Aug 11, 2021
Scott Sonnenschein, Ph.D. is the Henry Gardner Simmons Professor of Management at Rice University, and a New York Times best-selling author whose books are translated into over 20 languages. Last year, he co-authored Joy at Work: Managing Your Professional Life with Marie Kondo. In this week’s podcast, we discuss his book, Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less and Achieve More Than You Ever Imagined.
Scott never intended to be an academic, a professor, nor a writer. He studied economics and philosophy in college. In his senior year, Scott followed his siblings’ example by applying and getting accepted to law school. Before he made his final decision Scott met with his University of Virginia mentor who asked him, “What appeals to you about going to law school?”
Recalling that decisive moment, Scott shared, “I don't think we take enough time to reflect on our choices. We get into what we believe are socially prescribed pathways for what an acceptable career looks like. I was going down that lane. If it were not for his prodding, I would have gone to law school. I may have enjoyed it, but I doubt it. I'm glad he challenged me.”
Scott went to England for a year-long graduate program which fueled his interests in research, organizational psychology, and the quality of people’s day-to-day work experiences. He returned to his mentor, expressing his interest in further graduate school and he said, “No, first get a regular job and see how you like it.” Scott became a strategy consultant in Washington, DC. One year later, he received a call from a recruiter at a Silicon Valley startup. They offered him double his salary, a fancy title, a chance to manage people, and oversight of a seven-figure budget. Scott made the trip out there to check it out and three weeks later, he moved to Silicon Valley. In his book, Stretch, Scott calls actions such as this, a chaser, in which individuals or organizations see that more is always the answer to things; i.e. the more people we hire, the faster we grow, or the bigger we get, the better we're going to be. Scott learned that was not the case when the dot com bubble dried up. While he managed to survive four rounds of downsizing, Scott knew he needed a more solid plan. He was ready to go to graduate school.
In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Scott’s journey:
- Scott holds a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from the University of Michigan, a master's in philosophy from the University of Cambridge, and a BA from the University of Virginia.
- His research, teaching, and speaking have helped fortune 500 executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals in technology, energy, healthcare, retail, education, banking, manufacturing, and nonprofits.
Learn more and connect with Scott here:
Facebook: facebook.com/ScottSonenshein
Twitter: @ScottSonenshein
Instagram: @Scott.Sonenshein
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