Matt Malloy has made a career out of embracing change. He told me the thread of his career is working with “transformational technologies.” Recently, he became a first-time entrepreneur by starting a brewery. He’s the CEO and one of the co-founders of the Dorchester Brewing Company, in Dorchester, MA.

Over the past 25 years, he’s worked at some of the most well-known disruptors of their respective industries like Lotus, ZipCar and edX, serving in management capacities.

Here are a few lessons we’ll touch on in our conversation:

Importance of listening, empathy and emotion in business. This guy is like the entreprenuer whisper, you’ll learn quite a bit about what it takes to be a good listener.
How he’s building a brewery from the ground up using all of his previous work experiences.
Why you should actively seek out your own human case studies.

And PS, you’ll notice the hum of working brewery in the background as I talk to Matt because after all, that’s where the guy does his work!

Life Skills That Matter In This Episode

Self-directed learning.
Listening and empathy.
Building community.

How Matt Works and Thinks

Wake up time: 7:05am
Core work habits: Persistence, attention to detail and a desire to help people in their careers.
Ideal work environment: In a highly collaborative and energized environment with like-minded people.
Superpower: Being ridiculous.
Definition of success: Happiness.
Self-reflection practice: Practicing constant self-awareness.
90-day goal: Create a repeatable process for their contract brewers for making and distributing their beer.

Inspirational Quotes

“If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.”

“I think the two things that have helped the most in my career is being empathetic and emotional.”

“Something that might seem like the worst, might be coming from the best place possible.”

“You have to address a market need, you can’t drive the market.”

Coaching Advice

Seeking a mentor? Matt Molloy shares this advice for finding trusted advisors:

1) Look to your existing network of connections. Find people you believe might be able to help you with the challenges you are facing. Take them out for coffee or lunch.

2) Interview people you know. As you reach out to potential mentors and advisors prepare questions you want to ask them in advance of your meeting.

Don’t underestimate people’s willingness to help you!