Strands of Genius: Christie Bishop + Eyes Wide Shut: Traversing the Attention Spectrum
featuring: an interview with our guest editor and a research report
Welcome to the Bonus edition of Strands of Genius! On Fridays, we’ll be publishing interviews from our guest editors, and sharing a research report. Thanks for being along for the ride. Oh and by the way, you look great today :)
:: STEAL THIS THINKING | RESEARCH REPORT ::
How many browser tabs do you have open right now? Are the labels still viewable, or have they shrunk into mere colored icons, clinging for dear life to their precious scraps of real estate? Legend has it that Chrome can support over 6,000 browser tabs.
Worldwide research on attention concludes that the more multitasking we do, the less productive we are. In fact, the better you think you are at multitasking, the worse you will perform against your more modest counterparts. But most of us intuitively understand that we’re less effective on the days when we’re constantly context-switching, and we struggle valiantly to create pockets of focus time. Which begs the question: How did our attention become so fragmented?
:: DIVE IN | THE INTERVIEW ::
CHRISTIE BISHOP, CEO, "WHAT NOBODY TELLS US" STRATEGIES & COACHING
>> Christie Bishop guest curated Strands on June 27th, 2024. Read it here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what keeps you busy. How did you end up doing what you’re doing today?
I just turned 45 (saying it loud and proud) and, ironically, feel like I'm just getting started. If you had asked me to describe myself two years ago, I would've stuck to the shiny part of my life: "I'm a successful advertising executive, pretty awesome wife, and proud #girlmom." But that would've been omitting the double life I've led for over 15 years, mostly because I was hell bent on achieving serious career dreams and not getting penalized for it because "I had too much going on at home."
So here's the truth: I'm all of the above but I've also been caregiving for my husband, Bryan, who in 2009 was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and given six months to live. I was just 29 years old. Spoiler alert: He's beaten all odds and is still with us, and I've been caring for him while ALSO working full-time, traveling to see clients, raising our daughter, managing teams through a pandemic, and showing up for everyone to the detriment of myself. That means taking calls from chemotherapy centers, hiding in vacant offices across the world to call in for MRI results during biz trips, getting hospitalized from my own stress, etc. Less shiny, but far more real. And it's also where I found my purpose.
One year ago, I made a massive career pivot and bet on myself, founding "What Nobody Tells Us" Strategies & Coaching. After 15 years in the caregiving trenches, I host workshops, trainings and coaching at companies worldwide. supporting working parents and caregivers through life's most difficult moments. Beyond that, "What Nobody Tells Us" platform has grown to include a weekly podcast that demystifies "taboo" topics and normalizes uncomfortable conversations, a weekly e-newsletter, and guest speaking engagements.
What excites you most about what you do?
I get to give people the guide to getting through life's toughest moments, offering them the support and tools I didn't have at age 29, when my life quite literally changed overnight. I went from a newly-minted Strategy Director to full-time cancer caregiver. Campaign planner to patient advocate. Newlywed to possible widow. I had no idea what to do and no one could relate to me, no matter how old they were. Sadly, I lost several friends early on because very few 20-somethings know how to deal with their friend's terminal cancer diagnosis. Worse yet, when your 80+ year old grandparents tearfully lend your new husband their walkers and wheelchair because radiation stole his ability to walk, you know all is pretty much lost in the "relatability" department.
I'm committed to changing that through my company, "What Nobody Tells Us." I give people the guide to getting through really hard sh*t and, at the same time, normalizing uncomfortable conversation around it. As an example, my WNTU podcast has covered Alzheimer's, secondary infertility, patient advocacy, caregiving, pediatric cancer, losing a parent, IVF, pre-eclampsia, leukemia, foster care, and so much more. People have a safe space from which they can listen and learn, and my coaching, trainings and workshops dive deep into what it's really like to be a caregiver and working parent. Nothing is off limits and I'm able to really hone in on the consequential yet unspoken realities of a caregiver's existence, because I'm living it.
What beliefs define your approach to work? How would you define your leadership style?
My approach to work and leadership style has been consistent since I was (fun fact incoming) an intern for the Real World and Road Rules during high school: I'm people first. Always have been and always will be. The more senior I get, the more promotions I earn, the larger my teams are; it doesn't matter. Creating psychological safety is my #1 priority. I will always sit down with the intern all the way up to the CEO and get to know what makes them tick as a human, learn about their life, their family, their superpowers and their deal-breakers. When the going gets tough, they know I'm there for them and the same is true vice versa. Ironically, this human-first approach also leads to far greater profits, because people who feel respected, seen and heard will work much harder for you than someone who sees them as a cog in a wheel.
What has been the most rewarding project you’ve worked on and why?
I've been truly fortunate in my career to work for amazing companies and brands, with even better people. But if I have to choose, from 2011-2018 I led North American Strategy & Analytics for an agency called Spark44, which was a global joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover. I was an early employee of what was then a rag-tag start-up we affectionately called "The Pirate Ship," because we blew through every ounce of red tape to get the best strategy and creative work produced, fast. The most rewarding project from that time was co-leading our "British Villains" Super Bowl campaign effort in the US, which globally relaunched the Jaguar brand via its crazy-sexy-cool F-TYPE sports coupe.
We were a tiny team across the US and UK leading a massive charge, and we worked with our counterparts in over 15 countries. Seeing our strategic insights turn into a celebrity-studded, cinematic campaign complete with the first Super Bowl social media war room of its kind was a career-defining moment. When the brand tracker results came in, we saw massive lifts across the board, not just in awareness/familiarity/interest, but also in sales and a reduction in brand detractors. I know this sounds old-school compared to the never-ending barrage of TikTok influencer campaigns we see today, but these marketing foundations and KPIs still drive funding for any brand out there.
Having had written numerous awards case studies for other brands, I was convinced we had a case study for the ages but our CEO didn't share my enthusiasm. I ending up convincing him, getting the funding, and driving the effort. I wrote the global case study and gathered unreasonable amounts of data not only from the US but also South Korea, Japan, China, UK, Germany, Spain, etc. If you've never done that, it's an undertaking for the ages. I'll never forget the day we got the email from the EFFIEs and the AMEs announcing that we had not only won one of three Global EFFIEs, we had also won the elusive Platinum AME award. It was one of those landmark moments for the team and one I'll remember forever.
We are big believers in diversity -- Not only because we believe in equality, but because we also think it’s better for business. How do you frame these kinds of conversations, both internally and with clients? Is there an emphasis on action, or are the conversations really more about communication?
Listen, I'm a woman whose husband has been left disabled after years of devastating cancer treatments. I see the way the world looks at him. They stare at the way he limps. The way his arm won't extend all the way. Yet if they knew him the way I know him and the way his podcast listeners know him -- they would be intimated by his brilliance and cutting wit, and floored by his generosity and philanthropic spirit. I'm beyond proud to stand by his side, despite how the world may judge his disability. When I introduce WNTU to potential clients, they immediately understand the value of diverse experience, philosophy and ability. It's a moral imperative and business advantage. It also disarms them, giving even the most quiet clients a safe space to vulnerably share their stories of adversity. It's through these moments, when our masks are off, that we can reclaim our humanity and see each other as "we" versus "me."
Switching gears a bit, how do you find time to balance personal interests with your career? Do you believe work/life balance is possible? Anything you’ve implemented that you recommend that others try?
I think there's something about being in your 40s where your priorities shift. There's a bit of a "No f*cks given" attitude as you realize that life is far too short to prioritize the things and people that don't matter. At the same time, so much of our self-worth can be tied directly to our career, and for almost 20 years building my career and achieving specific career goals was a top priority. I definitely loved my work and my teams, but work was also a distraction from my husband being sick. In the "before times," I could go into the office and distance myself from thoughts of my caregiving duties, the chemotherapy and radiation center, quarterly MRI scans, etc. When my husband was feeling well, work was #1. Need me to travel for a week? Sure. Need me to add the GM role to my existing NA Head of strategy responsibility? You got it. I loved it but my priorities are different now.
Since starting my own business and being in charge, flexibility is the name of the game. I work just as much as I did before, but during hours that work for me. That means I get to hit the gym after school drop-off, am able to volunteer at my daughter's school during daylight hours, and can meet friends for lunch instead of forcing dinner when we're exhausted, etc. I have the best of both worlds.
Time-saving tools are everything for me when it comes to boosting my productivity and keeping me sane. I use Calendly for scheduling and reminders, GarageBand, LibSyn, ZenCastr and Headliner for podcast content, Wix for my website and newsletters, Canva for all things design, and Google docs for shared content and on-the-go access. I'm also a huge fan of Claude AI. I've got a Google doc of very specific prompts that help me with rinse and repeat content, as well as help open my eyes to things I haven't thought of. The robots haven't taken over yet, but they certainly help give you a leg up.
What’s your media diet? Where do you find inspiration?
I'm a Gemini and curious about everything, so my media diet comes from anywhere and everywhere, including Morning Brew, Harvard Business Review, and Morning Consult to @projecthappiness (inspo), @coccamacocca (Bravo), @biglifejournal (parenting), and Neale Donald Walsch's Conversations with God (life perspective). I'm all over the place because inspiration can come from anywhere and everywhere, and I make it a priority to understand perspectives different than my own.
What’s the best piece of advice/knowledge you’ve stolen, and who/where’d you steal it from?
I've got three, the first of which is advice I've given to many people facing adversity or questioning where their life is going: "Each of our lives is made up of a series of puzzle pieces that fit together at exactly the right time." While it's so easy to fall victim to negative thoughts and worry, I firmly believe that life isn't happening TO us, it's happening FOR us.
Second, as Eckhart Tolle wrote in A New Earth, "You are not your thoughts." The worst place you can be is in our head, so stop worrying endlessly.
Third, consider this advice from Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret: “The secret of manifesting your dreams is believing that you already have them." It's been interpreted and restated a million ways since, but I couldn't feel more strongly about it. Take five minutes a day (yes, you can find five minutes), close your eyes and really FEEL what it's like to be in your dream life. See it, feel it, pretend it's real. Over time, it becomes real. I've seen it time and time again.
What does nobody tells us about how to help someone who's caregiving for a loved one?
Here are four high-level tips:
Here are four high-level tips:
Reach out regularly, even if it's just to say, "I'm thinking of you."Offer specific help, such as running errands, preparing meals, or providing respite care.
Listen without judgment. No, really, don't judge. Grief can make you say terrible things.
Take the time to learn about the situation/condition/illness your friend or family member is facing, and have informed, compassionate convos about it. Very few people do this and it makes a world of difference to the person going through it; they feel seen and don't have to explain themselves yet again.
For more advice on caregiving, check out my WNTU caregiving episode and newsletter.
You can keep in touch with Christie on LinkedIn.
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie | your friends over at geniussteals.co
(still want more? @faris is still “tweeting” while @rosieyakob prefers instagram stories)