Josh Golden: Creativity Through Calmness

Gratitude Through Hard Times

This episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times features Josh Golden, CMO at the marketing powerhouse Quad, who is unpacking his special brand of digital marketing and communications magic. It’s no coincidence that he has blazed a trail by making transformational inroads at legacy companies like Xerox, Ad Age and NBC Universal. As he explains to Host Chris Schembra, Josh believes “when you connect people together and are a positive influence, they kind of want to do hard things!” This consummate connector shares with us the “why” that drives both his humanity and humility. As two A+ students of gratitude, Chris and Josh share insights into falling in love with what we do in life – an intentional process that can be cultivated with patience and kindness towards others as well as ourselves.

Enjoy this heartfelt conversation about the art and science behind effective leadership as well as the challenges Josh has navigated while acquiring the tools necessary to guide organizations – and inspire teams – to bring their best. Does that mean meeting fixed goals, one by one? Not necessarily! For Josh, who also hosts "Three Things I Know for Sure" and "Eureka," the emphasis – whatever the career or life context – has to start first with genuinely loving the process and enshrining collaboration as a living, breathing goal in and of itself. You’ll come away from this passionate exchange ready to double down on the kind of can-do attitude that inspires rapid-fire growth and steady satisfaction. Looking for motivation? This episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times will leave you fired up and ready to go!

Want to know more about the science and behavior that result from an attitude of gratitude? It’s all detailed in Chris’s book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours."

If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience, please visit this link. And click here to listen to previous episodes of Gratitude Through Hard Times.

KEY TOPICS:

• If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or thanks to – that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be? Josh lives in a world of “a thousand thank-you notes,” never leaving his appreciation unspoken.
• Points on the Compass: Josh holds a space of gratitude both for lessons learned from a person who treated him badly and a deep well of goodness bequeathed by his father.
• What Resonates: Josh makes a practice of observing leadership behaviors and noting what works – authenticity, emotion, humanity. That’s what gets people engaged!
• Solving Puzzles: Josh looks to untangle hard things and then invites others to come along with him in rising to the challenge!
• Transformational Leadership and how Josh got there:
• Honing his craft – communications and storytelling.
• Learning what it means to manage people – assembling the best possible team and inspiring them to do great work.
• Evolving a replicable plan that motivates talented teams to tackle challenge, growth and change.
• Maintaining a Positive Mindset: Why a can-do attitude leads to rapid-fire growth!
• How the best working relationships resemble a process of falling in love, working together to build upon something flawed but always beautiful.
• If you aren’t in love with what you’re doing in your day job, find that passion on the side and grow it into a deeper pursuit.
• You don’t have to quit your day job: Growing what lights you up professionally may take time and cultivation. It’s okay to pursue multiple paths, organically and at the same time.
• The Paradox of Goal Setting as a Philosophical Approach to Life:
• Measurable goals and activity drive dissatisfaction and disappointment.
• An “atelic” mindset thrives on a love of doing rather than outcomes.
• Use Your Quiet Time! Josh uses moments of calm and focused, simple activity to clear his mind and reach next-level relaxation – and inspiration!
• Work In Progress: Optimal leadership starts with nurturing our own creativity and capacity through calm, reflection, gratitude and self-affirmation.

QUOTABLE

• “I don’t believe I could have gotten to where I’ve gotten without the people helping me.” (Josh)
• “I really get upset when I see a lack of justice in the world … It’s just so much better to be grateful and enthusiastic and positive. It’s so much better to be very rarely pointed.” (Josh)
• “When you connect people together and are a positive influence, they kind of want to do hard things!” (Josh)
• “Everyone wants their company to evolve. I just happen to be the marketer that they come to when it’s a task that’s achievable but needs the right motivation behind it.” (Josh)
• “If you fall in love with what you do … it’s this wonderful way to re-explore your own personal process.” (Josh)
• “If you can fall in love with your work, then it’s not really work. It’s like a great hobby that you’re getting paid for.” (Josh)
• “You’ve got to take care of that heart and soul within you in order to take care of someone else’s heart and soul, whether it’s your customer’s, a brand or a team you’re leading.” (Chris)
• “You can stay where you are – in hopefully a healthy and stable work environment – and develop your passion on the side but not put pressure on to monetize it.” (Chris)
• “If you are trying to win at each moment and get to the next plateau, you will be disappointed when you get there. There’s a let-down that happens actually.” (Josh)
• “The invention of a goal and the hitting of a goal in its own invention eliminates an activity that you love doing because you’ve just hit the goal.” (Chris)
• “The accomplishment of a goal is paradoxical because it robs you of something you love doing on a consistent basis.” (Chris)
• “The moments that I give myself when I’m not actively engaging … lets a secondary part of my brain that allows solutions to come to me.” (Josh)
• “In order to show up in an empathetic, curious, listening, humble and yet confident way for your team, you must do the good work on yourself – and appreciate the work that you do.” (Chris)
• “I love that a guru exists in the world who is letting us celebrate what I think is one of the most important characteristics we can offer: Feeling grateful.” (Josh)

LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:

• Learn more about Quad founder Harry Quadracci at this link.
• More about Stoicism and telic vs. atelic activity in this New York Times article.
• Two Great Books About Creativity and Time Management:
• "Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals," by Oliver Burkeman.
• "The Creative Curve: How to Develop the Right Idea at the Right Time," by Allen Gannett.
• All about Philip Watkins, a professor of Gratitude at Eastern Washington University and the power in assigning positive benefits while processing negative experiences.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Josh has had a high-profile career over two decades of award-winning experience in brand marketing, advertising, creative development, technology and production. Providing executive leadership across a wide array of businesses as a startup runner, publisher, agency & business leader, he maintains an entrepreneurial approach to grow brands, teams and revenue across multiple categories and geographies.

FOLLOW JOSH:

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ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

FOLLOW CHRIS:

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS