245 Simone Stolzoff on the better ways to integrate work, life, and identity for more success and satisfaction

Behind the Brilliance

THE SHOW

Simone Stolzoff is a designer, and workplace expert who is the former design lead at the global innovation firm IDEO. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and many other publications. He’s the author of The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work.

This conversation is, in my opinion, among the most important in the history of the show. It’s not particularly dramatic, but it’s hard for me to overstate the importance of the ideas and practical applications we discussed around life design, work, the relationship between to work and identity, and why carefully curating these things instead of letting them happen is an absolute must if you want to create more meaning and satisfaction at the intersection of your work and life.

We covered a wide range of things including the Western tendency toward work as a status symbol, how to make a career pivot, questions to consider when reflecting on the context of your career in your life, how to recover from an achievement hangover, the joys and perils of being self-employed, and much more. No matter what your career or employment status is, there’s something for you in this conversation. It’s especially timely as we all start thinking about a new year and what we might want to change where our careers are concerned.

Behind His Brilliance: Amazing people who share their stories

Say hi to Simone on X/Twitter @simonestolzoff

THE GUEST

SIMONE STOLZOFF | AUTHOR, THE GOOD ENOUGH JOB

Simone Stolzoff is a designer, and workplace expert who is the former design lead at the global innovation firm IDEO. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and many other publications. He’s the author of The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work.

TOPICS COVERED

The problem with tying personal identity to work

How to diversify your identity outside of work

How to stop chasing status at work (and what to do instead)

Rethinking designing life around work

How to avoid achievement hangovers

Simone’s advice on pivoting and taking risks

The gift and challenge of being self-employed

How to create structural protection against overwork

And much more!