Influence Ecology

Sterling Hawkins grew up a fifth-generation retailer, having to master the intersection of human behavior and technology under extreme competition. In 2004, he co-founded, launched and sold his first technology company, Convena, where he developed innovative approaches to beat competition, handle high-growth and achieve performance no matter the obstacles. He went on to be involved with the launch, growth and investment in over 50 companies. Today, Sterling reviews over 1,000 new technology companies every year further refining the keys to realizing breakthrough innovation and giving back that experience as a mentor to leading entrepreneurs working through exponential growth. He is the co-founder of CART, a platform to drive adoption of emerging technologies at fortune 500 companies. And he speaks and runs workshops around the world for clients such as Samsung, Criteo, Synchrony Financial and the United Nations. Sterling is an internationally-recognized thought leader and top-rated keynote speaker on innova

César Idrovo is a Business Agility Consultant based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His clients span North America, Europe, and South America and range from startups to companies in the Fortune top 10. He helps leaders generate valuable outcomes in the market by embracing and taking advantage of business uncertainty. His focus is to develop a highly tuned organization that responds to leadership and market signals quickly and is made up of unstoppable teams delivering great products. During his journey with Influence Ecology, he’s overcome prior sacrifices and developed a leadership framework for professionals based on deliberate practice. His goal is that aspiring leaders can experience the freedom and safety to practice small acts of leadership continuously.

As a serial success in the startup space, Dan Murhpy has turned his attention to getting companies to the point of what he calls “just add water,” specifically, working to reduce the cost of scaled growth. While many startups struggle with similar breakdowns, Dan shares a set of practices and techniques to introduce new ways of operating that consistently reveal opportunities for course correction toward the ultimate aims. He addresses how Transactional Competence™ helps him produce the type of thinking, practices, and environment, which are be best suited to satisfy the aims of any organization. His current primary focus is Hi Marley, a software startup that has developed an intelligent conversation platform designed for the Insurance ecosystem. As the head of Product Development, he holds a concern for the fitness of the entire organization and the effective deployment of their resources. He works with their senior leadership team to deal with the natural transition of a startup from working “in the busine

As we teach it, the study of transactional behavior allows each of us to understand both the value and cost of our role in any transaction. For example, rigorous standards are valuable when confronting our limited resources–and at the same time–destructive when gregarious or imaginative moods are required. Too often, we get stuck when we assume our assets or contributions are always a good thing. We are often surprised when they backfire. In 2016, Jeff Miller’s standards had him so imprisoned that the toll to his health finally stopped him in his tracks. Although the money was good, throughout most of his 25-year career, he was miserable. After studying with Influence Ecology, not only has he found peace of mind, he’s found freedom and satisfaction in a new career that takes advantage of his specialized knowledge while also enjoying a new chapter of art, music, and performance.

In 2012, John James and Lauren Cato Robertson started studying with Influence Ecology to develop their massage therapy business and now co-own the Academy where Lauren first trained. Their journey underscores many of the lessons that come with first expanding, then scaling their business. As John James says: It’s been pure joy and frequent discomfort. In this interview, you’ll hear a very transparent view of what it’s like to start and grow a successful and expanding business. We first interviewed the business partners in May of 2017, where they spoke about the early days of working together and going from generalists to specialists. Now, you’ll hear how they’ve continued to transact powerfully and thrive.

Alex Bould works with large tech corporations to shorten their time to market. Working in the San Francisco Bay area, he leads enterprise-scale Agile transformations to help solve billion-dollar problems. In this interview, he talks about how what differentiates market leaders from market followers – and how this is changing. For the longest time, the pursuit of efficiency and productivity has dominated the landscape – higher efficiency and productivity leads to lower costs and lower risks for greater scale. As the marginal return for increased productivity diminishes – the landscape is now shifting – it’s shifting to one where the companies that can outlearn their competition will dominate. Recently he and I worked together to bring Transactional Competence™ into his work with Western Digital Corporation. Western Digital is a Fortune 200 American computer data storage company. Alex is helping companies enter a new era where developing their fitness in how to think accurately is a core competency for any bus

At the University of Virginia School of Medicine, I interviewed a group of women about the impact of our programs. I spoke with Ellen Beverly, Dawn Spiller, Olga Kipnis, Carolyn Saint, and Jenn Oliver about how the framework of Transactional Competence has helped them in their roles within the university. What might you wonder is the most surprising outcome? An environment of respect for different roles and personalities. While they each experienced more effectiveness and influence, the ability to understand Personality and Transactional Behavior™ has produced a culture of respect for the both the simple day to day transactions but also for the larger transactions that support the aims of the enterprise. You can hear how Transactional Competence™ provides a framework where each individual can understand their own and other’s role in the transactions we all serve. I apologize in advance that some of the audio quality may be difficult – but stick with it, as there are many great lessons here.

Why do some quit while others bounce back? Chances are you’ve heard tales of Thomas Edison overcoming failure. Edison (1847-1931) most famously invented the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb and is credited with developing devices for electrical power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. As a master of trial and error, these innovations have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world. When asked about the many thousands of failures he had when trying to create the light bulb he famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Success is not for the faint of heart. Lofty goals are challenging to achieve, and most won’t reach them. But why do some quit while others bounce back? How do some muster up the resilience to try again when faced with failure? Maybe some people are not equipped with the constitution to handle failing, much less, repetitive failure. Likely, most of us wouldn’t stomach 10,000 failures in search of

We all assume we can play to our strong suits – but what about when those don’t work? How do I influence or gain compliance when being likable is my primary tool – and it sometimes backfires? As we teach it, all personalities experience themselves as both an asset AND a liability depending on the state of the transaction. For example, if we’re brainstorming new possibilities, it doesn’t work for skeptics to chime in with critical standards. However, skepticism is required if we’re making assessments about the value and relevance of something. In today’s’ interview, our guest, Janet Vreeland, found herself puzzled when her attempts to be likable were met with disdain. We discuss how each personality may not know that their most powerful asset – can also be their most costly mistake.

Twin Studies have been used for decades to settle the age-old Nature vs. Nurture debate about human behavior: are we hardwired to act according to our biological blueprint, or does our environment influence our behavior or gene expression? Twin Study research has helped find answers to questions on space travel, obesity, IQ, and much more. Empirical evidence has settled the debate for good. The answer? We are both Nature AND Nurture. But what about a Digital Twin…and what can it teach us? A digital twin is a real-time digital replica of a living or non-living physical entity. This replication is used to find the root cause of issues -or- experiment with changes before they are implemented in real-time. Neil Calvert and his company LINQ model your business with a digital twin – helping organizations experiment with future opportunities before investing in change and transformation. Think of it as Twin Studies for organizations – offering decisions based in evidence.

In a 2015 speech, American actress, producer, and entrepreneur, Reese Witherspoon launched a campaign to support women and their aspirations, with the battle-cry, “Ambition is not a dirty word.” In 2018, Oprah Winfrey interviewed Reese Witherspoon & American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director, Mindy Kaling to talk about that moment. Growing up in lower-middle-class Texas, Influence Ecology CFO, Darryl Anderle was raised to think of Ambition as a negative word – it had selfish connotations. It seemed as if the standard for success was to get noticed for being independent, self-reliant, and hard-working; waiting for someone to consider him for advancement…which never came. In our interview today, you’ll hear how his life is now very different; how a little ambition can go along way to satisfy our aims. Here’s the interview.

Phyllis Eleanor Tichinin has always struggled to have her contrary voice heard amongst the mainstream. Raised rurally in the once fruit-filled Santa Clara Valley, she earned her education as a soil scientist and environmental manager at the University of California Davis. Now in New Zealand, she raised her two children on her deceased husband’s family farm. She is currently involved in consulting and activism to remove biocides from our food supply and environment. During her studies with Influence Ecology, she discovered how to have her voice heard. As we teach it, the marketplace is indifferent to us and our aims. If we want our voice (or inviations, offers, and requests) heard, we might need to understand how to excite or agitate the indifference in others–to awaken them from their stupor. Like many who study here, there comes a time when the fact of an indifferent marketplace is accepted. We recommend that you don’t wage battle with gravity or indifference; you’ll lose. Instead, you must learn to work wi

From time to time, I’ll explain Influence Ecology and our approach by telling a story about the ABC television series American Idol. The award-winning series involves discovering recording stars from unsigned singing talents. The winner receives a record deal with a major label. In one audition listed in the category of “worst of the worst” from Season 4, Mary Roach, sings “I Feel the Earth Move” by Carole King. When finished, a gobsmacked Simon Cowell asks, “what made you audition for this competition!?” Mary replies, “all my friends told me I was an awesome singer.” Simon responds, “Mary, not only can you not sing, you have one of the weirdest voices I’ve ever heard in my entire life.” Mary responds, “many people around me have told me I have an amazing voice…random people I don’t know have agreed.” With great care, Paul Abdul says, “Mary, they lied to you…” …and we all know why – we live amongst people who don’t want to kill our dreams. They want to give us hope. They want to stroke our confidence and ma

Trisha Tyler began studying with Influence Ecology in 2012. She was single, struggling to transform a team’s performance, and had a fair amount of consumer debt. During her early participation, Tricia became a disciple of accurate thinking as it made her a better leader and decision-maker, good mentor, and coach. As a graduate of our curriculum, she is now married, has had several promotions and raises and now lives a life of surplus - a surplus of income, freedom, and adventure. Her experience and her journey are a case study in the kind of accurate thinking and planning that allows for living an inspiring life.

I’m often confounded by those who claim to know something but can’t teach it to me. The famous Nobel winning physicist Richard Feynman understood the difference between knowing something and knowing the name of something, and it’s one of the most important reasons for his success. Richard Feynman lived from 1918 to 1988. He made his mark first with his work on the Manhattan Project then won a Nobel Prize for his work in developing an understanding of quantum mechanics, and finally was a much-loved professor of undergraduate physics at Caltech University. As he explains it, there are two types of knowledge, and most of us focus on the wrong one. The first type of knowledge focuses on knowing the name of something. The second focuses on, well – knowing something. These are not the same thing. Your competence first depends on the accuracy of your understanding. He developed an intuitive way to understand called The Feynman Technique. The Feynman Technique starts with writing out something as if to teach it to

Marcus “Bellringer” Bell is an American music producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, singer, social media influencer, activist and entrepreneur. Having first participated with Influence Ecology in March of 2012, we interviewed him in Aug 2016 - and focused on deliberate practice - that "most people don't and won't practice". His piano practice began at age 2 with his first record company by 12 years old. In his lifetime he has marketed and promoted, produced, remixed and written for, mentored and developed some of the world’s biggest superstars and brands including Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, Sony Music, Warner Brothers, Arista Records, EMI and Universal Music. He has also created music for worldwide brands such as McDonald's, General Mills, and Peter Diamandis. Bell has also written and produced chart-topping songs for artists in Turkey, Lebanon, India, Japan, Korea, and Europe. Today, we talk about how to go from unknown to known - and what it means to be well known. After the b

Knowing Requires Doing and Fitness Requires Practice with Suzanne Pool

Influential Environments with Christopher Mercier

Asking for Help with Moira Clay

The Bankruptcy of Magical Thinking with Kristen Moeller