Joanna Bloor Media Kit
Bio
Joanna Bloor is a potentialist who has transformed thousands of lives worldwide. A former Silicon Valley executive, TED speaker, and trusted advisor to leaders worldwide, she’s been described as a “glittering buzzsaw that cuts through all the workplace BS.” Instead of platitudes and possibilities, Joanna rolls up her sleeves and jumps in with future-focused leadership to create experiences that bring their teams into the future.
Joanna’s upcoming book, Tales of Potential: The Cinderella Story You Haven’t Heard, flips the script on a famous and underestimated fairy tale ingenue to reveal real-life success lessons hidden in plain sight. It makes us wonder if we’ve got the wrong idea about Cinderella; maybe we have the wrong idea about each other too. The reframed story has much to teach modern professionals about the true nature of ambition, courage, risk-taking, generosity, and the key actions to take if you want to manifest your most sparkling future self.
Websites
theamplifylab.com (publisher)
joannabloor.com
talesofpotential.com
Tales of Potential Book Descriptions
Short versions
Tales of Potential is a practical guide for becoming your most glittering future self—and reinventing leadership in the workplace.
Happily ever after doesn’t just happen in fairy tales; they happen in real life. Tales of Potential shows ambitious individuals and leaders how to do the impossible and write their own happily ever after.
Full description on Amazon
You’re leaving your future to chance. That’s because we create our futures by exchanging our potential with each other, but nobody taught us how to do this.
What if the magic behind the Cinderella story isn’t a prince and a fairy godmother but strategies for tapping into our potential? Tales of Potential reveals these hidden lessons by shedding new light on a story you thought you knew—and offers practical guidance for becoming your most glittering future self.
If you want to learn what surefire, life-changing actions make your ambitions come true in the real world, no matter the odds against you, this book has what you’re searching for.
Author Joanna Bloor has transformed thousands of lives as a career futurist. A former Silicon Valley executive, TED speaker, and trusted advisor to leaders worldwide, she offers talks with practical insights for leading in the modern workplace—and brings her framework to life by examining a misunderstood and underestimated fairy tale ingenue.
WHAT WILL YOU FIND INSIDE THIS BOOK?
Let’s say you’re coveting a juicy new role, and the decision-makers are awaiting your pitch.
Are you going to tell them the story of your past—your work history, challenges, and successes—and cross your fingers that they’ll pick you for being good?
If you answered “yes,” you need a story makeover. You need to learn to tell the story of your potential.
Think about it. Isn’t your value to a company and a team based on who you’ll be in the future? If our work is about influencing future outcomes, why are we only telling the past half of the story?
This sassy reframe of the classic Cinderella story will teach you to stop leaving your future to chance, court magic, and guarantee success on your terms.
And the story makeover begins with a simple question: "Who do you think the Future You is?"
Learn why:
Getting sh*t done is not a value proposition
A glass slipper is better than a resume
You need a squad
Exiting with grace is a power move
Generosity and ambition go hand in hand
Shortcuts might shortcut opportunities
You want to be chosen for who you are
What influences your chances of reaching "happily ever after"
This book is invaluable for ambitious individuals and leaders alike—anyone eager to see a classic success story with fresh eyes and become their most sparkling future self.
Actionable Tip/Top Takeaway
“If you want to create a great future for yourself, stop telling the story of your past and start telling the story of your potential—the story of what you can do and want to be wanted for.”
→ Ready to learn how? Go to talesofpotential.com and sign up for your first discovery lesson.
Suggested Interview Questions
Why did you choose to write a leadership story based on Cinderella?
“Being known for getting sh*t done is hurting your career” - what does that mean, and why do you say that?
What key things do ambitious people who “make it” have in common?
What does luck have to do with getting future opportunities?
Talk about authenticity and vulnerability in the workplace—are those just buzzwords, or do they really matter?
How should leaders pay attention to bias in their staffing choices?
What advice do you have for someone who, like Cinderella, stagnates in their career because of a perception problem?
Of all the “Cinderella story strategies” that you’ve seen work in the real world, which is the most underused?
What’s the #1 mistake people make when they’re trying to get a job or close a deal?
Five Key Moments From the Cinderella Story, Reframed
What’s really going on in the fairy tale when…
1. Cinderella is obediently doing all the chores her mean stepmother gives her.
Reframe: she’s intentionally building her skill sets. She’s actively learning how to deal with difficult, demanding people and building her leadership playbook of what to do/not to do. Every day, Cinderella turns her terrible job into the perfect training ground for a career in customer experience (Queen = Chief Customer Experience Officer.)
2. She befriends the mice and birds (like a nice but slightly pathetic good girl would.)
Reframe: she’s teaching her audience what she’s ambitious for—spreading generosity and kindness at scale—and getting them to opt into her vision. Remember, the mice and birds voluntarily did all kinds of things for Cinderella for free, and there was something in it for them.
3. She’s weeping on the ground, the Fairy Godmother appears, and she asks Cinderella what’s wrong.
Reframe: Cinderella hasn’t lost focus of where she’s trying to go even in this moment of despair. She succinctly states her goal (get to the royal ball) and obstacle (no gown and no ride to the palace.) With no time being wasted telling a backstory or assigning blame, the Fairy Godmother is able to offer instant, on-point magic that gets Cinderella back on track.
4. The prince to the rescue! He notices Cinderella on the dance floor and takes her hand.
Reframe: Cinderella wasn’t rescued! She a) paid attention to the gatekeepers (or else she couldn’t have even entered the ballroom,) b) took the risk of standing out (even though she had no prior experience or peers to tell her what the “right” thing to do was,) 3) understood that to be chosen for the role she was coveting, she had to announce her candidacy—she did this by boldly descending the stairs, and it worked.
5. They got married and lived happily ever after.
Reframe: It’s pure fantasy to think getting the prince charming/raise/promotion will make you jump out of bed every morning from that day on. Whatever happiness Cinderella and the prince experienced came as an extension of the actions she’d taken and the mindsets she adopted—even while she was an indentured servant. Happily ever after isn’t a destination; it’s an ongoing adventure.
