My Guest
Today I was thrilled to be joined by Dr. Bill Hudenko, an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Dartmouth School of Medicine.
In addition to his experience as a professor and clinician, Dr. Hudenko is also a 4x CEO & Entrepreneur, having founded and sold several companies that have utilized technology to improve mental health outcomes for customers.
In addition to advising several technology companies, he also currently serves as the C.E.O. of Everpage, an “anti” social media company that uses artificial intelligence to help people form meaningful connections.
Dr. Hudenko earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan, and both his M.A. and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University.
Because of his incredibly unique career that spans coding, entrepreneurship, psychology, medicine, leadership, and technology, we had a very wide ranging conversation that I think you’re really going to enjoy.
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Questions Asked
Introductory Questions
- Walk us through the arc of your career, including what has led you to teaching at Dartmouth’s Medical School
- Was there anything within your personal journey as an entrepreneur that compelled you to pursue teaching psychology as the next stage of doing your “life’s work”?
- Were there any particularly difficult periods in your career as an entrepreneur and CEO that is now deeply woven into what you teach today?
- If money wasn’t your primary motivator as an entrepreneur, what was?
- Talk to us about the academic understanding of the link between money and happiness, and contrast that with your personal experience after exiting several companies
- In your view, technology seems to be both the cause of, and a potential solution to, many of the mental health problems that we all deal with today. Tell us more.
- Do you think formal education in psychology is a missing component of the curriculum at our business schools?
The “Complexion” of a Typical Entrepreneur
- What percentage of entrepreneurs and CEOs experience any one of burnout, anxiety, and/or depression? Why does it seem to be so prevalent?
- Is this the result of correlation or causation?
- Talk to us about how the very traits that make entrepreneurs and CEOs successful can also present them with challenges if they’re left unchecked
- Does our primary motivation for becoming an entrepreneur impact our level of psychological “resilience”? What sources of motivation provide the most and least “resilience”?
- Our true motivations are often subconscious. Are there any tools or strategies or practices that might help us surface what our “true” motivations are?
- Where does money fit in with respect to being a primary source of motivation for an entrepreneur?
- Talk to us about imposter syndrome, and discuss the extent to which it is common or uncommon among CEOs and entrepreneurs
- Did you have any instances during your time as a CEO where you were particularly fearful about being vulnerable with your employees?
- To avoid the trap of “contingent happiness”, how can CEOs better separate their professional and personal lives? Is “compartmentalization” even possible?
- Describe the difference between happiness and well-being, and then walk us through the five components of well being as you view them.
“Self Diagnosis”
- How does one differentiate between anxiety that requires some sort of proactive clinical treatment, versus “normal” levels of everyday anxiety that are simply part of being human?
- To what extent is lack of sleep a potential yellow flag that folks ought to be looking out for as a sign that they’re not taking adequate care of their mental health?
- How does one know if they’re clinically burned out versus simply being tired?
Concluding Questions
- What is the most meaningful lesson that you have learned over the past 12 months?
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Thanks to our Sponsors
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