human Motivation,” Psychological Bulletin 117, no. 3 (1995): 497–529.
17. Whitney Johnson, interview with Donna Hicks, “Guardians of Dignity,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 92, January 8, 2019, https://whitneyjohnson.com/donna-hicks/.
18. “Warriors Capture Second-Straight NBA Championship,” NBA.com, June 8, 2018, https://www.nba.com/warriors/gameday/20180608/recap.
19. David Rock, Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long (New York: Harper Business, 2020), 167.
20. Relatedness is so important to our growth from launch point to mastery that we have an entire chapter largely devoted to this topic—Ecosystem, chapter 7.
21. A compounded return means that you earn interest not just on your initial investment but also on the accumulated returns on that investment. In this example, during the second year you would earn interest not only on the initial $100 invested, but on $105, the initial investment plus the $5 interest earned in year one.
22. Myron Scholes, “A R(evolution) in Asset Management,” YouTube video, posted November 15, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxKlnsX8DS4.
23. Whitney Johnson, Build an A Team: Play to Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve (Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2018), 18.
24. If, like me, you find yourself on the launch point of being able to pronounce his name, here’s the phonetic guide: muh-HAY-lee cheek-sent-me-HIGH-lee.
25. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (New York: HarperCollins, 2008), 10.

Chapter 4: Metamorph

1. Whitney Johnson, interview with Michelle McKenna, “Change Agents,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 172, July 14, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/michelle-mckenna/. See also episode 1, “Disrupting the NFL,” September 23, 2016, https://whitneyjohnson.com/michelle-mckenna-doyle-disrupt-yourself/. Michelle was the very first guest on the Disrupt Yourself podcast.
2. John Breech, “NFL Coronavirus Fallout: League Is Requiring Employees to Work from Home; Free Agency Still Starting on Time,” CBS, March 12, 2020, https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-coronavirus-fallout-league-is-requiring-employees-to-work-from-home-will-free-agency-be-delayed/.
3. Hanna Inam, interview with Richard Boyatzis, “What Neuroscience Can Teach Us About Being Agile to Change,” Transformational Leadership podcast, episode 5, May 4, 2020, https://transformleaders.tv/richard-boyatzis/.
4. Since Csikszentmihalyi wrote this in the 90s, I am going to extrapolate that this would include any kind of passively consumed media. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2008), 83.
5. Jason Dachman, “NFL Draft 2020: NFL Media Deploys iPhone Production Kits, Coordinates 600+ Live Feeds to Bring Virtual Draft to Fans,” SVG News, April 23, 2020, https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/04/23/nfl-draft-2020-nfl-media-deploys-iphone-production-kits-coordinates-600-live-feeds-to-bring-virtual-draft-to-fans/.
6. Alvin Powell, “Ellen Langer’s State of Mindfulness,” Harvard Gazette, October 1, 2018, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/10/ellen-langer-talks-mindfulness-health/.
7. Emma McAdam, Therapy in a Nutshell, “How to Turn Off the Fear Response: Create a Sense of Safety,” YouTube video, posted on April 27, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DpDywOxEWc&t=300s.
8. Whitney Johnson, interview with Shawn Stevenson, “Eat Smarter,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 202, February 9, 2021, https://whitneyjohnson.com/shawn-stevenson/.
9. Barbara Oakley, Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential (New York: TarcherPerigee, 2017), 34; and Joseph Cichon, “Sleep Promotes Branch-Specific Formation of Dendritic Spines after Learning,” Neuroscience Institute Journal Club, 2014, https://med.nyu.edu/departments-institutes/neuroscience/research/journal-club/journal-club-2014-articles/sleep-promotes-branch-specific-formation-dendritic-spines-learning.
10. Henriette van Praag et al., “Running Enhances Neurogenesis, Learning, and Long-Term Potentiation in Mice,” PNAS 96, no. 23 (1999): 13427–13431.
11. Author correspondence with Sejnowski.
12. Whitney Johnson, interview with Ryan Westwood, “The Power of Partnering,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 192, December 1, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/ryan-westwood/.
13. Ryan Westwood, “Three Lessons Learned from a High Growth Tech CEO,” Forbes, February 11, 2015, https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanwestwood/2015/02/11/three-lessons-learned-from-a-high-growth-tech-ceo/?sh=634f995150b1.
14. Westwood coauthored Five Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs in 2011.
15. Rollo May, The Courage to Create (New York: W.W. Norton, 1994), 112.
16. May, Courage to Create, 113.
17. Francesca Gino, “Are You Too Stressed to Be Productive? Or Not Stressed Enough?,” hbr.org, April 14, 2016, https://hbr.org/2016/04/are-you-too-stressed-to-be-productive-or-not-stressed-enough.
18. Yale School of Medicine, “The Inverted U-Alterations in PFC Function Based on Arousal State,” https://medicine.yale.edu/lab/arnsten/research/invertedu/.
19. Krista Tippett, interview with David Whyte, “The Conversational Nature of Reality,” On Being with Krista Tippett, April 7, 2016, https://onbeing.org/programs/david-whyte-the-conversational-nature-of-reality/#transcript.
20. Eugene P. Kiver and David V. Harris, Geology of U.S. Parklands, 5th edition (John Wiley & Sons, 1999), 523.

Part 2: Sweet Spot for Smart Growth Leaders

1. Procurious, “Alan Mulally—the Secret to Success in One Slide,” May 31, 2016, https://www.procurious.com/procurement-news/alan-mulally-secret-success.
2. The S Curve Insight Platform tracks and monitors individual and collective progress. It informs talent development/retention/workforce and succession planning. For further information, go to disruptionadvisors.co/scurveplatform.

Chapter 5: Anchor

1. All quotes are either from Whitney Johnson, interview with Erik and Emily Orton, “Failing Forward, Failing Better,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 101, March 12, 2019, https://whitneyjohnson.com/erik-emily-orton; or from Erik Orton and Emily Orton, Seven at Sea: Why a New York City Family Cast Off Convention for a Life-Changing Year on a Sailboat (Salt Lake City, UT: Shadow Mountain, 2019).
2. Named after Fezziwig, the good-natured, generous counterpoint to Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.
3. There were other consequential considerations, such as personal safety, especially for their young children. They mitigated risk with strict rules about wearing life jackets and being attached to the boat by a jackline. As they grew more competent, some of the rules were eased, but they were always careful about monitoring the weather to avoid sailing in storms.
4. Frank E. Manning, ed., The Celebration of Society: Perspectives on Contemporary Cultural Performance (Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University, 1983).
5. Whitney Johnson, interview with Harry Kraemer, Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 236, October 5, 2021.
6. B. J. Fogg, “How You Can Use the Power of Celebration to Make New Habits,” TED, January 6, 2020, https://ideas.ted.com/how-you-can-use-the-power-of-celebration-to-make-new-habits-stick/. If interested, he was also on the Disrupt Yourself podcast, “Creating Tiny Habits,” episode 145, January 21, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/bj-fogg/.
7. Sometimes known by the shorthand “Mormon,” the official name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
8. Librettists compose the lyrics to long vocal works such as operas, musicals, and song cycles.
9. Center for Latter-day Saint Arts, https://www.centerforlatterdaysaintarts.org/create-lesson-a-teensadults.
10. Interview with author, September 23, 2020.
11. Fred B. Bryant and Joseph Verhoff, Savoring: A New Model of Positive Experience (London: Psychology Press, 2006), 33–34.
12. Dan Pink, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing (Melbourne: Text Publishing, 2018), 164.
13. Whitney Johnson, interview with Zaza Pachulia, “The Game of Disruption,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 183, September 29, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/zaza-pachulia/.
14. Immigration has been a blessing for some and a curse for others. Four hundred years of migration to the United States, for example, has resulted in the displacement and marginalization of many people here, including the native population. I acknowledge that the history of immigration is complex, and hardly an unmitigated success story, morally or otherwise. Immigration is, however, an arduous S Curve that invites study for its lessons on learning and growth.
15. “Immigration and Emigration,” Legacies BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/immig_emig/england/cornwall/article_3.shtml.
16. Lauren Cocking, “A Piece of Britain Lost in Mexico,” BBC Travel, May 21, 2018, http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20180520-a-piece-of-britain-lost-in-mexico.
17. Samuel Turner, “The Cornish Miners Who Brought Football to Mexico,” Falmouth Anchor, October 20, 2018, http://www.falmouth-anchor.co.uk/2018/10/20/the-cornish-miners-who-brought-football-to-mexico/.
18. Recorded interview, January 20, 2021.

Chapter 6: Mountaineer

1. Hewlett-Packard Journal, June 1989, https://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1989-06.pdf.
2. Whitney Johnson, interview with Feyzi Fatehi, “Scaling Personal and Professional Summits,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 28, October 5, 2017, https://whitneyjohnson.com/feyzi-fatehi/.
3. Whitney Johnson, interview with Tara Swart, “Unlock Your Mind and Reach Your Potential,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 156, March 27, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/tara-swart/.
4. Daniel Wolpert, “The Real Reason for Brains,” TEDGlobal 2011, https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_wolpert_the_real_reason_for_brains/transcript?language=en.
5. About her book The Source, Deepak Chopra said that Swart’s achievement lies in “[marrying] universal truths with scientific rigor.”
6. To close the open loop, the most influential was John Thompson, then CEO of Virtual Instruments, former chairman of the board at Microsoft, and now a venture partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
7. Whitney Johnson, interview with Shellye Archambeau, “Unapologetically Ambitious,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 184, October 6, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/shellye-archambeau/.
8. Hilary Brueck, “Dead Bodies Litter Mount Everest Because It’s So Dangerous and Expensive to Get Them Down,” Business Insider, May 28, 2019, https://www.businessinsider.com/dead-bodies-on-mount-everest-are-hard-to-get-down-2019-5.
9. In his book Behavioral and Neural Plasticity, Michael M. Nikoletseas teaches that habituation is an organism’s decremented response to environmental stimuli that it experiences repeatedly over time. Habituation leads to a behavioral plateau, where the organism responds minimally, if at all, to events that it has found to be predictable. Nikoletseas writes that “if we present a stimulus many times, the organism will either stop responding, or respond minimally at a lower level. Eventually, no matter how many more times we present the stimulus, we do not see any further change. The curve plateaus, we say.” Nikoletseas notes that humans will also exhibit decremented responses to events that have become all too familiar. In essence, the individual has reached the point where they learn nothing more than a reflexive response to the event: neural rigidity in action. Michael M. Nikoletseas, Behavioral and Neural Plasticity (CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2010), 42.
10. James M. Citrin, Claudius A. Hildebrand, and Robert J. Stark, “The CEO Life Cycle,” Harvard Business Review, November–December 2019.
11. Don J. Snyder, The Cliff Walk: A Memoir of a Job Lost and a Life Found (New York: Little, Brown, 1997).
12. Snyder, The Cliff Walk, 199–200.
13. I’m impressed by Snyder’s keen look at America’s pro white-collar bias. To echo one of Snyder’s advance reviewers, “The housebuilding section contains some of the best writing about work in American literature.”
14. Whitney Johnson, interview with Bettina Hein and Andreas Goeldi, “Dynamic Duo,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 191, November 24, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/bettinahein-andreasgoeldi/.
15. She speaks from experience. She is a serial venture-backed entrepreneur, founder, and former CEO of the US-based software company Pixability. Hein also cofounded SVOX: a Swiss language technology company that ultimately sold for $125 million. Currently CEO of her 2020 startup, Juli Health, Hein’s data-analysis prototype helps subscribers manage chronic health conditions via an AI-powered app: the cutting edge of digital health care. But the Swiss are more likely to recognize Hein as one of the keen-minded investors on Die Höhle der Löwen—“the lion’s den”—Switzerland’s answer to Shark Tank.

Part 3: Mastery for Smart Growth Leaders

1. The S Curve Insight Platform tracks and monitors individual and collective progress. It informs talent development/retention/workforce and succession planning. For further information, go to disruptionadvisors.co/scurveplatform.
2. For more on how managers encourage new S Curves, listen to Whitney Johnson, interview with Scott O’Neil, “Connect, Be Present, Dream Bigger,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 219, June 8, 2021, https://whitneyjohnson.com/219-scott-oneil/.
3. The S Curve Insight Platform tracks and monitors individual and collective progress. It informs talent development/retention/workforce and succession planning. For further information, go to disruptionadvisors.co/scurveplatform.

Chapter 7: Ecosystem

1. Robert D. McFadden, “Florence Knoll Bassett, 101, Designer of the Modern American Office, Dies,” New York Times, January 25, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/style/florence-knoll-bassett-dead.html.
2. Knoll, “Florence Knoll Bassett, Design Pioneer and Guiding Light of Knoll, Dies at 101,” https://www.knoll.com/knollnewsdetail/florence-knoll-bassett-dies-at-101.
3. Knoll Designer Bios, “Florence Knoll,” https://www.knoll.com/designer/Florence-Knoll.
4. Maria Popova, Figuring (New York: Pantheon Books, 2019).
5. Kathleen Elkins, “Warren Buffett and Sheryl Sandberg Agree on the Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make,” CNBC, February 7, 2017, https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/07/warren-buffett-and-sheryl-sandberg-agree-on-most-important-decision.html.
6. Elkins, “Warren Buffett and Sheryl Sandberg Agree.”
7. Today’s designers commonly borrow KPU’s signature cardboard mockup—known as a “paste-up”—when presenting different design options to their clients. Florence also established Knoll Textiles, and with it the practice of attaching small swatches of fabric to her models for clients to see and choose from. Knoll Associates developed a reputation for superlative modern design, and Florence invited her former mentors and teachers—including her close friend Eero Saarinen—to design cutting-edge furniture pieces for the business. Saarinen’s iconic Womb Chair and Tulip Table and Chair, commissioned by Florence for Knoll, are still considered icons of midcentury modern design.
8. Knoll, “Hans Knoll Centennial,” https://www.knoll.com/knollnewsdetail/happy-birthday-hans-knoll.
9. Melinda Blau and Karen Fingerman, Consequential Strangers: Turning Everyday Encounters into Life-Changing Moments (New York: W.W. Norton, 2010), 30.
10. This technique has helped other entertainers as well, notably James Earl Jones.
11. Whitney Johnson, interview with Harry Kraemer, Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 236, October 5, 2021.
12. Sawtooth Interpretive and Historical Association, “What Happened to the Red Fish of Redfish Lake,” July 24, 2020, https://discoversawtooth.org/what-happened-to-the-red-fish-of-redfish-lake.
13. Joseph R. Burger et al., “Metabolic Life Tables: The Sockeye Salmon Example,” https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.13.990986.
14. There are several lakes in the vicinity of Redfish Lake that were once home to abundant salmon populations. No more. Idaho sockeye salmon are an endangered species. Humans are disrupting the sockeye in a variety of ways, most of all with the seven major dams the fish encounter between the Pacific Ocean and Redfish Lake. And it isn’t just a problem for the salmon. Without the decaying bodies of the mature fish, most other forms of life are disappearing from the lake as well. It is becoming a sterile ecosystem.
15. Joel M. Podolny and Morten T. Hansen, “How Apple Is Organized for Innovation,” Harvard Business Review, November–December 2020, https://hbr.org/2020/11/how-apple-is-organized-for-innovation.
16. Joe Dispenza, “How to Unlock the Full Potential of Your Mind,” YouTube video, posted June 12, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La9oLLoI5Rc.
17. Whitney Johnson, interview with Scott Miller, “Becoming the Leader People Want to Follow,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 154, March 19, 2020, https://whitneyjohnson.com/scott-miller/.
18. Whitney Johnson, interview with Ed Catmull, “Marvelous Moments,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 210, April 6, 2021, https://whitneyjohnson.com/ed-catmull/.
19. To learn from another ecosystem creator, listen to Whitney Johnson, interview with Justin Osofsky, “Insight from Instagram,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 218, June 1, 2021, https://whitneyjohnson.com/218-justin_osofsky-insight-from-instagram/.
20. UK Parliament, “Churchill and the Commons Chamber,” https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/architecture/palacestructure/churchill/.
21. Andy Walton, “The Shape of Absence,” One Eternal Presence (blog), April 13, 2016, http://oneeternalpresence.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-shape-of-absence.html.

Ecosystem for Smart Growth Leaders

1. Listen to Whitney Johnson, “Embrace Constraints,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 140, December 10, 2019, https://whitneyjohnson.com/embrace-constraints/.
2. For more on prioritizing relationships and relatedness, listen to Whitney Johnson, interview with Aicha Evans, “Human Spirit and Technology,” Disrupt Yourself podcast, episode 217, May 25, 2021.
3. For more on resilience, listen to Disrupt Yourself podcast episodes with Justin Osofsky, (episode 218), Embrace Constraints, (episode 140), and Give Failure Its Due, (episode 200).

Epilogue

1. Gabriel Tarde, The Laws of Imitation (Rahway, NJ: Henry Holt & Company, 1903), 127.

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