Whitney Johnson

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This week’s Q & A is with Erin McKean, founder of Reverb Technologies, featured by Apple as the Best New App in 37 countries, and Wordnik, the world’s largest online dictionary. 

1.  What was a pivotal moment of reinvention for you?

Going from being editor-in-chief of American dictionaries at OUP to being the founder & CEO of a venture-backed technology startup was a huge shift. Suddenly my job wasn’t to “do things right” but to “do the right things” — a huge difference!

2.  Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

Roger McNamee, who was our first investor at Wordnik/Reverb, and who is our chairman of the board, has always been the first to say “you can do this!” and the first to give me advice as to how.

3.  What is your biggest goal right now?

We just announced last week (at Pop!Tech in Camden, ME) that Wordnik.com is becoming a not-for-profit! It’s very exciting.  Wordnik has always been mission-driven, with the mission of making as much information as possible about as many words as possible available to as many people as possible. Now I will be able to make pursuing that mission my main focus.

Reverb, which developed out of the core Wordnik word graph technology, is continuing as a for-profit startup. (It’s due to Reverb’s success that we have the opportunity to devote resources to Wordnik.com as a non-profit!) We’ve found that Reverb’s recommendations — both through our app and on the web — really resonate with readers, and are very valuable to publishers! It’s very exciting to build something that both delights consumers and makes money for publishers.

4.  How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?

I knew I wanted to work on dictionaries since I was eight years old, but I didn’t get my first dictionary job until my junior year of college at the University of Chicago. I needed a summer job, so I checked the directory of publishers in the library and found ScottForesman, an educational publisher in Glenview, IL, had a children’s dictionary program. So I called them up and asked if they needed interns! I worked there as an intern that summer, a freelancer during my senior year, and was hired full-time after I graduated. I ended up working there about eight years in total, and when I left I was the editorial manager of the department.

About the time the department’s copyright cycle finished (that is, all the dictionaries were updated and published) and it looked like I would start working on other textbooks, Oxford University Press called and asked if I’d be interested in working for them. So I joined OUP, where I worked for about seven years.

Wordnik is essentially the third job I’ve ever had.

5.  What time do you typically wake up? What do you do every morning?

I usually wake up between 6 and 6:30. I do some stretching and planks, make breakfast (right now I’m obsessed with scrambled eggs & dal makhani, and cold-brew coffee mixed with seltzer), and try not to jump right into email. 🙂 Lately I’ve been trying to read technical explanations first thing in the morning, when I’m fresh. Twice a week I go to they gym before work. I really enjoy straight-up weightlifting (my max squat and deadlift are both 200lb).

6.  How do you unplug? How often do you unplug?

I’m not sure I ever really unplug … to get away from whatever the immediate focus is I like to take long city walks (“urban hiking” is great because you’re never too far from ice cream, especially in San Francisco). I also like to sew — I pretty much make all the dresses I wear now, and I blog about it (since 2005!) at dressaday.com. It’s surprising how manageable problems seem after ten miles of walking or four hours of sewing. I also try to take Saturday “off” from email if possible.

7. What challenge / achievement are you most proud of?

Overall, I think I’m most proud of how doggedly the team at Wordnik/Reverb has pursued the idea that “knowing more about more words” would be valuable in so many ways. It’s fantastic seeing our hypothesis play out so well.

Personally, I’m most proud of having written a novel — it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. (And my fourteen year old son is pretty neat, too …)

8)  What cause do you most want to advance?

I’m a big believer that tech needs to be more inclusive, across the board. As our daily lives become more and more intermediated by technology, it’s important that the producers be at least as diverse as the users. Luckily I am in a position where I can help make a difference — both as a model and as someone who can hire.

9. What is your “keep me going” quote?

Whenever I feel overwhelmed or blocked, I try to remember this Robert Benchley quote: “Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.” (It’s meant to be a joke, but I think like most jokes it’s secretly true.)

10. What is your secret indulgence?

I listen to a lot of hip-hop. A *lot*.

You can read Erin’s full #40over40 profile here:

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This week’s Q & A is with Liz Wiseman, author of Rookie Smarts, out now (October 2014), and Wall Street Journal bestseller Multipliers.

1.  What was a pivotal moment of reinvention for you?

My big pivot came when I left the comfort of a great corporate job (I was the VP of Oracle University) to go out on my own as a consultant and executive advisor.

I had joined Oracle right out of business school and spent seventeen years in various management jobs.  Oracle was a company that was not only growing in size, but one with a true growth mindset – a belief that smart people could figure hard things out.  As a result, I faced a steady stream of stretch assignments.  I was 40 years old before I had a job that I was actually qualified for!  While I took some teasing from my bosses (who had to occasionally explain to others why they had given a big job to one so young and inexperienced), I found the work as thrilling as it was challenging.

At the end of those seventeen years, I realized that I was, at last, qualified for my job. I felt like I had come to a stand-still and began resenting my job.  Sure, my colleagues and work conditions were still fantastic, but I wasn’t being challenged and the exhilaration was gone.  But, I had to wonder, does the thrill ride have to end mid career?  Fortunately for me it didn’t.  I took a pivot step out of my comfort zone in corporate management and set out to research and write a book on leadership – honestly something I had little understanding of how to do. Fortunately I again found people willing to take a chance on a rookie (or perhaps my publisher just didn’t realize that I had never written anything longer than an email when he agreed to work with me on my first book, Multipliers).

Nine years ago my colleagues and friends couldn’t understand why I would choose to leave a great gig at a great company to work solo and in obscurity.  But, in venturing out, I’ve found greater impact and personal satisfaction.

2.  Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

I’ve been fortunate to have leaders who believed in me enough to both push me and support me.   Ray Lane, former president of Oracle gave me roles that were at least two sizes too big and then let me suffer a bit while I figured it out.  When I grew into role and delivered, he then sang my praises.  Another was Phil Wilson, a wonderful boss and mentor.  Because I was given big jobs at an early age, my responsibilities were often far ahead of my pay.  I will never forget the time Phil proactively advocated with the top execs for a sizeable raise for me.  It was initially rejected, as the percentage increase was far outside any reasonable range.  He felt so strongly that I should be paid at the level of my responsibility (regardless of my age) that he put his own job on the line.  It was approved.  I was deeply touched by this stunning display of sponsorship – the kind particularly needed to support women willing to stretch themselves and take risks.  Lastly, CK Prahalad, the late, acclaimed professor from University of Michigan, taught me to ask the hard questions and opened doors that allowed me to pursue my current work in research, writing, and teaching management.

3.  What is your biggest goal right now?

My biggest job right now is helping my children (three teens and one who is eleven) navigate the choppy waters of the teenage years.  But my next closest priority is launching my next “baby.”  I have a new book coming out October 2014 called Rookie Smarts:  Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work.   The book explores why we are so often at our best when we are doing something for the first time and why knowing nothing can be more valuable than knowing it all.  My hope for the book is that we begin to see the term “rookie” as a badge of honor and that more people will be willing to step out of their comfort zone and take a rookie assignment.  Those who do venture out, will likely find that in the process of learning new things and overcoming challenges, they engage their creative energies, perform brilliantly, and find their greatest satisfaction.

4.  How do you unplug – how often do you unplug?

My husband and I love to travel to new countries with our children.  We travel at every opportunity, but in particular, we take two to three weeks each July and go with our children somewhere in the developing world (My 11-year old son’s birthday is in July so he has never celebrated it in the United States!).  We don’t turn on our cell phones and typically have spotty Wi-Fi access.  It is a chance to meet interesting people and see lands full of challenge and promise.   I am a learning fanatic, so I love being dropped in a place where I know little and must make sense of things. It’s hardly relaxing, but it’s certainly fun.

5.  How did you feel on your 30th birthday?

I was pregnant with my first child on my 30th birthday, so I felt as if I was making a major life shift.  I had spent the first thirty years of my life focused on me (my education, my career, etc.).  I realized that I would now spend the next thirty years putting many of my needs and goals on hold while I put my family first.   It felt right.  But, ironically, in focusing on others in these last twenty years, I think I’ve learned more and achieved more professionally than in the first thirty.

6.  Cause to advance?

I am not-so-secretly trying to rid the world of bad bosses. I’ve spent years studying and writing about the effect that leaders have on the intelligence and capability levels of people around them and I’ve seen first hand the devastating effect bad bosses (many of them well meaning) have.  People come to work each day ready, if not desperately willing, to give 100% of their capability. But many face a cement wall of management where their ideas aren’t heard and their true capability isn’t seen.  We need to make our workplaces safe havens for people to truly contribute.  We face so many seemingly insurmountable challenges (in both the public and private sector), but I believe we have the collective intelligence to solve them.  My mission is to develop leaders who can take on the world’s toughest challenges by deeply using all the intelligence and human capability inside of those around them.

7.  What challenge / achievement are you most proud of?

I suppose it would be writing a book as a novice and having it become a best seller.

8.  What is the latest business book you read?

I just finished A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas by Warren Berger.   This book is a great tool for those seeking to lead through inquiry.  Berger helps us see that our natural state is one of curiosity and asking why.   I think the best leaders are able to see their world through this once-natural state.

9.  What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

Bob Shaver, a VP at Oracle gave me some guidance that has shaped my career.  I was contemplating an internal transfer and was interviewing for a job in Bob’s division.  I described the kind of work I wanted to do and what I hoped to accomplish in the job.  Bob assured me that my intent was indeed worthy but that it would be far more helpful to him and the company if I figured out my boss’s biggest challenge and helped her solve it.  I reoriented my thinking away from what I wanted and toward what the business urgently needed.  While the initial work wasn’t my true passion, I dove in wholeheartedly.  I think I built a reputation as someone who understood the strategy and got the most important stuff done.  This, in turn, opened up many career opportunities to do work that I truly love.

10.  Secret indulgence?

Baths.   They are inefficient but thoroughly delightful.

You can read more about Liz here.

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

his weeks Q & A is with Melissa Sterry, Design Scientist, and founder of Bionic City, which seeks to answer the question ‘How would Nature Design a City?’ and a collaborator in Leapfrog Project, which works in partnership with organisations including American Institute of Architects and RIBA-USA to develop blueprints for rebuilding urban areas devastated by Typhoon Haiyan.

1.  What was a pivotal momentum of reinvention for you?  While not a reinvention as such, 2009 was a pivotal year for me. Clocking in an average 100-110 hour working week, leading or co-leading several projects, atop of which I juggled various committee roles both in the UK and overseas, having not taken a holiday in several years, something had to give. I was busy, very, but felt unfulfilled, and namely because creatively and intellectually I felt unchallenged. Leadership was all well and good, but I wanted new opportunities to learn and to evolve my thinking and perspective.

Simultaneously, while an environmentalist since childhood, several conversations I had around that time led me to feel that the imperative to tackle sustainability issues, and in particular biodiversity loss, resource shortages, climate change and its secondary impacts, was altogether greater than I had previously conceived. Having read through umpteen on and off-record reports on the outlook for people and planet, my take on the future was “the sh*t is going to hit the fan and humanity is ill-prepared for what’s coming.” I spent six or so months thinking through how my skills, expertise and personality was best suited to help in the effort to tackle the challenges that may lay ahead.

On drawing my conclusions I edited out various roles and responsibilities, drew up a research and development programme to inform my vision, and hooked-up with a mentor that understood and supported my aims and objectives. I no longer work seven days a week, and sleep deprivation is off the agenda. I take holidays more or less when I want to. Do I get more or less done than I did five years ago? Less is more, because having focused my efforts my productivity is usually higher, as is my energy and fitness level.

2.  How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?  It’s not so much a case of how did I get my first job, as how did I get my first ‘jobs’. From mid teens onwards, I’ve more or less persistently juggled three to four jobs at a time. Aged 15 I was holding down a handful of jobs outside of school, including my first freelance branding and design commission, which I landed when the editor of consumer magazine saw my portfolio and recommended me to the client. Other jobs that same year included waitress, office admin assistant, shop assistant and fruit picker. Along with funding my art materials, social life and wardrobe, the various jobs gave me experience of multi-tasking, as well as insights into negotiating, sales, marketing and all manner of other useful skills upon which I’ve been building ever since. Above all, the jobs were what my family calls ‘character building’, meaning they weren’t all fun and games, but we’ve had a good few laughs about some of my experiences!

3.  What is the best piece of advice you ever received?  My school Head of House was a wise, observant and good humoured man by the name of Mr. Williams. An introverted, but confident school girl that preferred to study alone, rather than in class, it’s fair to say that my school attendance record pushed the boundaries of acceptability, and that this was a matter of significant concern to several of the teaching staff, whom frequently raised the issue. Thankfully, Mr. Williams always fought my corner, recognising that my regular absence was by no means indicative of any lack of ambition or ability, as was reflected in my exam grades and coursework. Therein, he and I had regular meetings, some of which were congratulatory, as I picked up another commendation, others dealing with the latest in the string of attendance related complaints. During one such meeting he commented that I reminded him of his younger self, in that I persistently pushed myself ever harder and farther in the pursuit of achievement. He recounted an episode of his past, and having so done imparted the most valuable advise I’ve ever been received. He said that one should never forget that the higher you aim, the greater the distance that you may fall, and that if that time comes, you really mustn’t be too hard on yourself. This is of course a lesson that all they that persistently aim high invariably learn, and usually the hard way. But, aged 14 the notion of failure was alien to me and would remain so for a good few years to come. When that moment did arrive Mr. Williams’ advise spurred me to pick myself up, dust myself down and start over, and over and over again.

4.  What was the last business book you read?  When Cultures Collide: Leading Across Cultures, Third Edition by Richard D. Lewis. My fascination with different belief systems and cultures goes back a long way, but the older I’ve become, the more I’ve realised the value in diversity, and have come to appreciate different cultural perspectives. Generally speaking, I’m pretty pre-occupied with psychology and with human behaviour in the broadest sense, and have read a fair few books on the topic. However, while some tomes merely regurgitate that which has been discussed before, When Cultures Collide provides genuinely unique and truly invaluable insights that really help to make sense of the complex global society we now find ourselves amidst.

5.  What song can’t you get out of your head? If my life had a soundtrack it would be written by Fleetwood Mac. While I love the works of a great many artists, Buckingham, Nicks and McVie’s lyrics resonate with me in a way that many don’t. Many a friend has heard me singing their songs, be it back in the days when I dabbled in a folk band, or after a few too many drinks at one or another get together. It’s a close run thing as to which of their songs I love the most, with ‘Landslide’, ‘Dreams’, ‘Tusk’ and ‘Honey Hi’ vying for the top spot, but ‘Don’t Stop’ likely clinches it, as it’s not only a song I belt out in the good times, but in the bad times too, not least when I need to pull myself together, be it because I’m facing a storm in a teacup or something rather more serious!

6.  How do you unplug? How often do you unplug?  How often I unplug is very much dependent on how many deadlines I’m contending with at any given time. However, I try to have at least some down time every day and unplug in a variety of ways. Most days I’ll set aside around 20 minutes to engage in some kind of informal study of nature, be that a walk in the reserve adjacent to my home, a potter about my allotment or garden, or on rainy day taking a look at one or another flora or fauna species close-up under the microscope. On a clear night there’s nothing I love more than some stargazing, be that with my telescope or with the naked eye, at home or afar. I find looking to the natural world is relaxing, insightful and exciting in equal measure, and particularly so if you keep an open mind about what you will discover. I also love various martial arts and try to make one or more training sessions a week. I find kickboxing is particularly good for letting off steam. I’m fortunate to be a member of a great club, AKA, which led by a dedicated and talented team, is attended by a focused, but fun crowd. They know if I’ve had a tough week, because I really let rip on pads! Other passions include making images and noise in studios, and in particular the visual arts, although I like to mix things up every now and then and to dip my toes in a variety of creative activities, both using traditional and new media.

7.  What is your biggest goal right now?   My biggest goal is to continue researching and developing my hypothesis, which investigates city-scale resilience to major natural hazard events through the creation of complex adaptive systems that mimic the behaviours, relationships and systems of flora and fauna species. I’m principally exploring this hypothesis through three channels; a PhD that’s been underway since 2010 and which I anticipate completing within the coming 18 months; Bionic City®, which serves as a platform for collaboration and co-creation with like-minded peers worldwide, and which seeks to answer the question “how would nature design a city?”, examining the potential of biomimetics, biotechnology and bio-Inspiration in the built environment in the now, near and far future; Leapfrog Project, which formed in response to the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan, brings together an international collective of built environment professionals to help the Philippines rebuild with new-found resilience. Further activities that help advance and communicate my research include co-curation of a postgraduate-level lecture series exploring the potential of bio-informed design; keynote lectures at academic, corporate and consumer events worldwide; authoring ebooks and articles on the subject; consulting to industry on biomimetic design and thinking; and curation/co-curation of media and events that further extend awareness and understanding of biomimetics, such workshops, social media chats and webinars. I believe that the study of flora and fauna and the relationships therein, presents unlimited potential to inform new innovations, inventions and ideas. Furthermore, anyone, anywhere can participate in this activity, which makes biomimetics a universally accessible research discipline.

8.  What challenge / achievement are you most proud of?  Generally speaking, while I’m proud of various past works, I don’t dwell on them, namely because I’m more or less constantly pre-occupied with the future and what could be, rather than what has been. Furthermore, I see the past as a connected whole, wherein success and failure went hand-in-hand, the latter often creating the clearing that enabled the former. Therein, if I’m proud of anything at all, it’s that’s my optimism and enthusiasm are intact, despite the various challenges along the way!

9.  What cause do you most want to advance?  Presently, on the whole, humanity treats animals as commodities that exist merely for our convenience. Biodiversity is more or less universally taken for granted, and so much so that within just three decades we have destroyed one third of all biodiversity on Earth. Human activity is currently depleting flora and fauna species at such pace and scale as for several experts to estimate a loss in the region of 25-50% by the century’s end. The very worst-case scenarios I’ve seen put anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity on a par with the Permian–Triassic extinction event, wherein it’s anticipated that the collective impact of past, present and future human activity will culminate in 90% or more species being lost within under two centuries. While some hypothesise that we could ‘bring species back from extinction’, while I think this may be plausible in regard of several flora species, with the exception perhaps of a few micro-organisms, I very much doubt it applies to fauna. The scientific logic therein is very simple. Fauna species are not merely the sum of their biologically parts. A great many macro fauna species, and in particular mammals, exhibit some form of culture, i.e. behaviours that are learned through social interaction between parent and child and/or family groups. While I am anticipating significant leaps forward in our understanding of the neurobiology of fauna species, we are nonetheless a long way from gaining a comprehensive insight into animal intelligence and culture, and presently we have no plausible means of artificially replicating the know-how that one generation of macro fauna species passes onto another in the wild. The many attempts to ‘value’ nature remain nothing if not crude, in that they try to estimate that value in terms of perceived ‘services’, such as pollination. I perceive the value of biodiversity as being far too great to calculate, not least because as Sir David Attenborough observed, each of the many species on Earth is a different solution to the ‘problem of staying alive’ – born of a global R&D process that’s been underway for 3.8 million years or more. In other words, in biodiversity we have a data base of evolving prototypes that can illustrate possible, sometimes very exotic and extraordinary, solutions to the many difficult challenges we now face. That aside, without biodiversity life on this relatively small spherical lump of rock spinning through space at some several hundred miles an hour becomes unviable. How can you put a price on that? How can you put a price on Life? My dearest hope is that humanity comes to realise how immensely lucky we are and how the various species about this world, no matter how small or large, near or far, deserve our respect, our compassion and our whole-hearted effort to ensure that in the event they do become extinct, we – humanity – are not to blame.

10.  Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor? A remarkable and inspiring woman, my mother has ceaselessly supported me in achieving my hopes and dreams. She is smart, good humoured, humble and kind. An outstanding role model, my mother has overcome every adversity with intelligence and integrity, conducting her actions with compassion and generosity. I have learnt much from her, not least the virtues of understatement, subtlety and due diligence.

My late Uncle, my mother’s older brother Mike, was also instrumental in my development. Autodidactic, his knowledge was wide-ranging and profound, spanning all genres of the arts including film, music, fine art, poetry and literature. A passionate environmentalist, with a deep interest in philosophy and culture, he cared not for material goods, nor for status, nor power, but for people and planet and cared for them greatly. He was a great character, with a twinkle in his eye, a tale to tell and many an adventure to be had!

11.  What is your secret indulgence?  What’s not? I’m an advocate of quality above quantity and make no bones about liking the finer things in life! Whatever is it, be it something I eat, drink, wear, use or visit, I like it to be well put together. However, regardless of what it is, it’s utterly imperative that it’s produced both ethically and sustainability, because there’s absolutely nothing that turns me off more than something that isn’t.

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This weeks Q & A is with Denise Restauri, CEO of Girlquake and author of Their Roaring Thirties: Brutally Honest Career Talk From Women Who Beat The Youth Trap

1.  What was a pivotal moment of reinvention for you?
14 years ago I had one of those “WOW” moments as I was holding my 7- year old daughter’s hand, staring at the window at Barney’s.

Yes, I’ve had many WOW moments staring at those windows, but this was different—it wasn’t about a dress or a pair of shoes. I said to my daughter, Ally, you can be anything you want to be – you can be a fashion designer or you can design a window display like this one here. As Ally looked at me with that “what are you talking about look?” on her face (a look that she has only continued to perfect over the years) — I realized I wasn’t really talking to Ally, I was talking to my younger self.

I came from a tiny little town outside of Pittsburgh. I had wonderful parents who told me I could be anything I wanted to be. Problem was we hardly ever left our “back yard”, we didn’t have the Internet way back then — I couldn’t SEE what I could be.

I wanted to be a fashion designer, but I couldn’t draw. I didn’t know there was a place like Barneys where I could be a different kind of designer.

And it was that day – as I stared at the windows at Barneys — that I decided to design and create my platform that would help young women from around the world SEE what they could be. Because if you can see it, you can be it. That platform grew to be GirlQuake…

2.  Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

I never had a mentor or sponsor, in the formal sense. But I worked with some of the most supportive women in the universe when I was at USA TODAY – both were my bosses, Carolyn Bivens and Janet Costello. We didn’t always agree, but we always had each other’s backs. And we all learned from each other.

3.  What is your biggest goal right now?

In my book, Their Roaring Thirties: Brutally Honest Career Talk From Women Who Beat The Youth Trap, I take a brief moment to reflect on my 30s and how I had “lost my groove” in that decade of change. One of the wonderful things I have experienced about aging is that I found my groove (thank God!). And now I want to enjoy the freedom that brings and to keep dreaming bigger.

4.  How did you feel on your 30th birthday? What were you doing at that time? 

I’m laughing because that was 30 years ago and I can barely remember what I had for dinner last night! I was working at USA Today, married, no children, living in DC, and totally clueless about what a decade of change the 30s would be.

5.  How do you unplug? How often do you unplug?

I am guilty of falling into the “almost never” camp. But on a recent trip to Rome, Paris and London, I did put up an away message for 10 days and that step gave me a wonderful sense of freedom.

6.  What cause do you most want to advance?

Empowerment for women and girls (education, no violence)

7.  What song can’t you get out of your head?

You’ve Got Time, the theme song from Orange Is The New Black. Is that sick? Maybe I need to update my playlist! Or maybe it’s because I just finished binge watching Season 2. I don’t think it’s because I’m planning on going to prison!

8.  What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

My best piece of advice was to be true to myself, be authentic, transparent and genuine. Followed by, “Nothing matters if you don’t have a story.” Followed by, when you have writer’s block, start with “I.”

9.  What is your secret indulgence?
Gluten free chocolate brownies from Haven’s Kitchen in Chelsea, NY

10.  Who on the list of 2013 Honorees would you like to meet?
Joanne Wilson