Smart Brevity, Bold Strengths

Jon Clifton:
[0:07] Today we are with one of the world's most respected journalists. He's one of the co-founders of Axios. He's also one of the authors of the bestselling books, Smart Brevity, and my favorite quote that's ever been said about him was by the New York Times, which is, he is the man that the White House wakes up to.

Mike, thank you for being here today.

Mike Allen:
[0:27] Thank you for having me, and thank you for the important work you're doing with the CliftonStrengths inspiring current leaders, future leaders.

Jon Clifton:
[0:32] Thank you so much. So Mike, as we know, according to your CliftonStrengths, your top five are Individualization, Relator, Activator, Positivity, and Self-Assurance. What strength is it that made you such a successful journalist?

Mike Allen:
[0:48] I think Individualization is very important to a journalist or to anyone in life. Because when you're talking with someone, you have a chance to learn something. And something that we don't often pay attention to is when we're talking, we're not learning. And this is something that journalists in particular have a lot of trouble with. We're very good at talking. We're not so good at listening. And so I think a real strength for anyone who wants to get ahead, whether it's in journalism or in any kind of business or anyone who wants to inspire others, like paying attention to them, figuring out what you can learn from them, and figuring out what makes them tick. And that's what's great about CliftonStrengths is it helps you understand what makes someone tick. One of my little expressions is people don't do stupid things on purpose. And the CliftonStrengths helps you understand why we're wound the way we are.

Jon Clifton:
[1:46] Now, one of the blind spots with Individualization is this concept of gestalt. Is when sometimes we see ...

Mike Allen:
[1:55] We're getting fancy here.

Jon Clifton:
[1:57] Is sometimes we miss the forest from the trees. How do you prevent that as a journalist with Individualization when you're focused so much on the individuals? How do you make sure it doesn't make you miss the bigger picture?

Mike Allen:
[2:10] One of the great qualities you can have as a leader is pattern recognition, knowing how individuals fit in to the wider world. I like to think of it as like tiles in a mosaic, right? That like every tile has to be perfect. But if we don't step back, if we don't take it all in, we're not going to see what's really there. And that's something that's very important for a leader, a would-be leader, to be able to appreciate the tiles, help shape them, mold them. Like know that they're perfect, the best that they can be, but then also see how they fit in. And something you can really do as a leader that can change people's lives is helping them know how they fit in, helping someone see how their strengths can fit together to make them more successful in life, work, any endeavor.

Jon Clifton:
[3:01] Now, one of the things that you focus on most is, of course, political journalism. And Individualization, of course, helps you think critically about the individual players within politics. How does that continue to inspire you every single day and how do you use it with individual politicians?

Mike Allen:
[3:19] One of the biggest things that you can do for success, either as a journalist or a leader of any sort, is thinking about what the other person is thinking. What would you do if you were in their shoes? I sometimes give talks to both journalists and to the communicators who are trying to influence them. And Jon, I was given the same advice, which is think about what you would respond to if you were the other person. Like what would resonate with you? Like a simple thing that we do in journalism that I would do for any type of communication that I was doing is, would I read this if I hadn't written it? Would I click on this if I hadn't written it? And that's a great threshold, very clarifying for whether the content that you're putting out in the world is something that others are going to respond to, that they're going to act on, that they'll be inspired and informed by.

Jon Clifton:
[4:14] When you're thinking of all of your strengths, and there are so many journalists that would love to be known as, quote, as I mentioned before, the man that the White House wakes up to. What would you say are the strengths that inspired you or give you that drive to be that person that the White House is thinking about most when they wake up in the morning?

Mike Allen:
[4:34] A big strength I would point you to there is one of your leadership domains, and that is influencer, that is speaking up, taking charge. But this is the part I love, and this is very smart of you, to say, making sure others are heard. And if you think about it, if you back up, speaking up, taking charge, making sure others are heard, like that's a great prescription for both a leader and a journalist. And anyone who thinks about those buckets, thinks about each of those, making sure that they're strong in each of them, like you're gonna be a success.

Jon Clifton:
[5:07] Now, there's a reputation of Washington, D.C. in politics. Sometimes we're disparagingly referred to as the swamp because of the overwhelming amount of negativity that surrounds politics. You have Positivity in your top five. How does Positivity help you think as a journalist in sort of circumstances where there's so much negativity?

Mike Allen:
[5:30] Jon, I'm definitely an optimist with two other co-founders. I've started two companies, an entrepreneur like yourself. So that definitely makes you an optimist. And you could look around at what we cover in our world and could be dismayed. But the best journalist is going to approach the world, any given story, clinically. That is, like, being able to look at, like, what's there, what's working, what's not working, to never avert your eyes, to always tell stories with realities, never to gild the lily or rose-colored glasses or however you want to say it. That's not the job of a journalist. The job of a journalist is to present reality with sanity. But that also means looking at what's working, looking at solutions.

Because one of our big themes at Axios is that most people in the world are normal. Most people in the world are not the edge cases that we very often see portrayed and highlighted. And so if you're going to be a leader, if you're going to chronicle the world around us, you need to be able to see that, yes, there are problems that we should not shy away from. And in fact, solving those, like helping address those is one of the great opportunities of our time, but also being able to look at, okay, what do we need to take those on? What's going on? What maybe are people not paying attention to that are taking chewable bites out of these massive problems?

Jon Clifton:
[7:02] Right now, one of the biggest challenges facing the media is the overall declining perceptions of whether or not people have confidence in media. What strengths do you draw on in order to make sure that that trend is headed in the other direction, that people do have confidence in your journalism or anyone's journalism globally?

Mike Allen:
[7:21] Yeah, it's a massive problem for the press. A lot of it's self-inflicted. And some of the ways that Axios approaches that is, one, Axios means worthy in Greek. And part of the way of building trust is we say we won't waste your time. That's smart brevity. And we won't insult your intelligence. That's the smart in brevity. And we found that if you take a clinical approach to the news, that is, you don't put your thumb on the scale for any, like, understand all sides, hold all sides accountable, the people will thank you for that.

Jon, when we started Axios six years ago, I never would have thought that sanity, reality, is a competitive advantage. But it turns out there aren't a lot of people in that space. And that's our way of rebuilding trust. Another way that Axios is working to rebuild trust is we know that, based on your research, that trust with big media, that's a big problem. How can we rebuild trust by going close to someone's work or close to someone's home? So a lot of our coverage is designed, a lot of our growth is designed to help someone make better decisions in their work and to get close to them at home. So that's part of the vision of Axios Local, that if you see me doing a good job of covering your schools or your mayor or your NFL team or your bagel shop — in Axios Des Moines, we covered Fruit Loops Pizza. If you see us doing a fair, illuminating, helpful job close to home, if we're the smart friend in your pocket, which is the goal of Axios Local, then that will help rebuild trust with the global topics.

Jon Clifton:
[9:07] Self-Assurance. How do you use Self-Assurance every day?

Mike Allen:
[9:12] Jon, of all the CliftonStrengths, I would say that Self-Assurance is the most contagious. That is, if you can convince other people of a great idea or of a place to go, they are going to thank you. I think one of the great lessons of life is, and one that is not intuitive and that people do not realize until it's too late, people want to be led. This is true at any stage and age. And if you're in junior high and you're the person who says, let's do this, let's do that. If you want to start a business and tell people there's a better way and I'm going to help get you there, like that is a recipe.

Jon Clifton:
[9:51] So we've talked about a lot about what strengths you've used as a journalist. But, of course, you're also an entrepreneur. in starting Axios, what strength would you say that it was that inspired you to start a new media organization?

Mike Allen:
[10:04] Yeah. Jon, for any endeavor in life, I like your CliftonStrength Self-Assurance. And there's something that I've told parents for a long time is if you can give a kid confidence, it makes up for anything else. I can't throw a ball to save my life, but if I have confidence, I don't need that because I'm good at other things and I will find other ways to serve my class or my school or my organization. And if you want to start something, Self-Assurance is vital because you will never get other people to believe in what you think if you don't intensely believe it yourself. So whether you're trying to reach investors or future colleagues or current colleagues, any of the many people that believe in you to help make a company happen, Self-Assurance is vital because that will be contagious. Self-Assurance is contagious. And if you believe the idea, if you can convey it, if you're living it, if you're willing it to happen, it's one of the Tom Brady lessons. He talks about willing things into existence. The things don't automatically come. And if you believe it, if you keep pushing for it, it ultimately will be reality. They say, fake it till you'll make it. I'll say take the reality until you make it.

Jon Clifton:
[11:28] Now, Axios is a strengths-based organization. Can you tell us just a little bit more about how strengths is used throughout Axios?

Mike Allen:
[11:38] Jon, as you know, we have Gallup in our DNA. Roy Schwartz, co-founder of Axios, is a Gallup alumnus. And we found it to be very helpful to be able to understand our colleagues, to know how they're wound, how they tick, also how we can serve them, how we can help them, what can they be better at. And this goes back to something that my mom told me when I was having a rough day at school. And she told me one time, this is 50 years ago, right? It's stuck in my mind. She said, this is decades ago now, but it's stuck in my mind. She said, if everyone in the world were like you, the world would be very boring. And it's a great insight, but it's CliftonStrengths that you don't want everyone to have the same top five. Now, I and my two co-founders, Jim VandeHei and Roy Schwartz, we have a lot of overlaps, but they're different, and we have different lanes and we bring different things to the organization and to the people that we're serving throughout Axios and the people who are our audience and our partners.

Jon Clifton:
[12:41] Now, how did you first come across CliftonStrengths?

Mike Allen:
[12:46] CliftonStrengths has been in the DNA of Axios from the beginning. The founders have slightly overlapping but also different top strengths. Roy Schwartz has Woo on his list and is a very effective business person. Jim VandeHei, who's a great visionary. I'm a Relator. The number one piece of advice that I give to young people when I talk to them is serve the people beside you and beneath you. Like the magic there is that we naturally take care of the people above us. But if you're the person who's looking out for another intern or another day one employee, then you suddenly become very valuable in the organization. So I think, Jon, a lot of the advice that we get, either we get it too late or too early, but serving the people beside you, beneath you, relating to them, thinking about their needs, thinking about what you would respond to if they were them, that works whether you're a magnate like yourself or whether you're a day one employee.

Jon Clifton:
[13:48] A lot of times people's strengths are defined by a leadership challenge or an obstacle that they were able to overcome. Was there ever a time either as an entrepreneur or as a journalist where you had a really difficult time that you had to overcome that helped build on your strengths?

Mike Allen:
[14:06] So when we started Politico with two friends, Jim VandeHei and John Harris, it was not at all an obvious idea. It turned out to be a very good idea. But at the time, the big legacy brands were what defined people's consumption. It's who people wanted to work for. The great brands that we'd worked for, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time Magazine, those were the media world. And we were trying to do something totally different. We were saying to people, there's a better way that we can bring you more expertise, more voice, more speed, and that will actually serve you better. But at the time, convincing people to join you, convincing readers, it was all being invented. The morning email, which now we have more of them than we can count. But it wasn't a thing. It didn't exist. My first email, Politico Playbook, it started with two recipients. It went to the co-founders of Politico, Jim VandeHei and John Harris. You were pretty early on the list.

But every day I sent them an email that said, how we can rock today. That was the subject line, how we can rock today. And I said, here's something new. Here's something that I know that you don't. Here's what else is out there that others are covering. Here's what I did last night. Here's what we should do today. Here's a smile. Here's a fun thing. And you're smiling because that's the architecture today of Axios AM 16 years later. But that was all invented on the fly. That was all convincing people that there was a better way and then delivering the goods. Jim VandeHei, the Axios CEO, has the perfect way of saying it. He says, we over promise and over deliver.

Jon Clifton:
[15:54] When you think about Relator, was it Relator at all that inspired you to have these sort of personal relationships with so many people that are reading Axios?

Mike Allen:
[16:03] Jon, this is one of the most important life lessons. And that is the way that I say it, you say it, Relator. The way that I say it is little things matter. And here's an example. I was just at my high school reunion, Valley Christian High School in Cerritos, California. There was a guy, Bob Bishop, who said to me, he was a big USC fan, I remember him well. And he said, you gave me a DEA cap in 2001.

And, Jon, I'm sure that's true because in 2001, I covered President George W. Bush when he was at the DEA. I gave Bob the hat. But here's the lesson from that. A, I have no memory of that. But B, it's the only thing Bob remembers about me after 35 years. Right? So little things matter. Showing up to life events, showing up to events for your friends, parents, like they never forget. Little things matter. It's part of relating, thinking, what would I want if I were in their shoes? Like, how can I make a difference to them? It's all about relating to the individual, thinking, what's going to matter to them? How can I serve them? What would I want if I were in their shoes? Another way that I like to say it, Jon, is I call it the 10-year rule. And that is when you're trying to decide, do I go to a wedding or any life decision you think, what will I wish I'd done in 10 years? It is always clarifying. There's never a single time that you are going to wish in 10 years that you'd spent more time with your laptop.

Jon Clifton:
[17:38] You know, one of your personal touches, I think one of the things you're most well-known for is that when Axios AM, Axios PM go live, it comes from your email box personally. What inspires you to do that?

Mike Allen:
[17:51] Jon, as you well know, I have only one email, mike at axios.com. It's the easiest email in town. And when you hit return, it goes right to that. If you hit return on Axios AM, Axios PM, Axios Finish Line, it goes right to my inbox. Why do we do that? Two things. One is, it's a way of showing respect to you. I'm appreciative that I have access to your inbox each morning. And so you have access to mine as well. And by the way, I respond to any email that's not in all caps or that doesn't contain profanity. I used to respond to all emails, period. I now have an asterisk for profanity because this is not on the level they're not going to be convinced. But anybody who honestly disagrees, wonders, wants to engage, I always respond.

A second reason, this is something we have in common, is it gives you an incredible pulse on the globe — what people are concerned about, how they're concerned about it. Over those 16 years, unfortunately, those returns have gotten so much more angry. And that reflects what's happening around the globe. And yet, the replies to Axios finish line, which is an email that Jim VandeHei, Erica Pandey, and I do in the evening with the idea, healthy, helpful, hopeful. So it's life lessons, it's fitness, it's wellness. And people respond in incredible ways. We can do something about the importance of a thank you note, and we'll get a thousand responses. We will do something about doing good deeds, random acts of kindness, hundreds of responses. Funny thing about the human condition, of the hundreds of people who responded about random acts of kindness, we asked them for examples. A lot of them were acts of kindness that they had done. And that's totally fine. That wasn't what I was expecting, but it shows that we're all thinking about ourselves. Even when we're talking about random acts of kindness, it's still all about us all so often.

Jon Clifton:
[19:55] Competition is your number 10 strength. How do you use that in your leadership?

Mike Allen:
[20:00] Yeah. I love the way that the CliftonStrengths talk about Competition. My favorite phrase is finish strong. Anybody can talk a big game, like anybody can have a good idea, anybody can have a jackrabbit start, but what matters is the results. What matters is finishing strong. And as Axios CEO Jim VandeHei would say, get the big things right.

Jon Clifton:
[20:22] A lot of times people with Competition in their top five or their top 10, they often need some sort of opposition. They need a fellow competitor in order to drive them. Do you see that in any way in your journalism or as an entrepreneur?

Mike Allen:
[20:36] Jon, it doesn't really matter how I think about it in journalism and in business. Tons of competitors. Both of the businesses that I've started with two friends, Politico and Axios, were in incredibly crowded spaces. And so the key was showing that we had a better way, executing on it, delivering on it for our audience and our partners. And that's a recipe for success.

Jon Clifton:
[21:01] Mike, you've been incredibly successful up to this point. And there's so much more that you'll contribute to the world. But when it's all over, it's all said and done, and you think about your legacy, which strength do you think would have been most influential in that legacy?

Mike Allen:
[21:15] I'm going to cheat. I'm going to say Futuristic. It is on my list.

Jon Clifton:
[21:21] Top 10 counts, of course.

Mike Allen:
[21:25] I'm going to cheat. I'm going to say Futuristic. So on my CliftonStrengths as number seven, is that good?

Jon Clifton:
[21:34] Of course.

Mike Allen:
[21:35] But always be thinking about how are you serving the people who are coming up behind you? Like what are you putting in place for them? At Axios, we talk about being a forever company. And that is like we want Axios to thrive far beyond the generation of leaders and colleagues that are there now. How do you put that in place? How do you put that in place for your family? I know someone very well whose kids are all in a related business, does business with him, and their homes are near each other. You know, that doesn't automatically happen. That's somebody who's put a lot of thought into their life. And it's the same thing with the people who are around us at work, the people around us at church, the people around us in the community. Think about, like, what are you setting up for the future? What are you setting up for down the road? Because you're right. Like, we will ride off into the sunset. And when we ride off, what's left. That's what matters.

Jon Clifton:
[22:31] As an entrepreneur and as a journalist, and we think about our four needs of followers when it comes to leadership, one of the biggest ones is inspiring hope. What of your strengths do you use to inspire hope?

Mike Allen:
[22:45] Jon, that might be the jambalaya of CliftonStrengths because so many ingredients go together to make that one work. So I would say Individualization, Relator, Positivity. That is like, is this someone that I want to follow? Is this someone who knows what they're doing? Is this someone, this is super important. Is this someone who's thought through where we're going, how we're going to get there and can communicate to me in a way that is crisp, clear, clean? One of the secrets of smart brevity that we learned, this is true both internally and externally. We learned that it's almost a tell if someone is sitting there running their mouth, because what we've discovered is that foggy communication often reflects foggy strategy, foggy thinking. And so if you've really thought through what it is that you're going to accomplish, how you're going to accomplish it, then think about how you're going to communicate it in a way that's going to resonate with your target audience. That's going to be an effective leader.

Jon Clifton:
[23:44] Well, Mike, thank you again for joining us, talking to us about your strengths, how you've become a successful journalist and entrepreneur using your strengths. And also thank you for helping make Axios a strengths-based organization. It means a lot to us.

Mike Allen:
[23:58] Well, Jon, thank you and your colleagues, and thank you for the magic of CliftonStrengths.

Transcript autogenerated using AI.