Serial Entrepreneur On How Inner Work Creates Outer Results (Dave Hersh)
Consciousness work is more than just feeling better
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A lot of people think consciousness work is just a way to feel better.
When you hold this perspective, the connection between inner work and external results is tenuous.
Maybe you think improving your temperament might make you a better leader and less likely to burnout. But that’s about it.
This is an incredibly limited perspective that misses the big picture.
Until you work on your consciousness, you’re mostly just operating your life through a set of inherited patterns you didn’t choose.
This would be fine if they were all helpful, but most people’s unconscious patterns are oriented around avoiding harm and using the external world to get love.
So they perceive the world through the narrow lens of these patterns which direct all their activities.
This is why entrepreneurs raise money before they should, stay in businesses they don’t care about, and pursue opportunities that aren’t actually aligned with the needs of their business.
I was thrilled to meet another entrepreneur who sees this clearly and recognizes the challenges this dynamic can create in our current version of capitalism.
Dave Hersh is serial entrepreneur, founding CEO of Jive (NASD: JIVE), partner at Metamorph Partners, and author of the new book Reignition.
In this conversation, we discuss how inner transformation can change the trajectory of your career and company.
Dave believes when we face the patterns from our past that no longer serve us, we create space to start to integrate powerful new sources of intelligence like deep intuition.
Like Dave, I believe intuition is a superpower. Once you have a strong connection to your inner wisdom, it can help you see around corners and make deeply aligned decisions.
In Dave’s experience, accessing inner wisdom can be the difference between a company being stuck vs. thriving. He shares how in order to connect with intuition, you need to prioritize the inner work that obfuscates this latent potential.
This is something I’m very passionate about so it was exciting to see someone that’s had as much conventional success as Dave talk about it.
Dave and I also talk about the role of inner work in the AI world we are moving into.
He believes that there will be companies that breakout from the rest because they focus on the things that are uniquely human. This makes a lot of sense to me.
AI should help people and companies do more of what humans are good at. And the path to becoming a better human seems pretty aligned to working on your consciousness.
Other interesting talking points:
How the existing venture capital model often preys on entrepreneurs’ egos
Advice for navigating the liminal space in between things
How letting go of old identities creates openness for new ideas and experimentation
Alternative company building approaches from the traditional venture model
Dave was a pleasure to talk to and I’m thrilled he’s championing the power of inner work to create external results in his new book and beyond.
I hope to see more business and industry leaders spreading this message.
It seems imperative for humanity that people who’ve had traditional success help others see how prioritizing consciousness work can exist harmoniously with being successful.
I hope you enjoy this conversation!
Much love,
- Scott
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Episode Transcript
Show notes:
00:00 - Realizing the Ineffectiveness of the Hard-Charging Entrepreneurship Path
03:10 - The Disappointment of Chasing Happiness within the Capitalist System
05:12 - The Role of Emotional Work and Intuition in Leadership
10:14 - Reconciling Egoic Patterns and Aligning Actions with Company Needs
13:46 - Trusting Intuition and the Power of Inner Work
41:29 - The Future of Work in the Age of AI
45:26 - Building Sustainable Organizations through Human Growth and Connection
51:08 - Rethinking the VC System
As a serial entrepreneur of a lot of companies this conversation is invaluable to anyone who wants to lead a startup with integrity.
Really looking forward to listening to this one! I have it saved for my commute later on today. Intuition IS a superpower, and I intend to listen to mine more often.