And This Happened

Thank you for listening to this episode of the “And This Happened” podcast.

Our guest today is Carl Nordgren,  a serial entrepreneur who helped pioneer cellular telephony. Carl’s an engaging, enthusiastic individual who has a lifelong passion for doing meaningful work. He's taught courses on entrepreneurship and creativity at Duke University for 14 years, but it turns out, his favorite job was his first - being a 15-year-old fishing guide in Northwestern Ontario.

This episode includes:

· How his first job as a 15 year-old fishing guide taught him about servant leadership.

· The importance of a story and leading with a “narrative.”

· Lessons learned during the early days growing cellular telephony.

· How the misstep of telling his company’s story taught him to instead listen to his prospect’s stories - and grow the business.

· The importance of being intentional about developing your creative capacity.

· How the plague caused Shakespeare to reinvent, leverage new technology, address a market need... and become a household name.

· Tips to reignite your creativity, including the color that has been shown to improve your creativity by 25%.

· The benefits of a 30-day action program on your divergent and convergent thinking ability.

· The biggest impediment to progress is the status quo… and where to find it.

· Why the pandemic is an opportunity to improve.

· Examples of a company that successfully launched during an economic crisis (and collected over 25 million old cell phones), and an event center that pivoted during the pandemic (and is opening to support childhood education).

… and more.

Today’s podcast guest is Livingston Holder,

· Why the world felt the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

· The importance of understanding history.

· Why the recent protests relating to social inequities may be a tipping point.

· The importance of education and opportunity.

· How to leverage innovation to better society.

· The necessity (sometimes) for “crush to fit, paint to match” thinking.

· How comfort impedes innovation.

· The importance of being open to new opportunities.

· The three things that allowed Elon Musk to reinvent rocket launches.

· Livingston’s advice to everyone today.