Good morning,
Six years into running his startup Omaze, Matt Pohlson technically died.
As a newborn, Pohlson received neonatal surgery to fix a twisted stomach. In August of 2018, a piece of that scar tissue broke off, causing the entrepreneur to flatline for four-and-a-half minutes. For two days, doctors gave him a zero percent chance of survival. When Pohlson walked out of the hospital, he said Tuesday on Inc.’s Book Smart podcast, he was a changed man.
Struggling to process his near-death experience, Pohlson asked his friend Adam Grant--the Wharton psychology professor and best-selling author--for advice. Grant recommended The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, by New York University leadership professor Jonathan Haidt. The book’s psychological insights directly correlated with--and challenged--the way Pohlson defined success at Omaze, an online fundraising platform that supports nonprofits by offering once-in-a-lifetime experiences to people who donate.
As a result, he shifted his entire leadership philosophy. For example, Omaze’s internal goals now focus more on processes than outcomes--which, Pohlson explained, encourages employees to learn from their mistakes instead of fearing punishment. “The success of a company is just a product of how quickly it learns from its decisions, and how quickly it iterates as a result” he said. “Sometimes, you can have a great outcome but a shitty process, and you haven’t actually moved forward.”
Listen to the podcast to learn more about Pohlson’s sudden leadership shift, and what it’s meant for both his employees and his company’s bottom line. |
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