Episode Date May 6, 2021
Featured Guest Shannon Minifie
Featured Book "A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again" by David Foster Wallace

Episode Summary

Shannon Minifie reading from David Foster Wallace’s essay ‘A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again’ and discussing the challenges surrounding decision making.

What is it to make a brave choice? Where do you find the courage to not only choose, but to then commit, to a decision and be content with it. This episode’s guest is Shannon Minifie, who’s made one very brave decision: to be the successor as CEO of Box of Crayons, the learning and development company founded by me. Shannon’s one of my favorite people in the world, and in this conversation, we talk not only about making tough decisions but also about how she works to create an organizational culture where taking the easy way out is never encouraged.

Shannon reads from David Foster Wallace’s essay ‘A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again.’ [reading begins at 4:27]

You’ll hear Shannon and Michael further discuss:

  • Temporal finitude: how being aware of death affects our living. [10:47]
  • “Part of being an adult is making decisions which foreclose other options.” [15:55]
  • Being radically candid. [16:39]
  • How to become comfortable with making brave choices. [24:54]
  • “You can create a more beautiful thing by setting boundaries within which it has to be created.” [29:25]
  • Rejecting comfort and ease: “Create cultures in which people can feel less alienated from their labor.” [32:08]

Join our free membership site, The Duke Humfrey’s, and get access to full transcripts, past episodes, exclusive downloads, and more. You’ll find it all at www.MBS.works/podcast

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Resources:

Shannon Minifie | LinkedIn | Twitter | Box of Crayons

David Foster Wallace | A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments

Follow Michael on | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube |  LinkedIn | Facebook

Michael Bungay Stanier

Michael Bungay Stanier

I'm the author of five books that have collectively sold more than a million copies. I'm the founder of Box of Crayons, a learning and development company that helps organizations move from advice-driven to curiosity-led. I'm the host of the *2 Pages with MBS* podcast.

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