Jody Thompson

About Think Fast

Think Fast is a mini-episode featuring 10 rapid-fire questions.

Think Fast Questions

What is one thing that everyone listening to this episode should go and do today?

They should go watch the Taylor Swift eras tour movie.

What is the lesson that you wish you learned earlier in life?

I wish I had learned that nothing is out of my reach and that if I just tried and moved forward every day, no matter what I'm tripping over that, that would be the best. That would have been the best for me.

If you could download one person, dead or alive, you could download their entire knowledge, wisdom, and memories to add to your own, and you can carry it with you for the rest of your life. Who would it be?

Daniel Pink. In his book Drive, he talks about autonomy, mastery, and purpose. And I'm really into that because he sees the future as well and sees where we're all confused in the workplace. And so reading his book was something that really changed me in my thinking. And he's writing more books. So there you have it.

What is a negative experience that happened to you that you are happy that it happened to you?

When I was working at a Fortune 100 company and I was trying to do adaptive change as an experiment I was taken into my boss's office and he told me that I was going to be put on a performance plan, even though the teams I was working with were outpacing the rest of the organization. And productivity, engagement, all the things we measure. And the reason I was put on a performance plan is because I was making human resources uncomfortable. And at that moment, I felt like my head was going to blow up. And he also said, and people are calling you a zealot now, that was a turning point for me because when I talked to the head of global innovation at the company and I said, they're calling me a zealot, he did like the happy dance in his office because more people trying to make real change are often called names and put in their place and all these things. So he knew I was onto something. And so even though it was a horrible experience, it ended up being validating to what I was trying to do.

If you could go, if you had to go back to the start of your entire career and do it all over again, what are the first five, the first three to five things that you would do first?

So when I started my career, I was in a fitness administration long way back when, you know, the fitness, whole fitness craze was starting. And I think that at that time I wasn't very tuned in to what was going to be financially feasible to train enough people, talk to enough people, you know, create a viable business. And so I think that I could have listened to people more, had people come in and talk to me about what I'm thinking, give me feedback. I think I just kind of was a lone wolf and I needed to connect better. So one, I don't know everything. I need to ask questions. Two, I need to connect better to people that can help me move forward. And three, is this really what I want to do?

If you had to pick one, which fictional character would you bring to life?

Bugs Bunny

If you could travel back to a single point in your life and say one single sentence to yourself, when would you travel back to, and what would you say?

I would travel back to when I was in college and I would tell myself, you're too young to get married. There's a lot more you should be doing first. That's what I would have told myself.

What will destroy humanity?

Humanity is going to destroy humanity.

What will save humanity?

I think about John Lenn