BOLDER & WISER with Peter Wang and Michelle Kraemer

In our first IRL episode of the 'Bolder and Wiser' podcast, we sat down with award-winning chef and culinary operations leader Philip Wang in his kitchen in San Francisco. With an impressive career spanning Michelin-starred restaurants across the U.S. and high-profile roles at Airbnb and Meta, Philip shares his journey from struggling with academics to excelling in the culinary and business world. 

A few nuggets of wisdom:

1. Not judging yourself by what you hear other people talking about: mindset shift from “utterly terrified” to  “I could do this”
2. The difference between leadership and authority: leadership can come from anywhere in an organization 
3. The importance of trust among peers to building sustainable peak performance 
4. Creating an environment as a leader where team members have the freedom to fail—mistakes are going to happen and how you respond to a mistake is what matters most
5. The journey and the means by which you achieve results, more than the dish served or outcomes themselves, are at the heart of a true leader’s legacy

He discusses his transformative experiences, the importance of relationships, and the lessons he's learned about leadership, mentorship, and the true meaning of success.

Join us for an authentic conversation that delves deep into the life and philosophy of a chef who values the impact he makes on people over the dishes he creates.

🔗 ENGAGE WITH MICHELLE KRAEMER

Interested in Coaching? Reach out to schedule consultation: https://michellekraemercoaching.com/

Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlkraemer/

🔗 FOLLOW PETER WANG

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuchunwang/

🔗 FOLLOW PHILIP WANG

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-wang-472ba42a/

📚 REFERENCES

Locations:

• The Strongbow Inn (how Philip got his foot into the Culinary door): https://www.nwitimes.com/the-strongbow-inn/article_15a12167-a9a2-5771-b86e-a9e0a2ae79fc.html
• Rubicon in San Francisco (Philip’s first job): https://www.winespectator.com/articles/rubicon-shuttered-4283
• French Blue (first restaurant Philip founded): https://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2012/07/in-st-helena-fb-does-not-mean-facebook-fb-is-the-towns-toniest-new-restaurant-french-blue.html

Institutions:

• Culinary Institute of America: https://www.ciachef.edu/
• Meta: https://www.meta.com/
• Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/

People:

• Traci Des Jardins (American award-winning chef, Philip’s mentor): https://www.tracidesjardins.com/
• Julia Child: https://www.pbs.org/food/chefs/julia-child
• Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet: https://www.amazon.com/Frugal-Gourmet-Jeff-Smith/dp/0517203650
• Joël Robuchon (French chef, famous for his potato puree): https://jrobuchon.com/

Concepts:

• Infinite Mindset: See Simon Sinek’s The Infinite Game—https://simonsinek.com/books/the-infinite-game/

⌚️ TIMESTAMPS

0:00 How I want to be remembered

In this episode of the rebranded 'Bolder and Wiser' podcast, I am excited to introduce Michelle Kraemer as a co-host.

1. Introducing Bolder and Wiser:
Hello! We are Peter Wang, a former tech executive and entrepreneur, and Michelle Kraemer, a tech and media executive turned leadership coach. We are friends and former co-workers who reconnected after 13 years to launch a new incarnation of the podcast, Bolder and Wiser.

Inspired by the idea that we are all works and progress and that the north star on that journey is to become bolder and wiser versions of ourselves, we’ve teamed up to bring to light the untold stories of leaders who have built professional and personal fulfillment lives.  

2. Michelle’s Insights on the Power of Coaching:
Involuntary change, whether a reorg, layoff, or disruptive technology, can be a catalyst for positive change, but you have to have a clear north star to take advantage of it. 

While many professionals might struggle with the idea that they don’t know what they really want, creating a space that’s high trust and confidential through coaching can help unlock an internal knowing quickly.

Moving to something new doesn’t always have to be the answer. By connecting to your values and exploring your dreams as a leader and professional, coaching can help you identify how you might be able to honor those values and embrace those dreams where you are today.

3. Designing an Alliance:
Borrowing from the coaching concept of designing an alliance, we want to design an alliance with the audience and understand what you’d like to get out of future episodes. Please share in the comments your top goals on your journey to growing bolder and wiser. Who would you like to hear from and what topics do you want us to cover?



🔗 ENGAGE WITH MICHELLE KRAEMER
Interested in Coaching? Schedule a Complementary Intro Call: https://michellekraemercoaching.com/
Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlkraemer/


🔗 FOLLOW PETER WANG
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuchunwang/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/peterpeterwang/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/wsdm.water/


⌚️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Welcome to the Podcast: A New Chapter Begins
00:20 Reconnecting and Brainstorming
01:05 Introducing Michelle: A Journey From Tech to Coaching
02:35 'Bolder and Wiser': Rebranding the Podcast
05:36 Becoming Bolder & Wiser
14:57 Navigating the Unexpected: Pandemic and Beyond
20:25 Betting On Yourself
26:05 Designing Alliances
28:46 Wrapping Up: How to Connect and Share Your Goals


📷 EQUIPMENT
Camera: Fujifilm X-T5
Lens: 16mm f1.4 prime
Mic: DJI Mic

After a six-month hiatus from the podcast to focus on our water brand, we are thrilled to be back! In our very first in-person episode, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Victoria and Christian, the co-founders of the first Kombucha brewery in Temecula, CA.

Victoria's journey with Kompoocha began in her parents’ garage during the COVID-19 pandemic as a response to her own health issues. Combining her passion for saving dogs with Christian's unwavering dedication and love, Kompoocha has evolved into a beloved brand that thousands enjoy today.

Kompoocha is a story of resilience in the face of adversity and a testament to living life with purpose.

Tom White was diagnosed with Tourette's at the age of 9, Tom learned to face adversity and embrace the curse and the gift. 

Tom is the author of a newsletter called White Noise. He runs a writing consultancy and is also an angel investor.

Tom is a deep thinker and a man of many quotes—from CS Lewis to Jim Carey, E.L. Doctorow, E.O. Wilson, J. R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Richard Feynman, and many more.

We talked about

• Why life is more like golf than tennis
• Goodhart’s Law: “If a metric becomes the measure, it ceases to be a good metric”
• How incentives run the world
• how everything is an experiment, a curse, and a blessing
• the lasting impact of his grandfather, a veteran of D-Day and World War II
• how growth and comfort cannot coexist
• how happiness is a byproduct, not something you aim for

You may or may not agree with everything Tom shares, but I bet you will walk away more aware of the gifts you have been bestowed and more peaceful about wherever you’re in life.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Tom’s grandfather: “Run hard, and shoot from the top.”

Enjoy the episode.

What would you want to be remembered for? This is a question I asked Josh Brewer, founder of Abstract, the first version-control platform for Sketch, a popular design tool that overtook Photoshop back around 2015.

In this deeply personal episode of the WORK IN PROGRESS Podcast, Josh recounts the fascinating origin story, tracing all the way back to the chaotic Twitter days. When Abstract launched in 2017, it went from zero to $1M in ARR in just 4 months.

A few nuggets of wisdom:

1. On struggling with self-worth: “I was shown from as far back as I can remember that power came from what you did, or how valuable you were because of what you did ... I was not taught how to cultivate that inner validation, that self-worth... I was deeply dependent on external validation ...  I finally discovered that my heart is where my power lies. When I am truly grounded and anchored in who I am and I’m operating out of my heart, that’s when I am in my power.”
2. On servant leadership: “If you care about the other person as much or more than you care about yourself, then you will naturally be inclined to want to help.”
3. Two principles that he lives by: “We, not me” and “Willing and curious.”
4. Curiosity is the antidote to fear. It’s okay to be afraid, but don’t let fear control you. Create space to examine the fear, to learn from it, not run away from it.
5. “You don't need to be perfect in your life, but always be present in it. The present is the most perfect gift you can have.” (as Josh reflected on Present Perfect)
6. The only failure is failure to learn.
7. Prototyping culture + writing culture = powerful combination to communicate the future.

I'm joined by Allison Krausman, a product design leader, and a friend. We had the good fortune of collaborating for 3+ years at BuzzFeed.

Allison shared her 13-year journey from college application rejections to navigating the wild wild west of BuzzFeed.

We dived into how she honed her craft as a designer to become an effective coach, the power of a writing culture, how to build trust with questions, how to reframe failures, and why mentorship is a must.

Ross Mac of Maconomics shared truth bombs about changing our collective mind about and relationship with money: use it as a tool to build wealth, why the conventional wisdom of saving isn't enough, how to talk with kids about money, and building good habits so we can reap the rewards of our discipline.

🔗 FOLLOW RO$$
IG: https://www.instagram.com/imrossmac/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maconomics
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RossMac
LinkedIn: 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/imrossmac
The Maconomics Show: https://t.co/F8AwmjMhP6
Macnomics: https://maconomics.com/
Maconomics Wealth Summit: https://maconomics.com/macsummit/maconomics-wealth-summit-chicago-july-2023

⌚️ TIMESTAMPS
02:14 What is Maconomics?
04:25 Netflix documentary "Get Smart With Money": a hopeful mindset shift about money
07:55 Living paycheck to paycheck: income vs. spending habit
08:31 Learning money habits from parents
19:31 Investing = Paying your future self first
25:09 50/30/20 rule: allocating money wisely
26:47 Spending less is better than making more $
33:09 Statement vs. due dates: gaming credit scores
36:16 Income limit vs. credit limit
38:53 Talking to kids about money
45:00 The American culture of borrowing money
51:03 Financial freedom and compound interest

In episode 2 of the Work-In-Progress Podcast, I sat down with my friend, John Costango, now an executive coach after 20 years as a successful Wall Street executive.

JOHN COSTANGO
https://www.aconnectedcoach.com/
[email protected]

⌚️ TIMESTAMPS
00:40 Early life and education
08:59 Life goals
12:00 Teacher to Wall Street
17:21 Finding opportunities in difficult situations
24:46 Citigroup and the financial crisis
32:15 Importance of curiosity and seeing the Bigger Picture
37:53 Developing your toolkit
47:09 Making changes at 50
55:23 Flipping the script - designing career around life instead of life around career

In this inaugural episode of the Work-In-Progress Podcast, I talked to my good friend, Mark Webster, who, through the combination of creativity, hackathon marathons, and his second baby SaySpring, ended up leading audio products at Adobe.

⌚️ TIMESTAMPS
01:43 From Marketing to Tech
04:46 Family Dynamics and Work Ethic
09:41 Being the Middle Child
11:25 Serial Hackathons
16:09 Getting into TechStars
17:21 Building SideTour
19:31 Lunch with a Wall Street Banker Turned Monk
25:53 The story of SideTour gives hope that great things can happen if people come together
28:55 Starter Acquisition by Groupon
32:17 Challenges of Reinventing Groupon
35:05 The Birth of Sayspring: Designing Voice Interface
43:50 Acquisition by Adobe
46:25 Adobe's AI-First Platform for WOrking with Spoken Audio
49:05 Pitching the Power of Audio
01:00:31 Launching Beta and Future of Adobe Podcast
01:06:26 Building Products within Adobe
01:10:38 The Audio Ecosystem
01:19:12 The Importance of Depth in Creative Tools
01:23:24 Approach to Product Development
01:32:43 Believe in Yourself