In Part 2 of the conversation with Chris Kelly, he shares his experiences and insights from his time at Intel, with a particular focus on his leadership role in Malaysia. He discusses the importance of building trust, the challenges of managing projects, and the significance of honesty in leadership. Kelly emphasizes the need for authentic relationships, and you might be intrigued by his leadership lessons from soccer.

Book: Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:52 Building Trust for an Uncertain Organization

10:04 Know Your Capability Set

14:40 Headcount is NOT Success

18:10 Answering Challenging Questions in an Open Forum

19:58 Access to Leaders

22:09 Greatness Remains

25:16 The Power of Honesty in Leadership

28:27 Leadership Lessons from Soccer (Real Football)

In Part 1 of this ROAR Mindset conversation, Peter speaks with Chris Kelly, a global technology leader with 28 years of experience at Intel. Chris shares how stepping into new spaces, both in life and in leadership, taught him to lead with clarity, honesty, and presence.

They explore what Chris learned after leaving corporate life, how long-distance walking shaped his understanding of pace and agency, and two leadership stories from his time at Intel: building the PC reference board infrastructure and reframing senior technical leadership. Along the way, Chris offers practical insights on shelving ego, learning from mistakes without personalizing them, and avoiding the trap of vicious compliance.

This episode is filled with guidance for leaders navigating uncertainty and leading teams through disruption.

Book: Things Become Other Things by Craig Mod. The Japanese word Yoyū was the word from this book.

00:00 Introduction to the Roar Mindset

00:19 What matters to Chris Kelly

01:41 Detoxing from Corporate Life

02:52 Abundance Mindset

06:37 Power of Agency

08:01 Exploring the World

16:26 Too Many Reference Boards

18:52 Navigating Uncertainties

26:20 Trust and Resiliency

32:43 Learning from Failures

36:11 Radical Honesty

40:35 Embracing Failure and the End

43:32 Celebrating Transitions

46:42 Midmortems: Learning and Improving Mid-Project

48:22 Creating Space for Creativity and Abundance

51:09 Radical Honesty and Authenticity in Leadership

54:30 The Pitfalls of Inauthentic Relationships

01:04:30 Improving Meeting Efficiency and Decision Making

01:13:59 Conclusion and Key Takeaways

In this episode, Peter Brandenburger speaks with Josh Newman, Vice President at Intel, who led the creation of Project Athena and the subsequent launch of the Intel® EVO™ brand. Josh shares how the PC industry reached a moment where the old innovation approach no longer applied, and how he and his team stepped into that disruption with curiosity and a user-centered mindset.

Josh describes how Project Athena began with uncertainty and no defined path forward. By listening directly to users, the team uncovered the insight of why people turn to their PCs. This reframed the direction and led to a new vision for what laptops should become. This is a story of leading a disruption, one you create, with curiosity instead of control, partnering across a global ecosystem, and letting clarity emerge through connection and insight. It is also a reminder that even the most successful innovations begin with ambiguity and require leaders to act before they know exactly where the work will lead.

Learn more about Intel® EVO™ at https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/systems-devices/laptops/evo.html l

Reference to Melissa Gregg's book Work’s Intimacy

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Roar Mindset

01:18 Meet Josh Newman: What matters most

02:47 PC Innovation Initiative

05:15 Understanding PC User Behavior

09:50 Project Athena: Vision and Execution

18:52 The Rise of Freelancers and the Impact of COVID-19

22:34 Reflecting on Remote Work and COVID-19

23:16 The Power of Connected Minds in Innovation

25:00 Industry-Wide Collaboration and the Intel® Evo™brand

27:30 Challenges and Successes in the PC Ecosystem

36:56 The Future of AI and PC Innovation

42:58 Leadership Insights and Final Thoughts