022: John Lee Dumas: Puerto Rico post hurricanes
John Lee Dumas is one of the biggest names in entrepreneurship and podcasting. He also committed to one of the biggest, most enduring challenges of the podcast so far.
He and I met at a talk at the New York Public Library a week after the hurricanes hit his home in Puerto Rico. I was surprised at how that context affected his perception of the environment.
When I teach leadership based on people’s existing motivations and passions, people often ask, “What if the person has no motivation or passion.” I usually answer that people care about things more than they let on at first. To share what you care about makes you vulnerable, so many people protect their vulnerabilities by hiding them.
When I first asked him for what he cared about the environment, he gave me very little to work with. You’ll hear how I handled it. If you’re here in part to improve your leadership, I think you’ll hear things to learn from.
John ended up sharing something he noticed, thought about, and cared about a lot, but never thought about acting on. Again, by the end, he committed to one of the biggest, most enduring challenges of the podcast so far.