My Journey: Owen Johnson of Revival Brewing Company
Owen Johnson started his first company in the Fall of 1995 from his room at Kappa Sigma at MIT. Over the past 20 years, he has co-founded nine companies and has invested in over 90 through Betaspring, a nationally ranked accelerator he founded in 2009. Johnson is now a Founder & Chairman of Revival Brewing Company and currently serves on the board of directors of Location, Inc., a leading source of location-based data and tools for risk analysis. He holds an S.B. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is an active member of the MIT alumni community.
How do you think about goals and personal growth?
Many significant personal goals break down into small habits, and solidifying a habit takes time and focus, so I typically focus on developing one habit until that habit has been established, then I move on the next. I have a typical engineering mindset. I set goals without concern for their implementation, then break them down into smaller goals, and then eventually break them down into tasks to execute or habits to develop over time.
When you think about personal and professional growth, what do you feel are the most critical elements for people to understand about achieving their goals?
The more one understands oneself, the better one can understand and prioritize one’s goals. Goals are rarely achieved alone, without support. Building a trusted network of people around oneself is critical.
What role has mentorship played in your journey? Have there been any shared characteristics your most influential mentors had?
When I was younger, I was familiar and comfortable with the western teacher/student model, and I struggled with less formal mentorship. Over time, mentors, both informal and formal, have become critical to my personal and professional thought and development process.
Good mentors are good listeners. They rarely answer questions directly or give suggestions without prompting from the person they are mentoring. Often, their answers will be questions.
What are some of the obstacles or hurdles you’ve overcome in your journey?
I have encountered numerous hurdles and challenges, both personal and professionally, ranging from life-threatening illness that put me in the hospital for five weeks in 2009, to having to layoff half of my team in a single day a month after 9/11.
One of the more common and tangible personal challenges I overcame was that of public speaking. Public speaking is an essential skill to excel in many aspects of business, and it is feared by most people more than death(probably because it’s more of an immediate and concrete threat). Practice is the only way to overcome that fear. One venue for such practice is Toastmasters, which I recommend highly.
How have your needs or requirements changed through different stages of your life and career?
Life is a wonderful, complex thing, full of ups and downs — joy and sorrow. When someone describes a portion of their life to you, always remember that it is only a portion. Everyone is human — always remember that.
As my life and profession has evolved, it has become more complex, and I’ve been forced to rely on people to help me achieve my goals. A loyal team and support network consists of people with whom you share a mutual trust and respect. It takes time to build those types of relationships, so build them before you need them.
What are your thoughts on balancing personal and professional development?
Personal and professional development are intertwined and interrelated. Be honest with yourself about your capability — challenge yourself, but don’t overload. There will be times when professional may overshadow personal or vice versa, but one cannot be ignored without peril to the other.
Given what you know now, what advice would you give your younger self on personal and professional development?
Strive to leave a place or situation better than when you arrived.
Originally published at huupe.com.
