Shows
2025-02-0432 min
unReactiveThe Calm Business Recommended Reading GuideThe Recommended Reading Guide"It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work" by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson"A World Without Email" by Cal Newport"Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" by Greg McKeown"Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals" by Oliver Burkeman"The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael E. Gerber"Four Steps to the Epiphany" by Steve BlankAnything by Anne Helen PetersenOther Works Mentioned"The Valve Handbook" – A new employee handbook by Valve Software"Pricing on Purpose" by Ro...
2025-01-2842 min
unReactiveCreating Calm When Your Company Isn'tJeff and Kyle talk about ways you can craft a calm environment for yourself or your team when the rest of your organization is not.
2025-01-2147 min
2024-12-1042 min
unReactiveOne Day Remote Work Is In, The Next Day It's OutWe talk Heidi Klum's Halloween costumes, using nerdy chess tools to prioritize work, and Sahil Lavingia giving up on remote work.
2024-11-0552 min
unReactiveIs cold outbound antithetical to calm companies?Does doing cold outbound sales make any sense?
2024-10-2249 min
unReactivePlatform Risk and PuppiesThis week Kyle and Jeff discuss seasonal depression, hosting a guest puppy, and the dynamics of open source business models.(00:00) - Platform Risk and Puppies
(00:18) - Guest Puppy
(08:03) - WordPress Drama
(19:38) - Platform Risks and Business Lessons
2024-10-0140 min
unReactiveThe Baby Pygmy Hippo in the RoomThis week, Kyle and Jeff dive into Moo Deng, the challenges of hiring, the evolving landscape of the creative industry and the ensuing creative crisis facing business.(00:00) - The Baby Pygmy Hippo in the Room
(00:18) - Caffeinated Conversations
(01:27) - Moo Deng Miscomoonications
(05:28) - Hiring Creativity
(26:12) - Marketing in Maintenance Mode
(29:38) - The Creative Crisis in Corporations
(36:56) - Balancing Multiple Business Ideas
2024-09-2454 min
unReactiveThursday is the New FridayThis week, Kyle and Jeff chat about the challenges of implementing a four-day workweek, setting meaningful goals, and the challenge of keeping a dog clean.(00:00) - They shouldn't let dogs work the mines
(04:04) - How do you set goals anyway?
(11:08) - Four days a week
2024-09-1747 min
unReactiveAn Anti-Email CultureThis week, Kyle and Jeff talk about ditching internal emails, what we can learn from plumbers about calm workplaces, and how the importance of the labor movement.(00:00) - Out of Office
(04:38) - The Case Against Internal Emails
(08:53) - Creating a Culture of Calm
(25:41) - Gen-x is the Problem and the Labor Movement is the Cure
2024-09-0348 min
unReactiveHorrible oats and (potentially) horrible business ideasThis week Kyle walks Jeff through his SaaS idea that might just be doomed from the start, and gets advice on whether or not he should monetize it or just give it all away for free.(00:00) - Overnight Oats
(02:20) - Why Kyle's software project might be a horrible idea
(07:41) - Shorting Orange Juice Futures
(20:20) - The Idea
(27:41) - Potentially even more horrible pricing strategies
(52:20) - The Three Hesitations
LinksReynolds+MyersJeff's Twitter / LinkedInKyle's Twitter / LinkedIn
2024-08-271h 02
unReactiveLazy PerfectionismThis week Kyle and Jeff chat about what it means to run a 'calm company,' balancing client and employee needs, and why lazy perfectionism just might be the best way to work.(00:00) - Jeff's Returns
(01:23) - Kyle Bought a Car
(06:01) - Calm Companies
(27:59) - Intentional Work
(37:59) - Longevity and Retirement
LinksReynolds+MyersJeff's Twitter / LinkedInKyle's Twitter / LinkedIn
2024-08-2048 min
unReactiveHow do you talk like a 3rd grader?Jeff and Kyle talk about the importance of simplicity and context when talking about your work.
2024-05-2318 min
unReactiveWhat is self-documenting communication?Kyle and Jeff Reynolds delve into enhancing the efficiency of communication through self-documentation. They share practical strategies for refining team collaboration, ensuring that every step is documented without overburdening the team.
2024-05-0917 min
unReactiveHow do you run an effective marketing stand-up?Kyle and Jeff focus on enhancing the efficiency of marketing meetings. They share practical strategies for refining stand-up and other full-team meetings, ensuring they're as productive as possible without overburdening the team.
2024-04-2520 min
unReactiveWhen is a project a project?It's easy for marketing departments to get bogged down with endless ideas, tasks, and quasi-projects that never get off the ground. This week, Kyle and Jeff discuss how to effectively separate the real projects from the mental clutter. They give tips on how to streamline your processes so you can maintain focus and make consistent progress.TopicsThe pitfalls of letting unvetted ideas and tasks accumulate in an unruly backlog.Having a clear definition for when something officially becomes an "active project" worthy of focus.Maintaining a distinct space for active projects, separate from areas capturing...
2024-04-1120 min
unReactiveWhy do we hunt for silver bullets?We probably don't need to tell you that silver bullets don't work - but why are they still so dang enticing? Jeff & Kyle breakdown the psychological appeal of silver bullets, and some ways to avoid their siren call.
2024-02-0625 min
unReactiveWhat stage is your marketing department?Comparison is the thief of joy, and it's probably messing up your marketing. Kyle & Jeff lay out the four stages of the evolution of a marketing department - to help you understand where you're at and where your focus should be.
2024-01-2333 min
unReactiveWhen is "good" good enough?In which Kyle & Jeff start to practice what they preach with the production of this podcast.
2023-12-1115 min
unReactiveWhat's next for this podcast?Kyle & Jeff have some exciting news about the future of this podcast.
2023-06-2707 min
unReactiveWhat's the role of experimentation in marketing?Have you built experimentation into your marketing department? How can you build up organizational support to run marketing experiments?
2023-06-2022 min
unReactiveHave we lost sight of the craft of marketing?Has our focus on tools, data, and execution caused us to lose sight of the craft of marketing? What even is the craft of marketing?
P.S. - It would mean a lot if you could answer our quick, three-question survey at https://unreactive.io
2023-06-1325 min
unReactiveHow should your team handle project management?Project management is an under-appreciated aspect of successfully leading a marketing department. Kyle and Jeff take you through a detailed overview of the project management system, process, and philosophy specifically tailored to marketing departments that they have been honing for the last four years.
Learn about the pitfalls most teams make when setting up their project management, and the simple ways you could improve yours today.
2023-06-0634 min
2023-05-3033 min
unReactiveHow do you define the dictate of your marketing department?What do we mean when we say you need to define the dictate of your department? Why is it so important, and what does it help you do?
2023-05-2323 min
unReactiveHow do you build a strategic plan?In the last of our mini-series on strategy development, Kyle and Jeff go into detail on the process of building a strategic plan.
2023-05-1631 min
unReactiveWhat inputs do you need for strategy creation?In the penultimate episode of our strategy miniseries, Jeff & Kyle discuss the three pillars of inputs you should be gathering to influence your strategy creation process.
2023-05-0330 min
unReactiveWhat does the work of strategy creation look like?In episode 2 of our mini series on strategy creation, Jeff & Kyle discuss what they see as the meat of the strategy creation process, and some of the mistakes they see marketing leaders make.
2023-04-2625 min
unReactiveWhat is strategy?Today we're kicking off a mini-series on marketing strategy with an episode about the definition of strategy itself. What is strategy? Why is it intimidating? Why do we make it so complicated?
Resources & References:
upMarketer
The 1 Sentence Marketing Strategy format
Kyle's LinkedIn
Jeff's LinkedIn
2023-04-1827 min
unReactiveHow do you avoid mistakes when structuring your team?Hiring the right people for the right roles can make or break a marketing department. Kyle and Jeff examine some of the struggles a marketing leader can face in hiring, and give insights on how to make the best hiring decisions possible.
Topics Covered:
Common hiring mistakes and misconceptions
Hiring based on expectations (which roles & skillsets you’re “supposed” to have).
Hiring as a reaction (planning for the present rather than the future).
Hiring too early (look for what you can outsource rather than wasting a role).
How to hire effect...
2023-04-1128 min
unReactiveWhat role does marketing play in defining an organization's values?Jeff & Kyle dive into a listener submitted question about what a marketing leader can do when the values of their organization may not align with their own.
2023-04-0425 min
unReactiveWhat's the role of marketing today?Marketing has evolved from the days of the Four P's, but not necessarily in a good way. Kyle & Jeff discuss the role of marketing in today's organizations, and what they believe needs to change.
2023-03-2828 min
unReactiveHow did marketing get so complex?From the increasing importance of marketing, to the influx of MarTech tools and data, Jeff & Kyle chart how marketing came to be so complex and what a marketing leader can do about it.
2023-03-2124 min
unReactiveHow can we avoid endless meetings?The average senior leader spends 23 hours a week in meetings. That leaves 17 hours to do your actual job.
Kyle & Jeff discuss the rampant spread of meetings across marketing leaders calendars, and what you might be able to do to reclaim some (or a lot) of that time for you and your team.
2023-03-1435 min
unReactiveWhat if your boss doesn't understand or care about marketing?Can anything be done when your boss doesn't understand the work your team dedicates their days to? Kyle & Jeff discuss, and offer three (and a half) steps you can take to build alignment with your marketing-oblivious boss.
2023-03-0728 min
unReactiveWhy is it so hard to track marketing's ROI?There's not a marketer alive that wouldn't love to be able to attribute every dollar they've spent on marketing directly to revenue, but it's just not possible. Kyle & Jeff explore an example scenario highlighting the difficulties of marketing attribution, and offer some strategies to make attribution less of a concern.
2023-02-2830 min
unReactiveHow do you build slack time into your schedule?Do you have time built into your day to do the sort of high-level thinking that can take your work to the next level? Jeff & Kyle discuss the importance of building "slack time" into your schedule — unstructured time that lets your brain start making big picture connections — along with some tips and tricks to make slack time work for you.
2023-02-2729 min
unReactiveWhy is it so hard to follow through on your priorities?Good planning means very little if your department isn't set up to follow through on priorities. Kyle & Jeff explore why that's so hard to do, and offer a framework for understanding why your day-to-day work likely doesn't match the work you've determined to have the most impact.
2023-02-2737 min