While Steve Cook was working at Dell in Tennessee, a tornado unexpectedly struck his home, destroying everything.
At this point in his career, Steve was working 80-hour weeks. His days were so packed that his administrative assistant had to schedule his bathroom breaks.
But this extremely difficult experience was a wake-up call for Steve about what was really important to him. It made him reflect on his leadership style and how he treated the people that reported to him. In fact, despite the pain of this event, Steve refers to it as “one of the top five things” that’s ever happened to him.
Listen to how Steve fundamentally changed his approach to work and life following this event.
Here’s a quick run-down of the episode:
Our guest: Steve Cook, Executive Managing Director at LFM Capital
Career highlights: Spent seven years as a Naval Flight Officer, attended MIT Sloan’s Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program, worked at Dell for eleven years, was COO of a leading global online marketplace for the manufacturing industry, and was a Principal at VC / PE firm TVV Capital before founding his own PE firm called LFM Capital (where he is today).
What the interview has got us thinking about: How to feel comfortable showing vulnerability in the workplace
If you like Steve’s episode, check out our interview with Alison Corcoran, who describes why losing her job after her employer, Polaroid, filed for bankruptcy was one of the most foundational experiences of her career.
This week blog’s post is also about learning and growth after a challenging time. Andrew Mairena, shares what he learned after being laid off - twice - less than two years into his career.
“Yet, there I was, twice laid-off. When it happened the first time, I broke down in tears because I had given everything to the company, sacrificing my health and friendships, and I had tied my self worth to the company. When it happened a second time, I realized that I had not fully recovered from the first time as I joined the second company 2 weeks after I was laid off. At this point, I was bewildered and unsure of what to do next.”
Read about how Andrew changed his approach to work and life after these experiences.
Andrew graduated with an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management. Outside of work, he is a co-founder / Director for the Latinx MBA Association and a co-writer for "How to PM", a blog series for newly minted Product Managers. You can email him directly at andrew@latinxmba.org
If you’re curious for more, check out these two pieces on related topics:
Success addiction: One of the lessons that both Steve and Andrew learned from their experiences was that things outside of work, such as relationships with family, are what really matter. Why then do so many of us pursue professional achievement at the expense of spending time with those we love? According to this article in The Atlantic, “success addiction” might be to blame. The piece offers three steps for learning how to chase happiness instead of success. Thank you to reader Evan Chapman for sharing this article with us!
Growth from adversity: Inspired by Steve and Andrew’s ability to grow from difficult moments, I was interested in the research on if and how adversity leads to resilience. I came across this article in Forbes by the co-founder and CEO of the Stress and Resilience Institute that explains how adversity leads to resilience through five mechanisms, such as triggering “post-traumatic growth” and helping someone “reframe stress as a challenge.”
Thanks for reading and please continue to reach out - Eric and I love hearing from you!
- Lara
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