Growth. It’s a topic that touches every team and organization, one that can elicit a full spectrum of emotions ranging from optimism to fear, elation, doubt and a longing for the “good old days.” But as hard as growth is, change is inevitable. It’s something that we, as leaders, strive to embrace, and can successfully help one another navigate.

If you're the leader of a team or in charge of an organization, it often feels like you have to grow. Grow your leadership skill set, grow your team, scale your process, increase output, develop systems and so on. As you grow, you may start noticing cracks in the foundation: core values, culture and external brand perceptions may start to erode. You may even start seeing cracks in your own ability to lead.

Because growth changes us as leaders, sometimes in ways that we don’t anticipate. Sure, fear of failure can stop us in our tracks. But what about fear of success? Or a desire to just keep things as is? Tune in for musings on the roller coaster of growth.

The year has just flown by and, suddenly, here we are: the final podcast of 2019! As we look back on the past year, we’re so thankful for everyone in the Bureau community. We continue to be amazed by the openness, generosity and willingness of 8,000+ digital leaders who devote their time, energy and expertise to help one another and make the industry better.

It’s incredible, and we want to thank you for supporting the community, and being a part of it. Also, thank you to all of our event attendees, speakers, facilitators and volunteers…to our alumni, special guests, members and Founder’s Club. We’re still basking in the glow of a year full of inspiration, ideas, connections and conversations.

And, of course, a heartfelt thank-you to our amazing partners who make the community possible: Mailchimp, InVision, VOGSY, Summit CPA Group, Smartsheet, Media Temple, Matchstick, Craft CMS and so many other organizations who are supporting digital leaders and redefining the industry.

We have many new events coming up in 2020, and are putting together new opportunities to engage and get the support you need. Check them out and take advantage of special early bird pricing. Plus, tune in to learn more about Bureau Bucks. Happy holidays everyone!

How do you take a centuries-old practice, port it to the digital space and continue to improve upon it every day? For the team at Headspace, the question goes beyond meditation as a standalone focus, to a broader mission of improving health and happiness around the world.

Iain McConchie has been with Headspace as VP of Design for nearly a year, but his history with the company goes back far further. Initially founded as a meditation event business, Headspace has evolved into a meditation and wellness app. Today, it offers Facebook events, meditation for sleep, group meditations and more. Iain joins us to talk about Headspace’s progression, partnerships with organizations such as the NBA and the power of community practice. Listen in.

Darcy Kurtz believes in small businesses. Over the course of her career, she’s helped small businesses grow by connecting them with tech solutions ranging from hardware to software and beyond. Today, as the VP of Global Product Marketing at Mailchimp, Darcy is focused on empowering small businesses through Mailchimp’s full marketing platform.

Joining Mailchimp just a few months before their new launch, Darcy says she was drawn to their mission and emphasis on truly understanding customer needs and developing interesting new tools and channels. Hear how Mailchimp approaches customer research, and how they infuse Mailchimp magic in every experience.

You start the day with the best intentions. You’re determined to go for a run, take a walk or head to the gym. But then a big meeting comes up, or family things, or you’re just too tired. And after a dinner of take-out or chips and salsa, there’s no time left, so it will have to be tomorrow.

How do you keep yourself healthy? In the tech industry, we’re mostly sedentary creatures. And the harder we work, the more we can pay for it in terms of losses to our physical and mental health.

As the President of 2120 Creative, Brandon Steiger knows how this goes. Emerging from college as an athlete, he traded two-a-days running and playing soccer for nights sleeping on a cot at a dot-com. Then one day, he found he hardly recognized himself in family photos, and knew he had to change. Inspired by the book Atomic Habits, friends and trainers, he committed to prioritizing his health, even if it was just lacing up his running shoes. Hear how Brandon is putting health and family first while balancing the demands of owning a business.

Watching the movie Sharknado, one has to wonder, “Who comes up with this? Who dreams up a tornado of sharks falling from the sky to wreck havoc on L.A., while chainsaw-wielding celebrities take to the streets and air to save the day?”

The answer: Thunder Levin. Thunder is a film and TV writer and director who became interested in movies back in high school. Before Sharknado, he worked on sci-fi films including Apocalypse Earth and Mutant Vampire Zombies from the Hood.

His approach to screenwriting is simple: write scripts for movies that he’d like to make. Over the course of his career, he’s explored both the serious side of science fiction and the fun, totally ridiculous side. These days, he’s on to something new: a rock musical complete with pirate zombies. Ready for a wild ride? Listen in.

At Planet Argon, they have a unique take on internships. Not only are they not looking to hire their interns, they’re also devoting time to help them find work elsewhere. If the idea leaves you scratching your head, you’ll definitely want to tune in to this episode with Robby Russel, Planet Argon’s CEO and Partner.

Planet Argon’s reasoning is simple: improve the intern experience, offer mentoring opportunities to their internal team and hopefully make the industry a little better in the process. With this philosophy, they’ve documented their approach in a Tech Internship Toolkit which is available to anyone who wants to see it. So if you’re interested in setting up or improving your own internship program, or growing the next generation of tech leaders, here are some insights to help.

A few years back, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke openly about executive isolation. “It’s sort of a lonely job,” he said, but he wasn’t looking for sympathy. The sentiment that it’s lonely at the top rings true for many digital leaders. While some are able to find solace in communities such as AIGA, AAF or PRSA, there aren’t a whole lot of options for digital shop owners, project managers, design leaders or operations leads.

Warren Wilansky, Founder and President of Plank, knows the feeling. Back in 2012, he was roaming different events and realizing he was the only owner in the room. But an unexpected email changed everything for him—and for Carl Smith, who went from a Bureau event attendee to Bureau owner at large. Tune in to hear about the Bureau’s early days and how the community has evolved to help digital leaders—and even digital competitors—become trusted allies and friends.

Business development can be pretty isolating. Without ongoing opportunities to connect with true peers, a lot of biz dev folks keep challenges and ideas bottled up. But a group of Biz Dev Camp alums have found the solution: a monthly accountability call.

Call it a support group, hangout with friends or a collaboration of different sales philosophies, approaches and perspectives—it’s an ongoing conversation built on trust and openness. Technically, participants are competitors, but they’re spread out enough geographically and by capabilities to make it work—and even find opportunities to collaborate.

So let’s meet some of these Biz Dev folks, shall we? Say hello to Adam Kurzawa, Head of Partner Development at ExpandTheRoom; Brian Skowron, President at Lullabot; Brandon Steiger, President of 2120 Creative; Jason Berg, President of Pixo; Jon Clark, VP of Business Development at Four Kitchens; Rob Harr, Vice President of Sparkbox and Tyler Byrd, CEO and President of Red Rokk.

Culture determines how well we work together, and the success of our projects, teams and organizations. But how do you create a winning culture and environment where people can do their best work together?

Colin D. Ellis has been leading teams and projects for 30 years. His latest books, Culture Fix and The Project Book, offer real-world guides on how to build a team culture of collaboration, agility and creativity. As Colin says, culture isn’t a quick fix or senior leaders “owning” vision or values. It’s about bringing everyone together to define a shared ethos and set of behaviors. Tune in for Colin’s take on culture change, culture killers and what you can do to improve your own organization.