Unlocking Perfect People Development With The S Curve With Whitney Johnson

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Episode Overview:

In this podcast episode, Andrew Freedman, a culture and retention expert with years of experience in the field, joins Skot Waldron to discuss unlocking retention through understanding people. They delve into the three key components of retention: behavior, mindset, and emotion. Andrew shares his insights on using data to identify patterns and improve retention, as well as how companies can tap into the goals and aspirations of their customers or employees to create a sense of purpose.

The conversation then explores the emotional component of retention, with Andrew emphasizing the importance of creating a positive emotional connection with customers or employees. Throughout the episode, Andrew shares examples of companies that have successfully implemented these strategies to improve retention, making this podcast episode a valuable resource for anyone looking to understand and improve their retention efforts.

Additional Resources:

* Website

Skot Waldron:

Whitney Johnson, What's up? How you doing?

Whitney Johnson:

I'm doing great, Scott, and I am loving the images right behind you. Those are very, especially one to the left

SKOT WALDRON:

Thank

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

to

SKOT WALDRON:

you.

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

my left, your right.

SKOT WALDRON:

Yeah, I wish I could claim them. I cannot. So M. but yeah, they add some visual interest and you know what I get. I get a lot of comments about those things. So you know if you're watching on you tube, there you go. If you're not then maybe you should and you can go

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

C.

SKOT WALDRON:

and I can subscribe to that channel. By the way. That's shameless plug. but you know, just put it out there when what's what's going on with you? So you you train Teams on how to develop people? I love that because people are kind of essential to everything we do right. so let's let's talk a little bit about this unique thing. Well, I think it's unique to me because I don't really understand totally all of it yet. Tell me about the curve. You are so gazed about this thing right now, this sur

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Yes,

SKOT WALDRON:

idea. tell me about it.

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

I am. um. Yes, So we have devised something called the S curve of learning, which helps you understand what growth looks and feels like, and the reason that's important, And then I'll tell you what it actually does is that we want to grow. We want to grow our people. We understand that to grow our business, we need to grow our people, but we Don't always know how. And so what we have created or devise is the S curve of learning That gives you that map that helps you get smart about growth. It helps you answer questions like. Why is it so hard to start something new? Why once you do start, does it become easy? And why can you? Why is it that you can be really good at something and feel like you can no longer keep doing it? And the Curve helps you answer those questions, and when you can answer those questions, you can grow. When you can grow, you can unlock your potential, and every single person on this planet. Growth is our default setting. We are wired to grow. and as you just alluded to a moment ago, people are not the most important asset in your organization. They are the organization. So how are you goin to go, your people? So shall I explain what the S curve of learning does?

SKOT WALDRON:

Ah, we should just end the show and just like leave everybody hanging. you know.

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Uh,

SKOT WALDRON:

Yes,

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

yeah,

SKOT WALDRON:

Yes, so we should. So here's here's the thing. Like those questions were truly like. Oh, my gosh, Yes, please, can I understand

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

M.

SKOT WALDRON:

those things? So yeah, give us some. give us some goods here.

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Yeah, So don't you like how I opened up that loop? See as a communication expert you, I'm sure you were watching.

SKOT WALDRON:

Look at that

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Open up that loop

SKOT WALDRON:

masterful

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

all right.

SKOT WALDRON:

masterful, love it.

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

All right, So so the S curve itself just to give you some background. It was popularized by Evert Rodgers, a sociologist, and he used it to understand how groups change over time. And then, as I worked with Clay Christianson, who the late Clay Christianson at Harvard Business School, we were using it. applying it in our investing. My big insight, or Ha was at the S Curve, could help you understand not only how groups change, but how individuals change. So here's what's happening in your brain Every single time you start something new. It is running a predictive model. It has a hypothesis. What is it going to take for me to get from the bottom of this curve to the top of the curve and at the launch point, So there are three major faces. There's a launch point, There's a sweet Spot and there's mastery, And here's what's going on in your brain At the launch point. Your brain is making a lot of predictions, most of which are inaccurate, and so dopamine, which is the chemical messenger of delight. It drops. So the experience that you have at the launch point is that you feel overwhelmed. discouraged. Frustrated may be like an impostor, Impatient And it's not that growth isn't happening. It is, in fact, it's happening very quickly, but because it's not yet apparent, the experience s that it feels like a slug. It feels slow, which is why it is very difficult to start something new You can start. but it's hard to persist. So that's the launch point of the curve. Then you hit the knee of the curve and that tipping point that Malcom glad well popularized, and you move into that steep, sleek back of the curve, which is called the sweet spot, And what is happening there? Your predictions are becoming increasingly accurate, and so dopamine starts to spike. You have these emotional upside surprises. you feel exhilarated, You feel like you're exactly where you're supposed to be, And so you growth here is not only fast, but it feels fast, which is why Once you do start and the momentum takes over and it's easy to keep going, and then masters Very interesting places. that is the top of the curve Because what's happening here? Well now you've actually figured some things out. The predictive model works. But that means that you're no longer learning as much as you were learning, And so Dep means kind of flat lining, which means growth is slow, and so now there is a dilemma at the top of that curve And it doesn't mean you're the master of the entire universe. It's just that you've mastered whatever it is that you set out to a Omplish. You've got this dilemma. On the one hand, you really like the status Co, you like being on top of the mountain. You like being master of all that you survey. It's very comfortable. but because your brain needs dopamene, because learning is the oxygen of human growth, Because if you're not growing, you're dying Because you may feel like there's more for you to do on the planet. You walk into the dilemma and you keep climbing. Otherwise the plateau becomes a precipice. Now, once you want Stand this s curve, it helps you make meaning of your experience. It helps you make meaning when you start things that are new. It helps you make meaning of. Why am I really good at this and feel like I can no longer do it. It allows you to have a conversation or language around growth for yourself with people on your team and your entire organization. And that is why I'm excited, because growth is our default setting and this gives you a map to do it.

SKOT WALDRON:

How do I determine where I am?

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Well. There are multiple ways you can do it. The simplest way to do it is to get out of piece of paper and just draw launch point, sweet spot and mastery, and notice you can be on multiple curves at any given time. But one of the ways that you're going to know if you're on the launch point is as we started to describe. as you say to yourself, I thought it was a good idea to do this new thing, but I'm feeling really overwhelmed. I'm feeling out of my depth. Yeah, situation normal, on the launch point, One of the ways you're going to know you're in the sweet spot is if you find yourself saying wow, I'm really enjoying this work that I'm doing. I feel like it's hard, but it's It's not too hard and it's definitely sort of easy. but it's not too easy and you feel this sense of flow and this sense of capacity and competence, and and and agency around the work that you're doing, and that tells you that you're in this sweet spot, because just it feels really good to be there. and then the way that you know you're in mastery is as I started to. As there's a sense of. I think I've done what I set out to do. I've accomplished it and I'm feeling I feel a little bit bored and I kind of feel like I've paid my dues and I, I feel like there's more for me to do on this planet. Those are all indications that you're in master, and it's time for you to either say Okay, this is a summit, not the summit and keep climbing, or it's time for you to do something completely new to disrupt yourself. entirely Moved to a new curve.

SKOT WALDRON:

Okay? So as you're explaining this, I'm thinking about Okay, because this is me and this shows all about me right, so I'm going to make it all

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Of

SKOT WALDRON:

about

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

course.

SKOT WALDRON:

me. Of

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

of

SKOT WALDRON:

course,

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

course,

SKOT WALDRON:

So if I'm thinking about where I am on this this cure right, so I'm like okay, so I'm at launch on on various things I'm doing right, So

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Hm,

SKOT WALDRON:

innovations that I'm trying to do with the show here or with my sales model or with my coaching structure, whatever I'm doing, because I get bored easily if I do two Any

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Hm,

SKOT WALDRON:

of the same things over and over and over and over again, so I'm kind of in that state, but yeah, I'm in this also flow state where I have a rhythm with some of my clients and it's going really well, but what I've noticed is like I've been lookin analyzing this over the past week or so, because sometimes I'll look at my calendar and feel like like, I just I don't want to and if my clients are listen to this. it's not you that I'm thinking about in particular, but it's like I'll look at my schedule to go, An I am just like back to back And I don't have any time to breathe and I don't have any time to like sitting. Create. I'm just kind of doing and not creating, and I've realized I need that balance right in order to kind of thrive in that space. So does that that

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

No,

SKOT WALDRON:

make sense? with Wha you're

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Scott.

SKOT WALDRON:

saying

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

you actually raise something really interesting, so let's explore that for a minute because I would argue that you are in this sweet spot because it sounds like you're really enjoying the work that you're doing and you're really enjoying the clients that you're doing that work with, But I think that you have identified something that came up for a lot of people during the pandemic, which is, It's not that you don't enjoy your work, it's just that A little bit tired, you need a little bit more space and help you. sort of, let me clarify. So we have this assessment tool that allows you to say Where am I on the curve? And you know how much growth upside? Do I continue to perceive that there is in this particular role that I'm in, But the other thing that assesses is what. What tools do I have in my back pack to move along this curve? These tools of self disruption that will allow me to make progres Along the curve, and one of the tools is stepping back to grow. Now, Historically step back to grow. Was I'm willing to make a lateral move in my organization or I'm going to even take a backward move Because I believe that in the future I can sling shot forward. But in our research as we administered this tool, What what emerged? Is it? The step back that people needed to take was to reflect and to recharge. And Then we looked at this further, and there's this wonderful quote from Tiffany Slain, who says What if we thought of rest as technology? The promise of technology is that we will be more productive. We will be able to move forward faster, and we know from the research also that rest allows us to be more productive, And so what I would argue is that sometimes you can be very much in this sweet spot, which it sounds like you are, But we need to take that Step back to rest and we charge along that mountain so that we have the energy that we we want to have in order to continue to move up that S curve.

SKOT WALDRON:

I like this, So this is putting some context behind. So the twelve week year, Um,

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

What's

SKOT WALDRON:

that

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

that?

SKOT WALDRON:

the framework of looking at this idea of your, your, your goal setting and

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

M.

SKOT WALDRON:

things that you're

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Hm?

SKOT WALDRON:

doing in productivity as as twelve weeks perience has opposed a year long,

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Oh,

SKOT WALDRON:

right,

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Okay, basically in quarters.

Skot Waldron:
Yeah, yeah, basically

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
in quarters right, but it's it's this Idea that I'm going to set a quarter leg goal and then work on little micro things in order to get to that, But there's actually a thirteenth week in every quarter, Right, And so what we do is we take that week at the end of every quarter with nothing on it to plan and to recharge and reset for the next quarter, So

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

I

Skot Waldron:
similar

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

love that.

Skot Waldron:
to what you're talking about.

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

that's not what I was talking about, but I think that's terrific. And what it reminded me of when you said it is that you know for anybody who studied the Old Testament, they talk about the Jubilee year like you've got seven seven times seven years. But then you've got that fifty forty ninth year, which is a jubilee year, and I love that idea of what you're describing. Here's what I would say, Scott. I think that it would be all of us to build into our calendars that thirteenth week, but I would Say too, In the spirit of little D, disruption of disrupting ourselves a little bit every day, it could also mean that in between each meeting, in between each podcast interview, we stand up and we walk around for two minutes, or we stand up and we breathe, or we, you know we do something. we stretch, So I think it's It's a both ant,

Skot Waldron:
Yeah, that's really good and I constantly remind my clients and I've tried to get really good about this this year. I'm trying to be more intentional about it, because what I'll do is I'll go. My meeting will go right till eleven, maybe eleven o one. and then I jump right to the next one and we and we forget that we used to like, go to the bathroom and

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Right,

Skot Waldron:
drink water

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Oh

Skot Waldron:
and

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

yeah,

Skot Waldron:
get

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

that

Skot Waldron:
you

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

thing

Skot Waldron:
know.

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

that we do those bi bio needs

Skot Waldron:
Yeah, and like and like, talk to people, sometimes

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Right

Skot Waldron:
like between meetings, like we used to have a buffer in our office world, and then zoom video conference ing world. We don't give ourselves that any more, And so I'm trying to be very intentional about Andy. My meetings five to ten minutes early. To

WHITNEY JOHNSON:

Right.

Skot Waldron:
be able to just stretch and move Because I have noticed that it is exhausting right.

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
It

Whitney Johnson:
yeah,

Skot Waldron:
is burning

Whitney Johnson:
and you and

Skot Waldron:
me.

Whitney Johnson:
your clients, I'm sure are very grateful as well when you're willing to to give them that time back. And speaking of breaks, I have a cat that wants to go out, so I will be right back.

Skot Waldron:
Okay, this is a great thing, so I'm gonna. I'm gonna reflect right now.

Whitney Johnson:
Yes, please reflect. this is my cat saying Scott needs time to reflect and recharge.

Skot Waldron:
Scott needs time for reflection. I'm reflecting.

Whitney Johnson:
Okay,

Skot Waldron:
This is

Whitney Johnson:
I'm

Skot Waldron:
awesome.

Whitney Johnson:
back.

Skot Waldron:
How did your cat get back in? Because before the show you put your cat out.

Whitney Johnson:
Oh, it's we have two cats and there is

Skot Waldron:
Oh,

Whitney Johnson:
a whole story

Skot Waldron:
okay,

Whitney Johnson:
behind that, which is our daughter. In a moment of weakness, persuaded us to get one cat. But then, once we had one cat, she said, It's not good for a cat to be alone. We need two cats.

Skot Waldron:
Cats don't care about having other cats around. Cats are like. I'll just do whatever you know.

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah, a little bit. it is a little bit that way.

Skot Waldron:
Oh, my gosh, that's funny. Okay, so let's talk a little bit about this. So again I'm on this s curve. I'm trying to evaluate where I am. That assessment super cool so people can go. Where do they take? That

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah, so what if people want to take the assessment that is part of the team workshops that we do, and or the coaching that we do. It's not. It's not B to see. At this point in time, it's bundled with the workshops that we do on a B B basis.

Skot Waldron:
Got a very cool. Okay. So engaging in that process is something as part of what you do at

Whitney Johnson:
Yes,

Skot Waldron:
the beginning. I'm sure to kind of get a base line and understand where people are on their

Whitney Johnson:
That's

Skot Waldron:
journey.

Whitney Johnson:
exactly right. It gives us a sense of okay. So where are you? as an individual? Where is everybody on your team? It's a very useful tool with a manager to be able to sit down with a manager and say. All right, Let's see you know. Where's Scott on the curve? Where does Scott think he's on the curve? Where is he showing up? Where do you think he is? Where is Mary on the curve? Where is Sich on the curve? And then you're able to really do planning for personal development for people, but also you can do team development in succession planning and then collectively, where is the team on?

Skot Waldron:
Do people ever feel okay? so I'm going to say this is kind of that launch phase like

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
stuck phase, or I'm continuously learning, or I don't feel like I medinylevrag. and I'm thinking specifically about parenting. Okay,

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
so

Whitney Johnson:
all right, let's go to parent.

Skot Waldron:
can we can we throw

Whitney Johnson:
Yes,

Skot Waldron:
this in here

Whitney Johnson:
Yes,

Skot Waldron:
like a little?

Whitney Johnson:
we

Skot Waldron:
Let's

Whitney Johnson:
can.

Skot Waldron:
sort of a personal thing, because I realize in my coaching experience that a lot of the tools that we teach people apply to personal and professional life right. and

Whitney Johnson:
Absolutely,

Skot Waldron:
and we end up talking about personal a lot, because it bleeds into profession A lot, and vice versa. So parenting, I continuously feel like I'm in this launch state. I don't know if I ever feel like I'm in the flow state with parenting, Especially now my daughter is thirteen and there's emotions coming out now that

Whitney Johnson:
Hm.

Skot Waldron:
were more so than they were before. And I don't know. There's all this stuff happening. What's going on with that?

Whitney Johnson:
I think that's a great question. What I would say is that my experience, so my, my children are both in their early twenties, and I would say that we, because you're continually, you know you're at the launch point with you know, an infant and then a toddler, and then a protein, and then a teen ager and then you know launcher, etcetera, um. But, but also, I would say, as a parent and as a child, and that relationship, you don't actually ever want to get to the top of the curve. you want to With Lationships, At least the ones that matter to us most. we want to find a way to be in the sweet spot in perpetuity, so we're going to be on lots of launch points. I would say that we're going to have moments of flow, and I would venture to guess that with your daughter she's thirteen. She's individuating, She's figuring out who she is and she's dealing with hormones, but the goal is to just have those moments of sweet spot, those moments where you feel connected to her and she feels Onnected to you. And then as you string together all of those moments of the over the course of her and and and your lifetime, you will find that you will settle into a sweet spot of a relationship. That's how I'm thinking about it with my children and I. I. I. I perceive that we are getting there and that feels really good.

Skot Waldron:
So here, let's let's wrote this back into professional

Whitney Johnson:
Hm.

Skot Waldron:
and saying all of you out there. So what I'm getting from this is you're going to feel like you're in this launch state, you know, with various things that you're doing, whether it's leading a project or leading people, or maybe it's taking on a new role or doing whatever you're doing, Kay, you're going a feel like you're in this launch state, but you will have periods of sweet spottedness like throughout that journey that. I think what you're saying is like if we don't take The time to stop and reflect, we're going to miss those and we're going to miss and we're going to feel discourage. An we're goin, feel impatient and we're going to maybe potentially hang out in that negativity and

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
too much.

Whitney Johnson:
you just raise something really important, so let me let me go to this idea. So on the launch point you know, we said that depameans dropping, and so one of the ways you can get more depamene is if you beat expectations so you can set really small goals of like, I'm going to smile at my daughter. today I smiled. That's a small goal. I can beat that. And then you get this Delpaman that allowed you to build momentum along the curve. The Other thing that we have been thinking A lot about and actually have done some workshops around. this is marking the moment and of celebrating, because what we know from celebration is that it releases all sorts of the good chemicals it releases, and dorphins. it releases, Cara, Tone releases dopamin, And so when you start something new, just celebrate that you started so at the launch point, and when you're in the sweet spot, celebrate that you are in the process of doing it, and when you're in mastery, celebrate that you did it. But if you're willing to take that time to Celebrate and mark the moment, B. J. Fog, the social scientist said It's a lot easier to make progress when you feel good and not bad, And so as we take those moments to celebrate to celebrate that sweet spotedness moment that you just described, then that's going to give us the ability to build momentum along the curve, not just in the sweet spot, but at all points along the curve. And I would actually argue we talk about peak performance. I don't think peak performance is just being in the sweet spot. The peak performance is the ability to move through all phases of this growth cycle, because it's moving through all phases of this growth cycle, Which is which is what allows you to be a person who is perpetually in growth.

Skot Waldron:
Yes, Okay, all right, I feel like we're in the sweet spot waiting.

Whitney Johnson:
I do too, And it's

Skot Waldron:
I feel

Whitney Johnson:
fun.

Skot Waldron:
like

Whitney Johnson:
It's

Skot Waldron:
I feel

Whitney Johnson:
exhilarating.

Skot Waldron:
like we're nailing it. I feel like we're nailing because we don't want to get to the point where we're mastering this, Because then we're just bored with each other, so we

Whitney Johnson:
Well

Skot Waldron:
want

Whitney Johnson:
and

Skot Waldron:
to

Whitney Johnson:
that's when we know it's time to end.

Skot Waldron:
There. There we go. well, I think well, then I guess we're getting close to that because

Whitney Johnson:
Maybe

Skot Waldron:
we are

Whitney Johnson:
we

Skot Waldron:
getting

Whitney Johnson:
are.

Skot Waldron:
ready because this is. this. has been this. Exactly what I wanted to do on the show For Right is to get this information out because this simple tool and the simple knowledge and the simple exercise and easy to apply is what we're talking about. things I believe in right as not trying to make things too complicated, but really simplify the message. Simplify the communication tactics so that we can Ply it and transform

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah, and here's what I would say to you because you are a communication strategist. You will be able to sit down with your daughter who is thirteen, and draw this for her and the next time she says, But dad, I don't want to do X y Z. It's too hard you can say to her, honey. It may be that you won't be good at this. We don't yet know we don't have enough data. What you know right now is that it feels uncomfortable because you're on the launch point, so I want you to stay with it a little bit longer. It's that simple.

Skot Waldron:
My wife and I talked about resilience as our, as our thing this year right, teaching those kids about resilience and how to develop it and what not? So this is this is good. This is a good lesson

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
to take with me. So thanks for coaching me through this call a little bit. I really appreciate it. I hope

Whitney Johnson:
You're

Skot Waldron:
it's beneficial

Whitney Johnson:
welcome.

Skot Waldron:
to everybody else out there Was beneficial to me. This is great. so people want this people want to develop their Pole. What do we do next? How do we get in touch with you? What? How can we use you to help develop who we are? Teams and

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
other people were working with.

Whitney Johnson:
yeah, I mean, I think there's a number of different things if you want to learn more. Obviously you listen while you've listened to this podcast. So that's that's the first step. We do have a book. It's called Smart growth That goes through all this in detail. I have a podcast which you can go to episode to fifty and listen to this in more detail. And then obviously you can always go to our website, The Disruption Advisors Dot com. or if you're feeling absolutely urgently that you must talk to me. you can email me at W. J. At the disruption Advisors Dot com,

Skot Waldron:
What's the podcast called?

Whitney Johnson:
Disrupt yourself.

Skot Waldron:
Oh, Okay, what if I want to disrupt somebody else? Are you gonna make one for that too?

Whitney Johnson:
Well, every time you disrupt yourself, you actually do disrupt other people.

Skot Waldron:
Okay, There we go. That is so true, isn't it? that is so true, Awesome, Whitney. This is super cool. I'm so glad that I was able to talk to you today. and and you know, good luck with all you're doing. Appreciate you being on and let me know if you need anything on my side. I would love to contribute to anything you're doing because I love your brain.

Whitney Johnson:
Thank you, Scott for having me. It was a delight.

Skot Waldron:
Okay, that was good.

Whitney Johnson:
All right,

Skot Waldron:
So

Whitney Johnson:
Okay

Skot Waldron:
we nailed it.

Whitney Johnson:
or yeah, I think we did. I think people will get a lot out of this so that was a lot of fun.

Skot Waldron:
That was perfect. So I really do appreciate it. Basically what happens? I put this in production

Whitney Johnson:
Yep,

Skot Waldron:
now and then you'll get an email from me and says Hey Whitney. everything is posted and that's all good. So here's graphic to share. If you tag me on Linked in, then I will re share it with my audience. At that point, I will share it with my

Whitney Johnson:
Oh,

Skot Waldron:
network.

Whitney Johnson:
so what what we have done? Scott seems to work better. Are we connected

Skot Waldron:
Hm.

Whitney Johnson:
on linked in? Let's just do it right now.

Skot Waldron:
I don't know. I don't know if we're not. we should

Whitney Johnson:
Um,

Skot Waldron:
be. I tend to forget

Whitney Johnson:
no, we're

Skot Waldron:
to do

Whitney Johnson:
not.

Skot Waldron:
that with my guests.

Whitney Johnson:
We're not okay, so I'm just going A.

Skot Waldron:
Go and connect with me. Um there? what are you doing? That's that works for you.

Whitney Johnson:
So what I was going to say? Okay, I'm just connecting right now. So so you post whatever it is you're going to post

Skot Waldron:
Hm,

Whitney Johnson:
and then just so I'm on Linked in a little bit less on Twitter and Instagram. So if you

Skot Waldron:
Hm.

Whitney Johnson:
tag me and then let me know it's out, then we will re share it

Skot Waldron:
So

Whitney Johnson:
on platforms.

Skot Waldron:
okay, here's what I was going to tell you. So this post because I've got a bunch of shows Schedule to drip

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
out over time, and sometimes I'll batch my shows.

Whitney Johnson:
Yep,

Skot Waldron:
So when I tell you it's launched like on Youtube on my website, or it goes on

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
medium dot com as well. It doesn't go to my social channels. At that time, it may go out. May be

Whitney Johnson:
Uh,

Skot Waldron:
a month or two later to my

Whitney Johnson:
uh.

Skot Waldron:
social channels. Um,

Whitney Johnson:
why didn't you

Skot Waldron:
even

Whitney Johnson:
do that?

Skot Waldron:
though,

Whitney Johnson:
Why do you do that? That's interesting.

Skot Waldron:
Um, because I, because of my launch schedule,

Whitney Johnson:
Hm.

Skot Waldron:
I try to launch one per week,

Whitney Johnson:
Yep.

Skot Waldron:
so Don't necessarily record this one and launch this one next week, because I

Whitney Johnson:
Oh

Skot Waldron:
have

Whitney Johnson:
yeah,

Skot Waldron:
so many in the Q. because

Whitney Johnson:
oh yeah.

Skot Waldron:
I,

Whitney Johnson:
I know. I get that. I get that.

Skot Waldron:
so the way it just works out is it's because of my backlog

Whitney Johnson:
Uh

Skot Waldron:
that I have

Whitney Johnson:
huh.

Skot Waldron:
a show that I'm launching and it's just become the backlog that has happened right. so

Whitney Johnson:
Interesting.

Skot Waldron:
it ends up not

Whitney Johnson:
Okay,

Skot Waldron:
launching on my linked in platform until you know a month or two out because of

Whitney Johnson:
Okay,

Skot Waldron:
my backlog.

Whitney Johnson:
that's fascinating. All right. Yeah, so just share it with us. We. we will. We will definitely share it. So

Skot Waldron:
Okay, And so that's what I'm saying Like, So it kind of works out in a way that it drips out over time.

Whitney Johnson:
Yes,

Skot Waldron:
So for one, um, you know when we post this. If you, if you post it immediately in Tage, then I can share with my audience immediately,

Whitney Johnson:
Yep,

Skot Waldron:
So that's one drip, and then I send my email list a little bit later, and then I'll send it on my social platform a little bit later, so there's multiple touch points for my audience to

Whitney Johnson:
That's the first. Okay.

Skot Waldron:
get a taste of it.

Whitney Johnson:
I was asking you why you do that because I wondered if there was something to learn from it.

Skot Waldron:
Yeah, well, I'm asking you because I'm wonderin if there's something to learn too. I'm always

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
curious.

Whitney Johnson:
so we one of the things, Because as you know, people don't always share once they've been on someone's podcast. So that's something that. we have a policy that if we're on, we will share it at least once, but I also sometimes feel like it gives my thought process was as if you've posted on I, re. share what you've posted about the interview. It feels to me like it's less. Hey, look at me. That's part of the reason why

Skot Waldron:
M.

Whitney Johnson:
you know because if like I was on your podcast, I'm like Hey, look, I was just on this person's podcast. For me.

Skot Waldron:
Yep.

Whitney Johnson:
That's

Skot Waldron:
yep.

Whitney Johnson:
a little bit less comfortable than if you posted. Hey, I had this guest on my podcast. We, re, share it and say, Oh, this was really fun to do this. It just feels

Skot Waldron:
M.

Whitney Johnson:
for me. It feels a little bit more natural. That's why

Skot Waldron:
I

Whitney Johnson:
we

Skot Waldron:
feel

Whitney Johnson:
take that

Skot Waldron:
you.

Whitney Johnson:
approach.

Skot Waldron:
Yeah, Yeah, I get you. What I would challenge you on Whitney, is that I sense a little self preservation happening.

Whitney Johnson:
Oh, say more. What does that mean?

Skot Waldron:
Meaning I would ask you, what are you afraid of? Right? So you, you said that you're you are afraid of maybe looking to look at me right,

Whitney Johnson:
Who?

Skot Waldron:
which is preventing you from putting it out there into the world

Whitney Johnson:
Interesting?

Skot Waldron:
when really? that's That's more about you than it is other people.

Whitney Johnson:
Wow,

Skot Waldron:
So

Whitney Johnson:
that's good. good call. I got to

Skot Waldron:
So

Whitney Johnson:
think about that.

Skot Waldron:
if you make it all about you

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
in fine, right, but there are ways for you to communicate this of saying. Hey, I just had this great discussion with Scott on his show about the S curve. I've been talking a lot about it lately.

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
You'll get some stuff out of this if you listen right

Whitney Johnson:
Wow,

Skot Waldron:
like

Whitney Johnson:
So is that what you coach your people on?

Skot Waldron:
That's one of the things for

Whitney Johnson:
That's

Skot Waldron:
sure.

Whitney Johnson:
really

Skot Waldron:
I mean self

Whitney Johnson:
good?

Skot Waldron:
preservation s everywhere. you'll see

Whitney Johnson:
That's

Skot Waldron:
it with

Whitney Johnson:
really

Skot Waldron:
your kids.

Whitney Johnson:
good.

Skot Waldron:
your cat yourself.

Whitney Johnson:
Okay, so here's my question for you. Have you

Skot Waldron:
Yeah,

Whitney Johnson:
written about that in a very powerful way recently?

Skot Waldron:
No,

Whitney Johnson:
Okay, I would invite you to do that.

Skot Waldron:
yeah,

Whitney Johnson:
I think because,

Skot Waldron:
I have a snip it on my Youtube channel where I teach a tool that we use about self. It's actually self preservation tool, so I have little glimpses of it that I'll put out there.

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah, because because people you know, I hear a lot of people talk about like you know. you need to brag better and people need to know what you're doing in, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, but I have literally never had someone say to me and certainly not call me on it, but to say when you are not willing to put something out into the world, And you're saying I don't want to be sales. That's actually self preservation. So you need to look at what's going on and you've just made it all about you. I think that's really powerful. I would write about

Skot Waldron:
Yeah,

Whitney Johnson:
it. I

Skot Waldron:
that's

Whitney Johnson:
would.

Skot Waldron:
cool.

Whitney Johnson:
I would double

Skot Waldron:
I mean,

Whitney Johnson:
down on that.

Skot Waldron:
there's three questions we ask with self preservation. It's like what am I afraid of losing?

Whitney Johnson:
Uh,

Skot Waldron:
What am I trying to hide or what am I trying to prove?

Whitney Johnson:
yeah,

Skot Waldron:
In those sense right, asking yourself those questions. and kind of you know,

Whitney Johnson:
Hm,

Skot Waldron:
the hide thing is really vulnerable. Like what

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
am I trying to hide, or what am I trying to prove, Or you know, what am I afraid of losing? So just pondering those questions. and like you know, after the show you can say why. What am I trying? What am I afraid of losing? What am I trying to awe? Way to try to prove about not Sting

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
something like you know, and

Whitney Johnson:
yeah,

Skot Waldron:
you're glad of it.

Whitney Johnson:
it's that that is gold. I would hit it harder, and especially because

Skot Waldron:
That's cool.

Whitney Johnson:
as a communications person

Skot Waldron:
Hm,

Whitney Johnson:
who, I'm sure you're dealing with people all the time who are saying, Oh, I don't want a blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. This to me is signature for you.

Skot Waldron:
That's cool. that's so cool. Thank you.

Whitney Johnson:
You're welcome,

Skot Waldron:
that's really.

Whitney Johnson:
All right,

Skot Waldron:
I'm glad

Whitney Johnson:
So

Skot Waldron:
it was

Whitney Johnson:
I learned

Skot Waldron:
impactful

Whitney Johnson:
something

Skot Waldron:
for you.

Whitney Johnson:
from you. You learned something from me. There we go.

Skot Waldron:
Goal. That's what it's about. Let's share.

Whitney Johnson:
all right.

Skot Waldron:
calling you up, Wendy. Not calling you out, so

Whitney Johnson:
Okay.

Skot Waldron:
calling you up.

Whitney Johnson:
Oh, I like listen to you. and you

Skot Waldron:
Oh,

Whitney Johnson:
said that a lot right.

Skot Waldron:
I do. it's kind of my thing. I want you know. I want people to do it with their kids. I want people to do it ith

Whitney Johnson:
Calling

Skot Waldron:
their spouse,

Whitney Johnson:
you up.

Skot Waldron:
and I want people

Whitney Johnson:
calling

Skot Waldron:
to do it

Whitney Johnson:
you

Skot Waldron:
with

Whitney Johnson:
up.

Skot Waldron:
their. You know, but because I know you're potential,

Whitney Johnson:
Yeah,

Skot Waldron:
You've got a lot of it obviously, and you've done a lot to impact the world, so people need to hear it.

Whitney Johnson:
Okay, so something to think about is I know your podcast is unlocked with Scott Waldron, but

Skot Waldron:
Hm.

Whitney Johnson:
it might be calling you up, although people might think you're calling them. But anyway, I still think that's really powerful. I love that I love that reframe.

Skot Waldron:
Oh, that's cool.

Whitney Johnson:
good

Skot Waldron:
Well,

Whitney Johnson:
stuff. All right.

Skot Waldron:
you're

Whitney Johnson:
Nice,

Skot Waldron:
awesome.

Whitney Johnson:
nice to meet you. Speak.

Skot Waldron:
Nice

Whitney Johnson:
Take

Skot Waldron:
to meet

Whitney Johnson:
care.

Skot Waldron:
you as well.

Whitney Johnson:
Okay.

Skot Waldron:
okay right.

Whitney Johnson:
Oh, can I go off? Are you okay?

Skot Waldron:
Oh, you should be. Yeah, Yeah, go, you're good.

Whitney Johnson:
Okay? Okay, Just want to make sure everything was uploaded. Okay, bye.

Skot Waldron:
No cool. You're fine. thanks. Whitney Johnson is on the show and she is a rock star, not literally rock star, but a people development rock star, And you are going to find out why she's got some really smart things to share with you today. About this thing called the S Curve. She was named in Twenty twenty one as a top ten business thinker by Thinker Fifty, She's globally recognized thought leader, a keynote speaker, a C. Sweet advisor, coach and consultant. He has about one point million followers on Linked In and they're all her Best friends. I'm just saying Whitney has a lot of exposure. She's made a lot of contact. a lot of people wanted to. That tells me right there that people want to hear what Whitney has to say And so we are going to share a little bit of that on the show today. we have a really great conversation. It's short. it's punchy and you are going to take some gold away from this interview. Here we come. winny. Okay, so we started talking at the begining of the show about technicalities. What the S curve is laying the foundation? Then we started applying it to work, plied it a little bit to personal life. and then we brought it back into like this bigger scheme, this bigger idea. There are some really cool things we talked about, moments of the sweet spot, recognizing those recognizing when they happen, and celebrating them celebrating moments, Um, at each point of the curve, like celebrating your launch point, celebrating that in the middle, kind of sweet spot and celebrating mastery. How have we got into that journey where we come, reflection, stop and reflect. I love it so we can do that. And then beating expectations was a way you can read Dopamean hit. It's not always about video games. It's not always about jumping out of airplanes. It is that dopamanhit that comes with Achievement with progression with moving forward. so as we do that we will experience that and move and make progress, which is you know, She said it. It's easier to make progress when we feel good, and if we can create those moments in our lives are feeling good, will be more likely to make progress.