What book(s) or movie(s) do you highly recommend? Why?

Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
Goggins bears powerful witness to how much potential there is within each of us that can be tapped into and unlocked through sustained force of will and discipline. An energizing read that makes you reflect deeply and ask yourself “do I truly know what I am capable of?”

The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
There is broad agreement within the scientific community that global warming is one of the key existential threats of our times and as the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report highlighted, we have a narrow 10-year window to potentially influence the trajectory of climate change before it hits an irreversible inflection point. Kolbert’s research highlights the alarming toll that climate change has taken on extinction rates, starkly bringing to bear the catastrophic impact that mankind’s blind pursuit of prosperity has had on the ecology of our planet and the diversity of species with whom we share this planet. This read will break your heart but move you to a greater level of commitment to doing your part to making a difference.

Homo Deus by Yuval Harari
Harari convincingly projects where the world is going, highlighting the evolution of our focus from fighting wars, contending with incurable diseases, and overcoming famines to achieving bliss, pursuing immortality, and attaining divinity by taking advantage of what the twin forces of information technology and biotechnology will make possible. Regardless of what industry or function you are in, this work has implications across sectors for choices we make today and how we personally think about preparing ourselves, our families, and our enterprises for the many waves of disruption that are on the horizon.

What re-energizes you?

For me, transcendental meditation is a simple but extraordinarily effective tool for energizing myself mentally, allowing for a needed break intermittently from the sound and fury of daily life. I highly recommend it.

What brings you joy?

Always the simplest things—a walk alongside a stream in the woods with my pet yellow Labrador, watching my son radiate joy when he leaps with abandon into a swimming pool, bearing witness to my junior team members blossoming into the best possible version of themselves, or simply taking a fleeting moment to close my eyes and feel the sunshine on my skin during a quiet moment in the afternoon in between meetings.

The three qualities that got me to where I am today.

Conscientiousness
Creativity
Compassion

What is the best career advice you’ve received?

There is no barrier that you will ever face that is greater than the one you may create for yourself; there is no barrier that cannot be transcended by the power of what you carry concealed within yourself.

How do you interpret your success? Your failures?

All of it temporary. All of it invaluable. All of it deserving.

How did Kearney prepare you for your career?

By imbuing me with discipline and the conviction to know that I could work through any problem set, no matter how confounding, how nebulous, or how unprecedented in nature. If there is one thing that nearly a decade in consulting will leave you with, it is the ability to deftly apply both logic and intuition harmoniously to any problem, aware of the limitations of excessively relying on any one faculty at the expense of the other.

What change would you like to see in your industry?

Truly deep, actionable, and dynamically evolving consumer insights. It still appears to me that what most enterprises call insights are merely superficial and often outdated observations.

How do you differentiate yourself from competitors?

Through a maniacal focus on execution. It is relatively easy for corporate teams to write persuasive and perspicacious narratives about holistic insights, soaring ambitions, privileged sources of sustainable competitive advantage, and methodical implementation plans. However, it is the quality of execution—the collaboration within and across teams, the ability to consistently attain the appropriate balance between flexibility and commitment, the grit to keep going, and the humility to learn along the way—that will ultimately differentiate the winners from the wannabes. In this aspect, I have never seen an enterprise as remarkable as The Hershey Company across the entire rank and file of the business.

What would you most like to be remembered for?

For being far more committed to doing good than I ever cared about being great.

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