Leading Authentically with Doug Holladay

In this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, Doug Holladay joins our hosts John Kaplan and John McMahon to discuss the importance of purpose as a leader. Doug has found meaning in his long and successful career spanning from Goldman Sachs to international government and now, higher education as an executive-in-residence at Georgetown University. In their conversation, you’ll hear many of the lessons Doug shares in his MBA class on the importance of authenticity, purpose, and vulnerability in becoming a truly impactful leader - and feeling fulfilled while doing it. In this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, Doug joins our hosts John Kaplan and John McMahon to not only regale us of his many inspiring stories, but to also rethink our idea of success and why you should chase meaning over happiness. Additional Resources: Donate to Morehouse College: https://www.giving.morehouse.edu/s/ Get Doug's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Success-Essential-Practices-Finding/dp/0062897888 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougholladay/ Website: https://www.dougholladay.com/ 5 Traits of Successful Leaders: https://forc.mx/3BrMkHh Listen to More Revenue Builders: https://forc.mx/3bfW5Od HIGHLIGHTS Know your purpose and where you can add value Why business leaders are lonely at the top Our point of connection is our brokenness Eulogy virtues vs Resume virtues The difference between happiness and meaning Life changes when we bother knowing other people's stories The neuroscience behind gratitude GUEST BIO The career trajectory of Doug Holladay has been unique and varied with its blend of public service, finance and business, non-profit work, and more recently, teaching and journalism. J. Douglas Holladay is a co-founder of Park Avenue Equity Partners, L.P. with offices in New York, a private equity fund which makes equity investments in middle market operating companies. He is a co-founder and general partner in Elgin Capital Partners LP, a private equity partnership focused on domestic energy development. While Mr. Holladay continues as an active investor, the main focus of his time is on several not-for-profit efforts, including PathNorth, which helps business owners and CEOs define success more broadly, and ABC2 (Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure), working to find a cure for brain cancer. Additionally, he holds the Heinz Christian Prechter Executive in Residence position at Georgetown University where he teaches MBA students. QUOTES: Doug on why many executives are lonely at the top: "The unintended consequences of success can be loneliness and disconnection. You can be the principal of a middle school or sheriff of a police force in a small town, and the same phenomenon is true there. Particularly with men; we're not taught. We don't have a language of the heart." Doug on the difference between happiness and meaning: "Happiness is correlated with externalities. I have a girlfriend. My son got into a good college. I did this, I did that. And that comes and goes. Sometimes we're happy about these things. Sometimes we're not. But meaning is what you want to go for. Meaning, you can be in the most god-awful situations and still find meaning." Doug on understanding people through their stories: "Everybody is what they're like because of the sum total of all the craziness and goodness that they've experienced in life. Once you understand that, it's powerful." Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064