An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Literal and metaphorical diversity translates to recognizing and interpreting market opportunities that a homogenous group may overlook due to a one-track mindset. Sometimes the homogeneous culture is intentional, other times it’s a victim to limited diversity due to the type of business ownership and geography.
As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sasha Laghonh.
Sasha is a Founder and Entrepreneur of an educational and entertainment platform that integrates self & professional development into nurturing meaningful outcomes. As a speaker, mentor and author, she partners alongside different clients, from individuals to organizations, to capitalize upon their talent. She is the host in residence for KreativeCircle.com and Global Ambassador for Style My Soul, a Lifestyle & Interests Community. To learn more, please visit www.sashatalks.com.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive into the main part of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share a bit of your “backstory” with us?
I come from a commercial, public and private, business background that after investing years working for third party entities, I now work alongside them in crafting healthy collaborations.
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?
When hosting a silent auction for a private event, I recall a participant had dropped a diamond bracelet on the table when submitting their bid. I thought it was an item that was unaccounted for that needed its own table for receiving bids. When we went to announce the winner for the bracelet, there came a loud shriek from the audience. The owner of the bracelet had spent two hours searching for the bracelet only to be found later. Things were sorted out but I won’t forget the look of horror on the woman’s face.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you tell us a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
“Success is not to be pursued. It is to be attracted by the person you become.” — Jim Rohn
Many people are conditioned in life to chase things when in fact it’s a detrimental and destructive philosophy. It’s sending the message that we’re not worthy of earning our desires that we must chase them. This is why most people struggle because they’re entrapped in this mental, emotional and physical chase leading them into oblivion. The fantasy and faux ambition is poisoning their being. Mr. Rohn’s wisdom resonates with me because creating and sustaining results is reflected by our self-development. If we exercise our free-will to release our manifestations, at least we’re doing so by choice.
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?
Addisu. I met Addisu, an entrepreneur, through a professional opportunity many years ago. We became friendly neighbors in the work building after a chance meeting. He shared his affinity for practicing wellness regimens as part of his daily lifestyle. Even though people around us didn’t understand our lifestyle interests, I recall him telling me to remain true to myself because my efforts would start to pay off. People told him that he was crazy for wasting time on these efforts but obviously they were wrong. He now owns multiple entities around the world. It all goes back to focus and learning to block unwanted noise.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Focusing on the human condition by leveraging the realities unfolding in our path. It’s important to develop ourselves by extracting lessons from our life experiences. Not everyone learns their lesson the first time around therefore it’s important to explore why. Individuals and businesses typically look outward for their answers when most of the solutions are situated under their roof. How does one learn how to recognize these opportunities? Not many businesses are ready to have uncomfortable conversations but if they truly desire solutions, Sasha Talks is available to explore opportunities to collaborate.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
This is an external project, not directly associated with Sasha Talks. As the Global Ambassador of Style My Soul (stylemysoul.com), I am raising awareness for global contributors to come forward and educate worldwide audiences on different aspects of life for how we can nourish our soul. There are commercial services available through their portal too. The team has managed to attract wonderful contributors from different industries and parts of the world from medical professionals to entrepreneurs in the recreational lifestyle & outdoor industry. The possibilities are limitless in how people can exchange their professional and life insights among a family friendly community.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I’ve made it clear with the universe, when I’m doing well others around me are doing well because I can pay it forward through my creative endeavors and commitments. This includes being of service to the right people at the right time.
Ok. Thank you for that. 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.
- Literal and metaphorical diversity translates to recognizing and interpreting market opportunities that a homogenous group may overlook due to a one-track mindset. Sometimes the homogeneous culture is intentional, other times it’s a victim to limited diversity due to the type of business ownership and geography.
- The presence of diversity challenges people to learn and grow outside of their comfort zones to possibly address more strategic market risks to craft products and services that cater to a larger target market. Sticking to human stereotypes doesn’t deliver the best outcomes nor the best financial performances.
- Hosting diversity provides an opportunity for people to grow outside of their comfort zones when it comes to personal and professional development. Developing some situational awareness outside of our mental, emotional and physical sphere can be overwhelming yet the rewards are greater when we understand a slice of the world better.
- Welcoming lessons learned from a diversity perspective can also help us understand and refine business planning better to avoid business missteps as a local and global community. People learn from one another. Why are we keeping diverse talent at bay — especially in influential and visible positions? They hold the nuggets for introducing businesses to untapped opportunities. Listen and engage diverse talent to learn how to address the blind spots within a business.
- Clear the rut. “It’s always been done this way.” Well, it’s time to change and grow. Some businesses love the rut because it makes them feel safe even when they are bottoming out on financial performance. Rip off the band-aid. Welcome better qualified diverse talent that is ready to work. Professionals who love the rut in third party businesses should be fired for enabling unhealthy business practices. Life is about change. Embrace the great possibilities that await you.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive?
Focus on the quality of communication. Do not discount the power of healthy collaborations and business planning through communication. Less emails, more day to day engagement through creative means.
What advice would you give to other business leaders about how to manage a large team?
When managing large teams, make sure there’s a justification for why it’s large. Collecting people within a team without a primary objective dilutes the value of time, talent and resources. Make sure the channels of communication run both ways because there exists many ideas as well concerns that can brew among a large headcount. Find valid ways to welcome engagement that can refine the cohesiveness of the team through overall performance. Large teams do not always yield significant financial performances in the market. Pay attention to the size of the team, of course context matters.
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 🙂
Ed Mylett. I love reading and listening to his work because he comes across as approachable. When I have some downtime, I like to catch up with people who are contributing good work and inspiring others to up their life game. He’s on my list!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Wonderful readers are welcome to visit sashatalks.com. Drop a hello here.
Thank you for these excellent insights. We wish you continued success in your great work.
Thank you for sharing my insights.
Sasha Laghonh Of Sasha Talks On How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
