Today’s guest, Jonathan Adler, is an internationally recognized scholar in the study of personal narrative and its relationship with well-being. Jonathan is a professor of psychology at Olin College of Engineering, a senior lecturer at Harvard Medical School, and a theater director and playwright. His work brings together the rigor of science with the wonder and mystery of art, to show how writing a narrative and then living into that narrative can shift the future for the better. Jonathan and Chris discuss: What the science tells us about how storytelling and narratives work Why humans tell stories, and the role these stories can play in transforming leaders and organizations Why redemptive narratives, such as the American narrative about beating cancer, can be transformative—but why these same narratives can also do harm How leaders can use storytelling to navigate narrative conflicts and create alignment around a shared vision of the future And much more! 

Our guest today is Dr. Herminia Ibarra, the Charles Handy Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School and an authority on leadership and career development. Earlier this year, Herminia and her colleagues Claudius A. Hildebrand and Sabine Vinck published an article in Harvard Business Review called “The Leadership Odyssey,” which explored the correlation between CEO skills and firm performance by examining 235 candidates across 75 CEO successions. Herminia and her colleagues then created a narrative pathway that aspiring CEOs can follow to transform their leadership and increase their effectiveness. In this episode, Chris and Herminia explore:The narrative pathway CEOs can use to elevate their leadership and move from a hands-on, directive approach to empowering and enabling their teamsInsights and stories from her global bestseller Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader, as well as her book Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career. The surprising truth that will challenge your understanding and beliefs about authenticity and purpose, and how to build a new narrative grounded in your identity that can unlock new levels of growth.And much more!

Today's guest, Brian Janous, is the former VP of Energy at Microsoft. In fact, he was their first ever energy hire back in 2011. Until his departure earlier this year, Brian oversaw energy strategy and sourcing for all of Microsoft’s cloud and AI infrastructure, including procuring renewable energy for the company to meet its carbon objectives.Since the earliest days of his career, Brian has sought to answer the question, “How do we build markets around the complex machine of the electric grid to drive behaviors that shift the future?” As you’ll hear, Microsoft gave him the opportunity to do just that.When Brian joined the company in 2011, Microsoft’s market cap was north of $218 billion. Today its market cap has skyrocketed to over $2.7 trillion, thanks in no small part to the company's ability to acquire energy, refine it into data, and use that data to fuel the creation of value in the cloud.Brian is a natural-born storyteller, and you’re in for a treat.In this episode, Brian and Chris talk about:The power of storytelling in building the world’s largest machineWhy the future of energy innovation must be informed by the past and grounded in the presentThe breakthrough that converted Microsoft’s CEO at the time, Steve Ballmer, into a true believer in Brian’s and his team’s vision for the future of energyThe importance of having an enduring narrative that drives your strategy forwardAnd much more!

Today's guest is Jim Citrin, a legend in the world of CEO search and succession. Jim is the leader of Spencer Stuart's CEO practice. Over the course of his career, he's interviewed over 14,000 candidates and worked with clients on more than 800 searches and succession assignments. Jim's gift is seeing the future—a future that candidates and companies don't always see—and then bringing them together to write that future.Chris and Jim discuss:How Jim helped Hubert Joly and Mark Thompson land their respective CEO roles at Best Buy and the New York TimesWhy delivering great results alone is no longer enough for CEOsHow to rewrite the narrative about the perfect CEO who has all the answersWhat the succession process looks like, and what boards are looking for in candidatesHow you can use storytelling and your vision of the future to earn trust with the board in the interview processAnd much more!

If you enjoy flight metaphors, this is the episode for you! Chris talks to Art delaCruz of Team Rubicon, an extraordinary nonprofit that's shifting the future for veterans and communities affected by natural disasters. In 2021, Art filled the shoes of season 1 guest Jake Wood, the cofounder and former CEO of Team Rubicon.In this episode, Art and Chris discuss: How Art got his start as a fighter pilot in the United States NavyThe art of navigating the turbulent shift from chief operating officer to CEO at Team RubiconHow making high-stakes decisions at high velocity equipped Art for the world of disaster relief in the middle of COVIDWhether the real Top Gun experience lives up to the movieHow losing a $40 million plane transformed Art as a leaderAnd much more!

In 1996, a 27-year-old woman walked into Smith Barney for her very first day as a secretary. A recent college grad with a degree in piano and no business experience, Ivy League pedigree, or marketable skills other than typing fast, it wasn't long before she saw the future she wanted: a career as an investment banker. But that future seemed out of reach. Or was it?That woman was Whitney Johnson, and she's our guest on the very first episode of season 2 of the podcast. Whitney is the CEO of Disruption Advisors, a leadership development company that can help you grow your people to grow your business. She's also the host of the weekly podcast Disrupt Yourself, whose guests have included Alan Mulally, Brené Brown, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Stephen M.R. Covey.In today's episode, Chris and Whitney cover:How Whitney learned to embrace, not run from, her origin storyThe massive influence Clayton Christensen and his work on disruption and innovation had on WhitneyThe importance of "throwing down the pom poms and getting in the game"How the "S curve" provides a powerful framework for Whitney's work as a disruption advisorWhether it's easier to disrupt yourself earlier or later in your careerThe zen of tennis, piano, and fly fishing And much more!

The Storied Future Podcast gives high-performing CEOs a front-row seat to candid conversations with leaders who have put new narratives out into the world, and then used those narratives to shift the future.If you want to create a future where you’re not only proud of what you’ve accomplished, but of how you accomplished it, how it changed you, and who you took with you, host Chris Hare and his guests will provide the insights and inspiration you need to get there. Guests include Whitney Johnson, CEO of Disruption Advisors; Jim Citrin, Head of the CEO Practice at Spencer Stuart; Pete Sauerborn, Executive Chair of FTD; and Aaron Mitchell, architect of Netflix's 2% cash commitment to Black banks.

In this special episode in honor of Black History Month, Chris is joined by Aaron Craig Mitchell. Aaron is the former director of HR at Netflix Animation Studios, where he helped engineer the company's pledge to allocate 2 percent of its cash holdings into financial institutions and organizations that directly support Black communities in the U.S.Aaron describes himself as a tortoise (a nod to the Aesop fable that inspired the episode title) because he learned persistence and resilience from an early age—traits that have helped him slowly and steadily drive huge positive change in his career so far.Aaron has lived a life of extraordinary impact, and he's only just getting started.In this episode, Chris and Aaron discuss:How Aaron's struggles as a self-described, sickly, shy, clumsy, and nerdy kid unlocked a rich inner life of imagination and creativityThe hard-ass music teacher who made JK Simmons' character in the movie Whiplash look like a nice guy, and who introduced Aaron to a lifelong love of jazz that now shapes every part of his workHow Aaron worked to fan flames of healthy chaos during Netflix's cannonball into the pool of animation, going from zero to the largest studio in the world inside of a yearHow a Jefferson Dinner in the early days of the pandemic sparked the creation of an initiative at Netflix that has injected $2 billion in cash into Black banks and financial institutions and is now providing access to the loans that Black businesses need to survive, thrive, and growAnd much more!

Chris closes out the first season of the podcast with a conversation with Erica Brinker, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of ESG at Array Technologies. Erica is an extraordinary leader who knows how to build a brand and prove her impact. Prior to Array, Erica was CMO at Honeywell, an industrial that historically didn’t believe in marketing. She drove demand through the roof for Honeywell by building a brand campaign that is still driving impact years later. Her insights and approach should prove incredibly valuable for CMOs who are leading through the turbulence of this current economy. Chris and Erica cover:Her early years as a marketer working at Kate Spade, Tiffany, and Ralph Lauren, in a world where brand was everything - The path she blazed to become Chief Marketing Officer at Honeywell - Honeywell's Futureshaper brand campaign, which aligned everyone from the buyer to the C-Suite at Honeywell around a shared vision of the future - How  you can earn and grow a trusted relationship with your CFO - How Erica's desire to change the future of the planet for her kids led to her current role at Array - And much more! Thanks for joining us this season. We'll see you in 2023!

Today, Chris talks to Jake Wood, CEO and founder of Groundswell, an innovative new corporate giving platform that enables companies to empower employees with their own donor-advised funds.As a former Marine sniper who received three meritorious promotions for leading combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, Jake shares how he overcame fear and chaos on the battlefield. And he explains how the lessons he learned in combat can help company leaders face their own fears and unleash the potential of their employees to win in the midst of chaos.Chris and Jake cover:Jake’s search for a narrative that would give his life meaning and purpose through serving othersHow the storied narrative and culture of the Marine Corps transformed Jake into a warriorThe origin of Team Rubicon, and how Jake and his team used storytelling to align donors, employees, the public, and volunteers around a shared missionHow he and his team at Groundswell are transforming the future by writing a new narrative that unleashes generosity to change the worldAnd much more!