What Happens When You Turn the Mic on Adam Grant
For our debut episode of the new WorkLife podcast, I did something fun and scary: I flipped the mic on Adam Grant — the man who built this show — and put him in the guest seat.
Adam has spent seven seasons of WorkLife helping all of us think more clearly about work, but I wanted to learn more about Adam: the human behind the research and the data, the books and the social media accounts. How does a data-driven researcher actually make decisions in his own career? And what does he do when there is no data? Or when the data and his own intuition point in different directions?
The answer? A lot messier than you might expect.
You can listen to the full episode anywhere you get your podcasts or watch it on YouTube, but for those of you who need a little more convincing, here’s a taste:
Top 3 Takeaways
1. Choose question-based frameworks over hard and fast rules.
Adam runs every big project through four filters:
Is it interesting to me?
Does it matter to the world?
Do I have something unique to contribute?
Is it timely AND timeless?
That last one is the newest addition. He wants his work to be as relevant in a century as it is today. Not the news cycle. Not the hot trend. The human condition. That’s a high bar — and a useful one.
2. Deliberate first. Then dive.
Adam has this funny “When Harry Met Sally” rule about careers — when you know what you want, you want it to start right away. It sounds kind of impulsive for someone who is so methodical about data and research. But what looks like impulse is usually the end of a long process of small tests. He calls it “trying on provisional selves.”
I really resonate with this. For me, the process of learning who I am at work and what I’m uniquely good at is always a series of iterative experiments — sometimes small and sometimes big. And, by the way, it never ends. You always think you’ll find an answer that lasts, but your career, ambition, and energy change as much as you do throughout life. I think you can hear that in Adam’s answers too.
3. The things that count most are the hardest to count.
Honestly, this was my favorite takeaway from the interview. It’s something I’m going to use. Adam has some of the largest platforms in his field — bestselling books, millions of downloads, huge social followings. But how does he think about success?
He has a folder called WWDI. Why We Do It. He fills it with meaningful notes from readers and listeners. Not metrics or growth. Notes.
Adam made the point that downloads and likes aren’t impact, that the meaningful stuff is fundamentally unmeasurable, and that you have to make peace with that. I really feel this deeply, AND it lands differently coming from someone with his platform. It’s easy to get fixated on numbers and shiny things, particularly when you lead a public life. How do you define what success means for you so you aren’t chasing someone else’s definition of it? How do you stay focused on what matters when it’s hard to measure?
That’s the real question underneath this episode. I’m not sure there’s a perfect answer — but Adam’s WWDI folder is a pretty good place to start.
Find the thing that reminds you why you do the work.
Put it somewhere you can see it.
What do you think?
Part of my hope in making this show is learning with you, so I’d love to hear what you found most interesting or what you want to hear more about. Leave a comment or answer this poll:
Coming up
Every week on the new WorkLife, I’m going to talk to people who have led teams, made hard calls, and navigated uncertainty in their work and career. Not the polished version. The actual version — what it felt like, what they learned, what they’d do differently.
My hope with these conversations is that we all feel a little more prepared and connected in our work journey. Less loneliness. More confidence. That’s the goal.
Subscribe to be notified when new episodes drop; share this with someone in the middle of figuring it out. Next week, I’m talking to one of the people I’ve learned the most from in my career. I can’t wait for you to meet her.
What else?
👋Hi! I'm Molly. This is where I share the lessons I’ve learned from building fast-moving, messy, ambitious companies. If you’re new here, here’s what you can do to stay connected:
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