012 Alisa Cohn - From Startup to Grownup

Alisa Cohn has been recognized as the Top Startup Coach and has been coaching startup founders to grow into world-class CEOs for nearly 20 years. Her book "From Startup to Grownup" (Kogan Page) will be released in Oct 2021. In our conversation, we talked about her decision to leave corporate America to start her own business and some of the factors that people facing a similar decision should be taking into consideration. We then talked about how CEOs and leaders can navigate difficult business decisions while staying true to their own values, and how to stay connected with and motivate the talent in your firm.  Since she is talking daily to CEOs and founders, Alisa also shared some of the issues that are top of mind for leaders right now as we enter the post-pandemic recovery. Finally, she previewed for us one of the examples she uses in her upcoming book. Key Takeaways: 01:23 – Today, I’m speaking with startup coach Alisa Cohn who talks about her background, journey and key moments in her career that have gotten her to where she is now  04:02 – The decision to leave Corporate America and branch out on her own  06:03 – Alisa defines what authenticity means to her and how she’s helped CEOs maintain their authenticity when navigating difficult moments and choices  12:59 – Alisa speaks to why she avoids snap judgements when evaluating clients for the first time  16:26 – Advice Alisa would give to those reevaluating their client relationships  18:47 – The core elements that make up Alisa’s leadership style  20:07 – Alisa gives a brief preview to her upcoming book, From Start-Up to Grown-Up  23:58 – How Alisa helps founders with the difficult transition from founder to CEO  26:49 – Challenges that startups and other organizations are facing in this post-COVID world  29:19 – Alisa expounds on how her clients are attaining and acquiring top tier talent  31:12 – Alisa shares some of her other passions and how it impacts the way she shows up at work  34:09 – The business phrase that drives Alisa absolutely crazy  35:26 – Alisa shares some food for your body and food for your soul  38:21 – And now here’s ‘Revival,’ a song written and performed by Boston singer-songwriter Susan Cattaneo    =======   Full BIO: Named the Top Startup Coach in the World at the Thinkers50/Marshall Goldsmith Global Coaches Awards in London and the number one Global Guru for Startups in 2021, Alisa Cohn has been coaching startup founders to grow into world-class CEOs for nearly 20 years. Her book "From Startup to Grownup" (Kogan Page) will be released in Oct 2021.   A one-time startup CFO, strategy consultant, and current angel investor and advisor, she has worked with startups such as Venmo, Etsy, Draft Kings, The Wirecutter, Mack Weldon, and Tory Burch. She has also coached CEOs and C-Suite executives at enterprise clients such as  Dell, Hitachi, Sony, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and Calvin Klein. Most recently, she was named one of the top voices in thought leadership for 2021 by PeopleHum.   Alisa is a sought-after speaker and has keynoted events for companies such as IBM, PwC, Dell, Standard Chartered Bank, and Citi. Inc named Alisa one of the top 100 leadership speakers.    Alisa is a regular guest lecturer at Harvard and Cornell Universities, Henley Business School and the Naval War College. Marshall Goldsmith selected Alisa as one of his Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches - a gathering of the top coaches in the world. She is the executive coach for Runway--the incubator at Cornell NYC Tech that helps post-docs commercialize their technology and build companies. She serves on the board of the Cornell Advisory Council. She has coached public and political figures including the former Supreme Court Chief Justice of Sri Lanka and the first female minister in the transitional government of Afghanistan.   Her articles have appeared in HBR,...