Direction Over Perfection with Kate Crane

Ep 2: Megan Stroud - Just Get Going: Megan Stroud on Building a Career in Motion

What happens when you answer a LinkedIn message you almost ignored? Or take a phone call in a janitor's alley at a trade conference when you were supposed to be thinking about starting your own company? For Megan Bohac Stroud, those moments changed everything. Megan Stroud is the CMO of SirDavis American Whisky, an award-winning brand founded by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter in partnership with Moët Hennessy. She joined at inception and helped build it from liquid and bottle design through its global launch, named 2025's Best New Product by Spirits Business. Before SirDavis, she held senior roles at Pernod Ricard and Coca-Cola, spent a year in cannabis, and holds an MBA and PR degree from UT Austin. In 2025, Inc. Magazine named her one of their Top 40 Entrepreneurial CMOs of the Year. Her career did not follow a straight line, and that is exactly the point. In this episode, Megan and Kate dig into the pivots, the moments of doubt, the cold calls she almost did not answer, and the philosophy that eventually tied it all together: momentum brings clarity. --- WHAT WE COVER 01:21 — What a CMO at a brand-new startup actually does, from pop-up activations to five-year inventory forecasts 05:47 — What Megan walked into when she joined SirDavis: not a brand, not a bottle. Just an idea. 22:53 — The LinkedIn message she almost ignored and the exact moment the universe made it make sense 32:24 — A phone call in a janitor's alley and how SirDavis found her before she found it 37:56 — Momentum brings clarity: the bike metaphor and why the next step is the only one that matters 46:36 — The rope swing: why relationships matter more than being the perfect candidate on paper --- QUOTES WORTH WRITING DOWN "A little bit beyond mediocre is noticed. No matter what the position, you can do it with integrity." "Momentum brings clarity. If you go too slow on a bike, you wobble. Get going." "It's not a ladder. At some point somebody's going to throw a rope swing to you. Grab it." "Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you want to become." — James Clear "Don't dim that inner knowing. If you listen to it, options will unfold for you." --- RESOURCES AND MENTIONS SirDavis American Whisky — sirdavis.com [http://sirdavis.com] The Honeybee cocktail — sirdavis.com/our-cocktails/honey-bee [http://sirdavis.com/our-cocktails/honey-bee] Atomic Habits by James Clear GLG — Gerson Lehrman Group, one of the world's largest expert networks --- FOLLOW AND CONNECT Follow Direction Over Perfection wherever you listen to podcasts. To work with Kate one-on-one, visit directionoverperfection.com [http://directionoverperfection.com] or email kate@directionoverperfection.com [kate@directionoverperfection.com]. Find SirDavis at sirdavis.com [http://sirdavis.com]. Direction Over Perfection is hosted by Kate Crane, a private career counselor for young adults and early-career professionals. Kate helps people find clarity, confidence, and their next right step, even when the path is not yet clear.

Ep 1: Brooks Miller - Direction, Not Destination, Building a Career and a Life at the Same Time

Ep 1: Brooks Miller, EVP, Creators @ Edelman & UEG Direction, Not Destination: Building a Career and a Life at the Same Time Direction Over Perfection with Kate Crane · 45–60 min ABOUT THIS EPISODE Brooks Miller has one of the most interesting careers in the creator economy — and it started with a child acting agent in Dallas, Texas. From local commercials to the University of Texas, from an advertising internship in LA to a front-row seat as influencer marketing was invented in real time at Twitter, Brooks' path was never obvious. It was curious, intentional, and guided far more by instinct than by plan. Then Elon Musk bought Twitter. Five months postpartum, back at work for three weeks, Brooks got the axe along with thousands of colleagues. And she landed somewhere better. Today she's EVP of Creators at Edelman & UEG, leading creator strategy for some of the world's most recognized brands across a team of nearly 200 people globally. In this conversation, Kate and Brooks talk about what it really means to build a career in a field that didn't exist when you were in college, how geography and love shaped every major move, what it's actually like to be laid off and come back stronger, and why the best advice she's ever received is: nobody thinks about you as much as you think about you. IN THIS EPISODE 00:00 — The child actor origin story and how it shaped everything that came after 08:20 — UT Austin, an advertising degree, and the agency tour that launched her career 16:29 — Moving to San Francisco for love — and falling obsessed with tech 19:47 — The Instagram moment that made her realize everything was about to change 22:11 — Joining Twitter to invent a job that didn't have a name yet 25:33 — The layoff — and two practical tips for being layoff-proof nobody tells you 38:53 — Parenting, partnership, and building a village that makes it all work 45:59 — What she'd tell her 2010 self — and why the best careers don't make sense until they do QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE * "No career is a permanent sentence." — Brooks Miller * "Nobody thinks about you as much as you think about you. And in some circumstances, that is so freeing — it allows you to take bigger risks and listen to your gut a little more." — Brooks Miller * "Everything is data. Even taking a coffee with someone is data. That's so much more valuable than being right — whatever right means." — Brooks Miller RESOURCES + LINKS MENTIONED * Book: The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership — Jim Dethmer * Cannes Lions: Brooks and the Edelman Creator team will be at Cannes — reach them at CreatorAtCannes@edelman.com [CreatorAtCannes@edelman.com] CONNECT WITH BROOKS * LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brooksdennardmiller [http://linkedin.com/in/brooksdennardmiller] * TikTok: tiktok.com/@brooksiedm [http://tiktok.com/@brooksiedm] LISTENER REFLECTION Where in your career are you waiting for permission to make a move you already know you want to make? FOLLOW THE SHOW If this conversation resonated with you, follow Direction Over Perfection wherever you listen to podcasts — it helps more people like you find the show. New episodes drop every other Tuesday. And if you're a parent helping a young adult find their footing, share this episode with them. Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is show someone a path they didn't know was possible.