Meet Brady Brim-DeForest

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brady Brim-DeForest. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Brady, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I was home educated, which means that most of my learning was self-directed. My parents fostered in me a deep love of learning and a curiosity for understanding how the world works. That curiosity — my need to understand the world around me, is what really drives me.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I serve as CEO of at Formula.Monks, the technology services division of Monks. We are a 7500 strong global team with a footprint across over 40 countries around the world.

We solve complex problems for the most ambitious businesses in the world using a combination of people, process, and technology. Unlike our competitors, we don’t just ship scope. We take a deep sense of ownership over outcomes and hold ourselves responsible for delivering measurable outcomes that drive our client’s businesses forward.
We see technology as a core enabler for the true change agents that drive organizational transformation.

Earlier this year, I released my first book: Smaller is Better: How Small, Autonomous Teams are Driving the Future of Enterprise. It’s a practical guide to implementing the model we created at Formula.Monks for driving innovation inside large-scale, complex organizations.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Most critically, tenaciousness. Almost as equally important, curiosity. I have a deep seated desire to understand how the world actually works. Not just academically, but practically. This has been a powerful unlock for me because it forces me to scratch deep below the surface and find the universal truths that serve as the foundation of the systems and constructs that serve as the foundation for human civilization. And finally, I am an internal optimist. I believe that tomorrow will be better than today.

I have always had a bias towards action, and a sense of urgency. I think these traits are critical on the journey of self-improvement. Lean into the discomfort. Don’t rest on your laurels. Make decisions quickly, even if they might be the wrong ones.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I am feeling overwhelmed, I focus on beginning from the end and then work backwards. It’s a simple way to reframe a problem or challenge and decompose it into an actionable plan.

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