My guest for this episode is Bob Baxley, design advisor, mentor, author, and speaker. He is one of the most familiar design leaders in Silicon Valley, having worked on products you probably use every day.

Bob and I worked at some of the same companies (e.g., Apple, Yahoo), but only crossed paths once at one of my favorite coffee shops in Mountain View, CA.

He has strong opinions about design, leadership, creating great products, and crafting a lasting career, so I know you’ll enjoy this episode!

About Bob

Bob Baxley is a designer, executive, and advisor who has built and led UX teams at some of Silicon Valley’s most respected companies, including Apple, Pinterest, Yahoo!, and most recently, Thoughtspot.

During a career spanning over three decades, Bob has played a pivotal role in the design of the Apple Online Store, Yahoo! Answers, the Apple Store App, Buyable Pins, and ClarisWorks—products that have been used by hundreds of millions of people around the world.

Committed to recruiting and inspiring the next generation of designers, Bob also mentors individuals and advises organizations that are working to improve the practice, craft, and culture of digital product design.

We talk about

* His background in tech, starting with Claris

* The tough decision of moving from Yahoo to Apple in 2006

* The opportunity to work with a historic figure, Steve Jobs

* The wild rise of tech companies in San Francisco, CA

* How he looked for opportunities in his career to “witness history”

* The concept of getting on the bus with the right people

* Making decisions at branches in your career

* How a tech career can be much like playing poker

* What you can control is placing yourself in interesting environments with the right people

* Thinking of time with an employer like a “presidential term” and time-boxing your plan for impact

* Why four years feels like the sweet spot for staying in one role

* Patterns he’s observed in people who succeed vs. those who do not on his teams

* How he structures job interviews and what he looks for (especially for designers)

* Design education, training, mindset, and careers

* How our modern transactional environment might impact design and design roles

* Design may become more powerful and influential, but with fewer people

* The impact of AI on professions and entry-level jobs

* How to stay relevant in the industry

Scroll up and hit play to listen to our full conversation.

Where to find more

* Bob’s LinkedIn

* His personal website

I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of the work you love and less of what you hate!

📕 Check out the Summer version of my Invincible Daily Journal!

My guest for this episode is Ha Nguyen, Founder and Managing Partner at NextStep Advisors. Her company helps early-stage founders become master company builders, operators, and people leaders. They help founders with strategy and planning, operational excellence, and executive coaching. They also provide fractional consulting and advisory services.

About Ha

Ha Nguyen has 22 years of deep expertise in building and scaling startups, as well as venture investing. She was most recently the Chief Experiences Officer at Swimply and a Founding Partner of Spero Ventures. She also has 16 years of product leadership experience, having started her early career as a product manager at eBay, where we first met many years ago.

We talk about

* Her impressive background

* How she defines fractional leadership

* Why she bet on herself to create her current business

* How and where she finds new clients

* How she is leveraging AI, personally and professionally

* The concept of building portfolio careers

* What work-life balance really means for consultants

* Why hard work feels different when you choose the work you do

* How people should think about their careers for the next 10 years

* The massive disruption of AI in the industry

Scroll up and hit play to listen to our full conversation.

Where to find more

* NextStep Advisors

* Ha’s LinkedIn

* Her personal website

I’m Larry Cornett, an executive coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become invincible, and create new opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate!

📕 Check out the Spring version of my Invincible Daily Journal!

🎟️ Get your ticket for our live Job Interview course launching at the end of May. Two ex-tech leaders teach the insider secrets to getting hired, promoted, and staying off the layoff list. The price goes up in 4 days!

Tim Yeo joins me for this special episode so we can share more details about our upcoming live cohort course, Too Valuable to Lose. We discuss our backgrounds as leaders in the tech industry and career coaches for the past several years, and how this inspired us to create the course.

* We’ve seen that the quiet, good people are often overlooked for raises and promotions.

* Humble people and introverts frequently struggle with selling themselves during job interviews.

* And talented people sometimes get put on a layoff list because their bosses aren’t fully aware of their value and everything they do for the company.

Well, Tim and I want to change that! Scroll up, hit play, and listen to us discuss the course in more detail.

Learn to become so valuable that your employer keeps you happy (e.g., receive raises and promotions, stay off the layoff list), and potential new employers can't stand the thought of losing you (i.e., they make you job offers quickly).

What you'll get from the course:

* Practical and doable steps you can take the very next day

* Access to two live sessions with the instructors and other attendees on May 31st and June 7th

* Homework exercises to help you put our advice into action between sessions

* Downloadable templates to help you showcase your accomplishments and talents

* Scripts you can use during your job interviews and conversations with your manager

* Techniques for using AI to help you with preparation and practice

* Q&A feedback from the instructors to help you fine-tune your strategies and materials

* Lifetime access to our private community for the advice, feedback, and support you need

What you'll learn:

* Get better at selling yourself for the jobs you really want

* Learn how to ask for a raise or promotion the right way

* Consistently demonstrate your value so your manager can't imagine losing you

* Become so valuable that your employer fights to make you happy, retain you, and keep you off the layoff list

⬆️ Scroll up, hit play, and 🎧 listen to this episode to learn more about the course, what you will get if you join us, and who we are.

Where to find out more

* The Too Valuable to Lose course

* Read more about our backgrounds and see our testimonials

* The video version of this podcast episode

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become invincible, and create new opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate!

Tim Yeo has been an introvert for 40 years! He is a design leader, speaker, empathetic storyteller, facilitator from problem to solution, open collaborator, builder of design teams. He spent 18 years in UX & Design. He's now the chief introvert at The Quiet Achiever (TQA).