The post-Covid economy is an online economy, and it’s not just about shopping online. Change will come across the economy. Within the framework of the Konstruktor project, there is a startup “Newlab” — a online laboratory, where experiments and results, and samples can be carried out remotely. All kinds of 3D printers and related materials. These services and products even cope with industrial production. Such production or large businesses have their own characteristics, and changes will occur with delay. What concerns small and medium-sized businesses, and consumers in general. — I believe that these changes will increase. We can say with confidence that the new reality is already came. We need to accept the new changes with all technology that might help out with the new economy.
As part of my series about the “How Business Leaders Plan To Rebuild In The Post COVID Economy”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Vlad Krishtop.
Vlad is an entrepreneur and an investor. He was born in a small town of Uralsk, and he is a founder and CEO of a conglomerate which includes the investment company “Second Working District,” IT company ”Konstruktor Service,” and a number of startups that focus on such areas as AI, AR, FinTech, Healthcare IT, and others.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
From early childhood I was inclined towards entrepreneurship. I was constantly looking for ways to make money even when I was in high school. I did a lot then, opening a video salon, reselling office supplies and equipment — just to name a few. After graduating from school, I opened an IT company, which in 2 years became the largest in my region. I continued to expand my company in many countries. I also continued to trade stocks and currencies, which I had started doing a few years earlier. These two later grew into an investment company “Second Work District” and an IT company “Konstruktor Service”
Is there a particular book that you read, or podcast you listened to, that really helped you in your career? Can you explain?
Back in 2009, I read the books “Funky Business” by Jonas Ridderstrole and “From Good to Great” by Jim Collins. Both books formed the basis of the philosophy of our companies. I liked the scientific and analytical approach of the authors. Despite, that the books were written about 20 years ago, the scenario described in them is still relevant today.
Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven business” are more successful in many areas. When you started your company what was your vision, your purpose?
Working in large metropolitan areas, I had to stand in traffic jams for hours. Then I didn’t understand why people are wasting huge resources: time, money, gasoline and others. Me as a business owner, such standards did not sit right with me. Traffic jams, traffic congestion, waste of time, life, environmental damage is not reflected in the best way on GDP countries … Education, decades of work and innovation lead me to the conclusion that such a system is ineffective. This is how we created the Konstruktor — multifunctional full-cycle internet service for remote work. Now the number of users is more than 1 million in 190 countries, the interface is 88 languages.
Do you have a “number one principle” that guides you through the ups and downs of running a business?
Principle number one is never give up. Some important qualities are self-criticism and developing constantly.
Thank you for all that. The Covid-19 pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of our lives today. For the benefit of empowering our readers, can you share with our readers a few of the personal and family related challenges you faced during this crisis? Can you share what you’ve done to address those challenges?
Our family had some problems since everyone had school and work inside. I adapted faster since I was already ready for at home work. One thing that helped was running since before I had to go to the gym, and now I got to go outside more.
Can you share a few of the biggest work related challenges you are facing during this pandemic? Can you share what you’ve done to address those challenges?
Affected precisely from the position of our clients. Unfortunately, some of our clients or partners have suffered rather strong. Someone stopped paying for services on time, someone refused our goods and services because it began to cut the budget. Tenders and projects that we have conducted “Frozen”. That is, the reflected consequences affected the outer side of our business. We put some projects on “postponed”, but not our main product — Konstruktor.com portal. With our strategic approach, we minimized the consequences of Covid-19.
Many people have become anxious from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. The fears related to the coronavirus pandemic have understandably heightened a sense of uncertainty, fear, and loneliness. What are a few ideas that you have used to offer support to your family and loved ones who were feeling anxious? Can you explain?
I try to give out positive outcomes or ideas with my family. We started to enjoy the little things like the view of the park with a hot cup of coffee in my hand, and a family movie night.
How do you think the COVID pandemic might permanently change the way we behave, act or live?
The post-Covid economy is an online economy, and it’s not just about shopping online. Change will come across the economy. Within the framework of the Konstruktor project, there is a startup “Newlab” — a online laboratory, where experiments and results, and samples can be carried out remotely. All kinds of 3D printers and related materials. These services and products even cope with industrial production. Such production or large businesses have their own characteristics, and changes will occur with delay. What concerns small and medium-sized businesses, and consumers in general. — I believe that these changes will increase. We can say with confidence that the new reality is already came. We need to accept the new changes with all technology that might help out with the new economy.
Considering the potential challenges and opportunities in the Post-Covid economy, what do you personally plan to do to rebuild and grow your business or organization in the Post-Covid Economy? Similarly, what would you encourage others to do?
I believe you shouldn’t be afraid of change. Acceptance of new realities is already half success. If you look at the history of various viruses on the planet, it is quite possible that any other virus can come after Covid-19, but no one knows when it will happen.
This was the case with the virus, Ebola and swine flu, which were less common, but carried no less threat. Recent events have inspired us to create a analytical internet service called globalvirus.org so people can see the number of cases diseases around the world. In the future, we want to make it a global database for all existing viruses of humanity.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Of course. An entrepreneur should be able to quickly adapt to problems and create new services and solutions.
Take it slow. Once I learned how much gluten, dairy, and soy could affect behavior, I completely overhauled my family’s diet on Day 1. Unfortunately, making all of those changes so quickly not only created a lot of resistance from my family, but also caused me A TON of stress. Now, I tell all of the families I work with that Rome wasn’t built in a day. And just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, these changes that we are making don’t all need to be made at once either. In order to make these changes do-able, we have to go slow.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Dana Kay.
Dana Kay is a Board-Certified Holistic Health Practitioner. She is the founder of Our Road to Thrive and the creator of the ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids program. She is also the mother of a son with ADHD and has walked in the same shoes as the families that she helps. By the time her son’s doctor was suggesting the 4th medication (basically to treat the symptoms of the other 3 medications) she was done. She knew she could not continue on the same path and that there had to be a better way. So she embarked on a journey to find other more natural alternatives to help reduce her son’s ADHD symptoms. Today her son is thriving and completely off his medications. Through her long hard journey and years of education, Dana has developed a passion to help other families struggling with the same issues that she went through. In her own words, “I do what I do because it was so extremely difficult for me. It just doesn’t need to be that hard for other people.”
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you please tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I never actually planned on working in the health and nutrition field. My background is in business and accounting, and that’s what I did for years. It wasn’t until my concerns over my son’s health grew that my career (and to be honest, entire life) changed completely.
When my son was about 18 months old, my gut told me there was something different about him. He seemed to have more energy than every other child his age, and his meltdowns were much more dramatic than any other child I’d been around. Anytime I brought up my concerns, though, people dismissed them by telling me his behavior was normal. “He’s just a typical boy,” they promised.
As the years passed, though, my gut continued to tell me we were missing something. His tantrums grew more and more severe, and his teachers began to notice more difficulty in the classroom. We met with a developmental pediatrician when he was four years old. That’s when he was diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed his first medication.
I remember feeling relieved when I filled that first prescription, thinking finally there was going to be peace in our home. Unfortunately, my feelings of relief were short-lived. As his dosage increased, so did his side-effects. He wasn’t sleeping well, he was losing weight, and he was anxious. The doctor, though, didn’t seem too concerned about these issues and insisted that adding more medications would be the answer.
Four medications in, I knew something had to change. My gut told me there had to be another way. I’m not against medication, but this was just too much for my son’s tiny body.
That’s when I began learning about how our diets affect so much more than a number on a bathroom scale.
Can you please share with us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
The transformations I have seen in other families inside my ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids program have been nothing short of inspiring. One of my clients told me about how her son had 36 school suspensions in the year before she began working with me. Now, after completely overhauling her son’s diet, he hasn’t had any suspensions. From 36–0!
Another client inside the ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids showed me pictures of her son’s handwriting before dietary changes and again after. The difference in handwriting is astounding.
Before beginning this journey and starting Our Road To Thrive and creating the ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids, I never realized how many different aspects of our lives are affected by what we eat. It’s our handwriting, our behavior, our focus, our neurotransmitter levels, our overall feelings of happiness and well-being, our sleep, and so much more.
When I started learning about health and nutrition, I wanted to help my ownfamily. I never imagined back then that I would get the opportunity to help so many other families in the process.
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
One of the primary principles I learned early on was that diet is the foundation of literally everything we do. Food used to be just food to me. Now, it’s so much more than that. A lot of people don’t realize there is a huge connection between our gut health and our brain health. 95 percent of our serotonin and 50 percent of our dopamine is made in our guts. These neurotransmitters are our feel-good hormones that help us both manage emotions and maintain mood balance. So if we are not feeding and looking after our guts, then our bodies won’t be able to make enough of these vital neurotransmitters.
I often think of it like this: when you are building a house, a solid foundation isn’t optional. It’s a necessity. If you don’t have a solid foundation, that house isn’t going to be very strong. It’s the same way with us. Diet is our foundation. If our diet is poor, we can never function at our best. That’s true for us adults, but it’s also true for our children.
Because of this, when I work with families at Our Road To Thrive, the first issue I address is diet. I encourage families to remove some of the most common inflammatory foods from their diets and replace these foods with healthier alternatives and more whole foods.
For about 50% of the families I work with, changing the diet alone is enough to reduce the child’s symptoms and get them to a place where they want to be. For the other 50%, we dig a little deeper through functional lab testing. Functional lab testing allows us to look deeper into the gut and the body to identify hidden stressors contributing to symptoms. When you know what is underlying, it then allows you to work at healing these issues.
Ok thank you for that. Let’s now move to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change The World”?
When my son was first diagnosed with ADHD, we were given one plan of attack: medication. No one ever mentioned to me that there were other things I could do that might help reduce his symptoms. Even when he began experiencing side effects from the various medications he was on, I still wasn’t told about any other options.
I want parents to know that though medicine certainly has its place, it is not the only way to help your child. There are other options out there.
Over the years, I have been able to heal my son’s body and gut and in the process his brain so completely that he is no longer on any medications and is thriving. He’s happy, calm, and succeeding in school. Our family is the peaceful place I always longed for, and we did it all naturally.
I want parents who are struggling to know there is hope. It is possible to have a peaceful home even when your child has unique struggles.
How do you think this will change the world?
Even if we only help one family, we change the world.
I have talked to so many parents who feel so defeated. They have tried medicine after medicine and can’t find the right fit. They have tried a variety of parenting strategies, and nothing seems to work. They have tried supplements that promise to heal, only to be disappointed yet again.
It’s a really tough place to be in when you feel like no matter what you do, nothing is going to help. But when parents finally find a program that helps them reduce their child’s symptoms naturally, they feel hope again.
Families that are happy give back to their communities. Families that are spreading peace wherever they go. Helping one family isn’t just helping that family; it’s helping everyone that family comes in contact with too.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
Reducing ADHD symptoms naturally is somewhat of an unconventional idea. Many times, when a diagnosis of ADHD is given to a child, dietary changes are not even mentioned to parents as a possible treatment method. Medication is mentioned; therapy might also be suggested. But diet is often completely left out of the picture. I believe that part of this is because in traditional medical school, diet is not taught about in relation to its ability to affect behavior.
If people realized that dietary changes alone could reduce their child’s symptoms, sometimes even more effectively than medication, I believe there would be a lot more people giving it a try. The problem, then, isn’t that parents or doctors don’t want to try a more natural approach; sometimes, it’s that they don’t even know it exists. Educating people is the first hurdle this particular approach needs to cross.
Another hurdle is that our society views food as something different than fuel for our bodies. When we pick up a menu at a restaurant, we aren’t often thinking about what nutrients our bodies actually need. We are thinking about what is going to taste the best. We don’t view food as a tool that helps us feel and be our best. We view it as something to enjoy.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Food is meant to be enjoyed! But it also serves a much greater purpose! Part of my passion is helping families learn to eat good food through the ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids program — not only because it tastes good, but also because it’s what their bodies need to be at their best.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
When my young son was put on his fourth medication to counteract the side effects from the other three, I knew something had to change. At that time, I didn’t know what that “something” was, but I knew I had to figure it out.
If you’ve ever seen a mama on a mission, then you know exactly how I felt. I educated myself thoroughly. I obtained my holistic health degree and several specific certifications along the way. Now, my goal isn’t just to keep my own family healthy and thriving. It’s also to help others do the same with Our Road To Thrive and inside the ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids program.
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
I wish there was some way I could shout my story from the rooftops of every city in this country! People need to know that medication is NOT the only option. It is very effective for many people, but there are also others (like my son) who have too many side effects and end up taking way too many pills. These people need to know they have options. They need to know they aren’t trapped in a hopeless situation.
Education really is key, because when people learn what a pivotal role diet can play in behavior, they begin to dream again.
For a long time when my son was really struggling, I stopped dreaming about anything other than making it through the day. That all changed when I found a natural way to help my son. Our entire family was transformed, and that’s what I want for every single family I work with at Our Road To Thrive.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Medication is not the only answer. When my son was first diagnosed with ADHD, no one told me about any treatment method other than medication. So when the medication wasn’t working for him and he began experiencing multiple side effects, I felt completely stuck. I thought medication was going to be our answer. When it wasn’t, I was devastated. I wish someone had told me back then that there are other effective alternatives.
Take it slow. Once I learned how much gluten, dairy, and soy could affect behavior, I completely overhauled my family’s diet on Day 1. Unfortunately, making all of those changes so quickly not only created a lot of resistance from my family, but also caused me A TON of stress. Now, I tell all of the families I work with that Rome wasn’t built in a day. And just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, these changes that we are making don’t all need to be made at once either. In order to make these changes do-able, we have to go slow.
No one thing is going to cure your child’s symptoms. If I could add up all of the money I spent on supplements that promised to be the be-all and end-all for my son’s ADHD symptoms, I probably could have put him through college twice! I wish someone had told me then that there is not a one-size-fits-all cure. Every child is different. About half of the families I work with inside the ADHD Method 4 Kids program are able to reduce their child’s symptoms through diet alone. They do this by removing some of the most common inflammatory foods and replacing them with healthier alternatives and whole foods. For the other half of the families I work with at Our Road To Thrive, we have to dig a little bit deeper through functional lab testing. These lab tests look for the hidden stressors contributing to the behavior and symptoms. They look at the gut and body to see if there are parasites, heavy metals, broken down detoxification pathways, an overgrowth of bacteria, and a variety of other issues. Once we run these tests, we are then able to determine what specific issue needs to be targeted.
Support and community aren’t optional; they’re essential to success. I walked our journey alone, and it was a huge mistake. I remember one specific moment when I was literally curled up in a ball on the floor of my bedroom, crying because I felt like what I was doing was too much. I was creating new recipes, learning all I could about what foods my son needed, trying to find alternatives to foods my children used to love (that I wouldn’t buy anymore), and dealing with pushback from my family. It all felt like too much. Looking back now, it WAS too much! It was too much because I didn’t have anyone there helping me along the way, offering me encouragement and accountability, and reminding me I wasn’t alone. I wish someone had told me back then that community isn’t a commodity; it’s essential to success. That’s why I built in community to the ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids. When families join the program, they not only get access to me, but also get access to a group of like-minded people who will help them through the process.
Diet is the foundation of any plan (but don’t neglect the other important aspects of health). There are 5 aspects of health that I tell all of my families to focus on: diet, rest, exercise, stress management, and supplementation. Most families will not see the results they want to see if they neglect any of these 5 areas of their health. It’s kind of like a table. If one of the legs falls off the table, it won’t stand. Our health is the same way. We need all 5 aspects of our health to be at our best. Diet is the foundation, but these other areas are vital as well.
Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
There are two mindsets that I believe are vital to success. First of all, you have to be willing to put in the hard work. Change doesn’t just happen. It only happens when you work for it.
Secondly, you have to pay attention to how far you’ve come. Too often, we fail to see how far we have come because we are too busy focusing on where we still need to go. I have found for both myself and for the families I work with that it’s important to look back to keep moving forward. One way I encourage families inside the ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids to do this is by keeping a journal and tracking the changes as they see them. That way, they will realize just how far they have come.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
We help families realise there are alternative natural methods to reduce ADHD symptoms through diet and functional lab testing to find the true hidden stressor contributing to symptoms. Over 16 million families in the USA are affected by ADHD and or other similar disorders. Incredibly the only option many of these families are presented with is medication. A lot of these parents, though, don’t want to give their kids strong medication or haven’t had very much success in their initial attempts. They are desperate for other options as they often find the “cure” is worse than the disease. If we can free just 1% of those 16 million families from the vicious cycle. That is over 160,000 families we would be helping to regain that peace and happiness they so desperately want. Our road to Thrive wants to break the cycle and help parents realise there are alternatives. The ADHD Thrive Method for Kids Program has already helped almost 1000 families and we have only just touched the surface.
Kaeleigh Testwuide of ‘The Diamond Reserve’: Five Things You Need To Build A Trusted And Beloved Brand
Stand behind your mission statement and ensure the team you build stands behind it too. The entire reason I got into the diamond and jewelry business was to create a buying experience that put educating its clients first. 6 years later I am continuously coming back to that. There isn’t a single client that comes into our office that sits with me or one of my employees that doesn’t get the most honest diamond education out there. This is what makes us successful, no matter how much we grow, we always come back to where it all began…honesty.
As part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview Kaeleigh Testwuide of The Diamond Reserve.
After working for a few other brokerage firms in the diamond and fine jewelry industry, Kaeleigh began to realize how important it was for each and every client to receive a full education on the Four C’s and a few other do’s and don’ts prior to making a purchase and designing a dream ring. She had also noticed the need for a private diamond buying experience here in Denver, Colorado and made it her mission to make that dream come true! In 2015, Kaeleigh purchased and re-branded The Diamond Reserve, making it her priority to thoroughly educate every client and make the entire purchasing process accessible and seamless for everyone involved. This entire process should be enjoyable and memorable, as this is such a monumental time for the clients and The Diamond Reserve takes pride in being part of these special moments. Kaeleigh prides herself in providing an honest, transparent interaction for each client and takes joy in personally hand-selecting each and every diamond she sells; ensuring that The Diamond Reserve showcases the finest selection of loose-leaf GIA-certified diamonds. Kaeleigh believes that each client deserves one-on-one, white glove service, no matter how simple or extravagant the ring may be.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
In 2015, I was hired to manage the brand The Diamond Reserve. At the time, The Diamond was a marketing company. The Diamond Reserve would generate leads of those looking for engagement rings and diamond jewelry, and from there, the lead was handed off to a jeweler. When managing the brand, I worked directly out of the jeweler’s office in which the leads were sent to. Very quickly, I picked up on what some would consider unethical sales tactics. I became very inspired to create a diamond buying experience that put education and honesty first and foremost. After about 6 months of managing the brand, I inquired to purchase the marketing company. Once I became the owner of The Diamond Reserve, I rebranded it with a mission to educate each and every client. After about two years of owning the marketing brand, I then founded DR Capital and began directly buying and selling diamonds, gold, gemstones, and manufacturing fine diamond jewelry.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I first got started in this business, I at times was scared to try new marketing avenues and was intimidated by ad spends. I made the silly mistake of not fully understanding that it costs money to make money. It took me time to get over my fears, and now, I feel as though I am in a place where I am more open to more marketing avenues as well as testing out bigger ad spends and what can happen as a result from going outside of my comfort zone.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
There are three main things that I believe make our company stand out from the rest. The diamond industry is male dominated, and we are female owned and operated. This alone makes us stand out in the diamond and jewelry industry. Typically, being in the diamond trade business is multi generational. I am the first person in my family to break into this unique and exciting industry. What I think is the most exciting thing about our company is that not only are all our engagement rings and wedding bands made in the USA, but they are all handmade with love right here in Denver, Colorado!
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We recently just launched our e-commerce site! This is a big deal for us and it’s all very scary and intimidating, but also very exciting. When we first launched, it was a little slow the first few weeks, but now we are selling something everyday all across the country. In early 2021, we are also launching our first e-commerce social media advertising campaigns. This will allow our clients and followers to shop our products with the click of a button!
Ok let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
I look at brand marketing as creating awareness of your brand to someone who might not necessarily be in the exact moment to make a purchase. But, when they are ready in the future, they will think of your brand. Branding is actively looking to the future. It is the top of the sales funnel. Product marketing is going after the here and now consumer: someone actively seeking whatever it is you sell. This is the bottom of the marketing funnel — this is your sale!
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
When you own a business, you have to establish its identity. The only way to do this is by investing in your brand. Developing a brand goes right down to the little details such as what font you send your emails in and what colors will people associate and identify your brand with. When starting a brand, you should first invest in developing its logo, tagline, colors, fonts, etc. This is the first step in creating something people will start to recognize and resonate with. When someone truly resonates with a brand, when their time comes to make a decision in either a purchase or a service, you want your brand to come to mind. Overall, you want your brand to be relatable to the target audience.
Can you share 5 strategies that a company should be doing to build a trusted and believable brand? Please tell us a story or example for each.
Stand behind your mission statement and ensure the team you build stands behind it too. The entire reason I got into the diamond and jewelry business was to create a buying experience that put educating its clients first. 6 years later I am continuously coming back to that. There isn’t a single client that comes into our office that sits with me or one of my employees that doesn’t get the most honest diamond education out there. This is what makes us successful, no matter how much we grow, we always come back to where it all began…honesty.
Collect reviews. Our team is constantly reaching out to our clients and asking them to review us on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and other platforms. When someone searches for our brand they are able to read about real customer experiences and are able to hear about the kind of service we provide. This creates trust before they even walk in the door.
Invest in an Instagram page. We are living in a digital world where people use Instagram every single day and use it to validate brands. Invest in your photography and invest your time in creating a page that is aesthetically pleasing. Spend time daily interacting with your target audience and people in your community. We have clients come in daily saying that their significant other follows us on Instagram and is in love with our work and told them they have to get their engagement ring from The Diamond Reserve.
Be active in your community. Find a charity that you believe in and sponsor one of its events. I did a lot of charity work in early 2020 and didn’t know it at the time, but it created a lot of trust with my brand on social media platforms. I had influencers reaching out to work with us because of it and when we launched e-commerce, so many knew what kind of brand we are and that we love to give back. This made them want to support us. The important part about this is to do it from your heart. If you can’t donate money, donate time.
Invest in your brands searchability on google, especially if you are a local business. Also known as SEO (search engine optimization). When people are looking for a product or service they need, one of the first places they go to is Google. Make sure they can find you and make sure your website is professional, on brand, and easy to navigate. We always ask our clients how they found us. Not a day goes by where someone doesn’t say a Google search brought them to us.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved brand. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
A brand that inspires me as a small business owner is Peloton. Peloton has built a line of incredible products. Their products are all on brand, their employees emit their brand’s mission, and they are constantly striving to be competitive in their space and provide their customers with an incredible brand experience. What specifically impresses me is that they consistently put out content that makes their clients feel as though the trainer is right there with them, speaking directly to them, and committed to making each and every person on their platform feel as though they are the center of attention while pushing them to limits they had not known possible. I think what brands can do to replicate this is by believing in their brand’s mission and creating a team that lives and breathes that mission, too.
In advertising, one generally measures success by the number of sales. How does one measure the success of a brand building campaign? Is it similar, is it different?
Measuring your branding campaigns success is not done by direct sales. I think measuring its success is done in many different ways. A few of those ways are: who is tagging you on social media? What social media influencers are reaching out to your brand and wanting to be part of it? Who is talking about your brand? What is your website traffic like and how long you are keeping people on pages before they leave? By tracking your findability organically on Google for search terms that relate to your products and lastly, tracking referrals. Brand awareness does not happen overnight and neither does brand development; It takes time, patience, and consistency.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
We sell products on social media every day and we have clients come in every day telling us about how much they love our Instagram handle! Having clean social media pages that are on brand and that you post on consistently creates trust with your followers as well as with those you are targeting in paid advertising efforts. Instagram Shop is a game changer for anyone selling e-commerce. This outlet allows consumers to find your products in just one click or swipe when visiting your page. Although Instagram and other social media outlets can be frustrating at times, they are such important tools for anyone in sales. I look at my brand pages as essentially free marketing and paid advertising on these social platforms as the icing on the cake.
What advice would you give to other marketers or business leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?
My advice would be to pace yourself. No great brand happens over night. A great brand takes time to develop. The most important thing is to have is a brand mission — one that clearly states why and how you plan to serve your customers. A brand mission can develop and change over time as it matures, but if you stick to your mission, you will find success.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
If I was a person of great influence, I would ask everyone in the United States for just one day to not buy coffee and to instead donate that money to St. Jude for childhood cancer research. In just one day in the United States, people spend more money on coffee at Starbucks than what is raised in an entire year for childhood cancer research. One day could make a really big difference in so many people’s lives.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.”
― Robert Frost
As a woman in business, leadership, and in the diamond industry, there have been many times I have been told I couldn’t, I wouldn’t, or how I should be doing things. I have paved my way thus far, and I will continue to do it my way. People in the diamond industry are always telling me, “…that’s not how it’s done in the industry.” I always tell them, “…well looks like we are going to change how it has always been done.” Each day I define myself as not only a newcomer, but a woman in the diamond industry.
We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a lunch or breakfast with? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would like to meet Chad Pike, preferably for lunch at one of his Eleven Experience lodges.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
@thediamondreserve
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Build your network: No matter the size of your brand, word of mouth marketing and referrals are integral to building your brand. There have been countless studies done that show people trust brands that their friends and family recommend vs ones they only see online or in a store. Being connected with the right people and having the right people talking about your brand will create massive trust.
As part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview Kate Obert.
Kate Obert is a fashion stylist turned Chief Brand Officer who empowers 6–7 figure entrepreneurs to create a beautiful life you don’t need a vacation from through high end branding. She is fierce when it comes to mapping out the vision, strategizing and connecting the dots to curtate a full-sensory brand experience with ease. She services luxury personal brands & multi-brands to elevate the brand perception to stand out in their market & become industry leaders.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Absolutely, and thank you for having me! My path was very unconventional. I set out to be a fashion stylist or corner office in the fashion industry but have now found myself owning my own business and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I now work with the brands in a leadership position that I once wanted to work for. Every position I held prior allowed me to learn the skills necessary to run my own company the way I wanted to. There was definitely a period where I tried to follow in the footsteps of others but that only kept me stuck because what I’m meant to do is unlike anything someone else has created. Once I stopped looking at what others have similarly done and started listening to my intuition and executing on my strengths, that’s when everything exploded! I do branding very differently than anyone else. I have a way of seeing the world and being able to bring to life what others feel but aren’t sure how to execute; I bring all of my strengths, including fashion styling, into my brand strategy for clients. We’re all very unique and have our own strengths — everything we do makes sense for our brand because it’s us, therefore, the more you can amplify your strengths, your path will reveal itself.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I first started out, I thought I needed to have everything put together perfectly — a detailed business plan, a formal LLC, a logo, website, niche, a $2k program and so on but that only kept me stuck. Even though I heard people say, “Just take action, you’ll grow wings on the way down.” I couldn’t understand that concept — how are you supposed to know what to take action on? Well, I definitely learned that to be true. Having everything planned out kept me stuck because I wouldn’t budge or listen to my intuition about what to do. When you start out, the best thing you can do is to brand yourself! People need to know who you are and what you’re an expert in. Talk about what you know and when you hear of someone’s problem you can solve, ask to solve it and give them any dollar amount you feel comfortable with — there’s something magical about that first energy exchange of money. Yes, it will be less than what you might be “worth” but it’s not about the money, it’s about building your brand and people knowing what you do. The more people know who you are and that you can solve their problems, your referrals and momentum will grow!
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
My company stands out because we take a very different approach to branding than anyone else, especially in the online entrepreneurship industry. Branding is about building reputations — it’s about carefully curating who you are with how you want people to feel and what you want them to know. My specialty is in rebrands and creating full-sensory brand & client experiences. Rebrands aren’t just for changing a negative perception, rebrands are great when elevating your brand to the next level.
I have a client who owns a fashion house with three brands and multiple subbrands. They have been in business for a while but needed help refreshing their image to reflect who they are and who they’re becoming. We, of course, solidified the foundational elements and aesthetics but we then created a full-sensory experience. One way we did that is by creating a custom signature fragrance that is tied to the brand’s essence and how we want the customers to feel.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes! I just hired and met with my product developer to start mapping out a new, innovative brand I’m building! I’ve seen a gap in the market for a while and now is the time to fill it. This product will completely evolve the way we approach branding and help so many people! It’s extra cool because building brands is what I do for clients so now I get to show my audience how I’m building my own subbrand (or product) and take them along the journey with me. Follow me on Instagram @kate.obert to learn more about this new project & to follow along!
Ok let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
Brand marketing, or branding, is your reputation — it’s the entire essence of you, your company and every single touch point. Product marketing, or advertising, is the vehicle you use to tell people about you and your product.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
Everyone understands the importance of spending money on marketing, advertising and PR but what most people don’t realize is that all of those dollars are being wasted if you don’t have a great brand, or have a brand at all. Building a brand is the first step because it directs how you do everything else in your business. A brand should be consistent and cohesive, but also willing to evolve and be creative. Understanding the foundational elements of your brand is how you have a successful ad campaign or marketing strategy.
Can you share 5 strategies that a company should be doing to build a trusted and believable brand? Please tell us a story or example for each.
Know your brand’s foundation: It all starts here. Figure out your core values, brand essence, why, mission, vision, tone of voice, brand personality, positioning, differentiating point, and so on. The brand’s foundation will direct every decision you make within your business. For example, when choosing the aesthetics (i.e color palette) for your brand, they must accurately reflect how you want people to feel (AKA brand essence), if you choose the wrong color or graphics, that can negatively affect your brand’s image.
Be transparent: This is key. As I mentioned before, a brand is consistent and cohesive but should also evolve and the way to do this, while still staying on-brand, is by being transparent. As you learn new things and want to implement them into your brand, take your audience along the journey with you. The more they feel invested in your brand, the more they will feel a sense of loyalty.
Be clear: People should easily understand what you and your brand is about. Always take the complexity out for the customer. For example, make it very clear and easy to figure out any information that is needed to learn about your brand.
Be creative: Innovation will position you as the trusted expert. This is where knowing your brand’s foundation is important because it will also keep you on-brand. Being creative will also keep your audience engaged — it’s boring to see the same stuff all the time and we all have short attention spans, so being creative with your brand (and creating a full-sensory experience) is necessary.
Build your network: No matter the size of your brand, word of mouth marketing and referrals are integral to building your brand. There have been countless studies done that show people trust brands that their friends and family recommend vs ones they only see online or in a store. Being connected with the right people and having the right people talking about your brand will create massive trust.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved brand. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
The fitness company, Tone It Up, has done a fantastic job building their brand! What impresses me about Tone It Up is that they lead the industry with innovative ways to workout, they’ve built a cult-like following and they always stay true to their core values, especially when leveraging their partnerships with other companies and influencers. How can you replicate that? By implementing the 5 strategies I listed above — Tone It Up has done all of those beautifully.
In advertising, one generally measures success by the number of sales. How does one measure the success of a brand building campaign? Is it similar, is it different?
The success of a brand building campaign is different from an advertising campaign because branding is the long game. For the most part, you’re unable to see immediate ROI. Branding is about controlling the perception of the brand so you can definitely interview focus groups or interact with your audience online to get a pulse on what people are saying but the only way to truly measure the success of your brand campaign is to see how the perception of the brand changes over time and if it’s in alignment with what you want.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
Social media plays a big role in branding because it’s usually the first impression. People find out about brands through social media therefore it’s important for the profile and visual branding to accurately reflect who the brand is.
What advice would you give to other marketers or business leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?
Take some time “off” and create experiences! I put off in quotations because for most of us, we draw inspiration from our lives for our work so we’re never really “off,” but the more we step away from the day to day tasks of work and experience life, the more we will be energized and have focused attention on the elements that will actually propel us forward.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I believe that we should always live life like we’re on vacation! Life is too short to live for two weeks of PTO or weekends and we’re all better people on vaca, right?! My mission is to help people build brands, and a life, they don’t need a vacation from so they can create the impact they’re meant to make!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“What you focus on, you create more of.” Our minds are incredibly powerful — this quote is a great reminder to me to only give energy to the things that I want more of in my life. Our thoughts create our feelings and our reality. If we’re worrying about something that hasn’t even happened, it’s like wishing for something you don’t want. The more I am grateful and the more I focus on what I do want, the more abundance I receive.
We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a lunch or breakfast with? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would love to have lunch or breakfast with Lauryn Evarts Bosstick of The Skinny Confidential! I have followed her for years and admire her so much. She has built an incredible brand with such attention to detail and always creates a full-sensory experience. She is unapologetic about who she is, what she stands for and is always a source of inspiration and positivity for me!
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Follow me on Instagram @kate.obert !
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Thank you so much for having me, I’m so honored to have been interviewed!
Agile Businesses: Jon Elder, ‘The Black Label Advisor’ On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies
Listen to your customers! I cannot stress this enough. They have the power to guide your business and take it to the next level. Simply listening to their needs and their constructive feedback is powerful during a time of disruption. Can this be a pain at times? Yes, of course. But, powerful nonetheless.
As part of my series about the “How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jon Elder.
Jon is the Founder of the Black Label Adviser, sharing exclusive services and experience through a private label lens. Jon built an Amazon FBA (fulfilled by Amazon) business from scratch, and grew it to over $10 million in sales in just under 5 years. He then sold his business for seven figures. As a former top 3,000 Amazon seller, Jon now uses his expertise to coach other Amazon sellers and help them take their businesses to new, elite levels.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
It’s such a pleasure to be interviewed! I love sharing my story and inspiring others so I’m very excited. My background is actually in commercial construction, believe it or not. I graduated from the University of Washington with a B.S. in Construction Management thinking I’d be doing this the rest of my life. Right out of school, I started my career working on high profile projects like the San Diego Airport Expansion. I had tremendous success but something was missing. Something of my own. It was 2014 when I started to research business ideas that could be really successful but flexible with time as I love my family! Enter, Amazon FBA. It was a pretty new idea in 2014 and honestly, very few resources were around. I began researching on my own and realized something that truly blew my mind. For the first time in years of being an Amazon customer, I realized that the vast majority of sellers on Amazon were actually third party sellers, NOT Amazon! After around six months of idea validation, I launched my first product, a golfing accessory. It soon became the #1 seller on Amazon. Once this happened, I knew I was onto something. This initial success lead to launching multiple products across five different brands over the course of 5 years. I ended up selling my entire Amazon business in 2019 for a mid 7 figure exit. A true dream come true! Now, I work as an Amazon Consultant at Black Label Advisor (www.blacklabeladvisor.com) assisting brand owners scale their business and achieve their own business goals!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
One of the funniest mistakes I made during my time selling on Amazon was my complete overconfidence! I was pretty disciplined from day one in terms of launching new products sustainably, but after a while, the success got to my head and I launched one too many products at a time. I soon found out that many of my new product ideas were complete duds and was paying out the frame for advertising costs. Literally a sinking ship… I soon found myself on the brink of bankruptcy! I ended up not paying myself a salary for a few months all the while still paying my employees. I finally recouped some of my capital by lowering the price of these products and never made that mistake again. I guess, it’s a little more serious than funny, but looking back I laugh because it should’ve been so obvious to me the risk I was taking on! I mention this story with almost every client I work with now.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
This is so true! Going solo is a rough road. When I started my Amazon journey, I got involved in a small, humble mastermind group on Facebook made up of Amazon sellers with very similar goals. I can’t tell you how helpful it was to rely on each other as we built up our businesses together. There was so much trust amongst us that some would even share their specific product ideas. The whole ideas was organic trust based discussion and helping everyone in our group succeed. This group was monumental when the inevitable challenges arose. To walk through these issues with them was a true joy. So, for me, it was a large group of people who helped me get there. Some have exited themselves and others have grown their Amazon business into $100 million brands. It’s astonishing what can be achieved when there is no agenda in a group of like minded business owners.
Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your company started, what was its vision, what was its purpose?
I couldn’t agree more. From day one of starting my business on Amazon, I had a goal of reaching a specific multi million dollar revenue goal and selling someday. In fact, I had this number on a vision board! It guided my every step of running my business and had a real impact on which risks I was willing to take and which risks I avoided. Many people ask me about how I was so successful in just five years. The key is to have an end goal in mind. If you don’t have this, then you will be tossed to and fro in the sea of competition and you’ll never get anywhere. I’d venture to say it’s many people’s dream to build up a multi-million dollar business and sell for a large exit. To get there, put your end game on a vision board and start grinding. Let me tell you, it was a grind from day one!
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you tell our readers a bit about what your business does? How do you help people?
I have a long history of running successful brands on Amazon and now I work as a one on one consultant for Amazon sellers. I walk my clients through the various daily struggles of an Amazon business and help them on the road to success. Whether it’s assisting them with listing optimization or helping them expand their brand presence across multiple sales channels, my mission is to help online sellers expand their business and increase their bottom line. My main website is www.blacklabeladvisor.com.
Which technological innovation has encroached or disrupted your industry? Can you explain why this has been disruptive?
An innovative software program called Helium 10 was a colossal industry disruptor. It literally changed the entire Amazon marketplace overnight. One had to be very cautious and careful with launching new products on Amazon for years due to the lack of product data that existed. In comes this software program and changes all of that. Now every Mom and Pop shop is selling on Amazon because the data is out in the open. This, of course, caused a flood of new sellers with lower pricing. Talk about a “disruption.” My FBA business was running like a smooth train, experiencing 100% growth year over year and then in comes this challenge. It was frustrating but it made me grow as an entrepreneur. It made my innovate my existing products and place a much bigger focus on customer needs.
What did you do to pivot as a result of this disruption?
Now that the cat was out of the bag in terms of product data, it meant that everyone including sellers from overseas had access. This meant a barrage of new sellers, which meant a massive increase in competition. A decision was made to make a shift to focus on branding and really delivering a story to my customers. Instead of selling just another product, I made a concerted effort to set myself apart from everyone else on the Amazon platform. This involved a full photography overhaul of my products, launching Shopify websites, and producing high quality video content to feature on listings. As a result, I maintained my #1 spots across the board and fought off the steady strem of new sellers.
Was there a specific “Aha moment” that gave you the idea to start this new path? If yes, we’d love to hear the story.
There are a couple but there is one that really stands out. Dallas might be a big city but it’s a very small world. I found myself setting up a meeting with a couple ex-employees of the Richards group. For those that don’t know, this is the group that does some of the best ads you’ve seen on TV. Have you heard of a company called Chick-fil-A? I thought so. Anyways, they wanted to meet up and provide some constructive feedback regarding some of my brands.
So, how are things going with this new direction?
I’d say it’s going very well! I went through a very successful multi million dollar exit in late 2019 as a result! Branding and placing a greater emphasis on the “story” of my products made a much bigger impact that I could have imagined. One example is when I was interviewing potential buyers of my business. One of the most common questions was whether I had a loyal brand following and social media presence. I was able to respond with a resounding “YES.” Because of this, I received an above average offer and multiple for my business. Because proper branding was in place, I stood out from the rest of the pack. Here’s a big THANK YOU to market disruptors ?
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this pivot?
Something started changing with the dynamic with customers. The most obvious change was seeing people share on their personal social media about my company and products. Due to the pivot to branding and focusing on the story of my business, I was able to create a humble cult following for my products. Before I knew it, people were tagging my company on Instagram and Facebook and sharing with friends and family. This is when I knew I had made the right decision to “pivot.” It not only brought a smile to my face but made me incredibly proud.
What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during a disruptive period?
A leader needs to be future focused and guide the organization’s ship. Laying low and hoping for the best just won’t do. There needs to be an emphasis on adapting to the market’s challenges and placing an even greater focus on the customer. I’ve seen far too many take a back seat and watch as their businesses crumble. A strong leader knows that hard times requires bold ideas. There’s no time for fear.
When the future seems so uncertain, what is the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate and engage their team?
Two things come to mind. First, is to be transparent. There is nothing worse than holding back information about the strength of a business from your employees. Let them know if times are lean. Let them know if things are booming. They should know how their efforts are making an impact. And don’t be scared to do this! Being ultra-honest builds extreme loyalty with your employees. It’s worth it. The second is to always have an “open door” policy. It sounds cliche but always be willing to train an employee when asked and be willing to answer any and all questions related to their role. Yes, this can be taxing but the employee will gain a sense of comfort knowing that they aren’t alone on an island and that everyone n their organization is focused on one goal: the health of the company. There are obviously many more but these two were the most powerful ways I was able to boost morale with my own employees and see them thrive.
Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?
Yes, put the customer FIRST, always! I see the opposite all too often. At the end of the day, there is always a customer involved in a transaction. Make it your goal to make it the best possible experience for that customer. Zappo’s is a company that I modeled my own customer service experience after. They go way above and beyond to make customers happy. This simple guiding principle will take you so much heartache, I can’t stress it enough.
Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make when faced with a disruptive technology? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
Ignoring it and pretending it doesn’t exist! It kills me when I see this with clients because it’s such a missed opportunity to grow and become a stronger business owner.
Allowing the anxiety to control your life! There is zero good that comes from worrying about the future and whatever the disruption is in one’s industry. Just stay the course and evolve. Focus on being the very best in your industry. Truly delight the customer. It’s really that simple.
Going out and hiring firms to fix the issue and watching your capital go down the drain. Not everything is fixed by outsourcing your problems. Many times, all you need to do is tweak your business or change something up to adapt. Really try to focus on what the disruption is and how you can solve it yourself. Once you overcome it, it will only embolden you as a business owner and make you more vigilant in the future as further challenges come up!
Ok. Thank you. Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to pivot and stay relevant in the face of disruptive technologies? Please share a story or an example for each.
Listen to your customers! I cannot stress this enough. They have the power to guide your business and take it to the next level. Simply listening to their needs and their constructive feedback is powerful during a time of disruption. Can this be a pain at times? Yes, of course. But, powerful nonetheless.
Evolve! Staying put in your status quo can KILL businesses. A business leader needs to always be thinking about how he or she can differentiate themselves from the competition and offer something new and unique. The moment you sit on your laurels is when a shark will show up to eat you.
The strength of your business is monumental, but so is employee growth and confidence. It’s critical to show employees how important they are during times of disruption. Yes, I’m referring to bonuses and salary raises when they least expect it. Stay consistent and reward your strongest employees. You will be making a big statement. As a result, you will get increased loyalty and increased work performance. There is nothing worse than a business owner who punishes their employees during a period of disruption…
Innovate, innovate, innovate. Disruption should be the best reminder to innovate your products and services. Let’s be honest, there is ALWAYS room for improvement. If you honestly believe the opposite, you should call it a day and go home.
Go the extra mile to resolve customer complaints. I think customers assume that a business owner will care less about them during a period of disruption like Covid. Make sure they know it’s the opposite. This is a time to truly shine and tell a customer that whatever the issue is, you want to resolve it and delight them. You will catch them off guard. To this day, customers are shocked when you go the extra mile to fix an issue. This is a practical example but powerful nonetheless. Let’s say a customer received your product meant for a birthday party and it turned out to have a defect. Sad? Yes. Surprise the customer and don’t just send a replacement. Send them an Amazon gift card apologizing for the mishap from your end! I guarantee you that this person will be a customer for life.
I hope these examples both inspire and help other business owners out there right now. We are undergoing the most disruption since World War II. This is a time when leaders are born and businesses thrive. The only question left is this, “are you willing to pivot?”
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
One of my all time favorite life lesson quotes is by C.S. Lewis, quite possible one of the greatest authors this world has ever known. He says “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” This quote really came to life when I experienced a renaissance with my Amazon business. I had a light bulb moment to start focusing on branding and telling story to customers and wish I had started from day 1! What I did was focus on the here and now and the future. It transformed my business and helped my multiple brands become front runners in their respective product categories.
It also is a good reminder to not look back in life and worry about “what ifs”. It’s a complete waste of time. By pressing forward and thinking about the future, it has improved my marriage and various friendships. I want a beautiful ending, a lasting legacy. I might not have thought about this when I was 18, but at 32, I can make very specific decisions now to reach this desired ending.
How can our readers further follow your work?
Thanks for asking! Please connect with me at www.blacklabeladvisor.com and on Facebook.com/blacklabeladvisor! I work one on one with other Amazon sellers now, helping them NOT repeat some of the mistakes I made running my business. I take a sort of VIP approach, so clients are hand selected and I only work with people who are good fit. At the end of the day, my passion now is derived from helping others achieve amazing success on Amazon.
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
Thinking they can do it all alone or believing they are alone in their struggle. It’s common to think that no one else can do the job as well as you and your team. Instead of alienating yourself from business connections, lean into your network and work together. Chances are if your business is struggling due to economic issues or industry shifts there are others who also need help. Ban together and combine your forces, teams, and client base to create something new. Reach out to mentors, advisors or trusted people in your life for guidance and advice. Difficult times will become much more difficult if you try to weather them alone.
As part of my series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ashley Stahl.
Ashley Stah is a counter-terrorism professional turned career coach and author of the book You Turn: Get Unstuck, Discover Your Direction, Design Your Dream Career and she’s on a mission to help you step into a career you’re excited about and aligned with. Through her two viral TEDx speeches, her online courses, her email list of 500,000 and her show, You Turn Podcast, she’s been able to support clients in 31 countries in discovering their best career path, upgrading their confidence and landing more job offers. She maintains a monthly career column in Forbes, and her work has been also featured in outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, CBS, SELF, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and more. For her FREE quiz to get clarity on your best career path options, visit AshleyStahl.com.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
I will never forget running a program for the Pentagon when I was 23 years old. In my book You Turn: Get Unstuck, Discover Your Direction, Design Your Dream Career, I share the moment I realized I was the youngest person in the room and the only woman in the room. With 80 million millennials in this country, I thought this was a huge issue, so I started hosting coffee groups around DC on the topic of career.
I quickly realized that most professionals in the workplace feel exhausted, confused or uncertain of what they were truly meant to be doing in their career. Most of these talented people were either tired of pretending to be someone else, or were ready to step out on their own but panicked at the idea of change.
These experiences and feelings were all things I had recently gone through, and it was through this connection that I realized I could help. Today, I’m a career coach, empowering people around the world to discover their authentic careers, land more job offers and launch their dream businesses.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
When starting out, I focused on sharing my services in other Facebook groups. While at first, this was a great way to put my name out there, I was relying on other communities’ platforms. Plus, it wasn’t a good look to show up in someone’s hard earned community and spam them with my services! My advice is to invest the time into building your own unique audience and community to create lasting success instead of relying on other networks.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Through the highs and lows of my entrepreneurial journey, my best friend Nicole Nowparvar has been my rock. She’s a psychotherapist in Los Angeles, and there have been so many moments when I simply needed someone wise to listen to me and strategize — Nicole always knew exactly how to show up.
Nic and I took a trip to Bali in 2016, and we ended up getting lost in Ubud’s Monkey Forest, scared we’d get attacked by monkeys! She was, as usual, grounded, while I was in a panic. Life is like getting lost in the monkey forest: have a friend who will talk you off the ledge and make the scary feel more safe.
Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your company started, what was its vision, what was its purpose?
I started my company out of the need to solve a major problem for people I cared about. First of all, when I worked at the Pentagon, I was often noticing that I was the only woman in the room. This needed to change!
Through naturally talking with friends, it seemed everyone was experiencing some career crisis, be it wanting a higher salary or finding a job in general. From my personal job hunting success, my friends would turn to me asking for advice, instead of talking about dates gone wrong or obnoxious roommates, we would find ourselves planning how they were going to ask for a raise, pursue a promotion, or make a lateral jump to a new industry. Brunches and coffee dates were naturally turning into coaching sessions that I loved. It wasn’t until a few years later that I realized I was naturally leaning into this career path and business.
My vision and purpose since have been to help as many young women and men in the workforce do work they love and be compensated accurately. We spend roughly 90,000 hours of our waking life working and it is my goal for it to be something that lights you up!
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you share with our readers a story from your own experience about how you lead your team during uncertain or difficult times?
In moments of uncertainty, it is so important to remember that your company is filled with people, and to lead from a place of compassion and empathy. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, none of us were sure what was going to come next. Before I could vet out whether the changes would impact my business, I reached out to each team member to see how they were doing and give an update on where things appeared to be standing. That brief touchpoint of connection helped everyone feel a little safer and supported.
Deeper than this, I think being able to lead during uncertainty actually begins with knowing how to hire the right team of people. When you hire talent that works well within ambiguity and is adaptable during change, leading through a challenging time is more manageable. For anyone building a business, I advise looking for these key attributes in candidates through asking them situational questions to assess their judgment calls and adaptability in their job interview.
Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?
In one of my first companies, I spent years building a thriving business without knowing that all my financial success would evaporate just months after it showed up. In You Turn I really open up about this experience and the impact my childhood had on my relationship with success and my worth. After a rough call from the debt collector, I had to make a choice, fall apart, or pick myself up and move on. It was at this moment that I had to stop holding onto my vision for what I hoped things would be, and instead choose to accept the reality of the situation. I knew deep down in that moment that I could pull myself out, and while it was going to take a great deal of work, I had it in me. For most people, it’s when the misery you are living in outweighs the fear of the unknown that we become more courageous. I choose to be courageous and face the truth when life is feeling lukewarm.
What sustained me was the incredible community I am a part of. Oftentimes, when we’re going through something difficult, we feel like no one will understand, or we simply feel alone. But that isn’t the case. By creating the courage to share my experience and current state with others, I received a level of support that I didn’t even know existed. I also discovered that some of the best entrepreneurs I admire most have also gone through extreme financial loss on their way into success.
What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?
Communicate with the long-term vision in mind. So often when something drastic happens, our vision is limited to a few inches in front of us. This reactivity is such a natural response; we need to survive today. But a great leader is one who can strategically address a challenging time by resolving short-term needs that are still aligned with long-term goals.
When the future seems so uncertain, what is the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate and engage their team?
Sometimes it’s the small gestures that make the biggest difference. As a leader, the slightest act — giving a gift card, calling to check in, anything thoughtful — can have the most profound impact on an individual. Many people put on a happy face in front of leadership, even when their workload is overwhelming them. Take time to individually ask team members how you can help out or simply listen to them. If you have some time to spare, offer it up. In turn, they will feel valued and recognized for the work they’re putting in.
What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?
If anything, overcommunicate with team members so there are no unaddressed concerns, rumors, or assumptions. The last thing you want during a difficult time is to lead your team astray by not sharing information clearly and consistently. When sharing challenging news, calm your own nerves first, and do what you can to have actionable next steps prepared.
How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?
Prepare for multiple outcomes. View the future from an “if, then” perspective. This looks like having multiple scenarios played out for what is possible in your preparation work. While this may be more work upfront, you will have managed all that is within your control. Nothing is ever certain, even during certain times, and the more you can anticipate multiple outcomes the easier they will be to face.
Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?
Stay connected to your deeper purpose. When you can quickly recall and reconnect with why you are doing your work or why you are building your business, it becomes easier to remain constant and focused. If I’m going through a difficult time or working on a challenging project, instead of allowing myself to linger in frustration, I pause and ask myself, “Is this going to help others do work they love?” It may be tempting to create a plan to turn a few sales or make a decision that isn’t aligned with your values, but that won’t keep you aligned in the long run. Turbulent times will come, and it’s the businesses that stay connected to their core values and purpose that remain.
Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make during difficult times? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
Thinking they can do it all alone or believing they are alone in their struggle. It’s common to think that no one else can do the job as well as you and your team. Instead of alienating yourself from business connections, lean into your network and work together. Chances are if your business is struggling due to economic issues or industry shifts there are others who also need help. Ban together and combine your forces, teams, and client base to create something new. Reach out to mentors, advisors or trusted people in your life for guidance and advice. Difficult times will become much more difficult if you try to weather them alone.
I see businesses moving forward with what I call blind optimism. Believing in yourself and your product or services is mandatory in entrepreneurship, but there does come a point where this optimism can be a double-edged sword and be dangerous. This happened to me at one point, I wanted to believe things would turn around, but instead they got worse. This is what I call in my book, You Turn, “hope addiction.”Looking back, I wish I had been able to catch myself sooner, to be realistic about the situation, and take steps from that place. Wishful thinking is great for inspiration to begin, but not when things are falling down.
When times are tough, I see businesses holding back from quickly adjusting their expenses. While it may be difficult to face the hard truth, or eliminate the positive thinking that things will be okay, you must be willing to eliminate services that don’t have strong ROI, to pause projects that haven’t launched, or to halt expansion projects and unnecessary expenses.
Generating new business, increasing your profits, or at least maintaining your financial stability can be challenging during good times, even more so during turbulent times. Can you share some of the strategies you use to keep forging ahead and not lose growth traction during a difficult economy?
Create multiple streams of income that are not directly reliant upon one another. If you have all of your income tied up in a single product or service, or if all of your sales are generated through a very specific lead this could become a problem down the road. Target your reach but then diversity your offerings. Easier said than done, but the problem with only one revenue stream is it’s too close to zero.
Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to lead effectively during uncertain and turbulent times? Please share a story or an example for each.
1. Fearlessly innovate. Fearless innovation is key to remaining relevant and engaged in your business. Businesses that are not open to change won’t be able to survive within this fast-moving world. I think the pandemic has been a major example of the magic that happens when businesses pivot and change versus those that stick with the status quo expecting to survive. Change forces us as entrepreneurs to either grow or die… Build a culture of innovation into your business so that when difficult times arise, the need to rethink or redesign your business isn’t something completely foreign.
2. Minimize expenses. You must adjust your business model constantly, this is something that must be reviewed quarterly, monthly, even weekly depending on your company. While finances aren’t necessarily the sexiest part of entrepreneurship, they are definitely important to understand and always have a pulse on. Have a clear understanding of what is a “nice to have” versus a must-have, and prioritize what expenses you must always plan for versus what you can remove if needed. The more you know this upfront, the easier it is to quickly adjust when turbulent times arrive.
When Covid-19 struck, job hunting support was suddenly in high demand so I put a few projects on pause that were not launched yet and pivoted to marketing my services around job hunting. By minimizing my behind-the-scenes projects temporarily and listening to what the market was asking for, I was able to not only continue growing but use the funds to now reinvest in the unpublished projects. I also learned that lots of brands are counting on influencers even more so for their marketing, and thus I signed with a talent manager to add brand partnerships as what I now have experienced to be a very FUN a revenue stream.
3. Eliminate services that don’t have ROI. In my business coaching, I have worked with clients who have great business models. Nonetheless, sometimes they are offering and marketing services that aren’t returning a strong ROI, if any at all. When you build your own business, it becomes your heart and soul and removing a product that you poured passion, time and energy into is hard. But if it isn’t making money, you must be willing to eliminate it. It’s not always just about what YOU want to create; it’s about what your ideal client wants to buy from you.
4. Overcommunicate with your team. Instead of hiding the impact as long as possible, be upfront and communicate honestly. When your business is hit hard, so many emotions flood in embarrassment, shame, and fear, to name a few. This may push you to hold back from sharing with your team, your stakeholders, or your client base but this may end up hurting you more in the long run. Overcommunicate with your team what is happening as updates unfold. The clearer you can be, the more prepared everyone associated with the impact will be.
When my first business went through turbulence, I had to communicate with my team what was happening. This is one thing every entrepreneur dreads: your business impacting the livelihoods of those around you. But the moment I knew I had to let some of my team go, I didn’t hold it back. It was hard to do, but by being upfront I was able to compensate them fully all the while helping them find new jobs faster than they had time to worry.
5. Give yourself space and grace. Don’t neglect caring for your own wellbeing. You can’t care for others or your business unless you take care of yourself first. Before you dive deep into meetings and problem-solving sessions, take a little space to center yourself, review your mission goals and purpose. When you can ground yourself in your intention, it becomes easier to see clearly and take strategic action as opposed to making frantic decisions.
Every time I am faced with a large business decision, I like to sleep on it, or spend time reflecting and journaling to see what comes up. I check in with my intuition and gauge whether my body is somatically responding to a potential decision in a positive or negative way. By doing so, I feel far more confident stepping into a decision and managing a difficult time.
Through the process of writing my book You Turn I was faced with practicing a great deal of grace for myself. The process of writing has incredibly exciting days followed by intense periods of blocks and moments of doubt. The process was a huge lesson for me that, with patience and trust in yourself, things will work out. It comes down to staying the course and knowing great things take time.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My grandmother once told me that life is like living in different time zones. Some people are eating their dinner right now because they are in New York a few hours ahead, but just because it’s too early in Los Angeles for your dinner doesn’t mean it isn’t coming…your dinner, your time, is always coming. Stop comparing yourself to others and trust your own journey.
This advice has shown up multiple times in my life.
When I was looking for answers in my own career path, I wanted them right away, and I wanted to know exactly what was right. But this was a powerful reminder that sometimes you must sit in the silence and trust that the answer will arrive when its time is right. It is also a beautiful reminder anytime comparison sets in, remembering that you are on your own path, and living in your own time zone dissolves this need to compare.
Ela Staniak Leaupepe of ‘Feminine Leaders’: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times
Be that captain who never leaves his ship. There is truly influential aspect of leadership & performance which I have seen time after time again to be playing a significant role in people’s personal and professional success: Commitment & Resilience. We love being around people who are committed and resilient because we know we can rely on them in difficult times, we can lean on them when we need to catch our breath and those people NEVER ever give up in our moments of weakness. These are the people who lovingly give you a little nudge when you slack off. It seems like they always have plenty of fuel in the tank. Leaders, commit to yourself first before you commit to anything else.
As part of my series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ela Staniak Leaupepe Founder of Feminine Leaders.
Ela helps female CEOs, Executives & Business owners to create High-Calibre Performance & Confidence Through The 7-Step Self-Leadership System. Feminine Leaders ranked top 8 Women’s Leadership businesses in NSW & ACT in Australia.
Ela is leading the way globally in developing people vertically (consciousness) and horizontally (skills and capabilities) combining over a decade of coaching experience and studies in behavioural science, motivation, physiology, intuition and business growth.
Ela inspires Self-Leadership — the highest form of valuing and honouring self through taking responsibility, having discipline and emotional intelligence — all to achieve unprecedented results professionally and personally.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
My humble beginning began in Poland, where I was born. Growing up in a Polish industrial suburb had its challenges. Losing my father to alcohol addiction and my mother to heart problems and obesity before turning 15 set out to be a huge lesson in life for me. I learned that long term disempowerment has tremendous effect on our health, career and relationships, and unfortunately some of us pay the highest price for undervaluing ourselves. I also learned that disempowerment is a state of mind, and not a final destination.
I moved to Australia at the age of 21. I studied Fitness, Sports Coaching, Wellness Coaching, Neurolinguistics Programming, Hypnotherapy, Intuitive coaching and more. I explored various areas of motivation and behavioral psychology. I have worked with high-end business mentors and accomplished countless professional development programs. I worked first in hospitality, then fitness & wellness industry, I ran a few coaching businesses before diving into Leadership & Performance.
After experiencing poor leadership and discrimination in various workplaces in three different countries I worked in, Poland, Ireland and Australia I know how much damage lack of empathetic leadership, lack of inclusion and lack of equality can create in any business and that affects the most important asset of any organization — its people.
After my last employment ended I decided to create my own business, now called Feminine Leaders — a modern Leadership & Performance enterprise. We emphasize inspiring women to take responsibility for the trajectory of their life, in business and personally. We believe in educating people, men and women, on the importance of consciousness and personality development across our society to achieve self-mastery.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Throughout my life I have been privileged to meet the most incredible people not only in business scene. Success for me has always been collaborative, it’s always been a shared experience.
At the beginning of my career I made a mistake of rejecting a lot of help as I felt I meant to be able to handle everything myself as an independent woman. I never used to ask for help. Eventually this became daunting and hugely limiting. I had a distorted definition of resourcefulness.
Later on, I learned that vulnerability, open conversations and connection allow us to step into the element of collaboration and that was a game changer for me.
I would love to acknowledge my dear friends, family and my husband for supporting my dreams, as well as providing me with unconditional love in the new journey through motherhood in 2020.
I am fully aware that I was only able to achieve great milestones in my career thanks to extraordinary business & mindset mentors, spiritual leaders and incredible alternative medicine experts. Body, Mind, Career as I like to say.
I must acknowledge my great friend and now a business partner Pjero Mardesic from Adictd2Grow. Pjero partners with senior executives to achieve exceptional leadership results personally and professionally. He is an example of determination, drive and high level execution. I am privileged to be inspired by our conversations a few times a week.
We both run independent businesses however prompted by Covid 19 in March 2020 and seeing the need in the industry we partnered up in launching a mentoring program called Business Matrix Group. We help business owners create, redesign and restructure their businesses in times of adversity. We also put our team members in close proximity with the best global experts in branding, marketing, sales, social media and more to help accelerate their 12 & 24 months visions. Our combined network, knowledge and mentoring approaches have proven to be a modern formula for success.
Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your company started, what was its vision, what was its purpose?
I fully agree with this statement. Purpose is a crucial building block of any business, big and small.
For over a decade now I have had the same clear vision to create a world full of empowered women who take charge of their results professionally and personally.
Our purpose is to be a world leading educational leadership & performance company providing resources, connection, belonging and inspiration for every woman on a globe through achieving Self-Leadership.
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you share with our readers a story from your own experience about how you lead your team during uncertain or difficult times?
Great question! I believe that adversity is present in any business on regular basis at various levels of intensity simply because there is a huge number of variables which can change rapidly any time.
Years ago, in my mid-twenties, I took on a role as one of the three managers at a medium size health club in Sydney. Most of uncertainty and difficulty was created by troubled and absent business owners, who handed us (the management team) most of responsibility of the business with limited resources. We also had very little experience in leadership and management which added up to uncertainty.
It was extremely difficult to drive business growth, keeping the team morale up, providing high level of customer service while it was obvious that the business was heading for a disaster.
What we focused on was keeping open and honest communication with our contractors and employees to reduce the level of uncertainty. Our intention was to be inclusive and empathetic to people’s common fears. We would conduct weekly staff meetings and offer one on one casual style catch up/support meetings. We would keep our team up to date with any developments in the business.
Answering questions from our customers and suppliers presented challenges too. We decided to be intentional and certain in communications while remaining aligned with our personal integrity and our own values and staying loyal to the business at the same time.
We also made big things out of little things in a positive light. We would welcome every new day with a fresh outlook. Practicing positivism in the mornings when greeting people, gifting team members with a coffee or a snack, having an occasional joke or simply being inquisitive about people helped to overcome extensive challenges, even when the outcomes weren’t fully in our control. We celebrated birthdays and festivities too!
Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?
Are you kidding?! Yes, many times! I had my first business when I was 21 years old. With tons of enthusiasm, zero business awareness and underestimated sense of what it takes to run a business I managed to grow the business in the first 6 months to then kill it within 18 months. Oopps! I learned incredible lessons of how important emotional intelligence and emotional regulation is.
It took years of failures and successes, studies, personal and professional development and a few “Go’s” at entrepreneurship to develop certainty, self-belief, skills and capabilities — all leadership & performance elements required by any long term operating business which aims for success.
What drives me forward? My Vision and my Purpose. Entities which are much greater than any of my fears, failures or Ego. My vision and purpose are much greater than any benefit I can ever create for myself.
When your vision becomes much more influential than your own little bubble, a “can” becomes a “must”. You no longer question “if you can”, you question “What are you prepared to do to get there”
What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?
The most important role of being a leader is being a leader, anytime, anywhere, despite any circumstance. Many leaders who don’t have great skills in emotional regulation, self-awareness or an ability to take responsibility, those leaders resort to default stress resolving mechanisms in times of adversity. Some of those behavioral mechanisms can manifest poor leadership for they are unconscious.
Leaders who create culture of loyalty through togetherness, respect and empathy are often supported greatly in challenging times by their employees.
People want to know they are seen, understood and that they belong. Apply this to your personal and professional environment and see greatness unfolding right in the front of your eyes.
What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?
I am glad you asked.
First of all, we must remember that everyone has a story, everyone is going through something and everyone has their own unique set of perceptions of reality. What this means is that most of the times when difficult news is delivered to a person, they can take it personally, create their own meaning of what the news means for them, what it says about them and will have their own specific reaction to it, even though the news is probably not personal at all.
When conducting a difficult conversation 3 things need to happen beforehand :
Prepare the delivery and try predicting possible outcomes
Stand in empathy and offer support or suggest possible solutions
Communicate from a place of higher self — verbally and non-verbally
Difficult conversations may trigger an emotional reaction: sense of isolation, betrayal, embarrassment, disappointment, fear.
Please do not practice the ‘Sandwich Approach’ when having difficult conversations (positive feedback, negative feedback, positive feedback). It undermines your feedback and the quality of the conversation. Research shows that people, especially on a senior level, prefer to be give the “raw truth”.
I suggest the following structure of the conversation:
Set up respectful tone for the conversation/ give a short background for a conversation ie. “In respect of our relationship I want to talk to you about…” or “I want to give you the respect of honesty and discuss the topic of (..) due to recent circumstance of ..”
Present the bad news in a kind manner/ explain the background of decision/ give constructive feedback ie. “I have analyzed our data from the period of (month to month or year to year) and noticed there has been (describe the issue).” or “I am wanting to talk to you about (issue) and gain more understanding from you about how we got here”?
Listen attentively, be aware of your body language
Present a solution/ options of resolution/ provide support
Express the willingness to maintain the relationship despite current decision/ circumstances.
Good luck!
How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?
Let’s establish something first. Future is ALWAYS unpredictable, unless you have a crystal ball and a set of tarot cards (jokes!)
A leader must make plans especially when going through challenges and uncertainty and there are a few reasons for it:
One must have clarity of direction. Sometimes the process of achieving outcomes needs to be adjusted countless of times due to changing conditions. What is important is knowing of destination. Create a plan of action A, B, C, D and E if you must and use your skills of adaptation when necessary.
Vision & Purpose are the glue holding people together in any business. A leader must revisit, remind and entertain the desired outcome which drives the business forward. Vision and Purpose can truly be top motivators for people in times of adversity.
Let’s spin our mindset a little. What if I told you that adversity carries opportunities? Some of the biggest companies were launched during or right before Global Financial Crisis: Air BnB, Uber, Mailchimp, Groupon, Square, What’s Up. What this tells us is that businesses can grow even through the most uncertain times.
The number one focus of any leader should be placed on continuous growth and personal and professional development. It’s never a lack of resources which contributes to most failures, but it’s lack of resourcefulness.
Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?
YES! “Improvise, Adapt and Overcome”. This is a Marine slogan which is taught to Marines to overcome any obstacle in combat. This mindset helps them deal with any physical, mental or spiritual hardship.
I am sure we can borrow it from Marines and apply it to business.
Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make during difficult times? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
Top common Leadership & Performance mistakes are:
Blaming staff members/ employees for business failures. Unfortunately, still today, many leaders do not TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for everything in their businesses which creates an awful culture of separation, it breaks trust and ultimately can lead to great human resources leaving the business or business shutting down. It is easy to be praised for great achievements, but what happens when results don’t match the expectations? To avoid this as a leader Take Responsibility and ask the right questions: Is our hiring process right for us? What training & development do we have in place to help people expand their capabilities? What have I done to help support my management teams and employees? What mistakes have we made which contributed to our failure? What have I learned? What can we do to resolve this? Honest, vulnerable and ongoing communication with employees builds togetherness and willingness to participate in changes. It is much easier to overcome challenges in the culture of “We are all in this together” rather than “Everyone is replaceable”
Taking fear-based actions and making fear-based decisions. As mentioned earlier, leaders who haven’t yet gained awareness of their behavioral drivers or emotional regulation may resort to basic stress resolving behaviors and focus on themselves rather than thinking inclusively of others and acting empathetically. By the way, we all do our best with the resources that we have. Poor leadership is 99% non-intentional and unconscious. Poor leadership is caused by lack of education in consciousness growth. People can sense fear, and fear is a very contagious emotion. Imagine sitting on a plane which goes through terrible turbulences. Oxygen masks drop down. The plane captain storms in with a parachute on his back and says “This is too hard, I am jumping off the plane to save myself”. Would you feel frightened, betrayed, unsupported and full of disbelief of how selfishly the captain acted? This is exactly how employees feel when they notice the leadership team or the business owner being dictatorial, overwhelmed or too pushy in times of hardship. To avoid this as a leader have a strong daily morning routine which allows you to nourish your emotional, physical and mental health. Lead by example by showing how to honor self to then honor others. Show people how to manage stress at a high level of integrity, emotional capacity and sustainability of high performance.
Lacking adaptation. The real root cause of this issue is focusing on a problem and its negative effects on the business rather than expanding thought processes and searching for solutions. To avoid this as a leader adopt a belief of limitless possibilities. “Where there’s a will there’s a way” Leaders in the modern era of business need to be agile, adaptive and question the usual ways of doing things in pursuit of brand new ideas. Being a modern leader requires bravery and exploring new, undiscovered territories regularly especially today, when technological advancement rapidly develops and it is inseparable part of any business.
Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to lead effectively during uncertain and turbulent times? Please share a story or an example for each.
Stand in honesty, vulnerability and transparency. The most successful leaders are relatable, trusted and show their real human side without worrying about losing their status. Why? Because one of basic human needs is ‘connection & belonging’. Provide people with it and you will create loyal and genuine teams.
Turn up your Emotional Intelligence to the next level. When going through turbulent times what people often want to do is work more, do longer hours at work and minimize interactions with others just to increase load of accomplished tasks! WRONG! When a business goes through huge changes what needs to be exercised is a larger level of empathy, increased volume of meaningful conversations and togetherness so as soon as one link of the chain becomes weaker others step in to assist. This allows for ongoing assessment and progress. This allows for small problems to be caught before they grow into big problems.
Make decisions confidently but inclusively of others. We established a moment ago that emotions are contagious. Certainty is too! When a leader manifests strong decision making skills based on an accumulative input from others and a thorough assessment of an issue, everyone around feels a sense of safety and direction. People want to be led towards attractive outcomes and have a sense of contribution at the same time especially in times of adversity.
Master skills of communication. This topic is hugely underestimated. In usual we have a subjective opinion about whether we are good or bad communicators. What is required in order to be an extraordinary communicator is not only active listening, it is also knowledge of unconscious behaviors, unconscious language and limiting beliefs. Why? Because great communicators can hear, see and feel way beyond the words, way beyond what is obvious. If you want to be able to influence others, you want to be able to truly SEE what is going on in their default states (ie. Empowered and Disempowered; Ego and Higher Self;)
Be that captain who never leaves his ship. There is truly influential aspect of leadership & performance which I have seen time after time again to be playing a significant role in people’s personal and professional success: Commitment & Resilience. We love being around people who are committed and resilient because we know we can rely on them in difficult times, we can lean on them when we need to catch our breath and those people NEVER ever give up in our moments of weakness. These are the people who lovingly give you a little nudge when you slack off. It seems like they always have plenty of fuel in the tank. Leaders, commit to yourself first before you commit to anything else.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Sure!
“The question isn’t who is going to let me, but who is going to stop me?” by Ayn Rand
Throughout my life, I have faced countless challenges in my career and personal life. From difficulties in my childhood, health troubles, having my heart broken in relationships, financial problems, failing in business to huge personal and professional growth.
There were times when I felt powerless, defeated and lost. It wasn’t until I understood that by taking a complete responsibility for everything in my life, becoming committed and disciplined I am able to overcome anything. I can achieve anything! I was then able to transform my business, my health and my relationships.
It wasn’t until I realized that it’s thanks to those challenges and people who challenged my character I was able to find my true potential, I was able to find myself. Today I am grateful for all the experiences. Every experience allowed me to learn something about myself. What I now have is relentless resilience and limitless self-love.
Having empathy in leadership is as important as being right. In any large organization, you need to collaborate with people in other departments and even in other companies to achieve lasting success. Making the right decisions is important, but it’s just as important to be empathetic and diplomatic towards others in order to get things done.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs I had the pleasure of interviewing Stefan Engel.
Stefan Engel is Vice President and General Manager of Lenovo’s Visuals Business, in the Intelligent Devices Group. He oversees the development, sales and marketing of the company’s monitor product lines. Engel has more than 25 years of experience in the IT industry, specializing in different hardware categories including desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, monitors and more.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
While studying business administration at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, I was looking for a job and found that a school for adult education was looking for someone to teach computer courses. Given that I owned a computer that was considered state of the art for its time, I taught Word 1.0 and Multiplan, the predecessor of Excel. It was a great job and my first entry into the world of IT!
After university, my passion for IT grew and I decided to start a new job working for a system integration company. Three years later, I jumped into a new role as a product manager at a PC company, and eventually worked my way up to lead their Eastern Europe division and later Central Europe, where monitors were an important element of my work.
About 17 years later, I began my journey at Lenovo as the Region Manager of Central Europe. Currently, I am the General Manager of Lenovo’s Visual Business worldwide, helping to enable Lenovo’s vision of leading smarter technology for all, through monitors. I have the amazing opportunity to define products by starting with customer needs — in the near-term and far into the future.
Can you tell us about the cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on for monitors of the future? How do you think that will help people?
Today’s professionals are more mobile than ever before, and that means their technology needs flexible, multifunctional solutions. That’s why Lenovo’s design and engineering teams are looking into the future to anticipate the specific needs of customers, ranging from the next year and even five years from now.
While some cutting-edge technologies are already here, such as 5G and smart IoT, and will continue to evolve to meet consumer needs, within the next year, we can expect monitors to improve with larger screens, faster refresh rates, and higher resolutions that easily adapt to both work and home lifestyles. We also expect future monitors to be wireless and have enhanced integration capabilities. This will not only reduce desktop clutter while offering a modern design with slim, sleek lines, but establish the monitor as an essential part of the desktop ecosystem and home hub by connecting with multiple devices, such as a PC, laptop, or smartphone.
We will also see monitors getting sensors. For example, the ThinkVision T27hv Monitor has a human presence sensor for the first time. The monitor detects if a person is in front of the monitor, and if nothing is detected, it goes into sleep mode to conserve power. This feature saves energy and also acts as an additional security mechanism.
Looking into the far future, we also see cloud computing and roll-able monitors that have a flexible or pop up form factor becoming other prominent features being integrated. As remote work becomes the new normal due to the pandemic, businesses will continue to update their legacy systems to support cloud-based applications and a more seamless remote working experience across stationary and mobile devices. Even farther out, we see the emergence of roll-able monitors with the potential to offer unparalleled design benefits fit for any workspace. Imagine being able to pull the display out when needed, and then roll the device back up into storage when it’s not in use, which would be incredibly useful for anyone who’s previously restricted to having a full monitor set-up taking up too much space in their homes or need to stay mobile in order to be productive.
How do you think this might change the world?
This past year the pandemic ushered in an era of remote work on an unprecedented scale and has accelerated the need for technologies that can support our blended lifestyles. Work-life blend has become the norm — blurring the lines between our professional and personal lives. But whether we are working remotely or in the office, it is apparent that we need monitors that can support connectivity, functionality, cloud computing, smart applications, and a flexible design.
Monitors with a wireless connection and a USB-C hub or a roll-able pop-up design will eliminate the need for multiple cables, ensuring less desktop mess and will be easier to disinfect in shared spaces. The USB-C hub offers a one-cable solution that will enable users to connect the monitor to a laptop, phone or other smart devices with ease. Thus, the extended functionality makes it easy to transfer files when bouncing between personal and work devices whether the user is at home or in the office. Additionally, a 5G wireless connection and smart IoT applications help support various devices, like the smartphone, gaming consoles, and more, to stay connected with the monitor anytime, anywhere.
As the pandemic continues to drive work from home, as I’ve mentioned earlier, cloud-based applications can help businesses to remotely update their legacy systems to improve the working experience on either a stationary or mobile device. Applications, such as a display control center, enable users to not only master the complex display settings and seamlessly multitask through single and multi-display window control but offer easy remote asset management for IT managers.
To that end, these forward-looking monitor features will change how both home and office users work and play.
Was there a “tipping point” with customers this year that led you to these new monitor innovations? Can you tell us that story?
User insights power the technology experiences that we create. It’s crucial for Lenovo to address customer pain points through solutions that meet their needs. This year, technology played a critical role in people’s lives as we were confronted with remote working and distance learning for a long period of time. This increased screen time as a result of the pandemic led to several new challenges for us to solve. A few recent “tipping point” trends in monitors emerging from customer feedback include new standards and needs for natural low blue light technology, mini-LED and crystal sound display, mobile monitors, and a USB-C hub.
During the pandemic, Lenovo continued to listen to customer feedback, and our research found that people now spend, on average, half of their day in front of a screen. It was clear that this increased screen time can have a negative impact on eyes, and we needed to do something to protect our customers’ health. With our natural low blue light technology, monitor colors are still high-quality, but your eyes are better protected. At Lenovo, we feel a responsibility to do everything we can to protect our customers, and currently, no other major OEM has as many monitors certified by Eyesafe than Lenovo.
Another example of Lenovo’s constant innovation is using customer feedback to improve our on-screen display. As monitors increase in size, the distance between the user and the monitor increases and settings like brightness, contrast, and resolution need to be adjusted — and users must stand up to make these changes. In order to solve this user pain point, we developed the Think Color software for our Think series monitors and also developed a similar software called Lenovo Artery for our consumer models. This allows the user to make adjustments easily with the click of a mouse. In addition, the user can even update the firmware with just a few clicks. I can say from my own personal experience, before I had this software, I never changed the settings of my monitor, and now I can easily adjust it as often as I’d like.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
A good example of how we were able to address widespread adoption with customers was with the integration of Lenovo’s natural low blue light technology developed for monitors. Lenovo natural low blue light technology offers next-generation low blue and color requirements guided by health research, and input from leaders in the healthcare community. It helps users to minimize eye strain and provides a better viewing experience, even during prolonged or continuous use.
Lenovo visuals were among the first group of display providers to ship monitors with the natural low blue light technology in 2019. By then we launched the ThinkVision S28u Monitor for business and the Lenovo L28u Monitor for consumer home use, debuting industry-leading technology that physically prevents harmful blue light while at the same time providing high-quality true-to-real-life color performance.
To further support our efforts in making this technology a widespread standard for monitors, Lenovo announced a new certification that would be integrated into all its monitors — the Eyesafe standard, which is the highest set of requirements for the display industry. The Eyesafe standard certified by TUV, enables Lenovo to quickly communicate to our customers that our products have met the most rigorous standards for high-energy visible blue light, maximum energy and color performance.
What are a few “Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Having empathy in leadership is as important as being right. In any large organization, you need to collaborate with people in other departments and even in other companies to achieve lasting success. Making the right decisions is important, but it’s just as important to be empathetic and diplomatic towards others in order to get things done.
Hierarchy shouldn’t get in the way of helping customers. Early on in my career, I did an internship in a large German company, selling chemicals that helped make foam in detergent, bubbles and more. At the time, demand was always higher than supply. A customer called me in desperate need of more supply to produce bubble fluid for kids to blow bubbles with. I recalled my own childhood and how much fun I had blowing bubbles as a kid, and wanted the same for other kids. Unfortunately there was not enough supply through my usual channels. So I looked up an internal contact list and called the head of the department with this request. He picked up the phone and reprimanded me, that I should have gone to my superior to reach out to him instead because of his seniority to me. I was shocked. This is a lesson that I took with me for the rest of my career. I made it a point to never let seniority get in the way of serving customers or having open dialogue with my teams. To me, helping a customer is always more important than internal hierarchies. As for the end to my earlier story? Well, I did end up helping the bubble customer and was very proud of myself for that.
There’s no such thing as work-life balance. Work is a part of life and not separate from it. If you’re not happy at work, then a part of your life is un-balanced and you must fix it. Finding the right career path to suit your interests is important. If you are passionate about what you do, it will make those long nights seem shorter and you’ll be excited to start each new day.
Very often, systems define the process, and not vice versa as it should be. When companies renew their IT systems, ideally they define the process as it should be and implement the system in a way that reflects this process. But often times, a great idea may get turned down by the killer phrase, “Our system does not allow that”. Of course, systems can’t be easily changed, but if there’s a will, then with time, patience and persistence, there’s often a way.
Not everyone wants to become a manager, and that’s okay. Sometimes, people work better on their own, preferring to only focus on managing their own time and priorities, vs managing a team. Some excel as individual contributors, and others as managers. The key is to play to each team member’s complementary strengths.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite life lesson quote is, “Make sure the life you live is your own.”
There will always be many people telling us what we should do, what is good for us, and what will bring us ahead. I have seen many people losing their authenticity and their own personality by adopting to others.
A company does not benefit when all its managers are too similar. Enabling Lenovo’s vision of delivering smarter technology for all requires diversity. And diversity doesn’t only refer to ethnicity and gender, it also refers to experience, skillsets, perspectives and personality. A company that can integrate diverse and complementary talent into one team will be more successful than one where everyone is modeled to be the same. As for managers, you cannot be happy if you cannot be your authentic self at work. Don’t be afraid to be your authentic self.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can follow me on Twitter: @Engel_Lenovo and on LinkedIn
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Work on yourself: The greatest place to start is with yourself. Going to a therapist, enrolling in a yoga class, seeing a spiritual advisor, are all steps you can take personally to make sure you are in a place to help others. In my opinion the antithesis to loneliness is Identity, Purpose, and Hope. If you have those three things you are much more available to develop connections and create community.
As a part of my interview series about the ‘5 Things We Can Each Do Help Solve The Loneliness Epidemic’ I had the pleasure to interview Dr. Mark Mayfield, a licensed professional counselor (LPC), a Board Certified Counselor, and the Founder and CEO of Mayfield Counseling Centers.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share your “backstory” with us? What was it that led you to your eventual career choice?
I grew up in a small town in Southern California, had a great group of friends, and was successful in school. Prior to my fourth-grade year my parents informed me that we would be moving to Colorado. This up-ended my life. I didn’t know anyone in Colorado and I had to start all over making friends. I was a unique kid. I was different. I looked like a white version of Steve Urkel from that 90’s TV show “Family Matters”. My pants were too high, I had braces, glasses, was socially awkward, and very clumsy. Making friends did not happen. After several years of being ostracized, bullying from several boys began. Every day I would be shoved into a locker, thrown into a trash can, given a swirly, verbally assaulted, and pushed down or tripped in the hallway. Going to school became a nightmare. I became very sick the spring semester of my 6th grade year. I was 12 years old. I contracted a migraine headache that would last over 6 months. During that period of being poked, prodded, and tested, I decided I wanted the pain to end and I attempted to end my life. After my stint in the hospital, my family and I began to receive counseling, and it was determined that my migraine headaches were a physical representation of emotional and mental pain. Counseling saved my life. From that point on I always knew I would be a counselor, I just didn’t know what path I would take. I started out as a youth minister/clergy in a popular Colorado mountain town, but after a completed suicide and an overdose, I quickly began to realize my training needed bolstered and I went back to school to get my masters and PhD in Counseling. Since my graduation from my masters in Counseling I have worked with hundreds of thousands of youth and their families helping them find the same restoration and healing I found with my counselor so many years earlier.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Many years ago, I used to run court ordered groups for adolescents. I would run groups for adolescents that were caught dealing drugs, and adolescents that were caught using drugs. The group became so popular with the court system I was asked to develop groups that worked with convicted adolescent gang-members. In one specific group (which lasted 36 weeks) I had this young man that, for 12 weeks, would not say anything. He was probably 17 years old and a part of a local gang. His silence held power and after 12 weeks I was tired of him holding the power, so I confronted him. He immediately got up, got in my face, and started cussing me out. I calmly sat there and allowed him to finish. When he was done berating me, I asked if he felt better. He looked at me with a confused look on his face and stated, “you’re not going to hit me?”. I said “no”. He turned around and sat back down in his chair, with the rest of the group looking on. In that moment I had broken a stereotype for this young man. I showed him that it was okay to emote, to be mad, and to let it out. He later became a leader in the group and disclosed that he had been in the gang since birth (parents were the O.G.’s or Original Gangsters). He wanted to get out of the gang and make something of his life but if he did, he would most likely die. We were able to work with his probation officers and get him moved to a different state where he could start over without fear. That was over 10 years ago, and I often think about him and how he is doing.
Can you share a story about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or takeaway you learned from that?
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Several exciting things:
My new book “Help! My Teen is Self-Injuring: A Crisis Manual for Parents” will be available as a free e-book download in the next couple of months.
I just signed a deal with a publisher to write the book “The Loneliness Epidemic”
My non-profit counseling practice is looking to expand into a third location to help individuals, couples and families find Clarity, Hope, and Purpose through low-cost, accessible, and quality mental health services.
My non-profit counseling practice is also dreaming about developing a transitional housing program for teenagers aging out of the foster-care system. The program would provide a safe place for them to live while the received job skills, life skills, counseling, medication management, coaching, etc.
Can you share with our readers a bit why you are an authority about the topic of the Loneliness Epidemic?
I am a suicide survivor, so I have firsthand experience of what it is like to be in the pit of loneliness and depression with little to no hope insight.
I have been a counselor with diverse populations for over 10 years and have seen the effects of loneliness in my clients (suicidality, self-injury, depression, anxiety, drug use, etc.).
I have been signed as an author by a publishing house to write a book on this subject.
I am a fierce advocate for mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health and believe that health in these four areas is the antithesis of loneliness.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. According to this story in Forbes, loneliness is becoming an increasing health threat not just in the US , but across the world. Can you articulate for our readers 3 reasons why being lonely and isolated can harm one’s health?
This is a complex answer that will need to go beyond this article. In my research and in my opinion the three main reasons that being lonely can harm one’s health are as follows:
Mentally: The state of one’s mental health is highly correlative to their emotional, spiritual, and physical health. There is a direct link to how our thinking effects how we are. Toxic thoughts can and will cause low levels of inflammation in our bodies that can lead to other forms of sickness. The more isolated we are the lonelier we are and the more stuck within ourselves we become. This becomes an insidious cycle that will perpetuate our loneliness and confirm the toxic stories about ourselves (e.g. I’m not loved, I’m not valued, I’m not appreciated, heard, seen, etc.)
Emotionally: Mental and emotional health often go hand in hand and in this case it is true. The toxic cycle continues from our mental health to our emotional health. The lonelier we become the more embedded our negative story cycle becomes. We begin to expect negative things to happen and we have the potential to further isolate ourselves because we don’t want to get hurt. The more we isolate the more painful it can become and the only option is to numb or disassociate from our emotions. When we do this, we become unaware of how our body is receiving external stimuli.
Physical: In my opinion, this is the final stage in the isolation and loneliness cycle. If we don’t care for ourselves mentally and emotionally and confront the negative cycles which lead to loneliness, we will damage our bodies through sickness. The toxicity of our mind and emotions will lead to levels of inflammation in our bodies that will perpetuation sickness.
On a broader societal level, in which way is loneliness harming our communities and society?
This too is a bigger conversation.
The fundamental framework of a healthy society is connection, community, and relationships. We can see this throughout history. When a society was focused on connection, community, and relationships they thrived, when they didn’t, they began to falter. In my opinion the deepest desire of every human being is to be seen, valued, loved, and accepted without judgment. This takes work, intentionality, effort, humility, consistency, honesty etc. I believe that we are becoming a lazy society, hiding behind our screens and platforms. It has become a you vs. me; us vs. them focus rather than truly seeing the humanity of the other person. We focus on what divides us more than we focus on what unites us. This mindset is perpetuating and deepening the loneliness crisis
The irony of having a loneliness epidemic is glaring. We are living in a time where more people are connected to each other than ever before in history. Our technology has the power to connect billions of people in one network, in a way that was never possible. Yet despite this, so many people are lonely. Why is this? Can you share 3 of the main reasons why we are facing a loneliness epidemic today? Please give a story or an example for each.
Relationships take proximity: What this means is that to be in relationship with someone we must be in constant physical proximity with the individual. We are relational beings that thrive off of personal contact. In fact, our brain does not reach its fullest potential unless it is in a safe, trusting relationship with someone else. Think of it like exercising. When we work towards a goal of running a marathon, we must exercise to prepare or the cardiovascular system, the muscles, etc. won’t be strengthened to do what they need to do. This is the same thing with our brain. If we do not exercise the relational parts of our mind and our brain, we will not be healthy. This cannot be exercised over a screen. It has to be done face-to-face.
Relationships take intentionality: Let’s be honest, relationships take work. It takes time and effort to get to know someone. It takes time and effort to trust someone. It takes time and effort to work through difficulties in a relationship. It takes time and effort to be teachable and humble. It takes a reciprocal intentionality to reach out and engage. I remember reading a story about the end of communism in eastern Europe in the late 80’s. When the media entered the came upon orphanages with rows of cribs. The children in these orphanages were receiving a couple meals a day and a diaper change or two, but many of them were withering away and dying (failure to thrive scenario). Why? Because they didn’t have the intentional connection they needed.
An over-use of screens has the potential to “arrest” our relational brain: Studies are currently being done to understand the effects of the overuse of screens. Preliminary studies show that parts of the emotional and relational brain are being stunted or arrested in their development. Why? Because as I’ve stated before, we are relational beings and our brain develops in relationship.
Ok. it is not enough to talk about problems without offering possible solutions. In your experience, what are the 5 things each of us can do to help solve the Loneliness Epidemic. Please give a story or an example for each.
Put down the phone/device: I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been in public and have seen people at a restaurant with their families on their phones. Please hear me say that I am not against phones or devices, I actually believe that they have a lot more good to offer than bad. BUT they need to be handled responsibly. I wish I could give you a formula, but in all honesty this needs to be determined by your family culture (meaning what is best for you personally and your family). I cannot tell you what that should look like. What I can tell you is that the more you look up and engage someone face-to-face, eye-to-eye, the less lonely you or the other person will be.
Work on yourself: The greatest place to start is with yourself. Going to a therapist, enrolling in a yoga class, seeing a spiritual advisor, are all steps you can take personally to make sure you are in a place to help others. In my opinion the antithesis to loneliness is Identity, Purpose, and Hope. If you have those three things you are much more available to develop connections and create community.
Learn to see the humanity of others: Let’s be honest. We need to stop fighting about who is right and who is wrong. There was a time when we could agree to disagree and still be friends. With the advent of social media, this has become more difficult. We need to learn to have conversations, to be curious, intentional, and honoring of those around us. We need to remember that we are all human beings with stories, traumas, hurts, joys, achievements, and successes. If someone is struggling we should walk with them without trying to fix or judge. If someone is successful we should celebrate with joy! If we don’t understand an idea or an opinion we should lean it and be curious. If we can do these things I believe a large part of this problem will go away.
Advocate for those that may not have a voice (or haven’t found it yet): When we do the first two, the this one should become a logical next step. Instead of deepening the segregation of our society (in all forms) those who understand their Identity and Purpose and have Hope, have a responsibility to walk alongside those who don’t yet.
Be intentional to create community: A safe, trusting, and vulnerable community is the next step. For those that have figured or are figuring things out it should be their responsibility to pay attention to those in need (similar to step 3). If someone is hurting sit with them, if someone is hungry take them a meal, if someone is successful celebrate with them. Like I’ve stated before, this takes consistency and intentionality.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Frankly, I think we need to stop airing our opinions that attack on social media. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have an opinion, but I’d rather see social media as a platform for celebration and encouragement. I would also like to see those who have influence be the ones to set the example. Let’s learn to love, respect, and honor those that are different than us, let’s learn from each other, grow from each other, respect each other (even if we don’t agree…or should I say especially if we don’t agree).
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Honestly, I would choose someone like Jimmy Fallon, Ellen DeGeneres, Tyler Perry, Peyton Manning, Oprah, Barack or Michelle Obama. Why? Because they are using their influence to make the world a better place for everyone!
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Facebook: @TheDrMayfield
Podcast: Candid Conversations with Dr. Mayfield (itunes, google play, etc.)
The Future Is Now: Gal Ringel of Mine On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up Data Privacy
Experience is not always the only thing that matters — I truly believe in growing people into their position and making them excellent by helping them be better. So I’m always in favor of giving a chance to people that I identity have the right skills to succeed
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gal Ringel CEO and co-founder at Mine. A technology geek, an entrepreneur by heart and an ex-VC investor. Forbes 30 under 30.
With the growth of social networks and personal data collection worldwide, privacy has become a concern for many. Despite this concern, an average of 350 companies hold a given consumer’s personal data, such as their identity and financial information. These digital traces pose significant digital risks, such as identity theft, reputation damage, financial loss, manipulation, etc., for consumers and are abused daily by hackers and nefarious organizations.
Mine exists to empower consumers to discover and manage their data by giving the tools understand what their digital footprint looks like, who has what information about them, and what are the digital risks associated with that, but also to take action and do something about it, by sending removal requests of their personal data automatically from any company allowing transparency and choice online.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I was writing code and hacking stuff since I was really young, around eight years old, and this is what eventually got me drafted to the 8200, the cybersecurity unit, part of the Israeli Military Intelligence. I had a long army service of 6 years and was released as an officer with a Captain rank. I did a lot of cybersecurity engineering and team-leading. After my army service, I did a few other engineering roles, and after ten years of hands-on technology experience, I decided to change my career to the business side.
Somehow I found myself joining the Venture Capital community in Israel, working for two US corporations as an investor. My first two years were with Nielsen, the US market research firm, investing in Israeli early-stage startups (Seed and A) around consumer, media, mobile, etc. It was an eye-opening experience for me. Then I moved on to an additional two and a half years with Verizon Ventures, investing in later-stage startups (A-C). Overall, I had the chance to invest in 20+ amazing startups in the Israeli ecosystem, deploying a total of $50m, and I learned so much during this time on how startups are operating and how venture capital is done. I was also lucky to be chosen to Forbes 30 under 30 in 2017.
Now I’m the CEO and Co-founder at Mine. Mine is a smart data assistant, enabling digital users to discover and manage their personal data online. Protecting people’s data was something that I always dealt with throughout my career and something that excites me and that I always wanted to solve.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I think that the most interesting story is about my VC career. I invested in 20+ amazing startups, each with its own unique story, and had the chance to escort them throughout their journey. Be with them in their ups and downs, help them solve current pains, joined strategy discussions, board meetings, and some of them already got acquired, which is exciting to see a full closure. I think this experience contributed a lot to my skill-set as a CEO at Mine.
Can you tell us about Mine’s technology? How do you think Mine’s technology is helping people?
Mine, which was established to empower consumers to discover and manage their data by using a proprietary non-intrusive AI algorithm to identify companies that are most likely to have collected a user’s personal data. Mine identifies companies that are holding onto data using email history based on the subject lines from a user’s email inbox without reading or collecting the body of the emails. In parallel to that, Mine developed another AI algorithm that analyzes the privacy policy of companies to learn what data they collect and what do they do with the data, and we did that to 4 million digital services worldwide.
With our Series A funding of $9.5M, we are working to build out new products that will enable consumers globally to fully control how their personal data is used and allow businesses to process “Right-To-Be-Forgotten” requests automatically.
Data privacy is a mainstream concern, but most people don’t know their data privacy rights and how to control who is holding on to their personal data. Mine puts the power back in the users’ hands by giving them the ability to identify who is holding their data and the tools to reclaim their data. We are driving a major social impact by making online data privacy rights accessible to the average person as well as providing transparency and choice to every consumer on the internet.
Was there a “tipping point” or moment of inspiration that led you to the creation of Mine? Can you tell us that story?
For years, people said privacy is dead and accepted the fact that they can’t do anything about it. In most cases, they were right. Privacy was always about putting fences around us, keeping us from sharing our personal data with others. But by doing so, we miss out on all the fun.
Honestly, stop sharing is not the solution, it’s just avoiding the problem. We believe that people should use the internet without worrying about what would happen to their personal data.
The truth is that privacy has evolved into data ownership.
Now, with the GDPR, CCPA, LGPD, and other privacy regulations in place, we can live without fences, and share whatever we want, with whoever we want — and be able to take it back whenever we choose!
Mine is all about helping consumer leave their data only where they need it the most to avoid potential digital risks.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
A major factor in Mine’s success is educating consumers globally on their rights to own their personal data and ask to remove it from companies. With lawmakers enacting GDPR in Europe and CCPA in California, technologies and consumers have been unable to keep up with these complicated laws’ intricacies and details. Mine’s mission is to increase awareness of data ownership by providing an easy-to-use platform powered by AI to allow the average consumer to manage their personal data across the internet without changing their online behavior.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
Our main focus as we continue to grow is to drive signups of our platform to establish a loyal user base that will help spread the word of Mine. We are working to build relationships with key media to help in getting the word out and drive greater education on owning our digital footprints. Moreover, our entire growth is based on organic efforts, which leverage our insights about the privacy and data market as well as useful content. Here are a few examples of things we did that were successful:
A brand new commercial that simply explains what we do — here.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
How to find excellent marketing people out of Israel? — Israel is known for its strong B2B startups but lacks excellent B2C marketers.
Living in your target marketing is NOT a must — I think COVID educated the world that business can be done remotely, without being in the target market.
Experience is not always the only thing that matters — I truly believe in growing people into their position and making them excellent by helping them be better. So I’m always in favor of giving a chance to people that I identity have the right skills to succeed.
Maintaining a healthy company culture — It is very important to define the company policy and culture in advance and keep serving as an example to all employees to maintain it. Happy employees equal a successful company.
Always be hiring — hiring is one of the most important aspects of my job as a CEO, which takes a significant portion of my time, and is essential to build and maintain and successful company.
If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? (Doesn’t have to be related to data privacy)
The MeToo movement. I think this is a very important cause that everyone should strive to support to build a safer and respectable environment for women worldwide.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I truly believe that “Success is a management of failures” and therefore my motto: “Do not be afraid to take risks and experience failures. This is how we learn best!”
This sentence is leading me with everything I do in my professional and personal life. Getting out of your comfort zone and experience new things is the number one key to success.
Protect your brand. As your brand becomes more popular, more counterfeiters arise. It’s imperative to protect your brand’s reputation and revenue by working with a partner like Red Points to help maintain customer trust.
As part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview Katherina Borve.
Katherina Borve, Kat for short, created Brassybra after a painful experience using duct tape on her wedding day back in 2012. Knowing there had to be a better way to flaunt strapless or backless clothing, Kat experimented with family and friends using different fabrics, shapes and materials to create the world’s first breathing adhesive bra that stretches like skin. As a result, Kat launched Brassybra in 2016. Kat is a firm believer in body positivity and made sure that her products satisfied women of any size and shape — no matter how small or large.
Kat is originally from Norway but currently lives in Miami with her husband and two children to pursue business in the US. Kat previously worked in the airline industry and in skincare before her fateful wedding day.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Back in 2012 when I was getting married, I found my dream wedding dress, but I couldn’t find any bra to go with the strapless design. I tried everything on the market but couldn’t find anything that provided invisible support that would last throughout the whole day and all the dancing. I ended up trying what many women have tried before — duct tape. I suffered throughout the entire day and barely made it to the end. Removing it was even worse. A few months later, I was invited to a party and wanted to wear a backless dress. I had the same problem. Then and there, I decided there had to be a better solution than duct tape and Brassybra was born.
I began experimenting with different shapes and materials. I asked my friends, sisters, mother and mother-in-law to be my guinea pigs. In the beginning, it was just a hobby. But as time went on, more friends inquired about the product and I began to really develop it. Now, years later, Brassybra has been on the market for five years. It’s the world’s first adhesive bra that stretches and moves with you like a second skin. My product works for cups of all sizes from A — G unlike our competitors. We’re the only breast tape on the market that is ethically produced and offers inclusive skin tone options so that everyone can find a close match.
I believed in the idea so much so that I invested all my savings into the business to get us started. Once we got going, we received support from Innovation Norway to help us find a factory for product development. We ended up with a 97 percent cotton-based material with elastane, which creates the second skin-like feeling. The most important thing to me during the product development phase was to ensure that the product quality and working conditions were excellent, so that consumers could trust that they’re receiving a safe and guilt-free product.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
It’s not that funny of a story, but the biggest marketing issue we’ve had is trying to sell a product that can’t appear on most social media platforms. We’ve had hundreds of posts and ads taken down due to censorship, essentially because our skin-toned tapes blended in so well that algorithms were translating our posts as “nudity.” Despite our many efforts, we continue to have this issue today. We’ve had to be extremely creative in how we showcase the product to promote it at all.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Our passion for body positivity and inclusivity is what sets us apart. We truly want to help as many women as possible feel beautiful. Our customers appreciate that we showcase a multitude of body types and skin tones to inspire everyone to feel gorgeous. Our company’s general tone is not only to be “Shamelessly Bold,” but to be approachable and relatable in how we engage our customers.
We’ve received so many compliments about our content, from the models and influencers we work with, to the artwork (all of which is my original artwork), to our marketing emails. We like to call our team “Boob Fairies,” and this term has only gotten even more popular.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, we have new products on the way in 2021. One of our new items is extremely unique and unlike anything else on the market. It will help a lot of women wear their dream wardrobe in a way they may not have ever been able to before.
Ok let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
Advertising can enhance brand awareness, while branding drives the style and direction of advertising campaigns. Marketing can manage brand accountability and shore up a brand’s reputation, in addition to promoting ad campaigns.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
Early on, I was advised by a patent lawyer to not patent my product because it wasn’t necessary, which I later regretted after Brassybra’s popularity skyrocketed and counterfeit products with it. With Brassybra’s reputation and revenue at risk, I decided to reach out to brand intelligence platform Red Points to find and remove counterfeit products using its AI-driven software. To this day, Red Points helps not only protect our brand, but also our customers by giving them more assurance to trust in Brassybra.
Another reason to invest in branding is that it helps you identify your brand’s personality and target market. We want people to not only purchase from us but to feel like they know us when they buy from Brassybra.
Can you share 5 strategies that a company should be doing to build a trusted and believable brand? Please tell us a story or example for each.
Transparency. Creating realistic expectations and telling the truth in a polite way even when you know it won’t be received well.
Answer everyone. We answer every DM, email, message, and comment on all social media platforms. We want people to know we’re listening.
Protect your brand. As your brand becomes more popular, more counterfeiters arise. It’s imperative to protect your brand’s reputation and revenue by working with a partner like Red Points to help maintain customer trust.
Make things right. We do everything we can to make sure our customers feel heard and understood.
Keep your promises to the customer. We assure all users of Brassybra that the product really works, so we do everything in our power to offer everything we’ve promised.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved brand. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
Sara Blakely built an amazing product and company. She inspired me to build my own company. It requires a lot of hard work, and I’ve made some mistakes, but not trying gets you nowhere. As Sara Blakely said, “failure is not an outcome; failure is not trying. Don’t be afraid to fail.”
In advertising, one generally measures success by the number of sales. How does one measure the success of a brand building campaign? Is it similar, is it different?
Brand awareness is a measure of success. Brand building is about creating a space where customers can learn more about you and what you stand for.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
For us, social media plays a huge role in our branding efforts. It’s where we show who we are and also how to use the product. Instagram is our top referral for sales and we take it very seriously. Our social media content is all about women loving themselves and it shows the market that we’re bold and fun.
What advice would you give to other marketers or business leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?
I love what I do. I like to think of Brassybra as my third baby. Loving what you do helps so much. Delegating is crucial. You have to hire people who align with your goals and bring them into the family. I treat my staff as I would my extended family, and I genuinely feel like they have my back.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Body positivity is so important to me and the Brassybra brand, so I align with many aspects of that movement. If I could impart any knowledge to others, it would be to love yourself now. Wear your dream clothes even if you don’t think you’re “ready” to. Go for your goals. Be shamelessly bold and don’t let anyone treat you like you’re not beautiful.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I have two answers:
1.“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know, that can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.” — Sara Blakely
As I said earlier: You have to be with people who align with your goals and bring them into the family.
2. “I know I can.” This is my own life quote. I have always been someone who finds a way to do the things I dream. Prior to Brassybra, I was told that I could never work in a cabin crew because I have dyslexia. That didn’t stop me because I worked in a cabin crew for ten years. I might have to work a little harder, but it will never stop me from achieving my dreams.
We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a lunch or breakfast with? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
My idol is Sara Blakely; she is an iron woman. It would be a dream to meet her! She’s built something amazing. She was also my inspiration when it came to building my company.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
On my Instagram @katherinaborve.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Gary Shinner and Jill Portman of Good Pharma: Five Things You Need To Build A Trusted And Beloved Brand
Your brand is WHY your company exists to substantially change lives for the better. Your product is WHAT supports the company in achieving its primary goal of life enhancement. The more innovative and solution providing your solution is, the more value that is created. With Good Pharma, we focus on “Natures Pharma” solutions that support self care in realizing the best version of yourself.
As part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview Gary Shinner and Jill Portman of Good Pharma.
Leaving their corporate careers of finance and real estate behind, Gary Shinner and Jill Portman began their entrepreneurial journeys developing and launching Mighty Leaf Tea. After spending 15 years building the brand to become the leading global premium tea company, they sold Mighty Leaf to Peets Coffee/JAB Holdings. Their hearts and interests continued in the ‘better for you” category helping mission based companies and non-profits. Their achievements notwithstanding, a longstanding vision still remained top of mind. Throughout their Mighty Leaf years of travel through China, India and Europe they discovered local rituals utilizing nature’s powerful ingredients contributing to optimal living. They experienced “food as medicine” in proactive ways profoundly changing their lives forever and became compelled to share their experiences.
Their “unfinished business” of bringing their vision to life manifested in establishing a wellness company harnessing nature’s powerful ingredients from centuries of global wisdom. Gary and Jill’s innovations combined this wisdom with modern science to create an alternative to the pill & instant powder culture in a delicious fresh brew coffee and tea platform. After three years of research and development, Good Pharma has now been born to be the alternative wellness revolution for a better you and a better world.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
We created Good Pharma for one reason: we care. As founders of Mighty Leaf Tea, and being fanatically healthy, we crafted teas out of our love for a tasty drink that’s good for you. Throughout our Mighty Leaf years of travel through China, India and Europe we discovered indigenous rituals utilizing nature’s powerful ingredients supporting optimized living. We instantly had the vision that these ancient practices have a place in modern society today and in the future. We experienced “food as medicine” being consumed in proactive ways profoundly changing our lives forever. After we sold Mighty Leaf Tea, instead of kicking back, we realized during our meditation retreat in Rishikesh India that we had some unfinished business. We became energized to share that “nature’s pharma “ not only keeps you healthy, but further, it gives you the gifts to be the greatest version of yourself, in mastering mind, body and spirit. We challenge the conventional health care mindset. Good Pharma was born to be the alternative pharma revolution for a better you and a better world.
Committed to providing people with powerful blends of ingredients in a tasty nourishing practice, we set off on a journey. Over the last 3 years we’ve foraged across the globe for the most effective functional mushrooms and plant-based adaptogens we could find. We conferred with keepers of ancient medicinal knowledge, including
Traditional Chinese Medicine, Indian Ayurveda and applied modern science to deliver precision potency [link to Our Science] — maximum health boosting benefits to anyone willing to embrace the idea of alternative pharma. Nature’s pharma.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
We were on a sales call during our Mighty Leaf Tea days pitching a major hotel chain. In the elevator on our way to the appointment we struck up a conversation with another group pitching the hotel. So which company are you with we asked… My Tea Leaf they replied, (which we’d never heard of) sounding identical to Mighty Leaf Tea, their appointment was the same time as ours! Apparently it was a double booking, with the hotel chain thinking it was one company! Our hosts were gracious in visiting with each company back-to-back. The happy ending to the story is that both companies got the business and they changed their name…Not sure there’s a moral to this story. ☺
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Good Pharma delivers an efficacious sustainable ritual alternative to dietary supplement powders and pills; a delicious experience integrated into your daily coffee and tea routine…a ritual you crave, not forgotten after a few weeks.
Natures most powerful healing ingredients aren’t always known to be the most flavorful on their own. We knew we had a challenge to create rich tasty coffee and tea drinks, so we focused on working with these botanical flavors instead of against them, in creating lifestyle beverages that have powerfully effective functions you notice that support you being at the top of your game. The results are drinks that taste delicious AND pack a life changing functional punch.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now?
After 3 years of research and product development we’re unveiling Good Pharma in January 2021. How do you think that will help people? We bring efficacious life optimizing benefits such as cognitive enhancement, improved sleep, and immune function support through our proprietary RXtracts™ process blended with a selection of tasty hot, pour over, fresh brew Coffees and Teas.
Ok let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
They’re quite different really, but inextricably linked together. Your brand is WHY your company exists to substantially change lives for the better. Your product is WHAT supports the company in achieving its primary goal of life enhancement. The more innovative and solution providing your solution is, the more value that is created. With Good Pharma, we focus on “Natures Pharma” solutions that support self care in realizing the best version of yourself.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
Your reason for existence is communicated through your brand. In making that heart felt connection with the consumer, you begin a lifelong relationship of trust and loyalty.
Can you share 5 strategies that a company should be doing to build a trusted and believable brand? Please tell us a story or example for each.
Reasons to believe that transcend the product itself. Embody a mission and a solution to improve life.
Succinct, simple & clear messaging.
Accessibility with value based cost for the consumer.
Fail early by utilizing consumer research, fast prototyping and trialing product prior to scaling
Pivot quickly. Have your ear to the ground listening carefully to the needs of your consumer.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved brand. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
Amazon. Why? Because this brand saves you time, your most precious resource. Time is what they sell. Identify your company’s value add, and determine how it makes a life changing difference.
In advertising, one generally measures success by the number of sales. How does one measure the success of a brand building campaign? Is it similar, is it different? Building a brand is longer term, but ultimately connects to a sustainable sales build. So too is its measurable results determined by brand loyalty. One leads to the other.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
As an innovator and challenger to conventional health care, Good Pharma’s vision of self-care resonates in these challenging times, and relies on social media to spread the word. Good Pharma is an activist brand to embrace…a movement.
What advice would you give to other marketers or business leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?
In our case, practice what we preach. Thrive on practices that energize and balance, to be your best in life’s performance.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Well, it happens to be exactly what we’re embarking on at Good Pharma. We’re activists bringing tried and true “ancient” healing ingredients into our future with “natures pharma” embodying an approach to health care steeped in empowerment and being proactive in living your best life possible.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” — Pablo Picasso
By being ones best, your gifts rise becoming more apparent. This notion of self-care, which in essence is a form of selflessness, is at the heart of what we do at Good Pharma.
We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a lunch or breakfast with? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
There are numerous, but one person that rises to the top is Bono. He’s a challenger brand that merges business with activism, and real impact with art. We at Good Pharma thrive on these ideals. It’d be my honor to brainstorm over a beer with Bono one day!
Envision’s technology is currently levelling the playing field of access to visual information. It enables the blind and visually impaired people to have access to the same visual information that the rest of us have, be it shop names, street signs or documents and contracts. As we continue developing this technology and as smartglasses and wearable cameras become more ubiquitous, Envision will not just enable vision but also help enhance vision for everyone. The camera powered with AI can increase the speed of access to information by making it available at a glance. So you can find out where the person in front of you got that jacket from or while picking up a food at a supermarket, you can easily glean all of its nutritional information. The possibilities are endless and the impact far-reaching, from healthcare, manufacturing to services.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Karthik Mahadevan.
Karthik Mahadevan is co-founder and chief designer of Envision, the AI-powered, assistive technology that allows the blind and visually impaired to ‘see’ the world around them and achieve greater independence. Founded in 2017, Envision has since grown to thousands of paid global users and changed the lives of many visually impaired people by using AI to read text from any surface, recognize faces, describe scenes, find objects and more. Prior to founding Envision, Mahadevan previously designed personal health care products for UNGA and worked as a product designer. He received a master’s degree in Industrial and Product Design from the Delft University of Technology and holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the College of Engineering in Guindy, India.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you please tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
The idea for Envision started when in 2017, I was invited to a school for the blind in India to speak about design. On posing a question to the students there about the problems they would like to solve when they grew up, the answer was overwhelmingly one thing: “We want to be more independent”. They wanted to go to school on their own, hang out with their friends without assistance and pick up and read a book by themselves.
This experience really stuck with me, so when I came back to my university I decided to pick this up as my master’s thesis and dive into how to increase independence for the blind and visually impaired people. Upon conducting several interviews, I realized that for a lot of them, “independence” almost always meant access to information. And since so much of information around us happens to be in a visual form, their inability to access it is what is causing a dependency in their lives. So when they walk into a train station, the information is up there on a display, but since it is purely a piece of visual information they can’t access it and hence have to ask for assistance.
At the same time, I also understood that it is impractical to expect all the visual information and infrastructure around us to change. You can’t really put a braille sticker on everything. That’s when I teamed up with an old friend and my current co-founder of Envision, Karthik Kannan, to explore how we could use the technologies of today, like artificial intelligence and computer vision, be used to extract information from images and have them be spoken out. Thus began the very iterative process of building prototypes of this software with a group of beta users, which eventually led to the creation of Envision.
Can you please share with us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
An early validation that we got for our idea was when we were attending a local exhibition in Utrecht in 2018. We met a lady who was in her early 50s and due to Retinitis Pigmentosa, was losing her vision drastically. We demonstrated the Envision app to her and helped install it on her phone. As soon as we did that, she reached into her purse, pulled out a €20 note and shoved it into our hands. We tried to explain to her how the app was currently free and we haven’t built a payment plan yet, but she wouldn’t have it. She was so genuinely delighted by what Envision could do for her that she wanted to offer her gratitude instantly. This meant a lot to us at the time, because as a young company, this was a clear indicator that we are onto something important and meaningful.
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
Two main philosophies have guided my life and career:
Thinking from first principles: Whenever we are faced with a task or a challenge, we always like to approach it by understanding what the first principles are, what the most basic blocks of it that we know to be true, and then work our way upwards. This has been super helpful as it often helps break the status quo set by the industry and makes us realize we don’t have to do things the way they have always been done.
Bias for impact: Whenever we are at a crossroad and have to choose from one of the several choices, we always pick the path that has the most impact and most people. This helps to keep us all aligned and make decisions more quickly.
Ok thank you for that. Let’s now move to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change The World”?
We believe Envision Glasses can truly and thoroughly change the way we access visual information. Envision Glasses is a platform, consisting of a series of computer vision modules that can extract different information from images and speak it out. It can read all kinds of text in over 60 languages, recognize faces, find objects, describe scenes and so much more. This software platform is brought to life with the Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2, which in addition to being a sleek pair of smartglasses packs in a bunch of technical specs suitable to run Envision’s AI operations. These glasses currently are designed to enable blind and visually impaired users to become more independent by speaking out the visual world around them. With Envision Glasses, they can read a book, catch a train, find a friend or order a coffee, just by themselves.
How do you think this will change the world?
Envision’s technology is currently levelling the playing field of access to visual information. It enables the blind and visually impaired people to have access to the same visual information that the rest of us have, be it shop names, street signs or documents and contracts. As we continue developing this technology and as smartglasses and wearable cameras become more ubiquitous, Envision will not just enable vision but also help enhance vision for everyone. The camera powered with AI can increase the speed of access to information by making it available at a glance. So you can find out where the person in front of you got that jacket from or while picking up a food at a supermarket, you can easily glean all of its nutritional information. The possibilities are endless and the impact far-reaching, from healthcare, manufacturing to services.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
While the camera and AI unlock a lot of possibilities, there definitely are concerns that companies building these tools must think deeply about. The most important one is privacy and how best to communicate that in a simple to understand way. At Envision we think about this very deeply and never want to put our user’s data in a compromising situation. Whenever the camera is active, there is a clear LED that lights up along with an audio cue indicating both the user and the people in front of them that the camera is currently active. Also, whatever images the user takes are immediately discarded as soon as the relevant information is extracted from them.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
The “tipping point” was when towards the end of my graduation, we had a good prototype of the app which when we started showing it to blind users they were blown away by. They really wanted to have this product and were willing to pay for it. This made us put serious thought into how we could build this technology out to make it sustainable and scalable. And before we knew it, a startup began to take shape. We haven’t looked back since.
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
The cost of Envision Glasses is still a limiting factor for many. For many blind or visually impaired people from countries with socialized healthcare, the cost of these devices are paid for either through insurance or state agencies. However, there are still some users for whom the cost is unaffordable. Our focus over the next two years will be to use the revenues from the first version of Envision Glasses to make a more affordable version that will be accessible for everyone.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Knowing how to market/sell the product is equally, if not more, important than building the product. We learnt the hard way that “if you build, they will come” is a myth and just because you build a cool product doesn’t mean people will hear of it on their own.
It always takes longer to close and investment round than you think. No matter what the stage and scale, we have always learnt that new investment takes much longer to execute.
Hire slow, fire fast. The early team that you build as a startup is what makes or breaks it. Hence, it’s crucial to make sure the right people are being hired, so take your time with that decision. If you see someone underperforming, fire them instantly before they hurt the startup more. This is one of the pieces of advice that is much harder to implement in practice.
Trust your gut. I have come across several instances where doing something just doesn’t feel right to the gut, with no rationale to it. In hindsight, this has always proven to be right. So trust your gut and intuition, as it knows what is up.
Zoom out. As a founder, especially one who loves to build a product, it’s often easy to fall into the trap of focusing too much on the day to day operation and missing out on the bigger picture. Every once in a while, compel yourself to zoom out, realign and dive back in.
Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
Just do things. I know far too many people, far more intelligent and creative than me, who are robbed of their greatness because they spend too much time thinking and less time doing. There will always be a rosy explanation for why you aren’t ready yet and why tomorrow is a better day to start than today. Only when you learn to put that aside and act today, will you learn how to build.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Envision is at the brink of enabling independence for more 250 million visually impaired across the world. With a proven traction of app subscription and glasses sales, a kick-ass diverse team and a grand vision, we are building the future of computer vision on wearable cameras. We are building technology that is not just bleeding-edge but is making a real-life impact on the lives of millions. If you believe you can help accelerate this progress for us, to scale our ambitions globally, please give us a shout. We would love to have you on board.
Rising Through Resilience: Author Jonathan Pitts On The Five Things You Can Do To Become More Resilient
Find something to be hopeful about regardless of where you find yourself. Hope is the joyful expectation of a better tomorrow. Ultimately, I believe that comes through a relationship with God through Jesus.
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful business leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Jonathan Pitts.
Jonathan Pitts is an author, speaker, and executive pastor at Church of the City in Franklin, TN. His latest book, My Wynter Season: Seeing God’s Faithfulness in the Shadow of Grief (release date: February 9, 2021) has been praised by the likes of Candace Cameron Bure, Jeremy & Adrienne Camp, Gabe & Rebekah Lyons and several others. Prior to pastoring, Jonathan was executive director at The Urban Alternative, the national ministry of Dr. Tony Evans in Dallas, Texas. Jonathan and his wife, Wynter, co-wrote Emptied: Experiencing the Fullness of a Poured-Out Marriage and She Is Yours: Trusting God as You Raise the Girl He Gave You before her untimely death. Jonathan serves as president of the ministry he and Wynter founded together, called For Girls Like You. It’s a nonprofit organization featuring a magazine and resources for girls that grew out of Wynter’s desire to empower and equip their own daughters to be who God has created them to be and to provide parents with the resources and support needed to raise strong Christ followers. Jonathan has been featured on the Jesus Calling Podcast, The 700 Club, in Christian Parenting, on the FamilyLife Podcast Network and in many other outlets. Jonathan lives in Franklin, Tennessee with his four daughters, Alena, Kaitlyn, Camryn, and Olivia.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
My name is Jonathan Pitts, and I’m currently a leader in a church. I’m an executive pastor at Church of the City in Franklin, Tennessee. I’m a dad of four girls — ages 16, 13, and twins that are 11 years old. And I’m a widower. Two and a half years ago I lost my wife to a sudden heart failure. So, I find myself in a way different place than I’ve ever been before. Prior to my wife passing away, I was a non-profit ministry leader. I’ve worked in non-profit christian ministry for the better part of 20 years. I’ve done everything from manage talent to manage large scale christian non-profits.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
The most interesting story from my career is actually a lesson that I learned and my biggest takeaway was “Don’t take yourself so seriously.” When I was working in one of my organizations, it was my first executive level job, I just got involved with one of my leaders (a person that was working below me) in a way and got pretty frustrated at a disagreement we were having. In our disagreement I was taking myself so serious and I was taking my position and my disagreement with her so serious, that I ended up getting shingles. It’s a reminder to me when I start feeling really serious about my position or like life is really important or my position is important, that my own health and my own sanity is way more important than anything else I’m doing in life. So, my reminder to myself to just “don’t get shingles.” It was a lesson learned that was actually very painful because shingles is really painful.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
There’s a few things. I work with two different companies right now.
As a pastor of Church of the City, the thing that makes my company stand out is that we are a family of churches that, what we say, is “living in the way of Jesus for the renewal of the city.” We believe that our faith should have an absolute impact in the city that we live in and that the faith that we believe and we live out is actionable. So, from homelessness to single motherhood, to drug addiction, to marriage and family, and everything else we do, we believe that we should be having an impact that betters the city that we live in. If the city that we live in isn’t getting better and isn’t getting renewed and isn’t progressing, then we’re not doing our job.
As far as the magazine I run on behalf of my wife, For Girls Like You Magazine, we believe that God has a plan for every little girl and their life. We believe that as we share the stories of little girls and their lives and the things that they’re doing with God and for God, they can be examples of what other girls can be doing in this world for good. So, it makes it really unique, and the magazine itself is an inspiration for girls as they see other girls doing things that they can be doing themselves, because they’re no different from the girls that are doing these amazing things.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
There are many people who have influenced me in my life that have been a part of my success. My dad was a massive part of my success. My dad taught me that there is nothing more important than my integrity and nothing more important than my reputation. He used to tell me when i was a kid, “You last name is Pitts, and that should mean something.” It was just a reminder to me that everywhere I go, that my name and the name that I come with is going to carry with it a reputation, that reputation is either going to be good or bad. And I get to control that. One of the only things I control in my life is how people respond when they hear my name. So, my dad’s always been really important in that way and always lived his life in a way where he was making sure that our family name was always represented well. Because he did that, my dad was always an example to me for that, I do the same thing. Or at least I try to.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
I would define resilience as the ability to simply keep putting one foot in front of the other when there’s nothing in front of you but barriers/just being able to continue to progress when there’s barriers and obstacles coming in your way. The characteristics or traits of resilience, to me. . I think the thing that will lead to the most resilience in your life will be having an attitude of gratitude and being able to have a perspective that sees beyond the moment. I think about my own life and the loss of my wife two and a half years ago, the thing I’m really grateful for and the resilience that I built up was specifically in the area of gratitude for what I had. When I think about my wife, instead of thinking about what I lost, even though I can’t not think about the fact that I lost her, I think about what I had. I think about the gratitude I have for having been married to her for 15 years, having had her in my life for 15 years, the stories that we were able to write together, the four daughters that we were able to have togher, and the fact that she saw our daughters to the ages of nine, and eleven, and fourteen. I can think about all the things that our girls aren’t going to have their mom for going forward, but those years she got with them are invaluable, and the time that I got with her was invaluable. So, regardless of the obstacles that are in front of you, resilience is putting one foot in front of the other and seeing all the ways that you have had good in your life and have had things in life that are beneficial. There’s a verse in the bible that says, “Whatever is true and right and honorable and pure and lovely and admirable and excellent and praiseworthy, think about these things.” And that verse is a reminder to practice celebration. So, if you can practice celebrating the good things that are happening, even as the obstacles are in front of you, then resilience is that much more possible.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
I chose my dad for that because my dad is not only a picture of resilience, but he’s what it looks like when resilience is worked out, who he is now as a person. He was resilient, and i’m the beneficiary, he’s the beneficiary. It’s been beautiful to watch his life.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
Yeah, I guess I wouldn’t tell this story to puff myself up, because I get no credit for it, but I remember when my wife Wynter was pregnant with our third and fourth baby girls (twins). We went to the doctor for the check up to see how healthy the pregnancy was, and they told her it was going to be a stillbirth. And so, we walked out and, frankly, we just prayed and just asked God to spare the baby that would have been a tubal pregnancy. . . And we went, we prayed, we left for vacation, we came back a week later and came to find out not only was there one baby inside of my wife, but there were two. So, I can’t take credit for it, but for me, I think it’s a reminder to hold on to hope and that you just never know. You never know what’s happening. You never know the full story. So, never assume just because you hear one thing, even from a medical physician. Just because you hear one thing, doesn’t make it true.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
In June of 2018 I was celebrating my 15 year anniversary with my wife Wynter — 15 years of marriage, four daughters, successful career as an executive and ministry leader, my wife was a successful author, and we celebrated our 15 year anniversary on June 27th. July 24th (27 days later), my wife would quickly and unexpectedly leave this earth as her heart would stop. It was the hardest day of my life. It was the hardest day for me as a leader, as a man, as a dad, having to tell lots of people that my wife and my best friend was no longer here on earth. But, by God’s grace, just because she left this earth, it doesn’t mean that I’ll never see her again. So, I’m grateful that I’ll get to see her again. But, it was the hardest day of my life. I think I just bounced back out of resilience. I think resilience is seeing the positive, even when the negative is happening. So, with that same verse — ”Whatever is true, right, honorable, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy, think about these things” — I was reminding myself just to celebrate despite hardship and tell myself what’s true despite the hardship. I believe it’s true that I’ll see my wife again in heaven one day, so I can celebrate that. Even though she’s no longer with me here on earth, I can celebrate the fact that I had four daughters with her. I can celebrate the fact that we made it to 15 years. I can celebrate the fact that we had a happy marriage. I can celebrate the fact that we grew in marriage over and over and over again, year after year, day after day. And so, yeah, that’s the hardest day of my life so far, and I still feel like I’m coming back from it. But, in general, I feel like I’ve had a really healthy grieving process and have a healthy perspective on life and death.
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
I would say, just growing up as a mixed kid (my mom is German-American-Midwestern and my dad is an Affrican American guy from New Jersey). Growing up as a mixed kid in the 80’s, was not necessarily normal. So, a part of my growing up was trying to fit in wherever I went because I never felt like I was like the people I was with. I wasn’t “black enough” for the black people, I wasn’t “white enough” for the white people, so I was always trying to figure out ways to become a part of the crowd, honestly. In some ways, it was really healthy, because it taught me to navigate, it taught me to make changes, it taught me to be resilient. The negative side is I did struggle with my identity at some level, but what’s beautiful now is a 40 year-old man that’s learned to deal with his past and deal with some of the struggles. I find myself only really benefiting from how I grew up, growing up mixed, because now I can get along with any crowd and anybody. Now it’s a part of my arsenal.
The other thing I would say is, I was a Boyscout growing up and would go on to get my Eagle Scout Award. Boyscouts was this beautiful journey for me from a Cub Scout as a really young man, through Boy Scouts, to when I got my Eagle Scout Award when I was 18. It just taught me different ways to be resilient — from map orientation, to survival, to outdoorsmanship, to archery, to swimming. There were so many skills I learned as a scout, that broadened who I was as a person and as a man. I’m really thankful to Boy Scouts to this day because of that. Some of the best leaders that invested their time in me were Boy Scout leaders that were volunteers. So I would say a lot of different people, both men and women, poured into me. Scouting was one of those ways. Church was another. I would also say that sports was another. So one of the beautiful things for me is, I’ve had so many diverse experiences and a lot of my resilience has come from seeing and having to experience life in different circumstances and different situations.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient?
1. Find something to be hopeful about regardless of where you find yourself. Hope is the joyful expectation of a better tomorrow. Ultimately, I believe that comes through a relationship with God through Jesus.
2. Practice thinking about that which gives you hope. For me, that is the reality that even the bad things that happen are refining me as a leader, dad, and man.
3. Practice speaking the very thing that you are thinking about. Don’t just think about what you’re hoping for, talk about it as well.
4. Find a community that supports that hope. You want people supporting you that think the best and will encourage you in that hope.
5. Repeat. You will continue to have challenges that will require you to be resilient. Don’t give up because challenges come. Expect them. And find hope in spite of it. Think about that hope, and talk about that hope.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I honestly would say right now I’m really grateful because I’m getting to do that in a time when I didn’t know what my life would be like. My wife passed away, left this earth, and for two and a half years, I’ve been reorienting my life without her. I was able to write my story down, to write a book. And that book is both talking about the joy of the past and the frustrations of what would happen when my wife left this earth — the anger, the disappointment, the sadness, the grief — but then also the resilience that I built through that time that, honestly, I walked with my girls through. My four girls are the most resilient people I know, who have lost their mom and kept going and found joy. So, to inspire people, I would tell that story because I think story has a real ability to help people see themselves in the person they’re reading about, or the life they’re reading about, or the story they’re reading about. So I would just share my story, which is what I’m doing through my book My Wynter Season. It’s a great privilege to be able to share my story of walking with my wife, “My Wynter Season” — her name being Wynter and then sharing the Wynter season that came after losing her — but then talking about how good life can still be despite death, how good life can be despite grief, how good life can be despite difficulty and challenges that need to be overcome. I’m really grateful that I get to have that perspective and that I can live from that perspective. So, I would just share my story, which is what I get to do now and what I’m grateful for.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
I don’t know that a lot of people would call him a leader necessarily (he’s certainly an amazing athlete), but Tiger Woods would be a person I would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with.
When I was 16 years old in 1996 when Tiger Woods went pro. I’ve always admired his life, his reliance, his determination, his winning attitude, his confidence in himself but still his kind of gentle demeanor even though he was confident and strong, and how he was also respectful with the people that were around him. Obviously Tiger Woods has gone through a lot, but I would love to sit down for a meal with Tiger, because not only did he have that great number of years of victory — all the different tour events that he won, all the different majors that he won — he also had great setbacks and has had to show resilience. So, I would just want to ask Tiger what’s worked for him/what hasn’t worked, just get to know him.
I love the game of golf. Golf has been the only sport in my life that I’ve been able to play post-high school, where I’ve been able to continue to work on not only my body, but also my mind. That’s why I love golf. So, probably Tiger woods would be the number one for me, because I’ve just watched his life over the past twenty something years and watched the guy go to great heights, have great falls, and still be, in a way, really earning respect and just continuing to try to make his unique contribution to the world. I think it’s really beautiful, and I love it.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can find me on Instagram at @pittsjr26 or you can find For Girls Like You using the handle @forgirlslikeyou on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
The Future Is Now: Doron Kempel of Bond On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up Personal Security
Operational Excellence — Getting stuff done (execution) is difficult. Becoming excellent at getting things done requires a system. It does not simply boil down to three rules or principles. It is a methodology that facilitates the attainment and sustainment of excellence, from setting an Intention, to defining it as a measurable objective, to planning, to implementation, including the cadence of reviews and iterations. It is a recipe, not a set of tips.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewingDoron Kempel.
Doron Kempel is Chairman and CEO at Bond. Prior to founding Bond in 2017, Kempel was Founder, Chairman and CEO of SimpliVity Corporation, which pioneered hyper-converged IT infrastructure, a novel cloud architecture that radically simplified IT infrastructure, acquired by HPE. Previously, he was co-founder, Chairman and CEO at Diligent Technologies, which was acquired by IBM. Prior to founding Diligent, he was VP & GM at EMC Corporation (now part of Dell/EMC). He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, as well as Law and Philosophy degrees from Tel- Aviv University. Additionally, he served 13 years in the Israeli Defense Forces rising to deputy commander of the IDF’s elite commando unit.
Thank you so much for doing this with us Doron! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Pursuing an entrepreneurial business path seemed a good match with my main criteria upon completion of 13 years of military service. I sought a direction that will balance high energy and impact with independence. Politics, military, academia or law did not seem a match. So I moved to the US, studied business, established skills in the corporate world, and then started to pursue entrepreneurial ventures.
I founded the current company, Bond, following the acquisition of the prior company that I led. After that acquisition, I started searching for the next idea. I was trying to identify a problem that needed solving and on the other hand was feasible to solve (technologically, operationally, economically, etc.). You identify ideas and evaluate them against sets of worthiness and feasibility criteria. The evaluation of the ideas against criteria requires some research, analysis and testing. Technically, I had a few ideas that came up over the course of the past few years, and which I kept in a folder named Next. Importantly, it was clear to me that none of the original ideas will “survive” the analysis against the criteria. However, based on my experience my approach and hypothesis is that through the dialectical elimination of ideas relative to the criteria, new ideas are “born”. That was the process. I assumed it would take about a year to identify, analyze and reach ample confidence in order to pursue such an idea. That’s how long it took last time around. This time, to my surprise, it took only 3 months. The problem I stumbled into was very clear, rooted in human nature, and one that we learned “to live with” — but also one that I believed people would appreciate a solution for.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
The most interesting stories of my business career are actually the stories of the entrepreneurs and leaders whom I was fortunate to interact with and learn from. Interestingly and comically, all but one had a business attitude/approach that very much contrasted to mine and thus created humorous dynamics. The exception is my San Francisco-based mentor Sidney, who is empathetic, relentless, patient, extremely cunning, and a master at managing his own ego. After business school theories, Sidney was a pleasure to spend time with, simulating negotiations and situations. He was also the one who helped me distill the fact that what I want is to pursue an entrepreneurial horizon.
Can you tell us about the technological breakthrough that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
We spent the past 3.5 years developing a platform that combines cutting edge technologies with human empathy and judgement. It is a platform that delivers personal security and peace-of-mind on a very large scale, but also in a personalized manner while preserving privacy.
We live in a very safe country and era and there are many we should thank for that. Anyone anywhere can dial 911 and get the help of first responders — assuming the situation is an emergency. But what if the situation is not initially an emergency? We and people we love routinely find ourselves in situations that are uncomfortable, perhaps even scary or risky — but that are not initially a 911 emergency. There is no programmatic solution for those situations. For example: walking alone at night or in a parking garage; or situations where we encounter strangers with no one around — as do real-estate agents, passengers of ride sharing vehicles, or the drivers; delivery people and recipients of deliveries. And lastly, when our children are not under our immediate supervision, we hope that someone trustworthy and competent would be available to them, should we not be available.
Bond’s mission is to enhance personal security and peace-of-mind in such situations, and our versatile platform offers a rich spectrum of services that enhance the security and ease the concerns of our members. The platform anchors on 24/7 Bond Personal Security Agents, who are in Bond Command Centers, and available within seconds via the Bond app — on video, audio or chat. They have the technologies that we developed and that allow them to offer personalized, effective on demand “attention”, guidance and assistance to our members.
Bond already has assisted in over 40,000 cases, has more than 150,000 members nationally, and its caseload is rising in these unsettling times. The latest of our services is Bodyguard on Demand, which makes ordering a bodyguard as affordable and easy as ordering dinner online — costing $30 for the first 30 minutes. Think of it as an “uberization” of the bodyguard services.
How do you think this might help change the world?
Without getting into unsettling statistics about crime and insecurity of people, there is what we call a Personal Security Gap. I refer to all situations whereby people need assistance but that do not initially warrant a 911 emergency call. Violent crime is on the rise across the US and many parts of the world, and more people are becoming concerned about their personal security and the safety of their loved ones especially during the COVID pandemic and rising economic uncertainty, along with cuts in police budgets. Bond is filling that gap and helping people around the world feel secure about the safety of their family and themselves, no matter where they are or what they may encounter. We live up to our mission of personal security for all.
Secondly, and appropriately for readers of Thrive, I believe that true mindfulness cannot be obtained without physical security. For example, yoga, meditation, and nutrition are all key. But true peace of mind requires that our physical safety be assured and that’s a point that’s often forgotten.
Can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
Any technology can be misused. The Bond platform does not possess any negative side effects. It is not a weapon. We maintain strict privacy of our users. We ease the load off of the 911 centers that are succumbing to over 240 million calls per year, and that are mostly non emergency calls that need to be dismissed on that basis. In the specific context of the bodyguards, we vet our users to make sure they are the right fit for our service and can benefit from it rather than abuse it.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
The first is the realization — through analysis of numerous cases where people were hurt — that there is a Personal Security Gap, and it is due to the fact that the 911 services are reactive. Yet, what is required additionally is a preventative service — just like preventative medicine and wearing a seat belt — the key is to take preemptive steps that will lower the risk and increase the likelihood of timely detection and positive outcomes.
The second is understanding and addressing the complexity and multiplicity of the problem and therefore — of the solution. This led us to recruit a diverse set of world class advisors who help define, design and critique the services and overall platform. We assembled a diverse and world-class team of advisors from virtually every relevant walk of life i.e. security, military, law enforcement and public service worlds, data security and privacy, and more. Our advisors include Former Director of US Secret Service, Mark Sullivan, Alejandra Castillo, CEO, YWCA USA; Ed Davis, former Boston police commissioner; former US Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez; former NYPD commissioner, Ray Kelly; Jerod Mayo, Inside Linebackers Coach of the New England Patriots, and others.
There are too many advisory boards that are in name only, instead this is one that is passionate and actively involved in our business.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
We are already seeing the Bond platform gaining traction every day. More members are signing up to use Bond’s services across the US, we are hiring more Security Agents and are looking to establish more Command Centers. While we’re focused on the US, we’ll be making inroads internationally. We are investing in advertising and other marketing, but the best source of new subscribers are friends telling friends.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
In one word: awareness.
The need exists: people are concerned for their own safety and that of loved ones. This is a fundamental human need. Now, we need to effectively express the unique value of Bond, clarifying that this is not a trivial “panic button app”, but a versatile platform that anchors on Personal Security Agents.
We have received recognition in both local and national media that appeal to a wide cross section, from Inside Edition to the Daily Mail, and have also implemented a number of other marketing strategies. Most recently, we created a 28-minute infomercial that explains the unique preventative nature of the Bond services, and their impact in various situations. The infomercial not only highlights our services, but also interviews members and shows three real situations where members have called a Bond Security Agent to assist them in different scenarios, including a domestic violence situation. It also included notable advisors of ours including the former commissioners of the New York City and Boston Police Departments. We received great feedback on the infomercial and saw an increase in signups because of the impact it had. Right now, we’re kicking off a gift program for the holidays. What better gift, than a heightened sense of security during troubled times?
Lastly and importantly, the Bond service is also offered to Institutions — corporations, universities and communities — and thereby to their employees, students and members. This is a normal extension of their Duty Of Care. Uniquely, Bond allows them, to protect each of the individuals when on the go, outside of the institutional facilities/buildings.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person or persons — who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I have had the good fortune of meeting and gaining the support of many people. All of them took interest and went beyond the norm to guide, mentor and support me. The most interesting stories are their stories, they include colorful characters, men and women, coaches, teachers, prime ministers, heads of military, business leaders, professors.
However, I believe that it all starts with my parents and the encouraging, unconditionally supportive, loving and nurturing environment whereby failures never threaten love; yet standards and expectations are sufficiently motivating.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Bond’s mission is to help people in daily life, enhancing peace-of-mind, personal security, and thereby also mindfulness. As Bond’s reach and success increases, we hope to positively influence more people.
While still a young company, we have taken some steps to help beyond our direct mission:
A subset of the services is offered for free. Bond also donated its full set of services to all healthcare professionals and their families, free of charge, through 2020. Bond donated all proceeds from March 2020 to August 2020 to First Responders Children’s Foundation.
Bond also donated to RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network)
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
In general, it would have been precious to have internalized earlier in life some of the lessons and insights that arise at (often) great cost during the journey. These are the lessons or insights that help (me) make better decisions (what to do) and then help implement them more effectively (how to do)”
The lessons fall into two main categories: understanding/awareness and implementation/execution.
1. Understanding/Awareness
Understanding how our mind works, so I can better understand myself, and thereby exercise better “management” of myself: what is the right path for me; and how to accomplish it. Self-awareness and self-management are at the basis of everything. This then leads to better understanding others whom I interact with, which then leads to being more empathetic, sympathetic and more effective interacting with them. As leaders we should also be able to motivate them and influence them towards unified action.
2. Operational Excellence
Getting stuff done (execution) is difficult. Becoming excellent at getting things done requires a system. It does not simply boil down to three rules or principles. It is a methodology that facilitates the attainment and sustainment of excellence, from setting an Intention, to defining it as a measurable objective, to planning, to implementation, including the cadence of reviews and iterations. It is a recipe, not a set of tips.
The above two categories (of Understanding/Awareness and of Implementation/Operation) illuminate the 5 lessons. In general:
1. We are not as rational as we think: understand and internalize the main psychological and logical fallacies and biases.
2. The same is (perhaps more) true about the people around us.
3. Empathize: Understand where each is “coming from”
4. There is much more noise than there is signal. A guidebook to detecting (and then filtering) BS is vital.
5. Self-discipline is pivotal in order to manage our (irrational) selves towards satisfaction/accomplishment and happiness. It can be developed, but must be maintained. Special missions require a heightened level of discipline that involves self-suggestion (self-hypnosis). Some of it is required in order to filter “noise” and distractions, and in order to follow your own path.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I am afraid that — as a society, and perhaps as a species — we are on a slippery slope whereby truth and facts are consistently compromised. The ratio of noise/spin to signal/facts is increasing in favor of noise. It is becoming gradually impossible to hear the truth rather than the pitch or spin. Everyone is constantly “selling” something (be it herself or himself, or some product or some candidate). The truth is no longer “good enough”. Everything needs to be polished and or hyperbolized. There are a few institutional culprits that generate and amplify the noise. We need to find a way to balance/align our reality and the portrayal of the reality. Our politicians, the corporations (and their marketing/spin campaigns), the media and social media are all culpable. To a degree, we all participate in this dynamic.
So, if I were to start a movement it would be about empathy and solidarity without compromising the truth. Let’s make the truth “cool” again.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Well, it would be that “life lessons are (for me) a system and cannot be distilled to a single quote.” It is a system of recipes regarding how to handle oneself and situations. This has been relevant in my life in the sense that my life — from this perspective — has been a quest of learning and developing this system, alongside continuous, disciplined implementation of such systems.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Personal security and peace of mind are basic human needs and rights. We live in a relatively safe society and era. However, there is a Personal Security Gap that the authorities are not tasked or equipped to address — all situations of fear and discomfort, that are not initially at the level of a 911 emergency. Solving the Personal Security Gap is worthy. For the first time, thanks to technological advancements, it is now also feasible, and can be delivered in an affordable, scalable, personalized manner, while ensuring privacy. Imagine a global company that helps billions of people be and feel safer. Now, imagine that company is named Bond.
How can our readers follow you or your company on social media?
It’s okay to not be perfect at everything. When we are juggling work, family, friends and life, things are not always going to go the way you have planned and that is okay.
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful business leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Amy Brachio.
Amy Brachio is EY’s Global Business Consulting Leader. She helps clients achieve their strategic objectives and build agile, risk-aware organizations equipped to transform and thrive.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
I have spent my entire career — from intern to Global Business Consulting Leader — with EY. Throughout my career, I have not only built my technical skills in consulting and my leadership skills across a global business, I have also gotten married, grown my family with two amazing daughters, and at one point made the decision to go part time to care for my young family and support my mother when she needed me. I am grateful to EY for providing me with an inspiring career journey while being an active family member.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
After spending so many years with EY, it is hard to pick just one story. One of the aspects of my career that I find most interesting is helping organizations plan for the future — that includes having to plan for unimaginable events like COVID-19. The biggest lessons I have learned from having to quickly adapt are:
Push the impossible — In the past, we may have never believed that a fully remote workforce was possible or that businesses could become fully digital overnight. But what we see now is that companies that enabled the seemingly impossible pre-pandemic — in other words, those that had already embraced remote working and meaningful digital transformation — were better prepared when the pandemic hit. So, maybe the impossible isn’t always so impossible.
Stay agile and responsive — An unimaginable event can emerge without notice, so your results will be dictated by your readiness and ability to respond. Decisions in uncertain times had to be made quickly with the best data available at the moment, so agility in continuing to adapt as more information became available has been critical to success.
Enable emerging technology for customer experience — Organizations that already had a virtual way of working with customers were able to adapt and respond most quickly to the new virtual environment. All with the confidence of their customers that it could be done in a safe manner.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
EY has what I can only describe as a culture of care. This is a notion that can be felt from the very top. Our leaders place a focus on wellness and encourage employees to take time off for themselves. Rather than just encouraging it, they do it themselves to set an example and that type of role modeling really empowers our people. I know this isn’t felt by all of our people on an every-day basis, but as I reflect on my career and what I hear from those that have joined EY from other companies, we do stand out and our continued focus on this culture of care will continue to differentiate us from others.
I have felt this personally over the course of my career and it stood out again recently. About a year and a half ago, just as I was stepping into my new role as Global Business Consulting Leader, my husband suffered a cardiac arrest (he is doing great now). Because of my new role, I continued to try to show up for meetings. My leader at the time encouraged me to focus fully at home and insisted that I was not to be joining meetings. That resulted in my taking a full month off to spend time with my loved ones, because that is what matters most. It was a time that combined concern for my family with the joy of knowing I was there for them, fully.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Success is built with the support of others, and the support I have received from not only my colleagues but also from clients who have pushed me forward throughout my career has been remarkable. One of my clients twice propelled me forward by requesting I give high profile presentations, typically reserved for partners or senior partners when I had yet to hold those titles. This helped me build confidence in myself and my abilities, but also showed others what I was capable of and this is something I strongly encourage in my teams.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
Now more than ever we are seeing an emergence of resilience. We are seeing it in working parents who are homeschooling children while managing careers and facing economic uncertainty. Resilient people are able to withstand challenges — often multiple challenges at once — and still prioritize what matters most at that moment. It is also as much about what you are willing not to do as what you focus on doing. Resilient people let go of what truly doesn’t matter.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
My mom was the epitome of resilience. When she was 36 years old, she was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). She had five and seven-year-old daughters and was halfway through her counseling doctorate when she was given just 3–5 years to live. She ended up living for another 30 years and never slowed down despite her worsening condition. She taught my sister and I that happiness is a choice and that she could have chosen to let her disease sadden her or slow her down, but instead she chose to laugh and push forward. She ended up writing a book with a lifelong friend of hers about making yourself at home in a nursing home — another example of making the most of a situation. So today, when I think of resilience, I think of forging forward, choosing happiness and how limitlessly my mom lived her life even with the challenges she was dealt.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
Throughout my life I have learned that nothing is impossible. Early in my career with EY, I was pregnant with my first daughter, living in DC, working full time, and my mom was in a nursing home living near my grandmother in Miami. My grandmother passed away suddenly so I needed to move my mom to a nursing home near me. So, I was suddenly taking care of a new baby, my disabled mother and managing the growth of my career. At the risk of losing my career with EY, I told the partner I worked for that I needed to move to Minnesota to have a bigger support system. The partner I worked for was supportive, but he worried about what this move would do to my career. I was able to demonstrate that even remotely, I was impactful, and I could continue to add value at work while being better enabled to take care of my family.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
Having career aspirations while growing my family and being a caregiver for a loved one was hard for me. But I was able to make changes to help me forge forward. The first change I made was moving to Minnesota. Because of my significant family commitments, I also moved to part-time with EY. When I was ready, I gradually moved back up to a full time employee but the choices I made, even though they may have seemed like a setback in my career, allowed me to be a better mother, wife and daughter. And because of that, I was and am happy with who I am now — both at work and at home.
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
I have mentioned my mom a few times but growing up with a career and family-oriented mom inspired me to do the same. I developed resilience watching her deal with a severe health issue, which many would consider a setback, with such grace, determination, and humility. She was able to achieve so much and build so much purpose in her life even after receiving a terminal diagnosis at 36. She passed away in 2010 but I still think of the resilience she showed every day.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
First and foremost, in order to be resilient you need to have a clear definition of what is important to you. This serves as a real grounding in times of stress. To ground myself when I am working too much or feeling unbalanced, I like to ask myself three questions to evaluate if I am doing the right thing or if I need to make a change:
How is my marriage?
I have been married to my college sweetheart for 23 years and maintaining a healthy and happy marriage is core to me.
How are my girls?
Are they happy? Are they healthy? Do they have friends? Are they doing well in school? Usually if the answer to all of these questions is yes then they are doing alright, and I am doing my job in supporting them to thrive.
Am I happy?
It’s not that I value myself third but usually if one of the first two questions isn’t in-line I’m not happy myself. This last question allows me to reflect on my work aspirations and look at what I want to accomplish.
Secondly, it is important to take time to be grateful for all you have. Right now, many of us are experiencing new hardships but we usually still have so much to be grateful for.
A colleague of mine has her children tell her three things they are grateful for every night and reminds them that regardless of the day they have had or what they are going through, they still have a bed to sleep in, clean water to drink and access to a warm meal.
It’s okay to not be perfect at everything. When we are juggling work, family, friends and life, things are not always going to go the way you have planned and that is okay.
When our girls were young, we taught them to be very independent — so independent that they would sometimes RSVP to birthday parties without telling us. We would get phone calls on Saturdays asking us if our daughters were still coming to the party, and instead of getting upset that we’d missed the invitation, my husband would run my daughters over and I would run to the store to pick up a gift and not let myself feel bad, but rather proud the girls were independent.
Focus on personal wellness. While working remotely it can be easy to forget to take care of yourself.
Carve out time to go for a walk, set up a virtual coffee with someone you have not seen for a while and protect time with loved ones. Our lines between work and home have blurred and you need to hold this time dear.
Take time off to recharge even if you have no place to go.
Many of us have not taken real vacations in quite some time. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take the time off we need to recharge. Planning a staycation or another safe activity is as critical now as ever.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would like to spread a movement of kindness and grace. If everyone could be a little kinder in their actions and treat people with grace when something has not gone their way, we would be much better off. A partner I really respect recently spoke about the importance of going into situations of conflict assuming noble intent. If everyone could assume noble intent, it would be so much easier to resolve issues.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them!
I would love to meet with Kamala Harris. Regardless of your politics, she is the first woman to hold this high of an office in the US and the first Vice President of color. This type of representation means so much and I would love to hear her perspective on taking on such a powerful role with so many people watching. On a personal level, my niece and nephew are 5 and 7 and they are half Indian. My niece saw Kamala on the TV one day and was so excited to see someone that was half Indian like her — it opened her eyes to limitless future potential. It is the little girls like my niece that Kamala is impacting — and that is so powerful.
The Future Is Now: Matt Muldoon of ReadSpeaker On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene
The workday never ends. As an overachiever, I struggled with work/life balances in my career. Early on in my career, late nights in the office quickly became the norm. I have found great success in “chunking” time, like the methods behind agile scrum environments. This isn’t to say that I don’t have any more late nights working at the office, but I have learned that it is okay to step away to take time with colleagues and family to enjoy life. In doing this, I have found myself to be more energetic and more importantly, be more creative. With the recent pandemic and the shift to working remotely, this practice has become much easier.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Matt Muldoon.
Matt Muldoon is a technology solutions leader focused on growth through innovative technologies. He has worked closely with companies across industries to advance them into the latest technology and platforms in delivering their products to market. For the last 12 years, his work focused on building two successful SaaS technology companies, FSE, Inc, and Syndigo, that focused delivering innovative data supply chain solutions. Matt works to enable delivery of industry and customer specific solutions through a keen understanding clients’ needs and managing process to ensure successful results. Internally, he focuses on delivering value through motivating, managing, and developing efficient teams and skilled employees. Matt is a certified Six-Sigma Black Belt. He has served on global data standards and healthcare, food service, and retail distribution industry boards.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Thanks for having me! Prior to my role at ReadSpeaker, I spent 12 years in a B2B data/eCommerce role. In that role, I started to see consumer habits shift from making in-store purchases, to ordering products through desktop computers and laptops, before moving again to tablets and mobile. After this final shift, I spent the last 4–5 years building out e-commerce strategies for brands and began noticing how voice was being used in how consumers were researching and purchasing items. For example, more people were switching from typing their searches to instead speaking into whatever device they were using. Realizing that voice was going to become the future, I joined the ReadSpeaker team to help companies recognize how voice can be used to increase customer loyalty and develop deeper relationships with consumers.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Throughout my career, I’ve learned that it’s okay to be first and to be wrong. At the start of my career, I would work on a new product or a product update and wait until it was completely done, before bringing a product to market. However, when following this approach, I found that someone else would beat me to releasing the product or product update. Now, I’ve realized that it’s better to be first when issuing a new solution, and through the journey of working on a project, finetune it in real time.
That said, while products can be finetuned, the details in the data — no matter the industry — are critical in everything you do. If the data is incorrect, it can delay product rollouts or frustrate customers. I try to encourage my team members to look at all of the details and attributes in the data to ensure our success right from the start.
Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
From a natural language processing perspective, Deep Neural Network (DNN) engines are new and are making a difference in how people leverage text-to-speech technologies. These engines help companies develop user-centric, expressive voice interfaces quickly that capture various aspects of voice — including speaking style, dialect and gender. With companies harnessing the benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we are seeing a surge for high quality voices. In the last year, that need has shifted to become a personalized or specific voice to the company. Some companies are using celebrities as the voice of the brand, while others are leveraging ReadSpeaker capabilities to create unique voices that speak to their values. So, whether it be a paid voice actor, spokesperson or celebrity, the paradigm shift is occurring.
Although DNN engines improve the quality of digital voices, it remains to be seen how this breakthrough will help people.
How do you think this might change the world?
From a DNN perspective, digital voices are already changing: the words and language the voice uses, and the voice nuances are that much crisper, and the robotic sounds found in early voice assistants are gone. If you think about your experience with contacting a call center, the voice guiding you through the menu option sounds rehearsed and mechanical. With DNN voices, there are emotional tenses in the voices, which is a huge game changer — they help foster a connection between the company and the person calling in. With call centers using digital voices, sometimes the voices are so lifelike that people don’t realize that they’re talking to a machine and think they’re speaking to a person. These technological advancements improve efficiency from a voice perspective because customers and prospects will be more inclined to continue the conversation to get their issues resolved if they aren’t frustrated by limited automated response options.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
One thing that we find is that people rush to get content out, but they don’t look at the quality of the content. This leads to customer frustrations and in some cases, inaccessibility issues, where a certain voice may not work for different demographics. For this reason, I think we’ll start to see more companies investing in custom voices, instead of using standard voices (i.e., the voices that are automatically programmed into voice assistants), to ensure that members of every demographic within their target audience can understand and interact with the voice the brand is using.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
On a personal note, there are two instances that I can think of that drove me to move into the voice space. A few years ago, I went to a conference in Las Vegas and noticed that the hotel room came equipped with a voice assistant, which made it easy for me to make reservations at the hotel restaurant without needing to call the concierge or pull out my phone and go through the restaurant’s website. Around the same time, I bought a new car that came with a voice assistant built in. Although most cars now have Bluetooth technology built in, this car had a real voice assistant, which was a game changer for me.
Based on what we’ve seen with COVID-19, voice technology is the future. In the past, people didn’t think twice about pressing a keypad at an ATM or in a checkout line but now, consumers are wary of touching physical surfaces and have requested that voice be an option to complete tasks. COVID-19 has shown that consumers want voice interactions, and companies have stepped up to create voice-enabled interactions to meet these demands.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
We’re currently living in the age of voice adoption. In order to create more widespread adoption, you have to look at the innovators who first took a chance on voice tech and have them help others realize the potential that voice technology has, both in everyday and professional usages. As more people use voice, more brands will be looking for a way to stand out from the competition. Custom voices that speak to and represent a company’s brand to their target audience will be key to driving widespread adoption, as they can foster wider brand recognition and drive greater customer loyalty.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
At ReadSpeaker, we rely on our customers and partners to tell us what’s working with custom voice, what needs improvement and input they may have on product ideas. Our clients are driving us to further enhance voice technology, which helps us continually innovate and ensure that our customers have access to the latest solutions. And, by relying on our partners to get our voice technology to the right market, we can publicize the benefits of voice to an expanded customer base.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Over my career, I’ve had the pleasure of working with so many terrific mentors who have helped me be successful both personally and professionally. The conversations that I’ve had in mentoring relationships have focused on always being innovative and having an entrepreneurial mindset, which helped me make the choice to pivot my career to the voice tech space. Having excellent mentors has also helped become a mentor to several people. Giving back and investing time in someone’s career is such a rewarding experience. I continue to learn from mentorships and pay it forward at the same time.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Since ReadSpeaker was founded more than 20 years ago, our mission has been to provide technology for those who have disabilities, such as blindness, or learning impairments, such as dyslexia. Our goal is to bridge the learning gap so that everyone has an equal playing field when it comes to accessing information. We pride ourselves in our work with the K-12 and higher education industries to provide every student with equal access education opportunities.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
The workday never ends. As an overachiever, I struggled with work/life balances in my career. Early on in my career, late nights in the office quickly became the norm. I have found great success in “chunking” time, like the methods behind agile scrum environments. This isn’t to say that I don’t have any more late nights working at the office, but I have learned that it is okay to step away to take time with colleagues and family to enjoy life. In doing this, I have found myself to be more energetic and more importantly, be more creative. With the recent pandemic and the shift to working remotely, this practice has become much easier.
Perfection is subjective. I believe we all strive for perfection and work hard to achieve it. I learned some hard lessons early on in my career striving for perfection on a project, during which I spent an enormous amount of time on some details that were overall insignificant to the greater project.
Always take the risk. Being too concerned with the “what if’s” will not get you anywhere. If I could go back, there are some “risks” that I wish I had executed on. Instead, I was more concerned with my fiduciary responsibilities to the organization.
Provide real-time constructive criticism. Being able to provide feedback that may not be greatly accepted by the audience or individual person is and can be challenging. I have found by providing on-the-spot/real-time feedback helps team members grow and learn. In addition, providing feedback in the moment makes rework easier, and often prevents the behavior from reoccurring.
Set stretch goals. As human beings, we all live to push ourselves to perform at our best potential. Setting goals in general is in our DNA (or at least mine!). By going the extra mile and developing stretch goals with the team sets clear expectations. By setting stretch goals, the team is more creative and feels aa level of adrenaline that is both exciting and admirable. At the end of the day, who does not want to succeed and knowing that you contributed to the stretch goal? With a little bit of hard work and energy, the team is energized and inspired to meet these goals.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
On a professional level, I want to inspire my team to be accountable and responsible for everything that they do to ensure that we’re able to serve our customers and partners in the best way possible. By creating a tidal wave effect of accountability and responsibility, we can create positive work for our customers and prospects.
On a more personal level, my daughters are two of my biggest inspirations. To help them learn that women can be great leaders in business, my wife and I have implemented something in our family called “Life and Business Lessons on the Golf Course,” during which my wife and I take our daughters to the golf course to talk about the importance of being vocal, standing up for themselves and teaching them leadership skills. We talk about how business can be conducted on the golf course and talk about how everyone can work towards becoming a better individual. With this in mind, I want to inspire young kids everywhere that they have the option to go into business if that’s something that they’re passionate about.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don’t really even notice it, so it’s part of everyday life” — Bill Gates
To me, this quote sums up the modern conveniences we all appreciate as part of our daily routines. Whether it be during work or enjoying time with family, knowing that technology is making life more enjoyable, safer, efficient and convenient is something I am grateful for and embrace.
Some very well-known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
As voice technology continues to gain popularity, VCs should start taking a look at investing in emotional voice and AI in voice. As consumers become more comfortable leveraging voice technology, emotional voices allow companies to separate themselves from the competition and create more dynamic voices with which customers and prospects can interact. And, by backing AI in voice, companies can more quickly train and deploy voices to get them to market more quickly, helping to drive faster ROI.
The Future Is Now: Richard Rodriguez of ‘WITHmyDOC’ On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up Healthcare
Being an entrepreneur is a dramatic ride. Choosing this life means living through many ups and downs. There are no days off, and there are a lot of highs and lows. I didn’t set out to be an entrepreneur, but it turned out to be a natural progression for me in the business world. The exciting times are a wonderful boost, but I wish I had been better prepared for the slower, sometimes excruciating waiting that happens on the flip side of that.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Richard Rodriguez of WITHmyDOC.
As President and CEO of WITHmyDOC, Richard Rodriguez combines his previous healthcare background with his technology experience, coming full circle to transform healthcare. He began his career as a state-certified paramedic, working both as a first responder and onsite at hospitals, while obtaining degrees in Accounting and Information Systems from Florida Atlantic University. During his 20 years in the technology sector, he co-founded Centuric, LLC, a technology engineering and management company. Richard is also the co-founder of Axcess Americas, a software company that developed a platform for mortgage banking and loan administration in the US and Canadian markets, eventually selling the company to an Australian partner. He is passionately involved with the South Florida community having served as a board member of the Executive’s Association of Fort Lauderdale, The Riverwalk Trust, and Junior Achievement. He is also a past board member of the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce and is the former Treasurer for Habitat for Humanity of Broward. Richard was instrumental in co-founding the South Florida Chapter of the Cloud Security Alliance.
Thank you for joining us in this series, Richard. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Helping others has always been part of my DNA. I worked my way through college as a paramedic and loved the fast-paced nature of the job, but the ability to help others on daily basis is what I most enjoyed. You had to make decisions quickly, trusting your instincts and your training. They taught us in paramedic training — there is no 911 for you — you are 911! Plus, it was gratifying — even though, rarely is the patient in a condition to say ‘thank-you’, when you do a good job, you know it and can feel it. Working in technology takes a very different skill set from that in many ways, but it’s also a fast-paced industry where you have to think on your feet and be nimble. The opportunity to combine my healthcare background with technology was an ideal fit for my personality. So, I guess you could say I’ve come full circle, back in healthcare and helping people, but this time with technology.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I delivered three babies while I was a paramedic; I’ve always thought that was pretty interesting! But looking back at the beginning of my business career, I would say I learned some interesting lessons about the different work styles of other countries. When my partner and I founded one of our first companies many years ago, we had partners in Australia and customers in Canada. We quickly observed some key differences in the way we all approached our work. Australians take a three-month summer vacation and work comes to halt. While Canadians have a more relaxed way about them. We definitely learned a lot about the work styles of people of different cultures and the way they communicate.
Can you tell us about the cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Essentially, we are using AI for preventative health maintenance. WITHmyDOC is a digital health company that uses a web-based intelligence platform to monitor patients and transmit real-time physiologic data to healthcare providers. Our RPM@Home™ product is a remote patient monitoring (RPM) kit that supports chronic care management and telehealth visits. We connect patients to their care teams, providing the real-time data needed to control symptom and disease progression. It allows healthcare providers to review patients’ physiologic data as frequently as needed between office visits, making it easier to detect, diagnose and treat symptoms.
WITHmyDOC’s RPM platform delivers predictive analytics through advanced artificial intelligence. We can use that data to show a patient how staying on their current trajectory could increase their chance for disease progression or how making a few changes in their lifestyle could decrease those chances. We are now able to offer guidance and solutions specific to one person based on scientific analysis to help them make necessary adjustments. It’s transforming healthcare.
How do you think this might change the world?
We are taking Big Data healthcare to an individual level and empowering people to take charge of their health. Most people want to take care of themselves so they can have a better life for themselves and their families. Our platform helps them do that.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
In our world we have a technology gap. The people who have access to the best tech tools are using them to better their lives, and the people who don’t have those capabilities are obviously going to fall behind. As a society, we want to always be striving for ways to make technology available to all regardless of socioeconomic status.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
Over the past 20 years I’ve seen a lot of great technology solutions that end up creating data silos. There are good devices that compile a lot of helpful user data, but it doesn’t go anywhere. Recognizing the limitations in that, my partners and I are making sure our data is open and available. If we control the patient data, it’s not serving its purpose of helping others lead a better, healthier life. WITHmyDOC’s RPM@Home is a patient-centric platform that is both device- and EHR-agnostic. The ability to transmit vital signs and other essential physiological data in real time directly to the healthcare provider’s dashboard allows for earlier intervention and can make a real difference in outcomes.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
We are well on our way to adoption, but continued acceptance is going to open the gates. COVID-19 has moved the needle in healthcare technology, showing that virtual health is a real solution. CMS has adopted reimbursement schedules for virtual healthcare options. Healthcare providers and their patients are getting used to it now, and they will continue to become more familiar with it. Our job is to keep building the features and functionality that will aid in the process. A good example is our current focus on the RPM@Home kit for treating less severe COVID-19 patients at home as a risk mitigation tool that proactively protects patients, reduces the spread of infection and helps alleviate the current hospital capacity issues.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
Telehealth in general has been getting a lot of attention, but we are capitalizing on the opportunity to show how it can be advanced beyond a simple video call with your provider. There are inefficiencies in that Facetime model, and we have an opportunity to educate people on how to “get enough health from their telehealth.”
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My business partner Frank Peluso is a technology genius. We have been working together for over 20 years, and I’m continually awed by how he can bring ideas to life. Because he’s an engineer and highly intelligent, he often takes a different path to a solution that most people might not understand. I understand his thought processes though, which allows me to be the liaison with our customers. It’s a beautiful partnership of technology and business.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I’m honored to serve on the boards of many fantastic organizations focused on education, including Junior Achievement. I always say I was born with the philanthropy gene; my family raised me to give back. As we find success in business, it’s incumbent upon all of us to make that commitment to giving back right into our community. It must be part of the mission and DNA.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
A better way to raise capital. WITHmyDOC has taken a traditional path in the VC process, and it has been an eye-opening one for me. As someone who feels very passionate about what we’re offering and wanting to get it into more hands quickly, the structure around raising capital feels so inefficient and unnecessarily slow. That’s the adrenaline in me talking!
Have patience with the process. My personality is such that I like to see things happen quickly. I believe we work hard and we should see the end results of that work moving forward. The reality is, what is a long-time for me, is considered a short time for most others, especially in healthcare. Having more patience with the process is definitely something that I continue to work on.
Managing people can be difficult. I love working with teams to see a concept through to execution and success, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to working with different personalities can be challenging at times. This is an area I have struggled with throughout my career, however being an effective leader demands that I keep learning from mistakes, discovering new ways to motivate and lead by example.
Being an entrepreneur is a dramatic ride. Choosing this life means living through many ups and downs. There are no days off, and there are a lot of highs and lows. I didn’t set out to be an entrepreneur, but it turned out to be a natural progression for me in the business world. The exciting times are a wonderful boost, but I wish I had been better prepared for the slower, sometimes excruciating waiting that happens on the flip side of that.
The real successes are going to come from seeing your team’s success. WITHmyDOC went from an idea my partner and I had to a company that has created jobs that support families. We have built a culture where people are proud of what they do, and I love being a part of that. If I knew our hard work would eventually allow some of our employees to put their children through college, it would have given me even more motivation in those early days.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would like to change the way healthcare is delivered to people around the globe. It is so important to keep working toward solutions that will make quality healthcare possible everywhere. When people have the resources to take care of themselves — eating good, nutritious foods, for example — it inherently brings about a happier, thriving world.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“If you want to take the island, burn the boats.” That quote is attributed to Julius Caesar over 2,000 years ago, and it has always inspired me. To be successful, we must go after what we want with dedication and purpose, removing all the excuses not to be successful. In my mind, allowing for the possibility of excuses means you’re going to fail.
Some very well-known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
WITHmyDOC is the future of healthcare. As telemedicine continues taking on a more significant role in healthcare delivery, remote patient monitoring and the RPM@Home patient kit will be key drivers in the transformation.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can follow me on LinkedIn and you can follow WITHmyDOC on Twitter @WITHmyDOC and on LinkedIn.
The Future Is Now: Scott Donnell of Hapbee Technologies On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene
Have a 10 year mindset, not 10 minutes. I wish I would have thought long-term about the business from the beginning, as I would have been much more at ease about the progress. A lot of entrepreneurs want things right now, but with revolutionary technology, you need to be patient.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs. I had the pleasure of interviewing Scott Donnell.
Scott Donnell is the CEO at Hapbee Technologies, Inc, and a business leader who has dedicated his life to both physical and mental health. Scott’s personal passion for healthy living led him to create wearable device, Hapbee, utilizing 15 years of research in magnetic fields and frequencies, to help people feel better.
Previously, Scott founded a fitness and fundraising program for schools called, Apex Leadership Company, which has raised $75 million and now has 115 franchises and 3 million customers.
Scott has 10 years of experience building over 80 consumer products and has collaborated with many other world-class experts in the frequency and energy space. Scott strongly believes that the field of frequencies has the possibility to change the way we see the world, our body’s, and the future.
He has been featured in: TechAZ, Mixergy, LaunchPad, Get Yourself Optimized, Orion’s Method, The Rusty Ryal Show just to name a few.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
For starters, I am not a doctor or a scientist, but I do have the largest school fundraising franchise in America, Apex Leadership Company, complete with an application team, promotional partners and hundreds of employees. With a passion for consumer products, I fell in love with the idea of pursuing this opportunity with Hapbee. I invested in the technology behind Hapbee more than 12 years ago, so I both know and love the technology very much. I trust the team of scientists and doctors who built it and I’ve watched them progress over the last decade, so I’m very excited to introduce this technology to the world. I think I have the right skill set to be able to present this technology in an exciting way, so the general public can understand and benefit from using it in their everyday lives.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
It’s hard to find just one, but a funny story comes to mind. I took my wife to Croatia in 2015 for a second honeymoon. We were on a boat with a chef and a guide when all of a sudden my wife’s phone rang. It turns out our website had crashed with 30,000 people on it and all of our franchise teams were freaking out. I immediately had to find my way to the other side of the island to a small village where a couple owned a business with WiFi, and I had to pay them to stay open all night so I could use their internet to work on resolving the problem. It was crazy. I almost got lost on the way to the village while I was getting threatened to be sued and everything. Finally, two days later, we got it figured out. Luckily, I was able to finish the trip with my wife and we will always remember that one.
Can you tell us about the cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Hapbee (“Happy”) is a wearable technology that lets you choose your mental state. You wear the device around your head or neck and promote your desired state at the press of a button. Hapbee can deliver dozens of safe, comfortable feelings to your body using proprietary low-energy magnetic fields that mimic signals to your brain that it already understands. The product is designed to have a unique influence on your experience and target specific feelings in a non-ionizing, non-thermal and non-invasive way. Hapbee allows users to feel different types of signals, including Alert, Sleepy, Focused, Calm, Relaxed, and Happy, on command.
It’s the future of substance-free feelings, and it comes from a technology (also used by the Navy) called a magnetometer. We can actually record and study the magnetic fields that come from everyday molecules that we ingest. We think this will help people not turn to substances like pills, drinks or smoking, but rather click a button and get what they need in a healthy way. I think this is going to change the world in a big way when it comes to mental wellness and peace of mind without substances. We are helping people with addictions, trauma, sleep, productivity and stress. We are very excited about where this is going to go. I can’t wait to see millions of people taking back control of their peace of mind with this technology.
Keeping black mirror in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people might think more deeply about?
Well, every revolutionary technology has the chance of being negative, but for us, we want people to choose to make Hapbee a healthy habit instead of turning to chemicals that might harm them. We don’t want people to be addicted to our product — and we have not seen that so far — but we have seen our members enjoy the product throughout the day, sometimes for up to eight hours, so we view it more like good sleep, healthy eating, fitness, meditation and other good habits for your life. That’s our goal.
Was there a tipping point that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
The reason I’m doing this is because I saw my grandma be transformed by our technology. She was 87 years old with a lot of aches and soreness for many years, and she had trouble sleeping. She was one of the first people in the world to try the Relax signal, and within 20 minutes was loose, happy, walking around and feeling amazing. That night, she slept 11 hours, and the next day my grandfather gave me $100,000 and said, “Scott, you need to do this with as many other people in the world as possible.”
That was my moment. That’s my why.
I think we have a huge opportunity to help people with mental health. We want to help people sleep better, feel more relaxed, destress and have more energy throughout the day.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
For us right now, it’s more eyeballs, more stories shared from our customers, more signals made, and more ways to use Hapbee in people’s everyday lives. We want Hapbee to be as relatable as possible for all our consumers.
Our Hapbee necklace/headband is just the start.
We are excited about the future signals that are intended to assist people to better their diet, performance, memory, etc. — and the future is bright. We are hoping for more collaborations and affiliates and joint ventures with people who are interested in using Hapbee with their audience.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
We do press releases, podcasts, Facebook advertisements and social media, but nothing beats word of mouth. We are working on new collaborations with the right communities of people to enjoy this product. There are so many people who love our product already, including biohackers, functional medicine, doctors, and more. At the end of the day, anyone who is looking to feel better loves our product, making it a perfect fit for so many.
Is there any particular person who you are grateful towards who helped you get to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
We have so many people to thank who have helped this product come to life. Dan Sullivan was the first domino who saw the power of the technology and how to get it out to the world. He is an amazing thinker, and I owe so much to him. He also connected me with Joe Polish, one of the world’s top marketers, who has been fantastic. He also introduced us to Dave Asprey, the father of biohacking, and Dave has been instrumental in our success. Many other people, including Lee Richter and Mark Timm, are amazing in helping us grow and thrive as a company. We have hundreds of people to thank, and I wish I could sit here and name them all.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I believe that all business success comes from helping others. That is what the free market does. We love to give part of what we make to other people, but I don’t believe in giving back — simply because I didn’t take anything in the first place.
What actually happened is I just helped people and many people paid me for it. With that said, I love giving, period. I love helping people with addiction recovery, so we gave to Genius Recovery. We plan on making more partnerships as we grow the business in the mental health nonprofit world.
What are five things you wish someone had told you before you started and why?
#1: Have a 10 year mindset, not 10 minutes. I wish I would have thought long-term about the business from the beginning, as I would have been much more at ease about the progress. A lot of entrepreneurs want things right now, but with revolutionary technology, you need to be patient.
#2: Embrace failures and learn from them. We tried so many form factors and ways to wear the product that at first were ugly, heavy and didn’t work very well. Eventually, we got an answer that worked for all that was lightweight, looked sleek and people enjoyed wearing. However, that takes time.
#3: Be okay with the unknown. God is in control. Just breathe. I had to realize we were walking into the dark with our business and we didn’t have all the answers, but that was okay. Those answers come the more curious and hardworking you become. Keep going. You can do it. Just be open with what you need and what you want, and any problem in the world can be solved with the right network, the right connections, and the right mindset. For entrepreneurs, self-doubt is very difficult — and my young age sometimes gets in the way, but I can remember I have what it takes and I can do it, as long as I don’t give up.
#4: Enjoy the journey. I haven’t actually picked my head up from the work to actually see all that we have accomplished so far. It’s crucial to celebrate each little win together, and don’t forget to bring others along with you for the ride.
#5: The last lesson is that revolutionary technology is just hard, plain and simple. You have to just keep trying, keep learning, and keep asking for help so you’ll eventually get there.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would it be?
I am literally living that dream right now with Hapbee. I would change the global conversation around mental health. No more stigma or embarrassment around seeking counseling, going to a shrink, or working on being mentally healthy. We want the world to learn to be proud of that, to work on that daily, because the mind is the most important part of the body. At its heart, Hapbee is a mental wellness product that allows users to be proud of being mentally fit. Stress kills more people than almost anything else in the world, and our goal is to give people back their peace of mind on command.
Some very well known VC’s are going to be listening to this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to the VC, what would you say?
At Hapbee, we had dozens of VCs pass on the opportunity before we had a finished product, mainly because they didn’t quite know how to explain us to their Boards. Ironically, some of those CEOs invested personally in us. I’d say this to any VC: please think bigger and not smaller. If you want simple returns, to take the easy route with easy deals, make some money, and then retire, then fine, but the VC’s I respect simply play bigger. That’s who I’d rather speak to, and those are my friends.
Hapbee is out to make a difference with these substance-free feelings and mental wellness. We want to be the Netflix of feelings to help the world engage in life rather than escape it. That’s our goal. And if that interests you, we are happy to talk.
Live and Die by Metrics — Be obsessed with metrics, if you can’t measure something, you can’t improve it. Metric should be “drive decisions”
As part of my series about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Successful App or SaaS”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Piha, Co-founder/Chief Executive Officer of HitCheck.
Mike Piha is our CEO and resident coach. Drawing on more than 20 years’ experience as a successful entrepreneur and multi-million dollar business owner in Silicon Valley, Mike is an idea shaper, play caller and team motivator.
One of Mike’s true life passions is coaching youth football. For more than 30 years, he’s volunteered his time to coaching and inspiring young athletes, many of which have gone on to play college and professional football. As co-founder of the NorCal Youth Football league, he has brought the game to more than 7,000 youth and in 2010, Mike was inducted into the American Youth Football Hall of Fame.
When Mike’s not building companies or volunteering on the field, you can find him racking up miles on his road bike, golfing with his two sons, enjoying the San Francisco city life or taking in a Giants game with his wife, Cheryl.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
After playing 16 years of football (4 years in college) and entering the business world my passion for football continued as I started coaching youth football at the age of 24. I coached youth football for 25+ years and over 1K kids, started a league that now has over 25K participants all while starting and leading a 40M business in the Silicon Valley and raising two boys with my wife Cheryl in Palo Alto, CA. My passion for football brought me to research why participation was declining at such a rapid rate, only to learn that the health & safety issues, mainly head injuries (concussions) were the number one concern of parents not allowing their child to play tackle football. This also was consistent in all contact sports including soccer and baseball.
I pursued to find a solution to help this problem as I found there was not a cognitive test available for anyone under the age of 16. Through my research I met sports medicine MD, Dr. Jake Benford, who had been working on developing a cognitive test on a mobile device with a focus on youth. After several months of discussions, Dr. Benford and I started HitCheck.
What was the “Aha Moment” that led you to think of the idea for your current company? Can you share that story with us?
The moment was the day I learned that over 50% of concussed athletes return to play the same day as the methods for concussion screening were either not done or administered by an unqualified person with antiquated methods.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
With any start-up raising capital is what drives the development of the company. The space we are in, sports technology/healthcare was not a focus for most investors, we needed to raise $2M to get the concept developed, tested and marketed. We faced time over the first two years where we had zero $ in the bank…the passion to solve this problem and the drive to make a difference provided the fuel to keep going.
So, how are things going today? How did your grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?
We are diversifying and expanding our reach through new customers in the DoD Us Military and working on a cognitive test for dementia. With COVID-19 many of our customers have had to place everything on hold while they have canceled or suspended their season.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
An early mistake we made was our original name, HHITT. Nobody could pronounce it or spell it and they had no idea what we did, I was speaking to a group of 100+ football coaches and the introduction ppt. on the screen had SHITT (instead of HHITT). Solve the identity crises early…we renamed the company a few weeks later.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
The people and the team. We have built HitCheck with a group of experienced individuals with incredible experience, the majority of our team are “advisors” who are only paid through company stock options. These individuals have other jobs or activities, it is amazing how much time and contributions they have provided HitCheck. One story is our UX Designer, Martin Anet is one of the “top” UX designers (Groupon, DoorDash) in the world, he will put in late nights and weekends working on HitCheck projects including taking vacation days from his “real” job to complete a HitCheck project, he like so many others on our team have a passion for the success of HitCheck.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
I always let my team know “if it is easy…everyone can do it…If it’s hard, it is worth it”! Starting a business from a concept is really hard, always seeking to educate and learn will eliminate burnout.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
My father was a mentor who provided me the knowledge to understand the value of relationships and how important they are in your personal and professional life…I always work on building positive strong relationships. He also taught me how a positive attitude will have a direct impact on your success…when I was 12 he gave me a gift, the book ‘Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude” by Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone written in 1960…I still have it today and have read it over 100 times!
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. Approximately how many users or subscribers does your app or software currently have? Can you share with our readers three of the main steps you’ve taken to build such a large community?
We have over 300K users from five counties participating in 23 different sports or activities including the US Army and US Air Force. 1. Used social media to market and share the brand. 2. We have attended several conferences (National Athletic Trainers Association, US Football, USA Soccer, Concussion Symposium and more). 3.) Direct Marketing Campaigns and PR through media outlets.
What is your monetization model? How do you monetize your community of users? Have you considered other monetization options? Why did you not use those?
We have a SaaS model for annual subscriptions, we focus on youth leagues, high schools, colleges (including club sports) and professional leagues. We also have a focus on the military, active duty and veterans.
Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things one should know in order to create a very successful app? Please share a story or an example for each.
It’s not just an app: It’s a Business — Your business model is your key to real success. Build it before you build your app.
Solve the “Identity Crisis” — Create a robust name and brand at the start, it is the first impression. HitCheck was the thought of Jamie Norton our graphic designer who just came up with it one afternoon.
Get “Lean and Mean” — Talk to your prospective customers, understand their problems and how your app will solve them. Know your target audience and learn everything about them.
Make something people LOVE — Product market fit is key, being in a good market and building a product that can satisfy what people in that market want.
Live and Die by Metrics — Be obsessed with metrics, if you can’t measure something, you can’t improve it. Metric should be “drive decisions”.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Keep our youth active and participating in healthy activities such as sports and outdoor activities that provide movement, exercise and mental development. Bring back physical education in our schools and limit indoor “screen” activities (video games, PC’s and TV. We need healthy habits for our youth!
How can our readers follow you on social media? LinkedInis the best!
The Future Is Now: Özgür Deniz Önür of Invidyo On How Their Technological Innovation Will Keep Children More Safe
We are trying to make it easier for parents who have to work full time and employ a caregiver at home to look after their baby. We employ A.I. based video and audio processing technology to automatically determine the important moments in a child’s day. Using invidyo, parents are able to have peace of mind and focus on their jobs rather than watching their security cameras all the time, because they know that invidyo will alert them whenever there is something going on at home that they need to pay attention to.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Özgür Deniz Önür, the CEO of Invidyo. He has an electronics engineering background and has a PhD on A.I. based video processing. He is married with and has a 1.5 years old son.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I have a PhD on video and image processing and I was working for a government agency on managing big video archives. Back then IP cameras were new to the market and they were expensive and difficult to set up. One day a friend called and said that they had a baby a few weeks ago. They were going to hire a nanny and were desperately looking for a camera system to install. He wanted me to help him since he thought I knew my way around this video stuff. This made us realize as a team that in addition to governments and corporates consumers could actually benefit from the technology that we were working on. This started it all and we set out on a path that led us to invidyo.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
We were working with an American company that connects startups to factories in China and also handles the packaging, warehousing and importing tasks. After working on the hardware design for about a year we finally started manufacturing. We got the first 20 units and then we had 100 more. Everything was looking good so we ordered the next 500. We also started taking pre-orders as we now trusted the factory and the intermediary company. Just a few days before the production was due to finish we received an e-mail from a Chinese employee in the US firm that the business was shutting down. The US firm was unable to pay the wages of some of the Chinese workers and the government had requested the company to cease operations in China. We had taken a lot of pre-orders and over night our supply chain had virtually disappeared. It sounds interesting now but back then we had really stressful months until we managed to find a new factory and manufacturing partner.
Can you tell us about the “Bleeding edge” technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
We are trying to make it easier for parents who have to work full time and employ a caregiver at home to look after their baby. We employ A.I. based video and audio processing technology to automatically determine the important moments in a child’s day. Using invidyo, parents are able to have peace of mind and focus on their jobs rather than watching their security cameras all the time, because they know that invidyo will alert them whenever there is something going on at home that they need to pay attention to.
How do you think this might change the world?
We think that it is very important for Mothers to be able to return to the workforce after childbirth. Taking care of their babies or toddlers should not impede their contribution to their careers and society at large. We believe that the world will change for the better when we have more women involvement in every aspect of our lives.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
We have been developing invidyo to give parents peace of mind about what is going on in their homes while they are working. However, no technology will replace actually spending time with family. I would say having a good work-life balance is paramount and we should always make time for loved ones even if technology makes us feel like it is also OK to be away.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
One day I was on stage pitching to Dave Mclure. Back then he was the Executive Manager of 500 startups. We advertised that our product could be used for elderly monitoring, pet monitoring and home security in addition to baby monitoring. We thought the bigger the target audience the better for the company. So as I was pitching this idea, Dave became silent, he did not say anything for a while, then all of a sudden he said how are you going to differentiate yourself with this generic product. He politely! (yes he used the f word) told me to get off the stage. And that was the day we decided to really focus on child monitoring.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
As a startup it is really expensive to reach the mass audience only through paid ads. Baby products usually have a very strong word of mouth effect. And we are lucky on that front since most parents really love our product. And once you have a happy customer, then they become your brand ambassadors and that is better than what you can get with the most expensive paid ad. We are working with Instagram influencers to let parents know about our product and that is playing out pretty well so far.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
We are mostly using the usual. Instagram marketing, referrals, paid ads. But the most important thing we are doing is trying our best to make customers happy. Because as said before, happy customers are even better than us the founders in publicizing our product.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
We are fortunate enough to be a 3 founder team. All of us have known each other since middle school and we were friends and part of each others social lives before we became co-founders. That really helped a lot. We could accomplish most tasks without requiring external help. Other than that we are really grateful to our families for putting up with our long working hours, never ending emergencies and daily flow of new challenges.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I think our most important contribution is trying to get women return to the workforce after childbirth. Because we know that we will never reach our true potential without women leading the way.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Build a product that people will want, not a product that seemed cool over dinner with your fellow engineers
Don’t keep your idea as a secret fearing that people would try to steal your idea
Start interacting with potential clients from day one.
Start small don’t spend money on something that is not absolutely necessary
Somebody on the team should focus on business. Don’t have a team who are all engineers, have a co-founder or a business focused CXO very early on.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would have people understand that they are a part of a very large eco-system of life. Every living organism is as valuable as a human and has a right to live in our planet.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” — Charles Darwin
I believe this is very relevant to my life especially as a starup founder. We will never succeed without a good team and also without perseverance and grit.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Invidyo is the only solution that gives peace of mind to parents who employ a nanny or a babysitter. Using A.I. based video processing we automatically determine the important moments in a child’s day. With invidyo parents don’t have to watch their security cameras all the time. They can focus on their job and invidyo will alert them whenever something happens that they need to pay attention to.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
We have facebook and twitter accounts for invidyo. I also use Linked in actively.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Author Dr. Amit Sood: Rising Through Resilience; Five Things You Can Do To Become More Resilient
Develop a resilient mindset — Our brain by design is a conflicted organ. When you look at a donuts, a part of you wants the donuts, while another part reminds you of its calories. No other part of our body is conflicted like this. The brain thus needs a construct it can trust. I have found five principles that help me here — gratitude, compassion, acceptance, meaning, and forgiveness.
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful business leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Amit Sood.
Dr. Amit Sood, M.D., M.Sc., F.A.C.P., is former chair of Mayo Mind Body Initiative, Professor of Medicine (Retired) with Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, and former enterprise director of Student Life and Wellness. Dr. Sood is the Executive Director and CEO of the Global Center for Resiliency and Wellbeing, and The GRIT Institute. Dr. Sood is internationally recognized for his work on resilience, wellbeing, burnout, happiness, and mindfulness.
Dr. Sood is the author of the books, The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living, The Mayo Clinic Handbook for Happiness, Immerse: A 52-week Course in Resilient Living, Mindfulness Redesigned for the Twenty-First Century, Stronger: The Science and Art of Stress Resilience, and SMART with Dr. Sood. The resiliency programs created by Dr. Sood (Stress Management and Resilience Training — SMART, and Transform) have been tested in over thirty clinical trials and have reached hundreds of thousands of people. Dr. Sood’s work has been profiled in most major media outlets.
Dr. Sood received the 2010 Distinguished Service Award, the 2010 Innovator of the Year Award, the 2013 Outstanding Physician Scientist Award, and the 2016 Faculty of the Year Award from Mayo Clinic. He was honored as the Robert Wood Johnson Health Care Pioneer in 2015. The Intelligent Optimist (formerly Ode Magazine) selected Dr. Sood as one among top 20 intelligent optimists helping the world to be a better place. In 2016, Dr. Sood was selected as the top impact maker in healthcare in Rochester, MN. Dr. Sood is a member of Advisory Board for Wellness for Everyday Health and member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Delos, Inc.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
I grew up in a 400-square-feet home, the youngest of four siblings in a loving family focused on values and education. My teenage years were marked by a struggle with epilepsy and the side effect of medications. Nevertheless, at age 17, I entered medical school.
Within a few months, I saw thousands perish in my hometown to one of the worst industrial disasters of all time (Bhopal gas tragedy).A few years later, I got an opportunity to come to the U.S. for advanced training. Colored by my earlier experience, I thought I would find the U.S. to be a place of perpetual bliss. I thought children here grow up in Disneyland, adults tour the world and play slots in Las Vegas, and in senior years people retire in Florida playing Bingo. I wasn’t prepared for the suffering, particularly emotional suffering I was going to see.
Seeing the struggles of so many led me to research for the cause of the disconnect between emotional and material wellbeing. After a decade of work, I realized that this disconnect is related to the design of the human brain. Further, I realized that many of these design quirks are part of our evolutionary baggage since they had survival benefits in the distant past.
My life’s work is to share this science along with approaches to overcome these vulnerabilities. I strongly that believe if we can share this science more broadly, we have within reach the solution for the global mental health crisis.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
This is the story of Tim’s transformation, a professional colleague of mine.
Tim was a rebellious teenager; he didn’t get along with his father. Tim ran away from home at age 16. Times became tough; he started living on the streets. Despondent, he considered taking his life.
Amidst all this, as he was searching for answers, on a stormy day, he fell into a ditch. A lot of leaves and loose paper were around him. As he lay there, he wondered about his existence, what will carry him. Suddenly a gust of wind came that cleared the ditch. At the bottom was a piece of paper.
Tim picked up the paper on which was written, “I am here, Tim.”
That moment transformed his life. He took that as a sign, re-engaged with education, and is now a very successful professional at a prestigious university.
I call myself a scientist. But I do believe that there is something subtler and more profound than the reach of MRI scans. Hearing this story from a fellow scientist was refreshing, filled me with hope, and continues to remind me that we aren’t alone.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
My company has several billion board of directors — all the children of the world. Everything we do, we keep our North Star in mind — we are here to collectively build a kinder, happier, and more hopeful world for our planet’s children.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
That person would be His Holiness Dalai Lama.
In April 2012, I had the privilege of dialoguing with HHDL in front of an audience of about 500 of the world’s pre-eminent meditation researchers and practitioners. I posed this question to the group — “How many here meditate?” Most raised their hands.
My next question was — “How many find it easy to meditate?”
Almost no hand went up.
At this point, His Holiness took the microphone and shared about his own struggles with meditation. He shared that he isn’t able to get into deep meditation.
His humility and sincerity helped firm my beliefs that we need more innovative approaches to engage the twenty-first-century brains.
We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
Resilience has many definitions. The one I use often is: “Resilience is doing well when you shouldn’t be doing well.”
Perhaps, one of the best ways to capture resilience is through stories. Think of someone you know whose spirit and love of life can’t be doused despite all the rough and tumble around him or her. This is a person who lives with values and embodies courage and a can-do attitude. That person is resilient.
Three characteristics come to my mind:
Other centric — Most resilient people have a strong sense of purpose focused on serving others. I believe we draw strength from the principles and the people we are serving. The more we think about serving a purpose higher than ourselves, the stronger we get.
Hope — Most resilient people have a hopeful, uplifting view of the future. Despite all the uncertainty, they believe that their efforts and intentions matter.
A different lens — Resilient people find humility in success and inspiration in failure. They don’t give in to envy or blame. Instead, they are quick to reframe their situation; even if they experience negative emotions, they are quick to rebound. Further, failures, instead of depleting, offer them the opportunity for growth.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
I can think of many, but here four special people.
Marie Curie — I have forever been inspired by her brilliance, hard work, humility, and selflessness. She didn’t patent her work so others could use it and donated large part of her earnings for helping others.
Mother Teresa — I admire her courage and compassion. Without worrying about her physical health and despite struggling with faith, she embraced serving the most vulnerable, choosing to find the sacred in them.
Mahatma Gandhi — His firm anchor in truth and nonviolence, created a movement and inspired many others to follow that path.
Abraham Lincoln — His courage, perseverance, integrity, and compassion inspire me. He chose to “do the right thing” despite many disagreeing with him, and at a great personal sacrifice, created a timeless legacy, uniting a nation.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
When I was researching and developing the resilience program, one of my professors insulted me in a meeting and said something to the effect of, “This is all BS. Don’t waste your and our time.”
At tremendous risk to my career, I continued, and looking back, am grateful for that. I am also grateful to the professor because they challenged me to work harder and “prove” my mettle.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
Before coming to Mayo Clinic for a residency interview, I informed everyone that I was joining Mayo. Irrational as it sounds, I had assumed I would be training here. So, I was shocked when I wasn’t accepted. It took me some time to recover, but my resolve got even stronger.
I reapplied a few years later, this time for a more senior position, and joined the staff where I proudly served for 15+ years.
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
I grew up in a relatively impoverished neighborhood. Water was in short supply; we would often have to bathe with cold water in the winters and endure lack of electricity in 120 degrees heat. There was fierce competition for admission to professional colleges, about ten times more than in the U.S. My personal medical situation compounded all of this.
Nevertheless, with the help and support from a loving family, caring teachers, friends, and others, I was able to bounce back from each adversity and entered medical school.
My experiences growing up prepared me to be content with little, cultivated compassion, and provided meaning to make things better — for myself and others.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
Resilience has many paths. Here are the five suggested steps:
Answer why — From a scientific and spiritual standpoint, think of good reasons why you want to be stronger. I find great inspiration from the quote, “Carry many with you as you cross the river. Be a ship, not a lone swimmer.” I see tremendous struggles in the world around me, many of which are optional. I surround myself with thoughts and images of suffering to remain inspired to make a difference. Once your why is answered, the how becomes much easier.
Cultivate awareness — The next step is to become aware of why I am not as resilient as I could be. It converges to the design and operation of the human brain. Our brains struggle with focus and spend more time running away from fear rather than chasing meaning. The more we become aware of our neural traps, the more we are empowered to make a difference for ourselves and others. Every time I give a talk and share the related neuroscience, I hear people say, “I wish I knew this when I was in college.”
Take back control of attention — This is step 3. At any moment, billions of bytes of data are striking your sensory system. You can experience a tiny fragment of it. It is your attention that controls what you experience. Presently, most of us have weak attention that is wandering all the time. Taking back control of the attention will empower you to influence every aspect of your life — emotional, cognitive, physical, social, occupational, and spiritual. That’s the reason helping people take back control of their attention is an essential part of our approach to resilience training.
Develop a resilient mindset — Our brain by design is a conflicted organ. When you look at a donut, a part of you wants the donut, while another part reminds you of its calories. No other part of our body is conflicted like this. The brain thus needs a construct it can trust. I have found five principles that help me here — gratitude, compassion, acceptance, meaning, and forgiveness. Feeling grateful for a deep breath, recognizing that someone upset is actually seeking help, knowing that with two thirds of the earth covered with clouds it will rain on my backyard some day, keeping your North Star in focus through your life’s journey, and recognizing that by forgiveness you are taking back control of your narrative and giving the person who doesn’t belong an eviction notice from your brain — these are all a resilient way of responding and living.
Find good role models — Our world desperately needs good role models! Keep inspiring people who were/are firm in principles in your thoughts. They will help you remain anchored in higher values, particularly during the tempting moments. I also follow the “lottery test” for personal connections — Let’s say you win a large sum of money. How many people you can call knowing they will be very happy for you but not want a dime. These are the people you want to be part of your inner circle.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
If we all behave like we want our children to behave, the world will be a much better place.
Let’s create a world where everyone will love your children and grandchildren as much as you love them today. The onus for creating such a world is on us — the grownups.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?
That would be a long list! I admire Bill Gates for his generosity; Barack Obama for his visionary leadership; Oprah Winfrey for her grit and spirituality, Warren Buffet for his humility; Jacinda Ardern for her thoughtfulness and compassion.
I would also love to meet Justin Trudeau who I admire for his openness and accessibility; I met his mother a few years ago and will love to cross check some of the stories!
I know that all of these people care a lot about improving the world. I would love to learn from them and feel that the scientific insights we have uncovered can help their efforts in building a kinder and happier world.
Michael R. Solomon of Saint Joseph’s University: Brand Makeovers; 5 Things You Should Do To Upgrade and Re-Energize Your Brand and Image
Many consumers today (especially younger ones) are much more likely to patronize a brand that they believe gives back to stakeholders and thus reinforces their core values. Patagonia has long been a crusader for green causes, and (among other things) the company donates 1% of all sales to environmental organizations globally.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Michael R. Solomon.
Michael R. Solomon is professor of marketing in the Haub School of Business at Saint Joseph’s University and he resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He advises global clients in leading industries on marketing strategies to make them more consumer-centric. He is the author of several leading textbooks on marketing, consumer behavior, advertising and social media.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
When I was a teenager, I worked as a salesman in a formalwear store. I witnessed the same scenario hundreds of times: A woman drags her unhappy fiancé into the store to get fitted for a tuxedo. He looks like he’d rather have razor blades inserted into his eyes. He slouches into the dressing room. But when he emerges wearing the tux, there is a magical transformation: His posture is better and he looks like he thinks he’s James Bond about to order a martini shaken, not stirred. The clothing he wore seemed to literally change who he was as a person.
This observation stuck with me, and as a graduate student in Social Psychology I decided to do my doctoral dissertation on the “dress for success” phenomenon. I was able to show in a controlled laboratory setting that people who wear “appropriate” clothing in job interviews are more confident and assertive. My early focus on the psychology of fashion turned into a lifelong fascination with the ways that material objects and brands determine how we feel about ourselves and how we evaluate other people. I began to work with manufacturers and retailers to help them to understand how their products actually influence their customers’ lives, and the rest is history.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I don’t know if it was funny, but definitely an eye-opener. One of my first consulting jobs was with a large advertising agency in Manhattan. The client was a major personal care products company, and the brand was a popular skincare product. I interviewed people at the agency and the client’s brand managers to understand their primary customer (today we call this creating a brand persona). They all told me the same story: She’s a fairly affluent woman in her late 20s and early 30s, cosmopolitan and active. Basically, Carrie from the TV show Sex in the City. However, when I dug deeper into the actual purchase data, I discovered a very different persona: The typical user in reality was a woman in her 50s who lived alone and had a lot of cats!
The lesson: Marketers often make decisions based upon the customer they want to have, rather than the one they actually have. Always talk to the actual customers and don’t take everything brand managers say at face value.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
When I was a green Assistant Professor at NYU, I was supposed to be working on getting academic publications 24/7 (and it come close to that at times). However, after a few years I realized that there was little to nothing going on in the young field of fashion psychology. I saw an opportunity to play a leading role in the development of this new discipline. I decided to organize a large, interdisciplinary conference on this topic to kickstart it. This was a huge undertaking, and a big risk because it took me away from my research. The conference attracted about 500 people (most from the fashion industry); this event and the book I edited afterward was a major impetus to focus attention on this area and my profile benefited as a result.
The lesson: Sometimes you have to just hold your breath and roll the dice. Take a risk to do something dramatic in your career — especially if this gives you an excuse to network with many other people as you establish a solid base of connections.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I’m looking at the factors that determine if or how consumers will interact with automation in their daily lives. For example, how do people think about wearable computers (e.g. Apple watches, Fitbits) and what factors impede or accelerate adoption? Or, as we increasingly interact with AI and robots on the sales floor and in call centers, what design issues influence our willingness to do so and to trust what these automated agents tell us? For example, are shoppers more likely to trust recommendations from a robot that has human features? The next decade will see a huge acceleration in these kinds of interactions (especially as the pandemic encourages many of us to distance from human salespeople), so it’s vital to understand what moves the needle and gives consumers the value they seek from companies and retailers.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
The large majority of managers I’ve known are very good at what they do, but they focus almost exclusively on competing within their own narrow vertical. It’s invigorating — and often highly useful — to look up now and then to explore best practices in other verticals as well. Usually, the challenges you face are common to marketers in other industries even though on the surface what they sell is not similar to what you do. Take a broader view of the world and don’t get bogged down in the micro-politics of your organization and its direct competitors.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
Ideally the brand is the uber-platform that drives everything the organization does. It’s a rich story that your own people and your customers can buy into. Advertising plays an important but supporting role in telling that story. People buy things because of what they mean, not because of what they do. Marketers who focus only on extolling the functional attributes of what they sell usually are doomed to fail. We buy a brand story, not just a product!
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
As I noted above, the brand is the central organizing platform that should drive your entire business. Once you create a coherent and powerful brand story, everything else should flow naturally from that. If you don’t know what your brand means, your customers won’t either.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
When we become too familiar with a story, we don’t tend to pay attention to it anymore. And, over time it happens that a company’s mission has changed — usually it gets broader. So, a new or revised version of the story is necessary. For example, Xerox morphed from a company that made copying machines to a “document management” company. That requires a different story.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
If the story changes too dramatically, consumers may no longer recognize the brand. That’s why packaging/logo changes are usually done incrementally — even after numerous iterations, the Betty Crocker we see today still vaguely resembles the original even though she now looks Hispanic. If you already have a winning story, think twice before changing it radically. It’s easy to be reminded of the famous Classic Coke story from the 1980s that we love to tell our marketing students: The company changed the beverage’s taste based upon feedback from consumers who reacted only to anonymous flavor variations. These customers liked the new flavor, but that didn’t mean they were prepared for their favorite brand to change. Coke had to retreat from its new value proposition.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
It’s no secret that we live in an eyeball economy, where the most important challenge is to win consumers’ attention. Shoppers are jaded, and they’re also overwhelmed with choices. In addition, many believe in “brand parity,” which is a nice way of saying that despite marketers’ efforts, in many cases they believe that competitors in a category are all “pretty much the same.”
At the same time, consumers still rely upon brands to help them to express their unique selves. As I discuss in my book The New Chameleons, consumers today change their identities frequently, and they value brands that help them to experiment with new social roles.
There are many paths to brand resonance, which I define as the extent to which a brand syncs with a consumer’s desired identities and life projects. To access a free audit that will help you to determine whether your brand does this, please visit www.michaelsolomon.com
For now, here are five ways to ramp up consumer involvement with your brand:
1. Gamification: Apply elements of gaming to non-game contexts. A well-known success story is Nike’s fitness app, NikeFuel. The app motivates users by fostering a spirit of friendly competition as members of the community share their progress with one another, and Nike rewards positive results with congratulatory messages.
2. Personalization: Ramp up identification with a product by customizing it for each user. M&Ms allows customers to select colors, text, and images that will appear on their candy shipments.
3. CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility): Many consumers today (especially younger ones) are much more likely to patronize a brand that they believe gives back to stakeholders and thus reinforces their core values. Patagonia has long been a crusader for green causes, and (among other things) the company donates 1% of all sales to environmental organizations globally.
4. Consumption constellations: As I’ve discussed elsewhere, product complementarity occurs when the symbolic meanings of different products relate to one another. Consumers use these sets of products as a consumption constellation to define, communicate and perform social roles. For example, we identified the U.S. “yuppie” of the 1980s by such diverse products as a Rolex watch, a BMW automobile, a Gucci briefcase, a squash racket, fresh pesto, white wine and brie cheese.
Companies may sell products, but consumers buy identities that are composed of items in many different categories. If you can link your brand to other elements of a person’s lifestyle, your chances of resonating will soar. For example, Lowe’s partnered with several fashion designers during New York Fashion Week; runway shows featured hand-picked items the designers felt epitomized their definitions of “home.” Then, consumers could purchase elements of these curated collections of lighting, patio furniture, flooring and building materials.
5. Augmented reality (AR): AR applications transform a drab package, store display, catalog or other medium into a dynamic experience that engages customers. For example, IKEA launched an augmented reality (AR) application that allows users to visualize how a product will look in the user’s living space. Customers can select from over 2000 IKEA products and “see” them positioned in their homes, then share their choices with others.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
A few decades ago, LEGO was in serious trouble. It was churning out a lot of action figures, but kids weren’t buying them. The company did a makeover; it actually talked to kids about what they wanted to do with the product and based on this feedback, LEGO retooled to focus on letting kids build what they wanted. This was a huge success, and to this day the company proactively solicits feedback from a network of users around the world.
The lesson: Your customers are your best product designers. Listen to them.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
For years, fast-fashion companies have trained shoppers to look for very frequent inventory turns and shoddy products at low prices (often useful to freshen up bloggers’ social media profiles with new looks). These cheap items then get discarded quickly as new ones continuously replace them. The pandemic is helping to reverse that trend, but a lot more consumers need to understand the life cycle of what they buy so they can focus on buying quality items (admittedly at higher prices) that last longer and don’t wind up in landfills within a short time.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My e-mail signature includes a quote by the social psychologist Kurt Lewin: “There is nothing so practical as a good theory.” This observation is very important because it’s a reminder that rigorous, systematic thinking up front pays off in the long run. Marketers that don’t heed this advice tend to react rather than proact, and they’re much more likely to just reinvent the light bulb.
The Future Is Now: Derek Forbes of Stardust On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene
Surrounding yourself with strong people is arguably the only thing that matters. Luckily, I did figure this out before I started Stardust — and it’s a team made up of some of the greatest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.
As As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs. I had the pleasure of interviewing Derek Forbes.
Derek Forbes is founder & CEO of Stardust, the leading social app that connects movie & TV fans around the world. After launching a successful MVP in 2018 with video reactions as its core functionality, Stardust was redesigned in 2019 with a full suite of interactive features to support its rapidly-growing community.
An expert in developing digital products for consumers and enterprise businesses, Derek launched his career in 2000 as a software developer for cinema industry leader, Vista Group. He designed platforms to enable theaters to manage all aspects of business — from ticket & concessions sales, to predictive technology and box-office performance analytics. Derek went on to grow the Vista team in Europe and the United States; lead client software implementation & product management; and develop projects for clients across the globe, including exotic locations like Mumbai & Caracas. Vista Group filed for IPO in 2014, where Derek continues to serve as Chief Operating Officer.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
When I was still in college studying computer science in New Zealand, I really needed a part-time job. I found a little 5-person company called Vista which was making ticketing software for movie theatres, and they needed a part-time programmer. I didn’t know it at the time, but that job turned out to be the beginning of a long and exciting journey… Over the next 16 years, I traveled the world to work on projects with Vista customers. I transferred to London for a few years to establish our Europe office, then relocated again to Los Angeles in 2010 to build and manage our US office. Vista is now an 800-person global company, and working on the technology side of the movie industry gave me the inspiration and insight to create Stardust.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
There are a lot of great stories. We had a worldwide company conference in Cancun, Mexico in 2005 which was hit by a category 5 hurricane (Wilma), and caused massive devastation across the whole Yucatan Peninsula. About 30 of our staff and resellers ended up in a local school building for 3 days, sleeping side-by-side on the floor as windows shattered, rainwater pooled around us, and the building started to shake violently in the wind. While we were not hurt, it sure was an unforgettable experience to go through with my long-time coworkers, and it was humbling to see the devastation that can be wrought by nature.
It has certainly occurred to me that going through hardships together and coming out the other side can be one of the most powerful experiences to build strong, lasting relationships between coworkers, business partners, and customers. I was also incredibly impressed by the organization and compassion of the local people and government in the wake of the hurricane, and how much they cared about the safety of residents and visitors alike.
Can you tell us about the “Bleeding edge” technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Right now, the Stardust team is building the ultimate recommendation system to help users figure out which movie or show to watch next. We don’t think anyone is solving this problem particularly well right now, and Stardust has all of the right ingredients to build something truly special. A system that only recommends you titles that you will really love watching. Because there is so much content out there, spread across so many different platforms — and life is too short to waste it watching shows that you don’t love.
How do you think this might change the world?
Not only can Stardust help people enjoy their leisure time more, but we can also connect brilliant niche titles with audiences that love them, who may not ever have discovered them otherwise. At a time where so much of the entertainment narrative is focused on a few big franchise tentpoles, I think this is very important to help support an ecosystem of diverse and original content.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
Such a pertinent question. That show is one that attracts a lot of discussion on our app. While I think that many people are starting to become aware of the potential dangers of companies knowing too much about them, I think that what we are doing is fairly harmless and transparent. If we use people’s movie & TV tastes to help advertise to them a new show that they’ll love — I think that is actually useful to them, and maybe exactly what they are hoping for from using the app. Don’t worry, we’re not building any killer robots over here.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
I was, and still am, a massive Game of Thrones fan. I wanted to be able to discuss and debate every episode with other fans, and being that GoT had one of the largest audiences any TV show has ever had, I knew there was no shortage of other superfans to connect with. There just wasn’t a good place to do it. Other social platforms are too generic, with more broad appeal. And even those that have subsets or “groups” within the community didn’t really meet my needs. I wanted to be able to subscribe and follow specific shows, read and share comments on a per-episode or per-season basis. Stardust is a social app for movie & TV fans, built by true movie & TV fans.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
We’ve been building the app for a while, and our initial user base loves it. Now, all we need is to spread awareness and get more people using it — that’s the stage we are just now embarking upon.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
All of the usual things — social and email marketing, influencers, events — but one of the more interesting ones is that we recently started partnering with some of the major movie studios to do some co-marketing around their movie releases. They benefit by sharing authentic moviegoer feedback to help create buzz around each new movie, and we benefit from the exposure to the Stardust brand.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
The founder of Vista Group — Murray Holdaway — was my boss and mentor for many years as we grew the company on a global scale and I moved into various new roles. He taught me much about business along the way. One of the most memorable moments was a great lesson in never giving up on closing a deal… we were in Bangkok trying to win back a major customer that had dropped us for a lower-priced alternative. After 2 days of minimal progress negotiating in a small windowless room, the executive we were dealing with let us know that the following day was a public holiday in Thailand — and we were due to fly out the following night! Rather than go back home empty-handed, we ended up “happening to be at” the same mall where the executive was spending the day with his family. Upon “randomly bumping into him”, he invited us to join them for some ice cream, and after spending a little social time together in a different setting, we managed to talk business just long enough to work through the main negotiating point and shakes hands on a framework for a deal. For the prior two days, neither Murray nor I thought we would be successful at winning that deal — but he showed me the power of what can happen when you keep trying, despite your doubts, and how building personal relationships is key in all aspects of life.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I think that goodness in the world starts by being ethical in how you treat the people around you — in business that starts with employees and of course, extends to customers/users, business partners, vendors, and shareholders.
As far as more macro level efforts… I try to give back through some organizations I believe in… Variety (the Children’s charity), Toastmasters, ACLU, Amnesty International.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
1. Retention is everything (as far as success metrics go). It may seem that the most important thing when it comes to building a large scale social network is about new user acquisition — but the real challenge (and opportunity) is all about keeping those people coming back regularly once they have installed.
2. It’s going to take you about 3 times as long as you think to build. Because once you release your initial feature set and you get data from people actually using the product, you start to find out what you really need to do in order to keep people opening the app. (See number 1)
3. Establishing a new consumer brand is really, really hard.
4. Murphy’s Law is well and truly alive. If you think anything worth having comes easily, think again.
5. Surrounding yourself with strong people is arguably the only thing that matters. Luckily, I did figure this out before I started Stardust — and it’s a team made up of some of the greatest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I don’t really fancy myself as a messianic leader of a movement. There are plenty of amazing movements out there already that are forces for good in the world. Each of the world’s major religions starts at a basic level with positive messages which, if more people observed day-to-day, could make the world a better place.
I am interested in the 10 principles of Burning Man — as a week-long annual event in the desert, it seems to have generated a uniquely positive and enduring culture in terms of how people relate to each other. I don’t know whether it’s truly possible for that to work on a larger societal scale, or on a permanent basis — or whether the realities of day-to-day life render that impossible. But I think it’s a powerful enough idea that it is at least worth aspiring towards.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Screw it, let’s do it” — Sir Richard Branson
I’m a huge fan of Richard Branson’s style of doing business. His philosophy of looking after your employees foremost, which will, in turn, ensure your customers are happy and it becomes that much easier to achieve the revenue and profit growth your shareholders are looking for.
In terms of the quote… sometimes in business, aversion to risk can become paralyzing and cause big opportunities to be missed because there isn’t data available to provide 100% validation that a decision is the right one. This tends to be more so the case the larger an organization becomes, and the more people are involved in making any given decision — nobody wants to be responsible for the failure of a new initiative.
The most successful organizations are those that empower and encourage multiple levels of leaders to be bold and entrepreneurial — but while recognizing that failing sometimes is a natural possibility and consequence. By starting small and testing the waters, the impact of failing can be greatly mitigated. “Screw it, let’s do it” is a phrase that embodies this type of thinking, and which resonates with me.
Richard Branson’s autobiography (“Losing My “Virginity”) is a fun read full of some great insights about his approach to business and entrepreneurship.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them
My favorite individual VC is Mark Suster of UpFront Ventures. As a former entrepreneur himself (before he turned to the venture capital), he writes some fantastic articles not just about the fund-raising process but on very practical topics for people running businesses.
One thing that I specifically like is that Mark acknowledges the “herd mentality” that can influence some investors when it comes to deciding where to place their capital and trust. That is to say, many investors are wary of investing unless/until another big-name investor is in. Nobody wants to be the first/only investor in a round in case it doesn’t work out and they look foolish. It’s actually not too different from the risk aversion in business that I was talking about in the context of Richard Branson’s quote earlier. I think Mark’s willingness to ignore “the herd” and to trust the data and his instincts is key to much of his success.
Wait, did you say VCs read this? Well, here at Stardust we’re building something massive which will shape the future of the entertainment industry. If that sounds like your cup of tea, please do shoot me an email.
Professionally, whenever I have the chance to share my knowledge with students from my field, I do it with pleasure; I think they should learn from someone else’s mistake. I also share any knowledge I have on any work subject, without boundaries; I don’t keep knowledge only to myself. When universities approach me to contribute to their curricula with my tech expertise, I am doing ‘pro bono’ work. Personally, I constantly donate to those less fortunate: clothes, food, and I make recurrent donations to as many causes as I can (hospital renovation, facilitate children access to schools, houses for the unfortunate). Also, I invite my friends to do the same when there is a humanitarian crisis.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Manescu, Chief Development Officer at Modex, a leading Blockchain Database provider with offices in London, Bucharest, Silicon Valley, and Washington D.C. With over 13 years of experience in software product development and the financial industry, Laura is now interested in blockchain’s phenomenal potential in banking as well as new disruptive technologies that can be integrated into the solutions created by Modex. Her extensive experience in software development and banking laid the foundation for a thrilling and unique style of management that enables her to oversee the creation and implementation of innovative products for the blockchain ecosystem.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story of how you decided to pursue this career path? What lessons can others learn from your story?
My journey in the tech world began over 13 years ago when I got a job where I was responsible for three IT projects in the banking software industry for French financial institutions: Payments, International Operations and Regulatory Balance of Payments. But my real journey in the tech world began with my work on the Moneymailme app. I joined Moneymailme in September 2016 as Technical Project Manager. Since then, I completely restructured the internal workflow of the team and soon I was appointed as Head of the Moneymailme brand. Following the success of Moneymailme, the company decided to expand into blockchain and created Modex. As such, I started to learn and immediately become passionate about blockchain technology.
I am now Chief Development Officer at Modex, a global technology company that develops cutting-edge solutions that make blockchain technology affordable, fast, and easy to adopt at the enterprise level.
One very important lesson I wish everyone learns is that we have to improve our professional lives but our personal ones as well. We should invest in improving ourselves to avoid stagnation.
Another important thing is work until your job is done and you are happy with the result. I am more of a hands-on kind of person, so I think that the best way to learn something is by experience rather than reading about it. But I believe that each life lesson learned along the way is an incredibly valuable one, whether you are working your first job or you are years into a career.
Can you tell me about the most interesting projects you are working on now?
We have many great projects that we are really proud of — partnerships, initiatives in the academic field, and various educational projects. But there is one project which I am working on and I really like it — it is a governmental project in Romania that will truly bring digitalization and the best advantages of blockchain technology in a certain industry. In other words, I want this project to succeed for two reasons: it validates our technology (Modex BCDB) and it is something that gives me great pleasure to do for my country.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I have been fortunate enough to meet some extraordinary people in my industry and I learned how valuable connections with other people are. There are actually four persons I would like to thank because they had a significant role in my path: my parents — I worked on our family business from a very young age (14) and it gave me some important financial and organizational skills; Alin Iftemi, Co-founder at Modex — he truly believed in me in such a way that he brought me to Modex, a place where I had the chance to grow and thrive just because he believed in me; Mihai Ivascu, CEO and Co-founder at Modex — I learned a lot from him, from how to grow a startup, to how to grow an image for a company, and this is something that I did not have the chance to touch in the past. Also, I am blessed to have a great team that has the same goals as I do.
What are the 5 things that most excite you about blockchain and crypto? Why?
Blockchain is an old technology (it has about 10 years), but it has only recently gained the attention it deserves. Over the last few years we’ve seen that more and more organizations see blockchain technology as a way to increase trust and add value to their business. We are seeing expansions of existing blockchain projects but also new projects emerge and will get in production in 2021. A recent PwC report shows that blockchain technology has the ability to raise global gross domestic product (GDP) by $1.76 trillion over the next decade and we are happy to be part of this movement.
At Modex, we are not focused on crypto — blockchain technology is so much more than cryptocurrencies. We develop cutting-edge solutions that make blockchain technology affordable, fast, and easy to adopt at the enterprise level. In 2019, we’ve launched Modex Blockchain Database (BCDB), a modern perspective on blockchain technology that reduces the need to spend money in training blockchain and encourages the accelerated implementation of the technology in industries. The approach suggested by Modex is a middleware that blends a blockchain with a database to build a structure that developers with no previous experience of blockchain creation will easily use and understand.
I am excited about finding new ways blockchain technology can improve our lives through its diverse implementation potential. We are constantly working at new use cases and new ideas. I believe the integration of blockchain with other technologies (AI, IoT, cloud) will create new opportunities but the most important things that blockchain brings to the table are transparency, cost reduction, decentralization, faster transactions and increasing trust.
What are the 5 things worry you about blockchain and crypto? Why?
As I previously said, although blockchain is not new, its use is still in its early stage, so we face a lot of misconceptions. This is why we have buzzwords, unconfirmed opinions, and assumptions based on irrelevant experience. But that also was the case when the internet first appeared. Blockchain technology is still little understood by masses, so the speed of adoption could be slowed down. The costs of implementing the technology are still high. Modex BCDB is able to transform, with minimal changes and low costs, any type of database into a decentralized database which holds the same valuable characteristics inherent to blockchain technology: transparency, increased security, data immutability, and integrity. I will say the most worrying thing is the crypto movement per se, because it can be used for other purposes than the good of the people and technology.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share a story?
Professionally, whenever I have the chance to share my knowledge with students from my field, I do it with pleasure; I think they should learn from someone else’s mistake. I also share any knowledge I have on any work subject, without boundaries; I don’t keep knowledge only to myself. When universities approach me to contribute to their curricula with my tech expertise, I am doing ‘pro bono’ work. Personally, I constantly donate to those less fortunate: clothes, food, and I make recurrent donations to as many causes as I can (hospital renovation, facilitate children access to schools, houses for the unfortunate). Also, I invite my friends to do the same when there is a humanitarian crisis.
As you know there are not that many women in your industry. Can you share 3 things that you would advise to other women in the blockchain space to thrive?
It is true that this field is dominated by men, but I feel that things are changing, and are changing fast. For example, at Modex we have a high number of women in the programming team. And women have equal chances of being hired or promoted in our organization. For us, the passion for developing new technologies is more important than gender, age, race or nationality. The advice I have is for any woman in tech, not only for those in the blockchain area. First — specialize in something and be the best at what you do. Second — every once in a while, take a training course, learn a new hard skill. Third — don’t give up on your principles no matter what.
Can you advise what is needed to engage more women into the blockchain industry?
The tech industry already works in fixing gender inequality and we already see more and more women joining the field, but I feel that there is a lack of successful role-models for women in tech. We need repeated exposure to role models, so that girls can envision themselves as tech leaders when they grow-up. Also, there is a need for more action from women in every organization, to sustain their rights to be equally promoted on the management level.
What is your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that had relevance to your own life?
I don’t know if this is someone’s quote, but I believe in “Don’t think of what you don’t want, think of what you want”. I had a long period in my life where I expressed sadnesses and my failures and my worries and I consider this to be a waste of time and energy (and time is the only unrecoverable resource, ever) when I can concentrate on things I want and a plan to accomplish them. If you waste time complaining too much, you waste precious time for accomplishing dreams.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Wow. This one is hard :). I think, if I could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, that would be to focus on self-improvement. Always learn something new, always ask the questions you want answers to and don’t wait for something to happen, make it happen. I think if everybody would focus on being the best version of themselves, it would bring the most amount of good for everyone.
Brainstorming is hard — When you’re working side by side in the same office, it’s easy to call impromptu meetings for quick brainstorming sessions or pick a colleague’s brain for a few minutes. But when you work remotely, it can seem like a burden to call the team together for idea generating. I often will wait until our weekly virtual team meetings to collaborate and share ideas.
As a part of our series about the five things you need to successfully manage a remote team, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gina Yager.
Gina Yager is a Las Vegas-based public relations agency owner specializing in strategic PR, marketing, branding, community relations, special events and more.
A Southern Nevada resident for 18 years, Yager has 20 years of experience in multiple industries including hospitality, tourism, gaming, food & beverage, entertainment, retail, non-profit and technology, working with national, regional and local companies of all sizes — from start-ups and small businesses, to multinational corporations.
Prior to establishing GYC in 2017, Yager spent 15 years with another mid-size marketing and public relations agency, where she served as the firm’s Vice President. Throughout her years there, Yager handled strategic marketing, public relations and media relations for the company’s highest-profile clients, while also directing special events, internal programming development, recruiting, staffing and training.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. What is your “backstory”?
I was born and raised in Southern California, attended Cal Poly Pomona and later transferred to San Diego State University, where I graduated with a degree in Marketing in 1999. I was determined to stay in San Diego, but during my last semester in college, I met my husband, who encouraged me to move to LA with him. There, I started my career at a public relations agency that serviced lifestyle consumer products, video games and film studio releases.
Before my first job, my only knowledge of PR was from one chapter in a textbook I read in an advertising class. I had no idea what I was doing! Working in LA was exciting and fast-paced, but I did not enjoy the pretentious attitudes and snobby workplace banter I experienced. So, when the opportunity arose to move to Las Vegas, my husband and I jumped at the chance to relocate to a city that was growing at unprecedented rates, where everyone seemed to be a transplant from somewhere else.
We moved to Las Vegas without jobs and a few thousand dollars in savings. We worked part-time jobs until we found permanent jobs within our fields, and we’ve never looked back. I worked at a local PR agency for 15 years, and learned a ton about managing, operations, client relations, recruiting, staffing, training, leading, motivating and inspiring. The owners of the company took me under their wing, where I flourished and worked my way up the ranks to eventually become Vice President of the company.
It was never my intention to own my own company. In fact, the thought of being a business owner scared me — I thought that being responsible for keeping the business going would make me lose sleep at night. But I think the reason I had those feelings is because of the decision-making power I lacked from being an employee and not a titleholder.
When the agency I was working for began to fold, it was, obviously, time to get out. I figured I would freelance for a while, which I did for a few months, and then I thought, why am I working for someone else’s clients? So, I started GYC Vegas, a PR and marketing agency, and began the networking process to look for my own clients.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Last year, I was introduced to a potential client who is a serial IT entrepreneur. At the time, he was working for a hospitality company but had ideas to create his own startups. We kept in touch over the course of a few months, and each time we met up he had a different idea of a new company he wanted to form — from a travel app to a kitchen appliance and a renewable energy device. At the start of the pandemic we lost touch, and then six months later, he calls to tell me that during the pandemic-induced lockdown he had developed and soft-launched a LIMS software to help laboratories streamline workflow efficiencies — in just three months! He wanted our company to handle the national PR to introduce his tech innovation, which helps labs to fast-track COVID-19 testing to provide same-day results. We officially launched his software to the media in October, which is enabling companies across the country to test, monitor and control access for employees to return to work faster than any other lab solution since the start of the pandemic.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Early in my career, I set up a cooking segment on a local TV news station for a big food & beverage client I was representing. They were a local BBQ restaurant chain, and they were generous enough to always bring enough food to serve lunch to the entire production crew, anchors, camera operators, and newsroom staff. At the end of the segment, I invited the anchors to come over, and gave them each a plate of food, starting with the anchor who did the interview. She declined the food because we only had beef ribs and brisket available, and expressed that she was disappointed we were not serving pork. What I didn’t realize, is that she is of Indian decent, a culture that does not eat beef. I was mortified! What I learned from that moment is to always be prepared to accommodate everyone and to anticipate people’s preferences.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive and avoid burnout?
Allow your team to make their own schedules. This might scare you, but when the only thing you have to worry about is whether they meet their deadlines and complete their tasks, it relieves a lot of the pressure for both you and them.
Ok, let’s jump to the core of our interview. Some companies have many years of experience with managing a remote team. Others have just started this, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Can you tell us how many years of experience you have managing remote teams?
In the mid-2010s, more and more remote companies began sprouting up, and the image of the typical corporate structure began to shift. The idea of remote working had always appealed to me, so when I started my own company in 2017, I knew structuring it that way would be progressive and appealing to future employees while allowing me to save a ton of money in overhead.
Managing a team remotely can be very different than managing a team that is in front of you. Can you articulate for our readers what the five main challenges are regarding managing a remote team? Can you give a story or example for each?
Brainstorming is hard. When you’re working side by side in the same office, it’s easy to call impromptu meetings for quick brainstorming sessions or pick a colleague’s brain for a few minutes. But when you work remotely, it can seem like a burden to call the team together for idea-generating. I often will wait until our weekly virtual team meetings to collaborate and share ideas.
It can get lonely. For people who love a buzzing office environment, when there’s no one to talk to it can get lonely. However, I actually see this as a huge bonus. Every conversation I have with my team members is intentional. There is no water cooler B.S.
It’s tough to bond with your team. Because we only see each other a few times per week on Zooms or over the phone, it can be hard to really get to know your team one-on-one and for them to get to know each other, but I make it a point to add personal conversation into every virtual meeting we have. We also schedule in-person team meetings, lunches, happy hours, special events and client meetings in person, so we can strengthen our relationships. This has been difficult during COVID, but we plan to resume those activities once things are back to normal. For those team members who live out of state, we will continue communicating and bonding over Zooms.
Trusting your team can be challenging. If you’ve always been able to easily monitor your team from within the office, it can be challenging to ensure they are on track to meet their deadlines, being diligent in executing their responsibilities, and maximizing their efforts. This is something that’s been difficult for me to let go of, so I just started implementing one-on-one meetings with my staff to align with them on their action items, goals and current status of projects. It has helped tremendously to put my mind at ease.
It can be difficult to edit/oversee work. If you rely on in-person conversations and reviewing hard copy drafts to monitor and edit your team’s work, it can be difficult to transition to doing those same functions digitally. When you edit documents using track changes, it can be hard to teach and explain your edits without verbal communication unless you make time to get on the phone or hop on a Zoom. To control this, we utilize project management tools and productivity apps to communicate as best we can, as well as phone calls, Zooms, and texting.
In my experience, one of the trickiest parts of managing a remote team is giving honest feedback, in a way that doesn’t come across as too harsh. If someone is in front of you much of the nuance can be picked up in facial expressions and body language. But not when someone is remote. Can you give a few suggestions about how to best give constructive criticism to a remote employee?
Email can be curt, but if you conduct enough virtual meetings and phone calls with your team members to support the direction or feedback you provide in emails, your team will understand to read between the lines and understand the way your written communications are intended to come across.
Can you specifically address how to give constructive feedback over email? How do you prevent the email from sounding too critical or harsh?
I tend to use inclusive, team-focused phrases like, “We should do this” or “how about revising this part?” and “What are your thoughts?” My directives never come off as orders, but rather suggestions. It also helps when you communicate enough in every other way, with regular phone calls, emails, Zooms, and texts, that your team knows you well enough to not take feedback personally.
Can you share any suggestions for teams who are used to working together on location but are forced to work remotely due to the pandemic. Are there potential obstacles one should avoid with a team that is just getting used to working remotely?
Make sure everyone has a strong internet connection, and reliable computer equipment. Next, create a new system and protocols for accessing information, turning in assignments, and sharing documents and files by using tools that are free or inexpensive, that everyone has the ability to access from anywhere. Our system is very simple — we use a cloud-based file-sharing system (Box) as our server, Zoom for meetings, and Asana for project management. Then, we have regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings, and send texts and group emails to communicate and catch up with each other.
What do you suggest can be done to create a healthy and empowering work culture with a team that is remote and not physically together?
Make sure that there is a role for everyone to work together, even if it’s small. I run a team of five, and we all work together on various clients and tasks, as well as provide feedback and inspiration to each other during our team meetings. I also have teammates work together on various projects without me, to make sure they trust and learn from each other, and are comfortable seeking mutual guidance from each other to grow their skills.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would inspire people to follow their passions and do what brings them joy. I know that sounds cliché, but people who are happy in their jobs are the most successful. If you love what you do, it won’t seem like work.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I work in such a fast-paced environment that I have to remind myself to take things easy and not get ahead of myself. One of my favorite quotes is a Bible verse, Psalm 46:10 — “Be still, and know that I am God.” This is God’s way of commanding you to let go of your stress and worries, because He is the one in control. Whatever happens, happens for a reason and is ultimately beyond your control. And, nothing we do in the business world is life or death — and nothing matters more than faith, love and family, so why sweat what you have going on at work?
My big idea is to make personal coaching available to anyone who wants to improve themselves in terms of developing human skills and the optimal mindset for work.
As long as you have an internet connection, you can have access to the F4S coaching app. You simply tell us a little about yourself in the work context, and the AI-powered app will help you make sense of it for you. It will explain how you look at things, what drives you, what makes you uncomfortable, and more!
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle Duval.
As a pioneer into new forms of learning, Michelle Duval helped found the field of professional coaching in Australia in 1997 and became a leading voice forging developmental and transformational coaching worldwide.
Michelle’s coaching psychology methodologies and training programs are used by professional coaches in over 60 countries. She has also co-authored two international handbooks on coaching, and is featured in 20+ books.
Using her experience and research Michelle developed Fingerprint for Success (F4S), a people analytics and coaching platform designed to help everyone optimize their mindset for success.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you please tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My interest in the coaching industry was sparked by my early experiences in the hospitality industry working for 5-star hotels. My role at the time involved coordinating the visits for high-profile guests (like Andre Agassi, Richard Branson, and Pavarotti) to ensure that their needs are all taken care of during their stay.
Through this experience, I had the privilege of taking a peek into the lives of these individuals who are the top and elite in their respective fields. I got fascinated by the entourage of support each one of these professionals traveled with — ranging from dieticians, psychologists, chefs, sports coaches, and more.
And this got me thinking: How can I make this same level of support accessible to everyone so that we can all fulfill our potential in all aspects of our lives?
Since then, I’ve been working hard to solve this question through my startup, Fingerprint for Success (F4S) — an AI-powered web application that brings personal coaching to everyone.
Can you please share with us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
During my first international speaking opportunity, a man came up to me after the conference and said to me, “You’re wearing glasses to make yourself look intelligent.” Needless to say, I was extremely shocked and didn’t really know how to respond. So I explained that I needed my glasses to actually see things. He proceeded to tell me that I’m blonde and can’t be very smart so he assumed I was trying to enhance my image of intelligence by wearing glasses.
From then on, I realized that I was always going to experience prejudice based on the way I looked. And because there’s only so much I can do to my appearance, I realized that the only way I could break down these stereotypes was in the way I communicated. That’s why I’ve always tried to speak in a more concrete way — so that my words and thoughts would start mattering more than how I looked.
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
Understand who you are.
When I was 23 years old, I was struck down with several autoimmune diseases. And during that time, I was so ill that I was unable to work. As a silver lining to that situation, I had the chance to do what I like to call a “Ph.D.” on myself to understand what were my strengths and figure out what impact I wanted to make on the world.
After much reflection, I realized that the 1 recurring message that my peers, seniors, and work colleagues all kept sending to me was this: The biggest impact I made on their lives was being able to listen and give them perspectives on their situation that they couldn’t find elsewhere. And I realized that this was my very unique and specific ability, which was what led me down the coaching path.
Developing talent should be something that’s made available to everyone
There’s a lot of inequality in this world — based on nationality, gender, race, the color of your hair, professional experience, you name it. And it’s always been my personal mission to break down this inequality by making personal development accessible to everyone regardless of your position, history, experience, and so on. Everyone should have the support and tools to be the best versions of themselves.
The customer comes first
This one’s an oldie but a goodie. I came from a hotel management background where I was in charge of ensuring our high-profile guests are taken care of. In that setting, customer care was taken to a whole other level — I was expected to know what my guest wanted even before they knew what they wanted.
To this day, I’m very appreciative of how this customer-centric mentality has become so ingrained in me that it’s become second nature. I continue to employ this principle in the development of F4S. We’re constantly circling back to the essential question of “what does the customer need?” whenever we’re at a crossroads about app usability or product development.
Ok thank you for that. Let’s now move to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change The World”?
My big idea is to make personal coaching available to anyone who wants to improve themselves in terms of developing human skills and the optimal mindset for work.
As long as you have an internet connection, you can have access to the F4S coaching app. You simply tell us a little about yourself in the work context, and the AI-powered app will help you make sense of it for you. It will explain how you look at things, what drives you, what makes you uncomfortable, and more!
Now the really revolutionary thing about F4S is our other essential component — Coach Marlee, is the world’s first personal AI coach. You can chat with Marlee and it will guide you through your different personal development areas like how to increase big-picture thinking or how to communicate more effectively.
How do you think this will change the world?
Businesses and employees are struggling more than ever with human problems — talent retention is getting harder, people are feeling unfulfilled at work, and teams aren’t working together optimally. COVID has only made all of this worse.
F4S is used as a tool for organizations and individuals to address these challenges at a human level. When each person within a company is given coaching to optimize their mindset, motivations, attitudes, and human t skills, the collective effect is thriving in life and at work .
It helps both the individual in terms of professional development and the business in terms of the bottom-line.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
I believe that the “Law of Unintended Consequences’’ is most relevant to F4S in terms of the AI aspect of the app. There have been amazing developments in this area over the years. And we consistently and proactively think about how our decisions about these new technologies could be used for good or ill-intent.
In a general sense, I don’t think that the possibility of something being used for bad purposes should stop us from pushing technological boundaries because its potential for good may be infinitely more beneficial to humanity.
However, as we pursue the path of new frontiers as entrepreneurs, scientists, or engineers, dilemmas will always present themselves. When the time comes to choose at those points, we must always make the conscious effort to choose the path that’s for the good of humanity.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
After many years of coaching many successful entrepreneurs, startup founders, CEOs, artists, athletes, and more, I realized personal coaching was only easily available to a very select portion of people. It was unaffordable, and there was a belief that only certain people deserved to be coached — whatever that means.
So there came a point where I knew my mission had to move beyond helping just the top 1–5% to maximize their potential. I wanted to use my coaching expertise to help everyone realize their potential.
Because who doesn’t want to understand themselves better, communicate more effectively, or have better problem-solving skills? It’s not just the C-suite executive or the CEO.
What if every single person within a company was given the opportunity to develop their mindset and human skills from an easily accessible coaching app. It’s not hard to imagine the amount of good it could do for both the individual and the company.
After I committed to making coaching available to everyone, I started to explore how technology could help me do this. And that was how the idea for F4S was born!
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
As I mentioned before, there is a common perception that personal coaching can only be available to the top 1–5% of those in their respective fields. Some haven’t even heard of what personal coaching is.
So it’s important for us to challenge that belief and encourage everyone to take control of their own personal and professional development — a coach can help shape your work motivations, communications, and attitudes in a positive way. And now, there’s a personal AI coach that can help you to do just that!
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
I actually had the privilege of being a business coach to many startup founders and CEOs of high growth ventures before starting F4S. And this was a big advantage for me in terms of having an idea about the mechanics of the startup world. So I don’t have as many things to share in terms of having “unexpected” problems coming up along the way.
But here are 2 things I did not anticipate before starting F4S:
The kind of interactions I would have with people would be drastically different as a startup founder as opposed to a coach. Coming from a coaching background, I was very used to having authentic, open, and honest conversations with clients, business partners, and investors. And moving into the startup world, I was a little taken aback by how people wouldn’t always be upfront or direct about things.
The amount of capital needed to prove a first-to-market disruptive product. I started my first coaching business in 1997. So I’m quite seasoned when it comes to understanding the financials behind starting a company. I also had great investors to seed my startup. I have since learned that first-to-market disruptive products need more capital early on, to have the runway to validate and prove them.
Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
During my years in hotel management, I had the opportunity to observe the lifestyle of many high-profile folks, from actors, politicians, athletes, and professionals. And I observed that every part of their lives followed a disciplined routine that was always in support of achieving success in their respective fields. Singers would have specific food and drinks to ensure their voice was taken care of. Athletes would make sure their bodies were in peak condition with the right balance of training, nutrition, physiotherapy, and rest.
While I can’t have the same entourage of people to take care of me like the superstars, I employ that same principle of a holistic routine as part of my success habits. I’m very mindful of my food, how much I sleep, stress levels, and so on. I create a structure for these various parts of my life and try to follow it as close as possible. Of course, there are off days but the general framework is there.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
What’s the key to success? Having the right technical training? Connecting with the right people in your field?
I investigated this question in a world-first study, where I tracked the success of founders and found the common denominator between these high-achieving individuals (who either had between $6 million and $1.2 billion exits within 5 years, or profitably grew their business over 10 years).
What were the results? I found that their positive outcomes were significantly correlated to their attitudes, motivation, and mindset. Therefore, success actually begins with things like how you see problems, what makes you tick, and how you make decisions.
That’s why so many people at the top in their field access personal coaching to work on sharpening their motivations and attitudes for success.
But I’ve always wondered why it is that personal coaching only seems to be available for the 1% wheneveryone deserves the right to understand and shape their motivations to be the best version of themselves.That’s why we’ve created Fingerprint for Success — the world’s first personal AI coach in an app that optimizes the motivations, mindset, and human skills of individuals using people analytics. It makes personal coaching available to anyone with an internet connection — from the CEO to the mid-level manager to the new person that just joined the team.
Ultimately, my vision is to help anyone and everyone to optimize their potential for success.
Get on the phone, or a video call, and give feedback “in person.” Doing that helps your team to know how you sound when giving feedback. If you are angry and spiteful in speech, they’re going to get that in text. If you’re kind, honest, and helpful, they’ll know that’s where you’re coming from in text.
As a part of our series about the five things you need to successfully manage a remote team, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Maher.
Michael started in eCommerce back in 2010. He initially launched an eCommerce business, while working a job he hated, and soon moved into entrepreneurship full time, running that business successfully for 6 years. After the market drastically changed in 2016, Michael decided to pivot and become a service provider for brands needing help on Amazon. He now owns and runs Cartology, an Amazon Service Agency, that helps brands to grow their business on Amazon. Cartology translates your brand story onto the marketplace and artfully utilizes Amazon’s Advertising Platform to insert your brand into the conversations consumers are having with them. If you want to grow on Amazon, Michael is your dude.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. What is your “backstory”?
Well, I’m a musician that became a business owner without any previous business experience. Sounds kind of crazy and well, it was. But I made it a point to learn as much as I could and then surround myself with people that knew more than me. I’m a kinesthetic learner so doing is where I shine. I want to get in there and just figure things out. When I was stuck in a job that sucked, I decided to forge my own path in eCommerce. I had some experience selling music gear on eBay and thought, “I can do this, right?”
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
As an eCommerce business owner, I was constantly searching for new products. I was looking at selling a brand of socks and naturally did some research on the category. In my search, I found a used pair of socks that sold on eBay for $50. I thought I found a goldmine. As I dug deeper, I saw that the socks were advertised as “worn” by someone and the model was in some provocative positions. It turns out, people will pay a lot of money for worn socks. I guess if you love feet, that might be a good investment.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Funny mistakes are interesting because they just aren’t as memorable as the lessons learned the hard way. I’d say the funniest mishap would have to be when I’ve waited for someone to join my conference line, wondering why they hadn’t signed on after 15 minutes of waiting. When I jumped from the call, I was about to reach out to them saying, “hey, I guess today didn’t work. Let’s reschedule” and then I realized the meeting wasn’t scheduled on my conference line but theirs. Ouch. They were super cool about it, thankfully. I felt pretty silly but I got over it quickly.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive and avoid burnout?
Engage them and get to know them. People are so much more excited about work when they know people at their job care about them. Part of engaging them is making sure they know what they’re doing well and where they need to improve. Don’t do the feedback sandwich thing. Just be straight with them. Encouragement is important. If people show up to work every day and feel like they’re sucking at everything, they probably won’t stick around.
Ok, let’s jump to the core of our interview. Some companies have many years of experience with managing a remote team. Others have just started this, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Can you tell us how many years of experience you have managing remote teams?
I’ve run my agency for 4 years and it was remote from the start, intentionally. I don’t want to be chained to an office so why would I expect others to do the same. Plus, I wanted to be able to source people from all over the world.
Managing a team remotely can be very different than managing a team that is in front of you. Can you articulate for our readers what the five main challenges are regarding managing a remote team? Can you give a story or example for each?
Communication, organization, responsibility, engagement, and communication. Those are the biggest challenges. Yes, I said communication twice because it constantly needs to be managed. Since a lot of communication can be done quickly via text, in email or a slack/Skype chat, things get easily misunderstood, especially tone of voice. I can’t tell you the number of times someone is confused about something in slack and we just say, “let’s hop on a call.” That 5 minutes on a call could fix something that would take 30 minutes to explain otherwise. Getting on a call also helps you better understand their perspective and how they communicate.
Organization is important because there is no physical office to scope out. You can’t say, “look behind the filing cabinet.” You have to get someone to access something on a different computer, browser, and with a potentially different understanding of how to navigate that computer. Responsibility is key to successful project completion. If your team doesn’t know their responsibilities, something could sit for days before it gets worked on or completed. When clients are relying upon you to help them run and manage their businesses, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Engagement is huge because everyone is in their own world. If you don’t engage them and show them you appreciate their work, you become just another job for them. It’s another job they could leave for a new one, at any time. Engagement with your team keeps you from having constant turnover.
Based on your experience, what can one do to address or redress each of those challenges?
Create processes and systems for tasks then establish modes for communication. Do you discuss things in one software and manage projects in another? Make sure everyone is clear on what you’re using and its function. Systems help you stay organized and help people to know their responsibilities in the process and in their role in the organization.
Don’t let words on a screen prevent you from getting your point across. Pick up the phone or video chat. Video chat is my preference because you get to see the person, demeanor, and tone of voice.
Engagement is fixed by getting to know your people. Spend some time in the small talk area but ask better questions. Ask them about their family, significant other, what they had for dinner last night. It doesn’t matter just get in conversation with them, ask questions, and listen.
In my experience, one of the trickiest parts of managing a remote team is giving honest feedback, in a way that doesn’t come across as too harsh. If someone is in front of you much of the nuance can be picked up in facial expressions and body language. But not when someone is remote. Can you give a few suggestions about how to best give constructive criticism to a remote employee?
First, think through what is the most important feedback to give. Sometimes you have multiple pieces of feedback but if you start with one piece that is the most important, you get a win without bombarding people. You can work on the rest over time.
Get on the phone, or a video call, and give feedback “in person.” Doing that helps your team to know how you sound when giving feedback. If you are angry and spiteful in speech, they’re going to get that in text. If you’re kind, honest, and helpful, they’ll know that’s where you’re coming from in text.
Can you specifically address how to give constructive feedback over email? How do you prevent the email from sounding too critical or harsh?
Write without emotion. If you’re pissed, pause for 20–30 minutes and come back to it. Keep it simple and don’t overdo it with words. Say exactly what you need to get your point across in as few words as possible. Don’t overwhelm people.
Can you share any suggestions for teams who are used to working together on location but are forced to work remotely due to the pandemic. Are there potential obstacles one should avoid with a team that is just getting used to working remotely?
Keep your normal routines and do as much as possible to get visuals on people, i.e. getting on a video call. Set standards for communication, i.e. you must get back to someone within 24 hours, tag people if you want a response, give some kind of queue that you’ve read a message with an emoji or a response, etc. All those work.
What do you suggest can be done to create a healthy and empowering work culture with a team that is remote and not physically together?
Build into your team by giving them real honest feedback and recognize what they’re doing well. That goes a really long way.
Do a virtual happy hour or spend some time not talking about work. Remember, you’re all still humans.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
End modern slavery. 40 million people are still enslaved across the world, with 99% of them being outside the United States. Give, pray, advocate, and purchase products that support this cause. Look at organizations like International Justice Mission, Freeset, Exodus Cry, and other anti-trafficking organizations to see how you can get involved. Every little bit counts.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” — Anne Frank
All you have is this actual moment. Do everything you can in that moment to positively impact the world. It doesn’t need to be big. It just needs to be something. A step is all it takes. A word is all it takes. Those changes begin to snowball and create a ripple effect, one whose impact you won’t fully know because you’re still at the source of the ripple.
Lack of connection and camaraderie. When working remotely full-time, there can certainly be a lack of connection with your co-workers that have become more like your family. At REACH, we combat this by connecting virtually for “happy hours” and connecting outside of our homes in a socially distanced atmosphere so that we can see each other and connect on both business and personal topics.
As a part of our series about the five things you need to successfully manage a remote team, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lindsay Bertelli.
As Owner and President of REACH, Lindsay has 20+ years of in-depth experience in tour/event promotion and production and sponsorship management. Her work with top entertainment and corporate clients has made her a well-known force in the industry with the knowledge and expertise needed to navigate the changing, and increasingly virtual, event and sponsorship environment.
Lindsay began her career as a concert promoter at Moore Entertainment Group, which ultimately affiliated with TBA Entertainment and AEG Live. She managed eleven years of production and sponsorship for CMT On Tour, which involved artists Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Sugarland, Brad Paisley, and Jason Aldean.
Other notable career highlights for Lindsay include project management for the Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson’s 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour, Brooks and Dunn’s Neon Circus & Wild West Show, and Playboy’s 50th Anniversary Club Tour.
With the launch of REACH in 2011, Lindsay combined her years of experience as a concert promoter with progressive experiential marketing methods for clients looking to maximize their visibility and reach in the entertainment and lifestyle landscape.
Lindsay believes that today’s partnerships are more than just the placement of a brand logo on a festival stage or tour marketing materials. Instead, it is discovering, creating, and executing innovative ways to authentically interact with the consumer by providing memorable experiences that bring into sharp focus the desired message of an artist or brand.
REACH has worked for an array of brands since its conception, including Toyota, Norwegian Cruise Line, SiriusXM, Farmers Insurance, Calgary Stampede, ConAgra Foods, Bravo TV, Kretschmar, and more.
A Delaware native, Lindsay loves to travel and explore new places with her daughter. Lindsay is a graduate of Belmont University with a degree in Music Business. Her quick wit and sense of humor stem from her love of great 80’s and 90’s sitcoms like Designing Women and Golden Girls. On the weekends, you’ll likely find Lindsay surrounded by friends hosting a fantastic dinner party at her home in Nashville.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. What is your “backstory”?
I grew up in Delaware, and I moved to Nashville, TN to attend Belmont University to study music business. I’m the only daughter of an art teacher and a farmer/business owner who taught me that I needed to work hard for what I wanted in this life. While attending Belmont, I took a concert promotion class and fell in love with the combination of the creativity of marketing a show and the logistics of executing and financially settling a show. I was hooked. I began my career as a concert promoter at Moore Entertainment Group, which ultimately affiliated with TBA Entertainment and AEG Live. In 2011, I started my own talent buying, event production and experiential marketing agency called REACH.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
I produced and traveled with the 50th Anniversary Playboy Magazine Club Tour in 2004. This tour consisted of events in 50 cities to celebrate the anniversary of the magazine with Playboy playmates, a female DJ, Playboy memorabilia displays and a champagne burlesque performance. The term “interesting” doesn’t even scratch the surface of this experience.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
At age 22, I was asked to fax (yes, fax!) an offer to a booking agent for an artist to play a specific date. I mistakenly faxed the offer to the wrong agent in an entirely different, competitive agency. It caused quite a bit of hassle and turmoil for my boss at the time, and I was humiliated by my mistake. It taught me to slow down. It also taught me that I could get 150% done in a day, but if the extra 50% is sloppy and done wrong, I should have just focused on doing the 100% right.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive and avoid burnout?
Life cannot and should not revolve around your career. This statement is undoubtedly easier said than done. However, it is imperative to do your best to take those vacation days with your family where you are “unreachable,” or getaway for a weekend with just your best friends to reconnect and laugh over one — or multiple — glasses of wine. Those moments fill my soul and help me to be a better boss and co-worker.
OK, let’s jump to the core of our interview. Some companies have many years of experience with managing a remote team. Others have just started this, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Can you tell us how many years of experience you have managing remote teams?
REACH has always maintained a physical office; however, we spend quite a bit of time on the road, working remotely in other cities because we work in events. Since REACH launched nearly 10 years ago, I’ve been managing teams remotely, and because of that, managing a team remotely in 2020 hasn’t come as a difficult task. The key is consistent communication.
Managing a team remotely can be very different than managing a team that is in front of you. Can you articulate for our readers what the five main challenges are regarding managing a remote team? Can you give a story or example for each?
Lack of connection and camaraderie. When working remotely full-time, there can certainly be a lack of connection with your co-workers that have become more like your family. At REACH, we combat this by connecting virtually for “happy hours” and connecting outside of our homes in a socially distanced atmosphere so that we can see each other and connect on both business and personal topics.
Finding a healthy work-life balance. I struggle with this and know that my employees do as well. I do my best to encourage appropriate work hours and consistency, but I struggle with modeling a good example in this area if I am honest.
Miscommunication can be a difficulty when working remotely. With more communication occurring via email, things can be misunderstood or misconstrued. It is important to continue communication via Zoom and phone as much as possible. This helps you not miss anything.
Don’t overthink. Just because you don’t see 15 emails from one of your team members doesn’t mean they aren’t working.
Lack of creativity. My team excels when we can bounce ideas off one another and creatively ideate in-person. This can be difficult remotely, so it is vital that consistent brainstorming and creative calls happen to encourage and foster that continued creativity.
Based on your experience, what can one do to address or redress each of those challenges?
Be intentional about scheduling virtual meetings or happy hours that don’t involve work. Allow your team the time to catch up personally and have fun conversations not related to the business. Also, it’s OK to trust your team. You have to rely on them but not micromanage them, especially in this remote work era. Keep a healthy pulse on what everyone is working on during weekly staff meetings. We usually meet two-three times per week on Zoom as a team to align on priorities and check in on anything that is needed.
In my experience, one of the trickiest parts of managing a remote team is giving honest feedback in a way that doesn’t come across as too harsh. If someone is in front of you, you’re able to see facial expressions and body language. But not when someone is remote. Can you give a few suggestions about how to best give constructive criticism to a remote employee?
The key is always open communication and honesty. I prefer to connect over Zoom or Microsoft Teams so that we can talk and look at each other when having tough conversations.
Can you specifically address how to give constructive feedback over email? How do you prevent the email from sounding too critical or harsh?
I try not to provide constructive feedback via email. There are too many deltas that can affect how the email is received. I prefer to communicate by phone or Zoom for more challenging conversations.
Can you share any suggestions for teams who are used to working together on location but are forced to work remotely due to the pandemic. Are there potential obstacles one should avoid with a team that is just getting used to working remotely?
Encourage collaboration via Zoom. It’s the best way to stay connected when you’re used to being on location with your team members. Zoom can be used to discuss, brainstorm or catch up; it doesn’t have to be about work all the time. Maintaining that human connection is key.
What do you suggest can be done to create a healthy and empowering work culture with a team that is remote and not physically together?
As the company owner, it’s essential to cultivate a culture that encourages open communication and genuine connection. Our office truly is a family. That means that we sometimes have tough conversations, but we value honest communication and feedback. We love each other and want to help each other succeed.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I want to lift, champion, challenge and applaud women. When I first started my career working in the music industry, it was a male-dominated field. I’ll never forget feeling like I had to prove myself as a young woman starting her career. I never want women in any industry to feel less than men.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Good things happen to those who hustle.”- Anaïs Nin
I am where I am today because I worked hard and hustled. It is also what leads me away from complacency.
The Future Is Now: Rory Cutaia of Verb Technology On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene
Take the money. When raising capital for a business many entrepreneurs strategically seek to limit the amount of capital they take from willing investors in an effort to preserve their equity under the assumption that they can get by with that amount of capital and that they can go back to the market later when they need more and raise money at a higher valuation and thereby give up less equity. However, experience has taught me that there is no such thing as “enough” when trying to determine the capital requirements of new business. Moreover, the market can change like the weather and just when you need it most, the capital won’t be there or not on terms that you can live with.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Rory Cutaia.
Rory is the founder and CEO of digital tech company, Verb Technology (NASDAQ: VERB). He began is career as an attorney at a major NYC law firm before changing the landscape of the telecom industry thought a tech company start-up called Telx. Telx later became the internationally recognized leader in the data sector. Now, as CEO of VERB, Rory and his team have re-invented what a customer relationship management (CRM), lead-gen tool should be in today’s video-centric business and social environment. VERB is rapidly emerging as the market leader in interactive video-based customer relationship management (“CRM”) sales and marketing applications.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I think I’m one of those people born with an innate drive to create something, to build something. Even as a kid I looked at things and saw what they could be as opposed to what they were. I guess those traits were the seeds of innovation that later defined my professional career. Unlike many of my business-minded colleagues that went to business school, I went to law school as I believed a legal background would give me an advantage in business. In hindsight, I credit my legal training and the experience I obtained representing successful entrepreneurs with the tools I needed to deftly navigate the oft-times uncertain and treacherous waters one encounters doing business. I’ve always been somewhat of a tech geek and a ridiculously early adopter of any new technology, so it was easy to predict that I would ultimately pursue a career building an innovative tech-focused business.
I left my law career to launch a telecom tech start-up called Telx that I founded. After innumerable challenges, all of which tested my mettle, and none of which were taught to my colleagues in business school, I had an enormously successful exit, selling Telx formore than $200M. That was in 2006. While I attempted retirement twice since then, and much to the dismay of some closest to me, I resigned myself to the fact that I’m simply unable to slow down, step back and stop thinking about how to create something new or make something better or more effective. I’ve learned to embrace it, to surround myself with like-minded people and in that crazy, challenging, problem-ridden environment I thrive and am most happy. VERB, is just the most recent incarnation of all that I’ve learned and experienced over the years, and I have every reason to believe it will be by far the most lucrative for myself and my shareholders.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Choosing the “most interesting” is difficult as I have had many extraordinary experiences during what sometimes seems like multiple lives from a career as a practicing lawyer to tech company CEO and serial entrepreneur. The ones that stand out most for me are those that remind me how much more we learn about ourselves and others not through our successes, but through our failures. One such experience revolved around the sudden, unexpected bad turn a particular business opportunity took. I was informed that an important element of a business we were pursuing was not going to materialize and as a result the entire business model, the belief in which investors premised their investment, would not succeed. Faced with what I was sure would be a terrible backlash from investors, I decided to explain to them in honest and straight talk terms what happened and laid out my plans for how we would pivot and move forward. I made a point of stating that I would invest my own capital to finance the costs associated with the new business direction and would keep them all apprised of my progress. What followed was something I never expected; an outpouring of support and gratitude from everyone for my direct and honest approach and, even more surprising, millions of new dollars in investment capital from these same investors who not only believed in the new direction I wanted to take the company but who wanted to invest alongside me to reward the trust I earned. That trust was not misplaced as that new business was the predecessor to VERB and many of those same investors remain investors in VERB today.
Can you tell us about the Cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Our latest, and potentially biggest value creator for our shareholders is our new verbLIVE application which allows anyone to add interactive, clickable buttons to livestream and broadcast videos. Think of it as a combination of Zoom and Shopify. Imagine doing a live stream broadcast promoting your new book and during your broadcast you place a ‘download now’ button on your screen which then appears on the screens of potentially thousands of people viewing your broadcast allowing you to point to it and say, “if you like what I’m saying, go ahead and click right here and download my book.” Or a boutique closed due to COVID-19 restrictions being able to invite their customers to a live broadcast of their latest wears in which customers can click directly on the screen to buy. Or an artist broadcasting a concert allowing fans to click on the screen and buy his or her merch — driving sales revenue by eliminating friction from the sales process.
How do you think this might change the world?
VERB’s technology will empower those willing to harness its amazing ability to drive sales, from the experienced professional, to the working mom, students, and others entering or re-entering the workplace, to generate a primary or secondary source of income. It will allow people impacted by social distancing restrictions and COVID-19 related job loss the ability to generate an income and it will help retailers who have been forced to close their doors to remain financially viable. For aspiring entrepreneurs or others just starting out, it represents the opportunity to start a business by broadcasting themselves promoting their products and services and encouraging their viewers to click right in their video to buy their products in ways that didn’t exist until now.
We believe verbLIVE will provide the world with the social connection we have been missing this year. People miss the sociality of the in-store shopping experience, including the interaction with store personnel and other shoppers, as well as the feeling of shopping with friends. verbLIVE allows viewers to regain that sense of connection at a time when they feel particularly detached and isolated.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
No — quite the contrary. Any technology that allows people to feel more connected, that allows them to collaborate, that allows them to remain relevant in a time of isolation should be widely adopted and embraced.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
Well there were several ‘tipping points’ among the engineering team during the development process that produced the technological breakthroughs that led to the creation of the live interactive video product. But the ‘tipping point” as it relates to the genesis of the idea was when we saw the data reflecting the stark change in societal behavior around a preference for the consumption of information through video coupled with the rise of Amazon’s dominance through the ‘one click’ buy-it-now features, which played to our innate impulse buy and immediate gratification sensibilities. This generation has grown up on video games, which are themselves an interactive information consumption experience and as a result they have developed a preferencefor content with which they can interact, content that engages them, as opposed to the ‘lean back’ passive viewing experience the older generation became accustomed to.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
In a word: awareness. Anyone who experiences the technology immediately embraces it, they understand the enormous value creation opportunities it portends and they recognize its far-reaching economic implications.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
One of our strategies is to embrace partnerships with otherwise would-be competitors by incorporating our technology into their platforms, leveraging their customer base in a way that is a win-win for them and us. For example, we’re adding our interactive video capability and functionality into the apps of some of the larger incumbent players in the space — such as Salesforce — which we just recently completed, and Microsoft Outlook, which we expect to release in early 2021. Because we believe, as do many of our clients, that these applications are the most effective sales enablement and lead generation tools available in the market today, we use them ourselves to attract new clients and retain existing ones. We call it ‘eating our own chili.’
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Yes — definitely. I have a dear friend and mentor named Lenny S. He was someone I met very early in my career through a client of my legal practice. He saw something in me at that time that I may not have yet seen in myself and as he offered to finance my first business venture he told me two things that have stuck with me through this day. First, he told me he wasn’t investing in my business, he was investing in me because he always bets on the jockey, not the horse. The second thing he told me was that in business, like in life, each of us plays our part but true success only comes when we work together, always together, and that’s something that has become somewhat of a theme behind our successful culture at VERB and I owe that to him.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Philanthropy and advocacy remain a vital part of my life, personally and professionally. I was the founder of the U.S. Chapter of Innocence In Danger, an international organization that originated through the United Nations UNESCO project to protect and treat children who were victims of abuse. I have also served on several non-profit boards, among many other philanthropic endeavors. At VERB, we have made it part of our core values to not just support social programs but to actually spearhead them and we are very active throughout our communities with willing and passionate participation from our VERB employees. Additionally, we have a very active ESG program at VERB, and have been chosen by NASDAQ as an example for what can and should be done by companies of any size to promote important environmental, social and governance initiatives.
What are your 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started and Why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Quoting my dear friend David Meltzer, “if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” When I started my first business, I wore multiple hats not because of financial constraints, but because I believed I could do each of those jobs better than anyone else. Once I realized I could find people to do each of those jobs far better than I could do them myself, my business took off.
Though somewhat of an inverse corollary to the first item, it is nevertheless worth mentioning. Do a brutally honest assessment of your skills and experience. Determine where you are weak and then find a partner or associate that has the skills or experience you lack, that compliments your talents and with whom you have trust and a shared definition of success.
Don’t be the solution looking for a problem. Successful companies are those that develop a product or service in response to a recognized problem or need — not the other way around.
Hire slowly, fire quickly. More than once I hired someone who, as it turned out, was someone I now refer to as a “professional interviewee”. They know exactly what to say and what to do at the interview to instill confidence and push a hiring decision in their direction. But when it comes down to actually doing the job, they are a big zero. Failing to terminate that person immediately serves only to compound the problem as they invariably impact other people in the organization and never in a positive way.
Take the money. When raising capital for a business many entrepreneurs strategically seek to limit the amount of capital they take from willing investors in an effort to preserve their equity under the assumption that they can get by with that amount of capital and that they can go back to the market later when they need more and raise money at a higher valuation and thereby give up less equity. However, experience has taught me that there is no such thing as “enough” when trying to determine the capital requirements of new business. Moreover, the market can change like the weather and just when you need it most, the capital won’t be there or not on terms that you can live with.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I believe we sometimes grossly underestimate the power and capability of the private sectorto address social and economic issues with which the public sector seems to struggle and bungle. As but one example, in times of economic hardship and burgeoning unemployment, the state government could offer private companies a dollar for dollar income tax credit for the payroll of every person they hire that is currently receiving public assistance, provided they also provide that person health insurance. I imagine unemployment numbers would plummet. The lost tax revenue could be made up through the reduction in public assistance payments as well as the sales tax revenue generated by converting public assistance users to spending consumers, not to mention the mental and social health benefits these people would derive for feeling productive.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Though it may sound cliché, the expression “what goes around comes around” has had a profound impact on my life. I can recall countless instances of someone doing something for or against another and later witness that act come back to that person, sometimes with consequences far beyond what they could have expected. I’ve seen bad acts punished and I’ve seen good acts rewarded. A modern day, more positive version of that philosophy is “pay it forward.” I’m a big believer in that philosophy and have worked to inspire a culture at VERB that incorporates that “give back” practice into our business.
Some very well-known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Allow me to introduce you to VERB LIVE.
WHEN I TALK ABOUT THIS DIFFICULT PERIOD OF TIME PRODUCING THE NEXT AMAZON, the next Facebook or Twitter — THIS TECHNOLOGY IS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT.
True live stream — IN VIDEO ecommerce — IT’S A COMBINATION OF ZOOM AND SHOPIFY — AND THE DISRUPTIVE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS TECHNOLOGY AND VALUE CREATION POTENTIAL ARE VIRTUALLY UNLIMITED.
TODAY PEOPLE HAVE ADOPTED WEBINARS AND OTHER VIDEO STREAMING PLATFORMS TO PROMOTE THEIR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.
you may have heard the term social selling — WELL WE’VE TAKEN THAT TO A NEW LEVEL.
IMAGINE YOU’RE WATCHING A WEBINAR WITH YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR INTRODUCING HIS OR HER NEW BOOK — OR A HOST PITCHING ANY OTHER PRODUCT OR SERVICE FOR THAT MATTER –
AND WHILE YOU’RE WATCHING THE LIVE STREAM BROADCAST — THE HOST PLACES AN INTERACTIVE ICON OR BUTTON ON THE SCREEN WHICH THEN APPEARS ON THE SCREENS OF ALL VIEWERS — POTENTIALLY THOUSANDS OF VIEWERS — AND INVITES THE VIEWERS TO PURCHASE HIS BOOK BY CLICKING the Icon RIGHT IN THE VIDEO — AS AND WHEN THEIR INTEREST LEVEL HAS PEAKED — ELIMINATING FRICTION FROM THE SALES PROCESS –
AND IF IT’S AN EBOOK — THEY COULD PAY FOR IT AND DOWNLOAD IT RIGHT OUT OF THE LIVE STREAM BROADCAST.
Or how about a small business struggling with their store closed due to COVID using a live stream to show off their latest fashions they would have had on display in their store and allowing viewers they reached through their Facebook post to buy the items right out of the video.
Next month WE BEGIN OFFERING IT TO OUR CLIENT BASE OF APPROX. 1.6 MILLION PEOPLE WHO HAVE DOWNLOADED ONE OF OUR OTHER APPLICATIONS.
WE’LL ALSO OFFER IT AS A STAND-ALONE APPLICATION AND WE’RE ABOUT TO RELEASE A MOBILE APP VERSION.
AND WE’VE RECENTLY COMPLETED AN INTEGRATION OF VERB LIVE INTO SALESFORCE AND HAVE JUST LAUNCHED A JOINT MARKETING CAMPAIGN WITH SALESFORCE TO THEIR EXISTING CLIENT BASE –
IT’S OFFERED AS A $24.99 PER MONTH PER USER ADD ON TO THEIR SALESFORCE SUBSCRIPTION ON A REVENUE SHARE BASIS WITH US.
WE WILL ALSO COMPLETE AN INTEGRATION INTO MICROSOFT OUTLOOK BY THE END OF THE YEAR — THERE ARE OVER 1 BILLION OUTLOOK USERS WORLDWIDE.
WE’LL OFFER IT AS AN ADD-ON TO THE MONTHLY OFFICE 365 SUBSCRIPTION — PRICING IS BEING FINALIZED NOW.
HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU THINK WOULD LIKE TO CLICK RIGHT IN THEIR OUTLOOK TOOLBAR — RECORD AN INTERACTIVE VIDEO WITH ECOMMERCE CAPABILITIES AND SEND IT THROUGH OUTLOOK INSTEAD OF TYPING AN EMAIL.
Ask questions. This is one of the most powerful tools of an effective manager. The basis for managing well is listening, observing, taking note of what motivates your teammates, and digging into the responses to your questions.
I usually gather questions before I meet with my team members one-on-one so I am prepared and can guide the conversation toward understanding them better. Asking questions helps you adjust your leadership style to the individuals on your team. It also ensures that they feel understood and heard, which are important pillars of inclusion and belonging.
As a part of our series about the five things you need to successfully manage a remote team, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lena Reinhard, Vice President, Product Engineering, CircleCI.
In her 15+ year career, she has built and scaled high-performing engineering organizations and helped distributed teams succeed. Lena is passionate about helping teams increase their effectiveness and business impact, and scaling culture for organizational performance and health.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. What is your “backstory”?
I have a background in finance, arts, and media, but have always gravitated towards leadership. My first tech job for a small SaaS startup was intended as a short-term copy writing gig and turned into a role as marketing and key account manager, running project management, account management, and marketing.
Around the same time, I started contributing to open source projects, and shortly after co-founded my first software company and became a CEO. I started managing distributed, fast-scaling engineering teams, quickly realizing that I really enjoyed this work, and that it was a good match with my prior experiences and background.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
My first formal leadership role was as CEO of the company I co-founded. I’d been consulting for the founding team with research and assessments towards the founding process and business setup, and one day, on the way back from lunch, they asked me whether I wanted to become CEO. I thought about it and said yes.
The transition into leading an engineering team for the first time was a challenge in a multitude of ways. At the time, our team was building software to support Ebola outbreak response teams in West Africa. The work itself put a high level of stress and other psychological challenges on everyone on the team. It was also a distributed team across several countries in Europe and West Africa, operating in a critical space during a pandemic.
My work required bringing as much focus and order as possible to this, while building out this team a lot and as fast as possible, but also maturing our practices quickly on the fly. Due to the parameters we were working within, a lot of it was about staying flexible and adapting as we went.
The other crucial aspect was creating and holding space for the team to deliver high-quality software, learn quickly, focus, and build resilient systems of technology and humans.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I learned a lot of hard lessons when first starting out. Due to the intense nature of the work and environment, I had to lead largely intuitively and in reactive ways. This meant that I didn’t have a good sense of what it would take for others to be effective in this role and work. It put a huge strain on myself, and also inhibited my ability to delegate effectively and build out better structures for the team. A colleague who I worked with at the time once told me after we’d both moved into different roles, “You don’t understand what makes you good at this, which means you’re not able to bring it out in others.” This hit me because it was true, even though I brushed off the first part as an odd compliment at first.
I had to learn how to delegate effectively and invest in developing leaders around me, to be able to run teams and organizations more effectively. I believe that it’s our biggest job as leaders to pull people up around us: remaining a critical part of a technical or human system can lead to feeling a sense of relevance, but actually is a terrible sign. The thing that tickles our ego the most is the sign that we’re not doing as well as we could; and to me, that’s the essence of what leadership means in a nutshell.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive and avoid burnout?
Focus on communication, expectations, and trust, to help teams avoid burnout during uncertain times. I think a lot has to do about being clear and transparent, while maintaining a bigger picture and a sense of purpose and impact, and continuously reminding employees of that. It’s on us as leaders to build organizational structures that provide the scalability and flexibility that organizations need especially in times of high uncertainty and change.
But leaders also need to take care of themselves, too.
A manager’s role typically requires a lot of critical and strategic thinking, problem solving and effective communication. I start every day with some strategic planning, while I have a freshly caffeinated brain, and before I dive into the more tactical aspects of the day-to-day work, this really helps me maintain sight of the big picture. In order to keep myself energized and sharp for my teams when they need me, I plan out my daily schedule based on my energy levels, and make sure to take breaks.
Ok, let’s jump to the core of our interview. Some companies have many years of experience with managing a remote team. Others have just started this, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Can you tell us how many years of experience you have managing remote teams?
I’ve been building, growing, and leading distributed engineering teams for the last 6+ years. Now, as VP of Product Engineering at CircleCI I have the pleasure leading a globally distributed team of 70+ engineers and developers spread across 3 continents and 9 time zones. All of whom are working to help our users solve the world’s most challenging software development problems through CI/CD.
Managing a team remotely can be very different than managing a team that is in front of you. Can you articulate for our readers what the five main challenges are regarding managing a remote team? Can you give a story or example for each?
I often describe my work life every day as being made up of millions of pixels. My teams are distributed across the globe, and most times, my teammates are reduced to pixels in Zoom meetings, Slack chats, and emails. We bring different backgrounds, experiences, communication styles and collaboration preferences, and many more differences to the (virtual) table. Much less happens organically through osmosis, or at the literal water cooler, but at the same time many of the challenges all teams face, like communication and collaboration, are exacerbated when we’re distributed across locations and time zones.
Here are five ways I combat those challenges:
Build trust. The first step in creating structure is building relationships. At CircleCI, for example, we’ve built structures such as regular pair programming rotations and engineering talks to help our distributed teams do that.
Structure around how you collaborate. As our engineering department has expanded, we’ve moved to a more streamlined engineering delivery process. But each team decides how to implement day-to-day processes such as daily standup meetings, planning sessions, or collaboration. Every team has specific needs, and they know how to best address them.
Remove blockers. We all know how frustrating it is to be stuck. Building pathways — for example, setting up regular pair programming rotations, investing in self-serve information access, supporting each other across teams, and establishing knowledge-sharing — can help keep things moving forward.
Continuously improve. Use retrospectives to discuss and improve how your teams work together. Blameless postmortems are also a great tool to help understand problems and drive solutions. Code reviews, mentoring, and knowledge-sharing can help team members learn from each other. How you talk about learning — especially the way you discuss mistakes — matters. These decisions will fundamentally shape the culture of your teams and determine whether people feel safe or threatened in their core needs.
Drive toward alignment. Communicate strategy, direction, and relevant tactical details to your teams — and remember that it’s almost impossible to over-communicate these details. Always repeat what’s important.
In my experience, one of the trickiest parts of managing a remote team is giving honest feedback, in a way that doesn’t come across as too harsh. If someone is in front of you much of the nuance can be picked up in facial expressions and body language. But not when someone is remote. Can you give a few suggestions about how to best give constructive criticism to a remote employee?
The foundation of being a good leader relies on building trust-based relationships. Here are a few ways to start:
Ask questions. This is one of the most powerful tools of an effective manager. The basis for managing well is listening, observing, taking note of what motivates your teammates, and digging into the responses to your questions.
I usually gather questions before I meet with my team members one-on-one so I am prepared and can guide the conversation toward understanding them better. Asking questions helps you adjust your leadership style to the individuals on your team. It also ensures that they feel understood and heard, which are important pillars of inclusion and belonging.
Connect to the bigger picture. Creating an impact is an excellent motivator, so make sure the members on your team understand how their work helps users or supports other teams. While goal-setting frameworks like OKRs can help with this, it is also crucial to align initiatives with higher-level goals and connect them clearly with user value.
Give feedback. One of the best things you can do as a manager is to support your team members’ growth. Give feedback regularly to help them understand where they are and how they can grow — by course-correcting where needed and setting new goals in areas in which they excel.
Also, managers need feedback too: Don’t forget to ask your team for feedback so you can also adjust as needed.
Can you specifically address how to give constructive feedback over email? How do you prevent the email from sounding too critical or harsh?
I would generally advise to choose the feedback medium based on the employee’s preference — have a conversation about feedback preferences in your first 1:1, and stick to those: the more aligned feedback delivery is with what works for the employee, the better the odds that it will land. Here are three tips to help you get there:
Use conclusive communication: When I send messages to my distributed team, I make an effort to set up the conversation so they can reply and then that interaction is over. I also always consider the time of the day when I approach people.
Set expectations and over-communicate: Distributed organizations in a high growth stage have a lot of ambiguity, which is challenging. My job is to create clarity and provide the leaders and teams in my organization with context so they can make their own decisions.
One way I do this is through recurring emails: a weekly overview sent to my team, highlighting what’s been top of mind for me, exciting news, as well as upcoming events or strategic topics I’m thinking about.
I also utilize recurring meetings with my direct reports. Recurring meetings are often looked down upon. But, by making sure that these meetings are always useful for all parties involved, I find them helpful. Not only do they encourage relationship building, which is an important investment, they provide an outlet where people can expect information, which reduces uncertainty.
Trust your team and resist the urge to micromanage: To do this I create a culture of visibility and accountability by using shared goals, as well as goal trackers and weekly one-on-ones. I focus on results over effort by setting clear goals on outcomes and making sure people achieve those, and have the support they need to do so. However, it is crucial to lead with trust, and go into relationships offering a portion of trust; more trust can be earned, but don’t start on a trust deficit.
I’ll throw in a bonus tip: build strong relationships. The better your relationship with your employee, the higher the trust, and the more frequent feedback delivery, the more natural feedback will feel: instead of being an uphill battle, it becomes part of your working relationship.
Can you share any suggestions for teams who are used to working together on location but are forced to work remotely due to the pandemic. Are there potential obstacles one should avoid with a team that is just getting used to working remotely?
Don’t try to replicate one-to-one what you used to do in person; instead, figure out what purpose your activities served, and build to achieve this purpose. One example to illustrate my point: if people miss the watercooler, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need a virtual one. What was the watercooler good for? — A space for spontaneous interactions with people beyond one’s own team, build connections, and maintain a sense of belonging to a larger team? — If that’s it, then how do we achieve that?
What do you suggest can be done to create a healthy and empowering work culture with a team that is remote and not physically together?
In a world that is more remote-first than ever, I encourage everyone to think about how they are communicating with others on their teams. Here are a few tips to consider:
Stay humble, and make space for others. Just as we try to connect in many small ways, there are small ways we can become better collaborators throughout the work day. For example, we can avoid dominating conversations, even when they are written communications. Open up space for others and invite them into conversations by asking, “What’s your opinion on this? I’d like to hear your thoughts.”
Make a deliberate effort to get everyone in your team involved in the conversation, and listen well to what they have to say. When we build trust with our teammates through strong communication, it provides the basis for our collaboration as a team.
Build foundational relationships. Collaboration is not just about the output of work, but also one of the best vehicles that distributed teams have for relationship-building. My engineering teams often use the pair programming technique, which helps them strengthen relationships with their teammates and makes teams more resilient. Pair programming also helps us avoid knowledge silos and distribute information — and it’s a really great tool for onboarding new teammates.
Grow together: An even better way to connect and communicate as a team is by helping each other grow through constructive feedback. In distributed teams, this can be really difficult to do well. When we mostly see each other on screens, it becomes difficult to have harder conversations. I have a template I co-opted from the book Feedback and Other Dirty Words by M. Tamra Chandler that I often use as a starting point. I’ll ask my team to discuss our feedback preferences in this format, then discuss the responses as a group. We use what we learned to give each other much more meaningful and specific feedback.
Some of the most difficult times I’ve experienced in my career have come from not truly understanding a problem. And when things go wrong, everyone tends to blame everyone else without knowing why it went wrong in the first place.
I like to use the infamous “cow in a ditch” analogy to help explain this. The shortened version of the story is a cow is in a ditch that needs to get removed but the people around the cow are arguing about everything besides the main issue — how to remove the cow from the ditch.
As part of my series about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Successful App or SaaS”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gary Lyng.
Gary Lyng is the CMO of Aparavi, a data intelligence and automation software and services company that helps companies find and unlock the value of data — no matter where it lives. Aparavi’s cloud-based SaaS platform finds, automates, governs, and consolidates distributed data. Aparavi ensures secure access for modern data demand of analytics, machine learning, and collaboration.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Gary Lyng is Chief Marketing Officer at Aparavi. He has more than 20 years of experience in enterprise software and infrastructure, driving innovative, award-winning products, teams and programs. Lyng is well known in the industry as a trailblazer capable of developing new initiatives for leading technologies that transform into true business benefits for clients and partners. He’s regarded as a “rare species” with an uncanny ability to differentiate the business value and customer experience of a solution.
Lyng built his career in enterprise software, storage and systems. Focusing on the ‘Big Picture’ to deploy appropriate strategies, passionate to disrupt the status quo, while communicating value to real-world impact is key to Lyng’s success. Prior to joining Aparavi, Lyng was CMO at Violin Systems, a leader in high-performance storage, where he helped boost revenue, perception and leadership and was named one of 2019’s Most Influential CMOs by CIO Review. Prior to Violin, he spearheaded products and solutions at SanDisk (acquired by Western Digital), EMC, NetApp, Hewlett Packard, and Veritas Software.
What was the “Aha Moment” that led you to think of the idea for your current company? Can you share that story with us?
I’ve always been involved with data in one form or another but the thing I found really attractive about data is that, at its core, it’s the lifeline of a business. Getting the right information, at the right time, and making sure it’s easy to access is essential for a business.
When I came across Aparavi, they were working in the traditional data and storage management environments. While that is very important to a business’ back office or data center, I thought they could do so much more. I thought to myself, “Why are you moving data from point A to point B when you don’t know anything about its value? How does that improve the business and its customers?” That was when I had my “aha” moment. I realized there were certain areas of the business that weren’t understanding the company’s big picture and put it upon myself to make sure the company’s overall message was clearly understood. I made sure each person understood their role within the organization and held them accountable for their responsibilities. Once people were able to understand their role and what they needed to achieve, the business was able to run like a well-oiled machine.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Some of the most difficult times I’ve experienced in my career have come from not truly understanding a problem. And when things go wrong, everyone tends to blame everyone else without knowing why it went wrong in the first place.
I like to use the infamous “cow in a ditch” analogy to help explain this. The shortened version of the story is a cow is in a ditch that needs to get removed but the people around the cow are arguing about everything besides the main issue — how to remove the cow from the ditch.
The first thing you need to do is agree that there is a problem. You then need to come up with a plan to solve the problem. Once you’ve come up with a plan, you must delegate responsibilities making sure everyone understands their role and how they are going to achieve their goal. After the action has been completed, take proactive steps to come up with a plan and best practices to make sure you don’t have to deal with the same problem again.
Once you are able understand problems fully, put forward basic problem-solving skills and can delegate responsibilities to solve an issue in the most transparent way possible, you can face any challenge. .
So, how are things going today? How did your grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?
A quote I’ve taken to heart and has helped me in my career is the great line from Jack Welsch, “Lead more and manage less.” I understand that as a leader of an organization, the buck starts with me. So if I’m not doing the work that I need to do, employees that I am supposed to be leading will do the same and nothing gets accomplished or progresses.
In addition, I do my best to connect with my colleagues at an emotional level. I’ve found that if I can personally connect with that person, they become more loyal to the brand and will do anything to make sure the overall goal of the company is achieved.
I’ve also learned that it is impossible to accomplish something by yourself. I’ve put it upon myself to reach out to others within my organization to collaborate on everything from new business ideas to critical strategy documents.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
We’re all human so we’re all liable to make mistakes. That said, I’ve learned that after making a mistake, it’s important to not only own up to it but propose solutions to solve the mistake. I’ve found that if you do this, you can staunch the bleeding and come up with a solution in less time.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Aparavi is a company discovering the hidden jewels and golden nuggets withindata. A lot of times we can drown ourselves in ridiculous amounts of information without ever finding the most important piece.
For example, in the work we do in M&A’s, a company needs to be able to find certain levels of efficiencies and be able to remove duplicate sets of information. This obviously starts with the discovery of data — you need to understand where it lives and where the redundancies are. After this, a company can take the appropriate actions to move forward. That’s where I think Aparavi stands out. With Aparavi, a company can search and truly understand its system’s information. After the data has been consolidated, a trickle-down effect begins and you can start to consider things like IT and data center consolidation then move into best practices, strategy etc.
Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. Approximately how many users or subscribers does your app or software currently have? Can you share with our readers three of the main steps you’ve taken to build such a large community?
What is your monetization model? How do you monetize your community of users? Have you considered other monetization options? Why did you not use those?
We try to keep the monetization of Aparavi simple as possible across the board. We make it easy for leaders to estimate the file capacity needed and their expected file growth, making it easy for things like budget planning.
We start with a subscription-based, free version for our customers to utilize. This allows them to use Aparavi for up to 5TB of data which is equivalent to 5 million files. Once they’ve used all of their capacity in the free trial, a year-long subscription starts. We also charge for the intelligent policies that are built into various regulations already in place.
Based on your experience and success, what are the four most important things one should know in order to create a very successful app or a SaaS? Please share a story or an example for each.
It comes down to understanding your customer’s touchpoints to ensure your app or SaaS’ differentiation is centered around the customer’s experience. You must:
Constantly be listening to needs and demands of your customer
Truly understand what your customer is trying to achieve
Communicate that you are addressing the needs of your customer
Work toward a specific customer/user experience objective
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would start a movement of news to produce facts, not opinion. We as humans are able to make our decisions and develop our own opinions — we don’t need the news to tell us that. The news should tell the truth in order for the public to form their own views. Trust comes when the truth is told, and with trust comes loyalty. That has been something that has been lost today. I would love to see people move forward with this mindset.
Lisa Arie of Vista Caballo: Rising Through Resilience; Five Things You Can Do To Become More Resilient
Rest and Rejuvenation. Most people equate being resilient with having your jets on full-throttle, 24/7, 365. But the opposite is actually the case. Resilience is a mental muscle that can be strengthened, but just like your physical muscles, that boost requires conscientious periods of rest and rejuvenation.
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful business leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa Arie.
Lisa Arie co-founded Vista Caballo with her husband Jess Arie. Lisa designs and leads the personal and leadership development experiences. Fast Company magazine calls Lisa a “CEO whisperer.”
Lisa’s early life granted her a unique perspective of life. She was born in New York. Starting at the age of two and throughout her childhood and teenage years, her father’s international job with Time magazine moved the family to New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, South Africa, the Netherlands, and England.
Lisa met Maori, Maasai, and aborigines. She ice-skated on frozen canals and hiked through jungles. She even dodged gunfire during the Singapore-Malaysian Riots.
After attending college in England and the United States, Lisa graduated with a BA from Hampshire College. Her career took off shortly after she graduated. Named one of Adweek magazine’s Creative All Stars, she produced the famed Motel Six commercials featuring Tom Bodett (“We’ll leave the light on for you.”), selected by Advertising Age magazine as one of the Top 100 Advertising Campaigns of the Twentieth Century.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
I woke up one morning and realized that I had been living inside someone else’s story. I was a Creative All Star, had worked on iconic global brands, produced Tom Bodett’s first Motel 6 spots, and created two companies that had grown to become multimillion-dollar enterprises. But, there was this intangible I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I had this uncomfortable feeling I was living my life, but missing my life. When I was told I had a terminal disease and it was game over, I realized that feeling was true. Achievement is different than fulfilment.
I gave up everything I knew to go find life and how to live it fearlessly. Today my husband, Jess, and I run Vista Caballo, a human and leadership center that also manufactures human and leadership development tools on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. Our work started with horses as the instinctive catalysts to fast forward entrepreneurs, c-suite executives, directors, managers, team leaders and individuals striving for, and leading, change. The awareness that the next great leap forward in innovation is to innovate ourselves is foundational to our work. I was our first client.
I learned about change and adaptability early on. Growing up as the daughter of a high-ranking executive at Time-Life Corporation, I followed my father as he moved from offices in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, South Africa and Europe. My real life education gave me a unique perspective. The ability to work between cultures and cultural differences allowed me to take nothing for granted. Cultural ‘norms’ changed on a dime, so I did too. When you don’t have the cultural ‘lingo’ down, you learn to rely on yourself no matter what shows up.
At Vista Caballo, we intertwine neuroscience with nature in custom-designed engagements to awaken the primary intelligence systems: instinctual, emotional and cognitive. Interacting with each of these systems together in a single moment is a sensibility some individuals can live their entire lives and hardly have a notion of. Around five years ago, we then parlayed this knowledge into science-based digital simulators to continue to equip a new breed of leaders to become unstoppable globally.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or take aways from that?
I’ve had an amazing life and career so ‘most interesting story’ is a bit challenging. Might that be when I accidentally spilled hot tea in Sting’s lap? Or keynoting at The World Innovation Convention in Cannes? Perhaps being invited to bring our work to The 25th Anniversary of Bioneers? Or learning how to live when I was told I was going to die?
I think perhaps the last of these. I was at the height of founding and building two multi-million dollar businesses. There were no resources to learn how to die. I had to figure it out on my own. And what I decided was I was not going to die afraid. I thought: I may not have had a choice about dying but I did have a choice about how I would do it. I decided to go full out to live life and to live it fearlessly. To stop checking the boxes and focusing on achievement but instead focused on living full out, really present to the day, every day. To know myself fully and completely. And to trust myself the same way. And when I did, I did not die. This happened over two decades ago and I’m as healthy as the horses I live with to this day.
What I learned from this is how powerful and accurate our instincts are. And how transformative leading with courage rather than fear is. And how there is no such thing as the unknown when you know yourself.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
We have been called the most innovative human and leadership program in the world. I think we earned that accolade because our methodology includes both nature and neuroscience. Results are instantly beneficial to business and the individual and impacts both the individual and team transformation simultaneously. We have unique science-based digital tools to equip people, leaders and their teams. These tools elevate their subconscious thinking to a conscious state so they can see their blind spots and identify how they make decisions outside of their comfort zones, making them unstoppable.
One story is about our work with Ben & Jerry’s. The company needed to pivot and grow from a
national company to an international company while learning how to become more interdependent with their parent company. They turned to Vista Caballo to help them transform and reach their goals. The framework was rolled out to strategically chosen teams
throughout the company. This culminated in Vista Caballo being brought in as part of Ben & Jerry’s best practices to their Global Summit. In five days Vista Caballo worked with five teams, each group focusing on a team-specific productivity goal, as well as the
overarching company challenge of expanding international production. The teams included
manufacturing, retail, hospitality, research and development, and country business leaders. Along with an overall contentment in the workplace, there was:
a 46% increase in employee confidence in on-the job training after a six hour session;
a savings of $475k in reorganization cost in two meetings;
a 150% decrease in meeting times in manufacturing;
an estimated $100k in savings due to more productivity in meetings and meeting times;
a 25% increase in productivity in marketing in three weeks;
a new company-wide communications systems led by a freshly motivated manager; and
a breakthrough partnership with the Smithsonian Institute from a previously underfunded division of the company.
What’s also exciting about this is there was a 31% increase in employee assessment scores after three weeks. This is noteworthy, as the average company provides 60 hours of training per year per key executive, but most forget 70% after initial sessions and 90% after only one week.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful for helping get you to where you are?
God is not a person but all credit goes to God first for sure. Then there is one person and one animal I would attribute all my success to: my husband and my horse. My horse saved my life. My husband has dedicated his life to picking up where my horse started in teaching me how to live life in love.
Interestingly enough, as I reflect, they both had the same approach: They both accepted me and loved me for who I was. My horse’s name was Hakomi. When I was just myself — even though I didn’t know anything about horses or horsemanship — she connected with me. My husband, Jess, and I knew each other for a few years before we got together. It was when I found myself that he connected with me — and we never looked back.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What are some characteristics or traits of resilient people?
Resilience is the ability not only to endure, but to persist, in the face of hardship and adversity.
Some of the characteristics or traits of resilient people are:
Great emotional regulation
Focus
Discipline
Mental strength
Empathy
Love
Presence
Vision
Curiosity
Persistence
Receptivity
Courage
Self-Efficacy
Compassion
Connection
Optimism
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
Many people come to mind. Everyone in this COVID-19 world comes to mind. Single parents come to mind. Children who are victims of sex trafficking. People in refugee camps. People taking care of their elderly parents. People who are in poverty. People who are homeless. People of color. Wild horses in our nation’s holding pens. Animals in zoos. One of my heroes is Nelson Mandela. He, to me, is an icon for resilience. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, his jail cell was eight feet by seven feet. He was only allowed to write one letter and received one visit from the outside world every six months. He was 46 years old. And he went on to become President of South Africa and a Nobel Peace Prize Winner. How did he survive emotionally? Physically? He too believed in the power of courage. He understood how important focus, moving forward and not giving into despair was. And for me, one of his most beautiful, powerful lessons was about letting go, forgiveness and how to live from that point forward.
As he aptly put it, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison. For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
This question made me laugh. Yes. I was told more than several times that something was impossible and I did it anyway.
I’ll fast forward to going to ‘horse school’. Then getting a horse. Then asking my horse to walk up a single plank that was at about a 45-degree angle. And riding her backwards. I was definitely met with naysayers when I started all of my businesses. I started the first business with $5k from my parents, and a wing and a prayer. I was a young woman in the very tough male dominated world of advertising in the 1990s.
When I was diagnosed with a terminal disease, I was told that my choice of throwing out the medicine — leaving everything I knew behind to strike out to discover what life was like outside my comfort zone — was an “impossible” choice. Over two decades later it turns out it was the best choice. I’m still here and as healthy as the horses I now live with.
Starting a leadership and human development business in the Great Sage Plains of Colorado with a population of about 700 people in the nearest town and 1900 people in the entire county, was called ‘impossible.’ 14.5 years later we are still here and have been hailed as the ‘CEO Whisperer’ by Fast Company and as one of the world’s most innovative human and leadership development programs.
As Muhammed Ali said: “Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare.”
Was there a time in your life when you had one of your greatest setbacks, but bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
Yes. There were lots. But being told I had a terminal disease when I was 38 was a pretty big setback. I had to reclaim myself. And before I could do that I had to understand and accept that I was completely lost. Which shattered my ego and my story of having it all together and being in control of my life. If I wasn’t in control of my life then who was? Answering that question transformed me and transformed my life. I didn’t die. I came to life. In a new way. I came with the understanding that I knew nothing. Nothing that really mattered. And I had to learn everything. Everything that did matter.
Did you have any experiences growing up that contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
I’d attribute growing up as a citizen of the world, moving to different countries, experiencing different cultures, languages and schools, and having to learn how to adapt to all of them probably helped me develop strong resiliency muscles. I remember when I first came back to America to live, I was 18 and knew nothing about the culture. It was extremely foreign to me even though we were all speaking English. When my cousin told me to speak into a plastic clown head to order my food at a drive through, I wasn’t sure if she was joking, and if she wasn’t, I was seriously wondering what kind of a country I was in. I spent an entire weekend in college watching TV shows as there were so many references to them in everyday conversation that I needed to have a reference point just to communicate on a basic level. Let alone the language itself. Try giving directions to your flat (apartment) using landmarks like robots (traffic lights) and lifts (elevators). I had to really stick with it to not flee back to my comfort zone of life overseas and instead forge ahead in learning about my own country.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
1. Rest and Rejuvenation. Most people equate being resilient with having your jets on full-throttle, 24/7, 365. But the opposite is actually the case. Resilience is a mental muscle that can be strengthened, but just like your physical muscles, that boost requires conscientious periods of rest and rejuvenation.
I know that might seem like a big ask if you’re a type-A performer, but rest doesn’t have to mean taking days off on the beach. You can accomplish it strategically throughout your day. For instance, it’s been proven that consciously focusing on slowing down your breathing engages the rejuvenating side of your brain, reducing stress, increasing attention and expanding conscious thinking. An easy way to start is the “4–7–8” method: breathing in for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds. Start by just setting two minutes aside in your calendar to:
Empty the lungs of air
Breathe in quietly through the nose for 4 seconds
Hold the breath for a count of 7 seconds
Exhale forcefully through the mouth for 8 seconds
Repeat the cycle
2. Develop Courage. Even if you’re a glass half full type, our brains are hard-wired to focus on our mistakes and flaws (this is dubbed the negativity bias) and this really fleshes out when we’re going through adverse times. Psychology suggests that this can make our motivation wane.
The best way to combat your brain’s innocuous resilience retorter is to reflect on the innate courage, bravery, and strength you’ve summoned before. Think back to another time when the world seemed haywire, and you thought “couldn’t make it.” Despite all odds, and your brain playing tricks, you made it through then. Realize that you can and will summon that again. The key to being a resilient leader is awareness — and we’re often more resilient than we think. Knowing your life purpose becomes critical so you can focus on it and on the whole picture, to develop your resilience to carry you through.
Now is a perfect time to discover the courageous parts of yourself that are buried within your subconscious. You have courage. Now’s the time to find it and trust yourself to lead with it.
3. Think About Your Thinking. You have to unlock your self-awareness and develop your metacognition to unleash your unstoppable success. During tumultuous times, our emotions tend to go haywire. We enter a ‘fight-or-flight’ mode where our mental blinders hide our cognitive deficiencies and we run on autopilot.
When we’re operating on autopilot, we don’t realize the subconscious threats, like negative thought patterns or self-doubt, that drag down our resilience. When you learn the skills to look inward and lead yourself, it’s like putting wind in your sails and charting yourself on the right course to success.
One of our clients felt like her world was spinning in a million different directions, and she thought she needed to know the answer to everything as a solution to mitigating the chaos — which, as you can imagine, withered her resilience. Once we taught her how to bring her subconscious thinking to a conscious state, she realized her blind spot was a lack of curiosity. She started asking questions instead of attempting to answer everything. This led to collaborative problem-solving and allowed her to persist in the face of problems — and solve them.
Self-discovery is crucial to the resilience needed to access your full potential and self-actualization.
4. Know Your Purpose. It’s easy in tough times, to overlook the forest for the trees. We want a sense of control when we feel out of control so we can head into minutiae.
I’ve found that even one minute of re-engaging with my purpose can turn the toughest of days into ones of excitement and awe. When the going gets tough, I place all my obstacles into a mental garbage bin, and remember why I’m fighting the good fight. Once I start imagining a world of leaders transforming the world for the better, my heart opens and I can immediately refocus and rebound.
If you haven’t found your “Why” yet, it’s time to connect with yourself. Know your personal purpose. If you didn’t have to earn a living what would you do, and why? What brings you the greatest joy? Sometimes we are taught to ‘follow the money’. This stems from a place of survival. Leading from a place of thriving — what is good for the good of all — can open our hearts and minds to endless possibilities. Your purpose is not a job title, and as a leader, it goes beyond KPIs. It’s the North Star of your life. So no matter how the world is changing around you, you can stay the course. When you make every decision with your purpose as the lens, it’s easy to brush excuses aside. It becomes exhilarating to challenge yourself. Once you’ve identified that purpose, you focus on leading and living life from a place of fulfillment, instead of just surviving it.
5. Be Vulnerable. Resilience doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s a misconception that resilient people become so mentally tough that they never need the help of others. In reality, being vulnerable and connecting with others (and yourself) emotionally can boost your resilience and that of those around you.
You can’t stay in your head. Not forever. Not without getting a serious headache. And quite seriously, not without really putting yourself in danger.
We know that tough times can increase our sense of fear. It can also activate a sense of vulnerability. Here’s something you might not know: the problem is when you do not know how to discern the difference between the two. Fear sends a signal to run, fight, flee. Vulnerability signals a need to connect. Two very different signals. For times such as these the two often go hand in hand. So get to know yourself and when you feel vulnerable. It’s a power tool.
Heart to heart connection is possible no matter where we are — even if we have to social distance. Having honest heart to heart conversations can do a world of good to restoring your sense of well-being and re-fueling your resiliency. You can also help those around you who might be feeling anxious and not know what to do about it, just by asking if they are willing to connect.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Years ago, I was running with my hair on fire trying to help our planet and our humanity wherever I could. One day, I paused and asked myself “what’s the source of these problems?” The source was an absence of consciousness. So my husband and I set out to create a tipping point where a critical mass of self-actualized people could make the world peaceful and prosperous for the children of all species.
We created physical and virtual world experiences that equip leaders and their teams with the tools to challenge what they think they know, so they can discover and embrace what they don’t. When that vision is fulfilled, everyone has the courage and awareness to utilize their creativity and intelligence to help the world in ways that once seemed impossible. Can you imagine living in a world like that? The movement has started, and we invite everyone who wants to live in a world that is peaceful, safe and prosperous for all to join, collaborate, and partner with us.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
The first person I’d love to have breakfast or lunch with is my 81, soon to be 82, year old mother. Covid-19 has been a barrier to us being together and I miss her dearly. I’m going to stay resilient and have asked her to do the same until we can have that breakfast or lunch. Next? Harry and Meghan? Taylor Swift? JK Rowling? The Queen of England? Oprah? Sting? Do I want to revisit the tea incident? The Dalai Lama? If he were still alive Nelson Mandela for sure. And if Wangari Maathai was still alive I would LOVE to lunch with her. Morgan Freeman. Love his love of horses. Robert Redford — I love his love of the wild horses. Tracy Edwards. I’m inspired by Sara Blakely’s philanthropy and mission to do good in the world. She’s the first female billionaire to join the Giving Pledge, and also runs her eponymous foundation that empowers women to make the world a better place through entrepreneurship — especially as a fellow woman entrepreneur who empowers leaders to do the same. I’d love to team up. There are so many more incredible leaders having a positive impact on our world. I love this question. I’m going to continue this as a running list.
The Future Is Now: Alok Jain and Kevin Brown of Quicklert On How Their Technological Innovation Will Keep Us More Safe
Alok: “Success requires effort”. To succeed in achieving your goals one must at least try. A few years ago when I told people that Kevin and I were going to create an enterprise-class software platform that will help us make our society a better and safer place for all, almost everyone told me that it would be impossible to take on this big venture as a small startup without much support. But one thing that kept me going was this, “I must at least try”.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Alok Jain and Kevin Brown.
Alok Jain is co-founder and serves as President and CEO of Quicklert, the most innovative company in the mass alerts and critical event detection, management, communication, and software applications platform (IAM) and artificial intelligent device platform (QBOX). Alok leads the company mission to create Safe-Smart organizations to keep people safe and business running, especially during emergencies.
Alok has a unique blend of 25 years of experience to innovate technology to solve complex customer needs while keeping things simple. He has successfully led new software products from conception to market by being able to anticipate and understand customer needs under his leadership and vision. The overarching focus of his professional career has always been on delivering a simplified end-user experience with purposeful, fully integrated technology, products, and services to fulfill business needs. As an entrepreneur, Alok’s vision and philosophy are reflected in his work to solve real-life customer challenges with simplified, integrated, complex, cutting-edge technology.
Under Alok’s leadership, several products have been created and commercialized and then acquired and integrated into the acquiring company’s product portfolio, which became some of the most successful solutions.
He co-founded IPcelerate that created the VoIP applications market that brought IP telephony application platform used by over 4,800+ enterprise customers delivering applications on over 8 million IP phones and mobile devices. These products include Unified Communication and Collaboration Applications Platform, Call Recording and Monitoring Solutions, and Social Networking Applications.
Alok’s always focused on bringing teams together and innovate to solve the safety, communication, and security challenges we face in our schools, hospitals, government offices, and business.
Kevin Brown co-founded Quicklert, Inc. with longtime friend and business partner Alok Jain, and is a seasoned executive, with over thirty years in the telecommunications and emergency response markets leading innovation. From the early days of voice and data integration, to networking, to voice-over-IP, Kevin has been selling, designing, developing and leading change and innovations with organizations such as ROLM, IBM, VMX, Intecom, Xerox, Selsius Systems and Cisco Systems. He was CEO for IPcelerate, an emergency response company before handing the reins over to Alok Jain, where they relaunched and rebranded the company as the Quicklert of today.
At Quicklert, Kevin focuses on building strategy to bring new innovations to the market, to customers and partners — helping organizations re-imagine what safety means inside their organization and helping them re-examine their internal policies, processes and expectations.
Kevin is passionate about safety and security, about saving lives in schools, hospitals, government offices, anywhere and everywhere in this new normal in which we all live. With family members who are teachers, nurses, doctors, government workers, his passion is very personal when it comes to safety in the workplace.
Kevin is an established author who has written books on networking, VOIP, and more recently, self-help books to help people achieve their purpose in life.
Thank you for joining us in this interview series. Can you please tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Alok: Kevin and I had 2 different career paths that collided when Cisco decided to enter the business of unified communications for the enterprise market. In 1990 they acquired a small company that Kevin was a part of, to change the way people thought about our phone systems in the enterprise market by bringing Data and Voice traffic on the same network, which grew to become a 10+ billion market segment for Cisco in a short span of time.
We both looked at the possibility of how this unified converged communication in the world could have a larger impact in society, from saving lives to opening new possibilities to create new applications and revenue streams, particularly in the healthcare and education space.
When Kevin and I got together, our goal was to help save lives and to create safer workplaces, from schools, hospitals, and other institutions which would drive the technologies, products, and solutions we will build while creating wealth for our employees and our shareholders.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Both: We put our technology into an Ohio School that helped troubled youth, where many safety concerns would arise. Our technology allowed the teachers to wear a panic device that geo-located them when they pressed it, calling for help. Alerts would immediately go throughout the school letting the right people know that a specific teacher was at a specific location asking for help. This solution became a tremendous deterrent to negative behavior, to such an extent that violent incidents were greatly reduced. They graduated their largest class that year and asked Kevin to be the commencement exercise speaker. This is a great example of how Quicklert’s safe-smart solutions can greatly impact lives.
Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Both: Quicklert is going to redefine how we have looked at making our schools, hospitals, universities, government offices, and our entertainment facilities, safer, smarter, and more intelligent places.
For example, we have created solutions that will change the concept of creating a safer school forever — not only in what they do, but more importantly, how they think! When you think about school shootings, and what suggestions and ideas schools are considering, it tells us they are trying to solve the problem with an old mindset. Schools have worked diligently on solutions to notify police and notify responders if shots are fired. They even have active shooter drills to prep students for what to do after shots are fired.
Our thinking is different. If you want to save lives, you have to think smarter. You have to stop the shooter from firing the weapon, or at least limit the number of bullets fired. That’s what we have worked on, and brought to the market. Schools can implement AI-powered cameras that detect guns before a single shot is even fired. They identify where the potential shooter is located. And they provide that information — visually — to the authorities, while notifying teachers, locking down doors, and reinforcing protocols — BEFORE a single bullet has been fired.
Best of all, the technology is embedded in the same speakers they use for bells and announcements. It can also be embedded in exit signs, stairwell signs, elevator signs, in clocks and digital signage throughout the school. This is what we mean by safe-smart: Making schools safer by making them “smarter” and making the technology that they use every day smarter. Smart signs, smart speakers, smart clocks, smart monitors, smart tablets.
How do you think this might change the world?
Both: Quicklert can help to make businesses and organizations safer. With our technology, businesses can find out about dangerous threats and events faster and they can respond more intelligently and faster.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
Both: Edge AI combined with connected devices is the key driver for what we are doing. Edge AI network and platforms will enable our engineers to think about creating the next generation of applications and solutions for this network that can detect threats, analyze data, provide alerts, notifications and information to people, while taking actions to improve and save lives.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
Both: It’s important that people being to think differently about the new “normals” that we live in, especially as we continue to navigate these unprecedented times. At the organization level, we are capitalizing on the company’s current growth and visibility to create new kinds of partnerships and associations of facility designers, engineers, leaders who will think differently about how they want to create a better, smarter, safer environment for everyone.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
Both: Our approach is to use a combination of marketing, social media, along with some traditional media visibility to gain initial traction and get the word out.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Alok: There are two people in my life that have helped me to achieve my success. My father, he has the amazing ability to to help people, especially even when he doesn’t even know the person he is helping. Folks are just drawn to him automatically when they need help with anything. Also, my friend and business partner Kevin Brown has been instrumental in my journey. I learned a lot of things from him, but the most important is the importance of listening — listening to customers, friends, family, colleagues and partners is key.
Kevin: Mike McGuire. I am a black man. I’ve been in the business since the early 1980’s. It was not always an easy time for a black man in the technology industry. There were many who wouldn’t even give me a chance. And when I did get a chance, I always felt like I was fighting an uphill battle. Mike changed all of that for me with a discussion he had with me back in 1983. He told me how the toughest thing for a business person to do was get attention — to get noticed. But he also told me that I did not have that problem because I was a black man. He taught me that when I go into a meeting, I am not what people expect. They are expecting someone of a different race, with a different face. Now I have their attention. What I do with it is up to me. He told me that they will remember me. If I knock it out of the park, they will remember me. If I fall flat on my face, they will remember me. They will remember me more than anyone else. Because I am not what they expected. That message energized me, and took away any excuse I could possibly have. It changed my business life forever.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Alok: I have a couple things in mind and I am still working on it
Kevin: My wife and I have started a foundation for single mothers and it is something I am passionate about.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Alok: I wish someone would have shared how difficult it is to build a business from the ground up — from having to work on a shoestring budget with no funding, finding great talents and resources coupled with the many sleepless nights to achieve what Kevin and I have in the last 2 years. However, we are in a great place now and are stronger than ever.
Kevin: I can only really think of one thing that I continue to re-hash in my mind. Be careful about hiring friends. Friends may be highly competent, they may seem to be perfect for the position you have. But there is an axiom I have learned from hiring friends, and that is this: A difficult fire is a dangerous hire. Hiring someone who — if they don’t work out — would be difficult to let go of is a dangerous hire. It can hurt an organization over time, and harm friendships. I really wish I had thought through that over the past decades.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Alok: Bringing the “cool factor” in math and science, making it one of the most desired subjects and activities among school kids, especially among younger girls. Helping parents to learn the beauty, art and creativity in science and math so that it becomes equally important as sports and entertainment in society at-large.
Kevin: My biggest passion is helping women that have faced abuse. Every woman who is hit or assaulted by a boyfriend or husband or whomever, is someone’s daughter. And every woman who is assaulted is looking for a way out and is in need of help. Sadly, far too many women don’t feel that they can ask for help — even from their parents. My goal someday is to build a sanctuary for these women — real homes for them to escape to, and heal. I see a movement of like-minded men and women who will join the cause and want to build homes to provide refuge for these women.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Alok: “Success requires effort”. To succeed in achieving your goals one must at least try. A few years ago when I told people that Kevin and I were going to create an enterprise-class software platform that will help us make our society a better and safer place for all, almost everyone told me that it would be impossible to take on this big venture as a small startup without much support. But one thing that kept me going was this, “I must at least try”.
Kevin: There are two that I use and live by daily. The first is this: You cannot complain about what you allow. The second is this: If you want something you have never had, you must do something you have never done. I am a change agent at heart. I look at problems that exist, and I ask why they exist, and what things would look like if they did NOT exist. Then I look to tackle them. I use this with family dynamics, friends, co-workers, work issues and customer issues.
Some very well-known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say?
Both: At Quicklert, we are helping organizations like, schools, hospitals, and government agencies create a safer and smarter workplace. Quicklert can help to detect threats and critical events by analyzing them, and providing the right information at the right time to improve and save lives. We are addressing a 100 billion-plus market space that has not changed or been touched in the last 30–40 years by introducing end-to-end fully integrated Edge-AI network platform, devices, and applications for hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living centers, schools, government agencies and more.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Please check out Quicklert.com to learn more about us.
Believe in yourself. Know that hard times bring out inner strength you didn’t even know you had. My breast cancer journey led me to specialize my Pilates practice in post-operative, restorative breast cancer remediation. My expertise with breast cancer clients led me to a position with a Bermuda wellness studio where I trained the Bermuda Police Service. My work with BPS leveraged my qualifications to my current Pilates job in Naples, which I love.
As a part of my series about “Grit: The Most Overlooked Ingredient of Success” I had the pleasure of interviewing Kelley Watson.
Kelley Watson is a Pilates instructor and business owner specializing her practice in restorative, post-operative, movement, particularly for sister breast cancer survivors. She has lived all over the United States earning master’s degrees and modeling and acting for television and independent films. She raised a family in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, IL where both her and her husband lost jobs, suffered major illnesses and watched their home move into pre-foreclosure, their lives weeks from literally being kicked to the curb. Kelley now lives in Naples, FL with her current husband, two new rescue cats, three old kayaks, and a mango tree.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what events have drawn you to this specific career path
GRIT: (noun)firmness of mind or spirit: unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
GRIT: (noun) doing what must be done. (Kelley Watson).
Over one year, during 2009–2010, in the thick of the Great Recession, I lost my job, started a business, and was diagnosed with breast cancer. My husband lost his commodities trader job and the family’s health insurance. A client filed a lawsuit against him, prompting SEC investigation, commensurate legal fees, and temporary loss of trading licenses. Later Rich was exonerated. The same year Rich was diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease. Our insurance company refused to pay those claims as well. We ended up on Medicaid. Rich Ubered and Lyfted, but I was the main support for the family. Rich became suicidal. He took out a $100,000 home equity line of credit without my knowledge and when we couldn’t pay the note, our three-story, five- bedroom, Tudor home went into pre-foreclosure. We free-fell a zillion rungs down the socioeconomic ladder to teeter on the brink of homeless. I moved to Bermuda.
Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
I had no choice. I had two kids, Son Patrick, 13, and daughter Catherine, 11 ½ , to raise. In the choke-hold of job loss, medical expenses, and age discrimination, there was no room for self-pity. My children were, and still are, my rock, my motivation, my salvation. I had to raise them.
So how did Grit lead to your eventual success? How did Grit turn things around?
I never gave up. I knew my situation was temporary and that we all would get through it. I set goals like: (a) Beat breast cancer; and (b) Raise my children, and I never stopped working toward those ends. It takes a lot less energy to look forward than to turn around and look back. Hockey legend Wayne Gretsky once said: I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been. And that was my living attitude. The bank could take my house, but not my brain, or my bond with my children. Corporate Bottom Line vs. Maternal Bottomless Love. No contest.
Based on your experience, can you share 5 pieces of advice about how one can develop Grit? (Please share a story or example for each)
You are your own best asset. Learn how to up-skill or re-skill. At the age of 53 I started a modeling career which segued into independent film roles and appearances on network television. I have always loved radio, and had experience hosting on air shows. I am consistently told I have a beautiful voice. One summer I took voice acting classes in Chicago, cut a demo CD, and sent it to agents. A year went by, and nothing. I returned to the studio and recorded another, a better demo, and sent it to agents. Then I got the nicest rejection letters: “We like your sound but we have talent who already sound like you. Please resubmit in 3–4 months”. Awesome! Then Chicago-based DeSanti Talent called me. They had just purchased an agency, and were moving file cabinets when my demo flew out of a drawer! They listened to it and signed me. With DeSanti representing me I was able to access national casting sites like Casting Networks, Inc., Actors Access, Inc. and Backstage, Inc. I now had an ‘in” to “The Biz”. My big break came when I submitted to a Danish reality show entitled “Denmark Adventure” where Americans spend summer in Denmark to find their Danish family.” I qualified. I am part Viking, part English, 100% Imperialist; so genetically predisposed for Grit. My “Denmark Adventure” submission photo launched my modeling career which catapulted into film and television work. My master’s degree is in public administration (MPA). Go figure.
Believe in yourself. Know that hard times bring out inner strength you didn’t even know you had. My breast cancer journey led me to specialize my Pilates practice in post-operative, restorative breast cancer remediation. My expertise with breast cancer clients led me to a position with a Bermuda wellness studio where I trained the Bermuda Police Service. My work with BPS leveraged my qualifications to my current Pilates job in Naples, which I love.
Believe in the Law of Inspired Action. The Law of Inspired Action, one of the 12 Spiritual Laws, states that we must actively pursue our goals and take inspired steps toward the thing we want. I wanted to get us out of poverty so badly that I worked three jobs and skipped dinner for years. It won’t hurt you to be hungry. Hunger is motivating. It took my moving to Bermuda, my daughter’s senior year of high school, to get my husband motivated. It worked. He listed the house. I returned to the States to sign the paperwork for the sale, literally weeks before a date in Probate.
Work hard. I routinely left my house at 7:00 AM, taught at my nearby studio, commuted to teach at inner-city University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and then commuted to teach at a south loop studio until 9:00 PM. I returned, through the violent gang-infested west side, home at 10:00 PM. The next day I started the process all over again, squeezing in auditions and bookings where I could. I coached skating. Still. It wasn’t enough. Then I started a second master’s degree — this one in public health (MPH) which was stupid because I had aged out of the job market.
Stay strong. There were times when I didn’t think I was going to make it. One time I broke down in the checkout line at Trader’s Joe’s and had an impromptu intervention. I spent way too much on the third floor with my books and three rescue cats. Then I thought of my teenage children and pulled myself together. I thought of how I had to be an example for them; to stay strong, to be resilient, to be a role model and hide my anger and angst. There is no honor in being poor. It sucks. It means being on Medicaid and waiting three weeks to get a cast for a broken foot, or waiting three months for a place on the University of Illinois at Chicago Dental School wait list. Or skipping dinner for three years. Won’t hurt you to be hungry, my dad always said. I told my children, if we do lose the house, it’s not where you are, but who you are; the world can’t take what you hold inside.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped you when things were tough? Can you share a story about that?
I owe my success in part to my late mother’s twin, my Aunt Chris, and her second husband, my step uncle Bernie, who consider my children their grandchildren and would hang the moon for them.
Auntie cared for our kids through my breast cancer ordeal: through the seven core needle biopsies, the multiple MRIs and the lumpectomy surgery. My kids were so scared. Up until then I had been an athlete, entrepreneur, and provider, and it unhinged them to see me compromised. Insurance paid 80% after a five figure deductible. I would like to tell the misogynistic insurance company fucks that breast cancer affects not just the woman, but her whole family. There are real people behind those actuary tables that make them so much money. Were it not for Chris and Bernie subsidizing occasional Pea Pod delivery, buying new school clothes, and expensing their hockey, all to foster and secure a sense of normalcy, of stability, of equality among their privileged peers. We had to keep up appearances.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Imagine a day when you were unable to do normal activities: drive your car, shop for groceries, get coffee out of the cupboard, brush your hair, wash a load of laundry, kick a soccer ball to your kid, or pick up a grandbaby or walk your dog. That is every day for most of my clients. I fix people. I restore strength to muscles, bring flexibility to ligaments, increase range of motion to joints, and build balance.
When I have had a bad day, and we all have them, I remember a Bermuda police officer client with a hip injury thanking me for helping him reach his goal: of dancing with his bride at his wedding.
My work is fulfilling and gratifying. I am blessed to have found my calling.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I am writing my memoir: “Downwardly Mobile or DOMO Drama” that tells the story of my family’s degeneration form upper crust to underbelly of society.
“DOMO Drama” is a timely, relatable, roller-coaster ride of a story that will resonate with every father who has lost a job, with every mother who has juggled career, appearance, and children, and with every American who viscerally believed in the American Dream, and found the patina of that promise to have faded. As America becomes more divided, as income stratification broadens, and as a greater subset of the population feels socially and financially disenfranchised, I think there is a deep rooted anger, and a ground swelling of frustration toward a non-representative government and a toxic capitalism. One can do everything right and still get screwed in the end.
Here is an equation for Jerome Powell and his crony economic advisors:
(MB) (0) + (0) (EO>50) = 0
Where MB = Medical Bills and EO = Employment Opportunity over Age 50
What advice would you give to other executives or founders to help their employees to thrive?
Invest in human capital. Weave the First Law of Spirituality, The Law of Divine Oneness, into the fabric of your corporate culture: everything in our universe is interconnected, every choice, word, desire and belief you have will also have an impact on the world and on the people in your life. Be a good person. Don’t cheat your most senior, loyal, and highest ranking revenue producer out of commission. Recognize the talents and skills of your employees and nurture them. Your employees, your talent, your team members, are individuals, not numbers. They are not just a line item on a tax return.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I am an avid proponent of the environment, but Greta Thornburg, has beaten me to a Green Movement.
I do, however, have a few ideas for health care reform:
Allow the deductible to rollover, not start over, every year. Once the deductible is reached, it is reached. Period. The meter doesn’t reset to zero every year.
Require transparency in costs. If health care is a market good, and is publicly traded, then why
Don’t consumers know the cost of those goods? It doesn’t make sense. We are blindly paying.
Require those with behavioral-based high risk conditions to pay an increase in premiums commensurate with the increase in services for their condition.
According to the CDC: “…….most chronic diseases can be prevented by eating well, being physically active, avoiding tobacco and excessive drinking, and getting regular health screenings. “ and that chronic illnesses are he leading causes of death and disability, and the leading drivers of the country’s 3.5 Trillion in health care costs. Sixty percent of American adults have at least one chronic disease and 40% have at least two or more. Why don’t we create disincentives to chronic conditions? (Sources: https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/pdf/infographics/chronic-disease-H.pdfand .
I propose the “Movement for Provider Accountability and Personal Responsibility.”
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”
Wayne Gretsky , Canadian NHL ice hockey player
99, Edmonton Oilers, Centerman, 1979–1999.
Don’t be afraid to take chances, to ask questions, to fail. Forge ahead, one foot in front of the other despite setbacks. Life lessons from skating: Fall. Get up. A metaphor for life.
BIg ideas take time: all ideas take longer than you think to germinate and grow. I want things to happen overnight and I keep being reminded that they don’t. A lot of building a business is patiently doing your job while you wait for things to happen.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Ben Lamm.
Ben Lamm is a serial technology entrepreneur dedicated to making the impossible possible. He builds intelligent, disruptive software companies that help the Fortune 500 innovate with breakthrough technologies. Benis the founder and CEO of Hypergiant. Previously, hewas the founder and CEO of Conversable, the leading conversational intelligence platform acquired by LivePerson, the founder and CEO of Chaotic Moon Studios, the global creative technology studio acquired by Accenture and mobile casual gaming company Team Chaos, acquired by Zynga.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you please tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I have been an entrepreneur since before I was legally able to work. I started by outsourcing my chores to my neighbors as a kid for part of my allowance. It’s just something that is in my blood, I guess. So, as a teenager I started to figure out ways to build businesses and for me that just meant companies that were at the intersection of technology trends and consumer needs. I have been obsessed with emerging technology trends my entire life. I built an e-learning business, a video game company, an automated conversational intelligence business and a creative technology studio. Now, I run Hypergiant where we built AI products and solutions for Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.
Can you please share with us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
This one is tough… I feel as though I’ve lived a lifetime during each of my businesses. One story that stands out to me is when I was in Palm Beach for a meeting with Tony Robbins. We were scheduled to meet with him for 30 minutes at his home and that 30 minutes turned into over 3 hours. I was completely blown away by the prepwork he did before our meeting. He is insanely busy yet he found the time to research me and all my previous companies and he was 100% present during the entire 3 hours. And as I left his wife, Sage, came right up to my face and said “If you live too much in the future you’re full of anxiety and if you live too much in the past you’re full of regret. You must live in the present.” It was out of the blue, but really resonated with me and was definitely one of the most memorable meetings in my life. Side note: there were also slides, bowling alleys, candy shops, and more, but that’s for another time. I’m now lucky enough to have Tony as an investor in Hypergiant and advisor.
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
Socrates once famously said “wisdom begins in wonder” and I live by this.
I also practice Shoshin (known as “beginner’s mind”). It is a concept that comes from Zen Buddhism and refers to having a lack of preconceptions about a subject. This way of thinking has me asking “why” to just about everything — and in doing that — I gain a deeper curiosity and a deeper understanding across the board.
Lately, passion, hard work and the ability to execute matters more than any skill or talent. We all have ideas and dreams. The key is working harder than most to bring those to fruition.
Ok thank you for that. Let’s now move to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change The World”?
I am passionate about combating climate change so my team created a bioreactor with one secret ingredient: Algae. Research shows that algae production is a highly effective means of atmospheric carbon reduction, outperforming trees by a factor of 10. Since our ability to affect change is driven by our ability to understand our impact, the future of climate change solutions must be highly connected and data driven. Our bioreactor comes paired with a mobile application that provides status of the bioreactor, detects anomalies, and provides current and historical reporting of CO2 sequestration and biomass production. A cloud based infrastructure connects the bioreactors, allowing them to learn from each other, optimize for new environments, and provide global insights.
How do you think this will change the world?
This idea won’t change the world, but it’s ideas like this that will. It’s about the pursuit of science and collection of us all working together that changes the world. My hope is that our bioreactor is just one piece that helps to change the world.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
No, we’re up against a ticking clock. I don’t see any drawbacks from inspiring others to change the future and push to solve our biggest existential threat, which is climate change.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
Not exactly a “tipping point” per se… I was reading studies on carbon capture and kept thinking “why isn’t climate change easier?” That’s when we dug into researching algae and how we can use AI to make climate change easier.
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
Like everything in life, it takes focus and resources. There are no barriers for the technology — we need folks who have the desire to pursue it and fund it.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
BIg ideas take time: all ideas take longer than you think to germinate and grow. I want things to happen overnight and I keep being reminded that they don’t. A lot of building a business is patiently doing your job while you wait for things to happen.
Great ideas take longer: I used to think that every other idea I had was a good idea. And, I would chase them and build them. However, as I’ve built companies and scaled ideas, I’ve also realized that the really good ideas take longer to grow. Sometimes you need to push out bad ideas, say goodbye to okay ideas, leave behind profitable ideas in search of something that is really great.
All ideas require great marketing: All ideas require good marketing and great brand building. This is something I’ve sort of inherently known from a young age but I’ve continued to learn more and more as I’ve watched other companies try to succeed. I’ve seen amazing ideas die because they couldn’t get traction. And, I’ve seen okay ideas explode because they’ve gotten great marketing traction. I wish it was different but the truth is that some “good ideas” are good because you’ve heard about them.
More is more: It’s human nature to want more of everything. We want to earn more, to learn more, to create more and so on… Don’t hold back. Chase it all.
It’s a Brave New World, sort of: Business doesn’t change as quickly as you want. So constantly keep in mind that even though it’s a brave new world, whatever you’re experiencing has probably happened before in history. And, as such the best way to predict the future is really to understand the past.
Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
My big success habits are:
Gut check: Trust your gut. If it feels wrong, it probably is
Make sure to focus on your health: Drink a lot of sparkling water (honestly, water over alcohol), eat mostly plant based, find time to do something you love every day, and get enough sleep.
Mindset: Mental health is just as important as physical health. Meditation, journaling, steam showers, conversations with close friends and family, whatever it may be, find what works for you and make it a habit.
It’s not magic, it’s just work: Sometimes it’s just that simple. Work harder than anyone else you know
Show up: No matter how tired or busy you are just show up. Every connection and conversation opens a door for growth and opportunities
Always stay 1 step ahead: Read, explore and listen — predicting trends will come easy
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Invest in women and men that really want to make an impact and change the world. Whether it’s creating a new industry, redefining an old industry, or trying to push humanity forward, spend time understanding the people behind the idea, and not just the idea. The people behind the ideas are what make the ideas. Try understanding them, their vision, and motivations behind their ideas — not just their go to market strategy or product/market fit. You are betting on people not a secret recipe. Get to actually know them and ask questions that matter.
Practice “I AM” statements daily. This tip I’m passing on from Adele Tevlin, who has helped me develop a healthier, more resilient mindset. She explained that the subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between now, before and later. So if you want to grow some aspect of yourself or create some change around you (two things resilient people do masterfully), start and end your day by articulating who you want to become and what you want to accomplish as if you are already that person doing it. Like the flip it tip, this habit can help you jump into things you don’t feel quite ready for yet, so they become fuel for building your resilience.
In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of resilience among successful business leaders. Resilience is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Jess Sherman. Jess is an international speaker, award winning nutritionist, and family health educator specializing in helping children with learning differences, anxiety, ADHD, and mood disorders feel better so they function better. She is the author of Raising Resilience: Take the stress out of feeding your family and love your life, and creator of The Resilience Roadmap™.
She works with doctors, social workers, teachers and parents to nourish the resilience of children, and she reaches audiences around the world through her book and talks, her virtual community, and her online coaching program. She is also a former teacher and a mother trying her best to raise resilient children. She blogs at www.JessSherman.com
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
I’ve always been interested in the process of becoming who we are.
In University as a theatre major, I was fascinated by how a writer and director could help actors make characters come alive, and ultimately create an experience for an audience. Since I wasn’t drawn to theatre as a career, I transferred this interest into adventure education which was all about creating experiences to expand comfort zones, find new personal boundaries, and develop resilience.
I worked with all kinds in the outdoors — youth at risk, adults, psychiatric patients, corporate groups, private school kids, street kids — and this work eventually took me to teaching, where I tried to do the same kind of experiential education, but with high school kids in the classroom.
Up to this point I was mostly interested in how experience and social context could shape people, but about 5 years into my classroom teaching career that shifted.
I noticed that my students didn’t feel well. Too struggled with behaviour and mood, they were tired, hyper, anxious, had trouble learning and focusing… kids were struggling more than they were thriving and we spent a significant amount of time just trying to help them get through their days.
“How can kids become their best self if they don’t feel well in their bodies?” I wondered.
Too many kids were on metaphorical crutches — medications, accommodations — and I started to wonder about some of the internal forces that shape people.
I decided to take what I thought would be a short sabbatical from teaching to study nutrition with a particular interest in how food and stress affect child development, mood and learning.
When I learned how things like food and nutrients, hormones, chemicals and gut bugs influence how we think, feel, and behave my mind was blown wide open to new possibilities for how we could help kids.
I didn’t go back to teaching. Instead, I started to teach the worried, exhausted and frustrated parents of these struggling kids ways to improve how their kids feel, so they learn and function better. That’s what I wrote my book about, and that’s what I teach today through our programs.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
I think my circuitous path has been quite interesting. I’ve followed my nose into things that seem so completely disconnected — from directing theatre productions to dog sled racing in the arctic; from working with kids in India to teaching whitewater canoeing on Canadian rivers; from teaching high school English to teaching parents about nutrition.
The lesson for me is that as long as you are able to maintain a general curiosity and interest in what you’re doing, you’re doing the right thing. Skills are transferable; curiosity and enthusiasm are something deeper, and to develop that you just need to keep doing things that feel exciting.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
It think our methodology is quite unique. We don’t just teach about nutrition and health; we also help families and kids feel more connected.
I remember the family that helped me make this shift from teaching about something to feeling something. It was about 3 years into my clinical practice.
A mom came to me after being told her son had 35 food sensitivities including bread, cheese, yogurt and cucumbers, which were the only foods he would actually eat. She was beyond stressed to learn that his favourite foods may be contributing to his ADHD and anger outbursts, and was terrified of the tension and stress removing them would cause.
So our first meeting was really tense. She did not want to change her son’s diet but that’s what she had come to me for. It’s the first time I think I really recognized how issues around food can really split families apart if you don’t approach it right.
This mom was so stressed, that I suggested we leave the food for now and start by considering other aspects of nourishment first. Her shoulders dropped, so I knew I was on to something.
We started by figuring out how to get consistent with after-school attachment time, and getting him to bed earlier with a consistent sleep routine. We started some foundational nutritional supplements to support focus, memory, neurotransmitters and digestive health. We talked about which foods we could add into the diet and how they could talk about food at the dinner table. We got chemicals out of the house and simplified the schedule so the family could share meals together and he could have time outdoors every day.
Once everyone felt more connected and well rested, and once I had taught the mom a bit more about the effect of food on inflammation in her son’s body, replacing those problematic foods with more nourishing options was a much easier transition.
We do sometimes need to take problematic foods out of a child’s diet so they feel and function better, but we need to do so in a way that keeps relationships intact and without causing more trauma and stress for the family. So I think the way we hold attachment and nourishment at the core of what we do, and consider mental/emotional health and physical health as equals, sets us apart.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
There’s a three way tie between my two parents and my husband.
I include my parents because their unwavering support has been critical. I would not have been able to live my life as I have, embrace the experiences I did, and get to where I am now, had they not found that elusive line between offering support and guidance, and trusting me to make my own decisions.
I also couldn’t do what I do without my partner in crime Andy. I know many women feel they tension between their mothering and their career. I’ve felt that too, but Andy has been a true partner in raising our kids. Back when they were babies he and I both made career choices that allowed us some flexibility, so we could be present for each other and our kids while also being able to each pursue what we’re passionate about. It’s been a stressful juggle at times for sure, but I’m not sure I could run my business while also mothering the way I want to mother without that partnership.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
I think of resilience as our capacity to respond to stress. A resilient person can not only manage stress well, but can also grow stronger because of it.
In terms of characteristics and traits, I think my work with nutrition gives me a bit of a different perspective than most.
A resilient person is typically thought of as someone possessing a certain fortitude they’ve built as they’ve engaged in experiences and made choices. Resilient people are able to fail forward and stay calm in turbulent times; they find opportunity where others crumble. They move through fear and grow from it rather than let it derail or stagnate them.
That all may be true, but in writing my book I found out that developing and maintaining that kind of resilience requires a healthy body.
Our response to stress is a very chemical process involving neurotransmitters, hormones and nutrients. So I think another trait of resilient people is that they know how to use things like food, movement and sleep to improve their capacity to respond to and grow from stress. If they didn’t, they would think less clearly, feel more anxious, be more tired, be less adaptable.
The mental/emotional aspect and the physical aspect of resilience are actually two sides of the same coin and I’m fascinated by how they interact.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
The first person I think of is Oprah. I remember hearing her speak about her early days when she was fired from TV and feeling unsure about her next move. Even at that young age an openness to possibility seemed intuitive to her. She was able to find opportunity in what seemed like failure, which is a trait of resilience that she continued to flush out over and over in her interviews with successful people — the idea that life happens for you, not to you.
I also think of her because as her fame grew, and as the expectations on her grew, I think she quickly noticed the importance of attending to one’s health — in mind, body and spirit. I can only assume (having never met her), that if she hadn’t walked that talk — taking care of her own mind, body and spirit — that she would not have grown into the person she needed to be to be where she is today.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
This has been a really interesting question to reflect on. I grew up with parents who, while they might have thought something I wanted to do was impossible, never told me straight up that it was. I’ve also worked in organizations and under leaders who were consistently open to possibility (as long as they made at least a little sense).
As I think back on it now, I think this developed in me a curiosity and resourcefulness to figure things out and find a new perspective when I saw something wasn’t working. It helped me become solution oriented and think creatively.
I’m sure people have doubted me and my ideas at times as I’ve made some questionable decisions — traveling on my own through Asia was one; building my own home with my husband and quitting my good paying job to start my own business when my children were babies were others. But I don’t think I’ve ever been told straight up that something I wanted to do was impossible.
I guess I’ve managed to surround myself with people who tell me the exact opposite — that anything is possible as long as you’re willing and able to become the person you need to be to make it happen.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
When I was pregnant with my third child I had a bit of a breakdown.
I remember vividly — it was August and I was sitting on the porch of our beautiful homestead. We had built this log home ourselves, mostly from reclaimed materials. It was powered by the sun and heated with wood we chopped. It was what Andy and I had dreamed up the day we first met.
My two kids — aged 2 and 4 at the time — were playing in our vegetable garden and I was on the phone, bawling to my good friend who lived too far away.
From the outside, we were living an idyllic and romantic homesteading life. But on the inside I was crumbling. I felt isolated and lonely and the self sufficient way we were living just didn’t make sense to me anymore. I needed community.
I consider it a setback because it was a hard turning point. We were moving steadily in one direction and then realized what we actually needed was somewhere else. We made the excruciating decision to leave our dream because it wasn’t our dream anymore — and we started again in a completely new environment.
The experience was a blunt wake-up call to how important community is to our wellbeing as humans. This idea of breaking out of loneliness and isolation has become a central part of how I do the work I do with parents.I know how scary and unsettling it feels to want something that seems out of reach, but I also know how powerful it is to make a decision to change something that’s not working and try something different.
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
I think the time I traveled to Asia on my own when I was 24 helped. I had been in school for 19 straight years and felt an undeniable urge to explore and experience some of the places I had read about in books and papers. I think I also craved a bit of instability and adventure.
I remember sitting with my two girlfriends, Becky and Catherine, in a restaurant in New Delhi. We were laughing about how unbelievable it was that we had come to be there together. Five months earlier we had planned this moment from our Montreal apartment. I would be 2 months into my travels and they would be just starting. I would pick them up at the New Delhi airport and we would head to the mountains of Nepal together.
And there we were. Sipping sweet milky chai while the chaos of the market vendors whirled around us.
I felt on top of the world at that moment. Like I had overcome each hurdle one step at a time. I had navigated the train system. I had survived the buses. I had found my way from the South to the North. I had gotten terribly sick and had gotten better. I had fought off strange men and figured out how to take a rickshaw ride without getting charged double. I had found the airport and I had a place for us to stay.
I felt resilient, strong, adaptable and courageous. Like anything was possible.
Now that I’m a parent I can imagine how nervous my parents must have been sending their daughter off on her own like that. But it was an experience I was able to build on. It taught me I could do hard things and figure stuff out. It taught me to trust my intuition and stay alert. If I could figure it out through Asia, I could figure it out anywhere. That stuck with me.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
Resilience is like a muscle — we’re born with a certain reserve and a capacity to build more, but our choices around how we live, eat and think determine how it develops.
So I don’t have steps, I have habits — and I’ve chosen tips to build physical resilience as well as mental resilience because, in the end, they are one in the same.
1.Get good sleep. So much is happening while we sleep, and when we don’t get enough our resilience starts to erode — memory starts to fail, we get edgy, foggy, can’t make decisions. Even our physical resilience — our appetite, weight, skin, immune system and heart health start to change when we don’t get enough sleep. Try to keep your sleep/wake cycles as closely aligned with the sun cycle as you can. And put away those pesky electronics at least hour or even two before bed. You need your sleep for your body and mind to function well!
2. Flip it. Shout out here goes to a woman named Jen Gottlieb who explained to me how this works. I actually have it on a sticky note taped to my office wall to remind me. The brain does a strange thing when you try to do something new or scary — it thinks of all the reasons why it’s not a good idea, is going to be bad, shouldn’t happen, you should put it off. One thing resilient people do well is fail forwards — they try new things because they know that whatever happens, there will be a learning opportunity in it. “Flipping it” is a reminder to flip that negative self talk and see the positive potential in scary things so you don’t let fear stand in your way. You do them anyway, so you can grow from them.
3. Hydrate. Sounds simple, and it is. Our body is mostly water and our brains are especially thirsty. I struggle with this one, to be honest, but I feel noticeably more mentally sharp, energetic, optimistic, open to possibility and decisive when I’m well hydrated.
4. Practice “I AM” statements daily. This tip I’m passing on from Adele Tevlin, who has helped me develop a healthier, more resilient mindset. She explained that the subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between now, before and later. So if you want to grow some aspect of yourself or create some change around you (two things resilient people do masterfully), start and end your day by articulating who you want to become and what you want to accomplish as if you are already that person doing it. Like the flip it tip, this habit can help you jump into things you don’t feel quite ready for yet, so they become fuel for building your resilience.
5. Eat the right diet. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to diet, but what I can tell you about your diet is this — real, whole food from the earth fuels both your mental and your physical resilience. So, if you (or your kids) feel anxious, depressed, foggy, stressed, are getting lethargic, quick to anger, tired, sick a lot, or can’t focus or make decisions, if you (or your kids) don’t feel as resilient as you want to feel, get some functional tests done to find out if your cells are getting the fuel they need to function.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
It would be a movement to change how we help kids when they start struggling with mood, behavior and learning.
Over the past 50 years we have seen a 400% increase in chronic illness among children, including mental illness with anxiety, depression and suicide climbing steadily. Between 2018–2019 we saw a doubling of ADHD making it the most prevalent childhood psychiatric disorder and putting kids at greater risk for dropout, mental health disorders, substance abuse, involvement in the justice system, accidents and injuries, and even early death.
What we’re doing to support kids isn’t working and our supports are cracking under the pressure.
The movement I want to fuel is already simmering — it’s to recognize that the body, brain and environment are connected and that to improve health in one we need to consider the others.
It’s a movement to end the fear, guilt, helplessness and shame that surface when parents start to see their kids struggle with mood, behavior and learning, and instead connect families with functional tests so they can relieve the underlying stressors in their child’s body and improve their stress tolerance (aka raise resilience).
I agree when you said, Resilience is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market. This is why I do the work that I do — so each child’s resilience can fully blossom from the inside-out and from the outside-in and they can grow from, instead of be debilitated by, stress.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
I’d love to sit down with Brené Brown. I think she and I would have an exciting conversation about connection, courage, being seen, and about the lived experiences of families and kids and how to create safe and brave spaces so kids are set up for a bright, bold future.
I always appreciate her insights.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Facebook: @jessshermanRHN
Instagram: @jess.sherman_raisingresilience
LinkedIn: @in/jess-sherman
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
The Future Is Now: Eran Ben Shmuel of Juganu On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up How We Disinfect Surfaces
Your initial ideas about entrepreneurship are likely naive. The real world is much more difficult and complex. — The steps from inventing to developing to market launch is challenging. You must learn and adapt quickly.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs I had the pleasure of interviewing Eran Ben Shmuel, CEO & Cofounder of Juganu.
Eran has over 15 years of experience in leading cutting-edge, high-tech companies from zero to mass production. He is an expert in solid-state electronics and high-speed control systems. Eran holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and Physics from the Technion — Israel Institute of Technology as well as numerous patents in Physics and Algorithms.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
After my career as a classical violinist, I wanted to find ways technology could be used to help people. I began pursuing degrees in electrical engineering and physics at Israel’s Technion University, which is widely compared to MIT in the United States.
When I finished my studies, I teamed up with a longtime friend, Alexander Bilchinsky, to start our first company and we found great early success in our work with Goji (then RF Dynamics) and the Vection oven. It was dubbed the “magic oven” because it used radio waves to heat food in a fraction of the time it takes for a conventional microwave oven.
We then created Juganu in 2011, where our mission has been to transform public spaces into safe environments through innovative light technology ever since.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I’ve been lucky to see how technology can impact some of the most fundamental parts of people’s lives.
I remember when we first connected our system in Vera Cruz, Mexico. I was fortunate to spend time with some residents after the system was set up. What left a deep impression on me was the feeling of safety a well-lit space gave them. I was also struck by realizing how priceless that feeling of safety is.
What people can accomplish while feeling safe is incredible. It meant that the city’s parks and roads could be used for their actual intention. For example, people felt comfortable walking at night with their children, and that presence of people made other people feel safe.
This feeling of safety meant that people were happier. For me, this showed that technology–when used well and properly–has the potential to make our society happier.
Can you tell us about the Cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
As the global COVID-19 pandemic persists, people want solutions that will help them return to some semblance of normalcy. Juganu’s patented indoor lighting system, called J.Protect, offers continuous protection that inactivates 99.9% of pathogens and can be operated remotely from an app.
The fact that the system inactivates bacteria and viruses including SARS CoV-2 has become critical as scientists have found that the virus can survive up to 28 days on surfaces. Plus, since it’s an overhead lighting system, J.Protect also works well against airborne pathogens.
The light has two disinfection modes: Allegro, which is continuous and can be used safely while people are present in a room; and Presto, which is accelerated to disinfect an area within minutes once cleared of people (i.e. after closing).
Juganu is also the only company to develop a circadian overhead lighting system that promotes well-being through the recreation of natural light shifts, based on sunrise and sunset.
So, we’re not just using the best lighting; we’re exposing people to the safest, healthiest light possible.
How do you think this might change the world?
Our lights are 2×2 feet and can be easily installed in basically any business with an indoor space — movie theatres, hospitals, retail stores, restaurants, schools, airports, etc. The list goes on.
We’re all empathetic to the fact that businesses must stay open to survive. J.Protect can help business owners open doors while ensuring spaces are continually sanitized — all from the lights above their heads.
Along with creating a healthier world, one of our primary goals for Juganu is to create a more connected world through light. As IoT and innovations like 5G evolve, our technology will act as a platform and have the capability to bridge us toward concepts like “future” or “smart” cities. That is our long-term dream for our technology.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
Protecting the health and safety of our communities is a core principle behind Juganu’s entire mission. While we do use AI and deep tech to automate processes, we do not and never will infringe on people’s privacy or sell personal data and information, which many of our customers find reassuring.
It’s also very important for people to understand that COVID-19 isn’t the first time a virus has impacted our daily lives, and it won’t be the last.
Pathogens and bacteria are always present. Our society will continue to be vulnerable to pandemics like the coronavirus. While COVID-19 is certainly an inflection point and global focus right now, we believe our J.Protect technology will be relevant long after this pandemic ends.
Now more than ever, it’s important for people and businesses to approach the future with this thinking to ensure they’re well-equipped to stay protected for the long-term.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
Alexander and I were the inventors of a unique lighting solution used for regular, high quality lighting. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, we saw the incredible impact it was having on our everyday lives and set out to create something truly original and helpful.
Our creation became a potential solution: a blend of lights that stop the spread of the virus and other pathogens.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
While we remain focused on offering a solution to businesses and public facilities to get through the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve been working closely with potential partners worldwide to adopt the J.Protect system.
We already have support from incredible partners like Qualcomm and NCR Corporation and are seeing demand across the world, specifically in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and Asia.
Ultimately, we hope hospitals, schools, malls, restaurants, hotels, and other heavily-trafficked spaces will adopt J.Protect as their primary lighting solution.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
We’ve been working with strategic partners to introduce Juganu to U.S. media as we work to bring our lighting technology to help those businesses operate safely during COVID-19 and beyond.
We’ve also started to build an active social media presence on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter to ensure we’re connecting with business leaders and stakeholders who could benefit from the J.Protect technology.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
The first person that I would say is Ayal Shiran, from Viola. Ayal was introduced to me as an investor, but since then has become a well of knowledge, experience and advice.
The second person is Julian Brodsky. Every conversation we have is a window into the mind of someone who is doing many great things that has brought knowledge to the world. I am grateful for the time that I have to speak to him and the fact that he is on our board.
He is encouraging and inspiring and always gives me a lot to think about in regards to how I can be better.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
For us, bringing goodness to the world is not just measured in CSR initiatives; it’s a fundamental value of or organization. Juganu has created a platform that allows cities to serve their residents better.
This platform, called The FOAM, transforms public spaces into safe, fully-connected WIFI enabled areas that can be used by residents to their full potential. We do this by connecting thousands of digital nodes to our streetlights, which create a publicly accessible invisible network.
I think about the multiplier effect this has. When we invest in public goods, whether that’s transport or libraries or even parks, we provide people with better and increased opportunities.
Increasing public access to resources goes a long way in reducing socio-economic gaps. The outbreak of COVID-19 has proven that access to resources plays a crucial role in ongoing success and development. For example, with Zoom classes, access to education is linked to our access to WIFI. And just like a public library: when we fail to provide this, we leave people behind. Parks and outdoor spaces are critical to our physical and mental health but having access to them is often regarded as a luxury.
What if we could rethink the urban environment?
What if city parks were used as open learning or working spaces?
What if university students could use parks as open study zones?
What if micro businesses could do parts of their work outside?
When our streets and spaces are well-lit, they act as a magnet for people. Not only does it reduce accidents, but families have a place to go for a walk in the evening while women feel more comfortable exercising alone in the evenings.
Essentially, having these types of public spaces increases our sense of safety, improves health, reduces crime and provides more possibilities for people. For me, providing the foundations on which people can build, learn, play and live brings goodness to the world.
I also learned from being a touring classical violinist that you need to be serious and continuously work and practice for a reward. You also need to stay focused. Even if you’ve achieved a superior level of quality, you must remain tenacious in working at your craft. Even after all that practice and work, you must perform well and bring real value.
This is similar to the mission of Juganu. We want to bring real value to the market. Our technology offers performance at the highest level and maintains that consistency in quality — and we’ve made it incredibly cost-effective so most businesses can afford it.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Your initial ideas about entrepreneurship are likely naive. The real world is much more difficult and complex. — The steps from inventing to developing to market launch is challenging. You must learn and adapt quickly.
As an entrepreneur you should have two eyes on the world. — One eye should look at the future because you’re creating something that doesn’t exist. Look far ahead and figure out how you’re going to get there. — Your other eye should look at the world that exists today and how you can bridge the current challenges. This may be the toughest task as an entrepreneur.
Choose your teams and partners carefully. — Entrepreneurship is a team sport. Your partners are critical to your success
Your life isn’t just the technology you create. — The technology you create is just the tip of the iceberg. You’ll need to handle everything else in a way that is smart and realistic. Be sure whatever you create has real value.
No one will prepare you for the situations you’ll find yourself in. That said, oftentimes there is no right or wrong answer.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
When you create things, not just technology, create them through a lens of improving the world. Use your creativity, time and effort to make the world better for more people.
Use the best parts of our accumulated knowledge to push the world forward and to give people more opportunities. Make things as accessible as you can to help people access more and be healthier.
We created Juganu in this image. I believe when you use technology for good, you can make a huge impact on people every day. I really want to create technologies that provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I failed a lot. Don’t be afraid to fail, because you will fail. When you do fail, choose to see the good in it. See what you can learn from the failure and build yourself up again.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Juganu’s mission is to create a safer, more connected world through light. Our patented lighting tech transforms public spaces into safe environments by inactivating pathogens like SARs-CoV 2 — the virus that causes COVID-19.
Our tech has been clinically validated and EPA-registered in the U.S., and we’ve recently been backed by esteemed investors like Comcast Ventures and Viola Growth. We have rapidly-growing offices in the US, Mexico and Brazil and are working with partners to make our tech available around the world.
Help us not just triumph over the coronavirus pandemic, but to create a safe, more connected world that will transform our society as we know it!
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can follow Juganu at the Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter handles below!
The Future Is Now: Trent Mayberry of UST Global On How Their Technological Innovations Will Shake Up Digital Transformation
Sometimes simple is better. The design principle “keep it simple” should pervade more and more products and services in the future. Very complex interfaces are giving way to touch screens and Natural Language interfaces. I recall working on software developed by one of my colleagues that was functional, but complicated. The effort to maintain it was significant and we ended up re-writing it and simplifying it in order to make it more effective.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewingTrent Mayberry.
Trent Mayberry is UST Global’s Chief Digital Officer responsible for creating disruptive digital transformation for the company and its customers. Trent leads the Digital Business Group aiming at capturing business values through digital innovation in the financial services, healthcare, retail and communications industries.
Trent held several senior leadership positions in strategy, client delivery, and technical development. Before joining UST Global as CDO in February of 2019, Trent spent 29 years at Accenture as Managing Director, Digital in North America and Asia Pacific, and Managing Director, Emerging Technologies. In his role, Trent led digital transformation teams specializing in digital architectures and large-scale implementations of cloud and analytics solutions. He began his career as a Software Developer for IBM in the satellite division.
Trent is an industry thought leader, author, and expert on digital transformation, and often shares insights through conferences, board-level discussions, and publications. He leverages his experience in rapid innovation and data-driven experimentation with fortune 500 companies, to help scale delivery programs, and deliver high-impact customer engagement and product differentiation strategies. Aside from his professional responsibilities, Trent is a digital mentor for startups in Asia and the Middle East, including support for Female Founders, an independent non-profit organization committed to promoting gender equality.
Trent holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from the University of Illinois. He is currently based in Chicago.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path? Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I’ve always had a passion for finding creative ways to solve meaningful challenges for people and their relationship with technology. I remember creating a multi-media application to explain complex financial products to banking customers. The project took months and required our team to create a 3D gaming world to deploy on a kiosk in a bank branch, which pushed the capabilities of technology at the time. The application wasn’t delivering results in the early trials that we expected, so I visited one of the pilot branches. I overheard an employee intercept a customer looking for the kiosk, and let the customer know that they would solve the issue much more effectively than the technology. So, with 20 seconds of conversation, the employee found a way to prevent the technology from ever reaching the customer.
I realized that the technology was seen as a threat to the employee, and that all stakeholders must see benefits for a disruptive change, or people may misuse or avoid the technology.
Can you tell us about the cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
At UST Global, we’ve been working on helping companies better leverage Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. We see these as essential tools to offload complex tasks and free up people to work on more nuanced services for the benefit of customers. We’ve embedded AI/ML into most of our products and platforms. We’ve used it to parse conversations, automatically identify action items, and generate actions that will improve customer service. More recently, we’ve used it to help companies alter their demand forecasts in real-time, based on multiple variables in the supply chain, enabling organizations to rethink retail supplies in response to daily updates on the local pandemic numbers. We are working to enhance our developer platforms to bring data scientists and developers onto the same platform — making it easier to embed AI into the development process.
How do you think this might change the world?
As more and more companies struggle with the volumes and veracity of data, AI/ML will be embedded in many products and services — from credit worthiness scores, to product recommendations, to real-time decisions self-driving cars make that must keep people safe. Companies will use AI/ML everywhere to simplify processes and deliver new value to customers and employees. This will drive demand to tightly integrate software and analytics development into a single platform — for example DevSecOps and MLOps.
As AI is combined with Edge Computing, and in turn embedded on more and more smart devices using advances like TinyML, we can expect decisions to be made at the edge more quickly and efficiently than ever before.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
This edge-based decision making that is driven by machines, not people, also introduces risks such as machines making decisions that are logical, but not always appropriate. I can also imagine exchanges of “insight” between two AI-enabled devices that may not be well understood or predicted by humans, causing unplanned issues. Consider AI/ML algorithms used to identify health issues for customers using wearables and enabling these wearables to make recommendations to adjust the electrical behaviors of a pacemaker based on the data and the population norms, rather than personal norms. Depending on context, this could be quite dangerous for the individual. How do we embed human insight and awareness into the AI so that a preventative intervention isn’t triggered at an inappropriate time? We need traceable AI and human judgement working in tandem to ensure that we train our AI to interpret and act effectively for people first and foremost.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
I recall an airplane with software-driven decision making that took decisions based on a faulty sensor data, which the human pilots were unable to override. The consequences were catastrophic and led to lengthy investigations and tests to resolve the issue. There was also an instance where an AI agent that helped screen applicants among a large pool of candidates had an undetected gender bias that no one had predicted at the start of the development cycle. Both issues highlighted the challenges in adequately training and supervising software using AI/ML.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
We will need a simpler way to train AI/ML algorithms — by decomposing complex problems into simpler learning steps requiring less supervised learning; we’ll need traceable solutions that enable human verification and corroboration; and we’ll need software frameworks and guidelines to verify ethical and appropriate decisions are being made.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
At UST, we’ve been partnering with leading researchers in academia and the industry to make rapid advances in Natural Language Processing and traceable decision making. We’ve been putting CI/CD controls into Machine Learning Ops and harmonizing them with our DevSecOps platforms. We’ve also created open dialogues with industry leaders to surface challenges and share breakthroughs in this rapidly evolving field.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My mentor, Glenn, helped me step beyond my relentless focus on emerging technology to focus on delivering business value. He pointed out that there are many interesting gadgets in the market, but real impact comes when technology is applied with purpose. It has led me to put more focus on problem definition and needs analysis, before exploring potential technology solutions. It has helped me put technology to better use in the real world.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
At UST Global, our goal is to transform lives. I am collaborating with my colleague Stephen on finding a way to use digital signals, AI/ML, and trust-based frameworks to enable safe data sharing in local communities — with the goal to help small and medium businesses be more successful — thereby improving the resilience of the local community. We want to help companies derive greater value from the sharing of data and make more resilient businesses and communities. It will also allow investors to trace the use of their investment dollars for a specific purpose — such as environmental or social causes. With such information available, funds can be channeled to worthy organizations more easily, which may be faster at bringing out meaningful change than regulation or historical reporting.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Sometimes simple is better. The design principle “keep it simple” should pervade more and more products and services in the future. Very complex interfaces are giving way to touch screens and Natural Language interfaces. I recall working on software developed by one of my colleagues that was functional, but complicated. The effort to maintain it was significant and we ended up re-writing it and simplifying it in order to make it more effective.
We learn through adversity — so failing fast is essential to learning. I’ve seen organizations with complex approval processes try to innovate. The challenge was the effort to secure an investment was so great that the team did inordinate amounts of work to guarantee when they asked for money that it would be successful. That team struggled with breakthrough thinking. A colleague and I had an idea to simplifying parking meters and go fully digital. From idea through design through development and intro production took 2 days through a low code, assembly approach. It enabled us to test out the idea and validate feasibility very quickly, at a low cost. Not everything worked at first, but we were able to experiment quickly and refine the solution before making a larger investment.
Know your audience. Everyone has a different frame of reference, and often, to convince someone, you need to speak in their language. The work should be on the presenter — don’t share a bunch of technical details with a non-technical audience as they won’t appreciate it. My team recently worked on a proposal, where we went and interviewed the end users and documented their challenges and needs before we wrote the proposal. The evaluation committee had not heard some of those issues from their own users before, and it opened up the team to different priorities than were originally requested. Understanding a need from your customer’s perspective, or your employees’ perspective, is essential to capitalize on many opportunities.
Everyone has opinions, but teams need goals. In today’s world, decisions are often made at the edge. That means, decisions will be made at the point closest to the need and data will be needed to justify that decision. Goals need to be communicated and agreed up front, and decisions need to be supported by facts, if they are to have the greatest chance to contribute to the goals set out by the organization. A lot of automation activities benefit from this principle and from avoiding long chains of present-review-approve cycles.
Take care of your people. Change is difficult for most of us — and the demands we face continue to accelerate and often more nuanced. Diverse teams are better able to understand those nuances and will certainly come up with better solutions. Diverse teams will need multiple approaches to maintain high performance — challenging work, public feedback, freedom to learn, and stress relief. We all need to work together to take care of each other, so that we can be ready for the next seismic shift we may face. I like the principle of Servant Leadership that is emerging in modern management frameworks — the leader must be a servant to the team — equip them with the tools to be successful, listen to their needs, trust the people on your team — and good things will happen.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Celebrate differences — diverse teams create better solutions more quickly than homogenous teams. Assemble multi-disciplined teams, from different backgrounds. Share data, insights and uncertainties — as transparency will help teams co-create outcomes more effectively.
This has never been so apparent as when many of us moved to remote working. Our team members had to find new ways to collaborate on activities, while being at home, and simultaneously being a worker, a parent, a teacher, and a contributor. For me personally, I’ve enjoyed being able to spend more time at home, speak with my wife in person rather than on the phone, and have shared dinners together every day. It has made it harder to maintain distinct boundaries between work and life, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to do so. We all handle this remote work differently, and some of the best advice I’ve gotten in managing this challenge has come from people with very different circumstances than my own.
We’ve been re-writing our advice to development teams doing agile — shifting from distributed teams to distributed team members. We’ve tuned our approach to daily standups and collaboration for this new paradigm.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Bad news doesn’t get better with age”. I remember early in my career, I was working on a difficult project, and realized that one of the teams had spent quite a bit of effort in a set of solutions not in our scope. I really didn’t know how to recover the schedule and budget and hesitated to bring it up to my manager until I had a solution. I recall being nervous in bringing the issue up two days later, but he thanked me for sharing the issue and helped me resolve it within the hour — much less time than I had already spent on the less effective solution. He smiled, and said at his level, he gets issues like that every day. It was a lesson in humility and transparency that I will never forget.
Some very well-known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Last year, I was working on a concept for a fleet of inspector drones for bridges, buildings, trains, and more that could evolve to also do minor repairs. That idea hasn’t gotten off the ground yet, but I am certainly open to collaborating on the topic.
How can our readers follow you on social media? @pmtrent on Twitter
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Kerry Wekelo of Actualize Consulting: Five Things You Need To Know To Successfully Manage a Remote Team
Understanding each person’s communication style: Not everyone likes to communicate the same way. For example, some people like to use instant message for small items and email for bigger tasks. Others prefer to talk through each task. It can depend on the person, but becoming familiar with these styles can make sure everything runs smoothly.
As a part of our series about the five things you need to successfully manage a remote team, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kerry Wekelo.
KERRY WEKELO, MBA, is the Chief Operating Officer at Actualize Consulting, a financial services firm. Her book and program, Culture Infusion: 9 Principles for Creating and Maintaining a Thriving Organizational Culture and latest book Gratitude Infusion, are the impetus behind Actualize Consulting being named Top Company Culture by Entrepreneur Magazine, a Top Workplace by The Washington Post, and Great Place to Work-Certified. In her leadership, Kerry blends her experiences as a consultant, executive coach, award-winning author, mindfulness expert, and entrepreneur. Kerry has been featured on ABC, NBC, NPR, The New York Times, Thrive Global, SHRM, Inc., and Forbes.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. What is your “backstory”?
I grew up in a small town in Virginia and studied marketing and finance at Virginia Tech. When I graduated, I got into consulting because it was a way to use my people skills and knack for problem solving. In 2005, my brother asked if I could help him build out the internal operations of the company he started, Actualize Consulting. Actualize has been remote in some capacity since its inception and gave me a lot of experience leading remote teams. As a firm, we were lucky to feel prepared for the switch to fully remote work in the pandemic. We didn’t face any of the growing pains that typically follow a change of that caliber.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
It’s funny how things in life come full circle — from starting Actualize as a remote company, to having a physical office, and now becoming entirely remote because of the pandemic. Even though we are spread apart, our team is as close as ever and it’s been rewarding to see how our leadership styles have changed throughout the years… and seeing the improvement in creating a workplace that supports its employees. We have built upon a strong foundation and are now reaping the rewards.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Back when I was working for a government consulting firm, one of our clients was the Army. We were doing vendor demonstrations in a hotel, but there was a sales meeting next door to our meeting room where they were trying to hype up the crowd. The sales meeting was so loud, we couldn’t hear our own demonstrations. One of the higher up officers in the army told me that I needed to get the other room to quiet down. At first, I went to the front desk and asked if they were able to control the crowd next door. I went back to the demonstrations, but the crowd was just as loud as it was before. The next time the officer told me to get them to be quiet, I told the manager about the issue — but it still didn’t get fixed. Next thing I know, the officer gets in my face and yells at me, telling me to get them to calm down — “NOW!” At that point, I walk into the room next door and pretend to be an audience member. I raised my hand as if I had a question, and I, in the midst of this huge crowd, tell them we cannot hear our meeting next door. Everyone in the room laughed at me, but they did quiet down. When I came back to the demonstration room, the officer called me the nickname “Killer” for the rest of the day because of the way I pacified that crowd. I gained his respect — it’s a funny story to think about to this day. I also learned how resilient I am… even though this situation was terrifying for someone starting out their career, I did stand up and do what I was asked.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive and avoid burnout?
The most important thing you can do to thrive and avoid burnout is take time for yourself. When we are so focused on others’ needs to the point that we forget our own, we will not be able to show up as our best selves. No matter how busy you are, take even just 5 minutes to do something you enjoy that isn’t tied to any of your responsibilities. Being a workaholic isn’t sustainable for most people; we only have so much energy to give and when that is out of balance, our home life will suffer. The key is maintaining a balance with a focus on personal wellness.
Ok, let’s jump to the core of our interview. Some companies have many years of experience with managing a remote team. Others have just started this, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Can you tell us how many years of experience you have managing remote teams?
15 years — so lucky to have had all the experience from the start of my employment at Actualize Consulting in 2005.
Managing a team remotely can be very different than managing a team that is in front of you. Can you articulate for our readers what the five main challenges are regarding managing a remote team? Can you give a story or example for each?
Understanding each person’s communication style: Not everyone likes to communicate the same way. For example, some people like to use instant message for small items and email for bigger tasks. Others prefer to talk through each task. It can depend on the person, but becoming familiar with these styles can make sure everything runs smoothly.
Keeping the Team Connected: Team connections build naturally in an in-person environment when you are around everyone for the entire 40-hour work week. When we are separated by distance and computer screens, you need to actively put energy towards getting to know everyone and establishing a bond.
Managing Projects: In the office, you can easily collaborate in conference rooms and by making rounds around the building. In a virtual setting, you are only as collaborative as the tools you have will allow.
Maintaining Communication: When you aren’t working face-to-face, body language is missing from your interactions. Not to mention, small talk doesn’t really exist — so a lot of the little verbal updates you would give your team do not happen organically.
Lack of Visibility: You don’t know what your team is doing at all hours of the day. It can be hard to reach them sometimes.
Based on your experience, what can one do to address or redress each of those challenges?
Learning each person’s communication style can either be done through trial and error, or, to save time, by simply asking them how they prefer to communicate. For example, I tell my team that I prefer IM for small things and if they need to speak with me, I ask that they message me first to see if I am available before I receive a call.
Keeping the team connected despite geographical differences and a virtual workplace requires some creativity. We regularly have “all hands calls” or firm-wide meetings that allow everyone in the company to hear updates and ask questions, partner check-in calls where small cross-sections of teams are in a video call with the firm’s partners, and we virtual team-building events like Zoom cooking classes and workouts.
Managing projects virtually requires the right tools. For example, having a video call software like Google Meet or GoToMeeting helps with collaboration, ProjectPlace helps define and oversee tasks being completed, and Dropbox enables a way to collaborate on files and store them in a place everyone can access.
To maintain ample communication, it is necessary to over-communicate. Sometimes it may seem over the top, but keeping on the same page is harder without organic conversation that happens naturally in in-person settings.
To combat a lack of visibility, ensure everyone is on the same page about their schedules. I personally don’t mind if a team member needs to step out for an hour during the day, but I do ask that they put a note on their calendar that they can’t be reached at that time. This way, I don’t have to waste time trying to track them down. It goes back to the importance of staying in the loop and making sure everyone is communicating effectively.
In my experience, one of the trickiest parts of managing a remote team is giving honest feedback, in a way that doesn’t come across as too harsh. If someone is in front of you much of the nuance can be picked up in facial expressions and body language. But not when someone is remote. Can you give a few suggestions about how to best give constructive criticism to a remote employee?
First, it is necessary to document any feedback you’d like to give. For example, you can send an email that you’d like to talk about X on your next call or even put it as a note in their performance review. Then, try to give it over the phone or in a video call instead of over email. Be clear, be concise, and keep your emotions out of it. Focus on moving forward in a positive way, and use this challenge to strengthen your relationship with the recipient of the feedback. I always like to say, “my goal is to help you be successful…”, because we are all on the same team and should want the best for each other.
Can you specifically address how to give constructive feedback over email? How do you prevent the email from sounding too critical or harsh?
Personally, I don’t think constructive feedback should be given over email. The lack of body language and vocal tone can fog the reader’s own interpretation of the message. Try to give any feedback over the phone, and if that is not possible, keep the focus of the email on forward movement. It is likely both parties want to correct the issue and move positively into the future instead of dwelling on the past.
Can you share any suggestions for teams who are used to working together on location but are forced to work remotely due to the pandemic. Are there potential obstacles one should avoid with a team that is just getting used to working remotely?
Ensure that everyone is using the same technology and that they come up with a cadence for working together. As I said before, understanding communication styles is important, especially when in-person communication is not possible. We have also been more flexible with our employees’ schedules since we understand they are taking on multiple roles (for example, maybe their kids are no longer in a physical school environment.) Make sure everyone on the immediate team is familiar with any accommodations and know how to reach out if there is something pressing that needs to get taken care of.
What do you suggest can be done to create a healthy and empowering work culture with a team that is remote and not physically together?
There are many ways to make sure your organizational culture is not overlooked in a remote environment. You can schedule “mindful breaks” or video calls with team members based around a non-work-related theme. We try to do this at least once a month and participate in activities like Zoom workout and cooking classes. Get creative with the themes of these calls — we even did a virtual wellness competition where we broke up into teams and earned points by completing health-promoting behaviors like a 30 minute workout or drinking enough water during the day. Lastly, something really easy to do is take time at the beginning of a meeting to ask how people are doing and truly listening to what they have to say!
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Empathy — you never know what someone is going through. Everyone is fighting a battle that you don’t know about, so strive to be kind in every interaction. Always check in and be genuine about it — truly listen to their responses and strive for deeper connection.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“A problem is a chance to do your best.” — Duke Ellington. No matter how smoothly life is going, challenges are inevitable. When they strike, you have a chance to grow and learn. I use my 3P method (Pause to Pivot to a Positive) to help get me through tough situations. Pausing to allow your feelings, pivoting out of the negative spiral, and shifting to a positive perspective have helped me to move forward with grace no matter the situation at hand.
The Future Is Now: George Holmes of Resonant On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Wireless Technology Industries
Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know. Better to say you don’t know than to try to buffalo your way through something when the person you are talking to may actually be an expert. Better to say, I don’t know, but I’ll get the answer for you and then do it.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing George Holmes.
Prior to joining Resonant in 2016, Mr. Holmes served as Chief Commercial Officer for Tigo Energy, where he was responsible for expanding the company’s demand creation activities. From 2013 to 2015, Mr. Holmes worked for Energous, first as Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing then as Chief Commercial Officer where he was responsible for securing development and licensing agreements, overseeing IP strategy and process and spearheading regulatory strategy and tactics. From 2011 to 2013, he served as Vice President of Sales at SolarBridge Technologies, overseeing all sales, business development and sales operations. His prior experience includes senior sales executive roles at Agere Systems (formerly Lucent MicroElectronics), Ortel Corp (acquired by Lucent), Level One Communications and Symmetricom. Mr. Holmes holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Puget Sound and a Diploma in international business from Nyenrode University, Netherlands.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
When I got out of school, I went to work for the group of executives that had been doing turnarounds for Hambrecht & Quist that I had worked for in high school and college. They had a program that started what they believed to be good talent as “financial control guys”, what today would be called FP&A, and depending on where you excelled they created opportunities for you in their operating companies. I started in FP&A, did a stint in regional sales, then back into operations and finally back into sales, where I have been ever since. I had my first VP of Sales job at a public company when I was 29. I started supporting CEOs with strategy, investor relations and board management shortly thereafter and have been doing that ever since.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
It was being at the right place, at the right time, with the right set of technologies. In the late 90’s optical components were hot, the operators were aggressively building out their networks, and optical component companies were reaping the benefits. I was doing a turnaround of the company that invented how to put video over fiber for cable television, and we had over 50% share in that market. We saw the boom in telecom and leveraged our position and technologies to create an offering in the fastest growing segment. Soon thereafter there wasn’t a day our stock didn’t go up a dollar or two, and in a matter of months the stock went from below $10 to over $220. We ultimately sold the company for $2.8B to Lucent MicroElectronics, without a banker, and generated a tremendous exit for our shareholders.
Can you tell us about the Cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on?
It is probably worth a little background here. RF filters are inside many devices, and particularly smartphones, and are used to ensure onlythe “right” frequencies (signals) pass through to a particular device while also filtering out unwanted signals. Without RF filters, calls, texting, downloading or streaming videos would not be possible. Similar to lanes on a road, they guide the traffic to prevent collisions. In 4G phones such as the iPhone 11, there are over 60 such filters to manage all of the intricacy of airwaves with the phone. In 5G phones this is expected to increase dramatically.
At Resonant we have developed a software platform for designing these filters more accurately than anything prior. We have now applied this cutting-edge software to develop novel filters (XBAR filters) for next generation wireless technology — 5G, WiFi and Ultra-Wideband.
How do you think that will help people?
The promise of next generation wireless technologies goes beyond simply more speed and more video to mobile devices, but opens up many more exciting applications such as extended reality, autonomous driving, remote surgery, self-governing manufacturing, eHealth and smart home. The current work-from-home environment is expediting this need and transition.
How do you think this might change the world?
Our XBAR filter technology is part of bringing next generation wireless technology to its full potential. The extent of this global, digital transformation is really not known yet, but you can already see the kind of applications enabled by ubiquitous, secure, reliable, high speed wireless networks, from video security drones to autonomous cargo ships, digital car keys and remote surgery. And that’s just a start. I’m guessing there are many innovative applications that we have not even mentioned here.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
The most obvious potential drawback is that all of this automation will displace human workers. Many jobs will disappear, and many new jobs will be created — building and maintaining networks and robots, developing software/AI to manage the complexity of manufacturing floors, delivery systems, supply chain management and more. We have some time since this will not happen overnight, but we do need to be cognizant of the changes and new skill sets required, and plan for this change.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
The tipping point came early in 2018 when we decided to extend our software design platform for the filter technology being used for 4G. As we investigated the market, we realized that this technology was not directly applicable to the coming wireless technology, that new technology was coming fast, and that the accuracy of our software platform would allow us to invent the optimum filter structure for this new generation of wireless. We filed our first patents on the fundamental XBAR filter structure soon after and demonstrated a working device at a major technical conference later that year.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
I firmly believe that we are on the right track right now. Resonant is an IP/Technology company that has invented a critical technology for next generation wireless. I liken our position and strategy to one similar to an IP Biotech company, in that we needed to partner with someone who understands the market and customers, but more than anything, who knows how to manufacture these kinds of devices in very high volume (XXXB shipped in 2019), low cost and high quality. Hence, we partnered with the largest filter manufacturer on the planet, which included a strategic investment in Resonant and signing a development agreement to bring this technology to market.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
Like most technology-focused early stage companies, Resonant has been publicizing our XBAR technology with both peer-reviewed technical and industry articles. In the past year, we have also been very fortunate to recruit an accomplished set of advisors and industry experts to not only help guide the company but to also partner with us to create a series of webinars to educate the market on 5G. These have been both investment bank-sponsored events as well as a two-part series we put on ourselves called the 5G Insights webinar series:
Mr. Brown has been serving on Resonant’s Advisory Board since 2020. Clint served as Director of Business Development Mobility Wireless Connectivity at Broadcom. He has also been a Wi-Fi Alliance Board Director since 2005, serving as Treasurer and Vice Chairman. Brown has more than 30 years of leadership experience in sales, business development and marketing experience, specializing in semiconductor-based wireline and wireless communication technologies.
Rubén Caballero — Resonant Board Member & Advisory Board Member
Mr. Caballero has been serving on Resonant’s Board and Advisory Board since 2019. Rubén is currently the Corporate VP of Engineering, Devices & Technology, in the Mixed Reality & AI Division at Microsoft. He previously served as Vice President of Engineering at Apple where he was one of the founding leaders of the iPhone hardware team and later expanded his role to include iPad, Apple Watch, Macintosh and all other hardware products.
Luis Pineda — Advisory Board Member
Mr. Pineda brings to Resonant more than 32 years of leadership experience in the semiconductor industry. Mr. Pineda retired from a successful 18-year career at Qualcomm’s multi-billion-dollar Semiconductor business. As a founding member of Qualcomm’s semiconductor business, he led product management, marketing, and business development through its early start to industry market share leader for mobile phones, tablets, and infrastructure. Mr. Pineda is also an executive advisor for several high-tech companies both public and private.
Glen Riley — Advisory Board Member
Mr. Riley joined Resonant’s Advisory Board in 2020. Glen retired after spending 15 years in several key executive positions at TriQuint Semiconductor, which merged with RFMD in 2015 to form Qorvo, Inc. He has over 30 years of experience in the semiconductor industry growing businesses in the RF, foundry, optical, and storage markets.
Joe Madden — Independent Industry Expert
Mr. Madden has over 30 years in mobile communications, he accurately predicted the rise of 5G Fixed Wireless, Small Cells, Digital Predistortion, and Remote Radio Heads. He is the Chief Analyst at Mobile Experts Inc. and focuses on 5G, MEC, IoT vertical markets and is currently working on strategic predictions for Edge Computing.
Peter Gammel — Independent Industry Expert
Dr. Gammel has almost 40 years of experience in the semiconductor industry- starting at Bell Laboratories — focused on differentiated device technology. He has managed successful startups, such as SiGe Semiconductor, and has spent significant time in Asia, most recently in Japan managing BAW development for Skyworks. He is currently CTO at GlobalFoundries.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are countless people who have helped and guided me along the way and probably the shortest answer would be all of the employees I have worked with, because without them I would have accomplished nothing.
That said, there are two standouts. First is my father, George D. Holmes, who was the president and CEO of numerous companies. He had a tremendous work ethic, great family man and a tremendous person. He always made time for everyone who worked for him, he treated everyone with respect. For years he was the phone call I made on my drive home to gut check what I was doing and get advice and insights on how to proceed and interact with people.
Second would be Paul Risinger. Paul was the Vice Chairman of Symmetricom until he retired, and he pushed me into my first sales and marketing job. He convinced me that everyone was a salesman and that the experience would always serve me well later in my career. I worked on the biggest deals in the early part of my career leveraging Paul’s advice, and he has provided great council both professionally and personally.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
We have used our financial success to support a number of charities, but probably the one we were most connected to was Camp Rainbow Gold in Idaho. This was a camp that focused on helping kids with cancer.
I also provide support to young people trying to figure out their careers and what they want to do next, whether it be through direct mentorship as employees or by using my network to make introductions for them to people that are in their stated line of work.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
You don’t have to say yes to everything – Often saying no and having patience yields you a chance at a better outcome
People will disappoint you but don’t give up on them – I have worked for CEOs who have constantly disappointed but in the end circled back and created subsequent opportunity
Don’t be greedy, when you have success, share it – When employees see that you are only looking out for yourself, they won’t be quick to follow you to your next gig, I have always found that oversharing creates loyalty and ultimately harder working team members who deliver better overall results
Your voice doesn’t have to be the loudest, practice being a good listener – Too often people like to hear themselves talk and they miss the point or opportunity that is presented
Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know – Better to say you don’t know than to try to buffalo your way through something when the person you are talking to may actually be an expert. Better to say, I don’t know, but I’ll get the answer for you and then do it.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Someone once said, “Why can we all just get along?” I think there is way too much focus on the “what” we are today and what people owe us. I think if we focused more on the “who” we are, what we can contribute to our families, companies and communities, we would all be better off. The beauty is in the simplicity of it: treat others like you want to be treated and don’t make excuses for not doing so. We can control what we do and be accountable to ourselves. Just do it.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
You can’t control who is sitting around the table. It’s likely that there will be someone smarter than you are, but what you can control is how hard you work. Working hard creates many more opportunities than just being smart and it’s something 100% within your control.
I have created my own luck by hard work and being willing to do what others weren’t, whether it was as the stock room clerk or as the CEO. It’s through that hard work and determination that we have delivered tremendous increases in shareholder value, in the billions of dollars over the past 30 years.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
The current wave of 5G will represent a moment in time, the hype cycle if you will, the next wave, where the real innovations will be showcased, whether it be from the component vendors or handset OEMs. For consumers it’s likely going to be from the application providers, new start-ups that will have broken the code on what to do with all of the speed, bandwidth and low latency (small delay) that comes from “True 5G.” These application providers will get all of the accolades and courting by the VC’s, but it is the component providers — those who have broken the code with new materials and technologies — that will enable this multi-billion dollar market. We believe that Resonant’s XBAR technologies will be the fundamental enabler of these new applications in both hardware and software.
Anchor in your personal mission statement- those days the world seems to be working against you, step back from the details and remind yourself of the larger mission at hand. There will always be situations that test how dedicated we are to our mission, we have to anchor in that mission to see the larger picture.
As a part of my series about “Grit: The Most Overlooked Ingredient of Success” I had the pleasure of interviewing Cathy McKinnon.
Cathy McKinnon, 4x#1 International Best Selling Author , Transformation Coach, and Founder of Wellness Warrior Coaching.
As a Transformation Strategist, Cathy helps women take back their lives taking them from exhausted and operating robotically to finding the joy, confidence and energy they are so WORTHY of!
It is time for you to become the happiest, most inspired version of yourself and truly shine!
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what events have drawn you to this specific career path
In my journey to transform the major facets of my life I had to at times tap into a strength source that even I did not know existed fully. It is what I describe as the trifecta of events that rocked my world and had me starting from ground zero on what it was, I wanted for my life. My story begins when I was faced with major medical decisions that would impact my future and the world I spent years building with my then partner were shattered. I didn’t have a plan, I didn’t know anything more than the step directly in front of me. I’ve never been afraid of starting over, I just knew I could not settle for mediocre any longer, and there had to be more.
As my story unfolded, I knew I had to start sharing my journey to set example of what is possible when you bravely step into your true self. I just knew there was more to life than the circumstances I was settling for.
Can you share your story about “Grit and Success”? First can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?
Grit isn’t something you can touch, taste, feel or see. Grit isn’t sought after, nor do you personally ask for it. Grit shows up when you are digging deep, and you can’t see the light anymore. It is that pit in your stomach that makes you yell out “can I keep going” and then it answers back HELL YEAH!
I leaned hard into that voice many times in my live not knowing it was grit. I’ve battled infertility, cancer, a lengthy divorce and above all adjusting to be a single mom. Growing up in a male dominated household I never realized just how much strength they were preparing me to have. My family was preparing me for each chapter in my life to not only survive but thrive.
Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
It wasn’t always as simple as finding the drive but something that started as listening to my inner voice to push through. Countless days of fighting and pushing my body to keep going had me questioning if I had the strength to carry on. Seemingly things weren’t working no matter how much I tried or which way I turned. It goes back to my root belief that there is more to this life than just being mediocre. Anchoring in my intuition and mu why gave me a vision for the big picture that made the daily steps easier. zTo know I was one step closer to the life I desired. There is an incredible universe of opportunities at our finger tips; there is no reason that we must settle.
So how did Grit lead to your eventual success? How did Grit turn things around?
This skill set from my childhood that I didn’t even realize I had, enabled me with the power to push through the challenging days, and understanding that my work was not done.I was not done living. It took courage and resilience to continually get back up and keep going to provide the understanding that I was being given these lessons for a reason. I was being redirected on my path to be set up for the life I was intended to lead.
It was through continual confidence in myself and hard work through each challenge I face, that lead me to the place I am today. To being able to see that the lessons learned from those hard times put me exactly in my place I needed to be able to serve in the capacity I am today.
Based on your experience, can you share 5 pieces of advice about how one can develop Grit? (Please share a story or example for each)
Anchor in your personal mission statement- those days the world seems to be working against you, step back from the details and remind yourself of the larger mission at hand. There will always be situations that test how dedicated we are to our mission, we have to anchor in that mission to see the larger picture.
Circumstances are not permanent- storms can feel heavy, know that in the midst of the storm it seems like it will never pass. The reality is that, it too will pass.
Rejection is redirection- As challenging as it can be to not take rejection personal, have faith it is truly meant to be and is putting you on the path you need to be. There is a lesson to be learned. Step back and ask yourself “ what is this trying to teach me”
Give yourself grace- not every day is a good , even the most positive people have off days. Just reset, recalibrate and start fresh tomorrow. Beating yourself up for something in the past or something out of your control will not net you further to your mission.
Baby steps are still steps- Celebrate the small victories along the way! It can be very easy to beat ourselves up along the way until we hit that goal or major milestone, the reality is we are often not giving ourselves enough credit.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped you when things were tough? Can you share a story about that?
I’ve had a great mentor that has helped me over the last 7 years. They have taken time to not only guide me from a career perspective but also certain points in my personal life that will impact my ability to give my all to my vision. They have been there to support me, hold me accountable and call me out on my self-defeating behaviors when I wanted nothing more than to give in. Their ability to really listen and understand, provide a nonbiased sounding board, and the wealth of knowledge of my mentor has helped me more than I can acknowledge.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I believe it is our obligation to give back. As my network has expanded, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with amazing people and great organizations. I have worked with several organizations including The Bloc, a Chicago based nonprofit that helps underprivileged youth. The Bloc has an incredible success rate of not only creating award winning athletes but also their students excelling academically.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Oh, there are so many exciting things in the pipeline! I just helped my son launch his first book “ Kindness…pass it on” which is his first project for his company Little Leaders, Big Voices. It has been such an amazing Mom moment to watch this little man grow and help impact the world through his voice.
Legacy is at the core of what I do. How we show up is not just for us but for them and the ripple effect our actions have on the world.
What advice would you give to other executives or founders to help their employees to thrive?
You have to find way to connect with your employees. Take the time to understand their goals and desires even when they may not align with yours. When employees feel heard and put in positions that align with their skills and goals; everyone wins. Instead of prescribing a pre-ordained path; take the time to truly build the alignment and watch the magic happen.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Creating a wave of kindness and caring. We are all hurting in different ways right now that we need to come together as a collective to better ourselves, our communities and the future. There is so much work to be done on creating good where there is pain.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“No, it won’t be easy. Yes, it will change your life”
I have faced some life altering moments where I had to decide to dig in and do the hard work or take the path that was easy in the moment. I took some very challenging roads that have proven to pay off in the long run. It brought a peace to my life that was so worth the short term hardwork.
Ecolution KWH is a minority-owned technology startup that has engineered a solution that could accelerate a move to net-zero carbon emissions in the distribution of food and medicine globally within 10 years. The world of refrigerated trailers is one of our dirtiest industries. There is a gas tank in the truck and another in the trailer. Two massive diesel fuel tanks burning gas 24/7 all over the world each day. We know how to make that industry clean.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Johanne Medina Then.
Johanne is the CEO and co-founder of Ecolution KWH. He has 20 years of management experience, leading companies that range from scaled cocoa plantation management and food distribution, to greenfield metals manufacturing and ultra-high strength powder metallurgy. He has a blend of operational and financial expertise, most recently serving as VP of Strategic Finance, Unity Aluminum Inc. His leadership and financial skills helped successfully raise $170 million of private equity during the past three years. Johanne is self-motivated, a leader, highly focused, and driven by challenges. In recent years he gained experience in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) playing an important role in the acquisition of two scientific powder metallurgy companies incubated at MIT and Northwestern University. From 2005–2017 he served as CFO/COO and successfully launched a new European sports franchise in the US. Johanne played a key role in founding his first company and creating the vision and path forward for Ecolution KWH LLC. Johanne is happily married and a very proud father. He is fluent in English and Spanish.
Thank you for joining us in this interview series. Can you please tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Over the course of my career, I’ve been embedded in a number of different industries that include food distribution and metals manufacturing. I observed that these industries rely on supply chains that waste energy and pollute the environment. After collaborating with senior technicians involved in transportation and technology on their most difficult problems, we made a discovery that will change commercial transportation and logistics, while alleviating one of the world’s greatest environmental hazards. Our discovery will allow the industrial world to move energy to where it’s most needed.
Can you please share with us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
When I founded Ecolution our idea was to manufacture components. These components would allow for the extension of the range of an electric truck; this was the basic starting point of the idea. As I delved into the project, built models, and performed research, I stumbled into something one could only dream of in one’s lifetime. The Holy Grail of clean power generation. I realized the energy that was being generated with our components was a generational invention. And, the owner of this energy can change the way power is generated, stored and distributed. I switched our business model to selling kilowatt hours (kWh). Hence, “Ecolution kWh.”
We were so excited and immediately began looking for the first game changing application. This is how our first product came to life: to replace the Transport Refrigeration Unit Generator Set (TRU GENSET) in refrigerated trailers (“reefers”.) Our product will eliminate the large diesel fuel tank in the reefer, while cooling the trailer more efficiently and reducing the weight of the trailer by 1,200 pounds. Once connected to an electric truck, we transition one of dirtiest industries to net-zero-carbon almost overnight.
That led to imagining our second product which is a high energy platform in a train car, turning the car into a mobile power plant. This will allow large amounts of electricity to be generated and stored. The train station can be utilized as the e-mobility HQ of its town, a microgrid where the energy generated in the train is downloaded and the station can serve as an EV charge station or provide electricity to the surrounding community.
It was humbling to be in the front seat of the building blocks of our technology.
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
“There is always someone watching you. Do your best, especially when no one is looking” — My Dad
My Dad told me that we do not come from rich families. We come from hardworking families that have succeeded because of how hard they worked.
“Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you.” — Confucius
I live by this every minute. It’s challenging because some in the world do not play by this rule. It keeps me humble.
“Integrity, energy, and intelligence.” -Warren Buffet
When I came across this, I related it directly to my career. Without integrity, you can forget about the other two. With integrity you do the right thing, and for the right reason. This can often be challenging but is never impossible. I never ignore my heart.
Energy is about how the world sees you and how you affect those that surround you. I thrive on being on a team, and show support and respect to others even if it might cost me. When I look at what is needed to do the job, I have no doubt I can deliver 10x that amount. Challenge motivates.
Intelligence is making the right decision. I feel like it is the secret sauce of all knowledge. It is the ability to absorb knowledge and learn from others. Most of what I have learned comes from observing. I observe others and I constantly learn. At all levels in a company, there are talented people who can teach me. Everyone does something amazing every day.
Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change The World”?
Ecolution KWH is a minority-owned technology startup that has engineered a solution that could accelerate a move to net-zero carbon emissions in the distribution of food and medicine globally within 10 years. The world of refrigerated trailers is one of our dirtiest industries. There is a gas tank in the truck and another in the trailer. Two massive diesel fuel tanks burning gas 24/7 all over the world each day. We know how to make that industry clean.
Roughly 20% of our total man-made carbon emissions come from the transportation sector. By harnessing the kinetic energy of refrigerated trailers (reefers), trains, and subway cars, Ecolution’s patented technology, if implemented, will reduce carbon emissions by as much as the CO2 footprint created by the transportation sectors in Rome (2,500,000 tons), San Francisco (1,345,421 tons), and Paris (1,298,915 tons) combined. Ecolution projects that after its innovation is applied in the U.S alone, 5,907,409 tons of carbon emissions would be eliminated across the country.
How do you think this will change the world?
Ecolution’s technology empowers transportation and logistics companies to generate, store and deliver sustainable energy in ways that the world has never seen before. Once our technology is applied to reefer trailers that are being pulled by electric trucks, such as those being developed by Tesla, the entire vehicle immediately reaches net-zero carbon emissions. In turn, we’re tackling one of the largest sources of air pollution not only in the US, but across the entire planet, and helping to increase transportation efficiency and reduce costs.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
Quite the opposite. In addition to minimizing carbon emissions, we will eliminate other environmental hazards by creating a longer lifespan for second-life Tesla and electric vehicle batteries due to the reusable energy created by the Ecolution technology. If our train and subway car kinetic energy production system is adopted broadly, the nation will never again need to build a coal, natural gas or nuclear power plant.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
There was nothing being done to combat the increasing amounts of carbon dioxide being emitted from large commercial vehicles. The tipping point for us was primarily the feedback we were receiving from others about this growing concern and the drastic impacts it could have if not addressed. Someone had to think it though and think creatively. Our team did that. We tackled the problem.
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
We need talented mechanical and electrical engineers to join us. We need strategic partners to help us scale as quickly as possible. We need political leaders to understand that “green” businesses can be profitable. We don’t need or want taxpayer subsidies. We need real change and commitment to allow our nation to reach net-zero carbon by 2030. Forget 2050. That’s too slow. We are better than that.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
Talk to as many people as you can. You never know where you may pick up an important piece of advice or intel that could help you on your way to success
Listen more than you speak. It’s best to have as much information as possible before responding or formulating a plan.
Read as much as I could so I can learn from others mistakes and successes and more efficiently guide my own business ventures
Meditate daily. This is now a regular part of my routine that keeps me focused and level-headed but only something that I’ve picked up in recent years.
Enjoy the journey. It’s easy to get caught up in the hard work and stress of being an entrepreneur but it’s important to take a step back, enjoy the great life I’ve created for myself and my family and think about the great work we’re doing.
*Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
Knowing and respecting your values unconditionally and consistently. Learn from success; and even more importantly, learn from mistakes. This cycle of awareness drives good managers to overcome challenges and reinvent themselves. Everyone needs to grow each day and make a positive impact on others, and, on the world.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Most of you have invested in some form of alternative energy, or at least believe in it. Wind, solar, geothermal, etc. They all have constraints, whether the constraints be geographical, economical, technical, or require large amounts of capital to build charging infrastructure. All of these technologies have trouble reaching the grid. Where it’s not windy, windmills don’t work. Where it’s cold and cloudy, solar doesn’t work very well. And, so on.
Transforming the wasted kinetic energy in vehicles on the road, trains and subways can scale to more usable energy than all the other alternative energies combined, and in just a few years. We have the patented sustainable advantage to make this happen. Please join us and change the world. Your funding is not a speck of sand on the world’s financial beach. You can make a difference.
The Future Is Now: Chris Slee of AWH On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up Home Recovery Care
You will never be done learning — Technology never stops. There is always something new to learn, keep up with, or a perception to change. You have to be open to it and embrace the fact that things you knew last month are obsolete.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chris Slee.
Christopher Slee is the Founder, Principal, and Chief Product Officer at AWH, a Dublin, Ohio software engineering firm currently celebrating its 25th year of creating innovative digital products for business clients.
At AWH, Chris leads internal and external development teams across all applications, from web, mobile, and desktop platforms, to virtual reality and machine learning.
Even though Chris has been programming for more than 30-years, he continues to push the technology envelope. From drones to artificial intelligence, Chris Slee continues to exemplify the spirit of continual learning in the tech space.
As a passionate technologist and mentor, Chris founded Dev: Launch, an apprenticeship program where aspiring software developers have the opportunity to work on real client projects alongside experienced development teams. As a mentor, Chris teaches apprentices how to be efficient and productive developers, not just how to write code.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My father was into ham radio and would often go to radio Shack. One day we were in a radio shack and I remember walking over to this silver machine, and it was basically a television with a keyboard on it. And I went up to it and typed on a keyboard. I didn’t know what a computer was at the time. After typing I hit the enter key. The words “syntax error” came up on the screen. I remember then typing in the word giraffe and hit enter and “syntax error”. I typed “What’s a syntax error” and hit enter and it said, “syntax error”. About this time, the guy from around the counter comes over and I remember him typing “circle” and then a parenthesis and then three sets of numbers, and then close the parentheses and hit Enter. The screen cleared and there was a red circle on the middle of the screen. I remember that. Right then, I just connected with what it was. It was like one of those cliché movie moments, when you gaze into someone’s eyes and see the future. It was that kind of moment for me. It was just done; at that point, I knew what I was doing. I was driven to learn more and more, and figure out how these things worked and how it could be applied. I built games, learned languages, figured out the hardware. I entered into this pattern of learning that I still continue today.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I started writing code, professionally when I was 14 at a local computer shop. That summer I worked on a project in CPM (that was the operating system), dBase two was the database and language, and that was all done on WordStar on Kaypro computers. That summer, we built an application to do data collection and reporting for an oil rig company. This was back in 1983. Time went by and I went to school and built a company, but beyond being a student or a founder I always continued to work on computers.
About five years ago, a buddy of mine who also worked at the computer store at the same time I did he called me and told me that the company that we built that software for called him, because they were examining the source code and found his name. He was still local to that area, so they were able to find him. They have been using that software since it was deployed, it was locked in an oil derrick rig, and was running since we built it. They called because they wanted a couple of changes made to some of the reports that the software put out. Keep in mind this is something that was built in the early 80s with software programming language editors that don’t exist anymore. He sent them to me, and I had a conversation with them about what they were looking for. I then told them in no way, would I ever touch that piece of software or make any modifications to it and nor should anyone! I also told them never turn the hardware off, because I’m not sure if it would even turn back on. It booted off five and a half inch floppy disks that were at least 35 years old. So, I claim, amongst my friends, the longest running production application that any of us have.
Can you tell us about the cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Currently, I’m working on a clinical therapy application for remote, in home recovery care. We’re using machine learning, and building machine learning models that understand human physiology and human movement. It can assist physical therapists with remote delivery of clinical care. Our approach uses AI to support recovery in physical therapy activities in home without having to go to a clinic, and without having to have any equipment sent to the patient. It helps people recover quicker, and under the guidance of a physical therapist. It also allows them to adhere to their therapy when it might be difficult to do remotely outside the clinic.
How do you think this might change the world?
By being able to deliver care in people’s homes, without equipment, more people will be able to receive therapeutic recovery care and exercise more often. That helps everyone get stronger and live longer. We are not just constrained with physical therapy. We can also use this technology to promote wellness in individuals across the board.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
Any technology can be misused, but a black mirror episode would be along the lines of all your devices nagging you to exercise and recover, so, maybe not so bad.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
The pandemic. Before that we were very focused on in clinic and gym rollouts with sensors (IoT) and cloud services. Once the pandemic hit, I locked myself in my office at home and worked on this AI until we had something, we were able to deploy to the military in the fall and are now rolling it out to our health care partners.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
The correct therapists and providers to realize this allows them to reach new and existing patients and help more people.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
We are already deployed into the military and currently its arranging demos and blowing people away with the possibility of the future of the tech. AI has had a significant hype cycle in the past but is now really starting to become the go to technology to solve problems that we had no way to address before. I follow the old saying, you can’t IF THEN ELSE your way into a self-driving car. You train a self-driving car the same way you train a self-driving teenager.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I have a couple of people that mentored me early on and I still rely on most of them. Advice I got early in my career was “You are more credible after a win than before the win”. If you want to make a change, you must be able to win with the cards you are delt before you can change the game. This came from a project early on. I was working at a chemical company and we were producing a piece of software to manage internal project cost and delivery to the customers. The CIO at the time had picked a development language and operating system that was extremely difficult to use, and no one else had really adopted it yet. It was very one off, not mainstream. This advice was given to me by my manager at the time as I was complaining about how bad the technology we were using was. He told me, “You have to be successful with what you’ve got. You must be able to show the win, and then you can talk to the CIO about changing it to make it better. But if you just go to him to complain. He won’t listen to you.” We use that platform to build that system, and did such a good job with it that the company that released the programming language and runtime environments included us as a case study in a magazine that they published. The CIO was happy about that. After I told him that we could do so much better with more mainstream technology, he allowed our organization to switch over and use that more mainstream technology going forward.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I have played an instrumental role in starting careers for hundreds of talented developers who might otherwise have been overlooked. From hiring them when others wouldn’t to building out a paid apprentice program at our company. We still push for hiring junior developers and getting them started as part of our quarterly goals. Getting people into technology and mentoring them was always a direct way to contribute back to the next generation. As an organization, we always look for products to work on that have impact in peoples lives. It’s part of our core vision.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
You will never be done learning — Technology never stops. There is always something new to learn, keep up with, or a perception to change. You have to be open to it and embrace the fact that things you knew last month are obsolete.
You have to figure out how to tell the fads from the keepers — Because everything moves so quickly and you can’t possibly keep up on every change, you have to develop the skill to see through technical ideas and decide what will stick and what will go away. Your time is precious, and you have to be able to spend time on the things that will be around.
You have to be willing to go all in, even if it is not your idea — Never assume that your idea is the best idea. Listen to your team and the people that are around you. Be able to make a decision, but be open to being wrong and flexible enough to change. If change is the only constant, understand, that includes your decisions.
Always look for people that are better than you and hire them — I always joke with the team that I don’t want to go to an interview unless our recruiter thinks this person is better than me. Always hire up. Be looking for a way to make yourself inconsequential because that is the only way you will be able to spend time growing and finding the next “thing”, technology, or idea.
Your job is to take the arrows shot at the team and it’s also your job to give away the credit for the team’s success. — The lead is up front for a reason. Ultimately you make the decision on who to hire, who stays on the team, what technologies to pursue. My job is at the bottom, to make sure everyone has the roadmap, skills, desire, and tools to get the job done. If they don’t it’s my fault, if they do, it’s because they did the work.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Look for ways to improve other people’s lives over everything else. Everything else you want will come from that.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
From a business perspective, there is no problem your team has now, that sales can’t fix. That was a piece of advice early on. Understanding cash flow, and how to spend resources wisely also comes with the understanding you have to have those resources in the first place.
Some very well-known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
— — Having been in startups to exits several times and understanding the role of VC, I would hold off talking to VC until we are ready to take it to the next level. There is so much work and planning that needs done prior to VC involvement, that when its time, we should be a dead simple choice to invest in.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
— — @chrisslee on twitter, but linkedin is the best way to connect.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
The Future Is Now: Kishore Subramanian of Propel On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene
Our customers are the best marketing we have. Any solution provider can make big claims — in fact, many do just that without backing them up. We are firm believers in putting customers first because their success is our success. On that front, 15 customers participated in our recent virtual conference, Propulsion 2020. It was great to hear first hand how they were able to grow their business in spite of the unprecedented challenges this year. We plan to promote our customers’ success even more as we look to the future because they have so many great stories and insights to share.
As a part of our series about cutting-edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kishore Subramanian.
Kishore Subramanian is the VP of Engineering at Propel, a high-growth SaaS company that is redefining how companies manufacture, sell and service their products. With more than 20 years of experience in software development, Subramanian leads the company’s engineering team and is helping to make Propel more flexible, connected and easier to access and use for manufacturing customers.
Prior to Propel, Subramanian held a variety of senior engineering roles at Google, including leading teams for Action on Google Assistant, Action on Google Console and Files Go Android App. He began his stint at Google working on Google Web Designer. He also held a senior engineering position at Motorola Mobility, a Google subsidiary, and was the UI Lead at JackBe (acquired by Software AG). Prior to JackBe, Subramanian was a principal software engineer at Agile Software (acquired by Oracle) and he led the team that built Agile PLM’s first web-based user interface. His love of software development was sparked with his first role at Infosys Systems in his native country, India.
Beyond engineering, Subramanian is also a spiritual seeker, student and practitioner of Yoga and meditation. He is fascinated by the teachings of Yoga, Vedanta and Buddhism — ancient Indian schools of philosophy and amazed at its relevance 5000+ years later. He wants to unlock these teachings and make them accessible to the current generation.
Subramanian holds several patents related to method and system of capturing and using mashup data. He received his Bachelor Degree in Technology (BTech) from the University of Kerala.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I graduated from a school in India with a degree in Engineering in 1995. This period was an interesting time in India’s history. The doors of the struggling Indian economy were flung open by the government in an effort to save it. By the time I graduated, India had become the destination for American companies to outsource and to expand their teams. India had the talent, and Indian companies were able to offer this talent at an attractive price.
Growing up in a middle-class family in one of the smaller cities in India, getting a good, well-paying job was my top priority. So, though software development was not my first career choice, it seemed to be a practical choice at the time. The Indian IT industry had become a powerhouse with seemingly unstoppable growth and the salaries for software developers were much higher than the rest of the industry.
I interviewed for and landed my first software job with the then-upstart Indian company, Infosys. Infosys is now a software powerhouse. The internet was just beginning to take shape in India, and I was enamored by the endless possibilities. Slowly but surely, I discovered my love for software development and never looked back.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Immigrating to the U.S. has to be the most significant change in both my work and personal life. It was not an easy decision to leave my family and friends behind and relocate to the US, but I had a strong desire to learn and challenge myself. The allure of Silicon Valley was very strong. I had read about many great companies based in the Valley, and Apple in particular stood out as an amazing place to work. Netscape had just announced their first browser and the internet was taking off in a big way. Back then, I idolized Steve Jobs and one of my main desires was to walk in his footsteps around Apple’s Infinite Loop!
I immigrated in 1998 with $300 dollars (from my parents’ savings), but I had already secured a job. My story is a common immigrant story; many would tell you something similar to this, whether they came here for a job or to pursue their education. There was a lot of struggle initially to adjust to a new country, culture, work, friends, and frankly, a new way of life. This country has been nothing but amazing to me, and it still amazes me to this day. I found my passion for software development on the work front, met my wife here, and we have two teenage boys who were born and raised as Americans. Together, we balance the American way of life with the deep-rooted culture, family ties, and spiritual teachings we inherited from our Indian upbringing.
Additionally, joining Google in 2012 was another significant milestone in my career. The vast reach of the company allowed me to work on projects that were intellectually stimulating all while being used by millions of users worldwide. I truly consider it a great privilege to have worked for Google for those seven years of my life.
Can you tell us about the Cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Propel is in the Enterprise software segment. Enterprise software products are used to satisfy the needs of the employees of a company, as opposed to consumer products, like Facebook and Linkedin, which are designed with individual users in mind.
Enterprise software has earned the reputation of being clunky, hard to use, and often disliked by the end-users. Unfortunately, this reputation is justified. We at Propel have set a much higher standard for ourselves and as a result, have consistently scored high in user experience benchmarks. This is a key differentiating factor for Propel and in the last few months, we have been working on further leveraging this advantage of ours. We are unleashing a lot more flexibility in the user interface (UI) with our recent investment in what are called Lightning Web Components (LWC). We are in the process of decomposing our entire UI into components so that our customers can reimagine the UI in ways that best fit their individual needs. In a way, LWCs are like individual bricks in a LEGO set. If our customers aren’t happy with our pre-built models, they always have the option to rebuild it using the “Lego bricks” we have provided. Amazingly, even those with little-to-no programming experience can seamlessly build their UI using what are known as “no-code tools.” No code tools lower the barrier to allow anyone — not just engineers or developers — to develop software systems that address their specific needs and unique business challenges.
Propel is built on the Salesforce platform. Salesforce is well known as a leading CRM provider. But beneath their applications is the powerful Lightning platform. The Lightning Platform is the underlying infrastructure that every application is built on top of. Propel is built on this industry-leading application platform, and we leverage most of the features the platform has to offer. We offer a product that is highly flexible and extensible. As a result, our customers can tailor Propel to their needs rather than change how they work. Again, we are enabling customers to do this using no-code tools rather than writing custom-code.
How do you think this might change the world?
Silicon Valley is obsessed with changing the world, isn’t it? My personal philosophy is that any action a person takes:
Shouldn’t harm anyone
Should help people directly or indirectly, at least in their sphere of influence
Should leave a situation better than how it was
When the pandemic was taking hold in early 2020, there were many reports of a shortage of ventilators all over the world. When Medtronic “open-sourced” one of their older ventilators, a group of Propellerheads (as Propel employees call ourselves) decided to import this complicated open-sourced list of parts and designs into a simple to understand Propel instance. In just a couple of weeks, they were able to take raw data and transform it into a format that could be leveraged by contract manufacturers to manufacture ventilators quickly. I was amazed by the speed with which a team of Propellerheads was able to transform an intricate set of disparate data into a single user interface that could be accessed and understood by everybody.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
New technology solutions tend to disrupt existing providers and processes. Silicon Valley usually focuses on the benefits of disruption, but there is almost always a downside to those who are being disrupted. This situation is no different. Legacy providers and their customers will struggle as adoption of the new low-code approach increases. It’s only a matter of time before those older platforms lose customers, which is always a painful process for those involved.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
Much of the credit on this goes to our co-founder and CEO, Ray Hein. Ray started in high-tech manufacturing and moved to enterprise software in the 1990s. He had the foresight to understand the market was shifting on multiple fronts. Enterprise software users were increasingly demanding the same user experience they came to expect from consumer software. Platform providers were becoming ever more powerful, allowing startups to leverage the best of breed technology built by the world’s biggest solution providers. Also, end customers were demanding a better product experience, forcing B2B providers to deliver B2B2C solutions. As Ray considered how to corral all of these (at that point) future trends, he realized that building Propel on Salesforce was the perfect solution. This laid the foundation for the development work we’ve done over the past 5 years, which is why this breakthrough is now possible.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
There is significant and growing market demand for no-code / low-code solutions that are part of larger platforms delivering a great user experience. Widespread adoption is taking place at this very moment. Our job is to ensure we deliver a solution that provides value to our customers. That’s the best way to ensure adoption continues to accelerate.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
Our customers are the best marketing we have. Any solution provider can make big claims — in fact, many do just that without backing them up. We are firm believers in putting customers first because their success is our success. On that front, 15 customers participated in our recent virtual conference, Propulsion 2020. It was great to hear first hand how they were able to grow their business in spite of the unprecedented challenges this year. We plan to promote our customers’ success even more as we look to the future because they have so many great stories and insights to share.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My journey from a student in a small (and a very beautiful) city in India to working in one of world’s most respected companies (Google) and now leading a team of talented engineers at an exciting startup is highly improbable. When I look back, there have been many people who have played a part, and many situations where I found myself in the right place at the right time. None of which I can take credit for.
I am incredibly grateful to my friends and family who have been immensely supportive. And I would not be on this path if it wasn’t for Deepak Alur, the VP of Engineering at a startup I was part of. I learned a lot by observing Deepak going about his work. Additionally, Sean Kranzberg, my manager at Google, was instrumental in helping me achieve success. He saw my potential and entrusted me with very important parts of the product.
And I would not be leading engineering at Propel if it weren’t for the support and trust of Ray Hein , CEO at Propel. I am incredibly grateful for his continued support and mentoring.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
As we discussed earlier, my improbable journey was only possible because so many dots connected at the right time with the help of many people. I give back to the next generation by sharing my experiences and perspective through mentoring.
I am a student and practitioner of Yoga and meditation and, as a result, I am a seeker and committed to lifelong learning. There is so much out there to learn, and the more I know just reinforces how much more there is to learn. I realize that one of the ways in which I can give back is to simplify these Yogic teachings that are more than 5000 years old and package them in a way that is applicable in today’s world, where mental health and well-being are top concerns. I do this by writing (on Medium), recording podcasts and more recently, by making YouTube videos (Happiness Beyond Mind).
These are small contributions and I am only getting started. I hope to do more of this. Who knows — maybe it may help connect dots for others.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
I would like to share something I have come to appreciate a lot. I wish I had known this concept when I started my career or even before that.
Ikigai
I encourage you to google “Ikigai” and “Ikigai diagram” to read about this. I won’t go into what this other than to say that this is an ancient Japanese concept or framework for “a reason for being”. It is a framework to identify your purpose. It can be used to make decisions about your career for instance. A student entering college can use this framework to narrow down their area of study. Similarly, a professional seeking a job change or a different career can also use this framework to identify what they want to do next.
At Google, I was working on a certain project which had pivoted to a completely different area than when I had joined this project. Over time, I realized that I was no longer interested in working on this project. Of course, I was earning well and building my beloved software, but there was something missing. I didn’t know about Ikigai back then, but knowing this concept now, I realize that what was missing was one of the circles in the Ikigai diagram — “What the world needs.” At the time, the product had pivoted into something I considered useless, which led to a steep drop in motivation to continue working. After a few weeks, I made the decision to leave that team, which in retrospect was the right decision to make at the time.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I like to share an idea with your readers using this platform. The core idea is around happiness. We are conditioned to think that more money, the next promotion, the dream house, the next vacation, etc will give us happiness. We pursue it relentlessly, often at the expense of our own physical and mental health. But rarely do we take a step back and ask ourselves why we do what we do. In fact, if we keep asking “why”, we will end up with “I want to be happy”.
The ancient Indian teachings from more than 5000 years ago, in no uncertain terms, point out this basic human problem. We look for happiness everywhere else except within.
I like to leave your readers with this: happiness and unhappiness are in our own minds. And guess what, it is in our control and is independent of external factors.
So, the next question is: am I suggesting that one shouldn’t have goals or be ambitious? Absolutely not. Get the latest gadget, or a house or go for that vacation, and post your pictures in social media. But don’t tie your happiness to that. Don’t do it for happiness. Do it from happiness.
Mental health, well-being and awareness has never been more important. I feel there is a solution and I hope to make it more accessible through my own practice and by sharing it with others.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Right Action, Right Intention, Right Effort, Right Attitude
Let’s do the right thing — in thought, speech and action — with greater good as the intention and do the work for work’s sake, for the intrinsic value of the work. Of course, all actions will have a result. When it comes, let’s accept the result with equanimity towards favorable and unfavorable outcomes.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Well, it is not a pitch but a call to action around digital well-being.
We have created products that are habit-forming and in many cases, addictive. There is increasing evidence — scientifically proven and qualitatively understood — that social media may be responsible for depression in youth and young adults. This is very troubling and it is only going to get worse if we don’t do anything about it.
We are often distracted by the device in our hands. I see an increased need in children to be constantly engaged with their phones, so much that their minds are never at rest. They meander from one app to the other, one device to another often leading to stress and anxiety. Also, if their minds are never at rest, how can creativity happen?
The plea is to invest in startups that are working on digital well-being and awareness.
Paul VerHoeve of ‘Mission Healthcare’: 5 Things We Can Each Do To Help Solve The Loneliness Epidemic
Make an effort to care for people — If we take the approach that we are all in this together and that we all have the want and desire for things to be better, it will allow us to better to support those who need it most. At Mission Healthcare we changed our mission statement a year ago to ensure it was a statement we all could live by each day and I believe it resonates more today than ever, “We take care of people”.
As a part of my interview series about the ‘5 Things We Can Each Do Help Solve The Loneliness Epidemic’ I had the pleasure to interview Paul VerHoeve.
Paul VerHoeve is the CEO for Mission Health Care, one of California’s largest privately-owned providers of home health and hospice services and is a member of its Board of Directors.
Paul brings over 20 years of healthcare leadership experience to Mission. Prior to his appointment as CEO at Mission Healthcare, Paul was President of the West Region with Louisville, Kentucky-based Kindred Healthcare, one of the largest post-acute care systems in the country. In his role with Kindred Healthcare, he was responsible for 120 locations across 10 states with 500M in annual revenues. Before joining Kindred HealthCare, Paul served in several leadership positions, with Gentiva Health Care, Haven Health Care and Vitas Health Care.
Throughout his career Paul has been recognized as being a driver of healthy workplace culture. His passion for creating environments that foster the “team” concept aims to ensure quality care at the bedside. He believes that “if you take care of your employees they will provide amazing care for your patients.”
Paul has a bachelor’s in business and lives in San Diego, CA with his three children Bailey, Tyler, and Riley.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share your “backstory” with us? What was it that led you to your eventual career choice?
I grew up in a medical family with a father who was a physician and a mother who was a nurse. I feel like I have been in healthcare since inception. As a kid, I always wanted to be a doctor and started college as a pre-med major. While going to school, I had some opportunities to work in home health and realized that I loved the administration part of healthcare and quickly changed to a business major. I had great opportunities as a young professional to work for some well-recognized national healthcare providers that really helped me as I got started.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
I am not sure this is the most interesting thing, but it is something I often think about and tell. For a large part of my career, I spent a lot of time on airplanes and was always intrigued by the different types of people you meet when traveling. You often learn about all different types of industries, experiences, and stories. Early in my career, I was sitting next to an older gentleman who had a strong southern accent who was wearing some warn blue jeans and some broken in boots. I came to a quick conclusion about who this individual was or what he did for a living. After spending thirty minutes chatting with this man, I realized that my first impression was way off. I was sitting next to one of the wealthiest cattle ranchers in the south. He shared some wisdom after he saw my shock and he said never change who you are or how you treat people because of your failures or successes. To this day, this story lives with me.
Can you share a story about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or takeaway you learned from that?
I remember early on when I first started traveling for work, I had a trip back east for an important meeting. When I got the hotel, it was about 11 pm and decided to iron my white dress shirt so it was ready to go for my 8 am meeting the next day. After the iron heated up, I put it down on my shirt and it left a huge black stain on the front of the shirt. I panicked and realized I had no other dress shirts and didn’t have time to find a shirt before my meeting the next day. All I had was a polo shirt I had worn while on the plane all day. The next morning everyone was dressed up in business suits and I was the one wearing a day-old polo shirt trying to explain the situation. The lesson was always be prepared for what could happen. Since then, I have always traveled with an extra shirt in my suitcase.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
At Mission Healthcare, we continue to look at ways to better serve the patient population. From a patient perspective, we continually find new programs to meet unmet needs within the healthcare system. Over the last 5 years, we have seen a large push of more care being provided in the home and has been amplified by the pandemic. One of the new projects we are working on is finding ways to provide options for patients who fall between the cracks. One of these areas is palliative care. Many Americans are suffering from debilitating/terminal diseases that will not get better over time and in many cases have access to limited services. We have recently launched a palliative care program that has seen great success in helping this population that in many cases would not have accessed services or would have suffered with debilitating pain. This patient population is more isolated than most due to the disease process they have coupled with limited social interactions outside of the home. One of the core tenants of this program outside of clinical interventions is social services. Ensuring the right resources and support are available are critical to this patient population. This program has helped hundreds of patients and Mission Healthcare aims to serve thousands as we expand the program.
Can you share with our readers a bit why you are an authority about the topic of the Loneliness Epidemic?
At Mission, I work with over 300 clinicians who provide care to over 2,000 patients every day. A good majority of these patients are seniors who are receiving care in the home. Normally this population is one of the highest risk groups for depression and loneliness due to isolation. In the senior population 1 in 4 lives alone. The pandemic has magnified the risk factors for this high-risk population as they have become even more isolated from outside contact and interactions. We also are witnessing the impact the pandemic is having on our frontline clinicians as they continue to care for high-risk patients in a COVID world without the regular face to face interactions with managers and peer groups.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the focus of our interview. According to this story in Forbes, loneliness is becoming an increasing health threat not just in the US , but across the world. Can you articulate for our readers 3 reasons why being lonely and isolated can harm one’s health?
There are so many reasons that loneliness can lead to health problems. Though every individual has different wants and likes around the amount of social interaction they need to feel satisfied, it is something that all of us require as a part of our general health. In the population we serve, we see things like depression as one of the largest impacts of loneliness. We also see increased levels of stress and worry. We see folks becoming less mobile and more sedentary. All three of these can lead to many side effects that can negatively impact an individual’s mental health.
On a broader societal level, in which way is loneliness harming our communities and society?
The word that comes to mind is hope. From a young child to a senior we all have a need to have things to look forward to or things that we can be excited about. For a child it may be looking forward to a birthday party, seeing friends at school, visiting with family, or playing in a sporting event. For a senior it may be visiting family, holding a new grandchild, or going on vacation. As many of these things have been taken away or altered significantly over the last year with the pandemic, we can feel hopeless leading us to loneliness or depression. We tend to lose hope when we cannot see a pathway to our future. At a time like this, it’s important to remain hopeful.
The irony of having a loneliness epidemic is glaring. We are living in a time where more people are connected to each other than ever before in history. Our technology has the power to connect billions of people in one network, in a way that was never possible. Yet despite this, so many people are lonely. Why is this? Can you share 3 of the main reasons why we are facing a loneliness epidemic today? Please give a story or an example for each.
Today is a far cry from what we hoped for and expected from 2020. Though social media, facetime, and Zoom meetings can replace some of the missing pieces of social interaction, it can never fully replace the impact of human connection.
Lack of connectivity with friends/family — The pandemic is changing the way people celebrate major events and holidays. This new threat challenges us to be creative in how we maintain our social connections and manage our mental and physical health. Normally we would take a family member or friend out to dinner for a birthday celebration. This is now been replaced with a short face time phone call or a text message.
Lack of connectivity in general activities — Human connection is now more important than ever. I was at a grocery store a few weeks back and had an elderly gentleman standing 6 feet in front of me and you could see that he wanted to chat. For many folks the conversations in a grocery store line, or while waiting for a coffee order, or speaking with parents while waiting for children to get out of school are the moments that have been massively altered over the past year.
Physical Activity — I think it fair to say most of us have watched more Netflix, have spent less time exercising and less time doing physical activity since the pandemic started. The adage that motion creates emotion is real and can be a big generator of happiness.
Ok. it is not enough to talk about problems without offering possible solutions. In your experience, what are the 5 things each of us can do to help solve the Loneliness Epidemic. Please give a story or an example for each.
Make an effort to care for people — If we take the approach that we are all in this together and that we all have the want and desire for things to be better, it will allow us to better to support those who need it most. At Mission Healthcare we changed our mission statement a year ago to ensure it was a statement we all could live by each day and I believe it resonates more today than ever, “We take care of people”.
Be understanding — The pandemic has affected all of us differently and we all have unique support systems. Try and find simple ways to impact someone else.
Stay Active — We are running out of new shows to watch, get out and move around. As mentioned before motion creates emotion and releases all kinds of endorphins that can impact positivity.
Make plans for a post-vaccine world — I mentioned before that hope is important and we all need something to look forward to. Make a plan for next year’s birthday celebration, a vacation, a family visit. The ability to have these things to look forward to will change our perspective.
Find your silver lining — At Mission, we recently held an essay contest about finding your silver lining during the pandemic. Reading the heartfelt stories of Mission team members and what they each have endured during the pandemic gave me a perspective I did not have before. We had an employee who shared a story about pregnancy through the pandemic who had serious complications and had to deliver twins prematurely, have them in NICU for a month and all while having an active toddler at home with her husband that she couldn’t be with. She now has 3 healthy beautiful girls and her silver lining was family. To quote her, “she got her rainbow after the rain”.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
It is important to keep it simple and not over complicate it. I have the pleasure of seeing this in the work we do at Mission Healthcare each and every day. It is the “taking care of people” movement. My team at Mission Healthcare takes priority. The great thing about taking care of people is that it does not require a title or money, it’s something we can all do to have a positive impact in our communities.
What this means at the most practical level is simple: Put the team first because if you take care of your team, they’ll take care of you. Taking care of people is one of the fundamental responsibilities of leadership. It requires thoughtful and purposeful effort, but the return on investment of time in taking care of people is very high.
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Bill Gates has always been on my list for two reasons. I would love to understand his thought process as he built one of the biggest and most innovative companies in the world. The second reason is to understand how he chose the philanthropic initiatives he has been a part of.
I find giving yourself time to practice self-care in whatever capacity is paramount to living a balanced life. Things can move very quickly and sometimes slowly being a member of a creative field, so it’s good to keep yourself busy with things you’ve always loved doing. Slowing down can be hard, but simple things like contacting old friends and setting aside time for meditation has helped me stay grounded and maintain order in my life.
As a part of my series about “Grit: The Most Overlooked Ingredient of Success” I had the pleasure of interviewing Adam Cola.
Adam Cola is a singer, songwriter, dancer and activist originally from Montreal, Canada who champions individuality. By living his truth through his craft he hopes to be a beacon of light for people who struggle with self-acceptance and empower them on their journey of shamelessly embracing all parts of their identities. Cola lives in Los Angeles and enjoys living an active lifestyle. He also is an active ally to the BLM movement and enjoys giving back by volunteering regularly with organizations such as Dogs Without Borders and JQ LA.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what events drew you to your specific career path:
I grew up in a small town in Quebec, Canada. It was a tight-knit community where everyone knew each other. I was always known for being particularly animated. I was and still am actually shy at first, but my best friends and family got to see the performer within me come out early in life. I had a love for the arts for as long as I can remember. My idols growing up were Justin Timberlake, Usher and Michael Jackson (to name a few). It’s crazy that I’m now pursuing a career similar to these larger-than-life characters I looked up to. Now I have the privilege to express my individuality and tell stories through music and dance.
Can you share your story about “Grit and Success”? First can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?
Moving to the USA to peruse my music career was a big feat for me. It was scary. I have no family in LA, and had only been here once. I knew that being in LA was the only way I’d be able to truly make it so I took a leap of faith and found success in my music through being in LA.
Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Through dedication, determination and drive I stuck through the hard times of being homesick and missing my family to achieve success in my music career. It was worth it though because I made it happen for myself.
So how did Grit lead to your eventual success? How did Grit turn things around?
Now with over 1 million streams, I think my dedication to my craft through grit has allowed me to find success as an artist.
Based on your experience, can you share 5 pieces of advice about how one can develop Grit? (Please share a story or example for each)
Never Give Up: I wanted to move back to Montreal to be with my family in times of weakness at the beg
Celebrate Wins Along the Way; I find that celebrating little wins along the way helps you stay focused and inspired to keep on moving.
Practice Balance: While staying focused to meet your goal is important, so taking care of your mental health. This can be done by working out.
Manage Time Well: They don’t say, time is money for nothing. Being able to manage time is key to finding success and meeting goals.
Seek Support When Overwhelmed: You are not alone. Seeking social support and asking for help is an important strategy for finding success.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped you when things were tough? Can you share a story about that?
“Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl made a strong impact on me. The book is narrated from the experience of renowned psychiatrist Viktor Frankl during his life as a prisoner under the Nazi regime. It strikes a particular chord in me given that my grandparents are Holocaust survivors. It’s a story about spiritual survival and the innate human quest for meaning.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I’ve recently worked with Movember https://us.movember.com/about/foundation and through using my social channels I was able to raise $500 for the cause which was great.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
On December 4th I launched my single, Make Your Mark. I;’ll be releasing a new music video soon also. Lastly, I’ll be launching my debut record in 2021. I hope my feel good music will help other find happiness this year. I know it’s been a tough one.
What advice would you give to other executives or founders to help their employees to thrive?
I find giving yourself time to practice self-care in whatever capacity is paramount to living a balanced life. Things can move very quickly and sometimes slowly being a member of a creative field, so it’s good to keep yourself busy with things you’ve always loved doing. Slowing down can be hard, but simple things like contacting old friends and setting aside time for meditation has helped me stay grounded and maintain order in my life.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would inspire a movement built on anti-ignorance regarding people of different backgrounds, whether that be genetics, sexual orientation or social status. Bullying, hate-speech and discrimination is still very much alive in the world and it needs to end now.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” — Dr. Seuss. This is a powerful quote that continues to guide me every day. Growing up, I struggled with intense feelings of inadequacy in my identity. Fear of how we are perceived by others can diminish our feelings of self-love — which is invaluable, and in my experience, can only come from within.
Reduced employee turnover. A great benefit of diversity in the workplace is that it improves employee morale and engagement. This factor alone can lead to higher productivity and revenue. Additionally, having a diverse team can strengthen your brand and help you develop a reputation for being progressive making you an attractive employer.
As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Vijay Eswaran, Executive Chairman of QI Group.
Vijay Eswaran is a successful entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and philanthropist and the author of the best-selling book In the Sphere of Silence. An economist by training, he is the founder of a multimillion-dollar global business.
A well-known thought leader in Asia, he has written and spoken extensively about business, leadership, personal development, and life management. For more of his writing and videos, please follow him on Facebook and Instagram.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
I grew up in the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country of Malaysia. It’s a relatively small country in South East Asia but with a rich history that contributed to our pluralistic society. We’ve been colonized by the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British. Historically, the Malay peninsula was an important trading port and early settlers arrived here from China and India as far back as the 1st century AD. Today’s Malaysia is a confluence of all of these cultures. The world I grew up in included having friends and classmates who came from several cultures and faith, were of many different shades of skin, and spoke different languages at home. As a result, almost everyone in Malaysia grows up at the very least, tri-lingual, and that led to me being fairly fluent in about 9 languages.
When you grow up with so much diversity all around you, it is natural to develop a certain depth and range of thinking. My father was a civil servant with the Malaysian government who was transferred frequently all over the country so I went to around nine different schools by the time I graduated high school. I studied in the UK and the USA. I worked in different parts of the US and Canada before moving back to Asia and once I started my journey as an entrepreneur in the late 90s, I also lived in the Philippines and Hong Kong.
I firmly believe that this background and environment of diversity gave me the insights that eventually helped me build a multinational business that today has a global footprint in more than 30 countries.
Today, I consider myself a global citizen since I can call several countries my home. Before the pandemic restricted travel, my wife and I divided our time between our homes in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Sydney and London.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
I studied and worked in America for many years and worked at a major technology company back in the early 80s. While I am Malaysian, I am of Indian origin. Today, it’s very common to see people of Indian heritage all over the US, especially in tech. But back then people who looked like me were an oddity. People often referred to me as ‘that Cuban guy’ even after I had worked there for 7 or 8 years.
This one time, the Vice President of my business unit invited us home for a barbeque. He lived in an affluent neighbourhood with beautiful big houses and security fences between neighbouring homes. I am a life-long vegetarian so there never is anything for me to eat at these parties, but I went because it was my VP and I thought I should at least show my face. As the meat started cooking on the grill in his backyard, the smell was overpowering and I couldn’t deal with it. I decided to take a walk outside and get some air away from the smoky barbeque.
As I was strolling outside, admiring the beautiful homes, I passed by this home with a beautiful front garden and an older gentleman who was watering the plants. Instinctively, I smiled and said hello. He seemed startled at first, maybe cautious as to why some random brown guy was wandering the street of this very exclusive neighbourhood, but his curiosity got the better of him.
We started talking and I told him who I was visiting and why I was out for a stroll. When I told him where I came from, he was very curious about Malaysia and asked me a lot of questions. Before I realized, we had been talking for a good half hour and I had his phone number and an invitation to visit him. I excused myself from my new friend and went back to the party. My VP spotted me and asked where I had disappeared to. I told him I’d been talking to Frank, his neighbour. My host looked blank. I explained that it was the neighbour from two houses down the road with the beautiful garden, the older gentleman with a daughter in California and three grandchildren.
My VP looked amazed. He said, ‘you mean Schaffenhauer? I didn’t know his name was Frank or that he had a daughter in California, let alone grandkids.’
He was even more amazed when I told him Frank had invited me over. They had been neighbours for at least 5 years at this point and had never exchanged more than cursory greetings.
I think this is where my multicultural upbringing and background played a role. When you grow up with people who look different from you, you get curious and ask questions about everything, from the clothes they wear, the food they eat, the holidays they celebrate. That’s why I’ve never hesitated to talk to strangers and ask questions. That’s also how I built my business. My takeaway from this incident is that when someone or something is different from you, there is merit in trying to build bridges, rather than erecting walls.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
When my partners and I started the QI Group, one thing that we unanimously agreed on is a philosophy we refer to as RYTHM. It’s an acronym for a concept called Raise Yourself To Help Mankind, derived from an anecdote we read about from Gandhi.
Apparently, when Gandhi set up an ashram in South Africa which served as the headquarters of his campaign of non-violent resistance against the discrimination of Indians in South Africa, many people volunteered their services and talents to support the movement. A young boy came to Gandhi and asked to join the movement. When Gandhi asked how he could contribute, the boy said he would do anything that was needed, odd jobs around the settlement, cleaning the premises, running errands etc. Gandhi apparently told him we have plenty of people to do that. What we need are specialized services. We need doctors to tend to the sick, lawyers to defend our people, teachers to educate the young minds. You need to raise yourself first, before you can help others. So, go make something of yourself first so that you are in a position to help the community.
Inspired by the story, we coined the phrase — Raise Yourself To Help Mankind, which would beautifully shorten to RYTHM, and adopted it as the philosophy on which the foundation of the company was built. We were very clear that we have a greater purpose other than being profit-driven. In today’s terms, it’s called stakeholder capitalism. The ideology of putting shareholders above all that has driven businesses for the last half a century needs a serious update.
We just turned 22 years old in September. We have been through so many challenges in the last two decades that many observers are amazed we are still around. I’d like to think that the secret sauce keeping us on track is RYTHM.
It has brought us to this point, and I am confident it will take us through to the decades that lie ahead of us.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
The onset of Covid has helped us crystallize a project that we call the Plan B. In essence, it is a collective project comprised of a number of focused initiatives that is helping us re-engineer the company for the new normal and for the new consumer that is emerging as a result of this pandemic.
It is forcing us to identify weaknesses, plug the holes, and streamline operations. As a result, some departments have been shut down since we identified them as being obsolete, others have tripled their manpower, and brand new teams are being set up to launch new programmes that will help us be future ready.
We launched Plan B at the height of the lockdown in many countries, at a time when everyone was stressed due to the uncertainties and fear of the unknown coupled with cabin fever from being trapped indoors for days. When we shared the Plan B project with our teams, the excitement was palpable. All the fears and stress have now been replaced by hope for a bright future and everyone is working towards a common goal.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
Create an environment where your employees feel like they are valuable stakeholders. Find the right people and give them ownership of what they do. You need a Sherpa to find your way to the top of a mountain. The best thing you can do for your business is to turn your employees into Sherpas.
To paraphrase, I would like to quote the late Tony Hsiesh — ‘Focus on delivering happiness.’
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders about how to manage a large team?
When you have a large team, you have the opportunity to build diversity into the team. People with varied experiences, approaches, and perspectives who will help you cover all bases. I say this from experience because diversity is inbuilt into my organization. Based on our last diversity report, we had employees of more than 50 nationalities, a highly multi-generational demographic that ranged in age from 19 to 65, and around 46% women.
I am a proponent of management by consensus. This is often misconstrued because people think they need to convince a large number of individuals in order to make important decisions. It’s not about convincing others. It’s about consulting. If you want to create an environment that fosters creativity and innovation then you need to allow diversity of opinions. It’s not about giving up control but about making an informed decision. The process can be long but it’s worth it. It’s participative governance at its best, and it builds and fosters a sense of ownership.
Every organization will have a transient group of mercenaries who will not be interested in this process and that’s fine because you need people like that as well. But it is the missionaries who will take you to the next level.
Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Diversity is a catalyst for disruption and innovation. Different perspectives on customer needs, product improvements, and company wellbeing fuel a better business.
A vibrant corporate culture, one that reinvents itself regularly. A diverse work place encourages dialogue that allows for a new way of thinking. Assumptions need to be constantly challenged when you are trying to grow a business.
McKinsey’s Delivering Through Diversity report found corporations that embrace gender diversity on their executive teams were more competitive and 21% more likely to experience above-average profitability.
Reduced employee turnover. A great benefit of diversity in the workplace is that it improves employee morale and engagement. This factor alone can lead to higher productivity and revenue. Additionally, having a diverse team can strengthen your brand and help you develop a reputation for being progressive making you an attractive employer.
Globalize your business. You are better able to understand your customers and target your marketing efforts toward diverse audiences from different social, ethnic and racial backgrounds.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
While my wife and I have been doing our part to give back in any way that we can for many years, my organization, the QI Group has established the RYTHM Foundation as our social impact initiative. My wife Umayal Eswaran leads the Foundation which has global partnerships with more than 100 grass roots organizations in at least 30 different cities in South East Asia, India, Sri Lanka, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
As a policy, 10% of our revenues are redirected to the Foundation which focuses on three main areas that are aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals –
Providing access to education to children in remote and underserved communities. We’ve narrowed down this focus further to children with special needs and disabilities.
Providing young girls and women from disadvantaged communities with skills training and economic opportunities to help them bridge the gender divide
Supporting various rural communities with implementing development initiatives to help them become self-sustaining in the long term.
A few years ago, my wife and I embarked on a personal initiative called the Gift of Life that is very close to our heart. Whenever someone close to us celebrates a birthday or an anniversary, we make a donation in their name to a school in a rural community to help with anything from infrastructure support to education materials to furniture. We take a photograph of the kids in the school after they have received the necessary support and we send it to the person celebrating their special day, with a note from us, explaining the significance of the project. Every recipient has been very appreciative of this gift and we get a number of messages each month from friends and family to let us know that they prefer this gift over any other present they received.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”?
Your life is your message — Gandhi
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
In Eastern Philosophy, we tend to have two types of mentors — Spiritual and Knowledge. The spiritual mentor deals primarily with one’s spiritual upliftment and growth. This type of mentor is generally found a lot later in life when you are in a better, arguably more mature state of mind to receive them.
The knowledge mentors are primarily academic, and they come in your life in ripples starting in early childhood. I’ve been blessed with many such mentors starting with my grandfather from who I learnt the art of silence, teachers throughout my schooling years who challenged me constantly to be better, one of my first bosses in America, a formidable woman who instilled in me a worth ethic that has served me well through the years, several enlightened souls who have guided my spiritual journey and my process of self-discovery. They are way too many to name individually.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this 🙂
I would love to meet President Obama! He overcame so many odds to make it to the highest office in the country and then went on to helm a momentous presidency for two terms. It takes courage and substance to display grace the way he did.
The Future Is Now: Harrison Sonntag of ‘Maven Wave’ On How Their Technological Innovation Will Help Address The Reporting Gap
Embrace change. My career path has changed several times. I was a political science major in college, but I didn’t go down that career path. However, I look back and the skills I learned that have helped me tremendously as both a teacher and in tech sales. I had no intention of leaving education. But I embraced the change and the opportunity and am happy that I did.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Harrison Sonntag.
Harrison Sonntag is a Principal Consultant and Sales Executive with Maven Wave, focused entirely on helping healthcare organizations with digital solutions that are agile, mobile, rooted in analytics, and built in the cloud. A former educator and graduate of Dartmouth College, Harrison’s passion is equipping healthcare organizations to improve the lives of their population they proudly serve through technological innovation. His main areas of expertise and focus are on applied AI in healthcare and enabling positive change through the application of advanced analytics.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
After college, I started out in software sales. While I did well, I felt unfulfilled. I felt I wasn’t making a difference in the world. So, I chose a very different path at that point and became a high school educator. I really enjoyed it, and I was making a difference. At that point, I was going to move forward in the education field and work on my master’s in education. But I heard from my childhood best friend, who is a physician and has a Master’s in Public Health. He had joined a start-up that was using AI and other technology to improve healthcare, and he said the company needed a salesperson. I decided to go for it. Fast forward a few years, and I am now at Maven Wave, an Atos Company, still working in healthcare technology. What I was sold on then (by my best friend) and what I think about every day now, is the potential we have to impact far more people through the advancements of technology in healthcare than if I was still an educator.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Within a month of starting at Maven Wave, the entire organization — even those who had nothing to do with change management — teamed up on a go-live project which basically entailed the largest healthcare G Suite implementation ever. In a surprising and fortuitous turn of events, I ended up working with my wife, an ER doctor, and her colleagues, on the G Suite adoption. Our world’s — my wife’s in medicine and mine in healthcare technology, collided. It was an all-hands-on-deck situation I was not expecting, involving 118 hospitals throughout the country. But I got to work directly with my wife!
Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Every day, an average of 130 Americans die from an opioid overdose. Few people realize that behind this epidemic, one of the biggest hurdles is a data problem that hinders the work of those trying to bring life-saving resources to areas and individuals most affected by substance abuse. Anecdotally, some people who work in harm reduction have estimated that 50–90% of overdoses go unreported in Texas. This reporting gap — and the uncounted fatal and nonfatal overdoses it represents — extends beyond opioid use, and, significantly, beyond Texas.
Some reporting hurdles are unique to Texas. For example, only 15 out of 154 counties have a medical examiner, so most autopsies in the state are performed by a Justice of the Peace with no training at all in substance use and overdose. Other factors contributing to the state’s data gaps are more universal, such as fear of legal repercussions among users and their communities, social stigma, and, of course, the lack of a unified reporting system across the state. To be useful to — and easily used by — everyone it will reach, such a system must be scalable and versatile. Ultimately, other states will be able to use the same platform to confront their own overdose data challenges. So, the question is, how to capture missing data in a reporting system that’s scalable to Texas and beyond? With funding from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Maven Wave is working with Dr. Kasey Claborn and her colleagues at the University of Texas — Austin’s Dell Medical School on a five-year initiative called Project Connect to build a platform that can be widely adopted. To inspire trust that’s crucial to the project’s success, both from medical professionals concerned with issues like HIPAA compliance and individuals dealing with substance abuse, it must be secure as well as scalable. We want to ensure that we’re building out the right foundation of this platform from the beginning to take absolute care of this sensitive data.
How do you think this might change the world?
Without accurate information, it’s impossible to create effective solutions. Tackling this problem, in Texas and everywhere else, will require first and foremost closing the reporting gap. Getting better data to people who can put it to work in real-time — from those who direct funding and allocation of resources, to EMT and emergency room workers, law enforcement, substance abuse treatment and prevention experts, communities and families affected by substance abuse, and even those struggling with substance abuse themselves — will literally save lives.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
While getting actual drug users to report overdoses will be a groundbreaking step forward, it obviously presents unique challenges, both ethical and practical. A genuine understanding of the barriers to reporting is vital for creating a system that drug users will actually use. To that end, community advisory boards at five urban and rural “pilot sites” across Texas will contribute directly to quantitative and qualitative research, talking with everyone from state government employees to healthcare workers to regular citizens (including users themselves) to find out what’s getting in the way of accurate data collection, reporting, and management. The knowledge gained from the pilots will help project stakeholders create an implementation protocol that’s sustainable state-wide.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
We don’t assume to be subject matter experts in the opioid epidemic, but this gave us an opportunity for a partnership with people who are. We did dozens of interviews with subject-matter experts who are social workers, government officials, harm reduction coalition members, and EMS personnel to learn firsthand from them how to successfully build this tool for adoption to make the most impact. We did this well before we came up with any of our designs that we have now built and continue to build more tailored applications for specific users based on the groups and their feedback.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
Our role is that of the technology provider, that’s where we are focusing our attention on. In our partnership with Google Cloud, they’ve allowed us to have a bigger voice. In the coming months we and Google are working with the University of Texas, Austin team throughout the state, using our workforce to get the word out and letting people know about it. This is designed to be a five-year project, and we have completed year one.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
We have been working with the teams at UT Austin and Google to publicize the great work we’re doing in several different ways. We planned to present on the project in the Google Cloud booth at the HIMSS conference in March, but due to the pandemic we were not able to be in-person. So our teams pivoted to record the session as well as develop some great written interviews to share the story. These assets live on Google Cloud’s Healthcare and Life Sciences content library site, and Maven Wave also produced a webinar. The team at UT Austin has also been very vocal on social media about getting the word out to share all of these assets with their networks.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My best friend who I mentioned before certainly shaped my career path and my parents who have always been supportive of course come to mind. But in particular I have to say it’s my wife. She’s been incredibly supportive of me and my career choices, from education to technology sales. She has been an incredible resource for me in my role in the healthcare tech side. I have direct access to a physician every day, and I can bounce ideas off her on how a particular technology might work within her workflow and how it could be successful for her and her colleagues.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I have been blessed with two careers, in a sense, in my life thus far. Ultimately at the end of the day I can say my job is meant to help people. In education it comes in the form of instant gratification. Now I am seeing projects that I’ve been able to play a major role in being adopted that are ultimately only valuable if they’re improving healthcare. In that role I reach far more people now. Outside of my career itself, we are active in Austin Pets Alive. It is a pet adoption agency and charity in Austin, where I live. I also volunteer and donate to HeartSupport — an organization that helps young people suffering from mental illnesses — which is incredibly important to me.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Embrace change. My career path has changed several times. I was a political science major in college, but I didn’t go down that career path. However, I look back and the skills I learned that have helped me tremendously as both a teacher and in tech sales. I had no intention of leaving education. But I embraced the change and the opportunity and am happy that I did.
It’s ok to fail. I’m in sales. Rejection is a part of life. For every win there are two or three losses. That being said, every one of those failures in business, not making a sale, missing an opportunity, are all lessons learned that will help me and my organization move forward.
It’s ok to not be the expert. I’m blessed that I’ve been able to work in healthcare. I’ve gained tremendous knowledge but I’m not a doctor or pharmaceutical expert. I’ve been able to gain knowledge and experience working with the actual subject matter experts. But I play a relatively small role by delivering healthcare tech solutions, The entire process takes a lot of talented people.
Stay in touch with contacts as much as possible. The healthcare industry seems to be small. Folks that I worked with many years ago, I am encountering in new roles at new organizations today. Relationships developed with people even years back have proved to be very beneficial moving forward.
I wish I could have told my younger self that writing is the most important skill you’ll ever need. White papers, contracts, presentations, emails — it’s a skill I’m happy I’ve developed. I had no idea how important that would be. Being an effective communicator is incredibly important in any work environment.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Be nice. I know it sounds cliche. I genuinely believe that if we all attempted to follow the Golden Rule to love our neighbors as ourselves, the world would be a better place. If we could all consciously make an effort, it might change the world.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Both of my parents were also in technology sales. Early in my sales career, my dad said at the end of day, ask yourself “did I do everything I did today in my power?” If I answer yes, I did my job. A million things in business and sales are out of my control, but if I did what I could to get to my goal, I did it right. If I can’t answer yes, then I need to address that asap, by taking action. I try to remember that every day.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Atos, which owns Maven Wave, is a publicly-traded company. But I will answer the question, “Why would an organization want to work with Maven Wave?” We are an 11-year Google Cloud Premier Partner, and for the last three years we were named Premier Partner in North America. We have earned 10 Google specializations and have deep expertise in Google Cloud technology. Our role is using that technology to create solutions to specific problems in healthcare with the primary focus on how we can use this technology to improve healthcare. For the healthcare enterprise or individual patients, that’s how we take every day as a healthcare team and what drives us in our daily work. We push utilizing the tech to develop real solutions as opposed to pushing particular technology.
The Future Is Now: Evan Wayne of ‘Key’ On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene
Technology is Like Building a House; Everyone Likes to Over-promise and Under-Deliver.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Evan Wayne, CEO & Founder of Key.
The foremost expert in relationship and revenue building, Evan Wayne has cataloged a successful career driving sale as well as high-growth teams accordingly. As Founder and CEO of Key, Evan Wayne oversees company financials, managing the Key P&L, investor relations, long-term partnerships, and hires. Wayne led the initial seed funding round, garnering investments from 50 investors and he continues to drive future fundraising rounds supporting Key’s rapid growth and expansion. Wayne manages the Talent Growth & Partnerships department, driving strategic partnerships for Key from individual talent, talent agencies, brand partners, marketing agencies, talent teams, and venture relations. Additionally, Wayne oversees the Product department, helping to drive overall product vision, roadmap, tech partnerships, and data integrations.
Wayne previously was a co-founder of Clearstream, where he delivered triple-digit revenue growth before and after its sale to Engine Group in 2015. Prior to Clearstream, Evan led sales at Sociomantic, which sold to Dunnhumby, and was the largest revenue contributor at InterClick, which sold to Yahoo in 2011.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Many years ago, my career began selling advertising opportunities and working with talent at a hip-hop radio station in Chicago. From there, I shifted to selling advertising technology; I was fortunate enough to work for some of the most incredible mentors in the industry. These mentors inspired me daily and pushed me to learn, grow, and challenge myself at every venture. One aspect of my job that continuously energized me was the ability to work in a field that was never stagnant, but always changing. I thrived in taking experiences from each job as I thought about new ideas and problems in-market I could solve. This concept foundationally helped drive me to start my own business, leading me to tie together my experiences across many business sectors, from talent to technology, brands to data and more. Enter Key, which is truly an intersection of all of my ventures along the way. I have the unique opportunity to tap into my experiences and create a company that delivers opportunities for Talent, Fans & Brands leveraging my advertising technology and data expertise.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
When selling at B96 “Hits and Hip Hop” radio station, I vividly remember one defining moment during my tenure there that helped shape my future. Wearing a suit and tie, I walked into a Toyota Scion dealership to pitch our talent to a potential customer. The GM quickly told me that we were not the right fit for his customers. With trepidation, I asked him if we could make a bet…the bet would be that we would head to their car service center and we would sit in 3 cars. If all 3 cars had B96 on the radio presets, then he would buy from us. All 3 cars had B96 programmed. While it felt great to “win”, I had a moment of self-realization that one of my characteristics I would always come to value is my appetite for risk-taking, my personal grit and desire to continue to bring unique solutions to problems at hand. This may seem like a small moment in the scheme of things, but this experience, this opportunity, helped drive me to never stop at no and continue to push to build, create and inspire in the businesses I would start.
Can you tell us about the Cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
On a daily basis, we are innovating, delivering and building technology that offers better ways for Talent to take back control of their data and content monetization. Not only is this beneficial for Talent but will also allow for more relevant content experiences for their loyal Fans. The technology stack we are creating is rooted in driving a frictionless experience (no app download is necessary), is agnostic and accessible to all (works on all screens) and offers features and functionalities that bring rich live content experiences to life. One of the greatest parts is that our tech has emerged as a way to give back and drive social impact in real-time.
How do you think this might change the world?
During this global pandemic, where life has changed for many people, we feel empowered that Key can create connectivity. Furthermore, meaningful and authentic connections that everyone has access to. There is something incredibly powerful in finding that connection point during a time of need.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
In general, many people are dependent and incredibly influenced by content, specifically social content. Currently, fans and consumers are beholden to the large social media platforms and how they control the experience for these individuals. Think of #ad and sponsored posts, platform algorithms and more. The Key technology and platform experience hope to connect Talent and Fans in a more organic and genuine way; free of big box platform semantics.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
After over a decade working with brands, I realized how much information these brands have at their fingertips. They have the resources to obtain the data and access to deep analytics and insights. With our belief that Talent is the new Brand, we saw an opportunity gap in that Talent has little to no access to robust data around who their fans really are. It was an “aha” moment for us and we realized that Key could help provide that same value and data access for Talent.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
Achieving success and mass adoption/scale for Key is contingent on continuing to create and drive larger partnerships and success stories across a multitude of verticals including sports, music, culinary, wellness, fitness and more.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
We have a unique and innovative marketing strategy at Key where we support and empower Talent to be their own marketing engine. They have worked hard to build loyal communities across existing platforms like Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, so, we tell them to meet their Fans where they already are engaged. For upcoming livestream events, they promote to their existing fan base. Promoting organically and in Talent’s own tone and voice is something we have seen great success with versus Key pushing out paid media or less authentic marketing.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I have been incredibly lucky in my career to have worked with inspiring people who supported and drove me to start my own business. During my first exit, I was working for Michael Katz, who instilled a message in me, that the ride is better than the exit. That is, we are never going to have more fun than where we are now; building a team and growing a business. That has stuck with me every step of the way on my journey.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
This is of course a work in progress, but I make sure to maintain and foster my network and connections, continue to drive mentorship wherever possible, and always pay it forward. As mentioned, I am entirely grateful for the inspiring people and the experiences I have been surrounded by. I like to create job opportunities, often bringing individuals from my past teams with me as I build. I always commit to a fun, productive cultural environment. Lastly, we are lucky at Key to have built a platform that brings goodness to the world daily by raising direct funds for important causes from the livestreams.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Work Smarter Not Harder
Technology is Like Building a House; Everyone Likes to Over-promise and Under-Deliver.
Not All Lunch Meetings are Created Equal; Sometimes Lunch is Just a Meal; Sometimes You are Doing Business.
If You Ask for Advice, You Will Get Money. If You Ask for Money, You Will Get Advice.
I Wish Someone Told Me Before We Started…That a Global Pandemic Was Looming 🙂 One Can Wish Right?
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Well on a funny note, would really enjoy if every morning we start our days with a 5-minute dance party. In reality, I would love if everyone tried to pay it forward at least once a week. Take one thing you learned from someone else and pay it forward to the next person!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
The ride is better than the exit; I have been part of 3 acquisitions, so this is entirely relevant in my life. You will never have more fun than building and developing the business and culture (the ride). I am enjoying every moment of building Key!
Some very well-known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say?
We had a thesis that Talent is the new Brand; however, Talent doesn’t have control of the same things that Brands do such as data, content monetization, and attribution. So, we set out to build products under Key that unlock those abilities for Talent. Through live streaming, data orchestration of their CRM and through connecting Brands, Talent and Fans in one singular place.
