Coaching an Amazon Global Director Turned Speaker to Bring Friction Back to Business | Anthony Reeves | Ep 1108 — Outlier's Edge Podcast with Niiamah Ashong

"You can't optimize your way to growth." - Anthony Reeves

Join Niiamah (@niiamahashong) and Anthony Reeves for a live coaching conversation. Anthony made his way through the corporate ranks to global director inside Amazon, worked inside WPP for Airbnb, and as a creative has shot on almost every continent. Now his speaking career is growing fast, and he brings a message from the endurance sport world into business: friction is good for people and good for business, and it keeps restlessness and learning alive. He comes in to point that growth in the right direction, 30 or 40 talks a year, and leaves working backward from his ideal end state.

You'll walk away with:
- Why friction is good for people and good for business, and how it keeps restlessness and learning alive
- Why the best moments and lessons of your life come from the hardest things
- How to treat yourself the way you'd coach a company: name the ideal end state and work backward from it

Timestamps:

00:00 - Welcome to the Outlier's Edge Podcast
01:23 - From Amazon Global Director to Speaker
02:18 - Being Truer to Yourself
07:17 - When the Business Card Did the Talking
13:05 - The Best Lessons Come From the Hardest Things
14:27 - A Speaker Who Invites You to Explore
18:02 - Going Deep Rather Than Wide
21:49 - Choosing Courage Over Comfort
24:07 - Offering the World a Lot More
24:48 - Why Friction Is Good for People and Business
32:16 - An Easier Road, Not an Easy Road
34:41 - That's Just the Friction: An Ironman Training Lesson
38:34 - You Can't Optimize Your Way to Growth
41:36 - A Foundation Built on Exploration
44:04 - The Goal: 30 to 40 Stages a Year
46:58 - Creating on Nearly Every Continent
48:14 - Anthony's Insight: Work Backward From the End State

Enter Anthony Reeves's World:
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