In 1995, a project manager at a San Francisco software company drove twelve miles into a Nevada dry lakebed because a man in a bed sheet holding a plastic flamingo told her to. She never went back. That woman was Marian Goodell. Nearly thirty years later, she is the first and only CEO of Burning Man Project. In this episode of Unbossing, hosts Rishad Tobaccowala and Drew Ianni talk with Marian Goodell about what it means to lead an organization built on radical decentralization and no bosses — when you are, in fact, the boss. Marian arrived as a command-and-control project manager, learned to let it go, and built something genuinely collective. Then her co-founder passed away. Then the pandemic came. Then the rain nearly broke the event. Then the tickets stopped selling. Each challenge demanded something different — and each time, she had to decide whether to take the tiller herself or trust the community to sail the boat. Her lesson: collaborative decision-making and consensus are not the same thing. Knowing the difference might be the most important skill in leadership today.

In 1995, a project manager at a San Francisco software company drove twelve miles into a Nevada dry lakebed because a man in a bed sheet holding a plastic flamingo told her to. She never went back. That woman was Marian Goodell. Nearly thirty years later, she is the first and only CEO of Burning Man Project. In this episode of Unbossing, hosts Rishad Tobaccowala and Drew Ianni talk with Marian Goodell about what it means to lead an organization built on radical decentralization and no bosses &mdash; when you are, in fact, the boss. Marian arrived as a command-and-control project manager, learned to let it go, and built something genuinely collective. Then her co-founder passed away. Then the pandemic came. Then the rain nearly broke the event. Then the tickets stopped selling. Each challenge demanded something different &mdash; and each time, she had to decide whether to take the tiller herself or trust the community to sail the boat. Her lesson: collaborative decision-making and consensus are not the same thing. Knowing the difference might be the most important skill in leadership today.

Hosts Rishad Tobaccowala and Drew Ianni are Reinventing Leadership in Chaotic Times and will feature conversations with the most fearless leaders in business and tech about what they’ve had to unlearn to succeed again in a world where the future no longer fits old rules.

 

Want to discover more Bubbler Media podcasts? Explore all our shows on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bubbler_Media

Hosts Rishad Tobaccowala and Drew Ianni are Reinventing Leadership in Chaotic Times and will feature conversations with the most fearless leaders in business and tech about what they&rsquo;ve had to unlearn to succeed again in a world where the future no longer fits old rules.
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Want to discover more Bubbler Media podcasts? Explore all our shows on YouTube:&nbsp;<a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2F%40Bubbler_Media&amp;data=05%7C02%7CRyanMartz%40iheartmedia.com%7C54adbbc6b27645e1fd5708def9931f52%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C639222607462913395%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=JwBkPe22cgXxmcEEp%2Fp1j1I3VqYInM%2BA6atPnvxc5dY%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-rich-text-autolink="">https://www.youtube.com/@Bubbler_Media</a>

Unbossing

Marian Goodell on Leading Burning Man and Why Collaboration and Consensus Are Not the Same Thing

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/eb1d2a03-9028-42f0-8ee6-b4a901165611/transcript