Episode 1: PILOTing A New Career Direction
Welcome to the first episode of the More Elephant podcast, where we dive deep into inspiring topics and explore thought leadership for today's world.
As we embark on this journey of meaningful conversations, we chose to start with a focus on the changing nature of work as we reckon with the what, how, where, and why of work in a post-pandemic world.
America is defined by workism, “the belief that work is not only necessary to economic production but also the centerpiece of one's identity and life's purpose.” However, what if work could be more than just a means to a paycheck? What if it could empower us to live better lives?
In the first More Elephant podcast, we are joined by Ben Brooks, who is the Founder and CEO of PILOT, an award-winning employee career development software platform. Inspired by his successful CEO and executive coaching practice, Ben saw an opportunity to take the entrepreneurial leap of faith and begin to democratize executive coaching and empower employees at scale. Ben invested his life savings into founding the company whose mission is to ensure everyone “feels powerful at work.”
What does it mean to feel powerful at work? How can we advocate for ourselves, prioritize our development, and navigate the unwritten rules of the workplace?
Join us for this inspiring conversation with Ben to kickstart the More Elephant podcast as he shares stories of experimentation, resilience, and the quest for impact, both in his career and in helping others achieve their goals.
APPLE | SPOTIFY | AMAZON | GOOGLE
Show Notes
Ben Brooks is the founder & CEO of PILOT, an award-winning employee career development software platform. Inspired by his successful CEO & executive coaching practice, Ben saw an opportunity to democratize executive coaching and empower employees at scale. He invested his life savings into founding the company with a mission of ensuring everyone “feels powerful at work.”
PILOT was named #1 HR Tech Startup to Watch in 2020, and HR Executive Magazine named him one of the Top 100 Influencers in HR & Technology for 4 straight years. PILOT was named a Top HR Product of 2020 and DIAGEO named PILOT their Supplier of the Year in Diversity Excellence.
Talking points in this Episode:
Ben shares his unique career journey, from climbing the corporate ladder to becoming an entrepreneur.
Ben explains the mission of his company and falling in love with a problem: the fact that people are miserable at work and not managing their careers well
We discuss the importance of advocating for oneself, seeking feedback, and building relationships in the context of the individual
Ben asserts that we can powerfully command our lives by balancing work and life while building an individual configuration of what satisfaction and success look like
…and, if you’re always hearing yes, you’re probably not advocating enough!
More About Ben Brooks:
Website: www.pilot.coach
LinkedIn: Ben Brooks NY | Twitter: Ben Brooks NY | Instagram: Ben Brooks NY
Suggested Reading
As an Amazon Associate, we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through our affiliate links.
Transcript
[00:00:00] Jason Rudman: In a world that seems ever more chaotic and volatile, what would happen if we actually said less and listened more to each other? I am Jason Rudman, the host of the More Elephant Podcasts. Join me in conversation with idea agents and change makers who are crafting a more human, empathetic, lived experience for all by rethinking how we approach this thing called life. Challenge ourselves. To listen, learn, live better. To be More Elephant.
Welcome to what is the first More Elephant podcast, I am so excited to be in conversation over the next few weeks, months, years, it might seem, around topics that I think are really important that we're having conversations about, thought leadership for today's world.
And as I thought about the first series of conversations that I wanted to have, I have come back to post pandemic, this changing nature of the thing that we call work. One of the things that I'm doing is kind of reaching out on a five year plus stream and launching a thought leadership platform. It's a blog, a podcast.
I'm in the throes of writing a book and I see a real journey ahead of me in terms of this construct of post pandemic saying less and listening more to each other so that we can individually and collectively ideate and create change that ultimately helps us listen, learn, and live better.
And what better way to start than my first guest, Ben Brooks who is a friend, but is also an entrepreneur, incredibly dynamic, a seasoned executive HR professional has been on this journey, this More Elephant journey for the last five years in the capacity of being my executive coach. So he's probably going to spill some knowledge and as well as fill some secrets about the More Elephant journey as we get into this conversation, but as I thought about the changing nature of work, what I'm struck by is the company that Ben has built, Pilot, that is all about the people that they serve feeling powerful at work. So in the connection with More Elephant and listening to what's around us an d learning from some of the best in the business, I want to welcome Ben Brooks to the first More Elephant podcast.
[00:02:29] Ben Brooks: What an honor to be here, Jason. And I know that this has been a journey to get here. Anyone that doesn't create never has the sense of just how hard it is to do anything new from scratch. So I'm really glad to be christening this amazing thought leadership platform with you and being in a conversation and learning from you as well.
Read more…
