She Did What?! Bozoma Saint John, Chief Marketing Officer of Netflix
This is a platform to share the radical pivots, risks, self-evaluations and reflections of people I admire. We dig into the moments that led the people in their lives to go, “She Did What?!” and ultimately, to their personal or professional metamorphosis.
Being open to change and opportunities for growth has been the foundation of Bozoma Saint John's success. She started her career in marketing with an amazing opportunity early on at Spike Lee’s advertising agency. From there she went on to manage brands with PepsiCo, was Head of Music and Entertainment Marketing at Endeavor Media, Head of Global Consumer Market at Apple Music, and was Chief Brand Officer at Uber before her current position as Chief Marketing Officer at Netflix. Throughout her career, she has learned how to harness the power of pivoting to achieve her goals and build her dream career. In this She Did What?! Article, Boz shares with us some of the tips and tricks that have helped her along the way.
All of my pivots are unexpected because I’m open. And not in a passive way. I’m actively open to new opportunities. I don’t dismiss anything that comes my way and is outside of my “plan.” That is where I am intentional. I’m intentional in being committed to the job I’m in while being open to my destiny, so therefore I’m not weighed down by my own future expectations. Taking the unexpected grand leap can be so terrifying in the present moment, but I’m more scared of being mediocre in the long run.
What I appreciate most about this perspective is that it positions pivots as something that are inherently positive. Sometimes, there is a stigma around making a change or going off of the mainstream path. But Boz’s perspective is so refreshing. She doesn’t just survive pivots, but she embraces them. She wants to make sure that no opportunity to do something new passes her by. Pivots are vital in any career no matter how big or small. When asked how this perspective helps her plan and chart future opportunities she responded:
I threw out all of my 5, 10, and 20 year plans because I poured energy into what “I’m going to do” and I wasn’t actually doing what was necessary to be successful right now. I don’t have a process because I try to live in the moment and to be as present as possible. I find that if you are too focused on what is coming in the future, you will miss the opportunities in the present.
This is such a refreshing perspective: focus on what you are doing now instead of getting bogged down in where you are headed 5, 10, 15 years from now. If we are not present where we are today then we will miss out on opportunities that could lead to future possibilities. But this type of balance requires a lot of self reflection to ensure you don’t get caught in the complacency trap. Radical self evaluation is another strength of Boz’s and she shared with me some of her top tips for finding the balance between being open and being self reflective.
Do not compare yourself to anyone else. Self evaluation is not comparative and oftentimes we mistake the two. We think that we have to evaluate based on somebody else's success or we have to do it based on somebody else’s description of what we should be, and that will surely lead you to failure.
Self evaluation is a very lonely and self reflecting process. The self is what we sometimes forget in our reflection so it’s very important that you focus on yourself and not on anybody else.
We are all intuitively aware of our strengths and weaknesses; because we’ve come across them many times in our growing journey, and they don’t really change over time. But I’m not pessimistic about their staticity. I simply don’t focus on areas where I know I’m not good and instead focus more on areas where I excel-- or in areas where I have some talent, and can grow into excellence.
If we are lucky, self evaluation often leads to evolution. Becoming a better, wiser version of ourselves. Looking back on my path, I know I have evolved and changed many times over. This is a common trait that you see among high achievers, the ability to take stock of where you are and evolve into something different while staying focused on your core principles.
Evolution is a very unique thing. There’s not a prescribed way to do it and I don’t know that it’s even a conscious evolution. I believe in reinvention not for the sake of reinvention but for the sake of trying to be my greatest self. That is always my number one goal.
For me, it all boils down to being open to evolving through experiences. So when people say things like, “stay the same” (like we wrote in our high school yearbook), I cringe. Why would I want to remain the same? Although, I can admit that change is very scary for me too. But if you believe, like I do, that change makes you better in the end-- because of growth-- then embrace it with a full-body-wrap-around hug. No one can predict where we’ll end up, but it’s guaranteed that evolving will land us somewhere greater than we are today. So onward I go!
And onward we go! Thank you Boz for a peek into how you operate- it has given us some great things to think about, for each of us, no matter where we are in our journeys. How do you make sure you embrace your journey and any unexpected growth and challenges that arise as you progress through your own career? Tell us in the comments below!
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