North Star Leaders Lindsay Pedersen

Elissa Fink, former CMO of Tableau, led the company from its startup phase through its IPO and beyond. With a focus on helping people see and understand data, she emphasized the importance of human connection in marketing. Elissa's expertise extends to advising tech companies and serving on boards for companies like Intellimize, Pantheon Platforms, and Cumulo. Her passion for creativity, collaboration, and brand strategy has made her a respected leader in the industry.

You'll hear Lindsay and Elissa discuss:

Using data and intuition in marketing: Marketers should utilize both data and intuition in decision-making to get a more complete picture and make better decisions.

Focus on people in enterprises: It's crucial to remember that marketing should target people within enterprises, not just the organizations themselves, to appeal to emotions and build relationships.

Brand as a relationship: Branding is about building a relationship between humans and a company, emphasizing trust, credibility, and emotional connections.

Balancing brand and demand: Every demand touch should also be a brand touch, ensuring consistency in messaging and reinforcing the brand promise for more effective marketing.

Inbound leads: Prioritizing inbound leads over outbound campaigns allows for a customer-centric approach, meeting customers on their terms and fostering long-term relationships.

Mission-driven leadership: A clear and simple mission statement, like "helping people see and understand data," serves as a guiding principle for decision-making and aligning actions with the brand promise.

Utilizing persuasion principles: Understanding human behavior and decision-making, as outlined in books like "Influence" by Robert Cialdini, can inform marketing strategies and improve customer engagement.

TV show recommendations: Enjoying TV shows like "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Tokyo Vice" can provide entertainment and insights into human behavior and different cultures, offering a break from work.

Personal connections: Building relationships and being open to communication with others, whether in work or personal life, can lead to valuable connections and opportunities for growth.

Continuous learning: Remaining open to new experiences, cultures, and perspectives, like through TV shows or books, can broaden one's understanding and enhance personal and professional development.

Resources

Elissa Fink on LinkedIn | Website

Frank Mycroft is the CEO of Booster, a company providing energy delivery and logistics solutions for decarbonizing last-mile delivery. With over eight years of experience, Frank has led Booster in its mission to eliminate the need for traditional gas stations and bring mobile energy solutions to the world. When leading his team, he focuses on increasing velocity, raising the bar, and narrowing the focus to drive excellence and innovation. Frank's dedication to sustainability and efficiency has positioned Booster as a leader in the energy delivery industry.


Great leaders excel at saying no to most things, as it is harder but better than always saying yes, allowing for focus and efficiency in decision-making.

Establishing a clear North Star is crucial for leaders to guide their team and organization towards a common purpose, ensuring alignment and direction.

Regularly reminding oneself and the team of the company's mission and values helps maintain focus and motivation, reinforcing the importance of the North Star.

Balancing practical benefits like convenience with aspirational goals like sustainability is essential for creating value and engaging customers on a deeper level.

Building a business off immediate pain points while working towards a visionary goal allows for practical progress and long-term impact, ensuring sustainability.

Finding the balance between functional benefits and emotional aspirations is key to engaging customers and driving business success, catering to both practical and aspirational needs.

Empowering employees to make decisions based on the North Star through clear values, goals, and guiding principles fosters accountability, autonomy, and efficiency in the organization.

Creating artifacts like company values, goals, and guiding principles enables scalable decision-making, asynchronous collaboration, and efficient use of time and resources.

Encouraging a culture of focus, accountability, and excellence by setting high standards, increasing velocity, and narrowing the focus drives productivity, innovation, and success in the organization.

Being open to questions, fostering curiosity, and encouraging open communication with team members and children alike promotes learning, engagement, and meaningful connections in personal and professional relationships.


Resources

Frank Mycroft on LinkedIn | Booster

Jessica Rolph is the CEO of Lovevery, an early learning platform that offers stage-based information for parents and products for children. With a background in brand strategy and a passion for helping children reach their fullest potential, Jessica leads Lovevery in providing tools for intentional play and connection between parents and children. Her dedication to creating meaningful learning experiences for children during their crucial developmental stages has made her a respected leader in the early childhood education space. Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-rolph-4b86ba/

You’ll hear Lindsay and Jessica discuss:


Balance science and heart. Balancing the science of early childhood development with a big-hearted approach is crucial for creating a brand that resonates with parents and children.

Understand the tensions of parenting. Acknowledging and navigating the tensions of modern parenting, such as screen time and achievement pressures, is essential for both parents and brands like Lovevery.

Growth mindset is for everyone. Embracing a growth mindset as a parent and a leader allows for continuous learning, adaptation, and improvement in both personal and professional roles.

Purpose alignment is key. Aligning personal purpose with the purpose of the company can lead to a fulfilling and all-consuming dedication to the brand's mission and vision.

Pay attention to detail. Paying attention to important nuances, without skimming over them, is vital for maintaining the quality and integrity of a brand's messaging and offerings.

Find the right brand tone. The tone and personality of a brand, like Lovevery, play a crucial role in conveying the right message to parents and creating a positive and engaging experience for families.

Provide the right tools for your audience. Lovevry provides parents with the right tools and information to engage with their children's development can strengthen the parent-child connection and support holistic family growth.

Work-life balance still matters. Balancing the demands of work and family life, like being a CEO and a parent, requires gut instincts and prioritization to ensure both personal and professional success.

Commit to continuous learning. Embracing continuous learning and growth, both as a parent and a brand leader, allows for adaptation to changing circumstances and the ability to evolve with the needs of families.



Resources

Jessica Rolph on LinkedIn | Lovevery

Xiao Wang is the co-founder and CEO of Boundless Immigration, a technology company that assists immigrants in navigating their immigration journey. With a background at Amazon, Xiao has honed his leadership skills to create a purpose-driven organization. Under his leadership, Boundless has served tens of thousands of immigrants annually, receiving countless positive feedback and testimonials. Xiao's focus on values, culture, and decision-making has led to the development of a successful and impactful company. Connect with Xiao on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiaowang1/

You’ll hear Lindsay and Xiao discuss:


Values should have edge and require trade-offs. Setting values that differentiate a company and necessitate trade-offs helps drive decisions and align the organization towards a common goal.

Values evolve with maturity. As a company grows and faces new challenges, revisiting and evolving values is crucial to ensure they continue to guide decision-making effectively.

Build a "black licorice culture." Focusing on attracting individuals who align with the company's unique culture ensures a cohesive team that can thrive in the organization's environment.

Saying no is essential. Prioritizing and saying no to good but not great ideas is necessary to focus resources on what will have the most significant impact on the company's goals.

Deliberate experimentation is key. Conducting experiments with specific learning objectives and actionable outcomes ensures that resources are used effectively and learnings drive meaningful change.

Prioritization before experimentation. Choosing to focus on one key initiative rather than spreading resources thin across multiple experiments leads to more impactful results and clearer learnings.

Specific learning objectives are crucial. Clearly defining what the company aims to learn from each experiment and how that learning will inform future actions is essential for driving progress.

Values should be decision-making filters. Using values and cultural norms as filters for decision-making helps prioritize initiatives that align with the company's core beliefs and goals.

Balance speed and thoroughness. Striking a balance between speed and thoroughness in decision-making is crucial to ensure efficient progress without sacrificing quality or effectiveness.

Clear communication is key. Transparent communication about company values, goals, and expectations helps attract individuals who align with the organization's culture and mission, fostering a cohesive and effective team.



Resources

Xiao Wang on LinkedIn | Boundless Immigration

Raj De Datta is the CEO and co-founder of Bloomreach, a leading software platform for digital commerce experiences. He is a multiple-time entrepreneur and bestselling author of The Digital Seeker. Raj is known for challenging the status quo and operationalizing company values to drive continuous improvement. With a focus on seeker-centric experiences, he emphasizes the importance of mission-driven leadership in the digital world. A growth mindset characterizes Raj's leadership style, prioritizing energy optimization and a commitment to being a Day Zero leader.

You’ll hear Lindsay and Raj discuss:


Embrace a growth mindset as a leader to stay open-minded and adaptable in the face of new challenges and opportunities, ensuring continuous growth and innovation.

Operationalize company values with specific behaviors to ensure they are not just words on a wall but are actively practiced, creating a strong organizational culture.

Commit to a commitment culture where the level of commitment of teams to various outcomes determines the success of the organization, emphasizing the importance of dedication and alignment.

Differentiate between customer-centricity and seeker-centricity in digital commerce to focus on understanding the deeper needs and motivations of customers, fostering stronger relationships and loyalty.

Harness the power of mission in digital environments to connect with customers on a deeper level beyond transactions, building lasting relationships and brand loyalty.

Prioritize energy optimization by focusing on meaningful tasks and saying no to unnecessary commitments, ensuring personal fulfillment and effectiveness as a leader.

Cultivate a beginner's mindset to approach each day with curiosity and openness, allowing for continuous learning and growth in leadership roles.

Make strategic splurges on items that bring joy and fulfillment, balancing personal rewards with responsible decision-making in financial matters.

Recommend books that offer valuable insights into business strategies and entrepreneurial journeys, expanding knowledge and perspective for personal and professional growth.

Enjoy guilty pleasure TV shows as a form of relaxation and entertainment, balancing work and leisure to maintain a healthy work-life balance.


Resources

Raj De Datta on LinkedIn | Bloomreach

Tarang Amin is the Chairman and CEO of e.l.f. Beauty, a cosmetics company he took public in 2016. He previously served as CEO of Schiff Nutrition and has over 30 years of experience in the consumer products industry. Under his leadership, e.l.f. has grown into a digital-first cosmetics powerhouse while staying true to its roots of providing prestige quality at accessible price points. 

You’ll hear Lindsay and Tarang discuss:

Brand builds economic value by increasing pricing power, enabling premium salaries, driving higher sales per employee, and generating significant goodwill value.  

Clearly defining your North Star guides decision-making at all levels. It attracts talent aligned with your purpose and makes it easier to reject opportunities that don't fit your mission.

Seek "healthy conflict" between reflection and action. Thoughtful rituals create space to recharge, but avoid overthinking that leads to paralysis. 

Build a diverse team that reflects your consumer base. This fuels innovation, having your finger on the pulse of their needs and desires.

Brands must stay fresh by constantly testing new ideas, platforms, and partnerships. Listen to your community and meet them where they are.

Create a culture of empowerment. Hire those smarter than you for each function then give them ownership to drive results.

As a leader, surround yourself with an executive team that complements your skills and energizes you. Delegate areas of expertise to avoid burnout.

Celebrate failures as learning opportunities while doubling down on what resonates with customers. Stay humble and hungry.

Intentionally carve out time for reflection, travel, passions, and interactions that spark energy. It enables you to show up at your best.

Launch experiments rapidly without overanalyzing. Use consumer signals and engagement to dictate next steps rather than endless planning cycles.


Resources
Tarang Amin on LinkedIn | X (Twitter) 
e.l.f. Beauty