Author: Fotis Georgiadis

Making Something From Nothing: Jim Phelan Of AirSkirts On How To Go From Idea To Launch

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Treat your customers like partners. Customers love being treated like they’re a part of your story and success. Treating customers like you would treat an investor or business partner pays tremendous dividends. I’ve found that when we engage customers at AirSkirts in this way they are far more likely to provide good feedback on the product, write reviews, and most importantly refer other customers. Whenever possible, I like to personally get on the phone with customers, share our origin story, and ask for their input on the product.

As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jim Phelan.

AirSkirts founder Jim Phelan started his career as a software engineer and CTO. Jim co-founded Stream57, an online webcasting platform, which was sold to West Corp in 2009. Following that successful exit, Jim headed multiple tech startups and served as VP Architecture at West / Intrado corporation. After selling his home in Brooklyn, NY and most of his possessions in 2016, Jim began living and traveling full time in his Airstream travel trailer. AirSkirts was invented to solve a real-world problem Jim faced — how to avoid freezing pipes and wasted energy while camping in cold weather. After using his invention solely for personal use, Jim was asked by other campers and friends to make the product commercially available, and AirSkirts was born.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

As a kid growing up in the late 80’s and 90’s, I was perpetually fascinated by creating things — gadgets, businesses, newspapers. When I started tinkering with an old TRS-80 computer around age eight, I was quickly drawn to programming and computers. Though I spent a lot of time out in the woods as a kid, the rest of my time was spent glued to a computer screen, tinkering, hacking, and making things work. At 18, my first professional job was teaching computer literacy in a welfare-to-work program in New London, CT, and the intersection of sharing knowledge and technology helped kick start my career. Through the years, I’ve created gadgets, computer programs, underground newsletters, electronics, and more, but nothing has combined my love of autonomy, the outdoors, solving problems, and design like AirSkirts has.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” — Bertrand Russell.

I love the simplicity of these words from Russell, and I find it to be a good reminder that my time doesn’t need to always be spent pursuing some higher achievement or calling. When I spend my time doing what I care about and what I’m passionate about the rest follows.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

I’ve long treasured Letters to a Young Poet. In those writings Rilke says, “A work of art is good if it has arisen out of necessity.” It’s not a work that was created to publish, it’s a collection of letters written to a young man seeking guidance in his craft.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?

I think the biggest deterrent to trying out a new idea is probably the overwhelming thought of how much must be done to launch a business. It’s not just the product development, but the business formation, website, marketing, customer acquisition, etc. With AirSkirts the solution to this was pretty simple. I just made the product for myself at first. There’s no better way to vet a product than using it yourself (eating your own dog food, as it’s called in the software industry). I think there’s another lesson physical product manufacturers can take from software companies as well, which is the idea of the minimum viable product and iterative design. In software, a minimum viable product pretty much means ‘what is the minimum product we can require that addresses the core business concern’ — and this concept is valuable because it allows companies to get some version of the product in the hands of customers prior to making huge investments in every bell and whistle. In short, keep it simple, see if it resonates with customers, then iterate on your design based on feedback and real world use.

Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?

I think this is where most good ideas go to die. Inventions, works of art, pieces of music, and novels are built on the backbone of other works. Products are no different. I think what’s worse than dismissing the idea as something that’s probably already been done is not even trying to find out. When I came up with AirSkirts I was certain someone had made it before — the concept was so simple and such a no-brainer solution I really started out by just figuring out where I could buy it. Turns out no one made anything even similar, so that’s where the journey began. An idea doesn’t need to be entirely new to be better. Just look at Facebook. Myspace already did a lot of what Facebook offered when it first launched, but it’s probably safe to say some of your younger readers don’t even really know what Myspace was. Just because something has been done before doesn’t mean it’s been done before well.

For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.

I’m not sure I can tell you what the ‘right’ way to do this is, but I can tell you what worked for me. Make it first, worry about the rest later. Rapid prototyping, fast tools for software development, comprehensive website builders, hackable gadgets (like the Raspberry Pi), 3D printers and more have really changed the way we can develop products without huge upfront investments. If your product is something that can be created on a small scale (or a simple scale, like the software MVP) you can probably create a simple prototype and see how it resonates with customers. With AirSkirts, I happened to have the skillset to design our logo, build our ecommerce website, do our initial marketing, etc. — not everyone does, but I recommend that almost everyone take an intro to programming class and learn a bit about the basics of business and marketing. These small-time investments pay themselves off quickly.

Certainly, figuring out how to manufacture the product at scale, streamline operations, raise capital, file for patents, and everything else that comes along with running a business are important, but none of these things matter until you’ve seen if your idea resonates with people. So, start small, start simple, worry about the rest once you’re sure you’ve got something viable. This also allows you to try multiple ideas, or variations of the same idea, more easily with lower risk.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

Use a CRM from day one and be relentlessly thorough.

This is actually a lesson I learned from previous startups. CRMs (like HubSpot or Salesforce) are vital tools to running any sales organization. I think the most important message here is to start right away, even if it’s just one salesperson, so that all your sales activities and customer interactions are captured and documented. Getting in this habit early and making sure the process is followed makes it much easier to scale your sales quickly and with less effort when things pick up and additional sales and support staff are added.

Document your processes from the start and be uncompromising in follow through.

Every organization is going to have replicable processes that occur over and over, whether they’re sales related, operations and fulfillment related, or have to do with any other aspect of the business. Writing these processes down in a step-by-step fashion has served me well in a couple of ways. First, it helps ensure the same process is always followed and employees know how to do things without asking. Second, the act of writing processes down helps you identify efficiencies early and optimize. Third, and perhaps most crucially, having documented processes makes delegated work you (the owner) are doing quickly and painlessly.

Treat your customers like partners.

Customers love being treated like they’re a part of your story and success. Treating customers like you would treat an investor or business partner pays tremendous dividends. I’ve found that when we engage customers at AirSkirts in this way they are far more likely to provide good feedback on the product, write reviews, and most importantly refer other customers. Whenever possible, I like to personally get on the phone with customers, share our origin story, and ask for their input on the product.

Integrate whenever possible.

No matter what tools you end up selecting to use for daily operations there will always be some overlap and systems that don’t talk to each other. At AirSkirts, we created a lot of integrations between our various tools to streamline all of our processes. Tools like Zapier make this tremendously easier, and it’s well worth the effort and time. A good example is this: when a customer first finds our product and calls us, several tools talk to each other (primarily through Zapier): WhatConverts for dynamic phone number insertion, Slack for messaging, RingCentral for telephony, HubSpot for CRM, Google Ads and Analytics for tracking, and WooCommerce for ordering and inventory. As soon as a phone call comes in, we have a Slack message with a link to the customer’s CRM record, and record of every interaction we’ve had with them, all of the pages they’ve visited on our website (even if they called via phone), and detailed analytics about any orders they’ve placed. We can also easily determine order statuses, shipping times, and more. All of this integration, though somewhat tedious to create, saves of an enormous amount of time every day and drastically reduces opportunities for errors.

Give stuff away to encourage brand loyalty.

People really, really love swag. We try to include mugs, pens, t-shirts, and more. In addition to the customer getting a freebie, they’re more likely to represent your brand routinely. Who doesn’t love a coffee mug or a t-shirt? We also occasionally ship demo products to influencers and affiliates — something I was really resistant to at first, but it ends up being hugely beneficial.

Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?

My first step would always be to socialize the idea (being cautious about public disclosures of course) to trusted colleagues and friends who would also potentially be your end users. Once you’ve determined there’s a real need and you have an appealing solution, prototype it. Again, the concept of a minimal viable product is a good one to think about here. As in, ‘what’s the absolute minimum you can create to have something that works well enough to sell?’

There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?

Personally, I’d probably never do this, but I’m sure there’s a case to be made for it. I’ll be honest, I haven’t worked with this kind of consultant before, so I can’t really comment on how much value it adds.

What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?

I love bootstrapping. If it’s possible, it’s a great way to test the market and see if you have a viable. Obviously, this isn’t always possible, but I would suggest that you at least have a solid prototype in place before seeking funding. Sometimes it wont be possible at all in which case I think smaller angel rounds make the most sense.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I like to think that AirSkirts itself makes a growing lifestyle possible. Without a good skirting solution, cold weather RV living is untenable, and I really believe we’re offering something with such significant benefits that it improves quality of life for customers all on its own. There’s also something to be said for reducing carbon emissions by providing proper insulation. The RV industry is seeing a massive surge and more and more people are moving into RVs as their full-time domiciles, so I think what we’re doing is important on its own merits.

You are an inspiration to a great many people. 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.

The idea of effective altruism, or the most good you can do, I think is vitally important to our times. The question isn’t just how much can we help, but how can we most effectively help. There’s no end to social and environmental issues deserving our attention; I think aside from drawing our collective attention to these issues we should also focus on how to best meet their needs.

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, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Though I’m tempted to answer Bill Gates or some other business thought leader, I think I’d rather respond with someone like Peter Singer. Singer is an Australian philosopher who is best known for his work in animal rights activism and has more recently worked on the idea of effective altruism. This I think is even more salient for us, as business leaders, to consider. I’d love to sit with Peter and talk about how these ideas could be applied in my life and shared with others.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Making Something From Nothing: Jim Phelan Of AirSkirts On How To Go From Idea To Launch was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Agile Businesses: Tim Beyer Of Sana Commerce On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face…

Agile Businesses: Tim Beyer Of Sana Commerce On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Always keep a very close eye on what the competition is doing. Don’t fall into the trap of becoming complacent, arrogant, or lazy. When you’re doing well, it’s easy to get lulled into a state of overconfidence. Just because you’re ahead of competitors now doesn’t mean you will be tomorrow. And if you’re behind them today, there’s no reason that couldn’t change a year from now. You need to know what’s going on in the ecosystem where your business exists and continue to always look for your next opportunity.

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 Tim Beyer.

Tim Beyer is global COO of technology scale-up Sana Commerce, and currently based in NYC as President and CEO of the Americas region: comprised of offices in NYC and Medellin (80 FTE). Sana Commerce started as an extension of ISM eCompany (2007) but has since evolved to offer an innovative B2B e-commerce software solution. Sana has won various awards since it began and is one of the fastest growing SaaS companies founded in the Netherlands (500+ FTE / +20M ARR / +17.5M Service Revenue).

Upon graduation, Tim was hired by the former Dutch Secretary of the Treasury and Cabinet minister of Finance (who is also a tech entrepreneur), Jan Kees de Jager, to guide the international expansion of the then largely domestically-operating firm. Tim established the Sana Commerce branches in New York and Sri Lanka in early 2014. The following year, he was appointed Global COO and became part of Sana Commerce’s global management team. In this role, he was made accountable for international (expansion) activities (10+ countries YTD), and scaling up its global business support services (Finance, Tax,; HR; Legal; IT; FM; IM). He was formally appointed to the Board of Management of the holding group in December 2016.

As the company has more than tripled in size in just 5 years’ time, scaling up and managing these (global) operations, with an awesome team across 3 continents, was Tim’s primary challenge. As Sana’s American operations started to gain real traction, Tim moved over to NYC in January 2019 to further accelerate and manage Sana’s growth in this region. It has since tripled its footprint in the region.

Tim is a highly coveted guest lecturer and keynote speaker, having presented at various prestigious educational institutions and companies in the Netherlands and abroad, sharing insights on topics like international entrepreneurship, cross-cultural management, market entrance- and growth strategies, scaling up, and the Rockefeller Habits.

Tim holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Business Administration and two Master’s degrees in Finance (MSc) and Financial Law (LLM, cum laude).

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?

I started out as a fresh college graduate with a dream, like many, to work for a large, internationally renowned brand. However, a friend of mine recommended that I work for Sana Commerce: a small business based out of Rotterdam that was looking for someone to conduct market research. At the time, I thought I would stay for a few months while I continued my job search, but almost 9 years later, I am proud to still be with the company that helped me grow to where I am today. I’m so fortunate to now be able to help our business thrive as well.

As I worked for Sana over the years, new opportunities kept coming and the business continued to grow at a 50% year-over-year rate. Change and growth came with new requirements and new needs. I ended up leading the internationalization process, setting up a product development center abroad to account for the lack of local IT resources in the Netherlands, and supporting recruitment, HR and finance as the business’ Global Chief Operating Officer. In 2019, I was appointed CEO of the Americas, and moved to New York City to lead our operations and expansion across North and South America, where we’ve continued our growth trajectory.

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 you expand a company internationally, things feel exciting and full of possibilities. However the realities of global expansion are always different than you expect, even when it comes to simple things like socio-cultural differences, regional customs, or dietary needs. For example, when Sana Commerce first started to go global, we set up an office in Sri Lanka and brought that first group of Sri Lankan colleagues to the Netherlands. We wanted them to experience the office culture at our headquarters, to get onboarded face-to-face, and give them a chance to meet their fellow colleagues. We organized a six-week training period. What we didn’t realize at the time was that most of them had never left their home country, and therefore had never experienced cold weather like what we have in the Netherlands. Plus, we had scheduled the training in February, where the daily average is below 35 degrees Fahrenheit.

I learned quickly that when working with colleagues, partners, or customers of many cultures, it’s important to be aware of differences in your backgrounds, to not make assumptions, and to be open-minded about the thoughts, preferences, and opinions of others. For that training period in particular, we ended up having to take a company shopping trip to stock up on jackets, hats, and scarves for our new colleagues. It was certainly an eye-opening mistake at the time, but it’s particularly funny looking back on it now because cultural-awareness training is part of our onboarding for all employees, and it’s a mistake we would never make today.

Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

For me, that would be our shareholder and founder, Jan Kees de Jager. He not only founded the company and hired me for my first role at Sana Commerce, but also resigned for six years to go into politics and take on the role of Dutch Secretary of the Treasury.

Back then, he was working with some of the best and brightest people around the world. So, when he hired me, he established clear expectations. “The bar is set high, and I don’t expect anything less,” he said. Although it was slightly intimidating at the time, it was also a moment that pushed me to challenge myself, to get the most out of my own abilities, and to hold a high standard for myself throughout my personal and professional life.

He has been a critical coach and mentor all along the way as I’ve grown with Sana, and what I appreciate most is that he is always honest with me. A great mentor will give it to you straight. They will praise you when you’ve done outstanding work. They will offer constructive criticism when they see areas for improvement. But most importantly, they advocate on your behalf and are a constant source of support. Having a mentor that made all of this possible for me was instrumental to my development and to navigating the path that has brought me to where I am now.

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?

When I first started out at Sana, our purpose was very clear and explicit: we wanted to make things easier, more tailored, and more scalable for B2B organizations who were looking to invest in e-commerce and their business’ digital transformation. Back then, traditional B2C sellers were the ones truly being catered to when it came to e-commerce technology. There was no real commerce product out there that fit the specific use case of a B2B company and its online customers, nor one that was built to handle the complexity of B2B buying and selling. Our purpose was to not only offer that one-of-a-kind product, but to be an innovator and leader in that space.

Our vision at first was more implicit to our business. It was firmly in our DNA from Day 1, but it was something that we didn’t even uncover ourselves until we developed our identity as a brand. In 2019, we conducted market research with a brand development expert who unearthed the true differentiator that set us apart from competitors, and simultaneously revealed the true vision of Sana Commerce. What makes Sana Commerce stand out is not just our product’s functional benefits or how we help our customers; it’s in the way we boldly choose to redefine what e-commerce and digital transformation mean for B2B businesses. E-commerce and digitization are, at their core, about the relationships they enable, foster, and strengthen. And our vision as a brand is to make sure that we share that fundamental truth: that doing business successfully and for a long time is about prioritizing relationships, not just about transactions.

Can you tell our readers a bit about what your business does? How do you help people?

Sana Commerce provides a scalable, user-friendly, and reliable e-commerce platform, “Sana Commerce Cloud,” for growing B2B organizations looking to embrace digital transformation and accelerate business in a constantly changing market. Our unique approach to developing the software has resulted in a one-of-a-kind product, one that integrates natively with Microsoft Dynamics and SAP ERP systems without the need for additional middleware or connector technology.

Our seamless integration makes it possible for our customers to run a high-performing web store that’s reliable, data-rich, and both easy and engaging to use. But that’s only the beginning. What’s exciting is the positive impact that our web stores and services have on the success of our customers’ businesses. They enrich the relationship between supplier and buyer. They leave positive impressions on customers, who come back and refer new customers to us. And they ensure the organization remains relevant, resilient, and agile in the face of disruption.

Which technological innovation has encroached or disrupted your industry? Can you explain why this has been disruptive?

In the time since Sana Commerce was founded, we’ve moved from an on-premise hardware business to one that enables global expansion with cloud-hosted software. Market-wide, the move to the cloud has made it possible for organizations doing business nationally or locally to reach their global ambitions. It’s torn down boundaries in B2B.

The rise of the cloud has created an efficient and cost-effective way to scale your business. Organizations can expand around the globe without needing to make large investments in infrastructure and heavy servers the way they used to. It’s as easy as it’s ever been to launch a web store, software, or environment wherever you are active or want to be active in the world. But that has also required solution providers like Sana to pivot, adjust their ways of working, and embrace multiple kinds of hosting to meet the preferences of B2B buyers.

What did you do to pivot as a result of this disruption?

It’s simple. We made sure to keep pace with it. At Sana Commerce, we always aim to innovate and stay on the cutting-edge of the next big thing. And that needed to be true of our software as well.

In the past, we needed to work with our customers to set up their physical infrastructure and then also to ensure our software was installed within it. Now, we have more flexibility. Whatever region or territory our customer wants to expand into, we can leverage the Microsoft Azure server to provide them a hassle-free and fast implementation of a future-ready, cloud-hosted solution.

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 was no specific moment of epiphany that sparked the cloud-based path for Sana. It was more so a decision to act after monitoring trends and understanding where the market was headed.

These days, every business hoping to get the most out of their software is switching to a subscription-based model hosted in the cloud. Cloud technology today allows us to access these massive databases via smartphone, mobile, tablets, etc., from anywhere, and build a more connected world. We knew that was the future and we pivoted toward it.

How are things going with this new direction?

It’s going well so far, but it can only go further. The days of organizations paying for a bundled package of technologies, regardless of whether they will use them all, are gone.

Today, businesses want to rent what they need and pay as they go when it comes to software and services. More and more customers are interested in usage-based pricing, so they can ensure that they pay for what they use and nothing more, in order to spend their budget strategically. Organizations that once invested in a perpetual license or hardware now prefer a subscription-based model and more flexibility to be able to adapt, change, and scale in the face of disruption. There’s a lot of opportunity there as well.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this pivot?

What stands out to me about the pivot in our business is how massively and quickly it’s allowed us to scale. Since the shift, Sana has opened nine offices around the world, most recently in Dubai, and we have customers across several dozen countries — something that would not have been possible for us before.

We went global as a business in a way we couldn’t otherwise, and we’ve also allowed our customers to go global in new and unprecedented ways.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during a disruptive period?

The key is to communicate, and to use that communication as a way to provide stability, comfort, and clarity across your organization. Often disruption goes hand in hand with uncertainty and that tends to worry people.

During a disruptive period, it’s important to address how you want to adapt and what you want to achieve to get through it, but you also need to remain transparent. On an uncertain road, you don’t know where it will lead or end, and that is okay. Be upfront about what uncertainty you face, but also continue to look ahead and move confidently toward your end goal.

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?

I think what’s most crucial is that you’re always a team player, not just a leader, but a true part of the team. Don’t put yourself above or outside of your team. At Sana, we have what we consider a very flat organization, and we’ve steered away from rigid hierarchical ways of working. What’s always worked for me is that I’ve always tried to be approachable, and always worked on the floor alongside my team.

The reality is that if you do your hiring right, you hire rockstars. You hire the people best equipped to come up with the fresh ideas and innovative solutions your business needs. That may also mean that you won’t be the one with all the answers. Be open to learning from your team and ask questions. Create a work culture where people want to speak up, dare to be themselves, and don’t hesitate to tackle new initiatives. Then it’s up to you to assess those initiatives, and set the right priorities and proper focus for the team.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

Be open and transparent. That’s a lesson I learned quickly, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine period. In the first few months, we didn’t know how the economy would be impacted, or how our business would be. But we were always honest and direct about what scenarios we faced at any given time, how the business was doing financially, how it could impact the team, and what might happen next. It gave the team some comfort, but also ultimately sparked lots of new and creative ideas from within the organization on how to navigate an uncomfortable time together.

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?

Disruptive technologies are everywhere, and even more are in development as we speak. But how businesses react to and adopt these technologies can often spell success or failure — depending on how well-prepared the business is for that shift. Some of the mistakes I’ve seen businesses make in my career include:

Those who don’t think it will impact their business and do nothing.
Those who rush into adopting an emerging technology before they fully understand how it fits their business needs.
Those who go all-in without experimenting and testing.

Organizations, and the leaders guiding them, need to be fully and properly educated before implementing a disruptive new technology. Don’t rush the decision-making process. Get a clear grasp of how the technology works and how your organization will need to adapt in order to adopt it. But it’s important not to worry unnecessarily about pivoting your business 180 degrees just to implement a new technology. You can (and should) experiment with and test new technologies before you rethink your tech stack, processes, or business model altogether.

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.

1. Make sure you get relevant market insight and knowledge about the new technology first-hand, especially as your business grows. Over time, it becomes easy to rely on the people around you and to absorb new information through the lens of others. So, I think it’s important to truly understand the disruptor at hand and to take initiative to learn that yourself. It’s necessary before you can properly guide your business through potential disruption.

2. Always keep a very close eye on what the competition is doing. Don’t fall into the trap of becoming complacent, arrogant, or lazy. When you’re doing well, it’s easy to get lulled into a state of overconfidence. Just because you’re ahead of competitors now doesn’t mean you will be tomorrow. And if you’re behind them today, there’s no reason that couldn’t change a year from now. You need to know what’s going on in the ecosystem where your business exists and continue to always look for your next opportunity.

3. Listen (closely and intentionally) to your employees and your partners. They are the ones experiencing what it’s like to work with your company and your product on a day-to-day basis. Often, organizations collect this data, but it never makes it back up to the decision-makers. Make sure there’s a system implemented in your organization to retrieve that feedback and act on it.

4. Become experts in relevant market information. Never stop being curious about what’s going on around your business. Many make the mistake of focusing only on what’s happening within their organization, and that’s precisely the moment when competitors outpace them.

5. Create an environment where people dare to experiment and innovate within your organization. Hire people who want to try out new things and prioritize forward thinking over just short-term revenue goals. Businesses that get too bogged down in hitting their next target never give their teams the space and time to uncover the next big thing. But you can fuel these ideas with the right approach to leadership.

“The only way to be truly satisfied is to do great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs

I personally and wholeheartedly believe that in life, you must explore and be curious to find what you love, and then do what you love. For that reason, I’m also a firm believer in travel and in discovering the world. It’s important to get out of our own contexts and live in the moment to gain perspective. Once we have that perspective, we can figure out the things that truly motivate us and make us feel passionate, and then pursue those goals with confidence, drive, and excitement.

How can our readers further follow your work?

You can connect with me on LinkedIn, where I often share articles I find interesting, my own insights on the latest trends, and any recent articles or blogs I’ve contributed to recently: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beyertim/.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Agile Businesses: Tim Beyer Of Sana Commerce On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Agile Businesses: Harish Daiya Of Lumenci On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of…

Agile Businesses: Harish Daiya Of Lumenci On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Build momentum and show patience: Building a great company requires long-term thinking and short-term action. All experiments may not work out as imagined, or an experiment may take more time to materialize than expected — focusing on the action but being patient with the results is key.

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 Harish Daiya, co-founder and CEO of Lumenci.

Harish shapes Lumenci’s mission, vision, and principles and is in charge of growth, strategy, culture, execution, partnerships, and launching new businesses. He is a serial entrepreneur, technology executive, and angel investor and has successfully built startups, technology, sales, board advisory groups, and product teams. Harish is an IIT Kharagpur (Comp Sci.) alumnus.

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?

I come from a small town called Jodhpur in India and studied Computer Science & Engineering at IIT Kharagpur. I visited US for the first time in 2008, eventually moving to Austin, TX in 2010. I was very fortunate to work in a startup right out of college, which gave me tremendous opportunities to fail, learn, and grow as a professional. Most importantly, I learned how to think like an entrepreneur and have a beginner mindset. Since then, I have lived in many bustling places like Austin, Silicon Valley, and NY; where I built sales, operations, and product teams remotely.

While in Silicon Valley, I got the opportunity to meet amazing founders and invest in early-stage startups and protocols. In 2014, I was thinking of pursuing my MBA, but instead started investing my tuition money into early-stage startups & Web 3.0 protocols. Since then, I have invested in more than 50 early-stage startups & funds in Crypto/Defi, AI, Medical Devices, Space Exploration, Robotics, Software infrastructure, Metaverse and B2B SaaS space. I witnessed the power of innovation first-hand, seeing how free-flowing ideas & execution has the capacity to disrupt the incumbents.

The legal and IP services space has always fascinated me. It is a ~$350B industry in the US alone. What is interesting about this space is that while we see the latest technological advancements across many industries, the legal services space is still largely untouched by advanced technology. A lawyer’s job involves multiple skills: creativity, empathy, emotional intelligence, ability to think rationally in grey areas, and the ability to think on both sides of an argument. With the advancements in Web 3.0, AI, and Remote working, we are moving towards a world where creative work will have tremendous value, while repeatable tasks will get automated. We started Lumenci with the thesis that the legal & IP services industry will need tools and domain expertise to upgrade itself — and that is what we are building.

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?

Well, I have made many mistakes and witnessed many failures. The funniest one was when we were finalizing our first office space in India and trying to review, negotiate & execute lease agreements. I made the mistake of underestimating the extent of manual process needed to get simple legal paperwork executed. For a simple office lease, it took us 3 months to finish attorney reviews, negotiations, edits to the documents and physical signatures by different stakeholders. Keep in mind, no electronic signatures were allowed then, so we had to dispatch documents by courier). We still laugh about it, but at that time, it did not seem so funny!

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?

I am thankful to all my mentors, advisors, friends, family, and well-wishers who have helped me throughout my career. Most importantly, I am super grateful to all our customers and employees who showed faith in us when we started.

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?

We are on a mission to upgrade and enhance legal & IP services space and enable our customers to become efficient, innovative, insightful, and successful. As an innovation-first company, we keep the pulse on the latest technological breakthroughs, and how that will shape the future market leaders & their intellectual property moats (IP-Moats).

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?

We help high-growth innovative companies build, leverage, and monetize their intellectual property moats (IP-Moats). Warren Buffet popularized the concept of building Moats for a business, which determines the competitive advantage and its durability in the long term. A high-growth innovative company not only competes for the market share, but also for the innovation share. Specially, when an innovative company is creating a market category, capturing innovation becomes even more critical. While there is abundant literature and coaching around how to capture market share depending on the type of business, technology, and market segment; there is limited awareness on how to build, leverage and monetize IP-Moats. We are on a mission to change that.

As a technology company mature and go past Series A/B, they need to capture and capitalize the innovation within the company, stay abreast of the technological disruptions and create a long-term strategic and durable competitive advantage using its intellectual property (IP). Creating IP-Moats (Intellectual Property Moats) becomes a critical business strategy tool for a technology-driven business and helps in three different areas:

Defensibility: Capture and safeguard innovation by converting them into strategic patent portfolios.

Enforceability: Generate leverage w.r.t competitors.

Opportunity: Create long- term compounding effect of continued return on investment in innovation by monetizing IP-Moats.

Which technological innovation has encroached or disrupted your industry? Can you explain why this has been disruptive?

Technological innovations continue to enhance, rather than disrupt, the legal industry. Post-COVID, there has been a shift in how the legal industry views technology adoption and is more amenable to make the legal processes much more efficient. With the push towards work from home, combined with technical innovations like machine learning, web 3.0, workflow automation, data analytics, action-oriented dashboards, the legal industry is now adopting and embracing cutting-edge technology.

What did you do to pivot as a result of this disruption?

We started the company under the premise that the legal and IP services industry will need tools and domain expertise to evolve. We were already building the right infrastructure to seamlessly move through the disruptive period caused by COVID. Not only did we seamlessly move to remote working, but we also double downed on our commitments toward building Enterprise products that help legal and IP teams become more efficient, productive and improve workflow automation. Since then, we have been building, iterating, and launching our products.

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.

Since day 1, we have wanted to be an automation and innovation-oriented company. We have internalized the concept of automation and constantly try to find or build tools which make our business more efficient & our customers more successful. The more we talked to our customers about the strategies we are adopting or tools we are adopting or building, the more they were interested in getting access to the right tools and products.

So, how are things going with this new direction?

Things are going great. Credit goes to all Luminaries (Lumenci employees), who readily adapted to the changed way of working, put in extra effort to keep constant communication across teams, maintained compliances, and, at the same time, delivered outstanding results for our customers. During this time, we realized that we are an antifragile culture — we become better during challenging and disruptive periods. During COVID, we have grown our team size by 50%, and we continue to double down on our product and workflow automation initiatives.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this pivot?

Since we started to adopt new tools and technologies in our day-to-day working, our efficiency has grown. At the same time, the quality of our work has also improved.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during a disruptive period?

One of the key roles of effective leaders, especially during a disruptive period, is to stay calm, bring the team together, infuse enthusiasm within the team, and steer the team in the right direction with focused plan of action. One key strategy which I have found to be useful is to assess how a disruption can be turned into an opportunity. Then, create a plan of action on the aspects which will gain from said disruption. Sense of urgency and timing also become critical, so the teams need to executive quickly and efficiently.

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?

Nothing is permanent, and the future is not the same as the past. When the horizon of the ambitions is long-term, smaller speed bumps are just a part of the journey. Leaders of an organization must revert to the founding values of the organization and focus on why they got started in the first place. And use those values to guide their team through the future, however uncertain that might look. At Lumenci, one of our key culture codes is thinking long-term — and when we have an ambitious mission, the short-term uncertain future does not seem that uncertain.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

The key is to figure out how to turn a challenging situation into an advantageous one and execute based on the opportunity hidden in the challenge. We as a company realized that during COVID, we became even more efficient, and the quality went up — which speaks volumes about the antifragile culture which we have built. There is always an opportunity hidden in a crisis — playing on the front foot and turning an adverse situation into an opportunity is the key principle to follow during turbulent times.

Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make when faced with disruptive technology? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?

Every business is a technology-driven business, so disruption is to be embraced to stay ahead. Here are some aspects which need to be avoided:

Lack of intelligent risk-taking — Risk is a good thing — no risk means no reward. With no risk, companies are less likely to fail, but also less likely to innovate. Embracing a beginner mindset helps in taking intelligent risks to stay ahead of the innovation curve and ahead of the competition; and have building blocks in place for possible pivot in case of a disruptive technology comes along.
Lack of preparation — It is a critical aspect of company leadership to look around the corners and predict the risks which the business would face. Start with the biggest risks to be solved first. Companies often think about capital allocation as Time v. Money allocated; but it is more important to think about it as money spent v. risks removed — assessing what are the biggest risks for the business and preparing ahead to solve the biggest risks first either via solving it or pivoting at the right time.
Hiring strategy: Team building is critical for a company at any stage. Team building needs to be thought of as a talent pool engineering exercise, because at the end of the day, a company’s product or service is built by its employees. Building the talent gene pool of the company for the risks the business wants to take helps prepare and pivot during disruption. The right gene pool in the company needs to have a balance mix of explorers and executors. Executors execute based on the current boundaries of a business and explorers explore & develop new ideas. If a company can be designed to be disrupted by itself, it becomes immune to outside disruptions, in fact, does better in the event of any disruption.

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.

The leaders of an organization need to have the right preparation and building blocks in their company to pivot in the face of any disruption.

Take intelligent risk: Building the right culture in the organization by shifting the mindset from avoiding risks to proactively taking intelligent risks is a great way to hedge against the disruption in the market. Taking asymmetric risks and investment in exploratory ideas is important.
Engineer talent gene pool — Business leaders need to proactively take intelligent risks and hire for mitigating those risks. A great team needs both great executors and great explorers. Executors are great at doubling down and executing on the things which are known to be working, explorers wander around and figure out the next zero to one idea which can potentially change the trajectory of the initial idea on which the company was formed. This is especially true for startups, as they seldom become successful based on the original idea. Hence a balanced mix of talent most suited for the proactive risks which the business leaders take is critical.
Invest in Innovation — Once the right team is built and the culture has been set, the business leaders need to continuously invest in innovation. Investing in innovation helps solve for the problems the leaders don’t know of yet but acts as critical foundation when faced with disruption.
Build IP-Moats: Any high growth innovative company not only competes for the market share but also for the innovation share. Building IP-Moats in a critical long-term business strategy for capturing Innovation Share. IP-Moats acts as insurance against technological disruption and supplies the executive team with much needed breathing room to pivot during technological disruption. Additionally, the CSuite can consider having a Chief IP-Moat officer who oversees, strengthens, and leverages the company’s IP-Moat across different technology areas and market segments.
Build momentum and show patience: Building a great company requires long-term thinking and short-term action. All experiments may not work out as imagined, or an experiment may take more time to materialize than expected — focusing on the action but being patient with the results is key.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

There are so many quotes, lessons and learnings which have helped shape my mental models. “Innovation disrupts status quo to establish another status quo, rinse & repeat”, is one such quote. This quote is important as it signifies the very nature of High-Tech industry and reminds us that nothing is permanent, and everything is prone to disruption.

Another quote which particularly resonates with me is from a book called Sapiens by Yuval Harari: “A meaningful life can be extremely satisfying even in the midst of hardship, whereas a meaningless life is a terrible ordeal no matter how comfortable it is”. If we do not seek our struggles, our struggle will seek us. This life lesson has been useful for me to embrace and enforce beginner mindset, and to pursue & pivot ideas which are meaningful & necessary — however hard that might be.

Any meaningful work requires long-term thinking and collaboration with long-term people. I really like this quote from Naval Ravikant — “Play long term games with long term people” because all returns in life come from compound interest in long-term games.

We have imbibed these principles in our culture code, and we try to live up to these principles.

How can our readers further follow your work?

We provide thought leadership on how cutting-edge technologies are changing the market leaders, your readers can read about it here: https://www.lumenci.com/insights and also follow us on: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lumenci/.

Your readers can also follow our Legal Tech and Automation initiatives at — https://www.linkedin.com/company/inkpaper.

Additionally, your readers can follow me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/harishdaiya/ and https://twitter.com/harishd12.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Thanks a lot.

Agile Businesses: Harish Daiya Of Lumenci On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Making Something From Nothing: Nick Thorsch Of Share2Seed On How To Go From Idea To Launch

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Nothing is perfect. Literally nothing. Expecting it to be, waiting for it, or trying to get it perfect, is an exhausting exercise in futility. Billion dollar businesses are literally built with buggy products everyday. But what do people focus on? The beauty of them. It’s not that they’re unrealistic, it’s that it’s simply best in class. So build upon it and make something even better and more beautiful.

As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nick Thorsch.

Nick Thorsch has spent his career in search of a meaningful harmonious blend of work that is purposeful, passionate, and profitable. After having worked at Intel, Microsoft, an Inc 5000 solar company and a $675M AI/ML company, while seeing the world around us go up in flames or smothered by snowstorms, he knew something was missing in the market. An organization was needed to be built to solve climate change at the speed and scale we need, to unite and empower environmentally-friendly Ecopreneurs around our world, so he started Share2Seed.org.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

Thank you for allowing me to share. The earliest life experience I recall being relevant to what motivated me emotionally to pursue the path I’m on today, is from when I was a child watching TV. I remember seeing a commercial about elephants being shot, with a sad sounding narrator’s voice, that made me cry. Why? I didn’t decide to cry, I had no prior emotional connection to elephants, yet I cried uncontrollably. My mom came into the living room to console me, and ask me what happened. I told her what I saw, and she suggested I write a letter. I was also intuitive enough to know that writing a letter wasn’t going to solve that problem — it wasn’t going to stop the hunters with guns. Not knowing what else to do, and knowing my mom didn’t know either, yet still feeling incredibly bothered, I vowed to hunt down why and solve this problem in my lifetime.

I would have to wait, for literally decades, to decide to solve the problem I promised myself I’d solve as a child. As I learned, it’s complicated, deep-rooted, and incredibly intricate. Yet, the root of it is money. A concept foreign to a child. I saw money as a child as an utter distraction from what matters to everyone: loving one another harmoniously. Those mean hunters were absolutely contrary to my heart’s core desire, and obviously also contrary to the desire of animals to also enjoy living their lives in harmony without fear of being shot at. People all around the world justify unexpected actions for righteous reasons, such as “it’s for the good of my family” or “I need to eat”. But what do harmless animals eat, like the elephant, rhino or giraffe? They eat plants. And they grow big and strong! So, why the heck are we eating animal meat? That perplexed me too. Thanks to Google coming along in my generation, I could query every little curiosity I had and learn about different diets that my family and school system never showed me was possible, like the vegetarian diet.

Then I connected the dots. Hunters shoot animals, for money, to feed their family, and sell animal parts, for other people to eat too. So if everyone ate a plant-based diet instead, we’d have more harmony, right? So, then how do we make it easier for the hunter and the animal parts buyers to choose to eat plants instead? And instead of the loggers clearing land for 1 billion cows to graze, why not plant fruit trees for people to eat from instead?

It makes sense, that if people had the hunger, nutritional and financial incentive to make it easier to choose to eat fruit instead of meat, then that would help solve the problem, right? I watch my neighbor pick ripe orange tangerines off his tree, which helps boost his immune system, and he’s healthy at an old age. I, too, got an orange tree planted in my backyard a year ago, and it’s now producing beautiful fruits. If we scaled up fruit trees, down to a local level, it would certainly be easier, cheaper, and better for everyone and our environment. That’s one of the primary goals of my brand new organization that I’m dedicating my life to, Share2Seed.org.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Today’s quote in my Momentum dashboard in Chrome says: “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” Pablo Picasso.

Entrepreneurs are rule-breakers in a sense, they create innovative disruption in the marketplace. For it to be sustainable and grow, it has to provide more benefit to our society, whereby rules may be updated to accommodate the new business model, like Uber/Lyft vs. Traditional Taxis.

My first entrepreneurial venture was gathering golf balls from the bushes and lakes of the golf course we lived on in Australia, then sell them back to the golfers on the weekend.

Many bushes, at least, were outside the fence lines of the golf course, so that’s the supply side. For the demand side, the golfers would drive their golf carts between two holes across the public road, so we’d set up shop on the public road and ask them if they’d like to buy our high-end, clean, and cheap golf balls, for just $1 each. They’d buy ’em up!

Now, what I’m focused on and why that’s relevant to me now in my life, is there are very weak rules regarding who can pollute in our shared atmosphere we breathe from, and that bothers me deeply, as well as many others. I would like to breathe fresh, clean air, without worrying what pollutants, or viruses, may be in it.

Conversely, there’s very weak rules regarding the logging and planting of trees in our forests too. There’s also good and bad examples. So the artist side comes in and says “What would be the beauty we’d like to see?” To me, that’s healthy forests, healthy air, beautiful skies, and news of things getting better in our world.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

The book I read most recently that’s most relevant to me now, is The New Climate War by Michael E. Mann. He’s one of the climate scientists who in 1998, figured out a way to chart carbon dioxide levels going back over 400 years ago using the geologic record. It produced a “hockey-stick like graph”, showing that from the start of the industrial era around 1850 to now, carbon dioxide emissions and global warming have been going up together. This is hard to tell day to day. One day the weather is nice, the next it’s gray. Year to year, fluctuations occur. So you really have to have a really long-term view to see patterns in the data like this. That was a very clever and convincing way to prove beyond a doubt that human-activities have caused climate change.

Al Gore mentioned in his movie, The Inconvenient Truth (or the sequel), that his professor showed him similar in a class in 1970. In Michael’s book, Exxon Mobil was aware of it too in 1982. So all of that solid evidence begs the question, if knowledge is power, why are weather disasters getting worse, not better? As Michael discusses in his book, it’s due to “Inactivists,” climate change deniers, delayers, and deceivers. Distorters of the truth.

If we ran on a truth based society, we’d actually have solved climate change by now and have cleaner air, much lower natural disaster costs, lower insurance costs, lower national debt, and an increased feeling of global peace.

You’re right, there’s a huge chasm between a good idea and good implementation. Businesses within the same industry show different results all the time. For example, Google vs. Bing vs. Yahoo vs. AOL. It’s really about finding that sweet spot of resonance with the market in the right way at the right time. As a VC once told me, in a short way that stuck with me is “talk to your customers”. My approach has been, build an MVP, a Minimal Viable Product, then show it to a variety of people who’ll give you quick and honest feedback. Then iterate, get feedback, iterate, get feedback, iterate, get feedback, until people go from trying to ignore you, to saying it sucks, to saying I get it, to saying I love it. Once they love it, then you’re ready to wrap it up in a pretty gift box and storysell version 1.0. Just like Steve Jobs selling the first iPhone. Then you’ll have more iterations, feedback and versions after it. That’s innovation.

The wonderful thing about Google and YouTube is it’s given us the power in our hands to make the invisible, visible. To see what’s been done before. To research in depth various ideas. To talk to people in any segment of our society.

One of the best questions I’ve asked myself lately is “I have access to every bit of information at my fingertips: what is the best way to use it to better our world?” That led to market research, talking to leading researchers, talking to people in the environmental niche, and iterating to create something special.

Ted Turner once said something like “Look over the horizon and see what’s coming.” Right now, that’s solving climate change together. As strong interest and demand are rising, what blue ocean position do you want to be in in the market? “Begin with the end in mind.” Then reverse engineer the steps to get there.

I looked for a blue ocean in which a little innovation and creativity would help energize the next wave of growth. A mentor once taught me “Do what people expect, with a twist.” A better business model, better suppliers, and better distributors, would naturally lead to a better customer experience, better reviews, and better results.

Simply see what options are available, identify what qualifies as “better” presently according to experts and customers, and then align with that. Cheap is cheap for a reason, high profit margins aren’t sustainable with cheap. That’s a false allure. Look at Apple as an example. It aims to be the best value: not too expensive, not too cheap, just right for most people.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

Things often take longer, cost more, and cash flow growth is further out than you’d like it to be. So plan and set your expectations accordingly. As Charlie Munger once said “Lower your expectations.” You’ll be happier then and better prepared when opportunities present themselves.
Nothing is perfect. Literally nothing. Expecting it to be, waiting for it, or trying to get it perfect, is an exhausting exercise in futility. Billion dollar businesses are literally built with buggy products everyday. But what do people focus on? The beauty of them. It’s not that they’re unrealistic, it’s that it’s simply best in class. So build upon it and make something even better and more beautiful.
Purpose, passion, people, planet and profit. Do all of these things equally align and balance for you with the goal you’re aiming for? You may have an idea you’re passionate about, can you find people who will passionately pay for it too? Then you have resonance, then you have a match. It may take repositioning it several times to get the messaging right, and sharing the right story, so if you believe in it, keep seeking better and better ways and “where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Focus on the customer, the character, the user’s story, of how their life is better with your product or service. Everyone cares about themselves and how it benefits them emotionally.
Empathy is a magic key. Putting yourself — visually and emotionally — in someone else’s position, getting a sense of why they do the things they do, why they speak and act a certain way, what their desires and struggles are, getting really deep, vs shallow, with understanding them, will make them feel like you really know them, you’re their friend, you’re truly there to serve them, because you can relate. That’ll separate you from just about every other potential thing they could spend their time, attention, energy and money on.

Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?

Talk to lots of people. It’s free! And it’ll save you so much money, time, energy and effort. I know, I’ve wasted a lot of time and money on great ideas that people had previously told me people wouldn’t pay for, even though they loved it. Then I learned why people buy. It’s relevant to their perception and feelings. What related things are people presently buying and why? What’s unique about your offer? How can you get the quickest validation people will buy? Those are the first few steps that you should take.

There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?

Even VCs, Venture Capitalists, have different ideas about how to go about things. People tend to specialize in different areas. For each particular aspect, you want a solid approach.

For example, pricing. Look at what similar suppliers offer and why. What are the pros and cons of each. What’ll enable you to add value to the market in a way that customers value? Is it more or less customer service? Is it a higher or lower price? Is it value-based pricing or ad revenue funded? You can take a deep dive on any particular aspect that’s the most meaningful to your business plan and keep asking yourself core questions to gain insights for free. This process could take months to fully understand and develop. Then you’ll see where your gaps are.

What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?

It really depends on the market you’re going after. If it’s a digital product, you can bootstrap. If it’s a highly capital intensive industry, like car manufacturing, then you’re going to need a ton of capital and credibility.

Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

By looking at my past successes, I was able to identify what worked well and what didn’t, then combine the best of the best to create an even better business that aims to make our world a better place by being a part of the climate change solution.

A movement to make millions of people become Ecopreneurs, to channel our collective time, talent and energy in a united way to solve climate change at the speed and scale we need to ensure we have a happy, healthier future together.

Elon Musk is making the most innovation happen right now in the most important areas, to accelerate the adoption of clean energy. Yet still only 2% of the market owns an EV or solar. For as hard, as fast, and as long as he’s been at it, and to be as happy as he is, is quite a successful accomplishment. I’d love to discuss ways in which we can accelerate adoption with the other 98% of the market, and buy us more time to solve such hard problems, with simple solutions to turn the tide with climate-warming, disaster-causing, carbon dioxide emissions.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Making Something From Nothing: Nick Thorsch Of Share2Seed On How To Go From Idea To Launch was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Making Something From Nothing: Cheryl Griffin On How To Go From Idea To Launch

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

‘Don’t give up’ — perseverance is key. It’s all about pushing through and tackling obstacles along the way to achieve your end goals. I had to remind myself of this during my publishing process. If you experience rejection, don’t get disheartened. I had to remember that the rejection didn’t mean my book wasn’t good, sometimes it’s just not the right fit, so keep plugging away!

As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cheryl Griffin.

Cheryl Griffin is a self-published author of two children’s books and the creator of the first family focused NFT project, AlphaBetty which has turned over £3 million in less than a year.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

I’ve lived in Brighton in the UK my whole life, born to my Sri Lankan mother and English father. My mum was a nurse so she often worked weekends when I was younger, so me and my older brother would spend that time with my dad. I have fond memories of that, particularly now that he has since passed.

My childhood was full of countryside butterfly walks and weekly trips to the local library. It was here that I first discovered ‘Miffy’ books. I loved the simplicity and colourful aspect of the illustrations and I believe she was my inspiration behind my AlphaBetty Doodles character and is still a brand I aspire to.

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, is that allowed!?

‘Betting on the jockey, not the horse’ — NFT influencer Gary Vaynerchuk quoted this which has always resonated with me. When he buys into a project, he invests in the person behind the project, not necessarily just the idea. With my project, it was important for me to be seen. I wanted people to see I was an honest person with a real story.

The second one is more personal. I’ve always made a point of telling my children ‘Don’t be a sheep’ — I think it’s always important to trust your own instincts and embrace your individuality and not just follow the crowd.

I think a big part of what made the AlphaBetty Doodles NFT project a success was the fact that we were different to a lot of others out there. We are the first family focused collection that already had a physical book in the mainstream. This niche market appealed to first time buyers but also parents and teachers who were able to share the experience with young children through the AlphaBetty artwork, whilst also teaching them the basic principles of NFT and blockchain.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

Can I choose a theatre show? There’s one show that had a powerful impact on me. It’s called ‘The Jungle’, and I’ve seen it several times — I even went to watch it in New York. The play tells the necessary story of refugees living in the Calais Jungle.

It was immersive with an incredible cast ensemble. You certainly come away with more empathy and understanding of the lives of refugees.

Firstly it’s important to have self-confidence and belief in your own project. Because if you can express that vision and enthusiasm to your customers you have a better chance of it succeeding.

Don’t be afraid to make changes along the way and listen to all constructive feedback — my AlphaBetty character went through a number of different versions before I perfected how I wanted her to look.

Marketing is also vital because you could have the greatest idea in the world but you need to be able to get it seen.

Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether their idea has already been created?

Particularly with NFT’s, there are new collections coming out every day so it can be very difficult to stand out from the crowd and offer something different. You will often find a successful collection will get several copycat collections, or offer similar benefits, which can either be popular or often dilute the market.

It’s always important to do plenty of your own research, gain knowledge from other communities in the space and get feedback for your potential ideas. It’s very fast paced so you must stay on your toes, but it can be a great platform to unleash your creativity!

For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.

I had the idea for both of the children’s books I have written for over 10 years so for me initially it was about building up my confidence to get started. Once I had the book created, I then looked at ways I could get it published.

I found that a challenging process and, in the end, decided to go down the self-publishing route through Amazon. They make it a fairly easy process to submit your work and make it available online. I am still continuing to do my research on contacting literary agents and publishers as it would be great to get the book fully published so it can reach the mainstream market and have the same success that AlphaBetty has received in the NFT world.

With the NFT project, after I did all the artwork myself for the project, I had a small team of people, including my husband, that were able to help me launch the collection into the space. We set up a Discord community and a social media presence, which was crucial in us getting out there and telling the story of AlphaBetty.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

‘Don’t put pressure on yourself’ — it’s important not to put pressure on yourself and always remember your goals and why you started. When our AlphaBetty project sold out within a couple of days, it was very exciting but also slightly overwhelming. Suddenly I had many holders that had invested in the project and their eyes were all on me! It was so important that I didn’t put pressure on myself and thankfully, our holders are all incredibly supportive and believe in the long term future.

‘Don’t rush’ — this leads on from the first as particularly in the NFT space, time goes a lot quicker than in the mainstream world. As such, you can feel that you are not doing things quick enough to remain relevant in the space. But for the project to be successful in the long term, you do have to recognise that not everything can be done at such speed. For example, we currently have an AlphaBetty plushie in the pipeline, but obviously this takes time from the designing stage to end production. We must be patient.

‘Betting on the jockey, not the horse’ — People buy people. Going back to this quote that NFT influencer Gary Vaynerchuk once said. When he buys into a project, he invests in the person behind the project, not necessarily just the idea. It’s important to remember that.

‘Don’t give up’ — perseverance is key. It’s all about pushing through and tackling obstacles along the way to achieve your end goals. I had to remind myself of this during my publishing process. If you experience rejection, don’t get disheartened. I had to remember that the rejection didn’t mean my book wasn’t good, sometimes it’s just not the right fit, so keep plugging away!

‘Keep a balanced work/ home life balance’ — Don’t work yourself into the ground as it will just burn you out. Ensuring that you take that time out will give you that balance and renewed energy. You don’t want what you are doing to feel like a chore.

Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?

Once you have documented your invention and made sure it has not already been patented, I think the most important thing to do is a lot of research. You need to be confident that there is a market for your invention if you want it to be a success and then set about creating your first prototype.

There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?

I don’t think it hurts to bring more eyes to the project to offer constructive feedback. It’s particularly helpful to bring in advice in areas you’re not an expert in. If it is affordable for you, and you are clear in agreement of ownership during the process then I would absolutely recommend it.

What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?

A large amount of the profit made through the AlphaBetty NFT collection was injected back into the project and without that, we wouldn’t have been able to grow and gain traction on the AlphaBetty brand as quickly as we have been able to. Our NFT holders are investors in our project that believe in our long term growth potential.

If you believe in your project you have to decide on whichever way feels best for you as neither option is wrong, and both have varying benefits and disadvantages.

Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

The sell-out of the AlphaBetty NFT project has enabled us to make over £100,000 worth of donations to educational charities such as Donor’s Choose and Gamers Outreach, a charity that makes video games available and easy to manage in hospital.

We also donated to my children’s old primary school, which like many schools in the UK, is seriously underfunded. Being able to make this donation was personal to me and felt like such a privilege to be able to do such a positive thing.

One of my very first jobs was working at a local Deaf Centre where I was fortunate to learn sign language. Since then, I’ve always felt that sign language would be beneficial for all children to learn to encourage inclusivity and give children the skills they need to be able to communicate with deaf people.

Marcus Rashford — what an inspiration to young people.

We’ve been lucky to have had several high profile American sports stars and influencers buy into our AlphaBetty NFT project and we’d love to see the same happen here with UK sportsmen and women.

Marcus’ success in campaigning for free school meals to help poorer families was inspirational and I’d love to tell him about all my ideas for AlphaBetty and how the character can help children enjoy learning about new things.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Making Something From Nothing: Cheryl Griffin On How To Go From Idea To Launch was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Making Something From Nothing: Shannon Giedieviells Of Master Shot Studios On How To Go From Idea…

Making Something From Nothing: Shannon Giedieviells Of Master Shot Studios On How To Go From Idea To Launch

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

…Don’t strive for perfection right out of the gate: Things are going to be shaky and not everything will be set and perfect. Grow from mistakes and focus on progress, not perfection.

As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Shannon Giedieviells, Chief Creative Officer of Master Shot Studios, LLC.

Shannon Giedieviells is a passionate digital strategist that develops and delivers creative and technical solutions that tell a compelling story to educate and inspire. She has 5+ years professional experience in digital media, film, educational technology, and marketing. As Chief Creative Officer of her multimedia production company, Master Shot Studios, the power to create something from nothing, from idea to reality, fuels her to create a lasting impact and digital story for businesses and everyday people. Most of her professional career has been working with institutions of higher education to begin and continue their digital transformation. Currently, she serves as an Instructional Designer for the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s online program.

Previously, she served as: Intermetro Industries’ web designer and developer to bring the corporation’s digital business strategy to life through a user-friendly eCommerce experience; web marketing manager at Marywood University creating the first website strategic marketing plan included in the overall university strategic planning efforts; and media services assistant at Keystone College training faculty on a newly implemented learning management system.

Always striving to stay on trend and looking for ways to combine her business and education experience, Shannon has a bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts with a focus on Digital Media from Keystone College and was an Outstanding Graduate nominee. She earned her MBA from Marywood University. She is an Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) in Video Design and has earned multiple certifications in instructional models and design. She facilitates a video editing course online, creates tutorials on Youtube with 350k+ views, and has received 20+ film awards.

She serves her community as an Occupational Advisory Board Member for the Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County, ensuring the technical curriculum is updated, relevant, and delivered to prepare students for future careers in technology. She also serves as a member of Keystone College’s Alumni Association’s Board of Directors.

Her passion and purpose is a digital storyteller: to transform a vision into reality, whatever the medium.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

I’m so stoked and honored to be a part of the ‘Making Something Out of Nothing’ series. Alright, let’s go back to the 90’s! I’m happy and grateful my parents bought their first computer and camcorder then, because it’s pretty much where it all began. As a child, I loved playing and experimenting with the computer. It was a whole new world, and I was lucky enough to gain computer skills at five years old. I know it’s nothing close compared to today where I see two-year old’s playing with smartphones, but it’s the world we live in now. From that point on, I always had a computer to research, learn, and have fun.

The next piece of vintage tech was my parent’s camcorder. The huge, bulky, VHS-reeling camera that felt like a real Hollywood movie camera to me right in my home. My creativity really sparked when I found out I could pause and stop the recording to create cuts and effects like the movies! The power and imagination I felt I had was unstoppable and I began writing and filming my own little short films with friends and family. I remember my first ever short film was titled “ Spy: Blue Diamond” — a story about a spy who, you probably guessed it, tries to get his hands on a blue diamond. It was a few cuts and shots of my younger cousin walking around the house, pretending he was in a cave, trying to find a fake diamond jewel — nothing Oscar-worthy, but it would win the cute and fun category! Unfortunately, with VHS tapes, they can get overwritten. I think we’ve all experienced one of our precious home videos being erased with a local news story or a TV movie. The utter disappointment when that happened is a feeling all its own and it’s exactly what I felt when my first motion picture was erased. But, it was for sure not the last one I’ve created.

And this is where my love for film, technology, and digital media began. (And my constant fear that my files would be erased so I have duplicate drives!).

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I have so many quotes that I live by, but the one I think about the most is actually a quote from my favorite college instructor and one of the greatest teachers and mentors I will ever have, Kurt Sussman. He is one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, learn from, and work with. I compare him to my very own “Mr. Miyagi” from “The Karate Kid.” Although, he’d probably rather be compared to Bruce Lee or Joe Lewis, since he is a fifth-degree black belt in martial arts.

He said to me: “Life gives you sh*t. Sh*t makes good fertilizer.”

Life is full of surprises, ups, downs, twists, and turns. We enjoy living for the easy stuff and good times, of course. But the hard times, the uncomfortable moments, and the failures make us grow the most. It’s what humbles us. It brings us back down to earth. Now, you have two choices: You can either get knocked down and stay down, blaming everything else for your problem — or — you can get up, wipe your face, shake it off, and keep going because you can now walk a little faster, feel a little stronger, and do what you need to do a little bit better.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

This is a hard one, so I’ll pick one of each. A book that made a significant impact on me so far that I’ve read is ‘Become What You Are’ by Alan Watts. Alan Watts was the first modern philosopher and speaker I’ve heard of that brought Easteran ways of thinking and theology to the Western world. This book broke me down and built me back up again, in a positive way. It made me do some deep introspection work as to why I do what I do and even why I wanted to do something. Alan Watts can fall into a favorite podcast as well, because his voice is one of the most relaxing, calm, and articulate I’ve ever heard. Also falling into the category of self-reflection and motivational speakers is Abraham-Hicks and Eckhart Tolle. I began listening to these speakers in college which gave me so much insight into my own self and my purpose.

As far as film, this one definitely strays away from calm and relaxed: “Goodfellas” (1990). My all-time favorite film not just for the sheer cinematic experience perfected, but the way one normal kid becomes a hotshot gangster to paranoid drug-addict to coming clean and back to a normal guy living in the suburbs under FBI protection, only to reflect that he does in fact miss being a goodfella, a good guy, one of them, part of a group that got whatever they wanted — for a price that could mean their life. It’s a wild and beautifully captured story.

I think a few things play into simply not taking the next step. I’ve had many friends and colleagues who are amazing crafters, marketers, salespeople, and more and they don’t even realize it because they feel pigeon-held to what they do every day. I say if you are good at something, try to find a way to make that part of your income. Now, if you want your hobby to stay strictly your hobby, like painting model trains, that’s fine too. However, I’m sure there are people out in the world who would love a hand-crafted, custom painted train to give as a gift. There is no shortage of ideas. It’s all about overcoming that fear. I hear so often “What if I fail?” “What if nobody buys it?” “What if nobody likes my stuff?”

I’ve shared those doubts too. It’s part of being human. But, I try to turn that doubt into a positive, like “ What if you do gain a lot of customers?” “What if so many people love your stuff?” “What if you grow your business to where it becomes your livelihood?”

Saying those positive thoughts turns that doubt into motivation. It’s what I’ve found helps me personally and with what I do as well as my friends who have their own hustles.

That’s just it: research. If you thought of something that would be a good invention or service, I’m sure other people want that good or service as well to make their lives easier. Look up services or products that are similar. Is there a way you can make it better? Is there a way you can make it cheaper? Is there a way you can make it faster?

The fundamental question is “How would your product or service be different?” And this is really hard if you just sit at a table and overthink it. Sometimes, what makes something different is so simple, it’s right under your nose and it comes to you while taking a walk or a drive.

Absolutely! In terms of making your idea a business, for example, you want to start a bakery:

Research the competitive landscape. What other bakeries are out there? What do they focus on? What does their menu look like?
Write a business plan. There are plenty of online templates out there to write a plan. It doesn’t have to be as robust as you think, but writing down a plan will help you and others see the vision and goals for your business.
Get your identity: Brand is not just a logo. Brand is your business values, morals, ethics, and way of doing business. Spend some time on this as it will reflect in your language, your marketing, your customer service, and pretty much every single area of your business. A good place to start is using Score.org’s brand worksheet.
Get your products or services in order: Focus on what you will sell and why it will help others.
Have a website: I’m a big stickler for this one because I believe everything stems from your online home-base. Your blogs, products, company information, videos, and more can all begin on your own site. It serves as a first impression for customers and a place where they can even purchase products or services, especially if you are an online-based business.
Apply to become a business: Research how businesses become formed in your state. Your state government website will have assets and information on how to form an LLC and corporations. Many local counties even have small business chapters that can help you through the process.
Research any licenses you may need: As for a food service, like a bakery, research any certifications or licenses you need to do business safely and in line with your state’s standards.

*I am not a legal professional and the information provided does not constitute legal advice, instead, all information is for general information purposes only.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

You will wear all hats: you will do all of the work involved in running a business which includes the grunt work, especially if you start off with just yourself.
Have a contract: If it applies to the work your business does, protect your business and have a contract.
Don’t strive for perfection right out of the gate: Things are going to be shaky and not everything will be set and perfect. Grow from mistakes and focus on progress, not perfection.
Ask for reviews: It may feel weird to do this and ask for reviews, but reviews are an amazing way to grow your business. Your client or customer’s review helps their own friends and family see the benefit of your business from someone they trust. Building credibility and a loyal customer-base is critical.
Work smarter, not harder: If some kind of process isn’t working for you and you feel burnt out spending hours manually entering sales into spreadsheets, please don’t suffer. Find an automated solution or online software that can help you with customer information, documents, payments, or whatever else you feel is a trip point. Embrace some technology and automation for the little tasks that take you away from your main focus.

*I am not a legal professional and the information provided does not constitute legal advice, instead, all information is for general information purposes only.

Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?

Again, the first step is to always research the market, similar products and the competitive landscape. Try to get a plan together of the product and why it is different and why it would make someone’s life easier.

There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?

If you are new to product development or don’t know exactly where to begin, I would enlist the help of a consultant who has knowledge of the process and guide you in the right direction. Starting with trusted connections in your network can also be a good step to finding the right consultant to work with.

What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?

It depends on the product or service. If it’s a startup with a new software or product, raising funding and seeking out venture capitalists may be better to get your product off the ground (hence the name ‘startup’). If you offer a service like mine, which is media production services or a bakery, or even crafting, bootstrapping or applying for a traditional business loan may work better for you. Again, it all depends on what you are putting out there. I recommend seeking the help of a trusted friend or colleague in your network to help.

Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

This is an interesting question and I really do hope so. I hope that my clients feel joy and happiness when we complete a project and they see their vision come to life. I know that I feel a sense of satisfaction and happiness when I see their finished product in front of me, going from a concept on a storyboard to an actual piece of video that can be used in many different ways. I think if I can put a smile on someone’s face when they see their project, then I’ve made the world a little bit happier.

Wow, that’s huge. But I think if I can stick with what I’m good at and let people film themselves telling everyone what they are grateful for, I would compile it into a large montage to be shared, that would spread some happiness and thankfulness into the world. I think we need more of that.

I would love to have breakfast or lunch with Simon Sinek. Just to hear him speak about life, society, business, or really anything he would want to discuss would be such an existential, eye-opening, and cerebral conversation. I think we could walk out of that meet-up with some great ideas or, at least, I can become more enlightened and experienced after.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Thank you so much for your time. I’m so excited that I had the opportunity to share some experiences and insight into my personal and business life. I hope what I’ve shared can help just one person overcome and quiet that little annoying voice in their head saying that ‘they can’t do something’ because you really can do anything you want. You just have to take the first step.

Making Something From Nothing: Shannon Giedieviells Of Master Shot Studios On How To Go From Idea… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Meet The Disruptors: Joe Tierney Of Gentleman Toker On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your…

Meet The Disruptors: Joe Tierney Of Gentleman Toker On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

True negative disruption pursues profit for profit’s sake and denies the human dignity and intelligence of its customer. I’m talking about loot boxes! They put loot boxes in my video games! Used to be a time when you could take pride in all the cool weapons, characters, and skins you collected playing the game. You know how much they want to unlock Sindel in the new Mortal Kombat? Like $5! For each extra character! For a game I already paid $60 for! Introducing pay-to-win mechanics degrades the experience, while hooking a generation of school-age kids on gambling is obviously a flawless idea that couldn’t possibly have a negative impact.

As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Joe Tierney.

Joe Tierney, Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Gentlemantoker.com, is a cannabis connoisseur with a mission to help Washingtonians navigate the marijuana industry in DC and beyond. He began his own MMJ journey to medicate his PTSD, anxiety, depression and manage his pain.

As the Gentleman Toker, a moniker he took to describe himself equal parts professional and pothead, as well as a connoisseur of quality, he began to publish humorous and insightful reviews of the unlicensed brands that sprang up to take advantage of the “gifting” loophole in the District’s legislation. Today, six years after launching his site, GentlemanToker.com, Tierney is a go-to source for Washingtonians seeking advice on where and how to obtain the best marijuana the city has to offer.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

The first act of recreational cannabis legalization, in Colorado, struck my psyche like lightning. The idea of change, real change, happening in my lifetime became a galvanizing force. I wanted, more than I’d ever wanted anything before, to be a part of it and help guide it. I tried to get a job in the industry, I was even willing to move across the country for half my salary at the time, but it didn’t work out.

Then legalization came to me. Initiative 71 passed in Washington DC, just a few miles from where I lived in Northern Virginia, so I packed up and moved back to the city. I learned that DC already had a medical marijuana program, so I became a patient ASAP. Since I had already traveled to licensed recreational shops out West, I could tell right off the bat that there were some serious issues with the products and prices at these DC medical dispensaries at the time. Then the first I71 vendors started to appear with better products at better prices than I could get at the dispensary.

I tried pointing these issues out on the dispensary’s page, but they took my reviews down. So I started GentlemanToker.com to create a space where I was free to discuss both medical and recreational brands without having to worry about being censored. The fact that it took off as much as it did was a nice surprise. I thought I’d be old, surrounded by feral cats and stacks of newspapers, before anyone started paying attention to what I was saying.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Legal cannabis is a disruptive industry by definition. We’re up-ending 50 years of federal prohibition one fiefdom at a time. We’re challenging the propaganda we’ve been fed to fuel the War on Drugs and the notion of what and who a marijuana user is. We’re actively harming the bottom lines of for-profit prisons and Big Pharma. If the government wasn’t so stingy with licenses and offered one to anybody that could prove they meet the requirements- y’know, like how almost every other industry works- we’d be looking at a new path to the middle and upper classes. That’s what I’ve seen happen in Washington DC, a city that legalized cannabis without any regulation. Instead, most state licenses are tightly controlled and very limited, granted almost exclusively to affluent white applicants. These license limits stifle competition and thus, do not serve patients, consumers, or the grander goals of social equity. I wouldn’t mind disrupting that, too.

My main focus, however, is to encourage the public to think critically about the cannabis in their bowl and the industry as a whole. There’s a lot of excitement around the idea of so many different strains, for example, but what is really important is how well it was grown. We make an effort to educate people on what factors make desirable or defective cannabis in our reviews.

Even pointing out that there are any issues with the cannabis industry is a controversial stance. People still want to believe that everything around legal weed is bright, sunny, and a force for good, like some sword-wielding hero riding a unicorn, liberating villagers as it dashes about the nation. I hate to be a buzzkill, but there are some serious issues that need to be addressed if we’re going to have a thriving industry of safe, high-quality cannabis products at fair prices. If I can help enough consumers become market-savvy, then when this aggregate votes with their wallets, a better cannabis industry will naturally result.

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 unintentionally drove prices up for concentrated cannabis products when I first started writing in DC. Concentrate can boast THC of 60% or more, whereas flower, which is what you’d typically think of as “marijuana,” caps out around 30%. Shatter was one of the earliest forms of this new-wave hash and it went for $40/gram here back in early 2016. When word got out that the medical dispensaries were selling sub-par products at twice that price, all the street guys raised their prices to $60/g for decent quality shatters and budders over the course of a month. That set the stage for $80 brand-name and $100–120 designer hash at pop-up events in the years to come. My bad, everybody.

What’s most interesting is what didn’t happen. The dispensaries didn’t lower their prices to try to compete with the unregulated I71 vendors (they, in turn, blame the cultivator for the pricing). Dispensary quality in this product class didn’t improve for years, and when it did, it was spurred by a newly-licensed cultivator with experience out West joining the DC medical market and raising the bar of competition, not by me complaining to anyone that’d listen that my drugs were too expensive. What I learned then was just how crippling a system by which the government, not the consumer, decides the winners would be to market innovation, pricing, or even keeping up with best practices. Watching as state after state in the Midwest and along the East Coast passes this exact kind of legislation has been a source of continual frustration.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

The now-defunct Cannabist’s reviews from the early days of legal weed taught me neat tricks like checking to see if the stem cracks and the bud springs back. Danny Danko, of course, is the original weed reviewer, so reading his work has been very insightful. Good Chemistry, a licensed dispensary and cultivator in Colorado, published their incredibly helpful STATS Guide to judging cannabis that I found early on. Those few pages both confirmed some of my own ideas about cannabis quality and expanded on them. This was my most important resource early on, the one I could point to prove I knew what I was talking about. Since then, I’ve continued their work and developed my own consumer-focused grading scale for cannabis based on my experiences here at home and traveling to legalized states across the US. And before I started GentlemanToker.com, I was blessed with good bosses that led by example and taught me to do the same.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Even positive disruption will have negative consequences. Ride-shares are my favorite example. Maybe New York City had its taxi industry working well before smartphones, but trying to get a cab in or around Washington DC was nearly impossible before Uber and Lyft showed up. The price is transparent. If there are any issues with the driver, I can record it on my phone and upload it to TikTok later (kidding).

With all the positives that ride-shares have brought, they’ve also created serious, oft-reported issues. Innovation will always outpace regulations, therefore responsibility must fall on the innovator to consider the potential consequences and implement solutions. Uber should have had a stricter screening process for drivers when it started because the inherent danger involved with having a stranger drive you home is clearly apparent. The Keurig cup inventor disrupted the electric coffee-maker industry, but has since renounced his work for its harm to the environment. And that’s starting with what we assume were fair, entrepreneurial aspirations to improve people’s lives.

True negative disruption pursues profit for profit’s sake and denies the human dignity and intelligence of its customer. I’m talking about loot boxes! They put loot boxes in my video games! Used to be a time when you could take pride in all the cool weapons, characters, and skins you collected playing the game. You know how much they want to unlock Sindel in the new Mortal Kombat? Like $5! For each extra character! For a game I already paid $60 for! Introducing pay-to-win mechanics degrades the experience, while hooking a generation of school-age kids on gambling is obviously a flawless idea that couldn’t possibly have a negative impact.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

My dad made a strong case to learn a trade instead of racking up student loan debt to attend college, and going into the print industry taught me a number of skills and good work habits that helped me succeed working for myself. I’m not sure if ranting about weed on the internet is technically a trade, but I’m sure he’d have a laugh about it.

My old boss at the print shop once advised me to get the best out of negative situations. Most people, even if they’re upset, will relax if you take the time to empathize and listen.

My mother taught me, not by her words, but how she lived her life to be strong in the face of adversity, to never stop growing, and to keep your principles even when no one is watching. Her spirit is my compass.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

This year I’ve been traveling to newly-legalized states like New York and New Jersey to help guide folks to where they can find great cannabis now, before the dispensaries even open. We’re also developing this content into a podcast that we’re very excited about!

Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?

My single biggest influence is the late Sir Terry Pratchett of Discworld fame. He was big on getting across that “we’ve always done it that way” is a very, very poor reason to do anything. More than that, Sir Terry managed a particularly amazing feat. His characters, his fictional characters, continually inspire me to be the best person I can be. I doubt I’d be alone in that statement amongst his many fans.

Robert Brockway and Seanbaby of Golden-Age Cracked.com both heavily influenced my style, too. Love those guys.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Second chances are few and far between, and the results are usually inferior to getting it right the first go around. Life happens in real time. You don’t always get a chance to prepare. The things we say and do when the pressure is on are who we are.

I took up the mantle of the Gentleman Toker when I saw the opportunity, unwilling to wait for a more favorable season, and I stand behind the decisions I’ve made steering this unexpected ship through uncharted seas the last five years.

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. 🙂

State-legal sales and possession is not the end of our fight! There are still people doing time behind bars for cannabis offenses. There are still people whose records for cannabis offenses are hurting their opportunities for employment and housing. Veterans still can’t be recommended medical cannabis despite the promise it’s showing treating PTSD, while 22 former service members commit suicide every single day in this country. Cannabis use, even with a medical card, can be used against you in family court. And federal employees are fearful of even trying CBD in case the THC content exceeds that listed on the package, putting them in risk of a failed drug test and career derailment.

Cannabis legalization on the federal level will remedy many issues, but we cannot stop until we are as equal in the eyes of the law as every other American citizen.

How can our readers follow you online (website / social handles)?

Read my blog at Gentlemantoker.com or follow me on Instagram @gentleman.toker or Twitter @gentleman_toker.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Meet The Disruptors: Joe Tierney Of Gentleman Toker On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future Is Now: Jamie Milas Of Medical Microinstruments (MMI) On How Their Technological…

The Future Is Now: Jamie Milas Of Medical Microinstruments (MMI) On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Don’t always be predictable. Being unpredictable every now and then keeps people on their toes and allows you to avoid being pigeonholed by your own habits. So often in my career I’ve heard, ‘Jamie will do it’, ‘Jamie will fix it’, ‘Jamie always says yes’, etc. This behavior can lead to people taking advantage of your kindness and hard work. Always be a team player but know when to say no or stand your ground. Being a pleaser doesn’t always get you ahead.

As a part of our series about cutting-edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jamie Milas.

Jamie Milas is VP of Marketing at Medical Microinstruments (MMI) SpA, an Italian robotics start-up company. Throughout her career, Milas has held various marketing roles which have led her to live and work in the United States, France, Belgium, and Italy. Milas is a graduate of the University of Dayton, where she received her Bachelor of Science and MBA in International Business and Marketing.

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 always interested in pursuing a career in marketing because it’s a skill set that you can apply to any industry, product, or service. I knew this would afford me flexibility as I began my professional journey. After a job in the automotive sector and then in the power generation industry, I found my true passion in the medical field with a company called Materialise based in Leuven, Belgium. I became the Marketing Manager for the Medical Business Unit which is where I realized that I could use my business acumen to make a ‘better and healthier world.’ Knowing that our solutions were improving patient care motivated me during the many long days, nights, and weekends of hard work. From this moment on, I knew that my passion was to promote disruptive, high-tech, medical devices. After Materialise, I became the VP of Marketing at EOS imaging in Paris, which developed a revolutionary imaging system offering a full body, bi-planar X-ray at a remarkably low dose of radiation. I was then recruited to become the VP of Marketing at MMI SpA in Pisa, Italy. MMI has developed a robotic system and instruments aimed at revolutionizing microsurgery.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

One of the most interesting things that has happened in my career was the ability to join MMI SpA when it was still a small start-up. I was able to build the brand, logos, messaging, and all collateral from scratch. I participated in naming the robot, the initial human cases, preparing the go-to-market strategy in Europe, onboarding the first hospitals, covering the first patient story, and now contributing to the industrial design of the next generation and US launch plan. The ability to lay this important foundation has been an exciting and rewarding challenge that few marketing professionals get to experience in their lifetime.

Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?

The Symani System will help surgeons by providing additional precision as they perform tiny, delicate microsurgical procedures. Additional precision equates to patent anastomoses and better outcomes, as well as the ability to address vessels that are too small to suture by hand. This technology may also greatly benefit patients by reducing reinterventions, minimizing failures, and providing access to treatments that are extremely difficult to address without the support of a robot, such as lymphedema.

How do you think this might change the world?

The Symani System will change the world by expanding surgeon capabilities far beyond what’s achievable today with human hands, opening the doors to the field of supermicrosurgery. With the help of Symani’s robotic precision and new instrumentation designed for supermicrosurgery, we will discover entirely new procedures that will help patients who have no options today. Particularly when it comes to the surgical treatment of lymphedema which affects 250 million people worldwide.

In addition, the robot will enable experienced surgeons to extend their careers and young surgeons to perform effective microsurgical techniques faster thanks to the tremor elimination. This will expand patient access to microsurgical treatments.

Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

As the Symani System helps surgeons to perform more precise surgery, I can’t imagine a negative drawback. In fact, one day, it’s possible that a surgeon could operate remotely on a patient using the Symani System. This could improve access to exceptional care worldwide.

Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?

What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?

Widespread adoption of the Symani Surgical System will require FDA clearance so that US surgeons can begin to use the system, build clinical evidence, and enable other hospitals around the world to justify acquiring the system. Once there’s a critical mass of hospitals using the system and publishing positive research results, we believe that procedures with the Symani will become the standard of care.

What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?

To increase brand awareness and reach innovative surgeons and institutions, we have been participating in both regional and global microsurgical congresses, providing demonstrations, encouraging Symani Surgeons to present their cases, hosting symposiums, developing video assets, and focusing on growing our social media following.

In addition, we have developed a ‘Road Show’ concept where we bring the robotic system to a hotel and invite top prospects to come and spend a few hours with us working on the system. This method was ideal during COVID-19, as most people could drive or take a local train even during lockdowns. We have found that after being able to suture with Symani, surgeons leave very motivated to acquire the system and are excited to move forward with developing a robotics program at their hospital.

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 am forever grateful to my mother N. Carole Milas for being such a great role model. She taught me to be confident, to manage multiple tasks at the same time, and that if something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right. She always worked hard and was very dedicated to her career at the University of Pittsburgh in the Department of Epidemiology. I believe that the joy she found in conducting research to help people live healthy lives was a motivation for me to pursue a career where I can make a meaningful impact on patient care.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

As my job requires very long hours and extensive travel, I don’t often have a lot of free time. That’s why I try to give back through my work by sharing my experiences and mentoring junior team members. I know how important a mentor can be and have always made my colleagues a top priority. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing someone on your team succeed and progress professionally. I am looking forward to volunteering at an elephant rescue when I retire and finding other ways to give back.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

Don’t always be predictable.

Being unpredictable every now and then keeps people on their toes and allows you to avoid being pigeonholed by your own habits. So often in my career I’ve heard, ‘Jamie will do it’, ‘Jamie will fix it’, ‘Jamie always says yes’, etc. This behavior can lead to people taking advantage of your kindness and hard work. Always be a team player but know when to say no or stand your ground. Being a pleaser doesn’t always get you ahead.

2. No job is a life sentence.

No job is perfect. There are always pros and cons to every role. I always try to remind myself that where I work is a choice that I make every day and that I have options. This helps me to focus on the positive aspects rather than getting frustrated with things that are not ideal. At the same time, a career takes an enormous amount of time, energy, and dedication. If you’ve done all you can to improve your situation and still aren’t happy, it’s better to move on.

3. Exceptional managers are rare.

I always hoped to have great managers to mentor me, give me constructive feedback, and help me achieve my professional goals. In reality, people are promoted for many reasons and having a manager title doesn’t make you a manager, or at least not a good one. I have been blessed to work for some exceptional people but have also had some negative experiences. Over the years, I found ways to contribute to my own advancement through constant learning, critical self-assessment, and emulating the habits of my role models.

4. Don’t become so indispensable in your current role that you’re not chosen for promotions.

I have always worked hard and been willing to do ‘whatever it takes.’ I would take care of everything from the highest strategic decisions to the most menial tasks to ensure success. I would often take on many efforts that were outside of my scope. Although this can be perceived as being a ‘team player’ it can also mean that you end up responsible for so many things that the organization doesn’t know how to fill the void if they were to promote you.

5. If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.

Early in my career, I accepted a few jobs either based on location or because my skills matched the role, and I knew I could do it well. In the end, I wasn’t passionate about my work because I did not have a connection to the company’s mission. After these experiences, I decided to carefully evaluate a company and their products before accepting the job. Once I was marketing solutions that I truly believed in, my job became more fun and my efforts more effective.

Many companies have a program to match some portion of employees’ charitable donations, but I believe there’s an additional way to give back. I feel that I make a difference by donating my time more so than writing a check. Just as monetary contributions are matched, I believe companies should also match a day off for every day that an employee uses their vacation time to volunteer. Obviously, there could be a cap to this type of policy but contributing your time and money to the organization you’re most passionate about is a win-win. I’m sure this idea might already be out there, but I want it to become a movement.

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 favorite quotes is from Fink’s Walking in the Sun, Sort of Revolution album “Even a blind man can tell when he’s walking in the sun.” It reminds me to be happy and grateful. So often in life, we get busy or stressed and struggle to see all the positive things in our lives. I try to use humor to get through the rough patches because laughter is always the cure for me.

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 Symani Surgical System is the only commercially available robot in the blue ocean of open surgery. Although the endoscopic and endoluminal spaces are cluttered with new entrants, MMI is bringing an innovative system and disposable, wristed instruments to the open microsurgical space. With more than 5 million open surgical procedures per year and 2.4 million in microsurgery alone, there’s a great opportunity to improve patient care through Symani. With the 7–20 X motion scaling for high precision, tremor reduction to avoid damaging tiny anatomy, NanoWrist Instruments for easy access with seven degrees of freedom, and obviously an ergonomic surgeon console to avoid surgeon fatigue or injury, the Symani system was created to address the challenges of microsurgeons and fuel supermicrosurgeons. With the Symani System, some of the 250 million people suffering from lymphedema could be cured by a supermicrosurgical approach which is nearly impossible to address by hand today.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

linkedin.com/in/jamie-milas-87080315

https://www.linkedin.com/company/mmimicro

Twitter: MMImicro

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future Is Now: Jamie Milas Of Medical Microinstruments (MMI) On How Their Technological… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Meet The Disruptors: Keith Jensen and Jim Le Of Brightfin On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up…

Meet The Disruptors: Keith Jensen and Jim Le Of Brightfin On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Design your team with the future in mind. The thing about a boring industry like Telecom Expense Management (TEM) is that many employees have worked at competing companies. And when that happens, they often bring over the things they learned in past lives. At brightfin, we forced ourselves to rethink our org chart. Most TEM providers don’t even have strong marketing teams. We invested in marketing, and with the unique content we’re putting out, it has paid off in spades.

As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Keith Jensen and Jim Le.

Keith Jensen is a marketing executive with nearly 20 years of experience leading rapidly growing technology and healthcare organizations. He is Chief Marketing Officer of brightfin, a quickly expanding Telecom Expense Management (TEM) provider, as well as the CMO of Periscope Equity, overseeing marketing operations across their portfolio of private equity investments.

Jim Le is a modern product influencer fiercely dedicated to customer growth. With nearly 20 years of experience, Jim currently serves as Chief Product Officer of brightfin and brings a wealth of diverse software experience in mobility/MMS, TEM, supply chain, and contract management.

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Keith: I’ve been marketing for fast-growth, private equity-backed companies for nearly 20 years. I’ve been the Chief Marketing Officer for two leading private equity firms guiding marketing across their portfolio of companies. I also taught for eight years at the University of Central Florida (UCF), which was a lot of fun. There’s really not much else to say other than I’ve loved marketing and advertising since the day I started playing around with Photoshop and writing taglines.

Jim: I spent the first part of my career in consulting and implementations. I had a passion for delivering solutions and working with customers. Moving to the product side was quite serendipitous. I had no understanding of “product management,” yet I fell in love the minute I started the role.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Keith: Jim and I work for brightfin, a software provider in the Technology Expense Management (TEM) industry. TEM is typically pretty boring — not just the subject matter itself, but also the way most TEM companies talk about their capabilities. Jim and I are looking at things differently. With marketing under my purview and product being Jim’s area of expertise, we’re essentially joined at the hip to create content and messaging that’s fun, informative, and the exact opposite of what you’d expect from a SaaS provider. So many companies operate in silos where marketing makes stuff pretty, product only talks techy, and they each rely on “product marketers” to bridge the gap. But there’s a big problem there — product marketers aren’t really experts in either area.

Jim and I talk constantly because if I can’t speak about the technical aspects of our product, how could we ever get the marketing side right? And Jim is an incredible help on the marketing front — he comes up with ideas, helps with scripts, and actually stars in many of our videos. Who needs product marketing when you have a true alliance between product and marketing? We actually don’t have any team members with a “product marketing” title, like nearly every other SaaS company. At brightfin, our product and marketing teams work collaboratively and push each other to be better.

Jim: Not only are we disrupting the way we’re marketing, we’re also expanding our core product capabilities to go way beyond what our competitors can do for IT and Finance leaders. For example, we are allowing expense management to live in your ITSM or ServiceNow ecosystem. IT Service Management (ITSM) platforms, like ServiceNow, are where companies manage IT. And by fully integrating IT invoices with their ITSM, it unlocks way more capabilities and ways to save time and money. Beyond that, we are expanding into the cloud and building an IT Financial Management (ITFM) tool to provide even more insight for IT and Finance leaders.

All of these product enhancements that are unique to brightfin mean that we have to lead the way and figure out how to get these messages across to IT and Finance leaders. It’s a challenge that Keith and I love and are attacking together. This level of partnership between product and marketing is something I’ve never experienced before.

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?

Keith: I’ll take that one. Back in the day, I was running marketing for a healthcare company, and we were holding tons of events every week in local communities. To advertise those events, we’d run newspaper ads. Yes, newspaper ads! Each event had a unique phone number to call in order to RSVP. We had a marketing team of about 12 people at the time, and a lot of the work was manual — getting the dates from one person, getting phone numbers from another, giving them to the designer, proofing by one person, another sending it to print, etc.

It felt like we had a decent process in place until one day, we realized that an ad went out with the wrong phone number for one of the events. And as luck would have it, that incorrect phone number was dialing right to a local sex shop. You heard that right — one mistaken digit took us from a wholesome healthcare company answering the phone to “Rodney’s Pleasure Palace, how can I please you today?” Our airtight process clearly had holes.

After that happened, we revamped our process and made it more automated by integrating spreadsheets with our InDesign templates and adding more checks and balances to the approval process. We shortened the time it took to complete the ads every week and never had a mistake like that again. We probably should have done that way sooner, but sometimes it takes a blunder for you to take a good hard look at your processes. The lesson was certainly learned, and I feel like it has helped immensely in future roles.

For instance, at brightfin, we’re proactively forming committees to suggest process improvements and automations for any process that’s manual today. It’s just another piece of the puzzle that’ll help us move out in front of our TEM competitors.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

Jim: Countless mentors have paved the way for my career journey as a product and organization leader. I pay very close attention to the actions leaders take and how they handle product and organization challenges. Two great mentors come to mind.

First, an executive product leader at VMware had an amazing ability to quickly understand technical innovations, maintain singular focus, and worked with marketing so that the compelling stories were framed the right way. He has since moved on to lead product and technical teams for Atlassian. If you have a great technology, but the impact is not conveyed, or if you have a great message and the technology underdelivers, you will have a large imbalance.

Recently, the brightfin CEO, Ed Roshitsh, set extremely high goals for our organization along with defining our principles. In basic terms, he sets the tone by empowering the leadership team to set goals and ensures we execute them the right way. For example, early in his tenure, we worked with a 3rd party provider and invested substantially in the technical and go-to-market integration. But, there were a few red flags, and it just did not feel right. He did not hesitate to make the difficult decision to cut ties and find a partner that was a better fit. There was a short-term financial and customer perception hit. But, impacted customers also were very impressed with sticking to our principles, even it meant having difficult decisions and financial impact.

Keith: I think that disrupting an industry is positive when it brings value to the majority of stakeholders. In brightfin’s case, we used a five-pronged strategy to do things differently than the way our competitors have always done them. Here’s a summary of the 5 things to shake up a boring industry:

#1. Don’t take the path of least resistance. In our industry, our competitors consistently buy companies and leave their legacy software in place, which means they have to support it forever. With respect to mergers & acquisitions, instead of maintaining three legacy platforms from the companies we merged, we extracted the best of all three companies and moved forward with one unified platform. This is vastly different from other TEM providers in our space. Some of them are still operating and signing new customers up on old systems years after they acquired them. Think about that — imagine a software company maintaining ten different pieces of software that essentially do the same thing. That’s just the way TEM providers have always done it, and we didn’t want to follow in those footsteps. We are putting all of our resources and innovation into one piece of software, which we’re confident will propel us forward at a much faster rate.

#2. Have some fun with your content. We took our newly created, unified platform to market with some fresh video content that introduced personality and humor into what has been regarded traditionally as a boring industry. We make all of our videos internally with a modest team of three marketers, without any agencies or production companies. Our videos get ten times as much engagement as our competitors, even the large competitors with 20 times as many followers as us. There just isn’t anyone else doing what we’re doing from a marketing perspective, and it has really paid off.

#3. Always stay two steps ahead of your competitors. With boring industries, you often have multiple companies doing the same thing, especially when it comes to marketing. In the TEM space, most of brightfin’s competitors are just going to conferences and maybe doing some additional event sponsorships. While we’ll still go to a conference or two each year, we focus more of our time and effort on digital marketing strategies like account-based marketing tactics, connected TV ads, personalized digital content, HTML5 banner ads, and more. By the time our competitors catch up, we’ll be on to the next thing.

#4. Design your team with the future in mind. The thing about a boring industry like Telecom Expense Management (TEM) is that many employees have worked at competing companies. And when that happens, they often bring over the things they learned in past lives. At brightfin, we forced ourselves to rethink our org chart. Most TEM providers don’t even have strong marketing teams. We invested in marketing, and with the unique content we’re putting out, it has paid off in spades.

#5. Always be thinking about what’s next. Brightfin is moving from being a traditional TEM provider to a company that can provide exponentially more value than our competitors. To do that, we have branched into the IT Financial Management (ITFM) space which allows us to provide IT and Finance leaders with a platform that not only saves them money by optimizing their IT invoices, but one that also allows them to easily keep track of their IT spending to find new areas to save money. As Jim mentioned earlier, this additional functionality is industry-leading and helps us stand out as a leader in the IT Expense Management field.

Jim: Everything Keith said is right and are great examples of when disruption goes right. When we merged three companies, I was reminded of the saying, “necessity is the mother of invention.” This was our reality. We had three great companies coming together with unique differentiators (one was built on ServiceNow, another had amazing automation, and the last had end-to-end services that clients loved). However, the TEM industry is generally viewed as a mature market. TEM providers have built an exclusive audience instead of an inclusive audience. Messaging is primarily focused on technical solutions, not the expansive problems that TEM solved. This resulted in competitor marketing being stale and tailored to “insider” domain experts.

Brightfin’s growth definitely bucks market trends. Traditional TEM providers grow slowly and offer the same features and benefits as everyone else. Our combination of product innovation and marketing has resulted in skyrocketing growth with Fortune 500 companies. Creating a differentiated product on one unified platform and telling the story the right way through creative marketing has been a real game-changer.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

Keith: The most helpful advice I’ve gotten along the way has been to never stop learning and to always challenge yourself. I remember back when I was working on my master’s degree at UCF; I was put in a position where I had to put that advice to the test. Generally, I didn’t mind school at all and enjoyed the challenge, but one thing I never liked was when I had to give presentations. I was working a full-time job to help pay for my master’s degree, and one day, I got an email from the school with an interesting way to make a little money. They were looking for master’s students to teach public speaking classes to undergraduate students. I read it and immediately closed it thinking, “no way!” A few hours later, it was bugging me that I was turning away from an opportunity to help pay for school just because public speaking was scary. I ended up pushing myself, accepting the offer and went on to continue teaching night classes at UCF for nearly nine years. I grew to really love teaching and speaking in front of large groups, which has been a big help in my career development.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

Jim: Both Keith and I are newer to the TEM space and brought in new perspectives. The relationship we’ve established has allowed us to create some really great content so far and we’re definitely not done. We constantly brainstorm with each other and end up coming up with new ideas all the time.

What we’ve found works best is to think about messaging very early in the build and design process. Too often, the messaging comes last, but for everything to feel cohesive, it messaging cannot be an afterthought. If your product solution does not have a market message that resonates, you wasted precious resources.

This formula has gotten us to where we are today, and we’ll continue to hone and refine it for the future of brightfin, which we know is going to be bright.

Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?

Keith: For me, I constantly re-read and reference the book “Switch” by Chip and Dan Heath. It’s filled with stories about how people have influenced change in their lives, careers, and the world. And that’s really what marketing is about, in my opinion — changing people’s perceptions. The stories in Switch have inspired me more than any other book I’ve read.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Jim: The quote that goes, “every day you either get better or you get worse, you never stay the same,” by Bo Schembechler, is my daily outlook reminder. It’s no surprise that life is challenging, both personally and professionally. The technology world is extremely challenging. Barriers to entry have become low with cloud, SaaS apps, and ubiquitous high-speed data that is inexpensive. Competition is fierce. And with new technology seemingly available daily, the landscape changes just as quickly. And competitors today could be tomorrow’s M&A announcement.

With so much going on, you must have a continuous daily process of improvement and applying recent learnings. If you take a process-based approach, it leads to great results. If you are always shooting for the “once in a lifetime” product, it is extremely high risk and low/no return. If you focus on the continuous improvements to the innovation process and close customer connection, success is imminent and continues to grow.

Keith: If I could inspire a movement, it would be to get people to never quit learning. Whether it’s reading a book, listening to a podcast, or doing tutorials online, I have interviewed so many candidates for marketing leadership positions, and I’m always surprised by how many of them are choosing to stop learning after they hit a point in their career. I don’t know if it’s because they feel like they’re at a point in their career where they can hire people to do the work for them or what, but it’s definitely disheartening. I still love doing the “dirty work” by writing content, designing, video production, SEO, etc. I’m nearly 20 years in at this point, and I still push myself to learn new things every day. Maybe it’s just my love of marketing in general, but it has never felt like work. It’s like an ever-evolving puzzle that I’m trying to solve — and who wouldn’t need to keep learning if they’re trying to solve a puzzle like that?

How can our readers follow you online?

Jim: Keith and I are both very active on LinkedIn. Feel free to connect with either of us on LinkedIn, and be sure to follow brightfin’s page for fun videos you’ll love!

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Meet The Disruptors: Keith Jensen and Jim Le Of Brightfin On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future Is Now: Eric Perez On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Your family and wellbeing come first. Everything else is secondary.

As a part of our series about cutting-edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Eric Perez.

Eric Perez is the Director of Military Sales — Virtual Systems for domestic and international customers at InVeris Training Solutions. Prior to joining the company, Eric honorably served four years in the United States Marine Corps as a Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team member. Eric joined the company in November of 2001 as a Weapons Assembly Technician and in August 2002 he was promoted to the installation and training team for FATS® simulation systems. Due to Eric’s technical expertise in virtual systems he shifted to the Customer Support department and was then promoted to Latin America Service Manager in 2004. In this role, Eric assumed responsibility of the Weapons and Systems Repair Group sections. In early 2009 Eric became the Live Fire Account Manager for Southeastern U.S. and South America territories for the Law Enforcement business area. After a successful year securing key accounts, he transitioned to an Account Manager in the Military Virtual Systems business area in December 2010. In August 2011, he was promoted to Director of Military Virtual System Sales for the Americas. In 2015 he was promoted to Director of Virtual Systems Sales.

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 spending four years in the Marine Corps, I found InVeris Training Solutions was in my hometown and to work for them just felt right. I began working at InVeris nearly 20 years ago. I trained on the FATS® (Firearms Training System) as a young Marine in uniform, and later I became an instructor on the system. As I trained my Marines, I saw the value of simulated training and continued training when I didn’t have access to live ranges. I was able to increase the graduation rate of a very competitive weapons course simply by applying the training features of the system.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

The most interesting story in my career has to be when my boss requested I support a customer training event, and I immediately agreed without knowing many details. He then tells me the event is for the Marines, and it was in Hawaii. The great part of the story was when I came home and told my fiancée that I was heading to Hawaii for a few days and would bring her with me. It turns out she had a better plan than I did and said, “let’s get married.” She did all the leg work to plan our wedding while I was working, and 18 years later, it was one of the best decisions of our lives.

Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?

InVeris Training Solutions developed our new augmented reality training application, SRCE (See Rehearse Collectively Experience), to allow our military and first responders to conduct mission rehearsals in locations they will respond to for calls to service. When you can quickly scan a room and create a training area, it allows for enhanced, instant training anywhere in the world.

How do you think this might change the world?

Implementing this type of technology and giving first responders the ability to quickly train in an environment that they may respond to could be life changing. They can understand how that space looks and be better prepared through multiple training evolutions and understand what they did as individuals and as a team. They can quickly review their actions and tactics of how they could move through as a team.

Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

I don’t see any drawbacks to the military or first responders being better prepared. Better preparation means safer, more effective work, and I think training and mission rehearsal will be the two areas SRCE is applied the most.

Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?

The tipping for us was when we could use our BlueFire training weapons, and SRCE was able to keep up with multiple trainees in the same AR environment. What pushed us over the edge was when we saw the visual feedback of the after-action review inside of the area. To have the team understand where they were aiming, seeing and moving in the same room was an awe-inspiring moment.

What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?

As Augmented Reality headsets gain wider fields of view, their adoption will gain traction. Much like virtual reality, as the popularity of AR grows commercially in other capacities, our target market will begin to understand AR and SRCE. I considered it a high-touch product, and you almost have to see it to believe it.

What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?

We’re engaging with top-level military and law enforcement officials at tradeshows across the country, and we do a live demo for them, which allows them to see SRCE in action. It is one thing to talk or write about, but it is an entirely different experience when showing SRCE. We’ve also targeted several tier one military units as well as SWAT teams.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

See the above comments.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

What you do now will be the difference for your future.
Twenty years ago, when I joined this InVeris Training Solutions, I never thought I’d be in the position I’m in. Funny enough, everything I did before prepared me for what I do today.
It’s easy to fall into a routine, but I love seeing new technology that gives me the ability to challenge myself and be the market innovation leader.
Do that in your personal and professional life. Otherwise, why do it all?
Your family and wellbeing come first. Everything else is secondary.

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. Speak up.

Think about the positive outcome in everything that you do. Doing something good goes a long way. I’ve had the pleasure to see how excellent training can make a difference in how people excel.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Your cup is never half empty, and it’s always half full.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Readers can stay up to date about all things InVeris Training Solutions at inveristraining.com, as well as on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future Is Now: Eric Perez On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future Is Now: Dr Lewis Z Liu Of Eigen Technologies On How Their Technological Innovation Will…

The Future Is Now: Dr Lewis Z Liu Of Eigen Technologies On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Execution is more important than strategy — There are so many ideas out there, but if you wait to execute until your entire strategy is laid out, it might just be too late. You will probably run out of time and money before you run out of great ideas.

As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Lewis Z. Liu.

Lewis co-founded Eigen Technologies, a global intelligent document processing (IDP) provider, in 2015. Eigen’s mission is to transform data into actionable insights, regardless of source, so all organizations can make better-informed decisions that drive the best outcomes for their people, customers and investors.

Having started his career as a consultant at McKinsey & Company in London, he then founded and led the Quantitative Finance & Strategies Division for Aleron Partners LLP, a boutique private equity advisory firm. He is also a former Senior Advisor to Linklaters LLP, where he co-founded the Tactical Opportunities Group, a deal origination team.

Lewis holds a Doctorate in Atomic & Laser Physics from the University of Oxford. During his studies at Oxford, Lewis invented a new class of X-ray laser, and the mathematics behind this invention was later abstracted into Eigen’s core technology. Lewis received Harvard’s first Joint Bachelors in Fine Arts and Physics, as well as a Masters in Theoretical Physics, during which he conducted antihydrogen research at CERN.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Of course, I’ll quickly tell you about the evolution of Eigen Technologies. After I graduated high school, I had a summer job at a tire manufacturing company in New Jersey before heading off to Harvard. The job required manually doing data entry from many boxes of printed documents into a digital storage system. After one day of doing this tedious work, I thought there had to be a better way to sort through this data. So, rather than spending the whole summer doing it, I coded a basic program, what I now jokingly call Eigen 0.0, that would do it for me. Unfortunately, what I thought was a genius idea meant I automated myself out of a job within the first three days.

Later, after graduating from Harvard, I began my career as a consultant at McKinsey, reconciling data for banks that were struggling at the height of the financial crisis. I quickly learned, to my astonishment, that companies had massive amounts of data, but no real way to make that data work for them. Studies from firms such as McKinsey show that most organizations can’t even use between 80–90% of their data. That is why Eigen was founded — to help solve this problem and make the world’s data useful.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I think the most interesting story that comes to mind was a defining decision early in Eigen’s history, one that for me was really a no-brainer, but that was actually a very controversial decision at the time. When I first started Eigen– when we were only a 10–15-person company — we had a prospect, Goldman Sachs, issue a request for proposal (RFP). The RFP was essentially looking for a technology to help Goldman Sachs comply with Dodd Frank, which at the time was one of the new banking regulations brought in following the global financial crisis of 2008.

For me, it was simple. We had to go all in on this opportunity to work with one of the top 5 investment banks, even if there were a lot of questions being raised internally about what this meant for the company. We were only about a year old at the time, and I was in the middle of my honeymoon. But I instantly knew this was our once-in-a-lifetime big break to really put Eigen on the map. So, I ended up working through my honeymoon, day in and day out, constantly dialing into New York for the business pitches.

In the end, we won the RFP, and it was a defining moment for us as a business. I think the reason why we did was because Goldman Sachs was really looking for best-in-class, cutting-edge technology — not just a big-name tech or consulting company that made a lot of promises about what they could deliver. When they initially sent out the RFP, they said they didn’t care about the size of the company, but that they needed innovative tech that could get the job done. They were true to their word, and we proved that Eigen was the best choice in their vendor selection process. But after we won the deal, which was honestly unexpected, some of the team asked, “Lewis, are we actually going to do this project?”

To me, the answer was obvious — “of course, we’re going to do this, because this type of big opportunity is how great companies are made”. So, over the next six months, we had to scale the business from 10–15 people to around 40 people. We got to work completing the rest of our solution (at the time), which had our innovative machine-learning AI components, but still lacked a few key features that we needed to deliver the Goldman project. It was, by far, the craziest go-all-in moment of my entire life. In the end, it all paid off. We were happy with the product we built, and the Goldman team were very happy with the results. So happy in fact that they and even invested in Eigen’s Series A, which really did put us on the map.

It was one of those moment-in-time decisions in my career, where I instantly knew “I have to go all in”, and we’re either going to come out as a major player on the map or we’re going to fail. And that’s okay because that’s what being a startup founder is all about.

Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?

When we think about innovation in the world of DeepTech, or specifically in terms of AI, there are two types of innovation. One is on the data science side, and being able to exploit more data, leverage better algorithms or better features. This side is really focused on machine learning. The second type of innovation — is designing a product within a workflow that enables machine learning to work in production, in organizations and add value. There’s tons of effort and research that supports both components.

Considering the first type of innovation: We are really proud of all the data we’ve collected and the way we’ve processed it, the algorithms that we’ve architected, and how we’ve broken down human language to analyze documents in a way that no one else has ever done.

But then thinking about the second piece of the innovation puzzle, you are looking at how you design a product. How do you design a workflow that enables an AI solution to be trusted by a large enterprise? There are so many claims in the news today about these large tech giants being able to do complex tasks, like diagnosing cancer better than human doctors. But these are all in very controlled environments — not real-world situations. The challenge with AI, beyond just the algorithms or the data, is how do you design a system, a product that enables tangible results in real situations? Or in Eigen’s case, how do you design a system or a product that allows a business user, like a lawyer, a banker or a business analyst, to take the documents they want to analyze and then teach the machine to do that for them in a really easy-to-use and comprehensible way?

The whole process of design thinking is actually about building a product that takes a really complex set of algorithms and data structures and makes it easily accessible and usable with just a few clicks for one of these end users. That’s the innovation that we’re focused on and what we’re really excited about at Eigen.

Thinking another step further though, we need those users to trust the machine’s output, and that’s where AI ethics comes into play. That’s where we need to make sure we’re constantly teaching and re-teaching the machine to make sure it’s not biased in certain ways and to cut down on other potential risks or errors. We’ve also designed the AI to ensure our platform can achieve the right level of accuracy rates and the level of precision needed in production. Even with those checks, when there are areas in which the machine is uncertain, it will kick the data or document out to have a human review it. All these things are really complicated to get right in a workflow. That said, I think that’s why we have been able to achieve such large-scale transformations in organizations, because it’s not just the fact that we have clever mathematics and have made great use of our data, but we’ve also been innovative on how we’ve built a workflow that enables users to get AI into production via an easy-to-use piece of software.

How do you think this might change the world?

Let’s look at the global financial crisis as an example. It’s no secret this was a massive problem that ended up having huge implications on the way the world’s financial system operates today. From 2008 to 2010, in the U.S. alone, there was more than $4 trillion of negative economic impact that occurred as a result of the financial crisis.

In the movie, The Big Short, you see a very clear picture of why extracting and analyzing data from large complex documents has such a huge impact and is so important. There’s a scene where Dr. Michael Burry, who’s played by Christian Bale, is lying on the ground, exhausted, having read all these massive documents that no one else had taken the time to read, and he realizes that the global financial system was going to come crashing down. Unfortunately, the fact that these documents are too expensive, too complex, and too cumbersome to read meant that investors (from large firms, like Lehman Brothers, to mom-and-pop investors) had no idea what they were buying or selling. A problem that ultimately led to the financial crisis, a problem that directly impacted almost all of us in one way or another.

Of course, hindsight is 2020. As a result of events like this, what we’re doing today is helping banks to not only meet their regulatory obligations, but also to make the financial system safer. For many of our bank customers, Eigen’s technology solution processes all of their financial contracts to ensure when they report on these documents to regulators, like the Federal Reserve and FDIC, we can avoid another global financial crisis. Because today, even if one part of a top 10 global bank goes bankrupt, the Federal Reserve will be better prepared to make a quick, better-informed decisions based on a complete analysis of all the industry data that has been reported to it over the years.

Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

Let’s think about the destructive power of common human intelligence, or lack of human intelligence, and what adding badly trained AI into the mix might really mean. Big tech companies often come under fire for insufficiently filtering information or misinformation, essentially for using ‘bad data’. AI, or the type of technology we work with, has the ability to do both good and bad, depending on the data it is trained on and how it is managed. Whether it’s fake news or conspiracy videos, I see a big potential threat if people use bad data to train algorithms that can ultimately manipulate AI systems.

There is ever increasing amounts of data being put into machine learning systems, so to avoid the threats and drawbacks of this technology, it’s important to have checks and balances in place. Just optimizing for things such as clicks or views can end in scary results, like dramatic changes in public opinion based on misinformation. As we are increasingly seeing, this is a threat to democracy itself. We have already seen with some tech companies, like the social media titans, the consequences of too many unchecked and uncontrolled algorithms that amplify problems. Without careful consideration, badly trained AI could also create issues.

What are you doing to ensure your technology doesn’t cause these issues?

As the founder of an AI company, I think a lot about this problem — and how to build the right checks into the system to avoid contributing to these problems. That’s also why we really focus on small data AI.

When someone teaches the machine on a set of tasks, every single person who taught the machine is accounted and is auditable. Our product records when, where and how they interacted with it and if they made any changes to the machine learning models. That way, if the machine makes some dubious decisions, you can go back and check to find out who interacted with it last and correct or update it to perform better in the future. That’s the kind of accountability needed in this new world of AI because AI has the power to change the world for the better. However, it can only do that if you have a high level of accountability.

What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?

Thinking about this from a product perspective, if you throw a financial document, medical document or quality assurance document into our machine, it can be processed easily — extracting and analyzing the relevant information that our clients need to make better businesses decisions. But the bigger question is how do we get our product into the hands of everyone?

As we head into 2022, one of our three strategic pillars, is product partnership. We recognize that for some, Eigen is the whole solution for the problem they are looking to solve. For others, Eigen might be part of the solution. For these customers, they might want (or need) to connect Eigen to systems upstream they have such as a document management system, a contract lifecycle management system or a manufacturing database. They may also need to connect our product to a downstream system like SAP, Oracle, an ERP system or an analytics platform. Because of this, we’re investing in making Eigen more easily accessible to other platforms like these, so our customers can more efficiently use it in their ecosystem.

For us, one of the things we’re focusing on is making Eigen ubiquitous and a component in many of these other software solutions. For example, the goal is that if you’re in an ERP system, managing vendor contracts, Eigen will also be natively in that system to help pull all the data out of your vendor contracts. That’s how we’re going to get better and drive much more widespread adoption.

What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?

Recently, we’ve been doing a lot of co-branding, through announcements, webinars, case studies and more, with other technology platforms — to promote the win-win factor of joint adoption. In fact, we just announced Eigen’s partnership with NetDocuments, a leading cloud content and document management platform. A few months ago, we ran a joint marketing campaign with both Unqork, a leading no-code enterprise software platforms, and one of our joint clients, Goldman Sachs. As part of this campaign, leaders from Eigen, NetDocuments and Goldman Sachs participated in a webinar, explaining how to unlock your document data using NLP and no-code systems.

This marketing strategy may not be a new concept, but it’s critical in promoting our focus on partnerships — because it displays that when you put these tools together, you get a much greater impact than the two tools do on their own and our clients get an even better return on their investments.

Further, Eigen recently commissioned Forrester to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study, which examines the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by deploying Eigen’s no-code AI platform. I believe that ultimately the reason executives buy software is because there’s something in their company’s current processes that could be significantly improved by that software, and that you can quantify that value. At Eigen, we’ve been meticulous in terms of documenting value, so we can demonstrate it to prospective customers.

Lastly, we see so many siloes within enterprise organizations, particularly cases where one division has Eigen, but the broader company may not even know they actually have our software already and could (and should) leverage it across the business. To tackle this we’ve started putting more marketing effort into driving greater adoption in existing accounts. Now, once we win an account we immediately work across the rest of the organization, to help break down these silos.

I’ve already shared the story of getting our first big break RFP during my honeymoon, but the real hero of that story and the person who I have to thank the most for my successes is my wife, Andrea. She’s the one who sacrificed our honeymoon when I told her I had this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We were literally on our way to Sri Lanka when I found out about the RFP, and she’s the one who said, “Lewis, you have to do this.” It doesn’t get much more supportive than that — and she has remained unstintingly supportive of me throughout the whole of the Eigen journey. She’s always been one step ahead of me when it comes to being insightful about people or situations, and I think that in many ways, Eigen is as much her company as it is mine. I just happen to be the face of it, but I think she deserves as much credit as I do for the success of Eigen thus far.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

At Eigen, we’re working to make the world’s data useful, so our clients can solve big problems. For example, we’ve all filed healthcare claims that often take a long time to process forward before you can get the healthcare services you need. While some people can pay out of pocket and wait on insurance reimbursements, others don’t have that option or opportunity. The reason it takes so long for insurers to make these decisions is due to the collection of data from disparate sources, which is a very time intensive and manual process. These documents (lab reports, doctor’s notes, etc.) all come in various formats and generally require a human to read and process them before insurers can then make a decision — and patients can get access to much-needed care. In one of our newest use cases, we’re helping process the documents to speed up the overall process, so people, like you and me, can get a decision back in minutes instead of days — leading to better patient experience, and, more importantly, better health outcomes.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

Raise capital earlier — Scaling a business quickly, especially an AI business, requires significant investment; you’ll need this to keep your momentum. One of the things I wished I did was to raise our Series A earlier.

Invest in marketing — It is often easy to dismiss marketing as ‘fluff’, and we underinvested in marketing for the first few years of the business. But generating top-of-the-funnel awareness takes a lot longer than it seems, especially in the B2B space. While we’re all caught up now, we could have had a much smoother path if we’d invested earlier in our company journey.

‘When people show you who they are, believe it’ — This is a favorite line, from my wife. In building a company, it’s fundamentally about building a team to build something, reach an end goal, etc. Therefore, finding the right people and building a team is by far the most important job of a CEO. That sometimes means you have to evaluate your team as objectively and as fact-based as possible. This also means you’ll need the ability to have hard conversations before it’s too late.

Execution is more important than strategy — There are so many ideas out there, but if you wait to execute until your entire strategy is laid out, it might just be too late. You will probably run out of time and money before you run out of great ideas.

Context is king — So many times we think we have communicated the context to employees, but so many times it gets muddled and doesn’t make its way through to the entire team. Having context for the team generally increases effectiveness by 10–100X.

I think, as a human race, we often forget that we’re all human. There are always two (or three or four) sides to every story, but ultimately, there’s one common side and one common story — which is that we are all human. We all deserve to be loved and respected and heard. If there’s one movement I could inspire, it would be to remind people that we need to work together and remembering that we’re all just human. Because that’s the only way we’ll get countries, like America and China, to work together on worldwide problems such as climate change. If we were more united, then our challenges wouldn’t be nearly as bad. So, if I were to have much more power, and much more influence, to encourage some kind of movement it would be to inspire people to recognize we’re all human, in a deeply fundamental way.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

‘Imagination is more important than knowledge’ — While this is a very cliched Einstein quote, I’ve really tried to abide by this idea. It’s, of course, important to gain knowledge and skills, but being a pioneer is all about imagining the impossible. As an AI entrepreneur, I think that having an art degree at Harvard has often been more helpful than my physics degree.

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 🙂

80–90% of the world’s data is useless — meaning this data is unstructured and unusable by organizations and digital processes. Eigen is a no-code AI company that enables anyone in an organization to make their data useful by transforming unstructured documents or images into structured usable data. We’re unique in that we have pioneered ‘Small Data AI’, which means that instead of needing thousands of examples to teach our AI how to extract data or answer a question, you don’t need any. You can ask a question, any question, as domain specific as you want, and Eigen can answer that question. This process can be repeated across millions of documents and billions of data points per organization. Our revenue has more than doubled year-over-year since our Series A three years ago, and we now serve over 40% of the world’s largest banks, manufacturing companies, insurance and healthcare providers, and professional services firms, including the likes of Goldman Sachs, Aviva and Deloitte.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

You can find me on LinkedIn or on Twitter, @LewisZLiu. You can also follow Eigen Technologies on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to learn how to make your data useful.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future Is Now: Dr Lewis Z Liu Of Eigen Technologies On How Their Technological Innovation Will… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Andrew Alfano Of Retro Fitness: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During…

Andrew Alfano Of Retro Fitness: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Talent and Tolerance. In its most simplistic state if you have the right talent and you are not achieving results, then it is your lack of tolerance. Conversely, if the same is not evident quickly and your tolerance is appropriate then you likely have the wrong talent.

As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Andrew Alfano.

Andrew Alfano is a successful Executive Leader with over 25 years’ experience in the retail, hospitality/restaurant industries and was a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer for Retro Fitness, a rapidly growing fitness franchise company with over 120 locations open or in development in 12 states.

He joined Retro Fitness in 2019 to mature and drive the growth of the brand. The company at an inflection point, he quickly restructured the organization, recruited a new leadership team and moved its headquarters from NJ to West Palm Beach, FL. Implementing a series of strategic initiatives, along with crafting a new brand position “Get Real”, in less than a year’s time Retro Fitness went on to have its best January campaign in the history of the company. He has successfully led the organization through the Covid Crisis and has repositioned the company for rapid growth.

Prior to that, Andrew enjoyed an impressive 16-year career with Starbucks Coffee Company. Joining in the late 90’s, he worked his way from District Manager up to Senior Vice President, U.S. Business where we was ultimately accountable for over $3.5B in revenue across company operated and licensed stores. Andrew helped architect the company’s strategic growth in higher profile, complex urban markets, specifically Starbucks Flagship market of New York. During this time, these markets saw record growth in sales and profits.

Andrew and his wife grew up on Long Island, as well as went to high school together, where they raised their family. While they still maintain a home on Long Island, they now spend most of their time at their primary residence in West Palm Beach, FL.

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 am the CEO of Retro Fitness, a leader in the High Value, Low Price sector of the fitness industry. I started my career in the restaurant/hospitality industry having graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. Quickly moved into operations and had the good fortune to join Starbucks Coffee Company in their earlier days of the late 90’s, where I was a District Manager overseeing just 10 locations. I spent the majority of my career at Starbucks — right time, right place, and great mentors around me, I was able to grow as a leader, as well as help the brand grow. By the time I left, 16 years later, I was a Senior Executive for the US Business.

Leadership transcends industries. Retro Fitness at an inflection point, I took the opportunity to join an industry that I have always been personally passionate about. Since joining, even with a global pandemic, we have restructured the organization, transformed the brand, and have positioned the company for rapid growth as we come out of the pandemic.”

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 joined in May of 2019 and while I am not the founder, I have restructured the organization. I have not just led it through the pandemic, but also through a significant brand transformation. In doing so, building a company with a mission and purpose was on the forefront of my mind from the time I took the helm.

I have always been passionate about Exercise, Health and Fitness, which in itself is purpose driven as it helps people live their best lives.

Leveraging our organizations strength in this area, with strategic investor partnerships, we are bringing affordable Exercise, Health, and Fitness to Black and Brown Communities. With a goal of building 500 clubs in 50 cities across the country, giving back to black and brown communities is our north star. “

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?

“Fortunately, or unfortunately, I have had to lead through a lot of crises in my time. Whether it was the smaller day-to-day challenges in building a global brand, more significant challenges like being on the ground for 9/11 in NY or even leading through the downturn in 2008. These experiences prepare you for leading through the unprecedented times like the pandemic.

Being Present with your people, being transparent for your people is paramount, all while also being a calming influence to instill confidence. Your people also need to know what they should expect and how you respond. That is both in good times and bad. Your people should never get whiplash when challenging times arise because a different version of you shows up.

The pandemic was unprecedented, and we immediately started communicating with our franchisees, investors, and corporate employees. Being transparent is mission critical and when times are uncertain, you need to be honest about that. While we had a strong in the moment plan, not knowing where the pandemic was leading us, I transparently shared that part of the plan was that we will continue to evaluate, be nimble and adjust where necessary. Said differently, sometimes the plan is to have a plan. Getting too far over your ski’s defining a strategy and outcome when there was too much unknown will not instill confidence and create calm. It too often will have the opposite effect.

I am a self-proclaimed working executive. I’ve always stayed close to the work and more importantly close to the people. This was particularly important these past two years. This has helped me through the years, not only maintain relationships at all levels, but similarly makes a leader more approachable and accessible.”

Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?

“Funny — I think it can be a viewed as a shortcoming to certain people and an advantage to others; I don’t have an “off” button when it comes to my work. In challenging times, or when faced with a difficult situation, I think there are two types of people. Those who see it as thrilling and invigorating or those that see it as daunting and insurmountable.

Not that I wish for challenging times, but I tend to thrive in those moments.”

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

“Hands down the most critical role of a leader is to be present. Growing up at Starbucks, we practiced, and I wholeheartedly embrace Servant Leadership.

Being Present, Useful, Vulnerable, Accepting and Approachable are essential traits of any leader if they expect to inspire, motivate and engage.”

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

“Communicate early and communicate often. Be honest and avoid canned corporate responses at all costs.”

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?

CEO must be front and center — Leadership cannot be delegated.
Companies that put profits over people — first and foremost you are in the people business.
Companies/leaders take too long to make a decisive decision put their organization at risk.
Lean in and invest — too many companies pull back. You must see past the challenge and be prepared for the minute there is daylight so you can hit the gas.

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?

“It is critically important to always be looking down the field. Anticipate is another critical skill in leadership.

My executive team and I met daily during the early days of the pandemic. We met to keep each other well informed, enabling us to lead and manage in the moment more effectively. By anticipating a new business landscape, we also continued to innovate and invest in the company recognizing that we would in fact be coming out of this at some point.

Too often leaders over correct and pull too far back. You must strike a healthy balance, or you will find yourself behind the pack.

While we were helping our franchisees and investors get through a very tough time, “anticipating” helped us strategically craft an entire new arsenal of tools, resources, and support. Today we also have developed new revenue streams for the company as well.”

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.

Communicate early and communicate often:

A week before the country went into mandatory lockdowns, I put out an internal video message to everyone in the company. I let them know if the worst was to occur, that we would go through this together. As a 100% franchise organization, I needed to let them know how we would help and what we would do to ensure they felt supported. I could not change the challenges they were about to face, however I wanted them to know we were in this together as a family.

2. Listen:

Taking over a turnaround situation, as I did when I first joined the Retro Fitness Team in 2019, we had an organization with challenges. I went on a listening tour, first meeting 1:1 with all corporate employees and then into our clubs to meet with our franchisees in their businesses with their people. I needed to personally hear from them what wasn’t working, why, and what they needed more/less of.

3. Lead and get out of the way

It’s the old adage of don’t hire smart people and tell them what to do. Share your vision, work with your people to craft a strategy, ensure they have the tools, resources and support necessary to be successful…then get out of their way.

Most important with this approach is have regular check-in, noting “get out of the way” does not mean to completely go away.

4. Talent and Tolerance

In its most simplistic state if you have the right talent and you are not achieving results, then it is your lack of tolerance. Conversely, if the same is not evident quickly and your tolerance is appropriate then you likely have the wrong talent.

5. Compassion

I am a big believer in Servant Leadership and, while the aforementioned principles can be applied in any corporate setting, they will serve you extremely well in turbulent times. Empathy allows leaders to help employees improve and excel.

While a narrow and simple example, I try to have lunch in our café as often as possible just to be with our people and connect. I regularly touch base with employees at all levels of the organization just to check in to see how things are going. “How are you doing?” is not a greeting, it’s an actual question and, when you truly listen you will learn a lot.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“In life and in business, it’s important to remember that on your worst day, it’s not half as bad as you think and, on your best day it’s not half as good as you think. It’s always somewhere in the middle, which is why it’s important to stay balanced while also always staying humble and hungry.”

How can our readers further follow your work?

https://retrofitness.com/

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Andrew Alfano Of Retro Fitness: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Meet The Disruptors: LeAna McKnight Of SL Raw Virgin Hair On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up…

Meet The Disruptors: LeAna McKnight Of SL Raw Virgin Hair On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Oftentimes being disruptive is indeed positive, especially when we’re talking about being innovative and loud. Newer studies have proven that the average attention span for the average person is eight seconds, which means we as business owners have eight seconds to grab your attention or we’ve lost you forever. For example, a good disruption for me would be HelloFresh — a healthy meal delivery that disruptively markets itself for simple recipes using fresh ingredients delivered right to your front door. I believe disrupting in a positive way means to provide a good or service that helps a large number of people in a major way.

As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing LeAna McKnight.

LeAna McKnight, affectionately called Stylist Lee, is a renowned talent in the beauty industry. With more than 12 years’ experience, LeAna is an acclaimed Film Hair Stylist, certified extensionist specialist and colorist, working on movie and television sets, and for editorial features. She has built a reputation for stellar precision, artistic styles, and reliability which led her to launch SL Raw Virgin Hair, an online store for premium quality hair extensions that accommodate hairstyle desires and everyday lifestyle, one of the few hair companies that produces its own hair extensions at source. Since it’s launch, the company has grown tremendously — with over 500% growth from 2020–2021.

Styling hair has always been easy for LeAna. In her early years, her family and friends continuously entrusted her with their most precious styles, and she honed her craft, doubling down after the destruction of her childhood home due to Hurricane Katrina. In addition to being an on-set stylist, LeAna is an and inventor. She holds two (2) patents, including the Vu Le Carré, a luxury line of leather holsters for freelance hairstylists. Her ability to work with speed and precision has earned her top-level insider referrals and recommendations as well as industry acclaim.

Thank you for having me today! My name is LeAna Mcknight and I’m an Entrepreneur, Beauty Expert, and Inventor. I’m best known for my work as being the top celebrity hairstylist for Hollywood stars such as Ari Lennox, Deborah Cox, and Dawn Richard to name a few. I hold two patents for Vu Le Carré which is a leather holster for freelance artists, along with a pending patent for my new thread weaving tool. I’m a first-generation hairstylist within my family, and I’ve always had a passion for beauty and believe that a fresh new hairdo can make a girls’ day all the better. Although my original quest was to be a dentist, the cards just didn’t fall in that direction. I found my love for hair in high school by attending a career academy school in New Orleans which offered Cosmetology as a curriculum. Growing up, I always gushed at the celebrities’ hair on the TV screen and told myself that one day I’m going to achieve those coveted hairstyle looks. Years later, I’m working with brands like Adidas, Gucci, Giorgio Armani, among countless others and on major TV networks like CBS, BET, and FOX. With over 12 years of beauty experience, I have learned a lot along my journey and grew to have an interest in developing hair products and tools that help women look and feel great. One of my companies is SL Raw Virgin Hair where we sell authentic human hair extensions so the average customer can achieve and experience the same quality of hair that my celebrity clients wear on the red carpet and tv screens.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Firstly, I’m a strong believer in education and I prioritize informing our customers about all of our hair extensions offerings by providing in-depth descriptions backed by tested products. I’ve found that most of our competitors lack beauty industry knowledge and background. Because of this, consumers are left dissatisfied or confused about their purchase. For this reason, I’m disrupting the beauty space by taking my years of beauty industry knowledge and packaging it in an informative way for our customers. I’ve been able to do this through in-depth YouTube videos showcasing SL Raw Virgin Hair. The content includes hair installation processes, before and after tutorial videos, insider hairstyling tips and haircare advice as well as my expert product recommendations. I constantly say that I believe my knowledge is all of our knowledge and this knowledge is for everybody. The amazing feedback and growth of my YouTube channel is a testament to the customer’s need for an educational component when shopping for hair extensions.

Unlike any other hair extension store, SL Raw Virgin Hair offers an expansive range of hair extensions in all types of hair textures to accommodate the average customer. When shoppers visit our store they can see our wide range of product offerings via hair models that I hand-picked and styled to showcase our extremely diverse range of hair products and display all the possibilities for wearing SL Raw Virgin Hair Extensions. We offer a hair quiz that customers can take to ensure they purchase the right hair extensions for their specific hair type along with our friendly chat box where customers can chat live with our beauty experts for additional guidance. In this business, hair extension stores have a bad reputation of long deliveries due to lack of inventory. SL Raw Virgin Hair is changing that narrative by providing transparent shipping expectations at checkout.

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?

Oh wow, long story short we offer 100% package insurance options for customers, and when customers opt-in for our insurance it prints up as an item on customers’ receipts. Well, one day, I forgot to mark insured by the listed item and let’s just say I was in for a treat once our customer received her delivery. Since our customer lived in New York and we were located in California, I wanted to ensure that she received her expedited hair extension items on time and I clearly forgot to mark her receipt as insured. Well, when she received her hair items she left the company a lengthy email expressing her disappointment that she was missing an item but didn’t know what the item was, but she wanted it, although she received the (4) hair extension items purchased. My team went to look up her order receipt and saw that I didn’t mark her receipt insured. Talk about hilarious! We kindly replied back to our customer and explained that it was insurance and the insurance isn’t a tangible item. She immediately replied thank you and appreciate you clarifying. Since then, my team and I make sure to mark insured on every receipt.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I have never had an “official” mentor of my own. Having one would have been extremely beneficial given the challenges that arise when venturing into entrepreneurship. However, a majority of the times when I have a question pertaining to business I lean on my husband or my peers for suggestions.

Every obstacle that I encountered I had to learn from and make educated decisions. Let’s just say Google and reading self-help books from Barnes and Noble have gotten me this far. However, I do believe a mentor is vital to one’s career to excel to the next level, especially to build long-term relationships with like-minded individuals.

Oftentimes being disruptive is indeed positive, especially when we’re talking about being innovative and loud. Newer studies have proven that the average attention span for the average person is eight seconds, which means we as business owners have eight seconds to grab your attention or we’ve lost you forever. For example, a good disruption for me would be HelloFresh — a healthy meal delivery that disruptively markets itself for simple recipes using fresh ingredients delivered right to your front door. I believe disrupting in a positive way means to provide a good or service that helps a large number of people in a major way.

Additional examples of when disrupting an industry is positive would be with Bala Bangles and Vu Le Carre. I recently discovered Bala Bangles through a business convention and was immediately captivated by the bold colors they used to reinvent bangle to make working out more stylish. With Vu Le Carre, which is another company I own, we took the ordinary utility holster and reinvented it into a stylish high-end utility holster with straps and buckles. This would fall under bold and innovative. Now when we talk about the conversational disruption that has withstood the test of time, I would have to spotlight Google, Apple, and Amazon. Amazon introduced a new way of shopping by funneling all of our favorite brands into one spot, but on the contrary, this has made us shoppers less likely to shop in stores which may cause department store closures. Apple reintroduced a new way to stay in contact with family and friends by providing a futuristic phone design with video calling capabilities. As for Google, you never have to leave a question unanswered, you can just “Ask Google”.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

I love to surround myself with people that have their hands involved in different endeavors as I find they’re open to sharing a wealth of wisdom and advice. Before working in Hollywood, I had the pleasure of working in a top salon in North Hollywood where I was able to get my feet wet before ever setting foot on set. One piece of advice the salon owner shared with me, that I live by to this day is, “Always prepare for the unexpected.” As you can imagine Hollywood is a very fast-paced environment and you never know when your big break may be. Since receiving that advice, I always made sure to have my portable hair styling kit readily available. When the day finally came for that call, I was ready.

At times I find myself listening to Gary V’s talks for hours, but one talk that sticks out to me is when he said something along the lines of “To never compare yourself to the next man, stand 100% in your truth and be unapologetic.” This is one piece of advice that I live by daily. I’ve always been told that I can be very honest, and I would apologize for my honesty, but after listening to Gary V, I told myself I will not apologize for living my truth anymore. At times people express that my honesty was refreshing, and other times people may not like what I have to say, but I never share my thoughts that weren’t asked first. I use these same practices when managing my company, SL Raw Virgin Hair, and when I speak with my employees. I find that honesty makes for a better workplace and happy satisfied customers.

I enjoy working on set for many reasons, one major reason is being able to meet a lot of people from all over the world — you never know what takeaways you may get from these encounters. A year ago I did a campaign with Giorgio Armani, where I met a phenomenal photographer. We ended up chatting and expressing our interest in the business. I began to share some pain points I was having within my company and requested some advice. He was able to share a wealth of information as he owned a top talent agency in LA along with a restaurant in Beverly Hills. I wouldn’t have known this if we didn’t make intentional time to connect. We talked for hours, and he shared a small piece of advice with me. He said, “In this life of entrepreneurship, always be prepared for failure, but never be afraid to invest in yourself.” This really resonated with me. I found that I was moving in fear within my own company. I was scared of making the wrong decisions and investments because of the thought of failure, and then I would be upset when I didn’t see results. Since then, I back every idea with a strategy and then investment. I’ll say this, it’s the best advice that has ever been given to me. The saying is true, scared money doesn’t make money.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

Absolutely! I’m always going back to the drawing board to see what new and exciting things we can add to the SL Raw Virgin Hair store. We’ll be adding some new hair tools and accessories in the near future. I’m also working on exciting products that are set to launch in the next year or so. Without revealing too much, we have a new weaving tool that I designed to allow hair professionals and knitters a simpler way of weaving, so stay tuned.

Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?

Although I often find inspiration all around me, I have a book that I’ve recently read that deeply impacted my way of thinking. The book is called “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. I love how Dr. Dweck dives right into the different types of mindsets, leaving no room for excuses, you have to determine whether you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. I hadn’t heard of either mindset upon reading this book, and it caused me to self-analyze. I found that I had half and half mindset — half fixed, and half growth. The life situation I’m faced with would determine my mindset for those particular circumstances. For example, if asked to learn a new skill I would be open to the challenge, but not open to failing — meaning I want to learn something new and master it all in one, this is half and half. The book focused my mind to accept more challenges and look at failures as a learning opportunity. I recently watched the new “King Richard” movie about Venus and Serena Williams, and they are the true definition of a growth mindset. No matter the adversity or how hard it got they never stopped. I even have to shine a light on the father, Richard Williams, he is a true definition of a fighter. Watching this story encouraged me that all things are possible if you work hard and believe.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Slow Down, enjoy the moment, and celebrate all your achievements.” I know I’m not alone when I say that we as a people are living in a microwave era where we expect fast results without acknowledging the small victories along our journey. I remember, there was a time I felt like a failure and unaccomplished within my career, but it was that moment my husband sat me down and said you need to outline all your achievements for the year. You’d be surprised by how something so simple as writing down what I have done thus far has made me feel so appreciative. So guess what? Back in February of 2020, I was rated the Top 6 LA Celebrity Hairstylist for natural hair, now the old me would have moved on to the next, instead I celebrated the entire month of February. I showered myself with gifts and loved on me. In life, we often look to others to love us, but it’s in these moments we should love ourselves. It’s just a matter of slowing down and really enjoying the moment.

If I could inspire a movement it would be to inspire adults over 40+ to learn a new skill/trade. As I get older my appreciation of time becomes more valued. Oftentimes, I find myself encouraging women and men over the age of 40, expressing that they too can have 3–4 careers in one lifetime, but we as people need to remove limitations from our minds. My father who is 60+ now went through foreclosure and bankruptcy 12 years ago which led to him suffering from depression and lack of purpose. Like most people who may have experienced this, my father felt this was the end. These past years, I’ve taken it upon myself to encourage my father through this storm in his life, by expressing that age is nothing but a number, and advising on how he can accomplish and do anything as long as he removes restrictions from his mind. He’s coming around and feeling more inspired than ever. I feel being able to live your full purpose is the ultimate gift of life.

How can our readers follow you online?

Absolutely, you can follow me on Instagram @stylistlee, Facebook facebook.com/stylistlee, and Twitter @stylist_lee. Visit my hair store at SL Raw Virgin Hair® | #1 Best Human Hair Extensions or say hello at Stylist Lee Celeb Hairstylist | Los Angeles

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Meet The Disruptors: LeAna McKnight Of SL Raw Virgin Hair On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Jennifer Warren Medwin On 5 Things You Need To Know To Survive And Thrive After A Divorce

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Practice forgiveness for yourself and your ex. (Forgiveness is for you. When you catch yourself disempowering yourself, shift your mindset by reciting an affirmation such as, “I am growing and willing to learn from my mistakes.”)

As part of our series about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Survive And Thrive After A Divorce Or Breakup” I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer Warren Medwin.

Jennifer Warren Medwin, MS is a CDC Certified Divorce Coach, Supreme Court of Florida Family Mediator, and a Certified Marital Mediator in Miami, Florida. Jennifer specializes in working alongside individuals and couples who are contemplating divorce and are fearful of high conflict and with those who hope to save their marriages. Additionally, Jennifer is an author, a member of the National Association of Divorce Professionals (NADP), Divorceify, and a contributing writer for Your Tango, Thrive Global, and OurFamilyWizard.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to ‘get to know you’. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?

I grew up in an apartment in Manhattan on Central Park West with my older sister, mom, dad, and our dog, Max. I went to a private school called Riverdale Country School. I loved my time there. My parents were married for over fifty years. I loved growing up in New York City. I still have my best friend, Jenny Fisherman Ruff. We grew up in the same building and met as babies. By the age of thirteen I felt so independent. Later, I went to college and graduate school where I received my BA and my MS, respectively.

Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I was in an unhappy marriage for many years. During my divorce, seven years ago, an old acquaintance reached out to me via Facebook. After her name there were three letters: CDC. When we connected, she told me she was a Certified Divorce Coach and told me about the profession. I had always been interested in psychology, thus my Master of Science degree, and I looked into the program she told me about. The rest is history.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

I can speak in generalities due to privacy issues. One thing I want people to understand is that they are the BOSS of their divorce process, not the attorney, accountant, divorce coach, or therapist. Individuals need to understand that just because there are specific laws, custom provisions can be agreed upon. For example, if a couple has an 18-year child, neither parent has to pay for college, but they can agree on a payment plan and what amount each will be responsible for in the MSA. I had a client who was told by her attorney that her husband would not agree to pay for college. I encouraged her to still ask for it at mediation. I am a big believer in, “If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Sometimes the answer will be, no, but at least you tried.” My client asked the mediator to discuss the college issue with her soon- to-be-ex-husband, and he agreed to pay 80% of the tuition and college expenses. It was a great outcome!

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?

Given the nature of my profession, I really do not have “funny” mistakes. I can tell you that when I first started coaching, I quickly learned to be conscious of not coaching during Discovery Session Complementary Calls and to just focus on the goal of the 30 minute initial call:

Finding out if I am the right professional for the potential client.
Finding out if the potential client would benefit from working with me as the Divorce Coach.
Understanding the challenges being faced by the potential client.
Intro to build rapport.
Discuss details of working together.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?

“Set the intention of living the life you always imagined. Turn your can’ts into cans and your dreams into plans.”

-Anonymous

I was 45 when I changed my career. Getting divorced gave me the impetus I needed to pursue a different career. Had I remained in my unhappy marriage I would have never gone back to school and have the thriving career I have today. I followed my curiosities and truly believe I am living my purpose: To help individuals service and thrive through the divorce process.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I recently completed writing my first book. It will be available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble in December: Strategies and Tips from a Divorce Coach: A Roadmap to Move Forward. My goal is to help redefine the divorce process. People lawyer up too quickly without understanding that there are many ways to get divorced and allow their emotions to cloud their judgment. As a Divorce Coach, I partner with individuals contemplating or going through the divorce process to separate the business side from the emotional side of divorce thus assisting them in having a more productive, calmer, and less costly process. I use my years of experience as a Divorce Coach to share:

A hands-on road map with easy-to-follow tips to navigate the emotional, organizational, legal, and financial issues of divorce.
Comprehensive checklists covering all areas from reasons for divorcing, to shared parenting plans, to how to start over after divorce to help ensure informed decisions about what is needed are made throughout the divorce process and prior to a settlement.
Practical strategies and tips to encourage and support individuals as they move through their unique divorce journey.

Ok. Thank you for that. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Can you tell us a bit about your experience going through a divorce, or helping someone who was going through a divorce? What did you learn about yourself during and after the experience? Do you feel comfortable sharing a story?

I was in an unhappy marriage for 17 years. I married a man that I was not in love with, but who was my best friend. As time went on I began to resent him for all that he wasn’t, and we grew apart. I was afraid to leave the marriage and imprisoned myself far too long. Once we divorced, I realized that the divorce was a gift that pushed me out of my comfort zone and enabled me to follow my truth. I went back to school to pursue a career as a divorce professional and with time became a Certified Divorce Coach, Certified Marital Mediator, and a Supreme Court of Florida Family Mediator.

In your opinion, what are the most common mistakes people make after they go through a divorce? What can be done to avoid that?

Going into isolation. (Join a support group, reach out to family or friends, or start participating in a hobby to meet others with similar interests.)
Getting into a relationship too quickly. (Date and take time to heal from your divorce. They say that people evolve every 5 years. Learn who you really are and what you want out of life. Speak to a divorce coach to guide you forward.)
Forgetting to update insurance, retirement accounts, and estate beneficiaries.
Ignoring or not abiding by court orders. (Read my book. It has a number of checklists to follow throughout the divorce process.)
Lack of self-care (Make yourself a priority. Set the intention in the morning of doing at least one thing for yourself that energizes you.)

People generally label “divorce” as being “negative”. And yes, while there are downsides, there can also be a lot of positive that comes out of it as well. What would you say that they are? Can you share an example or share a story?

I believe that there are messages in every single mess. Perspective is everything!

You get your freedom to live the way you want to.
You have the opportunity to realize your dreams.
You have the chance to explore how to get your happiness back.
You get to learn more about yourself.
You have the opportunity to meet new people and explore different relationships.

I was living my life on autopilot in my unhappy marriage. It was not until after my divorce that I was able to settle down and determine what I wanted from the next chapters of my life. I registered for many online self-help classes and pushed myself to make many new friends that were divorced. The comradery helped push me forward.

Some people are scared to ‘get back out there’ and date again after being with their former spouse for many years and hearing dating horror stories. What would you say to motivate someone to get back out there and start a new beginning?

My father used to say, “You have to be in it to win it.” I help my clients understand that there is no better time than the present. Staying parked in fear will never help anyone realize their desires. I encourage my clients to join single groups, register on online dating sites, go in blind dates, or hire a matchmaker. I teach them this acronym about FEAR: Feel Everything and Rise. Honor the fear and push beyond the comfort zone because that is the only place where growth resides.

What is the one thing people going through a divorce should be open to changing?

Individuals going through divorce would benefit from setting the intention of shifting their mindsets. Not everything is black and white. Shades of grey always exist. Divorce involves compromise. Many individuals become so position based that the process becomes so contentious. It does not have to be that way.

Book: Oh, Shift! How to Change Your Life with a Little F’in Shift! By Jennifer Powers

Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. If you had a close friend come to you for advice after a divorce, what are 5 things you would advise in order to survive and thrive after the divorce? Can you please give a story or example for each?

Understand your finances. (Make a budget and live within it.)
Practice forgiveness for yourself and your ex. (Forgiveness is for you. When you catch yourself disempowering yourself, shift your mindset by reciting an affirmation such as, “I am growing and willing to learn from my mistakes.”)
Keep the children out of it. (Be mindful not to have arguments in front of the children or put the other parent down.)
Commit to self-care and ask for help when you need it. (Develop an exercise routine.)
Set goals for the next chapters in your life and invest in them. (Go back to school, join a club, hire a coach, etc.)

The stress of a divorce can take a toll on both one’s mental and emotional health. In your opinion or experience, what are a few things people going through a divorce can do to alleviate this pain and anguish?

Hire a Divorce Coach to help guide and partner with you through the process.
Prioritize self-care.
Set the intention of making time to do things you enjoy.
Learn to meditate (There is a lot to learn in stillness.)
Practice breathing exercises. The breath is always patiently waiting for you and is a good anchor.
Reach out to friends and family you trust and feel supported by.
Listen to podcasts.
Eat well.
Exercise.
Avoid a win or lose mentality.

Do you have any favorite books, podcasts, or resources related to this topic that you would recommend to our readers?

Favorite Books: David Emerald: The Power of TED (The Empowerment Dynamic) and Bill Eddy: BIFF for Coparent, BIFF: Quick Responses to High Conflicts People, Their Personal Attacks, Hostile Email, and Social Media Meltdowns, and Calming Upset People with EAR

Favorite Podcasts: Super Soul and Ilyssa Panitz Divorce Hour.

Resources: Divorceify, MyFamilyWizard, My Divorce Solution, Support Pay, and Dtour.

Because of the position that you are in, 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 have a non-profit called Children for Children (www.childrenforchildren.net) that I helped my daughter and her best friend start several years ago.I do the behind the scenes work. The mission is to foster cultural awareness, tolerance, and commonalities of the soul through connection, social media, and educational opportunities. The members of the organization believe that everyone is the same on the inside despite different backgrounds, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs. Now more than ever, we need groups like this to help bring individuals together instead of apart.

We are very blessed that 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 if we tag them 🙂

I would love to have breakfast with Oprah Winfrey. I have followed her for years and am in awe of her ability to be a creator instead of a victim. To me, she is the symbol of female empowerment. She is always seeking new knowledge, helping others, overcoming her fears. She turns her can’ts into cans and follows her inner whispers. I admire her so much!

How can we continue to follow your work?

My website: www.seekingempowerment .com

Thank you for these great insights and for the time you spent with this interview. We wish you only continued success!

Jennifer Warren Medwin On 5 Things You Need To Know To Survive And Thrive After A Divorce was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future Is Now: Harold Eytan Of Particle On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The…

The Future Is Now: Harold Eytan Of Particle On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

I would say that like with any early stage project it is very important for everyone to dedicate 100% of their time to it. There are no shortcuts, and no one knows your business as much as you do.

As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Harold Eytan.

Harold is an operator who launched and until recently led Operations at Numan, the UK’s largest digital men’s health platform treating over 600k patients.

Previous to Numan, Harold started his career at Rocket Internet, where he took numerous ventures from idea to launch in their signature 90 days. Harold will be putting all the pieces together and making sure Particle runs like a well oiled machine.

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 background has always been as an operator. I’ve always enjoyed and sought being involved in businesses from their inception. My time at Rocket Internet is what taught me about the importance of execution, and I’ve brought that to all projects I’ve been involved in since — getting projects from idea to launch in 90 days. Throughout the various companies I’ve been involved with, mainly in e-commerce, what always struck me as particularly challenging was the building of loyal and engaged communities. Many say they have such communities built around their product, but the reality is it all stems from a very analytical approach to performance marketing. Only a very few manage to crack organic network effects. NFTs and the crypto space in general forces new projects to address this head on. There are no shortcuts to building long-lasting initiatives in this space. You need to have the community in mind first.

Can you tell us about the cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?

What we do at Particle is enable a wider community to be minority owners of fine art masterpieces. What we mean by that is that is Particles hold title to a digital reference of the painting, and holders of these NFTs will be the only non-charitable owners of these works. This will enable people that previously had no access to such works to build their own “fantasy collections” and be able to express themselves through a fine art collection like only the elite collector community could in the past.

How do you think this might change the world?

This will redefine what an art collection will look like in the future. An art collection built for the people and sustained and supported by the community will inevitably be one interacted with by a much more interested and engaged audience. This means democratizing the world of fine art — from collection all the way through to discourse and ultimately enhanced enjoyment.

Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

I wouldn’t make any parallel with Black Mirror. I will however issue a note of caution to anyone wishing to delve into the NFT space in general. There are a lot of projects out there that don’t have strong foundations and don’t have longevity in sight. If you are to invest your money and time in anything, do your research and make sure what you dedicate your resources toward will actually bring value to yourself, whether in the physical or digital realm.

Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?

The tipping point was with our co-founder Loic Gouzer. When he was young, he used to build his fantasy art collection by cutting up auction house catalogues. He always dreamt of being successful enough to one day build a real collection. When he heard of NFTs, he right away thought that this could be the way to bring fine art collecting to a wider audience. Loic then called Philip, who’s the co-founder and Chairman of Voyager Digital, to see if this was something that was doable. Philip then brought on Adam and Shingo Lavine as crypto experts, as well as Oscar Salazar, to form a founding team everyone was convinced could make a project like this a success.

What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?

Better user interfaces and experience. Like any technological advances in their early stages, only early adopters with the time to invest in understanding how things work are able to benefit from the new technology. This will change as newcomers in the industry come in and apply better UI and UX to different applications of crypto/NFT/Web 3.0 fundamentals.

What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?

We took a very deliberate decision not to do any paid performance marketing for the launch of Particle. We believe our vision and mission would have enough weight to make ripples in both the crypto and art communities. We are therefore taking an organic approach to marketing, one that means that we are going to have to put a lot more effort in content and community building than traditional Web 2.0 businesses. So far, I must say it has paid off.

There isn’t one person really but many mentors I have had since childhood — from my father and older brother, to university professors and colleagues that have genuinely enriched my competencies and ultimately my life. I am a strong believer in being a sponge absorbing as much as possible, speaking less, and listening more.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I try to make charitable donations to causes dear to me, but really I am seeking to build more of a reputation for myself to be able to leverage to make more of an impact on the world. I am not quite there yet, but one step at a time I hope to use my time and my network to better the world on as large a scale as I can.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

We’re only at the very beginning of our journey, so ask me that in a year’s time! For now, I would say that like with any early stage project it is very important for everyone to dedicate 100% of their time to it. There are no shortcuts, and no one knows your business as much as you do.

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 don’t take” — Wayne Gretsky — Michael Scott (Steve Carell)

Gretsky’s quote I think is a powerful one — but taken from Michael Scott in The Office gives it even more meaning in my view. Every shot you take, make sure you have a good time doing it!

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 🙂

Particle’s mission to leverage the blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to radically change the way people own, collect, experience, and ultimately enjoy art. We are going to acquire some of the most important fine art masterpieces in the world, and to put them in the hands of the Particle community. These masterpieces will be held by the Particle Foundation, who will maintain, preserve and tour the collection internationally and in the metaverse for everyone to enjoy. Fine art is a $50 billion market controlled and enjoyed by a minority of the population. We believe that through Particle we can open up that market to interact with a wider and even more engaged population.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

@collectparticle on Twitter — where you’ll find links to our Discord and Instagram accounts.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future Is Now: Harold Eytan Of Particle On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Making Something From Nothing: Dawn Fleming Of Overseas Life Redesign On How To Go From Idea To…

Making Something From Nothing: Dawn Fleming Of Overseas Life Redesign On How To Go From Idea To Launch

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dawn Fleming.

Dawn Fleming has literally been there and done that, and is now living her very best life. With her husband Tom, she owns and operates Overseas Life Redesign, a global coaching and consulting company that encourages others to discover their dreams and turn them into reality just like she did. Her podcast shares success stories of international retirement as well as advice for listeners seeking to leave their comfort zone and experience life abroad.

Dawn and Tom began their own traveling lifestyle in 2010 when they sailed the Panama Canal from California to Florida and later relocated to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Originally from Minnesota, Dawn began her career in real estate with success in many facets of the industry. She graduated from Western State University College of Law and specialized in international business transactions as a licensed California attorney. She finally found her calling for two decades as a mentor to thousands of entrepreneurs, coaching them through the growth of their home-based businesses before establishing Overseas Life Redesign.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

I grew up in the Minneapolis Metropolitan Area and was the first person in my entire family to go to college. My mom was a secretary and dad dropped out of high school and went into the Army. My parents married young, mom was 19 when she had me. They seemed to always struggle financially and I became determined not to live that way. When I was a junior in high school my dad lost his construction company and my parents filed bankruptcy. I have two younger brothers, one is nine years younger, the other is sixteen years younger than me. I actually loaned my parents money when I was in college so they could buy groceries. I am happy to report both brothers also finished college. My brother John is a high school science teacher with a masters degree. David has a successful career in the technology sector. I helped raise them and like to think I’ve had a positive influence on both of them.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Life challenges are gifts from God, they just come in rotten wrappers.” This is a quote from a very influential mentor. Unfortunately he passed away from cancer at age 44, but stayed positive until the very end. He believed in me and my potential more than I did. I’m not sure would have been as successful without his influence.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

Yes, Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki changed my life. It helped me realize that being an attorney would never provide me with the lifestyle I wanted. I remember hearing Robert speak at my first direct sales convention. He explained the difference between what the rich teach kids about making money and how that is different from the the poor and middle class. At the time, I was really MAD that no one had ever explained this to me. How did I get a college degree and a law degree and not ever learn that important information? It was a light bulb moment that truly changed my life. That was in April of 2003, by the end of that year I closed down my law practice and I have never looked back. It is why we have the lifestyle we do now.

As a former business attorney, I can say good ideas are a dime a dozen. It take A LOT of hard work, dedication, perseverance and patience to create a successful business. Most people quit before they have success because it is hard. I’ve had much success in the direct sales/network marketing field. I like the industry for a couple of reasons: 1. Low capital investment, it doesn’t take much money to start a business like this so there is a low barrier to entry. It is a sweat equity business, and frankly the epitome of a “something from nothing” business. Most of the time companies have good training programs and they are free. Distributors have mentors and coaches who are financially incentivized to help new distributors succeed.

There are a few things I don’t like. The industry has a low success rate which gives the business a bad rap. I’ve heard time and time again from those I’ve worked over two decades, is appreciation for the training, experience and support — even if they were not as financially successful as they hoped. With the foundation of the knowledge they learned, many went on to other businesses and had massive success. It is a great training ground for basic entrepreneur skills. I always used to say that if you’ve never been in business before, join a direct sales company. Why? Because if you can’t market and sell, then you have no business starting a business! Instead of investing capital into a business idea, go learn this vital skill with the only investment being your time. People think nothing of investing huge sums in traditional education and getting degree. Why not invest your time into a more practical education and gain useful skills?

Outside of the direct ales industry, my husband and I have both started businesses due to buyer demand. In other words, a need presented itself and we said “I think there may be a market for this”. If you start with what people are looking for and already buying you greatly increase the likelihood of success with the business.

That is so easy now! When I started my career I had to go to the library or SBA (Small Business Administration) to do market research. The internet puts a world of information at our finger tips. Learn how to be a good researcher and there is more information than you’ll possibly need to make smart decisions. The next skill is critical thinking, you must be able to make sense of the information that you find. If you encounter someone who has gone to market with you idea, that’s great! It usually means there ARE BUYERS for it. The next question is “how can I do it better?” It there a gap in what is being offered? Could it be customized for specific niches? Who is their target market? I believe there is plenty of business for everyone. Perhaps you can collaborate.

It sounds like you are ask about starting a traditional brick and mortar with physical products or an ecommerce business? I think those are actually some of the hardest businesses to start and have success with. I’m a fan of information and service business. They are much easier and less costly to launch and operate. The reality is patents are EXTREMELY expensive and very time consuming to obtain. The person who makes the money is the patent attorney. According to AllBusiness 97% of patents NEVER MAKE MONEY. As a former business attorney, I have to say that’s about right. With Covid, big companies were allowed to stay open. Traditional small businesses got wiped out, with nearly 1/3 of them gone. In contrast many online businesses saw their business growth sky rocket. I would not encourage someone to start a traditional business at this time. Ecommerce is very popular but it is also highly competitive. There is a steep learning curve and the traits I mentioned earlier are required to have success

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

Not everyone thinks the way you do.
Most people are not self-motivated to achieve their goals.
The greatest obstacle to success is between your two ears.
Failure is not fatal, rather it is a necessary ingredient for success.
If it’s not FUN, don’t do it!

Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?

The first step is to research whether it or something similar already exists or has been patented. If not, will people pay money to buy it? How involved is the manufacturing process? How expensive is it to ship, is it heavy? Gather as much data as possible to research the market. Create a budget with cash flow projections.

There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?

I do not have an opinion about this, as I am not familiar with invention development consultants.

What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?

In my opinion, bootstrapping is the only way to grow. As I said previously, if you start with something people already want or are buying then you can generate revenue immediately. Revenue first, then scale up the business. Doing so allows you to reinvest the profits and grow the business organically. Unless it is technology, I’d recommend staying far away from Vulture Capitalists. Otherwise you may end up with unwanted partners and owning only a fraction of your business.

Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

We invested in Mexican real estate in 2016 to diversify our income. We got wiped out financially in 2008 and it took us 6 years to recover. In 2011, I was invited to join a direct sales start up company in the anti-aging space. I was working on another start up business at the time, but saw huge potential with the direct sales company. I got started, with virtually no capital investment and generate over $1 million dollars in 6 years working from home on a part time basis. More importantly, that business allowed me to train, coach and mentor thousands of entrepreneurs at no charge. While I was compensated well by the company, the people I mentored didn’t need to pay me!

When we were ready to invest in real estate again, we passed on the United States. We move to Mexico a year later and have never looked back. My Overseas Life Redesign business grew out of demand from other Americans and Canadians wanting to know how they could move and invest overseas too. My book, Claim Your Dream Life was written to offer hope and inspire others to live their best life. There are many people who can’t afford to retire due to the high cost of living. Moving to “Paradise” (however you define it) is in fact an affordable and attainable option.

Actually, I am working on that! Our mission is to help people live a life of joy, gratitude and abundance. Love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life! Fun is an essential ingredient.

I’d love to meet Richard Branson.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Making Something From Nothing: Dawn Fleming Of Overseas Life Redesign On How To Go From Idea To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Steven Bryant Of Synergy Divorce Solutions On 5 Things You Need To Know To Survive And Thrive After…

Steven Bryant Of Synergy Divorce Solutions On 5 Things You Need To Know To Survive And Thrive After A Divorce

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

BE SELFISH/TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF — I always tell my clients after a divorce, the most important thing is to put your mental and physical health first. After going through a stressful process like divorce, it is easy to stop taking care of yourself both physically and emotionally because the process drains you of self-motivation. It is so important that you continue to maintain good mental and physical health habits after divorce so that you can begin to feel happy again but more importantly, feel secure with where you are at that point in your life.

As part of our series about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Survive And Thrive After A Divorce Or Breakup” I had the pleasure of interviewing Steven Bryant, founder of Synergy Divorce Solutions.

Steven is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst and a Series 65-licensed investment advisor concentrating in divorce settlement analysis. An expert in analyzing spending habits, income levels and marital property division, he also is trained as a financial neutral in the collaborative law system.

After witnessing the devastating financial and emotional impact of his parents’ divorce, Steven recognized a need for a less stressful, more efficient path to divorce. Synergy Divorce Solutions is a boutique financial firm that concentrates in divorce planning, financial mediation and settlement analysis services.

Steven protects the financial security of divorcing spouses by equitably dividing their marital property OUTSIDE OF COURT, saving clients unnecessary time, money and emotional pain.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to ‘get to know you’. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

While I was in college, my parents went through a divorce that took four years and $500,000 in legal fees to resolve WITHOUT CUSTODY INVOLVED. This took a huge toll on my family and I knew their had to be a better method for divorce.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

As it turns out, I have been working with the attorneys who handled my parents’ case so it’s come full circle!

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?

The funniest mistake by far I made when starting my business was making my email long. My email is [email protected]. When giving that out in person it can be difficult and what I found out later, is some people do not want to email me because my email address has the word divorce in it.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?

“Failing to prepare is preparing to Fail,” is my favorite quote to use with my clients. When gathering and analyzing their information, it can be a very tedious process with a lot of numbers, spreadsheets, etc. Some spouses can find that exhausting and not want to do the work. If they approach this process with that attitude and do not put the time necessary, it will negatively affect them in the long run.

My second favorite quote is, “Numbers don’t lie.” One of the favorite parts about my business is that I do not negotiate using assumptions or anything like that; rather, everything I use is backed up and supported by financial information and analysis. This is very helpful as it cannot be disputed, hence the numbers don’t lie.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I’m based in Annapolis, MD, and in the process of opening a second branch in Saint Petersburg, FL, with my brother who recently moved there. It’s exciting to expand our business model to reach more people.

As a child of divorce, I learned how stressful the process is on both parents, as well as the children. Being put in the position to “Pick Sides” when it comes to your parents can be very hard on children’s mental health. Going through divorce can cause depression, anxiety, insomnia and a handful of other mental disorders from just the stress of it. Most of the stress comes from the uncertainty of if you are going to be financially secure moving forward. That’s why I do what I do to show people they will be ok and give them peace of mind.

In your opinion, what are the most common mistakes people make after they go through a divorce? What can be done to avoid that?

I think the most common mistake people make after they go through a divorce is to think of their relationship as a “failure” or a “waste of time”. I tell my clients, nothing is ever a waste of time, everything is a LEARNING EXPERIENCE. The second biggest mistake is not seeing a financial advisor after the divorce to make sure they are financially planning for not only themselves, but the kids as well.

I think divorce can absolutely be a positive in some relationships that are very toxic with children involved. Children look up to their parents no matter what type of person they are when growing up, and if you grow up in a “toxic environment” with yelling and screaming going on all the time, children will think that is a “normal relationship,” which can do damage for them in the future.

I tell my clients to think of the divorce as a “fresh start” or a “blank page” where they are the author. I also tell them not assume every relationship will end up like their last because of how much they have learned about themselves throughout the process.

What is the one thing people going through a divorce should be open to changing?

Bringing in financial professionals to help with the financial aspect and having both spouses WORKING TOGETHER. Although it is difficult, the more they work together, the more time, money and stress they will save.

See a Financial Advisor — This should actually be done BEFORE settlement to make sure clients are getting enough money to survive but if it doesn’t, the first thing spouses should do is see a financial advisor and develop a financial plan for their future. I have heard of spouses seeing a financial advisor for a plan after their divorce, only to find out they are going to run out of money in eight years. THAT IS A MAJOR PROBLEM AND CAUSES MAJOR STRESS. At that point, the only option would be to re-hire attorneys to get more money from ex-spouse.
Estate Plan — The second thing spouses need to do after a divorce is see an Estate attorney to re-do their estate and Will. I have heard so many bad stories about a spouse passing away very soon after their divorce, and all of their assets fought for during the divorce went right back to the spouse they were divorcing. This can have a serious impact on your children if there are any involved and can cause lawsuits.
Life Insurance — When it comes to life insurance, the first thing you have to do is make sure you HAVE SOME. This is not for you, but is for your children and loved ones in the case of an unexpected death. You will also want to re-visit any policies you have and make sure the beneficiaries on them are your children and not your ex-spouse. Sadly, my own father passed away a few years after the divorce from a stressed induced heart attack and had no life insurance. It was super tough on all of us kids both emotionally and financially having to cover the funeral and everything out of pocket. Life insurance also can be used to secure alimony from another spouse in case of an unexpected death.
Take a look at and establish your own credit — Right after divorce, make sure to cancel any joint checking, savings or credit card accounts and establish accounts only in your name. If you do not cancel joint credit cards and someone does not make a payment on that card, it will negatively affect the spouse’s credit. It is also important to establish your own credit for future purposes. I’ve seen the ramifications of not doing this first-hand. When my parents got divorced, my father had a credit card in my mother’s name (because she had better credit) that he forgot about and didn’t pay for months, which CRUSHED my mother’s credit score.
BE SELFISH/TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF — I always tell my clients after a divorce, the most important thing is to put your mental and physical health first. After going through a stressful process like divorce, it is easy to stop taking care of yourself both physically and emotionally because the process drains you of self-motivation. It is so important that you continue to maintain good mental and physical health habits after divorce so that you can begin to feel happy again but more importantly, feel secure with where you are at that point in your life.

Be physically active with working out, walking, etc. and try to stay in routine. This can help with any anxiety, depression or disorders developed throughout the divorce process.

Do you have any favorite books, podcasts, or resources related to this topic that you would recommend to our readers?

YES, it is called “Divorce in Maryland” by Dorothy Fait and Majorie DiLima. I love how the book is organized like a questionnaire for spouses. I always recommend my clients to buy this book.

MAKE DIVORCE LESS HOSTILE!!! I think divorce should be treated as more of a business agreement, rather than a “battle or fight” with your other spouse or their attorney. What people don’t realize is that the more you spend with professionals throughout this process, the less money you and your family get to walk away with. So, it is always most beneficial to spouses and their families to go about this process as amicably as possible. Not only will it save you money, but it will protect your family and anyone else involved from the stress divorce brings with it.

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, star of “Shark Tank” and very prominent business figure.

Thank you for these great insights and for the time you spent with this interview. We wish you only continued success!

Steven Bryant Of Synergy Divorce Solutions On 5 Things You Need To Know To Survive And Thrive After… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Making Something From Nothing: Chase Roberts Of Computer Engineering for Babies On How To Go From…

Making Something From Nothing: Chase Roberts Of Computer Engineering for Babies On How To Go From Idea To Launch

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

“It’s not always going to be fun.” There’s always a point when I get bored of an idea because I’ve done all the fun stuff. That’s when it’s crucial to just push through the grog and keep going. With Computer Engineering for Babies. I quit several times because I got bored or I got excited about other things. Fortunately, I kept coming back and pushed the project to completion.

As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chase Roberts.

Chase created Computer Engineering for Babies, a baby book to introduce basic digital logic concepts to kids (and adults). The book recently debuted on Kickstarter where it raised $240,000 with over 5000 backers.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

My childhood isn’t very remarkable. I grew up in Salt Lake City, did well in school, had a good group of friends, but still managed to get into trouble fairly often. I loved skiing as a kid, and we would skip the last few hours of school a few times a week to go skiing. In high school I had mostly A’s but with one D in a class called “Community of Caring,” where you literally just had to show up. But we were out skiing every week, so I ended up with a D.

I went to BYU & graduated with a BS in Computer Engineering. While at BYU I took a course in iOS development. That was 10 years ago, doing iOS5, when mobile apps were still new and exciting. Everyone had an app idea, and I signed up with pretty much everyone to build it out. And I’ve never been able to shirk the “app guy” label. One of the apps I built was an app to help students find free food on campus, Lunchbox, which turned out to be a huge hit. My friend and I worked on it together, and at times we felt like local celebrities. We could show up to a party and mention that we created Lunchbox, and half the people there felt like they knew us already. It was short lived; as soon we graduated we got caught up in other things and Lunchbox fell by the wayside, but that experience really ignited my passion for building products that people really love and get value out of.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Hanlon’s Razor: “Never Attribute to Malice That Which is Adequately Explained by Ignorance.” I think about this a lot lately in the context of social interactions. A lot of people can be easily offended or feel like they are being singled out or picked on but often I think it’s just a misunderstanding. People do seemingly stupid things all the time, and it’s helpful to remember that we’re all just people doing our best to get through life. We all have our own challenges and struggles. We’re all dealing with stuff. We all act like we know everything when in fact know very little. We’re all just humans trying to get through the human experience meaningfully.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

I really loved Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. It’s a fan fiction book by Eliezer Yudkowsky. Imagine if Harry Potter was really obsessed with the scientific method, was very well read in science, and thought very logically and acted rationally. That’s basically the premise of the book. It’s fantastic to read about Harry Potter applying science to magic. It was a very fun book for me, and gives good insight into how Yudkowsky, who I think is a very rational thinker, operates. And because it’s a fanfic, you can read it for free online.

You’re right, this is really where the meat is, and you could write books about this question. The first step is just deciding, “I’m going to pursue this idea.” You have to consciously make the decision, if you just have an idea and keep it as an idea, then it will never graduate it to “project” status. It sounds stupid, but you need to decide, “this is something I am going to work on.” And that doesn’t mean you have to commit to working on it for five years. Maybe it’s just, “I’m going to work on this until I have a working prototype.” Or “I’m going to explore what it will take to make this a reality.” But you have to decide to take action.

I like to postpone this first step for a while and let the idea marinate in my head for a few weeks. Often I get excited about an idea, but 2 weeks later, it’s not exciting for me. If I am going to pursue an idea, I want it to be something I am infatuated with. Things are going to get hard, and if you don’t love the idea, then you won’t have the motivation to see it through to the end.

The next step is the really fun step. I like to think about and write down all the things the product could be, all the features that the book could have, everything and anything I could do with it. If I had all the resources in the world, how big could this idea be? Then once that is out of your system, you need to scale it back — way back. What’s the most simple and hacky version of this idea that could exist? You want to build an app so your neighbors can borrow tools from each other? Great! Could you do it with a simple google form and a spreadsheet instead?

Then build a hacky prototype. The reason for this is that it will help you understand the intricacies of your idea, it it will reveal potential problems with the idea, and it will give you a better understanding of what you want the next version to be. Also, you now have something that you can show people! Maybe even sell to people! Yeah, it’s hacky and only does one thing, but that’s good! It doesn’t matter if it’s manufacturable or anything yet, you are just tinkering. So sit down with someone and have them play your board game. Have someone register in your “app.” Introduce people to your product, get feedback, and take notes. At this point you will either decide that this isn’t going anywhere, which is fine and you can move onto the next idea. Or you will decide that this is great, and you’ll want to start on the next version.

I often skip this step, because I get so caught up in the excitement of a new idea, but a basic internet search can often turn up stuff that’s already there. This is another great reason to share your idea with people. They will often say “Oh, you should check out Uber eats; they’re a billion dollar company doing food delivery. I can’t believe you haven’t heard of them..” This doesn’t have to be a dealbreaker. It’s likely, the way you envision something will be different than how others have envisioned it, and your take may be better. Also, it doesn’t hurt to reach out to people in the industry and just ask them what difficulties their business faces, etc. People love sharing information, and the more information you have about the space, the better. Maybe you’ll find a mentor along the way.

You might find people solving the same problem you wanted to solve, and maybe that will energize you, or maybe it will discourage you, either way, it’s better to know at the beginning than later down the road.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

“Marry your idea.” On my first startup attempt, I worked on about 3 ideas at once, and they all went nowhere. None of them got the time they deserved, and they all failed. You need to have one idea or project that is your highest priority. If you are splitting your time between three ideas, then the likelihood that any of them succeeds quickly approaches zero. Your number two best idea is just a distraction.

“It’s not always going to be fun.” There’s always a point when I get bored of an idea because I’ve done all the fun stuff. That’s when it’s crucial to just push through the grog and keep going. With Computer Engineering for Babies. I quit several times because I got bored or I got excited about other things. Fortunately, I kept coming back and pushed the project to completion.

“Sales solves everything.” If you’re down in the dumps, and wondering if the project is worth pursuing anymore, then you probably need to go get some sales. If you have people paying you for your product, then it’s hard to say “this isn’t worth doing anymore.” Reversely, if you aren’t getting sales, and actively pursuing it, then it might be time to pivot.

“Don’t be afraid of Competition.” I was tinkering around with an app idea when I was young, when I saw a demo of another group of kids working on a very similar app. This motivated me to get my app done as quickly as possible. I was head down coding for about 3 weeks and it was just the kick I needed to get my app published. Having competition can be motivating, validating, and give you an opportunity to learn from other’s mistakes.

“It should be fun.” It’s not always fun, but overall it should be fun. If you’re not getting satisfaction and enjoying working on your idea, then you should probably move on. Life’s too short to spend time on projects you don’t love. I once spent several months working on a project out of obligation to others, even though I wasn’t excited about it and didn’t believe in it. It ended up failing, and I could have saved a lot of time if I had just followed my gut and moved on.

If you’re shipping a physical product, then there are a few more challenges than shipping software, but physical products are a lot more fulfilling for me than software. With a physical product, you still need to build prototypes, and if the economics make sense, you can even sell your prototypes; I have several products that I’m working on that are 3d printed or soldered together by hand. Finding a manufacturer can be really daunting, and can feel impossible. Again, it doesn’t hurt to reach out to other people in the industry to ask them about their experience. For Computer Engineering for Babies, I just did a search on Alibaba.com for “Kids board books” and started messaging people about what I was working on, asking if a book with a circuit board was something they could handle. Some manufacturer’s weren’t up for it, but I eventually found one that was willing to work with me, and I had them make a few sample books, and after four or five iterations of getting samples, and tweaking the design, we landed on something that worked well. This was a really long drawn out process for me. Once I was confident that we had the bugs worked out, I prepared to launch on Kickstarter. Kickstarter is great to help re-risk your idea, if you can raise $10,000 on Kickstarter then you can pay for manufacturing without having to borrow or come up the money yourself for the first manufacturing run, it also does wonders to validate the idea. It’s also helpful on the distribution end. If your campaign is successful, you may find that people come to you offering to carry and sell your product.

Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?

Start prototyping. Can you make it out of cardboard? Can you design it with CAD and 3d print it? Do whatever you can to make it real. Then go show it to people. Get feedback. Find collaborators. Don’t build stuff in a silo. There is a huge push right now for building in public, reason being that there are people out there who want to help you, you just need to show them what you are working on.

There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?

I’m a maker. I get all the enjoyment from building it myself. I have no desire to to have a consultant make the product for me. That takes all the fun out of it for me.

What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?

This is tough. Bootstrapping provides you with a lot more flexibility, but some companies or products just can’t be built without venture capital. I have friends that have done it, but I’m not interested in starting a billion dollar unicorn company; it’s way too stressful and I value my hair color too much. So bootstrapping is the way to go for me.

Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Honestly, if you are building a product that people love, then you’re doing it. With Computer Engineering for Babies, I hope that people will be able to have an experience sharing with a child and help enable that interaction. At the least, I hope that I’ll be able to help a parent keep their kids quietly entertained during church.

I’d really like for Empathy to get more airtime. I think if we all took a moment to really think about living in someone else’s shoes, we would naturally make the world a much better place.

I’d love to go to lunch with the Lock Picking Lawyer. He just seems like a real genuine and nice guy.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity.

Making Something From Nothing: Chase Roberts Of Computer Engineering for Babies On How To Go From… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Robert Pasin Of Radio Flyer: Five Things You Need To Build A Trusted And Beloved Brand

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Relentless commitment to build a great team — We are laser-focused on creating an outstanding workplace culture, as is seen in our many “best place to work” accolades, like Fortune’s #1 Best Small & Medium Size Workplace.

As part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview Robert Pasin, CEO of Radio Flyer.

Robert heads Radio Flyer Inc., the business founded by his grandfather in 1917. Radio Flyer is an iconic brand that holds a special place in people’s hearts because it instantly transports them to a happy time — to the best parts of childhood. Robert works with a wonderful group of passionate “Flyers” whose mission is to create products that bring smiles to kids of all ages and to create warm memories that last a lifetime. Company sales have grown significantly because of Robert’s focus on building a highly committed and creative team. The product line has expanded beyond the iconic Little Red Wagon™ to include tricycles, scooters, and other ride-ons featuring innovative, beautiful, playful design. Robert is the Emmy winning producer of the animated short film, Taking Flight.

In 1991, Robert earned his Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of Notre Dame, where he served as student body president. After graduation, Robert taught 6th grade in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood through the Amate House Young Adult Volunteer Program. In 1997, Robert completed his M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

An avid runner, Robert has completed numerous marathons, including Boston and a 50-mile ultra. Robert’s favorite activities are creating family videos hiking, and riding Radio Flyer’s new FLYER electric bikes with his wife.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Radio Flyer is a third-generation family business, started by my grandfather, Antonio Pasin, in 1917. When I was five years old, my dad took me to work with him for the first time and I remember that day like it was yesterday. Walking into the front entrance of the building, climbing the stairs, saying hello to people while tightly gripping my dad’s big hand. Walking around the factory with the loud noises of punch presses, the smell of grease and paint, and seeing all of those shiny new red wagons on the conveyor line — it seemed like some kind of giant magical Rube Goldberg machine cranking out Little Red Wagons and sending them into the world to bring joy to families. That’s the moment that I fell in love with Radio Flyer. I fell in love with the creative process of transforming materials like steel and paint and rubber into delightful toys. I fell in love with the idea that a wagon could become anything a child imagined it to be. And as I grew up, I fell in love with the potential of what Radio Flyer could become. When I was old enough to work at the company, I jumped at the opportunity and it has been a 30-year ride that feels like it is just beginning! I get to work alongside our team of FUNomenal Flyers creating and building something truly extraordinary. It’s my passion and my life’s work.

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?

In the 1990’s, I launched a product called Angel Love Wagon Baby — a product you’ve surely never heard of. We even put TV ad dollars behind it, with a very 90s toy commercial. The product idea was the direct result of us observing customers who put dolls in one of our little toy wagons — I thought I was doing everything right. This observation, plus the fact that we received overwhelmingly positive feedback in focus groups as we tested the idea, led us down a path of excitement that was quickly deflated when product sales never took off. From that experience I learned that there is no surefire way to know if a product is going to succeed or fail. Regardless of the three decades I’ve spent in the industry, or the hundreds of products I’ve seen through development, I don’t know which ones will be hits until they are. Even when you listen closely to your customers you can get it wrong — instead, you have to watch them and learn from their real behaviors.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Radio Flyer is a true legacy brand. We’ve endured both challenges and big opportunities for nearly 105 years, and I’m immensely proud of what our brand means to people. The toy industry can be a notoriously fad-driven, but our core products are designed to be passed down through generations. When my grandpa was building our company, he never archived any of the products through the years — he needed the sales. That makes it extra special when on occasion, we receive letters and products from Radio Flyer fans with vintage products to share with us. Until recently, I had never seen an original Liberty Coaster Wagon from those early years of Radio Flyer. But thanks to Ronald from Kenosha, Wisconsin, his grandpa’s wagon from the early 1920s is now part of our collection. Ronald shared his heart-warming story about how this wagon was passed down through generations — sisters to brothers, fathers to sons, uncles to nieces and nephews — and how it was the vehicle of countless childhood adventures. At Radio Flyer, our mission is to bring smiles to kids of all ages, and to create warm memories that last a lifetime. Hearing how that came to fruition in Ronald’s story was a personal honor, but it was also proof that if you allow your mission to endure the decades, you can create a lasting legacy!

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Radio Flyer is a pioneer within the toy industry and keeps that status alive by always evolving to meet the needs of our modern consumer, as seen most recently with the launch of our first ever line for adults, FLYER™, which features electric bikes and scooters for families on the go looking for a more sustainable, fun way to get to their destinations.

This line presents a huge opportunity for the brand and for our customers. We’ve been in the lives of families for generations, and with that sense of familiarity comes trust. We often say we’re most people’s first set of wheels, so Radio Flyer brings a name new riders recognize to the market of electric bikes and scooters, and people that grew up with us will appreciate that sense of familiarity in this fun, safe, convenient alternative to their traditional transportation.

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?

For Radio Flyer, it’s about creating great products AND building love for our brand. Our quality products and cherished brand creates trust with consumers, and the brand is at the core of everything we do. Our branding campaigns are designed to bring to life the essence of the brand: inspiring imagination and making people smile. For example, to celebrate out 100th anniversary, we created a year-long campaign that brought to life Radio Flyer’s deeply rooted brand identify of outdoor play, bringing smiles to kids of all ages and creating warm memories that last a lifetime. We rolled our World’s Largest Wagon to Pioneer Court on Michigan Avenue in Chicago to hand out treats and offer kid-friendly activities to generations of fans in celebration of this major milestone. We’re all about making generations of people smile and we thought what better way to say thank you to the city by hosting a day of smile-worthy celebrations.

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?

Building true brand authenticity is key to unlocking growth. It’s no secret that most people know us for our Little Red Wagon, and there was a time in our 104-year history when that’s all we built. In the past 20 years, we’ve launched dozens of new products a year, from scooters and trikes, to electric go karts and bounce houses. But, this wave of product innovation only started after a harsh reality check when our competitors introduced plastic wagons threatening our classic wagons. It was then we realized that Radio Flyer was an experience (not a wagon) company — our products bring smiles and create warm memories. That consumer insight unlocked our brand’s potential. As you consider ways to grow your business, make sure you think carefully about what your brand means to people, what problems it can solve for customers, how it makes people’s lives better, and — perhaps most importantly — why your brand exists. Don’t chase the newest shiny object. Dig deep, listen to your customers, solve their problems, think for the long term, and unlock your full brand potential.

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.

Our strategy is articulated in our mission — to bring smiles to kids of all ages and to create warm memories that last a lifetime. That may sound like flowery language, but we believe that if we take the following actions, this is what we create.

Relentless commitment to build a great team — We are laser-focused on creating an outstanding workplace culture, as is seen in our many “best place to work” accolades, like Fortune’s #1 Best Small & Medium Size Workplace.
Act sustainably to improve our world — We are committed to building sustainable products and processes that help make our world a better place. We know this is our responsibility, and have taken significant steps to be a sustainable brand.
Deliver breakthrough results — The proof is in our results, and the fact that we never stop in our quest to grow. Even as a legacy brand, in recent years, profitability has increased tenfold.
Innovate products & inspire active play — Our company may be nearly 105-years-old, but we never stop innovating. This can be seen in our newest (and first ever) line for adult riders, FLYER, or with our exciting and recently expanded partnership with Tesla, with the launch of the Cyberquad for Kids by Radio Flyer.
Operate with outstanding quality — Our products are quite literally built to last generations. We will even help you refurbish wagons, and have an award-winning Customer Service team at-the-ready.

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?

Lego. By focusing on their core brand attribute “Building” they have unlocked so many creative ways to grow — entertainment, adult sets, STEM, and more — and as a result they’ve become the largest and most successful toy company in the world.

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?

We don’t focus too much on measuring specific tactics — instead, we are more focused on building our brand over the years and developing meaningful relationships with families that last generations. One measure we do use is the Net Promoter Score to measure long-term brand health — our score is consistently in the high 70s, which is considered world class. To get there, our formula for success combines who we are (branding) with who we connect with (understanding our consumers) and how we connect with them (communication) to drive strong sales and brand preference. Our branding campaigns are designed to bring to life the essence of the brand: inspiring imagination and making people smile. And, a powerful part of our brand is creating cherished memories. We leverage the many stories we receive from consumers about how our products have brought smiles and adventure to their family, and also use them to help us measure success.

What role does social media play in your branding efforts?

We use social media to connect and engage with our community. We take our content a step further by including resources that apply to families’ everyday lives, like with our Play Panel.

User-generated content is also a large part of our social media strategy. Given the nature of our products and the love people have for the brand, consumers often organically tag us in their social media content. We capture stories and memories when engaging with consumers that help make our content timely and relevant. This was especially evident as we watched consumers use our products to get out of the house throughout the pandemic, and celebrate milestones in brand-new ways, like drive-by birthday parties and other outdoor get-togethers.

Similarly, we also use social media to listen to gain critical customer feedback on products, web design, promotions, and more, and use it as a tool in providing our top-of-the-line customer service through close integration between our Brand Communications and CS Teams.

What advice would you give to other marketers or business leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?

When it comes to running a business, some people forget about the emotional intelligence that is critical to leading effectively. Companies everywhere are feeling the effects of this unprecedented labor strain, so there’s no better time to make expressing gratitude a habit — it’s a proven driver of employee engagement. Before I was ever aware of gratitude as a leadership skill, I learned it as a life skill from my mom. She’s known for her personal and genuine thank you notes that make people feel special. That’s always stuck with me, and it’s why I strive to show every Flyer my gratitude for their dedication and hard work. Employee recognition is low cost, high impact — take five minutes to thank someone on your team.

I’m extremely passionate about getting more families to opt for bikes over cars. Bicycles and e-bikes are the perfect solution to many of our most pressing problems — environmental, traffic, obesity, stress. Our electric bikes are designed with everything a family needs to use a bike in place of a car AND they are super fun to ride. The more we can get people replacing car trips with bike rides, the happier and healthier we will all be!

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“It always seems impossible until it is done.” — Nelson Mandela

I have a photo of Nelson Mandela on my desk with this quote. He faced so many seemingly insurmountable obstacles that it puts my challenges in perspective and reminds me to keep working with diligence, patience, and humility.

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. 🙂

Bob Iger from Disney — Disney is a brand that speaks for itself, but Bob took the company to an entirely new level though amazing moves and great innovation. They’re another brand with a rich history that maintains their mission, while also growing and adapting to change.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Follow me on LinkedIn for insights on leadership, workplace culture, and the importance of fostering a legacy brand (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-pasin-b2b0953/)

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

Robert Pasin Of Radio Flyer: Five Things You Need To Build A Trusted And Beloved Brand was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Yvonne Victor: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Self-Care. This should be self-explanatory, but I’ll spell it out. If you are not at your best, how do you expect those who you lead to be at their best? As the leader, you set the stage, and those you lead will mimic your behavior. I cannot stress how important it is for you to take your lunch and breaks, manage your stress and health, and maintain a work-life balance if you want to lead a cohesive, productive, and happy team of people.

As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Yvonne Victor, founder of Yvonne Victor Life Coach | Life Design. She is a Certified Life & Business Coach for overwhelmed professionals seeking to create a life that is balanced, sustainable, and fulfilling. With over 30 years of experience in corporate administration across several industries, she incorporates lessons learned and best business practices into her coaching curriculum.

Additionally, as a trained Community Advocate and Peacekeeper, she helps her clients identify core issues and create strategies that lead to the best results. As phase one of her signature coaching model The Best Life Blueprint™, Yvonne has published a book entitled “Unstuck: The First Five Steps for Living Your Best Life” to help others remove blocks and create momentum towards living the life of their dreams.

When she isn’t transforming lives, you can find Yvonne traveling with her family, gardening, dancing in the kitchen, or binge-watching food shows. She is the wife of one; mother of two and living her very Best Life.

I grew up in South Central Los Angeles in the ’70s. It was a different community than it is now; predominantly African American and definitely blue collar. However, the people were proud, and it was a tight-knit village where your neighbors were more like your extended family. Most households had 4 or more kids, and my home was no exception. I was the second to the last of eleven children who were a “pish posh” of siblings and cousins living under the same roof. Needless to say, life was fun, chaotic, stressful, loving, and sometimes dysfunctional. It was home. I wasn’t raised with a silver spoon in my mouth. There were too many children and not enough money, but we seemed to get by. However, when my community started to change as guns and drugs infiltrated the neighborhood, everyone around me was affected in some way. No one got away without a scratch, not even me. It became a tough place to grow up in.

After elementary school, I participated in a voluntary busing program that offered kids like me the opportunity to attend school on the other side of town where there were far more educational opportunities than in my community. In my case, that meant attending school in Brentwood and the Palisades, which are two very affluent neighborhoods in Los Angeles. For the next six years, my days were split between poverty and wealth. I loved the experience although it was difficult to navigate at times. I felt a lot of shame. It’s one thing to sit in your space with others just like you and imagine what life could be. It’s another to be immersed in what could be five days a week, only to return to your reality when the school bell rang.

There was always this longing in my heart. I wanted to live like the kids I went to school with. I wanted to be able to buy nice school clothes and take trips during holiday breaks. I wanted a spacious house with my own bedroom. I wanted to live in a neighborhood where helicopters and gunshots didn’t disturb your sleep. Living like that, always wanting more but never getting it, is hard on the soul. However, I was determined to make it happen, and I did.

Fast forward. As my youngest child prepared to leave for college, for the first time in my adult life I had to chance to focus entirely on myself. I had worked in corporate administration for 30+ years and was ready for a change. I was considering a lot of different avenues but in the midst of it all, a former coworker contacts me and says he has a ticket for me to go see Tony Robbins at his “Unleash the Power Within” conference in Newark, NJ. I had been a follower of Robbins’ for a while but that was nothing my coworker would have known about. I hesitated; I wasn’t too keen about traveling alone and didn’t feel comfortable about accepting such a priceless gift. However, he kept insisting and my husband, believing this was a sign from God, kept encouraging me to go.

I suppose you can say that is where my career started. I remember sitting in the cold and massive auditorium thinking, “I can do this! I know this stuff!”. I had used some of the same techniques to transform my own life, and I most definitely can help others transform their lives too. I returned home with a new remit and told my husband that I wanted to become a Life Coach. He was all for it and reminded me of how I helped him transform his life when we met and how I helped coach the kids through big decisions and how I’m always the person that my friends and coworkers come to when they need an objective ear and a little matter-of-fact wisdom. Coaching was a natural fit and something I was passionate about. I wanted more than anything to help others transform their lives into one that truly left them feeling fulfilled. So I enrolled in a certified coaching program, saved money, and vetted my decision cautiously before leaping. I was excited to strike out on my own and leave corporate but man, I was scared to death. I cried for the first two weeks! But I took that step and started my business and now here I am.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?

I wish I could say that this mistake happened when I started coaching but no…it was actually last year. I signed on a client and was extremely excited. She was one of those people that you’re just cheering on extra hard. We also got along well and so those “quick” business calls would always turn into more. Somehow, in the middle of all of the giggles, I forgot to bill her for half of her sessions. She is a kind and understanding soul and happily paid once I saw the mix-up. The lesson? Don’t depend on your mind to remember. Write it down. I now have a checklist for onboarding new clients to make sure that I don’t miss anything.

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?

I’m grateful for my husband. I know it sounds cheesy but never underestimate the power of a great partner. They can make or break you! Starting a business or new career is no joke. There are so many moments of self-doubt, defeat, and fear, and if your partner doesn’t support you, count on nothing short of chaos and confusion.

I met Tony online in 2013, and we quickly became friends. I’ve known most of my friends for 40+ years, so it wasn’t like I was looking for more at this stage in my life. I was just grateful the ones I had were still sticking by me. After one very lonely and downright pitiful Valentine’s Day, I decided to put my profile back online for the LAST time. I hadn’t had much luck online before but sitting alone drinking wine and painting my toenails was just sad. That night I told God, “If it’s not in the cards, so be it. This is the last time I’m doing this.” I was finally at a point where being single was comfortable. However, the next morning, I received a very long, perfectly written, message from Tony. Messages turned into phone calls and phone calls turned into a friendly breakfast. I initially put him in the “friend-zone” because he was in the middle of getting divorced, but there was a pressing desire. I had to be friends with this guy. I hadn’t felt like that since elementary school. I didn’t think love was in our future at first, but changed my mind after date number three!

Friendship is always first with us. He is my newest friend and so he wasn’t there during “La Vida Loca”, he’s only known me in this incarnation. However, he has so much respect and love for me and my journey. If not for him, I probably would have returned to corporate within the first year. No doubt! Entrepreneurship is not for the weak. However, he’s always there to encourage me when I’m ready to give up. He’s my soft place to land when the sky is falling. He’s the Devil’s Advocate when needed and my faithful sounding board. Likewise, he reminds me that I was made for this! Seems like he was right.

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?

My purpose was and will always be to help people live their Best Life. To create a life that is balanced, sustainable, and fulfilling. I know first-hand what it feels like to be caught on the hamster wheel. Surviving but not thriving. Feeling like an imposter in your own life and wanting so much more but also feeling like a jerk for wanting more. Who signs up for that? Nobody! However, most of us quickly get caught up in a life we didn’t ask for and find it very difficult to change that. I’m a living example of what you can do. I live my Best Life every day and it’s incredible!

Look, when you find your way through the forest, you don’t sit and watch your friends struggle through the thickets, you show them the way. I’m here to guide those who are ready to commit to the journey, engage in the process, and invest in themselves, through the forest towards the life of their dreams. People who are expressing the best version of themselves create a better world around them. I think this is how we “fix” the world. My vision is to give everyone the chance to do just that.

Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?

I consider giving up just about every quarter. Like I said, running your own business, much less a business that requires you to be emotionally on top of your game every day, can be hard. I had a lucrative career in corporate that required very little of me personally, so the thought of taking the easy, albeit less fulfilling road, is always in the back of my mind, especially when things get rough.

However, I am simply too tenacious to back down. I’m a warrior and defeat isn’t an option…ever. So, during these times, I practice what I preach. I find something, anything to motivate me. Something that I can emotionally connect with. At times, I reflect on my clients’ wins and how I was a significant part of that process. I love how it feels when I get the call about the new job, client, house, weight loss, etc., and I want to feel that again. Sometimes my motivation comes from not wanting to disappoint my children and husband who believe in me so much. Other times, my motivation is a luxury purchase, a trip I want to take, or simply proving to the naysayers that I can do it.

Additionally, I make sure that I keep that energy going by maintaining a work-life balance, creating a sustainable lifestyle, and investing time, money, and energy into those things that advance my life vision. It’s all very strategic and doable.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

The most critical role of a leader during challenging times is to not lose focus of the vision. The vision of the group is the North Star and guides everything that happens. When the storms of life take center stage, it’s easy to lose sight. Like a ship at sea, you feel tossed around and shift your focus to survival. People aren’t at their best when they are simply trying to stay afloat.

However, the captain of the ship is the visionary and there to remind us of the collective vision. The captain keeps us motivated, encouraged, and moving toward the mark when the sea is raging around us. If the Captain focuses on the pounding waves and the dark clouds, then there is no hope and the crew is doomed.

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?

One of the best things any leader can do to boost the morale of their team is to trust them to help find the solution. One of the primary human needs according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is esteem. Everyone wants to feel significant and leaders can facilitate that need by partnering with everyone on the team to find the solution. The partnership engages the experience and expertise of everyone and creates a more synergetic relationship between team members.

As an Administrative Assistant, I was rarely looked at for the solution, although I was always directly affected by the outcome. I felt helpless to alter my circumstances and very insignificant. Rarely was I asked, “What do you think we should do?” They assumed that I didn’t have the answer.

Do you think I was inspired, engaged, or motivated?

Absolutely not!

On the other hand, I remember a time when I worked in Big Pharma, and my division had been acquired by another company. The new company required that we put together a business plan. I sat at the end of the conference table, half-listening to my coworkers struggle to find a solution. My opinion and thoughts were rarely solicited on business matters, but things changed this day. One of my coworkers and very good friends blurts out, “Yvonne owned a business and knows how to put together a business plan.” She and I were the only two who had careers outside of science at one point or another, and so we had a wealth of experience not shared by the rest of the team.

Long story short, I provided the template for the business plan and worked with my friend to create the first few rounds of the business plan and our division successfully moved forward.

Now, how inspired engaged, or motivated do you think I was after that?

After all of the time, effort, and resources that go into talent acquisition, leaders have to be able to trust their team to do what they do best. We love the pizza party in the lunchroom but what we want is to be heard and know without a shadow of a doubt that we matter. That’s enough to move mountains.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

I have a formula for delivering difficult news that has so far been effective.

First, I gather the team so that everyone hears it at the same time. This helps you control the message, which is imperative, as well as read the room. I’ve seen many leaders hide in offices and suddenly become “unavailable” when it’s all about to go south. Or worse yet, deliver the news via email.

Then I sandwich the difficult news between positive news. Here’s an example:

“This is one of the best teams I have ever worked with. I love the way you all show up for one another and share in the victories. However, every season has an end. Our division has been acquired by XYZ Inc. and they plan to cut 70% of the positions. I understand this news is difficult to swallow and so our company is going to do everything possible to help you during the transition.”

It takes a bit of the sting out and works for dating too.

Next, be sure to keep it short! Now is not the time for speeches. You want to give people a moment alone to process the news. You can offer a short Q&A at the end but keep the entire process to approximately 15–30 minutes.

Lastly, offer time for a more in-depth conversation. With customers, end the conversation by scheduling a time to follow up within a few days. Let them know that you want to provide them with more meaningful information, as well as work hand in hand to ensure a seamless transition. As for your team members, offer times for them to schedule a 1:1 meeting with you or their managers to debrief. This should be your number one priority for the next few days.

How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?

Well, let me start by saying the nature of the future is a degree of unpredictability. It’s packaged that way. We can use data of past and present performances to make an educated hypothesis; however, we must always remain cognizant that one anomaly can knock us out of the park. So, we must accommodate the unpredictability.

The best leaders know how to pivot during uncertain times. They know the side streets and can carefully maneuver around the storm. They accomplish this by staying flexible and understanding that there are several routes to the goal. They understand that “the plan” is a living entity that can be altered at any time.

They also factor in risks. What storms have the potential to alter your plans? Loss of revenue? Employee strike? Seasonal weather? Whatever it is, factor it in. Also, know your bottom line for everything. How lean can you be before you are toast?

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

“Ride the wave!” I love swimming in the ocean but one of the first things I learned was, if I find myself in distress, stop fighting against the water and ride the wave to shore. As business owners, we are going to hit a rough patch. It’s inevitable. However, you can fight against the inevitable or gracefully float back to shore, where you can regroup and head back into the water. Ride the wave, implies that we find the least resistant method to stability. Stability is key during turbulent times.

For my own business, I have been more conservative in my projections and parlayed the debut of a few new products. I understand the needs and wants of my market and I know that people are playing it safe right now. There is absolutely nothing I can do about that. So why keep pushing? Why keep fighting the wave? Instead, my focus is on stability and slow growth, so that my business is around on the other side of this.

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?

You picked the right person for this question. I can’t count how many times I’ve been laid off, so I’ve seen a lot, and not all of it I agree with. Here are the top three on my list:

Mistake #1: Laying off senior talent. I worked in Pharma for about 15 years and have been through a multitude of layoffs and it always amazed me how the most senior talent was let go. I understand they are the highest-earning employees but they’re also the most experienced. They’ve been to this rodeo a time or two and know exactly how to navigate these turbulent times. This decision leaves you with inexperienced staff, with no one to mentor them, who have very little experience in the trenches of day-to-day business. You may have saved money and been able to report a profit but how far back did you set the company in doing so?

Mistake #2: Not investing in marketing. When I was younger, I wanted to become a copywriter and so I landed a job with Dailey & Associates and gleaned every bit of knowledge that I could. It was here that I first witnessed this fatal mistake in action. Every time the economy took a slump, the clients would cut their advertising dollars exponentially. Enough to trigger layoffs. Let me put this into perspective. Marketing drives sales. Sales drive profit. Marketing is one of your most important departments, not finance, not legal, and not I.T. If you cannot sell your product or services, you don’t have a business.

Mistake #3: Rewarding C-Suite executives, while making cuts to staff. “But Yvonne, all the cool kids are doing it.” I get it, but it doesn’t make it right. Much more, the harm that it does to reputation, morale, and the integrity of the company is irreconcilable. Those things are hard to get back once lost and just as important to any thriving company as the stock price. Every year we watch some CEO get millions of dollars in bonuses after laying off half of the company. Then the word gets around and they stop attracting top talent, the staff starts to leave for their competitor and the stocks plummet again, as they prepare for another round of layoffs.

My growth strategies are simple.

Know your market. Not just in good times but during difficult times also. This is a relationship, not a one-night stand. Find out how their spending habits change during difficult economies? What do they spend their money on? Do they spend more feely or are they more cautious with spending? Keep courting your customers so that you understand, how they need you to show up.

Know your bottom line. One thing I’m always aware of is my surplus. I can easily identify those line items that are expendable, in both business and personal finances. I stay prepared to cut where needed, to stay afloat. One of the best things you can do for your business is to never mistake wants for needs.

Know your metrics. If you are measuring the metrics that contribute to the profit of the business, then you are aware at any moment of what needs to be improved. Time is money and the sooner you can course correct, the better. I know metrics aren’t particularly sexy but monitoring them is well worth the time.

Focus. Like I mentioned before it is the remit of a leader to hold the vision during turbulent times. He has to stay focused on the big picture and reassure his team that they have what it takes to weather the storm. For me, that example is in the New Testament of the Bible. Jesus and his disciple were always going through it and there was always something or someone to take them off tasks. The Disciples were cool and all but sometimes they were a bit shady and regardless of all the miraculous things they had seen and done, their faith was weak. However, Jesus was hyper-focused on the vision and not only held that space for them, but reminded them that they were the chosen few and had exactly what they needed to weather the storm.

Communicate. I find that the more information people have, the more secure they feel. During troubled times leaders must communicate with their constituents. When my business started to feel the pains of the pandemic, I needed time to pivot and think about how to best serve my clients. They were used to receiving monthly emails and seeing me on social media quite a bit but I needed to pull away from that to regroup. So, I sent out a letter to my email list and told them the truth. I asked them to bear with me while I figured it out and that I’d be back in a few months. That seems like suicide by email…right? However, not one person unsubscribed. I didn’t leave them in the dark to figure out if I was still in business. People will fill in the blanks and that is exactly what you don’t want. You should communicate the story.

Advocate. One of my favorite managers ever is a stellar advocate. He was and is a brilliant scientist, and at this point in my career, I was looking for a more challenging position, which he supported. It was time for my review and we settled in to chat it up and he showed me with two simple sentences that he indeed was a leader. He said, “Yvonne, I know you want to move up in the company but I don’t know how to develop an Administrative Assistant. However, if you tell me what you need, I will make sure that you get it.” And he did! Advocacy is one of the primary roles of leaders, especially during times like this. You should be the voice for those you lead, in addition to your interests. Additionally, you should be making sure that they have what they need and deserve, so that they may perform optimally.

Reward. You would be amazed at how motivating a “thank you” can be. It’s the best investment ever. It’s free to give and the return is phenomenal. However, I’ve heard more than one complaint around the water cooler, and many of them have to do with feeling unappreciated. Some of the best employees turn in their resignations based on that one fact. Even though times are uncertain and money is short, leaders need to find ways to say “thank you” or “I appreciate what you do”, and if you want to add power to the punch, do it publicly. Although, we all pretend that the certificate means nothing to us, we keep every single one. Plus, now is a great time for that pizza party.

Self-Care. This should be self-explanatory, but I’ll spell it out. If you are not at your best, how do you expect those who you lead to be at their best? As the leader, you set the stage, and those you lead will mimic your behavior. I cannot stress how important it is for you to take your lunch and breaks, manage your stress and health, and maintain a work-life balance if you want to lead a cohesive, productive, and happy team of people.

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, hands down is by Marianne Williamson in her book A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles”. It’s all so profound and impossible to dissect into one or two sentences.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

I bought the book a little after it came out and came upon this passage. Man, it stopped me in my tracks. I sat there slack jaw, feeling as if she were speaking directly to me. I quickly typed it up, added a pretty border, and pinned it to my cubicle wall. Then I read it every single day. This simple quote was the “stern talking to” that I so greatly needed. I was a professional underachiever and had dimmed my light so much that I barely recognized myself. I always knew that I was capable of doing, being, and having so much more but bullying had taught me that if I wanted to be safe, loved, and accepted, then I had better tone it down.

Then here comes Miss Marianne with her book! I got it after that. I really got it! Little by little I started to return to my truest self. I set out on a mission to find the little girl that was sent here in all of her perfection before the world told her differently. I think I’m closer than ever. It’s my one constant journey

How can our readers further follow your work?

You can find me on my website at www.yvonnevictor.com, or on Facebook and Instagram @ yvonnevictorlifecoach.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Yvonne Victor: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Amy Goldberg Of The Amy G Experience: Five Ways To Develop More ‘Grit’

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Surround yourself with gritty people. Who you choose to be around, matters. Surround yourself with people who have the strength, resiliency, and ability to keep going. To nudge you when you need it.

As a part of my series about “Grit: The Most Overlooked Ingredient of Success” I had the pleasure of interviewing Amy Goldberg; The Amy G Experience.

Amy Goldberg is an entrepreneur [Well-Being Advocate. Creative. Producer. Author. Speaker. Writer] — not necessarily in that order. Her book; BE YOUR TRUTH shows readers how to be their authentic selves — and Amy say’s; “It’s not easy”.

She is the founder/CEO of The Amy G Experience; showing people where the opportunities are in business, then making them happen. Amy challenges thinking by helping people to think differently. She focuses on identifying, creating, and actioning life, deliberately and on purpose. She can be found producing, creating, consulting, speaking, teaching, strategizing, and collaborating for positive results.

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?

Mostly a lot of trial and error as I explored the various business sectors that I was drawn toward. Some were based on what I was exposed to as a kid, and it seemed kinda cool, and others looked interesting to me. The one common thread was that I needed to be creative. I needed the freedom and flexibility to create something. Very early on I realized that it wouldn’t be something where I couldn’t see the fruits of my labour, or the result of my efforts. I needed to know that I was making a difference in some way. Producing, something. Hence my desire to become a creative producer.

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?

My journey started (in a way) with feeling isolated. Isolated in the idea that I wanted to trail blaze (although I had no idea I was at the time). I know I wasn’t going to follow others. Which made my decisions even more confusing and difficult because I felt alone. Starting out I made the decision to see the world and expand my understanding of life as a way of honing my skills — if that makes sense. It worked. Again, I didn’t know it at the time as I was afraid to set out. The fear of the unknown. The risks. The time I’d spend away. It paid off. My travels allowed me to take on initiatives that I’d otherwise not entertain. I felt free to be as creative as possible. To be open to meeting people and experiencing life. If I had listened to those that kept saying, “Don’t go,” I have no idea where I’d be today.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

There’s nothing like travelling to quickly understand what you’re made of. What you’re capable of doing. Even when I questioned my journey, I knew it would build my strength and resiliency. I kept going not only because I was travelling to various countries, but because I thrived on working through the tough stuff so that I could get to what mattered. What mattered was that I was getting better at failing and getting back up on my feet — to the point where the failures where just as important as the successes. What I learned was empowering. The hard, wasn’t as hard as I imagined it.

So how did Grit lead to your eventual success? How did Grit turn things around?

Grit. As defined as courage and resolve, strength of character. But do we really know what we’re made of if we are to embody this very meaning? So, what had to happen for me to even realize that I had GRIT was better understand how I chose to handle every situation. The ups, downs, and everything in between.

I’d ask myself — Who do I lean on? And I hoped my answer would be, me. As an entrepreneur I live and breathe GRIT daily. I may not realize that I, in fact am, and yet I know it’s something I experience given the experiences that I’ve had (and have).

In knowing this, I continually rely on myself and the actions I decide to take to be successful. My success has been primarily based on my foundation of those failures. Failure taught me very quickly that I needed to press on. It allowed me to not get so hung up on things. Nothing was that precious where I couldn’t just shift a few things around.

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)

Pursue your interests. Find something that excites you. Make sure you tap into the things that excite you. That give you energy. You’ll ‘feel’ it before you ‘think’ it. Alternatively, you quickly know what doesn’t excite you. You’ll develop Grit to keep going when you love (like) what you’re pursuing.
Get a little bit better every day. Keep honing your skills. Do whatever it is that you want to succeed at, a little bit every single day. You’ll start to see how much better you’ll become.
Connect to a higher purpose. You need to get to a place where you’re connecting to something bigger than yourself. Something that’s more meaningful. Connecting to a higher purpose helps tremendously to develop Grit because you tend to keep going.
Cultivate hope. Optimism is important to grasp. The idea that you have hope. You don’t always have to be positive, and yet you do need to feel optimistic that things will work out one way or another.
Surround yourself with gritty people. Who you choose to be around, matters. Surround yourself with people who have the strength, resiliency, and ability to keep going. To nudge you when you need it.

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?

One person who immediately comes to mind is my father. He was the one who quietly encouraged and motivated me to strive for more. He was wise and thoughtful. His calm presence had a significant impact on my life. It gave me the ability to listen more. To stay curious and ask questions. To view the world more wholeheartedly. His strength came from Grit. His wisdom was in the silence. He was a remarkable influence on my life.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Most everything that I do is shaped by my need to bring kindness to the world. Kindness in how we treat ourselves and others. I donate quite a bit of my time sharing what I’ve learned to help others thrive. To help others get out of their own way and moving toward what is nurturing, healing and empowering.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I’m producing a new series that speaks to resiliency and mental well-being. It came about due to the pandemic. It was evident that people were struggling with the unknown and therefore I felt we needed to talk about it. Expand upon the pain and why we feel so isolated. What transpired was a 13-part series that will be coming sometime in 2022.

What advice would you give to other executives or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Decrease stress and burn out by leading with compassion. Compassion helps to dissolve fear. Communicating effectively, openly, and honestly. Being transparent in your actions. Lead with kindness. People thrive in environments where they feel encouraged, supported and empowered.

A kinder world where people are free to live their lives. This is directly related to compassion and the need to better understand one another. If we were more compassionate, we’d be more understanding of ourselves and others. That’s what the world needs now.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Hang in until luck squeezes in.” As first told to me by my older brother. It’s my all-time favorite quote. There is always an element of luck somewhere. Being at the right place, at the right time. A chance meeting. An open mind that expands your thinking and opportunities. There’s so much to this quote that rings true. It’s also inspiring as it motivates me to keep going and growing.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Instagram: @theamygexperience

Twiiter: @amygrocks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-goldberg-95504862/

Website: www.theamygexperience.com

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

Amy Goldberg Of The Amy G Experience: Five Ways To Develop More ‘Grit’ was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future Is Now: Jim Lawton Of Zebra On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech…

The Future Is Now: Jim Lawton Of Zebra On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Look for the good in each day. You’ll find some. Work is hard. Not every day works. Not every week works. Not every month works. A dear colleague of mine, once said, “Persistence is more important than being smart.” To me, that means not only to keep plugging along, but as I am working through whatever it is, I am enthusiastic. Like the earlier lesson I shared around passion and how it creates energy, looking for something good in the day keeps me motivated and engaged — and is a much better way to live.

As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jim Lawton.

Jim Lawton, Vice President and General Manager, Robotics Automation.

As Vice President and General Manager, Robotics Automation, at Zebra, Jim Lawton is focused on helping customers harness intelligent automation and advanced robotics to transform their operations with greater efficiency, higher productivity, and lower costs.

His experience in developing and delivering leading-edge innovation — including early days in e-commerce, supply chain optimization, and collaborative robotics — has shaped his passion for helping manufacturing, supply chain and logistics organizations capitalize on the intersection of technology and business performance.

Jim holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University, an MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, and an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, where he was a Fellow in the inaugural MIT Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Growing up, I loved to build things with an Erector set and Legos. I found immense joy in taking a pile of pieces and building something with them. It was that feeling, I think, that got me looking — when the time came — at a career in manufacturing and more specifically operations. That path has taken me many places, but even today, I’m focused on helping operations teams turn what is fundamentally a pile of pieces into something greater than the sum of those parts: real, tangible goods that people need to live, work and play.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

When I was a green executive at HP, I found myself in a position that was, for me, very uncomfortable. In the long run, though, it taught me more about business leadership than any seminar in business school ever did. One day, a couple of members of a team I’d since moved on from came to me, very concerned about one of our colleagues, who they believed was being abused by her partner. They wanted me to do something about it, because it appeared the situation was escalating, and they were afraid for her safety. To say, first, I knew nothing about how to go about helping her and second, that I personally am a private person and prefer not to insert myself in the personal lives of others barely covers how I felt about getting involved.

Somehow, I found the courage to do what was right and do it the right way. We got HR involved, gave our colleague a safe space to speak openly about what was happening and found resources she could use to break away and live free from violence and fear. This very dramatic experience made me question a lot about what my role as the leader of a team means — and requires. It was possibly the most formative lesson I’ve had about what matters most to me about leading a team. We spend almost as much time with colleagues today as we do with our families and friends. That means, that yes, while it can be messy, I have a responsibility — and the pleasure — to be a part of my colleagues’ best and worst moments, and to be certain that they know that I truly believe — and act on the belief — that we are in this together.

Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?

Let’s be honest. Manufacturing, warehousing, and the supply chain — these have not been the sexiest or most sought-after industries for career building. Still, manufacturing remains one of the most powerful engines of the global economy. I love the sector and believe that there are great opportunities for financially and personally rewarding work in manufacturing, warehousing and the supply chain. To make that a reality, we have to lift people out of what has, for years, been called dirty, dull and dangerous work, and free them to do what they do best and let robots do the rest.

For nearly 10 years, I’ve been working in the field of collaborative robotics for manufacturing and warehousing to turn that vision into something real. Now, at Zebra, I’m working with a team focused on designing solutions for warehouse operations. Our customers are undergoing a dramatic transformation, many influenced by the pandemic, which has changed how we as consumers shop and expect to get what we’ve bought. Suddenly, warehouses are a critical piece of the customer relationship, and they have to rethink everything — from how the floor is organized and how goods move from intake to shipping to labor strategies. Driven by the need for real change, robots and automation are no longer a curiosity or a future investment that needs to be piloted for years.

Recently, Zebra acquired San Jose-based Fetch Robotics — to extend the solutions we’ve developed to improve warehouse operations. With autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that work with people, we’re reducing the miles warehouse workers have to run every day, increasing throughput and accuracy and accelerating the speed at which goods are shipped to customers. In more and more warehouse operations, the model of people and robots working together is becoming a powerful way to improve productivity and lower cost, lower the risk of injuries, and most importantly from my perspective — create those opportunities for people to do what they do best — create, innovate and solve problems.

How do you think this might change the world?

I believe that as humans, we need purpose. Work can be a large part of that — either simply the work itself or what the work enables us to do — give our children a better life, make contributions to the things that matter to us, etc. Sadly, there are too many people doing jobs that de-humanize them and make it impossible for their work to bring meaning to their lives. If we can bring automation into the mix where it makes sense and gives people new opportunities and challenges that fulfill and reward them, work might become something that means more than punching a clock.

Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

I’ve been a part of bringing innovative technology to market for years and have seen a lot of it overpromise and underdeliver. In the case of robots — and AI — there are plenty of doomsayers: robots are going to take away all the jobs, robots will get too smart and become our overlords. But look at what robots can do today — people have nothing to fear from them. And in the case of AI, here’s a recent example of how far that technology has to go: a subscriber gets a regular delivery of men’s multi-vitamins — one day, the supplier is out of stock, so instead, sends him the brand for women instead of an alternative brand formulated for men. If that’s the best that AI can do, we clearly have very long way to go before machines will be smarter than you and me.

All that said, we have to be skeptical about technology. And we have to be smart about what the technology can do, what the consequences of using it will be and how to use it wisely.

Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?

About 10 years ago, I got very interested in the ways in which software was at the heart of the innovation we have now come to expect from our devices — and what that meant for machines on a broader scale. I was at a point in my career where I was looking for something more challenging — and more risky, as making the change meant going back into the heady and volatile world of start-ups. I just could not stop thinking — and be excited by — what all these technological advances meant for operations. And so, I took the leap of faith and joined a start-up in collaborative robotics.

Today, AI makes it possible for machines to work in unstructured environments and powers robots that can be deployed without expensive programming and multi-year implementations. It gives robots the ability to learn how to drive screws in the same way humans do — using sense and response to ensure that not too much torque or pressure is applied.

There is so much more to come — and that is why, even today, I still am excited by what automation is doing now and what it can do for our customers in the future.

What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?

Robots have come a very long way in terms of accessibility, applications and abilities. But it takes a long time to tear down entrenched thinking about what robots are, what they can’t do and how hard it is deploy them. Chipping away at those doubts in the buyers’ seat who know a lot about robotics (as it was, not what it is) will help.

More importantly, I believe that creating excitement about robots that work in real-world environments like warehouses and production facilities among today’s students and creating career paths that will lead them into the field is going to be essential.

What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?

Our customers are skeptics by nature — and through experience. They’ve seen and heard it all before and are not going to be swayed by cute ideas, fancy gimmicks or social media. Here’s an example: a few companies back, we brought a very capable and innovative robot to market — convinced that since the technology was new, it was scary, so the robot came with a “head” that could convey simple expressions like ‘yes, I understand’ or ‘I don’t understand, explain more’ through cartoonish facial expressions. It did not reduce the intimidation factor we so feared and in fact, I heard more than once a prospect ask about the “silly face.” It made it hard for them to believe the robot really could do what needed to be done and was a real challenge to explain away.

For our customers, it is all about hard facts and results that demonstrate that these robots work as promised and so for them, that it is innovative marketing. Proof and peers who’ve done it are the best tools we have.

Alan Frohman, a mentor who has since passed away. He once said, “Wisdom comes from knowing what you’re not good at.” Building an organization requires one to know what is necessary to succeed and leverage the strengths of multiple people to achieve. On a more personal level, I have learned what I am good at and what I am not. So, while I continue to grow and develop, I also surround myself with people who are good at doing the things that I am not.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I mentioned before that I believe work gives life purpose. For me, that means I view my work as part of something that is more than it appears. In large part, this motivation is why I began working in collaborative robotics very early in the market. More than a labor replacement, I see the potential for this innovation in automation to change what it means to work in operations — freeing people from dirty, dull and dangerous work to do things that are valuable — and valued.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

People want to be part of a tribe.

The highest performing teams I have been a part of or have helped create are those made up of a group of people who feel tightly bound together because they are pursuing a mission that is greater than themselves. They will not be deterred. They will find a way.

This is a very big deal for me — and means that a big part of my job as a leader is to build a team where everyone feels that they are part of something larger.

Passion breeds fellowship.

A colleague of mine once said, “emotions are contagious.” Passion, excitement, and engagement bring people together. I mentioned earlier that I am a private person, but I’ve learned over the years that there is no “work Jim” and “home Jim” — I cannot separate depending on where I am. That has meant that I’ve also learned to share more of myself with colleagues — to be enthusiastic and excited about what we’re doing, what is accomplished and to celebrate victories and mourn losses together. It is far cry from what I used to think executives should be — stoic, impersonal, stand-offish and I’m very comfortable with that.

Growth comes from hitting a wall

When things are moving along smoothly, it is easy to think you are progressing and just keep going along. I’ve come to realize that doing what I already know how to do is not growth. That when I’m stuck or something has not worked as it should, that’s when I learn or grow. Understanding this has made it possible for me to take leaps and try things I might not once have tried, recognizing that if I stumble or even fail, there’s value in it.

Don’t just do something. Sit there. Sometimes we act without thinking.

I’m an engineer at heart. Something is broken and I want to fix it. Sometimes, something isn’t broken, and I still want to fix it. Raised in a culture that is biased toward action, I want to take action. Inaction is seen as lazy, not aggressive, etc. And yet studies have shown that when you assemble a small team to perform an ad hoc task, groups jump to the “doing part,” bypassing or short-circuiting the thinking part. I’ve learned that while, yes, it is necessary to get things done, I will be much more likely to succeed if I do not underestimate the part of the process that includes designing the vision or plan. So, I have learned to just be still at times and let my mind wander. And sometimes, amazing ideas or solutions emerge because I’ve allowed them room to sprout.

Look for the good in each day. You’ll find some.

Work is hard. Not every day works. Not every week works. Not every month works. A dear colleague of mine, once said, “Persistence is more important than being smart.” To me, that means not only to keep plugging along, but as I am working through whatever it is, I am enthusiastic. Like the earlier lesson I shared around passion and how it creates energy, looking for something good in the day keeps me motivated and engaged — and is a much better way to live.

When I started out, fresh out of the first class of graduates from MIT’s Leaders for Manufacturing (now Leaders for Global Operations), I joined HP’s procurement organization. What I found there was a pretty downtrodden group — considered to be a backwater where careers languished. R&D was where it was all at. But it turned out that for a market leader in a space with single digit growth annually, the only way to grow was to cut costs — and that came back to procurement. But the big levers were not to be had from squeezing suppliers for more reductions or playing one supplier against the other. The real opportunity came from rethinking how products were designed and architected. This required procurement to step up and operate in profoundly different ways with our partners in R&D. We found a better way to deliver value and increased the strategic nature of the role, enabling game-changing strategies like design for sourcing and new product development procurement processes. We fundamentally changed the way procurement was done and did it by cultivating each member to create a high performing team.

One of my favorite quotes is “There is no value in getting there unless we get there together.” If I could, I would inspire organizations to realize that every employee matter and contributes to the success of the organization. And that every person has something to offer, and it is up to the leadership to find out what that is, nurture it and bring it life. I believe the pandemic has taught many people that they can find something else to do if what they are doing now is unfulfilling or unsatisfying. If we, as business leaders and owners — can change that for our colleagues, there is no limit to what we can do.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.” — Sam Rayburn

From national politics to auto mechanics, we know that taking something apart is much easier than putting something together. Building is hard. But for me, the value, the inspiration, the excitement comes from building something. Whether that something is a new robot or a new organization, taking the kernel of an idea and creating is magical. Generative. Something now is where it once wasn’t.

Too often, I see people tearing things apart with no obvious path forward. Don’t just tell me why something is broken or won’t work. This, like kicking down a barn, is the easy part. Lean in. Offer an alternative. Creative destruction is okay — but only if the destruction is followed by construction. This is at the heart of many of today’s most powerful innovations. This idea has shaped my thinking and career choices, and so I’ve been fortunate to have been part of developing a number of new technologies that have changed how businesses create value.

My grandfather was a carpenter. All of my summers were spent in a small cabin in the woods that he built by hand with my great uncle. There is beauty in creation. Like my grandfather, I am a builder. I just build different things.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimlawton/

https://twitter.com/jim_lawton

https://jimlawton.works/

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future Is Now: Jim Lawton Of Zebra On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Kimberly Young: Giving Feedback; How To Be Honest Without Being Hurtful

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Highlight things they are doing great and give kudos. How is their overall job performance? What did the employee do that was impressive? In my experience, when I start out with great things, they are receptive to receiving. It also helps them realize the meeting isn’t about downing them overall. It’s meant to help them improve. Anything that is notable, give credit.

As a part of our series about “How To Give Honest Feedback without Being Hurtful”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kimberly Young.

Kimberly Young is the founder of Forever Young Management Services, LLC, which empowers career driven women to break free from an unfulfilled life and discover their purpose. Kimberly gained experience providing feedback from her leadership roles within Toastmasters International, an organization dedicated to improving public speaking and leadership skills, over the course of eight years. These same skills proved invaluable as she applied them to Corporate America and found that colleagues were appreciative of her direct yet sincere feedback. While many believe that feedback is typically negative, Kimberly sees this as an opportunity to gain insight into how to improve in any setting and believes this is a strong advantage to oneself. Kimberly has been featured in Be Your Own Magazine and Authority Magazine as well as guest on Entrepreneur Podcast Network, Creating a Brand and Ask D Pros, just to name a few, where she discussed her own personal and professional journey.

<a href="https://medium.com/media/c0e8eb279ae5491f6ca882f1df460480/href">https://medium.com/media/c0e8eb279ae5491f6ca882f1df460480/href</a>

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?

Thank you for having me. I am very excited to be here. For those who don’t know me, my name is Kimberly Young. I was born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida but I grew up in St. Mary, Jamaica. My siblings and I lived between Florida and Jamaica on and off. We officially moved back to Florida when I was 14 years old where I finished high school and also attended college. I am a mom of three girls who are now 19, 14, and 11. Since I am a busy mom, any time I spend with them is very intentional. I love cooking and trying new recipes, although I recently transitioned to being vegan (occasionally toggling between vegan and raw vegan). Attending wine tastings, travelling, exploring new places and cultures are some of my favorite things to do. I am always open to trying new things and looking for an adventure.

Since I am the oldest child on my mother’s side, I was pretty much forced into the leadership spotlight at a young age. I was the leader whether I wanted to be or not. I understood the value of leadership skills, but I tried to avoid it at all costs. My leadership and feedback experience come from numerous roles with Toastmasters which trickled into leading teams in Corporate America. Although, as a business owner, I am a solopreneur, I know exactly how to manage a team from the years of experience gained.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

I can answer that with one simple phrase: individualized attention with accountability. Each person I work with receives a personalized roadmap to achieve their dream as well as an accountability partner which is a large part of bringing their vision into fruition.

In a previous position, I encountered co-workers who were no longer dreaming about bringing their ideas to life. The typical story was that life (work, family priorities, school, health, etc.) was all consuming, in turn, pushing their vision further and further away. I could truly relate to their struggles. I was raising my daughters, working a 9–5, and taking classes full-time to complete my bachelor’s degree while trying to have a social life. By the end of the day, I was exhausted and would fall asleep before my head hit the pillow! I began to wonder; how could I tell someone to focus on chasing their dream when there are other pressing priorities in their life? Or how do I tell someone to go after their dream when I was in the same boat, not going after mine? On one of my 45-minutes commutes home, I put an individualized game plan together and recorded it on my phone. Immediately killing 2 birds with one stone, I decided to use my commute time (or some evenings) to create individualized guides. However, I quickly realized that roadmaps weren’t enough, what else did my co-workers need to get ahead? Accountability. Someone to ask them, “What have you accomplished this week?” and work with them as needed. When I presented my clients (aka my non-paying coworkers) their roadmap on my lunch break, most loved the idea of having a plan plus someone to hold them responsible leaving them with no excuses.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

This is actually an interesting story. My career launched at a boutique law firm where I started as a paralegal but eventually moved to the Compliance Department. Not only was I new to the department, which was made up of my manager and myself, but I had no clue what to expect since Compliance wasn’t, and still isn’t, an area that most people are familiar with. I should also mention that Compliance is not what my bachelor’s degree was in. There were many times I questioned why I was in this new role. “How did I get to be so lucky?”, I always wondered. I asked a million questions trying to get a grasp on the gist of what compliance was and to be honest, I probably drove my new boss (at the time) crazy. I pushed through, figuring that this would be a great skill to have under my belt and if anything, this might be a resume booster.

What I didn’t expect was that this department switch was the catalyst to my Compliance career and the birth of my business. Ironically when I switched departments, I started to converse with more coworkers who weren’t originally in my wheelhouse to chat. Our interactions started out very casually and turned into I can help them define their purpose or uncover their dreams. Unofficially, a few co-workers became “clients” (I was not getting paid by them). However, this is where my company was born, I learned to showcase my gift, and my speaking career began.

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 have a story that was not funny when it happened but looking back, I appreciate the humor in it now. One of my first experiences hosting and speaking was at a church event for my friend’s mother. There was an opportunity to return for future events if they enjoyed my bit. I jumped at the prospect, figuring this was a great addition to what I was already doing. Not to mention, I was a Toastmaster (a phenomenal speaker), and my business could use the publicity. I started the event excited and by the end I was sorely disappointed. I completely bombed! I was a horrible comic, so no one laughed at my jokes. My speaking topic fit but didn’t resonate with everyone so people were bored. Of course, no one approached my goodies table at the end of the event. I left the event feeling crushed. Not surprisingly, I was not invited back to speak or host their events and I realized a few things. 1. As outgoing as I am, I am not a comedian. 2. Always do recon prior to the event. I didn’t gather enough details about the event because I made assumptions. 3. Read the audience’s body language/facial expressions. I didn’t read the room while hosting and presenting which, till this day, I am not sure why I didn’t do that considering that I wasn’t nervous. I believe excitement got the best of me. In that moment, it was a huge ordeal and I thought everything I worked for ended before it truly began.

What advice would you give to other CEOs and business leaders to help their employees to thrive and avoid burnout?

Create a company culture prioritizing your employee’s well-being, especially their mental health. We are currently living in a time where employees are working from their living room or bedroom — nonstop. It is easy to work without ceasing and now more than ever most employees are working longer hours. And this has become the “new norm” due to the pandemic. As a CEO, it is important to share mental health practices and help to create boundaries. Try offering once a week meditation, mental health days off, early departure days, among other practices. Experiencing burnout is real and surely no one wants their employees to feel exhaustion and fatigue.

How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?

This is a great question because many people associate leadership with dictatorship. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Leaders share a vision and guide people toward a goal or outcome. They operate as “we” or within a “team mindset” because they know teams are stronger together than apart. Leaders bring out the best in others by harnessing their strengths (even when people can’t see it). They leave a lasting impact and are typically a model example of how a team interacts.

As a leader, share the problem, request input for a solution and watch the camaraderie and collaboration come to life. If the leader is confident in their team, allow autonomy to make decisions that are within the best interest of the company. Overall, it is a collaborative effort, and the results usually come out better than initially expected.

In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?

I love this question. I am a firm believer that the way you start your day is EVERYTHING. My morning routine consists of meditations, gratitude exercises and an hour workout which helps release stress and tensions for the coming day. I also spend a lot of time preparing (probably too much of my time) for the high stakes meeting — it gives me an extra boost of confidence. Same applies to big decisions; however, when it comes to talks, this is where it gets interesting. The real secret (which probably isn’t a secret after this) is that prior to any talk, I dance. That’s correct, I dance to my favorite songs to shake out any tension or anxiety.

A prime example of this was October this year, I did a press conference for a domestic violence organization. I was more than prepared and knew that I would do great. Although this press conference was virtual for the reporters and the audience, I still felt a little nervous energy considering I haven’t spoken outside of my home since the pandemic started. On my way to the speaker’s location, I put on my favorite songs, car-danced and sang with my microphone (that day it was my water bottle) all the way there. It’s literally like my own personal dance party. I am certain when other drivers saw me car-dancing and singing they probably wondered what I was doing. By the time I arrived, my nervousness dissipated, and I was ready to do what I love. This is a ritual that I used before any speech or contest in Toastmasters, and it still serves me well till this day.

Ok, let’s jump to the core of our interview. Can you briefly tell our readers about your experience with managing a team and giving feedback?

My experience derives from serving in various leadership capacities within Toastmasters International over the course of eight years. As a Toastmaster, one of the first things learned is the importance of feedback and making it valuable for the person receiving it. In other words, feedback shouldn’t be filled with fluff but straightforward and beneficial. When I moved into leadership roles, managing various teams, I found it easier to address and course correct situations since I was used to the same nature from Toastmasters. These skills I learned proved invaluable within many jobs as a team leader/ supervisor and trainer. My approach has always been direct yet considerate and with tact. On numerous occasions I have been praised for the tactics I use; however, I attribute it to harnessing the experiences learned from Toastmasters. As I mentioned earlier, I am a solopreneur; nonetheless, the skills I learned about leadership will help when I am ready to hire a team.

This might seem intuitive, but it will be constructive to spell it out. Can you share with us a few reasons why giving honest and direct feedback is essential to being an effective leader?

Indirect and misleading feedback create false lies and, in some cases, false hope. It leaves room for error or for someone to miss what is necessary to accomplish a task. I have found in most cases when leaders sugarcoat feedback due to fear of rejection or likeability, they are doing a disservice to the person needing the feedback. However, when honest and sincere feedback is done right — communication, collaboration, productivity, and efficiency increase. A level of respect and trust between the individual and leader is also recognized, and the environment is tension free. Not to mention, the job as a leader becomes easier and allows for teamwork at its finest.

One of the trickiest parts of managing a team is giving honest feedback, in a way that doesn’t come across as too harsh. Can you please share with us five suggestions about how to best give constructive criticism to a remote employee? Kindly share a story or example for each.

This is such a good question. This shift to remote employment created a new set of rules, such as everyone is reduced to a small box on screen, keeping your camera on (or off), relying on someone’s internet stability and let’s not forget the endless jokes about proper Zoom attire. Quite honestly, it can be hard to give feedback to a remote employee with these new guidelines in play. While nothing will substitute an in-person meeting, having the employee see your facial expressions and hear your tone is just as good.

1. Choose a good time to chat. Just because an employee is working remotely doesn’t mean there aren’t situations or issues happening in their personal life. One morning I planned to have a conversation with an employee that I didn’t get a chance to complete the day before. I figured I could knock it out first thing in the morning and roll into my day. At the beginning of our meeting, I could visibly tell that something was wrong, so rather than diving into the meeting topics, I asked about her well-being. It turns out there were quite a few things that triggered her prior to signing on for work. She needed time to decompress but didn’t want to be late for our meeting. I asked her to take a break to gather herself and rescheduled our meeting, advising that it was only feedback which can wait. When I met with her later, she was in a much better mental state, receptive to the feedback and appreciated the extra time to process everything. You won’t always know when it’s a good time to chat, but I learned to read facial expressions and always ask, “Is this a good time to provide feedback regarding a project you are on?”

2. Highlight things they are doing great and give kudos. How is their overall job performance? What did the employee do that was impressive? In my experience, when I start out with great things, they are receptive to receiving. It also helps them realize the meeting isn’t about downing them overall. It’s meant to help them improve. Anything that is notable, give credit.

3. Provide direct feedback. One of my first experiences giving feedback, I found myself treading lightly. As expected, my feedback came across as uncertain, vague, and ambiguous with a wishy-washy tone. My insecurities showed up big time and I felt defeated. Later I found out the recipient of the feedback was unclear and struggled to grasp what my overall message was. That is when I learned don’t sugarcoat or dance around what needs to be said. Say it directly but, with tact. How you say something is just as important as what you say. Practice to find a good mix between being direct and diplomatic. Like anything else, it is not easy when you start but it becomes easier over time.

4. Reinforce the excellent work done so far and discuss opportunities for development. Before I finish a conversation, I like to create a plan for improvement and include advancement opportunities as well. It is typically a sandwich process. I start the plan, but I want feedback as to what can be done to rectify and then I end with a potential opportunity to advance. It’s a two-way street and I want the person to feel included in this plan. From experience, the more involved the individual is, the more invested they are willing to fulfill their goals.

5. Request input from their perspective. A part of being a good leader is listening whether it’s good or bad, just listen. Gain their opinion about how the overall conversation went. Are they clear on expectations going forward? Do they have any questions or concerns? What changes would they like to see, or do they want something different to happen? Every time I left an opportunity to voice concerns, it typically resulted in a deeper conversation.

Working remotely wasn’t common until the pandemic therefore, giving direct feedback is crucial now more than ever to get the job done.

Can you address how to give constructive feedback over email? 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. How do you prevent the email from sounding too critical or harsh?

Sending feedback via an email is a bit challenging since it’s harder to detect the sender’s tone. My advice for feedback over email is similar to the advice for remote employees, with a few tweaks. Feel free to start an email with a statement of consideration such as “Hope this message finds you well” or “Hope you enjoyed…” It’s thoughtful and lightens the mood for the individual. Point out things they did great. Provide feedback — sincere and direct. Reinforce the excellent things they completed and request feedback on what they think can be done better. Be clear on next steps and expectations going forward.

A question I like to ask is if the person receiving the email were to read it in your voice, would they detect it as constructive commenting? If not, rewrite it. Chances are that if it sounds abrasive, then it really is. A few things worth mentioning are to avoid sounding condescending or snobby. Never respond to an email when angry or upset, chances are your tone will sound irate and curt. Lastly, using conjunctions softens the feel of the email.

In your experience, is there a best time to give feedback or critique? Should it be immediately after an incident? Should it be at a different time? Should it be at set intervals? Can you explain what you mean?

The best time to give feedback varies based on what the situation was. Was it something that should be addressed right away? Does the leader need time to reflect before sharing criticism? Sometimes providing feedback immediately can lead to a mix of emotions being tossed in the blender and hoping you get a good cocktail. Does the leader need time to acquire all the details before discussing it? Whatever the answer is I recommend approaching with a clear, level head to give the best feedback or critique to the individual. Feedback or a critique should be used to course correct or rectify an issue in hopes they learn from the error and avoid the same mistake. As leaders, a part of our responsibilities includes guiding and harnessing employees’ strengths. The point is, it’s ok to say I need a moment to think about this before jumping and giving feedback that doesn’t help the person on the other end.

How would you define what it is to “be a great boss”? Can you share a story?

My definition of a great boss is someone with a teacher’s heart. The individual is patient, willing to impart their wisdom, direct, yet diplomatic, and respectful. This person is a team player and values their team’s opinion. I had one boss who I thought was remarkable. Conversely, a lot of people didn’t think he was amazing but rather harsh, bitter, and tough.

When I first started working with him, I was certain I would be fired. Like I mentioned, no one liked him, and he had a reputation of not keeping employees. At the time, I needed my job because my family depended on me. As anyone could imagine; I was under a lot of pressure to avoid the chopping block at all costs. During our initial meeting, he shared his expectations and role requirements. In the weeks to follow, I received training, corrections when things weren’t right, and more. Eventually, he served as my mentor and within a year, he would provide advice but left the major decisions in my hands which led to him giving me the reins to lead the department. Ultimately, this gave me the confidence of an owner rather than an employee (even though we were employees) where I would always keep the company’s vision first. I was his longest employee — approximately four and a half years — until I resigned.

People didn’t think that he could have employees and that he would scare me off. Although, I judged a book (in this case, my former boss) based on other people’s reviews rather than reading it myself. My lesson was that I get to experience people and situations first-hand rather than based on what someone else says or experiences. I am beyond grateful for his wisdom, his leadership, and his communication as that is what helped to shape me as an individual. The knowledge he imparted, not only about work but life, was priceless. We still have an excellent relationship even though I am not with the company.

A few years ago, my close friend told me about container homes which are essentially a shipping container that can be used as a tiny home or a home with multiple rooms. The cost to create is inexpensive and it is a sustainable idea. Since I am a firm believer in second chances, this would be a great way to set up a neighborhood for homeless people to thrive again. This neighborhood would offer skill set development or enhancement, decent wages for jobs, and a sense of community. This serves as a green project and would assist certain cities with their homeless population. Obviously, there must be rules but, you get the gist of where I am going with this.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

If anyone knows me, they know that I love quotes, so I live by many. A couple of my favorites are “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, shows the way” by John Maxwell. Or “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” by Benjamin Franklin. Or “Hindsight is 20/20” by someone. I could go on and on with the quotes.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

I would love to hear from and connect with the readers.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimberlyf.young/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlyf-young/

Thank you for these great insights! We really appreciate the time you spent with this.

Thank you so much for having me — this was tons of fun.

Kimberly Young: Giving Feedback; How To Be Honest Without Being Hurtful was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Christie Lindor Of Tessi Consulting: “Here Is How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Define success on your own terms. When I first started my business, I thought success meant having a lot of employees in different offices across the nation.

As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Christie Lindor.

Christie Lindor is the founder of Tessi Consulting and an award-winning Workplace Culture & Inclusion Strategist with over 20 years of management consulting advising clients for firms such Deloitte, EY, and IBM. She has served 100s of global organizations across 31+ industries in 10 different countries. The breadth and depth of her experience range from IT transformation and mergers & acquisitions to change management and organizational development.

I’ve been a consultant my entire career. I knew I wanted to become a management consultant while in college. As a first-generation college student, I had never heard of consulting as a career until I was working at my first corporate internship. My boss at the time asked me to bring some files to some folks in a conference room having a meeting and the room was full of consultants working on a project. I was immediately intrigued and drawn into the group, they didn’t even notice I had been standing there for five minutes. I had no idea what they were doing, but they seemed really passionate, working together, and really polished.

I spent the rest of my summer internship getting to know them, learning about consulting, and by the end, instead of focusing on getting ready to interview for a full-time job as a marketer, I decided I was going to become a consultant. Twenty years later, I have never looked back. Fast forward, my consulting work now is focused on a subject matter that is personally meaningful and while it can be challenging, DEI consulting brings me a lot of joy and purpose.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Every day we are working with our clients to help them create more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces. Everything about what we do is disruptive. We are focused on helping our clients challenge the status quo in a way that aligns with the business strategy while helping all (not some) of their workforce feel seen, heard, and appreciated.

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 started my company by accident! My former employer told me that they didn’t see a market for DEI consulting work (in 2019). I had done extensive research and at the time, DEI was an $8 billion industry so the numbers told me that I was on to something. I had already built up experience in this space for more than a decade, so I decided to take the plunge and go for it.

But when I started, I created a website and business cards that showcased how I offered more than 12 different services across any industry, from diversity work to HR to project management to operations strategy! And while yes, I did have experience in all of these spaces, it was complete insanity to think I was going to be able to successfully offer all of these services, especially as a one-woman company at that time. The lesson here is that in business, you cannot try to be all things to all people. Refine what you do. Find what you offer that is uniquely valuable. What sets you apart? This is much more strategic than offering endless services.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I’ve had some amazing mentors along my journey. One of my mentors (also my former supervisor and now a very successful entrepreneur) gave me the best advice about always fixing things while they are good in your business, whether that is deepening client relationships, building financial capacity, or refining internal processes. It’s more expensive to try and fix things when they are broken. It was brilliant advice and has kept me focused on making sure I leave time to work on the business instead of always being in the business.

Being disruptive in and of itself is neither good nor bad. It just is. I think it really depends on the intent of your disruption that gives your efforts meaning. For example, if you are seeking to disrupt solely for the purpose of making money or building power, disruption may not be deemed positive because your intent, thoughts, and actions ultimately are not from a positive place. Disruptive from an ego driven space will create confusion, arguments, and divisiveness. Depending on how influential a person seeking to disrupt is, this can be a dangerous combination.

However, if a person is being disruptive intentionally from a place of creating positive impact, helping people feel seen or heard, or serving underrepresented communities, I believe that this disruption (while challenging), will be met with longer-term success.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

Own your journey. Know that you are 1,000% accountable for what happens in your business, which means being a no-compromise leader (even when it’s unpopular).
Define success on your own terms. When I first started my business, I thought success meant having a lot of employees in different offices across the nation.
Know the financial story of your business. Even if you have CPAs and bookkeepers, you should know the financial performance of your company at all times to help inform your decision making.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

I hopefully will be ready to release my next book within the next year. The working title is called, “Why great people quit good jobs: 10 ways to create a progressive, high performing, and radically inclusive culture.” Between the pandemic, raising a 2-year-old, managing my family, and running a business, it’s been a challenge!

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

I will speak about “double sworded” challenges faced specifically by Black women disruptors. There is a narrative that Black women are usually strong and bold, oozing with confidence. And this “superwoman” narrative creates unnatural expectations by some and threatens others. In parallel, some individuals see being a Black woman as a major deficit and as a result, others underestimate or doubt our capabilities. Black women disruptors are constantly walking an imaginary tightrope and having to navigate multiple perceptions along the way.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra was a game-changer for me. I really internalized the law of detachment in all areas of my life. While I continued to be ambitious, work hard, and have dreams, being detached on the journey to those outcomes has become a superpower that has served me well throughout my life.

I believe that most major movements start with one person doing something really simple extraordinarily well. I would like to see more people take an active role in helping restore our planet to healthier conditions. Just like there is an “Earth Day” when people turn off lights to observe the holiday, I would like to do a “Tree/Plant Day” where every family around the world takes a moment on one of the last days of each year to either plant a tree, flower, or shrub in an area that needs greenery and spend the next full year taking care of that tree, flower, or shrub. Then repeating the cycle. Imagine what we could collectively do in less than a decade. While I’m sure there are more factors to consider with such a movement and more guidance to be provided in each region to keep an ecosystemic balance, it would be really powerful over time.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My mom was into quotes and affirmations, so I have hundreds of quotes that I reference at different times. The one simple quote that keeps me grounded is “Always be creating.” Our emotional and physiological state is so critical to our well-being and what we can accomplish. I really believe that if we are constantly in a state of creation, lower frequencies such as insecurity, anxiety, and fear cannot coexist.

How can our readers follow you online?

Thank you!!

You can check me out on LinkedIn @christielindor, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @christielindor1
To learn more about my company, go to www.tessiconsulting.com.
To learn more about my passion for consulting, check out my archived podcast at www.mecemuse.com.

Thank you for these excellent insights. We wish you continued success in your great work.

Christie Lindor Of Tessi Consulting: “Here Is 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.

Agile Businesses: Gary Kohn Of Luxury Travel Hackers On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In…

Agile Businesses: Gary Kohn Of Luxury Travel Hackers On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Stay flexible: Always be ready to make a bold and quick move if the timing is right. Don’t feel stuck but don’t by any means feel obligated to do anything that doesn’t feel ideal. Things happen quickly in our world, so you want to be ready to pivot if/when the occasion calls for it.

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 Gary Kohn of Luxury Travel Hackers.

Starting his professional career over 30 years ago in Hollywood as an actor where appeared in over 30 films and TV shows before moving on to become a film and TV producer. Over the years he’s worked with some of the biggest names in the business. He’s consulted and worked for almost every major studio and network in show business, was head of development for various companies and served on the board of Verge Media, a technology company. This is where he became fascinated with how technology and content were beginning to intersect and born out of that was Luxury Travel Hackers. He spent a solid two years developing the idea and model before he decided to take a leave of absence from Hollywood to build LTH.

Shortly thereafter he met Katie Warner, a former Assistant Attorney General to the state of Texas who left law to become a travel photographer and agent. The two of them, with their love of photography and travel joined forces to start LTH.

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?

I spent most of my career in film and TV production and after decades in the business I wanted to pursue something fresh and that captured other core interests. The way I created my work schedule was to spend 6 months out of the year in intense production work and then 3–4 months of the year traveling to remote places. Travel ironically kept me grounded. I loved meeting new people that had nothing to do with show business. Travel has changed my life and I really felt the need to share these experiences with the world in a way that I knew, and that was through storytelling and content. I kept having conversations with my co-founder Katie Warner who was an owner of a boutique luxury travel agency, and the pieces really came together quickly for Luxury Travel Hackers.

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?

Mistakes that cost you money are quite painful at first, but in retrospect you can sometimes laugh and hopefully learn from them. That said, in my former industry I worked intensely for many months on production projects and then everything would stop and you’d get back on the horse again shortly after for another wild ride. Those were intense months but the planning was impeccable and you couldn’t afford many mistakes. WIth this startup (Luxury Travel Hackers), I treated it at first with crazy intensity and kept it going for the first couple years of work and planning. The mistake was going too hard, not stopping to analyze, reflect and really look at where all that money was going. At the moment you are very much “go go go” but with where we are at I just shake my head, laugh and know that sometimes slower is faster.

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 so many people to name and I have had so many advisors and partners who have been crucial along the way. Throughout my life I wasn’t looking at their resume, I was reading their energy, passion and enthusiasm for whatever it was they were doing. That said, with my latest venture I would have to credit Woodrow Zeigangel, who was my earliest advisor and champion for Luxury Travel Hackers. Not only did he teach me to be a CEO, but he always had my best interest in mind and didn’t sugarcoat anything. That brutally authentic and unfiltered experience helped shape who I am now and elevated my ability to be an entrepreneur. I also have to mention my co-founder Katie, who is incredible, knows how to inspire a team and always keeps me in check to protect the company culture, which I appreciate.

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?

While the company will be building in more elements that “give back” at a certain point, Luxury Travel Hackers holds a team that lives with authenticity and passion for their work and industry. I believe each individual has a core purpose in their life, and part of that is shared in their own unique way when blended with the LTH work culture. That said, the initial team members at LTH all bonded over the mission of the company, to deliver an incredible travel experience that is within reach and delivered in the “new school” medium of social media driven shopping and transactions. We live our purpose by serving our customers with the highest standards, latest technology and by offering exciting content that keeps users engaged and inspired.

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?

Of course, so Luxury Travel Hackers is essentially an innovative and exciting new approach to booking travel in 2022 and beyond. The company is a new age travel solution and was designed with the mobile millennial in mind, taking the guesswork out of selecting ideal destinations and arranging travel. We spend countless months compiling influencer sourced travel photos and video, and develop recommended vacations via robust social media and story-driven content. Each trip is curated based on the interests and budget of each unique traveler. We are also the only travel tech company to produce travel content with influencers and make vacations bookable via social media.

With all the travel booking sites out there, they ultimately leave all the research and booking work to the user which can be overwhelming, expensive and very time consuming. We’re talking hours, days or weeks to finally make up your mind, book through potentially multiple sites and still forget some critical details. We wanted to create a white glove experience, narrow down the options for travel to those curated by top influencers and make it within reach of your everyday travel enthusiast. We handle everything, and many could consider this a new school travel agency approach with an influencer and travel content approach.

Which technological innovation has encroached or disrupted your industry? Can you explain why this has been disruptive?

There is really nothing like this on the internet. Luxury Travel Hackers is at your fingertips and let’s travelers scroll through content on Facebook or Instagram, and with one click book that trip with minimal effort. That said, what got us here initially was the downfall of brick and mortar travel agencies, the rise of the internet, travel booking websites (Hotels.com, Expedia etc) and ultimately top social media players like Instagram. With preferences constantly changing and more and more websites and apps eating up our precious time, booking travel has become more of a chore than perhaps a pleasurable experience. The travel booking industry is in need of an easier way to browse, select and book their dream vacation for the year. What was also missing was suggested travel destinations, and we are disrupting the industry by bringing a sense of simplicity back to a world that is carrying information overload.

What did you do to pivot as a result of this disruption?

We created Luxury Travel Hackers as a direct response to the increased complexity of booking travel on the internet. We are trying to take the busy work and difficulties in deciding on travel into our hands and handling everything in-house for our traveling customer base.

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.

Katie Warner and I were speaking one day and talking about her former career as a boutique luxury travel agency owner. At some point in the conversation, the passion for her former business reignited when we realized that partnering on these fresh business ideas could take that model to a new and exciting level. This led to repeated conversations and strategy sessions on how to build it out, and instead of becoming a fizzled idea like most in the world, this became a real business that is growing quickly. I believe this was proof that the company was meant to be and we were simply trying to build out a technology that we would use ourselves.

So, how are things going with this new direction?

It’s going great, we have been able to pivot and adjust quickly to changes in the industry and world overall. We are sort of the “new direction” in travel anyway, so hopefully we can set the standard for future travel booking in 2022 and beyond. I would say if your business is leading the change, it’s also good to be open minded and always be on the lookout for clues on where things are heading.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during a disruptive period?

It’s very difficult to do this with everything, but a great leader during a disruptive period should always be open to new ways of thinking and doing things. Listen to young people, the high school and college kids who embrace the latest technology and keep their eyes on things that perhaps people in their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and beyond might not see until it’s too late and you missed the party. Often rapid change comes when people want an easier and quicker way to do something, so if your industry feels that there are certain “dated” elements to do, there is absolutely a disruptive period in flow whether you know it or not. Depending on the industry, the leader should keep that open mind, read up daily on the latest trends and always listen to the younger team members at the company. It’s really about integrating all the best ideas across the board, and not acting like a “boss” and only doing what you know.

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?

Keeping an open dialogue going often allows those fears and frustrations to be expressed and ultimately calmed. People may fear their current industry is dying, changing too quickly or even too new for where they are at. The truth is that most things don’t last forever and even if you feel comfortable where you are at, there should always be a sense of urgency to evolve, learn and stay on top of trends. Low morale typically happens when teams feel fearful of uncertainty, so keeping that conversation going to keep things based in reality and being okay with that tends to be helpful. If the team is encouraged to share their thoughts and be empowered to rise to the best potential, then they will feel safer in the face of uncertainty and changing industry dynamics.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

I would say mindfulness is key, if one can’t keep in touch with their own emotions then navigating turbulent times may not fare well for both leadership and their team. It’s really about practicing what you preach, and if leadership is well grounded and mindful about emotions during both ups and down, then that will translate and trickle down into the work ethic and mindset of the team as a whole. Everything else is subjective, so for the most part how someone handles a hard time or a point of amazing success is really a personal thing. The best we can do is handle our own thought process and set a great example for the others around us.

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?

I would say the biggest mistake is that they see disruptive technology as a threat instead of an opportunity. This plays true for those who may be stuck in their industry or company and are not sure what to do next. For those who get too excited about a new technology, they may jump the gun and spend too much money investing in something that actually wasn’t ready or meant to evolve the way they thought.

Stay flexible: Always be ready to make a bold and quick move if the timing is right. Don’t feel stuck but don’t by any means feel obligated to do anything that doesn’t feel ideal. Things happen quickly in our world, so you want to be ready to pivot if/when the occasion calls for it.

Be a leader, not a boss: There’s a huge difference here, and when faced with disruption you want to keep your mind and ears open 110%. Holding down the rules and doing things your way won’t work when your entire industry can be flipped upside down in days, weeks or months.

Be ready to make a move: Don’t get stuck in the hamster wheel of operational standards and procedures. Sure your product may be on fire and you feel comfortable running the company a certain way, none of that matters if you miss an opportunity of a lifetime to evolve and lead the new pack in your industry.

Take time to rest or vacation: If you work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week you won’t have much time to sit on the mountain and think of what your next move or idea will be. That downtime is where you re energize, reflect and think of ideas you would never conjure up while on the clock.

Surround yourself with other entrepreneurs: If you don’t have other friends who are business owners in other industries then you may be missing out on massive growth potential. Don’t live in an echo chamber of peers in your own industry, doing the same thing you are.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“A mistake is always an opportunity for growth”. I figure if you are making mistakes and perhaps have some regrets, then you have learned something valuable and have grown from it.

How can our readers further follow your work?

Luxury Travel Hackers is on all social media platforms including Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/luxurytravelhackers/ — https://luxurytravelhackers.com/

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Agile Businesses: Gary Kohn Of Luxury Travel Hackers On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Making Something From Nothing: Paige Arnof-Fenn Of Mavens & Moguls On How To Go From Idea To Launch

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Start with Market Research as noted before to confirm a market exists. To turn your vision into reality does not mean you are fearless it just means you have the courage to follow your vision and convictions to achieve your goals and dreams. Like most entrepreneurs I started off very bold by launching my new business amidst uncertainty and blind faith that I was onto something new and exciting seeing opportunity where others did not. It takes guts, persistence, determination and strength to get up every day, lead the charge and motivate others to join.

As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Paige Arnof-Fenn.

Paige is the founder & CEO of global marketing and digital branding firm Mavens & Moguls based in Cambridge, MA. Her clients include Microsoft, Virgin, venture-backed startups as well as non profit organizations. She graduated from Stanford University and Harvard Business School. She serves on several Boards, is a popular speaker and columnist who has written for Entrepreneur and Forbes.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

I am a child of the 60s and 70s who grew up in the Deep South. All 4 of my grandparents were Southerners too, we all lived within a few hours drive when I was a child. I am the oldest of 3 and was always a good student and athlete growing up, responsible and hard working. My father and both grandfathers were in business so I always thought I would go that route too. From a young age I loved sports, movies, TV and travel. I went to a girls sports camp every summer for 2 months from age 9–16. I was an exchange student in France in high school and Italy in college. My family moved when I was in middle school and I am still friends with most of the people I grew up with from school and camp. As an adult I have lived and worked in NYC, LA, Bay Area, Atlanta, DC, Cincinnati, etc. but have been in Boston for the past 20+ years. I love being an entrepreneur.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favorite quote is “people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.” It has been attributed to many people including Teddy Roosevelt. I like it and find it inspiring because it is a simple reminder to listen more than talk, show empathy and try to look at the situation from another perspective. The goal is not to wear them down or impress them with your smarts. The goal is to connect, communicate clearly, solve the problem and move on.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

I love books by and about strong women. Two of my favorites are:

Notorious RBG — Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a national treasure, every woman in this country owes her a huge thank you.

Atlas Shrugged — by Ayn Rand

I could not put it down it inspired me and fueled my interest in business in college.

Cinema Paradiso is an amazing film about life, love, loss, Italy I can never watch it enough. It stays with you forever.

Everything starts with Market Research. It does not matter what you/your friends/family like it is all about your target audience and what motivates them to purchase. When real customers are willing to pay real money for your product/service, you have a real business. Start with the fundamentals: Who are you and why should anyone care? There’s a lot of noise in every category, so if you don’t have a unique story to tell/new approach/idea that excites you, then go no further. Every great business is built on a great story so start telling yours to potential customers and see if they buy what you’re selling. Once your story resonates conduct market research with real customers, not with family/friends (who may only tell you what they think you want to hear so they don’t hurt your feelings). Market research will take risk out of the decision if you let the data drive you instead of emotions.

Start with Google and the USPTO, if they are clear then it is time to conduct research with your target to see what kind of feedback you get. Is there confusion? Interest? How are they addressing the need now?

Find people you trust who have experience so you do not waste time or money making rookie mistakes. Are you manufacturing here or abroad? Many businesses begin selling online only before approaching retailers. Do not try to recreate the wheel in your category, build a network that can share best practices for best results. There is not one path to success.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

Start with Market Research as noted before to confirm a market exists. To turn your vision into reality does not mean you are fearless it just means you have the courage to follow your vision and convictions to achieve your goals and dreams. Like most entrepreneurs I started off very bold by launching my new business amidst uncertainty and blind faith that I was onto something new and exciting seeing opportunity where others did not. It takes guts, persistence, determination and strength to get up every day, lead the charge and motivate others to join.

Create evangelists for your idea, and make sure they know how, where and why to buy from you. If you’ve already built a fan base for your new business, you’re one step closer to your grand opening. This set of people who support your idea will help you find your early customers. With that said, understand that it’s critical to know your target audience, understand what matters to them, do your market research and refine your message to stay relevant to their needs. Listen to the feedback they give you, even if it’s not what you want to hear. Listening isn’t just a skill; it’s an attitude. It’s about building rapport, trust and ultimately a relationship. What are you offering and how does that stack up to the competition? Start creating a sense of urgency to build demand for your products/services. What can you do to be the “have to have” instead of the “nice to have” in the category you’re entering? Help your potential customers make the decision to buy both rationally and emotionally by understanding which features and benefits accelerate the sales cycle and why. And don’t forget: You need a name customers can remember and a website they can find.

If the days (and nights) fly by and you have more ideas than time to address them all, you’re moving in the right direction. If you can’t shut off the stream of ideas you’ve got to make your business a success, it’s probably time to start acting on them. But make sure you prioritize and focus on the crucial ideas so you don’t get distracted along the way. When starting a company, less is truly more. Do a few important things really well and be known for flawless execution. Own that space in your customers’ minds so they’ll always think of you first. Once you’ve earned their trust and respect in one place, you can parlay it into other areas later. Oprah didn’t start off with a book club; that came after she built credibility with her core audience. Amazon began with books then expanded into toys, music and everything else after scoring with booklovers. Your reputation is the best asset you have, so build on your strengths as you go. Failure was never a consideration for me despite the fact that most new businesses fail. My business successfully leveraged my relationships and prior experiences so it really felt like the culmination of years of training for this opportunity. There’s no substitute for doing your homework so you can be ready and aware when serendipity strikes. The important thing is to keep moving forward and learn from every experience. You can’t wait for the perfect time to launch; you just have to course correct as you get more feedback along the way. Being an entrepreneur means making decisions without perfect information.

If you’ve made it this far, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. If you aren’t scared off yet, you may be onto something. How do you get those early customers you can later reference? Ask for the order! People value things they pay for so always charge a fee. Remember that your enthusiasm and curiosity will inspire others. Never give up on what you believe in: An entrepreneur is one who doesn’t give up on a dream.

Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?

Do your homework, understand the category, competition, conduct thorough due diligence so you go into it with your eyes wide open. Kick the tires and look under the hood.

There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?

Talk to people you trust for referrals and advice. There is not one right answer here. You may need a business partner, coach, advisor, lawyer, consultant it really depends on your concept/category/competition.

What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?

I ran marketing at 3 VC-baked startups that all had positive exits but self-funded my company when I started. Bootstrapping a consulting business is possible because all you need is a website, logo, name, e-mail, business cards, online stationery for proposals and invoices, cell phone and a good idea to get going. If you want to incorporate that will add some expense but all of these activities can be done on the cheap until you sign up some clients and choose to invest more. For more capital intensive businesses the rule is smart money is better than dumb money which is better than no money. Do as much as you can without raising any outside money to get the best terms. Only you can decide what is right for your business. There are tradeoffs to friends and family and VC funding. For me the choice was clear.

Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Since starting my business I have joined boards and volunteered at several organizations. I am a mentor to the next generation of leaders and have helped build a very successful anti-bullying program that >150,000 middle school aged kids have gone through. As a marketing consultant I am able to write articles, contribute to books and speak at events to share my experience and lessons learned. Volunteering is a great way to give back and get to know like-minded people who care about causes you believe in. Whether you bake treats for neighbors, give time to a local nonprofit or join a committee of a charity you will meet others who share your values and passion. They get to know you on a personal level even virtually so it is a very natural way to connect through the joint mission. I am on the boards of several nonprofits and gotten to know people who have become friends. Volunteering is the ultimate way to do well by doing good. In my experience the more you give the more you get.

I would love to spark a movement or create change through a new (domestic) Peace Corps (2022 version) and suggest we are all in it no application required. We have so many opportunities now across every state. With the new infrastructure bill passing we need our roads and bridges fixed, clean water in our communities, tutors, day care, senior care, teachers, healthcare workers, there is no need to pay people to stay home or send them abroad to build infrastructure overseas we need it here right now across all 50 states! We also need peace to prevail and I think if we work together side by side to fix these problems in our communities we will all be on the same team.

I’d choose Michelle Obama I think her perspective and experience will be critical to our future success and she will be part of the solution to many of our problems now. She is smart, kind, and makes things happen. Michelle can be the catalyst that lights the spark on our new path.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Thanks so much it’s been my pleasure!

Making Something From Nothing: Paige Arnof-Fenn Of Mavens & Moguls On How To Go From Idea To Launch was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future Is Now: Maxwell Mickey On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech…

The Future Is Now: Maxwell Mickey On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Be ready to adjust your plans. Life will throw you some hurdles, so use them to learn and grow.

As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Maxwell Mickey.

Maxwell strives to be a leader and relationship builder. He has a unique background in finance and sales and uses an analytical and consultative approach to challenge customers so he can find the correct solution. He has worked through the entire new business funnel from prospecting to creating go to market strategies along with Sales and Revenue plans for multiple firms. He also has a deep background in SaaS and has led partnerships with small and large organizations alike!

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 path to transit tech is similar to many in the industry… unplanned! I started my career as a licensed stockbroker and later worked in corporate finance. However, I no longer wanted to stare at Excel for 12 hours a day so I moved into the “startup world” before moving into government technology and never looked back. I have worked for a few organizations, and in the past decade have watched this space completely transform.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I’ve had the good fortune to be a part of a few special organizations in their early stages. The most interesting part of my career was watching ideas turn into solutions, and see those solutions tangibly help an organization. I believe it is similar to “modern farming” — seeing this small seed you planted grow and eventually turn into a large meal.

Can you tell us about the cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?

We at Mode shift are focused on bringing scalable transit tech and contactless payments to every government agency. After being in this space for many years, I have usually seen organizations focus on just the “mega cities.” While those projects are fun, it leaves most of the country, or rather those with “minor cities and towns”, with outdated technology. We are flipping that script by being able to partner with operations that range from one to thousands of vehicles!

How do you think this might change the world?

This is a great question! I believe listening will change the world. Too often, we are ingrained in our own way of thinking that is built from our fairly limited perspectives. Instead, we need to try to understand another person’s paradigms. If we truly listen, then we can learn. And when we learn, we can make real changes in the world.

Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

The biggest drawback I see are “screens”. I work and breathe in technology, but we need to learn how to balance that technology or it will negatively affect our lives. We need to rely on technology as a tool as a way to make our lives easier, but not lean on it as a crutch to get through life. Let’s use it, but also pick our heads up and engage with the world!

Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story

Like many, I believe COVID created atipping point. A few months into the pandemic, my wife and I both removed social media and I deleted many apps from my phone (games, social media, etc). I just felt we were getting lost in our phones. It wasn’t a specific moment, but rather a realization of how much of our time and lives we spend looking at our phones.

What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?

The technology we are focused on at Modeshift centers around true mobility as a service platform. Our platform is account-based, which allows many types of contactless payments including mobile ticketing, smart cards, and bank cards. When you open up a system to include a true MaaS system, the rider can then choose which technology works best for them. Providing options is what will lead to widespread adoption, which is why some of our public partners see more than96% of their transactions coming through our system.

I don’t believe there is such a thing as a “self-made” person. Everyone needs help in their lives. Throughout my life, my father is someone who I have leaned on. As I have transitioned from one career to another, learning new skills, facing obstacles, and succeeding and failing, my father has always been there for me. Secondly, my wife Elise. We are high school sweethearts and I have grown into the person I am today because of her. We have traversed life together since I was 15 years old, through ups and downs, hectic and calm, and my life would be a fraction of itself without her in it.I will keep the stories close to my chest, but I am more grateful to both of them than they may ever know.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

I will keep these simple!

Be ready to adjust your plans. Life will throw you some hurdles, so use them to learn and grow.
Listen! One of my favorite quotes is from Stephen Covey: “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”
Everything happens for a reason. I try to think about this mantra when something difficult comes along as I am a huge proponent of it. It isn’t always easy to keep this in mind during a difficult moment, and that is okay, but some of the most “negative” or “difficult” things that have occurred in my life have led to wonderful ones later on, especially in my career. It just takes time to sprout.
You can always make a change. We all at times fall into a fallacy of sunk costs. I have spent “x” number of years at a company or in a career so I can’t make a change. Or I have lived in this city my whole life so I can’t live elsewhere. At the end of the day we need to ask ourselves, and be honest when we answer — are we happy? And if not, we need to make a change to course-correct even if it won’t be an easy choice or others will not understand that choice.
Balance. This one may be rooted somewhere back in the depths of my financial mind. In a financial portfolio, we are all told to diversify, which is another word for balance. We need to take this same idea and apply it to our lives. We will all have a different balance but mine centers around my family and friends, being physically active (running, hiking, sports, lifting, etc), and challenging myself at work. We all need to make sure we keep a balance that at the end of the day makes us happy.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

This one is a bit of a heavy hitter, but my favorite life lesson quote is actually from a Marvel show called “WandaVision”. In the show, they are experiencing loss and grief. One of the characters , Vision, says, “ What is grief, if not love persevering?” This is one of the most beautiful interpretations of grief I have ever heard. We all experience grief and loss at some point in our lives, and as a society we keep a hushed tone around it where we don’t like to discuss it. But death and loss are part of the balance of life. The first law of thermodynamics teaches us that energy can not be created nor destroyed, just altered in form. So those we love can never actually leave us. The full cycle of life is something we should all think about and be grateful for 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 🙂

At the end of the day, if the goal of a person or organization is not to solve a problem, it has no value. You have to solve a problem, and this mantra has to ring throughout all aspects of an organization in sales, client success, development, and leadership. If you are solving a problem, you will be successful, and at Modeshift, we are doing just that. Most of the country does not have adequate transit technology because none of the options are designed to scale up or down. At Modeshift, we can partner with a small rural community in Montana or a metropolis in Pennsylvania and everywhere in between.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

I have gone off the social media grid for the most part, except for LinkedIn, and haven’t looked back! My suggestion? Pick up the phone and call a colleague, friend, or family member if you want to know what is happening in their lives! I also can be reached via my email [email protected].

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future Is Now: Maxwell Mickey On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Tony Drockton Of Hammitt: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent…

Tony Drockton Of Hammitt: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Good people are the foundation of a great business. Every partner and individual person who has been a part of the Hammitt story, from Dillard’s and Von Maur to the Four Seasons and our first hometown fans, is a pillar of strength for us.

As a part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Tony Drockton.

After earning his MBA, Tony, an entrepreneur at heart, spent over a decade building successful businesses in construction, real estate, and home finance sectors before deciding to indulge his creative passions by taking the reins of Hammitt in 2008. Tony’s vision and leadership has seen Hammitt’s transformation from a best-kept hometown secret to a digital and retail phenomenon.

I grew up far from LA’s fashion scene — I was actually born and raised in Ohio. My upbringing there included a lot of time with family, and a lot of time working the counter at my dad’s grocery store. He was my hero in so many personal ways, but he also taught me an invaluable business philosophy: When you build rich relationships, go above and beyond, and keep your word, customers become more like family.

I eventually attended college and earned my MBA. After a number of successful ventures in the construction and home finance markets, I was looking for a new opportunity that centered around expression and tapped into my love for art and culture. I took the reins at Hammitt in 2008, seeing it as a brand that could build a legacy and help enrich interpersonal connections. It’s been a wild ride, but we’re positioned at the best place we’ve ever been, thanks to an incredible team.

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?

I try not to label things as ‘mistakes,’ because we’ve definitely learned and grown from every decision along the way. That said, our early team definitely did some outlandish things to stand out at trade shows — and it worked! Embracing humor isn’t an accident for our team — it’s a way of life and a philosophy that draws people to our brand. From the beginning, we’ve worn bright suits and thrown fantastic parties. It’s not traditional — but it’s joyful, and that’s exactly what people want from a fashion brand.

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 our journey, we’ve definitely found ourselves getting scrappy. Fashion is an expensive and challenging business, so you have to be willing to pivot and make sacrifices to succeed.

I actually sold my house and slept on friends’ couches to get Hammitt through the 2008 recession. (Amazingly, I’m back in that home today.) The takeaway is that great people will help you and your business get through the hard times — it’s important to find that circle and always respond to those who help you with gratitude. Loyalty to your early business partners and thoughtfulness towards your earliest supporters is not only appreciated — it’s the right thing to do.

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?

Our purpose has always been to build connections, whether that’s between partners, friends, family members, communities, or generations. We cover every piece with a Lifetime Promise, so our bags can be passed down as heirlooms. I can’t think of a better, more intentional connection builder than a piece that can be shared across generations. We’re all about helping our fans build a legacy they’re proud of.

My team calls me the “Chief Cheerleader.” I see my main role as a motivator and a support system, through all of our peaks and valleys. COVID-19 was definitely a huge challenge for our industry, but I’m proud to say we kept our entire team intact throughout the process. It was a commitment that meant a lot to me. It wasn’t easy to follow through, but together, we came out of the pandemic as a more united team, a more productive team, and a more successful business.

Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?

There have been ample challenges and forks in the road. Ultimately, we have persevered with the idea that Hammitt can become a brand that is cherished long beyond even our lifetimes. When times get tough, I remind our team that we have hundreds of thousands of Lifetime Promises to keep!

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

I try to keep things positive, and I let our team know that my door is always open. Communication from the top down is common, but oftentimes, that isn’t a two-way street. I love to get down in the weeds with my team, to understand their needs, and help identify solutions or provide encouragement. Once a week, we have a call so that everyone can share their wins, their big projects, and their upcoming goals. I try to walk a careful line between giving our team members space to work and ensuring they feel supported.

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?

Again, I always remind my team that I’m present. Closed doors and separation are very unproductive. On a lighter note, I also encourage my team to continue having fun. Any moments of levity, whether it’s a Zoom birthday party, a Slack pet costume contest, or a company barbecue, are incredibly important for bonding. When you’re invested in the people you work with, you strive for more. You want to go above and beyond.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

Our team call every Monday morning is company-wide. Every single person is invited! Amazingly, even as our team has grown, we’ve kept it to thirty minutes — all while giving everyone a chance to speak individually. It’s generally very positive, but we also use this as an opportunity to communicate transparently about issues that impact our strategies or processes. We see a great benefit in kicking off the week on a united front.

How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?

It’s important to plan thoroughly, especially when you have stakeholders involved. Our leadership always strives to strike a balance between realism and ambition. We love to aim high, but we’re always prepared to pivot. It’s a natural part of the journey. Change happens — just don’t compromise your core values along the way.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

We ask our team members to be volunteers, in that we want them independently inspired to show up and tackle challenges. I encourage everyone to have a “get to” rather than a “have to” mentality. Stepping up to the plate with energy and gratitude really yields the best results — and it helps you weather difficult times.

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?

We see that many brands in our space are overly promotional, which leads to a real lack of trust with clients or customers. In a similar vein, we see many decisions made that aren’t implemented with intention or respect for company values. It causes a real murkiness as to a brand’s true identity. I also hear from a lot of fellow founders that they are hesitant to innovate or take technological risks. New software and processes have propelled us forward in ways I could only have imagined. A lot of times, the time and money you invest in the implementation phase are ultimately well worthwhile.

We pride ourselves on a balanced business model. Our direct-to-consumer business is scaling, but we haven’t abandoned our wholesale program. It’s allowed us to establish very healthy margins.

As I mentioned, technology is also a game-changer for us. Whether it’s payment installments, SMS drops, or the chance to Try Before You Buy, innovation keeps things fresh and delightful, rather than dated or frustrating. Technology makes our products more fun and accessible for our customers, and it keeps them coming back for more.

Good people are the foundation of a great business. Every partner and individual person who has been a part of the Hammitt story, from Dillard’s and Von Maur to the Four Seasons and our first hometown fans, is a pillar of strength for us.

We believe in maintaining and encouraging a “volunteer” mentality. When every employee is excited to come to work, magic happens. Both customers and business partners really feel the difference.

It’s vital to thoughtfully select brand values, communicate them with your team and community, and refuse to compromise them. For example, we stand by our Lifetime Promise, and we have a full-price model on our iconic classic styles. Both of these commitments have built trust that has helped to sustain our business.

Although we certainly appreciate and celebrate the fans that have gone above and beyond in supporting our brand, I believe in treating every customer and partner like a VIP. It’s why we named our classic style just that: Every woman deserves a bag that makes her feel special, valued, and important. Because she is.

Finally, a good leader shouldn’t be afraid to look far down the road and think BIG. Don’t shy away from the ambition of starting a brand or business that leaves a legacy. I want Hammitt to be an iconic American brand. That takes time, integrity, and intention. I believe it will be worth it, for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren to carry the brand their predecessors imagined.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“To laugh often and much: To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better…This is to have succeeded.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson really knocked it out of the park on that one. I believe, especially as a leader, that it’s so important to lead with authenticity and joy. That is what builds relationships and earns respect. It isn’t easy to keep these values, but people remember those who genuinely act with compassion and exude a zest for life.

How can our readers further follow your work?

You can sign up for updates on new drops and special events at hammitt.com, and check us out on social @hammittla.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Thank you — and same to you!

Tony Drockton Of Hammitt: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Rick Ornelas Of I Spark Change: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During…

Rick Ornelas Of I Spark Change: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Maintain your Vision: You are the leader for a reason. You have a business, serve others in some capacity, and believe your business can be successful with your heart and soul. This all speaks to your vision of growth and future. You can do everything possible to convey this vision to others but always understand that they will never see it exactly the same way you do. It’s your baby, and you are responsible for its well-being at all costs.

As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Rick Ornelas.

Rick Ornelas is a bestselling author, business strategist, professional coach, and founder of I Spark Change. He teaches entrepreneurs the modern leadership skills and strategies to expand their social impact and spread positive change around the world.

He’s trained over ten-thousand hours in organizational strategy, communication, interpersonal relationships, leadership, and human behavior. His proven techniques help others level up in all areas while expanding social impact globally.

His best-selling book 12 Hours of Heaven; Lessons for a Better World and I Spark Change movement have inspired and connected people from all over the world.

Rick has been featured as an expert in multiple media outlets, including national/international television and radio. He’s a regular writer for Lifehack, a guest contributor for various websites, and has inspired listeners across the globe as a guest on over 50 podcasts!

His next book, 12 Hours of Heaven; Time on Earth, is in the works.

Growing up in a middle-class family as the youngest of five and only boy is where it all started for me. It was here that I learned the valuable lessons that would carry me through life, the value of faith, family, and love. During my formative years, I did my best to embody those values in my endeavors and always sought to help others. I spent my early career in the leadership of healthcare. Initially with large Fortune 500 companies in marketing, training, and corporate development. Later, with smaller companies focusing on growth and improvement. Before last year, I was a business coach in the medical sector, working with doctors of all types to develop their practices.

For the past few years, I continued to realize what had been missing from my life was working for a higher purpose and having a more significant social impact. In April of 2020, I decided to finally write the book that had been in my head for almost twenty years, 12 Hours of Heaven; Lessons for a Better World. I’m thrilled I did because it helped solidify many of the lessons I’ve learned in life, such as living with happiness and joy.

I realized I could have a much more significant impact reaching far beyond my immediate surroundings by creating I Spark Change in my writing journey.

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 shareable tale that comes to mind is when I was very young and filling in as a handyman for an apartment building my mom managed near Hollywood. One of her tenants was a famous young actress who I was anxious to meet. Then, one day, my mom asked me to install a new shower head in one of the apartments upstairs. Much to my surprise, it was the apartment of the young actress. I was so nervous that I didn’t exactly complete the work correctly. My mom ended up calling a real plumber after the shower head fell on the girl when she turned the water on to take a shower after I left. That was the last repair job of my career.

I learned two valuable lessons from the experience. First, take the time to study a craft before assuming you can do it. Throughout my career, I’ve worked in many areas. Second, I always take the time to get comfortable before I dive into something new.

Second, get help from an expert when needed. This is easier than ever today as the resources to find help are endless.

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?

Many individuals have helped me throughout the years, but none more than my business partner, Arjay. He is a pillar of support in all that I do. When I started my business, he joined me to clarify the vision and build a solid foundation for clients. Over the years, he has been the best sounding board I could have ever asked for. He helps bring clarity to my creative ideas by making them more tangible.

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 Spark Change began out of necessity. In mid-2020, when the world was in crisis, I was suffering myself. I had just been laid off and was anxious and hopeless, not knowing what the future held. So I decided to stop being a volunteer victim and looked for ways to help others far less fortunate than I was. This led me to write a blog article about using the pandemic as an opportunity to be grateful for all that I had and focus on ways to impact others positively.

My first idea was to start writing a book that had been swirling around in my head for nearly twenty years. I decided that the time to act was now, so I began writing what would soon become 12 Hours of Heaven: Lessons for a Better World. I started my writing journey in April 2020, intending to give others hope and inspiration in a time of need.

I started writing very methodically, committing to 500–1000 words per day, and figured I would finish the book in about six months. After a couple of months, all of this changed when someone higher up had bigger plans for me. As I wrote, I went through a period of intense spiritual connection where I had dreams and visions of what the future could become if I did far more than only write a book. It was then that I felt called to create a community to connect and empower those who want to make the world a better place but don’t know where to turn or how to get there. This calling was the birth of the I Spark Change movement. So this was when I decided to devote my life to spreading positive Change and elevating social impact.

At first, it was just an idea that I couldn’t get out of my head. This idea quickly took over my life for the next couple of months. My writing flourished as I started to write over 2000 words in a couple of hours. This compounded the completion of 12 Hours of Heaven in under three months. I was so focused on the writing process that I didn’t share the transformation inside my head, heart, and soul with anyone. Maybe It felt too private and special to dilute by telling others, or I was afraid of what they would think. Either way, I held it all in until I completed writing the book. Once I finished the writing portion of the journey, I felt this incredible urge to share my experience with anyone I could. I recorded a short video of me telling this story and posted it on Facebook for the world to see. Others viewed it thousands of times, and the support was highly positive. This support gave me the courage to go from idea to reality and officially launch I Spark Change as a business and movement. We now highlight the good deeds done in the world and encourage others to do the same.

Our purpose is to empower and connect humanity to spread positive Change and elevate social impact. Our vision is to connect and impact 1 Billion people worldwide in the next five years.

Early in our business life, I felt we needed to hire a marketing company to grow our business but didn’t have the revenue to support the decision. My team was worried about my decision and felt we could get into unneeded debt. In our meeting to discuss it, I confidently said, “We will make it work.” And then generated the needed revenue to cover the investment.

Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?

No, because I decided that this would be my purpose in life until I die. I made that commitment to myself and God, so there was no going back on it no matter what.

Early on, I received less than positive feedback from some individuals close to me to weren’t very supportive of my new venture. At first, this was a blow to the heart. I instantly became saddened that those I loved could not see my vision or didn’t care. It got me down for a short time until I received a boost from my friend and mentor, Danny. I shared what had happened with him, and he gave me some great advice. He first asked me if I was doing what I felt I was called to do. I responded with an enthusiastic yes! He then said that If I was doing the work I was called to do and living with purpose, then any negative response of others didn’t matter. He explained that it didn’t matter because I wasn’t doing everything for the individuals who didn’t care. I was doing it for all the people I would positively impact and the lives I would change for the better. He finished by saying that even if I worked for years and years and only positively impacted one life, it would all be worth it in the end.

His wisdom and guidance gave me a new resolve to continue on and not worry about the opinions of others. This lesson continues to fuel me regularly. Trust me. We have had many challenges in the past year and a half, getting things rolling. Whether having to rebuild our website, start a new social media profile from scratch, or train a new intern, we continue to move forward a little at a time. It is never really easy, and we know that we have a long way to go, but we take it one day and a time. And when I get down because things haven’t gone as planned, I pause and remember Danny’s great advice.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

The trick is to consistently exemplify the most important trait of a leader in any situation, confidence. Earlier I shared the story of engaging a marketing company despite a lack of resources at the time. I could have led my team in alternative ways to reduce our expenses or take a smaller approach. What I decided is not as important as how I decided. The common theme is making a quick decision and sticking with it until the end.

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?

It’s been my experience that showing them the value of their work concerning goals and the mission goes a long way. The old way of top-down militaristic style leadership is dead. It is far more effective in today’s environment to figure out your team’s goals and show how they relate to what you are working on in the business. This lets your team know that you value them, not just their work.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

Quickly and honestly, period. Waffling leaves doubt in people’s minds, and they want answers. A few years back, I was a partner in some healthcare laboratories. We were in the process of acquiring a new lab, and the staff all feared their jobs. The first thing I did was meet with every team member one on one to explain how we would help them improve and grow. They appreciated the transparency and cooperated for success.

How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?

The real question is, how can they not?

It’s the leader’s job to have a vision for the business and communicate this to the team effectively. When you are working on growing a business, the future will always be unpredictable to some degree. I’d even say that the more growth you are after, the more unpredictability there will be. The trick is always to be looking multiple steps into the future, so you are never caught with your pants down. It is not a perfect science, but it is better than constantly being in a state of unpreparedness.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

Stay true to your purpose and mission, always. You know which way you have to go by always following its direction. Your purpose is your north star and guiding light to gauge any of your decisions. When contemplating whether to take on a partnership for ISC, I ask myself a few questions. 1) Is this in alignment with our purpose? 2) Does this decision move us along in our mission? 3) Will making this decision help or hurt us accomplish our goals.

If the answer to any of these questions is no, it is not the direction to take.

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?

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges.” Many people default to “survival mode” in times of crisis and think about preservation only. This is a big mistake. When the pandemic hit, I advised all my business coaching clients to look for ways to grow. They all did just that, and many of them had record years in 2020.

Another big one is forgetting that your people come first. Your team is the most valuable asset in your business. When times get tough, I have seen companies look for quick ways to save money through things such as layoffs. This is very short-sighted and leads to long-term failure.

A third mistake is one that can relate to components of the first two. When times get tough, many businesses abandon doing the things that helped them achieve success in the first place. Things such as staff meetings, training, and community outreach all play a role in social impact and success. Make these a regular part of business, and don’t deviate in good times and in bad, and you’ll reap the rewards.

There are a thousand things that go into running a business, but the reality is that most of them are not as important as you think. Something as simple as reading emails may seem benign until you realize that you are spending 3hours a day buried in your inbox.

The best advice is to focus on your most valuable priorities or MVPs. These are the things that will move the success needle the most and grow your business. You will have to figure out what these are for your business. For us, they are working directly with our clients, making connections with new potential clients, and looking for strategic partnerships to grow.

1) Be Grateful: It’s easy to focus on everything going wrong when times get tough. Being like Eeyore and living as if things are terrible will only attract more of what you don’t want. By practicing gratitude for anything in your life, you refocus on the positive and gain abundance. This is something I had to learn the hard way. I was selfish and focused on myself when I was young, always wanting more. My actions led to short-lived happiness in things that didn’t matter. Being grateful for anything from just waking up to a smile from a stranger shows you the true value of life.

2) Stay Confident and Humble: Confidence is the number one trait that will attract others and keep them believing in you and your business. It’s vital to your leadership that you temper this confidence with humility. This does not mean that you have to lessen your approach or goals. It means that you have to show others that you believe in what you can accomplish and will lead them towards your goals. The Hebrew word for humility is Anavah which means ‘to occupy your God-given space in the world.’ When you lead others in the space you believe is yours, they will follow in any situation; just ask Moses.

3) Always Practice with Purpose: Your business’s purpose is the guiding principle that directs your actions and allows you to keep confident when times are difficult. When you practice with purpose, you stay focused on all the beautiful things you want to accomplish in the world and support others, not yourself. When I was running the healthcare company, we started to have significant growth and began focusing on the dollars more than purpose and people. This gave us short-lived success until the business crumbled before our eyes shortly after that due to our greed. It taught me a valuable lesson that I have lived by in business and life to this day.

4) Make Swift Decisions: Isn’t it true that challenges always seem to come at the worst possible time? Your business is sailing right along, and then, bam! A rogue wave comes over the top of the boat. The sailing analogy is perfect because you don’t have time to create a committee and discuss options or your ship may sink in this situation. A swift decision is your friend as it will get you out from underwater quickly and safely. It’s the same in business as the decision will allow you to keep your business afloat while you figure out options to move forward.

5) Maintain your Vision: You are the leader for a reason. You have a business, serve others in some capacity, and believe your business can be successful with your heart and soul. This all speaks to your vision of growth and future. You can do everything possible to convey this vision to others but always understand that they will never see it exactly the same way you do. It’s your baby, and you are responsible for its well-being at all costs.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.” This is something I’ve frequently had to learn the hard way. Early in my career, I always got by through intelligence, grit, and determination. If things didn’t go well, I was able to “just wing it.” It wasn’t until recently that I realized if I just planned things out a little better, it could lead to phenomenal results. I continue to work on this every day as old habits die hard. Fortunately, I have three daughters that have heard this too many times, thinking it was for their benefit. The older I get, the more I need to remind myself.

How can our readers further follow your work?

Sign up to join I Spark Change at www.isparkchange.com. We won’t spam you; I promise. You will be notified about our community’s growth, new blog articles, events, and future books.

Join our growing Facebook community https://www.facebook.com/isparkchange. More and more people who want to spread positive change join each day!

Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/i_spark_change/ for immediate: inspiration, motivation, and spirituality. You’ll be very glad you did.

Puzzle- the future social media site http://puzzme.com/. You can register to be one of the first members when the site goes live.

YouTube for greater insight into the driving forces behind I Spark Change.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVxszC0wtIG4XxUOiFrHUqQ

https://12hoursofheaven.com/ to find out about upcoming books and information on the release of 12 Hours of Heaven; Time on Earth.

Amazon- to order a copy of 12 Hours of Heaven: Lessons for a Better World https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KP8NDT4

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Rick Ornelas Of I Spark Change: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Super Money Kids: Courtney Hale’s Big Idea That May Change The World In The Next Few Years

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Listen to your customers. This is easier said than done, but it is important to pay attention to the signs and messages that we receive directly or indirectly.

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 Courtney Hale.

Courtney Hale is a dreamer, a social-entrepreneur, financial literacy advocate and adjunct professor. However, his most important title is Father to his daughter Ever. Courtney is the Chief Hope Dealer of Super Money Kids, a social-enterprise that creates experiences to improve the financial literacy of youth.

Through this work, Courtney has helped young people save over $300,000 and set over 1,000 personal financial goals. Courtney hosts financial literacy workshops, serves as a financial literacy consultant and speaks at universities, schools, camps, churches and community organizations with the goal of developing a financially knowledgeable, responsible and empowered next generation.

Courtney has been featured on the Ellen DeGeneres show, recognized by brands such as Red Bull and received several awards and acknowledgements. Courtney is from Nashville, TN and an alum of the prestigious HBCU, Tennessee State University. Courtney is forever inspired by the life of his wife, Tia Barbour-Hale who passed on May 18, 2020.

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 grew up in a household with 2 parents who had contrasting approaches to pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams. My step-dad was the “risk it all, do whatever it takes” type. However, my mom was much more conservative. She was fine with dreaming as long as it didn’t interfere with her ability to provide for her 3 children. Ultimately, the contrasting beliefs would lead to their divorce and would prolong our decades of financial struggles.

When I became an adult, I’d often reflect on my experiences as a child. I was working in the financial services industry and I’d often compare the life stories of my clients to my childhood. For years, I’d try to reconcile the events of my youth and one day it hit me. My dad wasn’t wrong for aggressively pursuing his personal goals. And my mother wasn’t wrong for wanting to make calculated decisions to protect our family. The problem was that they did not have access to the training and education needed to start a business and manage their personal finances in a way that would support their goals.

The tragedy was that I was having this revelation almost 20 years after my parents divorce and nothing in society had changed. Financial education is not easily accessible for adults and almost non-existent for youth who face far greater financial challenges than my parents did when I was a child. Having the professional background and personal motivation, I decided to create a solution. And that’s where Super Money Kids comes from.

Can you please share with us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

One of our values as an organization is that money is a tool that powers us to our goals. We don’t teach empty habits. We don’t teach behaviors that result in anxiety. We focus on dreams and how money can get us there. Sometimes this is a difficult idea to get our students and the public to understand. However, one Summer there was one student’s goal that made this idea crystal clear for everyone.

In all of our programs, we require students to set a financial goal. Two of the qualifications that we give students for their goals are that they must specify an exact dollar amount which they’d like to save. And they must specify what they are going to do with the money. We teach students that we save to create opportunities for our future selves. So, when students specify what they want to do with their savings, that thing must create opportunity for their future self. It can’t be something like “I want to buy an infinite amount of Fortnite skins.” That’s not gonna cut it.

That Summer, we had a student who saved $700 to hire an immigration attorney for her mother. That was a goal with a purpose. You don’t quit on that goal. You don’t get frustrated with working towards that goal. That’s not saving $25 a paycheck just because someone said that’s the right thing to do. That student set a goal that created opportunity for her entire family. It was one of the many reminders for why I love this work.

Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?

There are 3 philosophies that have guided my life and career.

Pursue passion driven work.
Create the change you want to see.
Morality and profitability can coexist.

We’re on Earth for a short period of time so we should make best use of our time here. Our hearts bring us more joy than our wallets ever will, so I believe we should pursue work that we love, that’s fulfilling and makes the world different than how we entered it.

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”?

In an era of great financial innovation, Americans are still learning about money through trial and error. There are very few resources that teach kids about money. My big idea is that financial education should be taught at every grade level from elementary school through post-secondary school. With more education children will understand the functions of money and be better prepared to plan for their futures. Additionally, students will be confident in their decision making and less likely to remain in poverty, fall to the pits of poverty or lose the wealth accumulated by previous generations.

My “tool” to get financial education in schools is the Super Money Kids brand. Super Money Kids is a financial literacy brand that introduces the world of personal finance to kids. The curriculum we develop not only teaches financial lessons but it also supports students higher levels of thinking, exercises numeracy skills and future modules will improve achievement in literacy.

We don’t need more subject mandates which is highly bureaucratic, slow and inefficient. We just need themes of financial literacy incorporated within the subjects our students are already required to learn. Super Money Kids does that. Plus, it is fun and relatable.

We created a in-home bank as a tool that allows students to take their knowledge home. It is also used as an instructional tool with the curriculum. It is designed to help students put money in its place literally and figuratively.

How do you think this will 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?

I wish financial literacy was that complex. Absolutely not!! We’re breaking cycles of poverty. Giving hope to communities that may not have had it before. We’re changing the way we educate our children.

Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?

Yes, there was definitely a tipping point. I worked in the financial services industry for several years and I saw people do amazing things with money and I also saw people do some terrible things with money. No matter how good or bad the story, I’d always have the same thought; Someone should be teaching our kids this stuff. I would search for solutions, but my searches would often end up empty or insufficient. So, at that time I started asking all my smart friends what they thought about me embarking on a journey to start a company focused purely on youth financial literacy. All my smart friends were on board. And quickly I realized that I was the solution that I had been looking for. I was the change that I was seeking. These conversations helped me build the courage to start something new.

What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?

We’re at a place now where I believe the only thing we need is more visibility. We’ve never had a student complain about our content. We’ve never had a school lack interest in financial literacy. We know how to find sponsors for our programming. So now, our biggest obstacle to widespread adoption is getting on people’s radar.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why.

I actually believe that I received every piece of advice that I needed to start this business before we launched. Below are the most important pieces of advice I received:

Start how you want to end.
Use technology to scale.
Charge more.
Think globally.
Build a team.

The problem was that I wasn’t ready to receive the advice. Early on, I was unsure of my company strategy. Ironically, I was figuring things out on the fly. Things changed at the point my financial literally work transitioned from a passion project to the primary way for me to make a living.

Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?

Success Habits:

Listen to your customers. This is easier said than done, but it is important to pay attention to the signs and messages that we receive directly or indirectly.
Rest. Fatigue has some dire consequences. Negative thoughts, slow mental processing to name a couple. Not good for running a business.
Take a different route home to exercise your creativity.
Ensure your teammates are working in roles that they’re passionate about and best aligned with their talent.

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 🙂

Super Money Kids is a brand that is not stopping at digital financial education. We are merchandising the brand to one day include books, animations and other products that promote financial literacy. Think of us as “Sesame Wall Street”

How can our readers follow you on social media?

@supermoneykidsco

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

Super Money Kids: Courtney Hale’s Big Idea That May Change The World In The Next Few Years was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Kyle Aulerich Of ApostleTech: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent…

Kyle Aulerich Of ApostleTech: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Always be looking for ways to improve and inspire the team to adopt the same mindset.

As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Kyle Aulerich.

Kyle Aulerich is a visionary entrepreneur that successfully built his career in B2B software development. He is a Marine veteran and Founder and CEO of ApostleTech, which specialize in integrated solutions for sales, service marketing, and IT to help companies work more productively and foster growth. ApostleTech works with companies and organizations in the construction, homebuilding, financial and nonprofit sectors.

Sure thing. I started my IT career as a PC specialist for a local pharmaceutical company. I ran the Help Desk and answered calls (tickets) for the 300 or so employees. The organization had a large outside sales force, so I spent a decent amount of time on the phone managing issues that came up. My role eventually matured into focusing solely on the Salesforce team. This was also my first introduction to CRM, Customer Relationship Management tools, or back then we called it SFA — Salesforce Automation.

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?

I’m sure there were a lot. Probably more embarrassing would be the right way of looking at it. I think early on I cared too much about the small stuff. The things that really weren’t moving the business forward or helping to develop the team. I’d focus on details like how our logo looked on the website, or the design of our business cards. Things that seemed critical, but in the end really weren’t. It is good to have great looking marketing materials and to ensure you’re presenting yourself professionally, but I’ve found that those things work themselves out if you have the right team and perspective.

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?

I was very thankful for the IT Manager who first hired me. He really helped me start my career in technology. I didn’t have the credentials, or a four-year degree at the time. He later told me that he saw that I was driven and that I had an appetite to learn. He took a chance on me, and it worked out in the end. The next person I credit with helping me get where I am today was a boss that became my future business partner. While at the same company I eventually moved into a new department that was created specifically to focus on sales technology. It was a small group, just myself and my new manager. He was instrumental in fostering my entrepreneur spirit. Eventually, we both left the organization and started our own company. I understood the technology at a deep level, and he understood the business side. He challenged me constantly and thanks to his mentoring, I was able to eventually blend my in-depth technical knowledge with business execution. We went on to successfully build and grow the new company to the point of an exit. After that experience, I was ready to go out on my own and I launched ApostleTech. Even though we’ve all moved on to new ventures, I keep in touch with both guys.

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 would agree. When I started ApostleTech my focus was to always provide value. ApostleTech is committed to positively impacting its clients, partners, employees, and community. We are passionate about the work we do — designing and delivering software solutions that allow organizations to enhance sales and marketing operations and grow. More importantly, we are dedicated to adding value — helping companies overcome challenges to generate results. I mentioned it briefly, but we are hyper focused on maintaining a strong culture of grace, flexibility, and development. We made the decision to invest in an environment that people like to work in. It starts during our recruitment process and goes all the way through our project delivery. We want to enjoy what we do, enjoy the people we do it with and to be proud of the things we build. We strive for excellence and high performance.

I think a lot of business owners have their own pandemic story. During the past 18 months there was a lot of unknowns. As an organization, we focus on serving a handful of industries, and most of these industries were significantly affected by the pandemic for the better part of 6–12 months. Many of our clients put projects on hold or were debating if they should reconsider their technology roadmap. As everything was in flux, we also had to address our working environment and how we could continue to engage and deliver value to our active clients. Our priority was our team and our employees’ wellness. We always tried to deliver a flexible working environment, and in January 2020 we were already piloting a work-from-home strategy. When the pandemic hit, we had many of the right pieces in place to go fully remote as an organization. We had the right tech; the right operational procedures and we trust our team completely. This allowed us almost zero down-time as we transitioned. I don’t believe our clients ever saw an impact to the service we provided. We were also very quick to communicate our dedication to the team and the organization from an executive leadership perspective. We were honest about the challenges, the risks, and our plans. We had to rethink sales, rethink project delivery, and rethink our operational budgets. However, we kept the team in the loop and solicited their feedback as often as it made sense. While we had a contingency plan in place, we never had to take that step. Since our founding in 2011 we haven’t had to layoff anyone, and we’ve achieved our goals with excellence.

Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?

I didn’t. I never thought it was a zero-sum game. When we faced a challenge, I knew there was an answer. It’s not always easy to see, but I think it’s a series of smaller steps towards a larger vision. When you keep the focus on the next step, the paths originally unseen will make themselves clear.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

You must communicate. You must believe in your team and in their ability to get behind a clear and optimistic vision you set. This is assuming you have cultivated the same mind-set with the junior leaders of your team.

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?

I think people want to know that they matter. Empathy goes a long way. It’s also valuable to get out in front of the team and engage them. Hosting team events, providing value added benefits to the staff, and soliciting and implementing their ideas. Not tolerating poor performance and helping everyone work together in a way that maximizes each person’s strengths.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

I’ve found that being honest and straight forward about it is the best approach. Taking ownership of any failures while providing a plan to address the issue also helps. At the end of the day bad news is bad news, no one likes giving it or receiving it. However, if there are ways to mitigate the fallout and present a plan to move-forward, it goes a long way when you must address a difficult issue.

How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?

I think one requirement is to know your customers. How will they be affected by volatility and how can you ensure you maintain communication with them. I also believe you need to regularly review your contingency plans; this is especially important during unpredictable times.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

I’d say, “seek help” and welcome people to the table. I’ve had many mentors to rely on over the years and I have an executive team that speaks truth into my decisions. While in many cases I have my initial thoughts and ideas around direction or approach, I always bounce that off the team. First, to identify any of the cracks and second to gain buy-in.

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?

While it’s true that I’ve seen other companies make these mistake, I also know ApostleTech has made these mistakes over the years. They were great lessons to learn from:

Taking the easy way out, not the right way out. Sometimes doing the right thing is hard.
Tolerating poor performance.
Focusing more on the business and not the people. People will see this, and it will affect morale, and make an already hard situation harder.
Taking too long communicating to clients what’s going on. I’ve found that being honest and proposing new engagement strategies can help the relationships long-term.
Failure to see or anticipate potential issues quickly enough. It’s important to analyze, and war-game out potential scenarios just in case.

Build a war chest as best you can. Ensure you can continue to operate on the same budget even if revenue falls off for a bit.
As early as possible, identify areas you can scale back on if you need to pull the trigger.
Embrace the new way to work. Yes, I mean going fully remote. Reduce operational overhead.
Embrace the new way of engaging with clients. Move from on-site visits to Zoom meetings. However, ensure you make these meetings even more productive. Virtual meeting environments can be very productive. Horizon Workrooms and Spatial are good tools.
Continue to evaluate new lines of business. New solutions and new industries.
Execute on a campaign to drive more opportunities within existing clients.

Don’t tolerate poor performance and help everyone work together in a way that maximizes each person’s strengths.
We take a long time hiring the right people. 3–5 interviews to ensure we are investing in high performing people. When mistakes are made, we address them in a constructive weekly team meeting.
We have gone above and beyond to implement policies that allow our remote employees flexibility in their day, provide comfortable home working environments and time off opportunities.
Always be looking for ways to improve and inspire the team to adopt the same mindset.
In our team meetings we set time aside to review what things we could do better, what gaps we’ve identified and then we assign someone to solicit feedback on a fix. We review as a team and then implement the needed changes, if any.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“No bad teams, only bad leaders.” — Jocko Willink

I have this quote hanging up in my office and it constantly reminds me that I’m responsible for maintaining and demonstrating high standards, practiced with honesty and humility. My job is serve as an example to my team.

How can our readers further follow your work?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleaulerich/

Add ApostleTech LinkedIn page

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Kyle Aulerich Of ApostleTech: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Meet The Disruptors: Shivram Venkatasubramaniam Of Edfinity On The Three Things You Need To Shake…

Meet The Disruptors: Shivram Venkatasubramaniam Of Edfinity On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Edfinity is in the early stages of a marathon and it’s all consuming. My field of vision doesn’t extend beyond Edfinity at this stage. There are concentric circles of opportunities and challenges that we will continue to work through over the next several years.

As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Shivram Venkatasubramaniam.

Shivram Venkatasubramaniam is the co-founder and CEO of Edfinity, an innovative, collaborative online homework platform for collegiate STEM courses that unbundles expensive publisher packages of textbooks and homework platforms. With 25 years of international experience in the technology sector and an expert in commercializing advanced technological innovations, Shivram is also the technical lead for Edfinity’s adaptive learning capabilities and its authoring tools for educators to create, curate and crowdsource richly interactive problems for greater student engagement.

My wife, an Edfinity co-founder, was pursuing her late-career PhD at Stanford University at the same time that our older son entered Stanford for undergraduate study. Between the two of them, we were suddenly spending a fortune on textbooks. We realized that the textbooks were expensive, cosmetic packages of two components: expository content that is otherwise easily available; and difficult-to-find problem sets, which are crucial for learning. In other words, the problem sets, something really critical, was being superficially bundled with something that was easily available and should be free, the textbook content. Faculty members were following this model out of habit and a lack of alternatives. It’s not unlike healthcare where the pharmaceutical industry pushes doctors to mandate the purchase of their drugs for patients. It was a classic “broken market” — faculty were making the purchasing decision, but students bore the brunt of the cost of the expensive textbooks. I was coming off a sabbatical after my previous venture and this appeared to be a prime opportunity to make a difference in something that is a great source of frustration for many college students. To preserve the focus on our mission — to provide college students and educators with affordable access to intuitive, enabling technologies and high-quality instructional content — we decided as a company that we would not accept or seek venture funding. 2017 was a turning point when our narrative resonated with the National Science Foundation and we received crucial federal funding to get off the blocks.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

There are two powerful themes underpinning what we’re doing — unbundling and disintermediation. My favorite analogy for what we are doing is the music industry, which saw the traditional album unbundled into individual tracks for purchase by iTunes and witnessed services like Spotify eliminate the need for record labels as intermediaries between artists and consumers.

Instruction in collegiate STEM courses has always hinged on quality problem sets that are crucial to learning outcomes. Traditionally, these problem sets have been bundled with instructional/expository material in the form of copyrighted textbooks sold by large publishers. So, the textbook has been the de facto unit of purchase and publishers have exploited this opportunity fairly mercilessly. For instance, every year a cosmetic new edition of the same Algebra textbook with only a few minor edits is sold for an exorbitant price. Hapless students have to purchase these textbooks at the behest of their professors just to get access to the problem sets — the average college student rarely consumes the copious expository materials in textbooks. So, the real value lies in the problem sets. In fact, with the explosive growth of self-publishing and OER (open educational resources), the cost of expository content is headed toward zero, which further underlines the importance of access to quality problem sets.

Edfinity has unbundled the traditional textbook and decoupled problem sets from expository content, offering ready-to-use homework mapped to more than 300 textbooks as well as hundreds of thousands of interactive, algorithmic homework problems. These can all be mapped to any commercial or OER textbook or paired with any curriculum. We are solely focused on providing high quality problem sets for any STEM course regardless of the choice of curriculum or instructional content. We focus on meeting the most important need of educators and students — high quality problems — without any excess, costly baggage. Our platform also provides an environment in which educators can easily author sophisticated problems and share them with peers within and across institutions, which creates a strong networking effect. This disintermediates publishers who have historically contracted with educators to author copyrighted content that is then sold to the broader community.

These two themes of unbundling and disintermediation have propelled us within a short time to adoption by over 350 institutions. By cutting out the middleman, so to speak, and unpacking superfluous content bundles, we’ve reduced the cost of access for students by 75% and positioned ourselves as a change agent for democratizing access to quality content. As I often say to educators, it’s not so much that we cost so little, it’s more that the incumbent products cost far too much. Just to put this in perspective, in displacing a publisher product that charges $100/student/term we could save as much as $97/student, and no less than $71/student — this is per student per course per term. At any institution, this amounts to a very compelling throttling of massive economic waste.

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?

There’s an aphorism by writer and political activist Upton Sinclair: It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. In our early days, we explained our value proposition to a large publisher who represented the problem we were trying to solve. It was naive to hope for change from within, but just 15 minutes into our presentation, I could read what they were thinking — adopting our product would essentially bring down their carefully constructed model and render more than half the people in the room obsolete. It was like reasoning with a block of concrete. They didn’t want to hear what we were saying because our approach was flipping the status quo on its head. That was the last time we tried to give incumbents a eureka moment.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

My most impactful mentors have been my NSF program officer Rajesh Mehta and fellow Edfinity colleagues Sid Grover and Bob Carmichael. Each of them has been singularly responsible for navigating critical forks on our path thus far. Rajesh was instrumental in helping us focus our energies on technical innovation first to build a gap between us and imitators, instead of being distracted by low hanging fruit. Sid was the driving force behind our steadfast refusal to accept any form of capital until the NSF offered non-dilutive funding without any strings attached — this ensured a clear runway for our company without any adulteration of our agenda or intent. Bob shepherded our company’s commitment to break away from the pack and conceive a consumer, end-user educator app that could supplant an enterprise app, which provided the foundation for the substantial and perpetual cost advantage we have over our competitors, both old and new. There have been several helping hands and shoulders to lean on, but these three individuals have been most consequential to my entrepreneurial journey.

Disruption may well be a misnomer if it doesn’t have a positive impact on society. The simplest litmus test for a bonafide disruption is whether it has moved the needle on some combination of affordability and access in conjunction with societal benefit. I would argue that iTunes, Spotify, Pandora and others have moved the needle in the music industry. In real estate, Redfin and Zillow have made strides in addressing the costs and redundancy of expensive realtor services, but they haven’t yet dislodged realtors to any meaningful degree yet. You could argue that streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have really turned the heat up on the traditional TV and movie industries by dramatically increasing access to quality content, but whether they have delivered overall societal benefits in terms of productivity and economic impact is debatable at this point. Similarly, Facebook may have succeeded in its goal to serve as the ultimate digital glue for social connectivity but its impact on society as a whole as well as the wellbeing of young people has been questioned. In our case, Edfinity is aiming for the rafters on all three vectors — access, affordability and societal benefit.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

“Your best bet is to build a product that exemplifies high technology risk but very low business risk.” — My program officer at the NSF chanted this mantra both as a prerequisite for funding our company and as a recipe for success. It has been a leitmotif in our journey and given us tremendous competitive advantage, making us more likely to be the meteor than the dinosaur.

“Your customers are your best salespersons.” — This was drilled into us by one of our early adopters who had grown weary of the large publishers. It validated our inclination to go against convention, making Edfinity more of an end-user educator app that relies on organic customer acquisition through referrals and word-of-mouth. Our educators drive and inform our product development and swift feedback from them has improved our product and our performance very quickly.

“Get the founding team right. You won’t get a second chance.” — These are mildly cliched but profound words nonetheless from a Harvard Business School professor who authored the case studies chronicling my earlier venture. We delayed Edfinity’s commencement by 18 months to wait for one of our co-founders to come free from his commitments and it was worth every second. A hurried or conveniently constituted founding team is always an expensive fracture point for any venture.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

Edfinity is in the early stages of a marathon and it’s all consuming. My field of vision doesn’t extend beyond Edfinity at this stage. There are concentric circles of opportunities and challenges that we will continue to work through over the next several years.

Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t by Jim Collins is a terrific read and has significantly influenced the building of our company. In his book, Jim talks about companies with virtuous flywheels and positive feedback loops that trigger non-linear growth. Edfinity plays in a field that has traditionally had enterprise sales attributes, with salespeople walking corridors at colleges, wooing faculty with bagels and donuts, offering tickets to concerts and paid events, etc. In contrast, we’ve conceived of Edfinity as an end-user educator app wherein educators can self-onboard quickly without even speaking to a sales rep. Edfinity also caters to every educator’s natural inclination to share their content with peers with a single click. With our platform, educators can collaborate and instantly share problems with peers, creating a constant supply of peer-reviewed problems for the entire academic community. By enabling crowdsourcing and leveraging untapped educator skills, Edfinity ensures equitable access for the entire ecosystem. This has created positive network effects and virality without a single salesperson. Our educators are our de facto salespersons.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Sun Tzu: “If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.” Endurance and resilience are grossly underestimated competitive strategies. Over the last three years, the mere passage of time has claimed several casualties in our competitive field. Some of the most enduring companies of our times have been built brick by brick over long periods of time because they were built to survive first. Most young companies forego this due to ill-timed, excessive or redundant capital raising during their formative years, all of which almost always dilutes the pedigree of the team and the purity of mission.

It is evident that the wheels of repercussions have already been set in motion for the large academic publishers and there are deep reservoirs of resentment building up against their practices. Against this backdrop, it feels like there is a moment to be seized by the community as a whole. If the educator community could come together to commit individually and collectively to developing educational materials, it could be a powerful cooperative moment that straddles institutional boundaries — it could be a moment of true disruption for publishers. It’s sort of a ‘flash mob’ cooperative movement that is more systematically orchestrated at scale. Just to anchor this in practicality — the average introductory STEM class requires 300–400 quality problems over the course of the term regardless of where it is taught. It is incredibly practical and feasible for the community to jointly author a critical mass of 400 problems and supplemental instructional content for use by the entire community term after term to ensure a fresh supply — the same applies for supplemental instructional content. Innovators like Edfinity can provide the technical plumbing for authoring, auto-grading, delivery, analytics and everything else for a modest sustainability fee. There are two imperative building blocks for this to become a reality, though: (a) sooner or later, I expect educators will be required to take some sensible equivalent of the medical Hippocratic oath and commit to prioritizing student affordability over other factors; (b) Edfinity and other technology innovators have a prime opportunity today to empower educators with modern, easy-to-use tools for authoring and collaboration at scale. We’re already seeing all this play out at a certain scale — a more systemic change in attitude feels imminent and inevitable.

How can our readers follow you online?

Website: https://edfinity.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/edfinity-com/about/

Twitter: @EdfinityUS

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Meet The Disruptors: Shivram Venkatasubramaniam Of Edfinity On The Three Things You Need To Shake… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future Is Now: Cody Horchak Of Zerv Access Solutions On How Their Technological Innovation Will…

The Future Is Now: Cody Horchak Of Zerv Access Solutions On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Starting is better than perfection. If you strive for perfection you’ll be dead before you even start. While strategizing is important, the most meaningful thing is to start.

As a part of our series about cutting-edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cody Horchak.

Horchak founded Zerv in 2018, a concept born out of public parking inefficiencies and a desire to digitize the physical world. He spent the early part of his career as a portfolio manager for high-net-worth individuals at Fisher Investments in Camas, WA, overseeing the protection of assets and risk mitigation. Today, Horchak leads a growing team of nearly 50 full-time and part-time employees who are based strategically throughout the U.S. in addition to a software development team in India. A passionate, resilient, and collaborative leader, Horchak continues to propel Zerv toward its mission to connect people, communities, and technology together under one reliable ecosystem.

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 a world where we have the ability to buy almost anything imaginable and work hard in order to increase our income, the one thing we can’t seem to get more of is time. The driving idea behind Zerv Access Solutions was that there must be a way to eliminate a lot of these daily inefficiencies in our lives to get that precious time back.

For example, I was recently on my honeymoon and while checking into our hotel room, we had to wait in for 20 minutes. It doesn’t sound like much, but those are moments I wanted to spend relaxing or adventuring with my wife, not sitting in a lobby with my luggage. I work extremely hard 48 weeks a year and when I’m able to take time for myself, I don’t want to waste it by waiting for a door to be opened.

I created Zerv to eliminate the waste of critical time spent every day just trying to get where we need to go, whether it’s a parking garage or an elevator or even into our own homes. They say that Americans spend about two weeks of their lives on average waiting for a red light to turn green; imagine how much is used in line for a turnstile at a football game, or waiting for your rental car to be prepared to drive off the lot, or standing outside your friend’s apartment in the dead of winter waiting for them to buzz you in? What if the world just opened up to you instead of keeping you out at every turn?

We’re working with data scientists to quantify how much time the average person spends searching for misplaced objects. Nine times out of ten, the item that’s been misplaced is a key, and our team projects two to six months will be wasted searching for those keys over the course of a lifetime. Zerv is working to eliminate that, too.

Finally, Zerv allows users to connect under-utilized assets by transferring temporary ownership from an owner to a renter on demand. Empty parking spots, empty apartments, empty offices and conference rooms and storage spaces…every hour these resources aren’t occupied or used is wasted potential and missed incremental revenue.

Consider Airbnb. Prior to electrified smart locks, a renter had to physically meet up with the owner of the home just to get in. With that mindset of eliminating wasted time and potential, Zerv is on a mission to connect technology with physical keys across industries, from car rentals to hotels to conference centers. We’re bridging the digital and physical world together.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

The most exciting thing that’s happened since I began my career is fully realizing the impact Zerv will have on the world. We’re revolutionizing how you complete everyday tasks: entering your office, renting cars, checking into hotels. The technology has supply chain applications, too; soon Zerv will be able to help track products and identify counterfeit goods like medicines and drugs. The applications are endless.

Zerv connects the digital and physical world. Your phone is connected to call, text, and the web, but it can’t start a car. Yet. With Zerv, we’ll be able to scan items in a grocery store or a retail shop and your phone will act as a checkout machine. This technology connects your digital makeup to all your physical assets and streamlines engagement.

Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?

Zerv is a first-of-its-kind contactless access control platform. We bring a new level of convenience and empowerment to people and give you more of your most precious commodity: time.

Our solution emulates a physical credential, like a fob or key card or access badge, and seamlessly creates a digital clone that activates as needed from your phone. A plug-in device called a Zerver updates any existing access control infrastructure to read this consolidated mobile credential. A Zerver is installed to a legacy system in about 30 seconds, no big replacements or updates required. It’s the only platform that can provide cost-effective, contactless access security to anyone on any system at any time.

The digital ‘keys’ on a user’s mobile device can control, manage and share access on any Zerv-enabled smart lock or access reader. We bring a fragmented and convoluted network of access and security of systems together under one roof, acting as a universal translator that gets this entrenched hardware and software speaking the same language. We’re the missing piece of brands like Google, Apple, and Samsung, bridging the gap between today’s tech and physical interactions with the world

How do you think this might change the world?

Zerv unites the digital and the tangible. These huge tech companies are connecting us online, but that connection usually stops at the physical world. Right now, these platforms require the physical world to issue updated systems to communicate, a process that’s just taking too long and costs too much money. Zerv will eliminate that.

Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

Yes, of course. We’re bringing access to physical assets directly online which has a serious sensitivity about it. Our vision is you’ll never have to meet up with someone again to rent a car or any manual transaction. But with that amount of control, security has to be a top priority. You wouldn’t trust just anyone with your credit card, so we have to make sure we’re not doing it with cars or rental properties.

Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?

I saw a persistent pain with inefficiencies, and I began searching for a solution. The breakthrough was when I met a talented team of developers focused on deep space communication via radiofrequency. The team had been recently let go from a top telecommunications company, Motorola, and was ready to build something new. I was able to begin working with brilliant engineers who built iconic devices such as the Razr and two-way radio and gave them another chance to build something that’s never been done before.

What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?

We need open and willing partnerships. We need proprietary companies to know the future of access control is changing and recognize us not as a threat to the amazing systems they’ve built, but a tool and a facilitator.

Zerv is going to help open a world of possibilities and help consumers have the freedom and control they deserve. No one likes to be told how to use something they bought. But in the access control industry, consumers are being told how to use the products they own, such as not duplicating a key. This is so companies can control the distribution and make buyers pay a significantly higher cost to maintain control. We plan to act as the technology world’s Robin Hood by taking those who have heard “no” over and over and telling them yes when it comes to access control.

What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?

No. We’ve been very quiet as we’ve been building the technology and when we’re ready to market we will be able to do so to consumers in a successful manner. We just recently started marketing and running public relations and getting into guerilla marketing. We think it’s fun and a fascinating way to get our name out in the public. We have some things up our sleeve so stay tuned!

I’m grateful for the employees in Zerv who have stuck with us throughout the time. I’m grateful for our investors, specifically Chris Green and Ryan Shmeizer, with GreenPoint Partners, who see Zerv as what it can become and are helping to drive that mission forward. One specific employee who has been with Zerv since the very beginning is Frank Annerino. Frank is a very successful mechanical engineer from Motorola and has been committed to us from the beginning in an effort to build something that hasn’t been done before. He’s a great sounding board and has insight into what will see success and what won’t. He’s been a steady figure in Zerv’s history through times of darkness and a celebratory party in the company’s success.

My wife, Josie Horchak, has also been a huge motivator in my commitment to Zerv. She pushes me to be better and I advise everyone to find a Josie in their lives. She’s someone who helps me keep my head above water when I’m overwhelmed.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I don’t measure success in how much money a company can make but how much time was invested doing something the founder and employees love. We’ve created a technology solution to help people get time back to do the things they love as well.

Zerv also is a huge contributor to a socially responsible world. We have a significant green initiative in helping buildings run autonomously and efficiently. Zerv will be able to help buildings with a quantifiable analysis in building management which will help lower utility consumption, resulting in less greenhouse gas being released into the environment.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

The first thing I wish someone told me is that there will be more challenges than successes. In the world of a startup and something that is incredibly new, the failures outweigh the success. It’s important to keep a positive outlook and be extremely resilient even when the failures might start to pile up. Every failure is one step closer to success and you only truly fail when you give up.
Prioritize passion over intelligence. You can hire the smartest people but if they don’t have a passion for the company, they won’t achieve success. How many times have we met a person who’s a savant but doesn’t have the drive to get off the couch in order to achieve what the world expects? Find someone with a drive and harbor that passion. I assure you that you can teach someone to be smart, but you can’t teach passion.
Training employees will take more time and patience than expected. I wasn’t aware of the significant demand it would take in order to grow a team from seven employees to 47. You can hire someone who comes directly from a competitor, but they need to understand the culture and expectations of your vision. It’s not as easy as taking a concept and running with it. There’s a bit of hand-holding during the first two months.
Starting is better than perfection. If you strive for perfection you’ll be dead before you even start. While strategizing is important, the most meaningful thing is to start.
Marketing is key. That’s the final thing, you could build an anti-gravity machine but if the world doesn’t know about it, it doesn’t exist. Marketing is a critical role in communicating to the masses what someone is hyper-focused in. It’s like a mathematician speaking to a doctor. They have different mentalities and marketing helps bridge the gaps.

The movement I’d be most proud to inspire would be simple: for people to spend time doing what they love. The movement would be a life that is measured in minutes, not dollars.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I’d have to say there are a number of quotes from Steve Jobs or Elon Musk that I could discuss here. What they all have in common is the theme of pushing society to the next level. They challenge what’s acceptable and do their best to make a difference. I admire these quotes because they’re from people who didn’t accept the status quo but decided to push the boundaries to make society better. Everything in the world can be made better and we can all strive to be better than the day before. With this mentality, you’ll never live a life that’s unfulfilled.

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 🙂

Zerv is the only company in the world that can help you buy time. We do so by connecting the world and help create more time to do what you love. Name something else more meaningful. We give people back time and control.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/codyhorchak-at-zervinc

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future Is Now: Cody Horchak Of Zerv Access Solutions On How Their Technological Innovation Will… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Making Something From Nothing: Emily Mishler of the Cultivated Group On How To Go From Idea To…

Making Something From Nothing: Emily Mishler of the Cultivated Group On How To Go From Idea To Launch

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Self-Awareness & Personal Responsibility can be two of our biggest assets. Personal responsibility and self-accountability are muscles that are strengthened by use, and must be active in order for us to employ the incredible power of choice. In order to choose joy, our desires must be greater than the fear that has suppressed them. If you’re going to be successful, you have to learn to master your fear (focusing on something you’re afraid of) and rely on your ability to trust yourself in being led, choosing, seeking, and finding joy. When we look externally for fulfillment, joy, or purpose; we limit our ability to dream, achieve, grow, and become — based on those external constituents’ perspectives, expectations, and limitations. My advice? Go inward continually, relentlessly, gracefully. See and experience the beauty within and without — breathe there, live there, grow there, become there.

As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Emily Mishler of The Cultivated Group.

Born and raised in the rural Midwest of the United States, Emily Mishler is an intrepid optimist with a keen sense of adventure, eye for design, hand in the start-up world, and heart for philanthropy. She is the driving force behind The Cultivated Group and the world of Esmè the Curious Cat — on a mission to ignite and empower individuals and organizations to: “be the change you wish to see in the world”.

Specializing in business development, creative strategic planning, and fundraising, Emily launched her first company at the age of 22 and has since raised and distributed over $20M of private investment for private clients, for-profit entities and NGO’s.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

Absolutely! It’s a pleasure to be here — thanks for having us. I’ve always had a knack for adventure, an insatiable curiosity, a creative flair, and a heart for helping others — and my career has absolutely been an extension of that. I grew up on a farm in the middle of the rural United States. We lived very modestly and simply — serving others and giving of what we had was ingrained in our family’s “culture” from a very young age.

I grew up in a very small town in the middle of the Midwest United States. I come from a family of farmers and values like hard work (sometimes to a fault), exploration, diligence, tenacity, and grit were instilled in me from a very young age. Those rural “roots” were a piece of the inspiration behind our companies’ name: The Cultivated Group.

Hindsight tends to be 20/20 and all the dots tend to connect looking backward and that’s certainly a trend amidst my own eclectic career path. While I studied Communication and Design at University, helping others through different opportunities was always a focal point. A series of decisions that I perceived to be big risks (at the time) and chose to jump and lean into, whilst always keeping my eyes and ears open for possibility and opportunity were huge contributing factors as my career and life’s mission has continued to unfold. Doors and opportunities presented themselves, to which I bet on myself and said “yes” (albeit sometimes with a bit of fear!) and based on my passions, experiences, and drive to influence the world for the better — stumbled into corporate philanthropy as a career. In August of 2018, I completed a MBA with a concentration in Philanthropy and shortly thereafter, began a new chapter of life in travelling the world and running my own location-independent, impact-driven companies.

Proudly housing four separate companies under the “Cultivated” umbrella, we’re redefining business as usual for businesses all over the globe (and even in outer space!). Each subsidiary equips organizations and individuals with the tools, skills, resources, frameworks, and funding they need to function fully as profitable, healthy businesses. Our team connects the business brain to the servant-leaders’ heart that’s at the forefront of the business of doing good. The work The Cultivated Group focuses on is all impact-based, which means at the end of the day our goal is to make the world a better place and use businesses and the influence we all have in our day-to-day lives to be the vessels for doing so.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Mahatma Gandhi’s quote “be the change you wish to see in the world” is one that’s provided a lot of inspiration and a discerning lens as the journey of my life has unfolded. In fact, through our companies at The Cultivated Group and through The Elevated Method, we’re redefining the phrase “business as usual”. We believe doing the right thing is always the right move to make and through our clients and our work, we’re activating and empowering the change they wish to see in the world. Our companies and team are on a mission to bridge the gap between the great ideas, access to opportunity, and taking action to change and preserve this beautiful world in which we live — one challenge at a time. Our focus isn’t overnight success: our focus is the consistency of thought and expansion of dreams and resources. This, when applied over time through massive action, creates sustainable systems that influence positive and inclusive change: we empower and equip our clients to become forces for good in this world. We use a combined approach of both services and products to equip our clients with the tools and skills they need and an extra set of hands (in some cases) to be able to make thoughtful choices when building, stewarding, enhancing, growing, and scaling their businesses.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

You know, that’s an interesting question. Things really began to shift for me when I stopped listening to others’ metrics of success and began living in tandem and cohesion with my own. The way we’ve experienced it, our lives shift internally before we experience external results. And the decision was simple: I leaned into living my life on my terms. I stopped playing by the rules of someone else’s game, and I stopped playing their game entirely — and began making my own. A huge takeaway? Never downplay yourself to make up for someone else’s mediocrity. That being said, I enjoy learning from others’ stories and experiences: particularly Brene Brown and Elizabeth Gilbert. Both being intelligent and brilliant women of influence and integrity, their ability to engage fully in life (and vulnerability) has inspired the way I “show up” in life tremendously. Given the opportunity, I’d love to sit down with them for a coffee or meal and believe we could learn much from each other!

The way we see it, seeking perfection and perfectionism are not one in the same. The pursuit of excellence and having extraordinary standards is absolutely a part of being successful, but those do not require us to engage in perfectionistic thinking or habits. Those that make the leap from good to great and then from great to exceptional have as a part of their process standards of excellence. That is where elevated standards and excellence intersect. Elevated standards and the pursuit of excellence may also inherently benefit our growth!

The procrastination and feelings of “paralysis” that engaging in perfectionistic thinking can result in have the ability to be incredibly negative. Oftentimes, what we’ve seen is, when perfectionistic standards are employed (as opposed to standards of excellence) they often result in a slow of progress, increase in stress, and the restriction of creativity. We can often feel paralyzed or “stuck” in our feelings of seeming inferiority, and incapability to achieve our desired outcomes, and in doing so create a self-fulfilling feeling of paralysis.

The “paralysis of perfectionism” is something my team, clients and I talk about often. We have incredibly high standards for the quality and character of the people we work with, and also the results of our work. Setting goals and holding ourselves to standards of excellence is a different game than employing and projecting expectations of perfection — and that’s something we hold ourselves accountable for.

Fortunately we live in the age of the internet, so a quick search of your idea may bring up relevant results. At the end of the day, we’ve come to realize that it isn’t always about the novelty of the idea — oftentimes the difference between success and failure is the energy that’s poured into the project itself; the frequency.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?

Self-Awareness & Personal Responsibility can be two of our biggest assets.

Personal responsibility and self-accountability are muscles that are strengthened by use, and must be active in order for us to employ the incredible power of choice. In order to choose joy, our desires must be greater than the fear that has suppressed them. If you’re going to be successful, you have to learn to master your fear (focusing on something you’re afraid of) and rely on your ability to trust yourself in being led, choosing, seeking, and finding joy. When we look externally for fulfillment, joy, or purpose; we limit our ability to dream, achieve, grow, and become — based on those external constituents’ perspectives, expectations, and limitations. My advice? Go inward continually, relentlessly, gracefully. See and experience the beauty within and without — breathe there, live there, grow there, become there.

2. The Importance of Consistent Focus & Grace.

We’re all human: including you. In my experience, perfectionism can be a double-edged sword and is a razor’s edge between pursuit of excellence and holding ourselves, and others, to unattainable standards. The dictionary defines perfectionism as “refusal to accept any standard short of perfection” and, I’d agree! As much as it’s contradictory to a lot of what we hear and the kind of results we’d like to see, our aim has always been deliberate, consistent focus and aligned action. Consistency is the difference between becoming wildly successful and getting stuck in a spiral of perfectionism.

3. If you don’t begin, you’ll never finish.

If you never do anything to make progress in the direction of your dreams, you’ll inherently stop yourself from even the possibility of bringing them into fruition. With many things in life, there often isn’t a “right time”. Rather than waiting until you “feel motivated” or it’s the “perfect time,” stop waiting around. Often opportunities need to be seized and created rather than simply taken.

4. Momentum Compounds & Progress is a Habit.

Ideal outcomes exist, perfection doesn’t. Deliberate choice is more powerful than failure. Action begets action. Everything happens one right next step after the other. If the obtaining of the final product seems to be too much, just begin with the next right step. Stop looking and waiting for motivation and do something. Take action–aligned, inspired action–and the motivation will follow. And although there often aren’t perfect times, there do tend to be opportunities that unfold at more opportune times than others. It may not make “the jump” less scary, but it has the potential to soften the landing a bit.

5. Everything is a lesson.

Didn’t get the job? Lesson. Got the second date? Lesson. Procrastinated on the report and were so stressed you didn’t produce your best work? Lesson. The quality of the life we choose, the places and environments in which we work, and what we tolerate as acceptable in our lives dictate the perspectives we obtain and the life experience we have. Once you begin to see everything as a lesson that leads you to a “more right” direction down the path that you are on, failure becomes obsolete. Failure instantly becomes a non-option. There is always a silver lining, it just may require a bit of creativity to identify and gather tidbits from. When failure becomes obsolete, it unlocks an entirely new dimension of living–what’s the worst that could happen?

We’ll make sure your team receives our contact information before the interview is over. Please feel free to reach out to our team — we have experience in many of these processes and systems you’re speaking about and would love to help if we can!

Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?

Recognizing the difference between invention and innovation is the first step, from our perspective!

There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?

At the end of the day, this is a very personal choice. It depends what you’re creating, your skillset, who’s already on “your team”, and what the end goal(s) look like (amongst many other things). That’s something we offer on an application basis and we are very selective with who we work with — as you should be! Make sure you know what you need (or have someone who can help you discern that), understand what you’re signing on for (before you sign) and have a good understanding of outcomes and deliverables that are a result of the exchange/relationship. Bringing a consultant or firm in necessitates that you be ready and able to contribute what they need to do their “job” — just as a baseline!

What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?

As we’re growing our portfolio of impact-driven companies and leaning into learning, adding tremendous value, and contributing along the way — something I’m incredibly proud of is our ability to invest with integrity. Our core values, mission, and vision are at the heart and core of who we are, and how we operate as The Cultivated Group and each of our subsidiaries — AND as a part of our investment strategy. You don’t know what you don’t know, so don’t be afraid to ask questions and make sure you understand what’s going on to the best of your ability. Your role as a founder or executive isn’t to be all-knowing — your role is to surround yourself with the integral experts who are going to equip and enable the vision of the company to evolve into its fullness; whether that is advisors, employees, board members, advocates, or allies. The times I’ve fumbled and stumbled the most have been the times at which I was too proud to ask questions or didn’t listen to my intuition or the “nudges” I was intuitively receiving. At the end of the day, even when everything else feels “on” — don’t forget or hesitate to trust your gut; mine has never led me wrong.

Have an idea of the long-term play at-hand — A few questions to consider:

What is your goal? Your goals will drive your decisions to raise investment or not.
What are you building? For what purpose? What problem are you solving? Why?
What are you willing to contribute? What do you need in order to make this happen? What does success look like? What are you willing to put up with?
Would you prefer to build to be able to exit or not? Is your ambition to grow your company forever or to exit in a couple years? What does your potential for growth look like? How much control is it important for you to maintain? What kind of flexibility do you want or need?

Break it down into bite-sized, measurable pieces and hold yourself and your team accountable to document progress, process, successes, and lessons.

If you receive funding of any sort, what kind of a runway would that create for you, your team, and your product? What would the result be?

Where do you see your business in the next year? Developing a strategic plan determines which direction you want your organization to take, then maps a route to get there. A strategic plan doesn’t just set your fundraising goals for the year. It articulates your mission and values, then puts a plan in place to hit your targets across fundraising, advocacy, and education. Unfortunately, roughly one-third of nonprofits report not having a strategic plan in place (or even knowing if one exists). A business plan doesn’t have to be formal, long, scary, or set in stone. Many of the folks we chat with don’t have formal business education and what’s great? You don’t need one to build a business! A business plan helps to communicate with stakeholders where you’re at, who’s on board, where you’re headed, how you’ll get there, and what you’ll need throughout the journey and upon arrival. We have a thorough (and fun!) workbook to get you started: here! 5–10 years down the road, do you know exactly where you’ll be? Good, us either. Building out a strategic plan isn’t about mapping out every single piece of the company’s journey you’re building, but it is about orienting your compass to True North, plotting out the next few moves (years) of the journey on a map, and communicating that to everyone who needs to know. This provides a pulse on the direction you’d like to go, and a basic framework of how you plan to get there with measurable success milestones along the way. Curious? Here’s a quick template to get the juices flowing.

Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

The work The Cultivated Group focuses on is all impact-based, which means at the end of the day our goal is to make the world a better place and use businesses and the influence we all have in our day-to-day lives to be the vessels for doing so — so inherently in the nature of “how” we work; making the world a better place is at the root of what we do and who we are. We’re thrilled to be working on projects in a few different industries and sectors that are all impact-based. Because we believe life happens in the full spectrum and we understand that sometimes founders need the right tools and guidance to activate and ignite their ideas, we recently launched a product offering of download-able business building tools to move the needle in business and life. We’re providing equitable access to business consulting without the hourly fee through a new branch of our companies called The Elevated Method. We’re transforming businesses from the inside-out, creating through purpose with intention: we’re elevating the art of living.

Thank you — that’s very kind. If I could inspire a movement, as simple as it sounds, it would be one of leading our lives with kindness, consideration, and thoughtfulness. Each of us has different experiences, all of which have inherent value, and if we’re open to it there is much we can learn from one another! That is how we begin to change the world: first through extending that kindness, thoughtfulness, and consideration inward; and then outward.

I’d absolutely love to have lunch with Sara Blakely and her husband, Jesse Itzler. Not only have they both been incredibly successful individually, the pair seems to have “figured out life” too. Raising a family together, encouraging one another, and making the world better along the way. I’d love to be able to learn from and create with them!

How can our readers follow your progress online?

Emily Mishler

Instagram: @emilymishler

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emily.mishler

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilymishler

Website: www.emilymishler.com

The Cultivated Group

Instagram: @thecultivatedgroup

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecultivatedgroup

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-cultivated-group

Website: www.thecultivatedgroup.co

The Elevated Method

Instagram: @theelevatedmethod

Website: www.theelevatedmethod.com

Esmè the Curious Cat:

Instagram: @esmethecuriouscat

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/esmethecuriouscat

Website: www.esmethecuriouscat.com

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Making Something From Nothing: Emily Mishler of the Cultivated Group On How To Go From Idea To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Wisdom From The Women Leading The Blockchain Revolution With Stephanie Dille Of Meazure Learning

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Taking a step beyond the expected is the reason people use a product or service. We ask about the problem they need to solve. What solution are they looking for? We want customers who care that students and professionals have a fair chance at taking an exam, so we ask questions about what they are trying to accomplish. Your brand and your mission should speak to what the customer is trying to accomplish.

As a part of our series about Wisdom From The Women Leading The Blockchain Revolution, had the pleasure of interviewing Stephanie Dille.

Stephanie Dille has spent her career in a variety of marketing roles in the testing industry. Prior to joining Meazure Learning, she served as Vice President, Global Marketing at Pearson VUE where she led the transformation of marketing into a strategic, integrated global function that provided marketing services to grow the professional, IT, academic, and government markets. At Meazure Learning, she leads marketing, sales operations, and product marketing including the implementation of pragmatic marketing and product management methodologies to align innovation and evolution around user needs.

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 started pursuing a pre-med career track in college and hit a couple of challenging organic chemistry classes when I decided that pre-med wasn’t for me, so I switched to psychology. Not only were the courses and requirements a better fit, but I also thought I’d eventually end up in patient care as a psychologist. However my dad advised, “You won’t find a job in psychology. That’s a waste of time.”

Even with his caution, I planned to pursue my Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, which is well known for psychology, but I still needed a few years of experience in psychology to apply. My first real job was marketing psychological tests for NCS Assessments. I couldn’t wait to tell my dad that I had found a job related to psychology that I could use every day!

Ultimately, I decided not to go back to get my Ph.D. in psychology but instead to get my MBA embracing the opportunities offered by the business world. I gravitated toward marketing and that was my jumping-off point. I transitioned from psychology to marketing and business.

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?

A funny thing happened when I first started working at a very fast-growing segment of Pearson. We were all wearing several hats, and one of mine was to create marketing plans and memorable customer events. We were going to an industry conference, and at that time, Pearson didn’t have a notable presence there. We needed to do something to stand out, so we decided to have an island-themed party since the event was in Florida.

As you are no doubt aware, there are double entendres with coconuts and leis and other island-related items. I had proposed filling zippered coconuts with a flower lei, sunscreen, and other island-themed gifts. Several of my colleagues wanted to scrap the whole idea because it was fraught with pitfalls, but we needed a memorable event (and I had 450 zippered coconuts in my office!) I knew it could work, so I followed my instincts and went forward with the idea.

The party was hugely successful! As a result of that event and subsequent events, customers started to associate our company with positive, fun opportunities to connect and this helped us stand apart in a pretty conservative industry. These events generated an enormous amount of goodwill and put a human face on our organization.

When I eventually moved to a new company, that history of creating blockbuster events followed me and now that is one of my hallmarks. Events are very important in branding a company because people prefer to know and associate with other people rather than a company without any personality. I believe that if you can convey that your corporation has a heartbeat, you’re being successful in branding. My point is that good marketing can connect industry leaders with their customers. In this regard, events are a stepping stone to interacting and learning from each other, to developing best practices, and to setting an industry standard.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Now I work at Meazure Learning which is the parent company of ProctorU. The backbone of our organization is technology and solving a need for our customers. We want to understand what problems our customers have and develop innovative applications of our technology to solve those problems.

Our mission is to help academic and professional credentialing programs move people forward in their academic and professional pursuits. Skills can be measured but securing exams to get an accurate measure of a person’s competency is critical, especially in credentialing exams or for those that earn a professional license. We provide a secure testing environment so that everyone has the same opportunity to do their best on these exams.

One example that speaks well to the intersection of technology and service is from five years ago. At that time, we discovered that the market needed a fully automated proctoring solution that excluded a human proctor from the process. The initial reason was that it would be cheaper and it could be budgeted differently. In addition, a fully automated proctoring solution could provide predictable costs, which for some universities and testing organizations was important. ProctorU was ahead of its time with machine learning — also known as artificial intelligence. We created a product that met the need and made it available in the market.

However earlier this year, we took a closer look at the AI-only solution and its utilization. We found that only 11 percent of test sessions flagged for suspicious activity by the AI tools were reviewed by the school or testing authority. That meant that even if a test taker had violated an exam rule, no one was viewing the tapes to note the event or to take action. So earlier this year, we announced that we were discontinuing AI-only monitoring, because it was not being used as intended nor was it being used in a way that was fair to everyone. You see, ProctorU is all about human proctoring which is when a trained and qualified professional works in concert with technology to secure an exam. That is what we do. We combine service with technology to solve a need.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

We will continue to invest in AI because it’s improving as time advances and as we train the technology to be more intelligent and in tune with human monitoring. But AI will never operate alone in our products. We’re also working on a secure browser for our exams to prevent people from googling answers or copying content during exams. We’re working hard to create our own secure browser because using browser extensions for Google or Firefox isn’t safe enough. We’re also looking into other services needed by the market and “filling our solution gaps” to make sure we are a full-service provider.

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?

Our goal for branding is to be a leader in the industry, a thought leader, and an innovator. We want people to come to us looking for solutions to their problems. We want them to see us as a partner and a team invested in their success.

Advertising a product is more message-driven. Here we explain how we do certain things, and solve problems, so we paint a picture with case studies and social proof of how we’ve helped other organizations. Advertising is more about data showing engagement statistics, and providing evidence that our solution works. It’s still about being a thought leader and an industry leader, but it’s a little more targeted rather than the broad impression and feeling conveyed through branding.

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?

The concept of marketing has gone digital. In fact, we use the word “digital” almost synonymous with advertising. The content on the company website and how people interact with it is what is essential. You drive potential consumers back to your company website, where they research and find what they need before signaling that they’re ready to purchase. People need to understand who you are, what your solution looks like, and how you are different before filling out a form to have a salesperson call them. They need the freedom to explore. It’s the same concept as going to a physical store to browse. It’s a turn-off if the first touchpoint is to make a sale. Website content should be easy to understand and at the right level. Drive people to that web property using search engine optimization and paid social — tapping into all the different digital tools.

We also focus on sales enablement, making sure we have the right tools for our salespeople to do their jobs effectively. This could be a sales deck, data points, studies, or testimonials. Depending on where the customer is in the pipeline, they might require different tools, but we create a wide variety of collateral from customer-supplied data using our products and services.

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.

Having a thorough understanding of your audience is important. How does your audience purchase? Where do they go for information? What kind of information do they need to understand a solution? How do they want that information delivered? Do they subscribe to podcasts? Go to webinars or websites? Do they read magazines or journals? Where are they learning about the products, and how do they want to purchase them? These questions give an understanding of the audience, which is the first step in any brand work.
Taking a step beyond the expected is the reason people use a product or service. We ask about the problem they need to solve. What solution are they looking for? We want customers who care that students and professionals have a fair chance at taking an exam, so we ask questions about what they are trying to accomplish. Your brand and your mission should speak to what the customer is trying to accomplish.
Your brand must permeate throughout your organization, meaning it can’t only be about external perception. It has to live internally, too. For example, suppose your mission is to move people forward — which is Meazure Learning’s mission. In that case, you need to propel your customers and employees alike — helping your workers move forward by improving their future careers. That being said, we pay attention to employee training and certification, just as we expect our clients to provide secure exams.
Externally, there must be consistency in your brand. We serve different markets: higher education and professional testing — both are equally important to our business but have distinctly different audiences. They have different buying criteria, and different parts of our solution are of greater importance. We need to make sure that our messages are customized regardless of the market segment, but our branding remains consistent. We need to appear as one organization while still serving both uniquely.
Finally, make sure that your brand is meaningful and relatable. You’re explaining the why and making sure the customer can connect and understand the offering. Do some brand analysis and talk to customers to make sure they understand the mission of your organization. Your research tells you if they are on board with that mission. Then tweak your brand based on the study and what customers tell you. I think we tend to either overlook their input entirely or give it too much weight. To balance, use the research to help you understand the significance of the feedback.

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?

I tend to think more of a brand when it has a bigger purpose behind it. A company like TOMS Shoes is an example because they donate shoes for each purchase. I like brands with a social mission and purpose. This current generation cares a lot about the social mission, which drives their behavior and purchasing choices. If you can attach your brand to a stronger, bigger mission, you have better employee engagement and less attrition, 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?

We are concerned with the whole funnel, and we want to reach customers in as broad a manner as possible. For example, we ask how many people are new to our product? How many people have we brought in from the market to gather information? We look at new contexts created, whether it’s because they came to something that we presented or they landed on our website from an outside digital push. We measure our reach in addition to sales because we need buyers to understand our overall brand.

I also look at engagement — how many times a customer, or a prospect, interacts with the content we’ve published, including white papers, blog posts, webinars, press releases, and articles. I focus on driving up engagement over the less dynamic numbers. Tracking engagement is important because our buyer has a long decision trail. Maybe this year, they’re not ready to take their exam program online, but they might be ready in a year. We want our name, our brand to be the first thing they think about because they’ve seen all our thought leadership content along the way, and they have a favorable impression of us. I also watch loyalty. How long are we keeping customers? How happy are they?

What role does social media play in your branding efforts?

Social media is important to us. We’re in the process of taking two brands and collapsing them into one. So right now, we have a ridiculous number of social media platforms to support. We use social media in two different ways. We use it to push out thought leadership content, but probably more importantly, we use it for social listening. If test takers are frustrated, they might go on to Facebook or Twitter to complain. We scour our properties for those comments, and one person is exclusively devoted to working on social media.

It is important to respond to those individuals. We get them the support they need. We tell them where to go for more information. Sometimes we even have to remind them we are here and not to worry. Exams can be stressful, so we need to be human and be relatable.

What advice would you give to other marketers or business leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?

My advice is to keep learning. Opportunities and trends evolve and change at a faster pace every year, even every month. Technology has impacted the marketing field, just as it has influenced everything else. The digital tools and data we now have at our fingertips are powerful intelligence, so take the time to hone your skills and learn as new tools enter the market.

Try things. Some will work, some won’t. Your audience is never going to be entirely predictable. Surround yourself with a good team that is high energy and positive. Just understand that at your core what you’re doing is real. You can’t sell people what they don’t need. Instead, think of helping people do whatever it is — better. For us at Meazure Learning and ProctorU, this is the chance to deliver higher-quality exams more securely. How this impacts our mission is that more people have access to exams they might not otherwise have had access to, and the exams they take are fair and secure. Consequently, more people are getting educated and credentialed, and they are moving forward in their careers. That’s at the core of our mission.

At the end of the day, we’re here to help people.

Bringing continuous learning to more people would change the lives of individuals and society. Some may think, ‘I have my degree, so I’m done with school.’ That’s so untrue — we’re always learning. I’m doing a book club with my team right now. We’re reading a book called Measure What Matters. I’ve worked in marketing for 30 years, and I’m still learning. We need to be open to change, and doing things differently for our entire lives.

Wouldn’t it also be nice to have a kindness movement, too? I see so much negativity in the world. Everyone’s suspicious and not treating each other well, and I think kindness can go a long way to overcoming this problem.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favorite character growing up was Winnie the Pooh, and my kids loved the Pooh books too. My life lesson quote is hanging on my wall. It reminds me of my Mom. She’s not with us anymore, and I always think of her when I see it. It’s a quote from Winnie the Pooh. It makes me cry. I’ve shared it as I’ve transitioned through my career.

“If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together, there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart, I’ll always be with you.” (A.A. Milne for the character Christopher Robin in Winnie-the-Pooh).

I always share that quote with my team. You’re a combination of all the experiences you’ve had, all the bosses, all the colleagues — and we’ll always be with each other — even if we’re not, even if we’re physically apart. You’re always going to carry some portion of those people’s thoughts and lessons with you.

Brené Brown. She has a great TED talk called Daring Greatly. I have listened to her podcast and her TED talk. I think she would be fascinating to meet. Her message is that you need to take risks and dare yourself to grow and change. You can’t be afraid of that, especially as a woman, but her message is for anybody. I’ve wanted to sit down and talk with her for 20 years.

Additionally, my dad was an entrepreneur, so I find entrepreneurs, in general, fascinating, too. I like to find out what makes them tick. How did they develop their ideas, and how did they know that it was the right idea? Brené Brown would be my first choice for a sit-down, lunch, or breakfast.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

My LinkedIn profile is here but our most active company social profile is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ProctorU.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

Wisdom From The Women Leading The Blockchain Revolution With Stephanie Dille Of Meazure Learning was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future Is Now: Josh Stella Of Fugue On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The…

The Future Is Now: Josh Stella Of Fugue On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

I’m a pragmatist and understand that entering this industry is a practical decision because there are lots of well-paying jobs and opportunities to grow a successful career. Like any job, there’s lots of drudgery to deal with on a daily basis. But if your work excites you, you’ll have fun and gain immense satisfaction, even on the boring days.

As a part of our series about cutting-edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Josh Stella.

Josh Stella, a cloud security authority, is on a mission to empower highly regulated companies to harness cloud security and gain the confidence and trust of customers, business leaders and regulators. Ahead of the curve, Josh advised national intelligence agencies in 2012 while at Amazon Web Services; founded Fugue, a cloud security company, in 2013; wrote the first book on Immutable Infrastructure in 2016; and holds numerous advanced technology patents that are liberating the security game so we can all reap the true benefits of the cloud without the risks.

To get ahead of the hackers, Josh hosts the Cloud Security Masterclass series that shows organizations how they can build security now — yes, today — into their cloud infrastructure. By running a single set of low-code, automated policy tools from the onset — yes, at the beginning of all development efforts — and then across the entire software development life cycle, engineering teams can run faster and safer — on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud — with 50% fewer resources. Companies can stop relying on costly, time-consuming manual processes and outdated perimeter defense tools. And when our favorite brands operate securely and can be trusted, we can all sleep well at night.

By day, Josh serves as CEO and CTO of Fugue, a cloud security SaaS company that secures millions of resources for many named Global 2000 brands and high-growth, cloud-first tech companies. The company stands by a unique Fugue Guarantee that gives enterprises a simplified, actionable cloud compliance report in 15 minutes and a guided path for getting into compliance fast.

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 founded Fugue in 2013 to create technologies that enable enterprises to protect their cloud computing environments from malicious actors who are growing increasingly sophisticated and insidious in their methods and motivations. But cloud security wasn’t on my radar when I began my career as a 3D animation artist in the early 1990s.

I only became serious about learning how to program because I wanted to build the tools I needed for my animation projects, like shaders that enable an artist to change the way textures and lighting are displayed on the screen. I realized I was having more fun programming than creating 3D art and decided to make the career transition from artist to programming and software architecture.

I joined a marketing company to build things like multimedia CD-ROMs. When the internet first became available, and keep in mind, this was long before Netscape made the web easily accessible to everyone, I recognized it as the future of computing and started building some of the earliest websites. That led to designing web applications, and I joined USLaw.com — a web application — as its CTO in 1999. You can probably guess what happened next …

The dot-com bubble burst, and USLaw.com didn’t survive. But the experience was invaluable, and I used what I learned to lead the team formed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that built www.cancer.gov.

I began working in cybersecurity in 2004 when I served as a lead application architect for the Coast Guard and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

In 2012, I sharpened my focus on cloud security when I joined Amazon Web Services as a principal solutions architect working with U.S. national security intelligence customers. That really opened my eyes to the problems enterprises were having in securing their cloud environments, and I began building the Fugue technology and founded the company in 2013.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I had an epiphany while I was at AWS: Cloud computing represents the most significant and disruptive change to computing — including cybersecurity — since the first mainframe computers appeared in the 1960s.

Over the ensuing decades, enterprises integrated technologies like blade servers, virtualization, and high-speed networks that have enabled us to get more work done faster. But the original data center model didn’t change much. It’s a centralized location that houses all the IT systems our devices and networks are connected to, protected by outward-facing perimeter defense solutions like firewalls and intrusion prevention tools. Every data center is a snowflake with its own unique configuration and security issues that the security team must deal with manually — buying physical boxes and putting them in racks, installing security software solutions, building and maintaining backup systems, etc.

The cloud has upended that data center model because it is entirely driven by application programming interfaces (APIs), which are the software “middlemen” that allow different applications to “talk” to each other. The cloud obviates the need to build and maintain a fixed IT architecture in a data center. But it has also shown us that the traditional approach to cybersecurity — essentially building an outward-facing fence around the network perimeter — doesn’t work anymore.

I realized that we could use computer science and software engineering to leverage automation and abstractions to address the new security issues the cloud has created. Almost the entire problem set of cloud security is shifting over to programmers and developers — the folks who write the code. Therefore, we can use code to build secure and functioning systems. It’s a huge improvement over the old way.

Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?

Fugue brings cybersecurity into the cloud computing age. We focus on helping enterprises eliminate the number one cause of cloud-based data leaks and breaches: cloud misconfiguration.

It’s impossible to overstate just how different cloud infrastructure is from data center infrastructure. Because developers can build their own infrastructure instead of asking a data center team to provide it to them, they are making their own infrastructure decisions — including security-critical configurations — and then changing them constantly. Every change brings risk, so even if the infrastructure is secure today, that can change tomorrow — or even later today.

State of Cloud Security 2021 Report

We recently surveyed 300 cloud professionals for our State of Cloud Security 2021 Report, and the top-line takeaway is that as enterprise cloud adoption accelerates and the scale of cloud environments grows, engineering and security teams say that risks — and the costs of addressing them — are increasing. Although they continue to increase the time and resources they invest in cloud security, they still lack the visibility and automation they need to identify and remediate misconfigurations.

Half of the teams operating large, regulated cloud environments experience more than 50 misconfigurations per day. Our respondents reported that the primary causes of cloud misconfiguration are too many APIs and interfaces to govern (32%), a lack of controls and oversight (31%), a lack of policy awareness (27%), and negligence (23%). Twenty percent aren’t adequately monitoring their cloud environment for misconfiguration.

Just as worrisome, too many still rely on traditional security tools like intrusion detection tools and manual processes to try to address these vulnerabilities. Not only are these approaches ineffective, but they slow down the delivery of the cloud infrastructure that application teams need, and they soak up valuable engineering resources managing the sheer volume of cloud misconfiguration vulnerabilities that need to be reviewed, prioritized and remediated. As a result, security has become the rate-limiting factor for how fast cloud engineering teams can go.

The good news is that awareness of the challenges in cloud adoption has grown; the bad news is that the industry is way behind the hackers, who are using automation tools to quickly scan the entire internet, searching for cloud misconfigurations to exploit. In the race to find misconfigurations, the bad actors are relaxing in self-driving race cars while enterprise security teams are furiously pedaling bicycles.

Patented Cloud Security To Build Trust

Fugue empowers security teams to do more than monitor cloud systems for vulnerabilities. We provide them with the tools (Fugue IaC) they need to unify policy-based automation at every stage of the development life cycle — from initially building the systems (aka Infrastructure as Code) to deploying them throughout the enterprise (aka the runtime) — based on a single set of policies (aka Policy as Code).

Security teams can work as a unified team with cloud engineering and DevOps teams to embed security into all phases of software development to prevent these vulnerabilities before they ever reach the public without hurting developers’ productivity. The key is to prioritize security and embed policy automation upfront across the entire operation — and stop chasing security issues after deployment.

Gartner says 99% of cloud breaches are due to misconfigurations that our policy checks will catch. Because the cloud is essentially a big programmable computer, we can build the security policy engine to automatically determine correctness or misconfigurations at every stage of the development life cycle.

Fugue IaC leverages its patented Policy as Code tools to ensure cloud security across development and operations using 50% fewer engineering resources while speeding up infrastructure approvals and deployments from months to days. We are unique in guaranteeing that we only need 15 minutes to uncover all your cloud security vulnerabilities.

How do you think this might change the world?

We’re helping businesses and government agencies harden their cloud computing security postures to prevent suffering and devastating data breaches and ransomware attacks. And making cloud computing environments more secure isn’t just a business concern; it’s also a societal one as more of our personal data is captured.

The idea that there is no more privacy is ridiculous; we should have the expectation for privacy. We’ve seen how applying the power of algorithms to human communications to collect data can be used for nefarious purposes, including influencing our elections.

The cloud is the most secure computing platform humans have ever produced — if it’s done right. Now we need to build trust and confidence so customers, businesses and regulators can reap the benefits promised by the cloud to improve our lives.

Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

At Fugue, we are rigorous about not accessing any customer information that we don’t need to do our job. We are intentionally not a vector for bad actors.

There’s a dystopian view that bad actors can use security products like Fugue to thwart law enforcement agencies and the CIA in their efforts to prevent cyberattacks or to uncover terrorist plots. My pushback is that today a lone actor working out of his basement can gain access to the same sophisticated hacking tools that a well-funded operation has. They don’t need additional personnel or resources to execute attacks.

Making cloud computing systems truly secure will transport most hackers back to the pre-internet days when malware was uploaded to computers manually via a disk or USB drive. That’s just not a feasible attack vector when an enterprise’s IT architecture is entirely in the cloud.

Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?

The realization that the cloud is a giant programmable computer occurred to me one afternoon after reading some documentation and writing code right before I went to work at Amazon Web Services in 2012. Yes, the cloud is the most secure computing platform humans have ever produced. But if you build it incorrectly and leave misconfigurations open for exploitation by bad actors, the blast radius is awful.

I realized it’s critical to embed security in the entire software development life cycle. In other words, make security a concern when you are building infrastructure with automated tools; don’t wait until after the developers are ready to ship their completed projects. I began working on building the Fugue technology that day.

The key is gaining the ability to express security policy as running code. Code always produces the same result, so the ability to do policy as code — to make security policies as computer programs — is new, and it is due to the cloud and is the future of cloud security.

That was nearly 10 years ago, and unfortunately, the threat has grown exponentially. Consider the recent Twitch data breach. A hacker exploited a misconfigured cloud server and gained access to a trove of Twitch’s sensitive user data and application source code. And Twitch is an Amazon company using the Amazon cloud! That tells you how complex and difficult this problem is.

What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?

Widespread adoption will be within reach when more people understand the new security paradigm presented by cloud computing. When enterprises migrate their IT architectures to the cloud, they tend to think of it like a remote data center and still try to defend it like a data center.

They don’t understand that the principal attack surface in the cloud is the API control plane, which doesn’t exist in the data center. But I see that realization beginning to gain traction this year … finally. We’re on the tail end of the early adopter phase — we’ve grown 3X year over year in each of the last three years, and today, we secure millions of cloud resources for large and small organizations. But there’s plenty of room to grow.

What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?

There’s a lack of resources for people who want to learn, so our best marketing strategy is to educate — give it to people straight — without marketing fluff.

We regularly conduct Cloud Security Masterclasses that guide enterprises on how to deploy low-code, automated policy tools to run faster in the cloud with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud platforms without “breaking the rules.” We want people to understand that a secure cloud infrastructure allows their companies to focus on innovation while gaining the confidence and trust of business leaders, regulators and consumers.

Our primary audiences are experienced practitioners in cloud or computing security who are not interested in sitting through flashy presentations. They’re looking for practical, technical, specific, in-depth, thoughtful and useful content. The masterclasses, along with handbooks and the annual State of Cloud Security Report, have been successful in educating prospective and current customers on the issues and validating that Fugue knows what it’s doing.

A current list of complementary Cloud Security Masterclasses is available at www.fugue.co/masterclass.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful toward who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My wife. I realize that may be cliché, but it’s true. I had worked as a DHS contractor for several years, then went to work full time at AWS, which provided a comfortable and stable living for my family. I felt like I owed it to my family to stay at AWS, but my wife insisted that I needed to launch Fugue. So, I took on the risks and a substantial pay cut to become an entrepreneur not only because I had her full support but also because I was under her orders to do so.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

We’re building the technologies enterprises need to secure their cloud. Just as importantly, we’re constantly working to raise awareness among organizations of all sizes across all industries about the dire security threats cloud misconfigurations present and how to mitigate them.

Earlier I referenced the book I wrote in 2016, “Immutable Infrastructure,” which explains how to abandon the data center mindset that prioritizes individual machine uptime and maintenance and embrace a more flexible approach using API-driven infrastructure as code. That’s a great starting point for anyone whether or not they’re an IT professional.

The resource library on the Fugue website offers a number of e-books, whitepapers, webinar recordings, and other educational content. For example, I recently led a webinar on the types of AWS misconfigurations that can result in an S3 data breach and walked attendees through a real-time simulation of various tactics bad actors use to exploit those misconfigurations to find and extract sensitive data.

I also regularly present at industry conferences and events. Earlier this month during both BrightTALK’s virtual conference on Modern Application Development and the Virginia Cyber Security Partnership annual meeting, I explained to attendees how they can identify dangerous and overly permissive IAM misconfigurations — and how hackers leverage these vulnerabilities to access your environment, discover resources, move laterally, and extract data without detection.

The primary objective of our education program — the Cloud Security Masterclass series, the presentations, webinars, e-books, etc. — is to show organizations how they can now build security into their cloud infrastructures from the start. The “how” isn’t “implement Fugue,” and we’re not only talking to cybersecurity, DevOps and engineering personnel. We want to raise awareness for all employees enterprise wide, including the C-suite and the board of directors. As Sun Tzu wrote, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

I have a hard time with this kind of question because I believe it’s the journey that makes the person. If a person who is just starting their career as a software engineer asks me for advice, I’ll tell them to do something that keeps them up at night because they love it, even if that something is not the technology sector.

I’m a pragmatist and understand that entering this industry is a practical decision because there are lots of well-paying jobs and opportunities to grow a successful career. Like any job, there’s lots of drudgery to deal with on a daily basis. But if your work excites you, you’ll have fun and gain immense satisfaction, even on the boring days.

I have two inspirations:

The first is that we advance the education of women worldwide. Whatever the issue or challenge the global community is facing — halting climate change, managing increasing population densities, reducing violence, ending wars, just to name a handful — the one common factor in achieving our shared goals is educating women.

The second is that everyone should try to be an artist in some way, somehow. Playing music, writing poetry, painting, even writing code as a form of self-expression. John Quincy Adams said, “I am a warrior, so that my son may be a merchant, so that his son may be a poet.” The world is made better when people pursue creative tasks just for the sake of it because that causes the mind to expand in ways that inspire people to do great work.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

There’s a scene in the movie “Lawrence of Arabia” when Peter O’Toole walks into a room with two British army officers, and one asks him to “do the trick.” O’Toole lights a match and doesn’t flinch when it burns out on his fingers. When one officer asks how he can ignore the pain, he replies, “The trick is not to care.” I think there is real wisdom in that. There’s plenty of discomfort and hassle in anything you’re doing — and overcoming obstacles is the only way you’ll actually find your way to doing something interesting to you.

When my Fugue colleagues and I look at a technical problem, we run at the hard parts because that’s where the value is — in conquering the things that are really challenging.

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 🙂

Cloud computing represents the most significant and disruptive change to computing since the adoption of the mainframe computer about 60 years ago. That’s not hyperbole or my opinion — it’s fact. Yet the impact that this transformation has had on security has gone largely unaddressed by business and security leaders, who are under enormous pressure from all sides — their boards, employees and customers — to accelerate digital transformation initiatives. In the rush to migrate IT systems to the cloud, they’re creating a new computing paradigm. But their approach to security remains stuck in the 1990s, as evidenced by the steady cadence of news headlines on the latest devastating data breaches.

We’re presenting you with the opportunity to level the cybersecurity battlefield. Fugue doesn’t offer the latest iteration on traditional security solutions; we’ve developed the first unified, proactive solution to cloud security for highly regulated and cloud-first businesses. We’re committed to helping enterprises secure their cloud computing environments and turn the tide in the decades-long battle against malicious actors. Fugue has been ahead of the hackers. With your help, businesses and government organizations worldwide can stop defending their cloud environments and instead take an offensive position to securing their enterprise and customer trust.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Josh Stella LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/josh-stella-949a9711

Josh Stella Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshstella

Fugue Website: www.fugue.co

Fugue LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fugue-inc-

Fugue Twitter: https://twitter.com/fugueHQ

Fugue Facebook: www.facebook.com/FugueHQ

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future Is Now: Josh Stella Of Fugue On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Maria Leonard Olsen: 5 Things You Need To Know To Survive And Thrive After Divorce

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

No one is responsible for your happiness but you. Stop looking for something outside of you to complete you. You are enough. I started loving myself after my divorce. I even had a marriage ceremony to myself, in which I promised to honor myself and make changes in my life so that it aligned with my values.

As part of our series about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Survive And Thrive After A Divorce Or Breakup” I had the pleasure of interviewing Maria Leonard Olsen.

Maria Leonard Olsen is the mother of two children, a lawyer, journalist and author of several books, including 50 After 50: Reframing the Next Chapter of Your Life. She is the podcast host of “Becoming Your Best Version” and co-host of the Inside Out radio show on WPFW-fm, 89.3, in Washington, D.C. Her TEDx Talk, “Turning Life’s Challenges Into a Force for Good,” was released in November 2021. See www.MariaLeonardOlsen.com for more information.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to ‘get to know you’. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?

I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. My parents were forbidden by law to marry in Maryland. Until 1967, interracial marriage was illegal in 16 states!

I grew up in white neighborhoods and schools and always felt a bit out of place, as the sole brown person. I overcompensated by becoming a people pleaser. At least excelling in school served me well!

Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

At age 50, I got sober, divorced, became an empty nester and was living alone for the first time in my life. I wrote a book about how I crawled out of a hole of despair, and saw that it helped thousands of people. So, while my day job is working as a lawyer, my passion is helping others re-invigorate their lives and use their life’s challenges to help others.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

I spoke at the National March to End Rape Culture. One in four women will have been sexually assaulted in her lifetime, yet so many people keep these experiences secret. I could not talk about my rape without crying for many years. In fact, I kept it a secret for decades. But after I spoke at the march, I was surrounded by young women who said they could not believe I shared my story and how much that helped them. I realized that I had a mission to speak out.

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?

When I turned 50, my gift to myself was to try 50 new things in my 50th year to determine how I wanted to live the next chapter of my life. I wanted to sing on a stage, but I am a terrible singer. I went to an open mic and belted out a song. I left the stage to wan applause. I was awful! But I learned from the experience that fear will not kill me.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” I had given too much of my power away by caring deeply about what others thought of me. I no longer do that. I care more about what I think and if what I am doing aligns with my values. It has changed my life.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I am writing a book about the Pandora’s Box of DNA test kits. These kits are so accessible now, but people are not prepared for the discoveries. I have interviewed dozens of people who discovered their fathers who raised them were not their biological fathers, or who have found siblings they never knew about.

People take these tests for fun. I want them to be aware of the ramifications and to know how and where to get help processing shocking news.

I was married for 25 years. I still love my ex-husband. We grew up together. But I drank my way out of that marriage until he had had enough. I grieved the family life I dreamed of as a child. It took me years to move past the hurt. I had to internalize the message that no one is responsible for my happiness but me. I had used outside affirmations as a barometer of my self-worth, to my detriment.

I learned that I still have much to give the world and that I can make a difference. I learned the difference between being alone and being lonely. I got into a couple of unhealthy relationships after my divorce and had to reach down deep to leave them. I had to value myself more and not settle for less than I deserved.

In your opinion, what are the most common mistakes people make after they go through a divorce? What can be done to avoid that?

Spend time alone. Do not jump into a rebound relationship. Sometimes, it can be scary being alone. But realize that you are enough and that you will be ok. Storms in life are frequently making room for something better. So let go. Just be.

Get involved with something that makes the world a better place. Get out of your head. Don’t run away from your feelings, but don’t stay on a pity pot. Do esteem able acts to raise your self-esteem.

It is easy to grow complacent in one’s life. Divorce forces re-evaluation. Maybe it can spurn growth and new passions in life. It did for me. I realized that my experiences could help others. I wrote books and articles about my experiences that have helped thousands of people. People trust me with their stories because they know what I have been through and the similarities in our stories.

Do activities that interest you, and you will meet people who share your interests. Even if you don’t, you will be doing things you like and enriching your life. Check out your local college’s, community center’s or museum’s offerings. Get involved in volunteer work. You will realize that you like you, and that is the most important thing. As your energy becomes more positive, you will attract more positive people into your life.

What is the one thing people going through a divorce should be open to changing?

Open your mind to new things. Travel. Read. Learn new things. This is a time to grow and to re-discover who you are and who you want to be. Change your routine. Expand your horizons. Your life is happening right now. Don’t waste the time you have left.

You are not what happened to you or the mistakes you made. You don’t have to live there. You can grow from any situation. What can you learn? What can you do better in your next relationship? I believe my husband and I took each other for granted after years of being together. But love is active; it shouldn’t become passive. So in my relationship now, I actively choose to love him every day. And each day, we text each other one thing we appreciate about the other person. It can be a small thing. This keeps us focused on the positive. And that which we focus on becomes magnified in our minds.
No one is responsible for your happiness but you. Stop looking for something outside of you to complete you. You are enough. I started loving myself after my divorce. I even had a marriage ceremony to myself, in which I promised to honor myself and make changes in my life so that it aligned with my values.
Surround yourself with people who uplift you. Avoid energy vampires. You need to be around positive vibration, especially now. I cut out negative people from my life and learned how to set appropriate boundaries. I try to be with people who discuss ideas instead of other people. This has bettered the quality of my life and interactions.
Keep a journal. It helps to process your feelings. It is also helpful to look back at your entries and see how far you’ve come. Most of the things I worried about never came to fruition. Writing them down, though, helped me release them. I am learning to let go of worry because it is a waste of energy.
Remember that your life is happening right now. Don’t settle for the gray safety that sameness offers. The world is big, and it is your oyster. Go out and try new things. The internet has opened the world up in ways we never could have imagined. Travel is one of my favorite things to do. It expands our perspective and helps me cultivate gratitude for the wonders of the world and all of my blessings.

Practice self-care, which includes mental, social, physical, spiritual, financial and other aspects. Remember that you cannot pour from an empty cup. You need to take care of yourself. No one else is going to do it.

Do you have any favorite books, podcasts, or resources related to this topic that you would recommend to our readers?

Please check out my podcast, “Becoming Your Best Version,” which is available on iTunes, Spotify and five other platforms. I interview inspiring women, who give tips on becoming their best selves.

For books, read my 50 After 50: Reframing the Next Chapter of Your Life, which describes how I moved on after divorce. It is a great guide for anyone seeking to reinvigorate their lives.

Other books that inspired me include Man’s Search for Meaning and The Four Agreements. Both contain valuable lessons that changed my life.

Spread kindness. You may be the only expression of love that a given person experiences on a certain day. If we all spread love, the world would be a much better place for all of us.

Oprah. She overcame much adversity to become wildly successful. And she uses her platform to help so many people. I would like to do the same.

Thank you for these great insights and for the time you spent with this interview. We wish you only continued success!

Maria Leonard Olsen: 5 Things You Need To Know To Survive And Thrive After Divorce was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Author David Siegel Of Meetup: 5 Things We Can Each Do To Help Solve The Loneliness Epidemic

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Talk about your current situation. If you’re lonely, you’re not alone. There are so many others that feel the same way. Be vulnerable around the challenges that you’re facing and why it might be hard for you to go out and do things, especially during the pandemic. By talking about it, acknowledging it, and sharing it with others, you’ll be on the way toward finding a solution.

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 with David Siegel.

David was selected by both WeWork and Meetup’s founder to succeed him as CEO in 2018. He has quickly become a sought-after expert on community building. Prior to his role as CEO of Meetup, he was the CEO of Investopedia. He has more than 20 years of experience in growing revenue and profit in digital media, subscriptions, and e-commerce. He is a motivational leader with experience in mergers and acquisitions, turnarounds, scaling operations, and growing businesses in the post-startup phase. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Columbia University, and he earned his M.B.A. from The Wharton School. His first book, Decide & Conquer, will be published by HarperCollins in March 2022.

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 value the power of community because I have lived it. Growing up in an Orthodox Jewish and religious household, community was a way of life. When there was a death, the entire Orthodox community gathered, bringing food to the bereaved family for many weeks, and visiting what we refer to as sitting Shiva at their home. Community also meant joyous celebrations of marriages and births. These religious traditions date back thousands of years. As an adult, I have also found community through my children’s schools, my career, and other avenues of life. Community has played an integral role throughout my life, and that is why Meetup speaks to my soul.

Meetup is a company focused on building community. Meetup understands that we become better people when we’re around other people and meeting in person.

Everything I’ve done and every job I’ve held has led me to this moment as CEO of Meetup. After business school, my first job was in technology as an early employee at DoubleClick, an adtech company that was eventually acquired by Google. I kept on that path working for a series of tech companies, and increasingly moved into larger leadership roles. At 1–800 Flowers.com, I ran mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning, and business development. I progressed to become the general manager and ran a number of different businesses for Everyday Health, a start-up digital health publisher that grew to have an IPO on the NYSE. I went on to become president of Seeking Alpha, a technology company focused on startups seeking financing. It was a natural progression to Investopedia, where I held my first CEO role. That was a fun ride where the company tripled its revenue over a three-year time period, and shareholders were happy for its sale to another company at a significantly higher valuation. It was around that time when I was approached by WeWork to lead Meetup and become their first outside CEO and take over for their founder, who led for 16 years. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have this role and the opportunity to continue Meetup’s mission of building community.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

The professional relationships I’ve built throughout my career probably have had such an enormous effect on me, starting when I was an early employee at DoubleClick where at 24 years old I was a member of the DoubleClick executive team and leadership team. I have found that the relationships I built 20 years ago are still helping me today. And that relates directly to the probably most interesting story that’s ever happened to me in my career. During the time when Meetup was being sold by WeWork, we looked at many potential buyers. One of them was a mentor that I’ve had for over 20 years, a business titan named Kevin Ryan. He was the CEO of DoubleClick when I started working there a few years out of college. He later founded MongoDB, Business Insider, Zola, and Gilt. We met 20 plus years ago and we maintained that relationship — he has been an extraordinary mentor to me. During the sale of Meetup, I decided to reach out to him and ask him for advice on who a buyer could be. He knew a couple of potential buyers, and he was incredibly thoughtful by providing feedback on how we could find the right buyer. As time went on, however, I realized that Kevin Ryan himself should acquire Meetup. And because of that relationship I began in my 20s, Kevin and another investor acquired Meetup and have set us up for success. I now work with a trusted chairman — someone who I’ve known for a long time and who is a true leader in the tech industry.

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’m not sure if I would use the word funniest, but when I started out I had no idea what “I wanted to be when I grew up.” In college, I was a liberal arts major. I studied philosophy, political science, and economics — hardly a directed future career. So, I decided to continue my education in hopes it would help me figure out what I wanted to do. Perhaps that was a mistake, perhaps not. I was still undecided so I thought consulting was the best path forward for me: it would be an opportunity to gain exposure to different fields and disciplines, and I thought that it could ultimately help me to make my career path decision. So I worked in consulting for two years and I guess it was a mistake in that I learned that I absolutely hated consulting.

I learned that I needed to be involved, to roll up my sleeves, and to not create binders or PowerPoint decks that never went anywhere. I learned the hard way that I enjoy the process of building. I like to actually help companies, help people, and build great products. Those actions can change people’s lives, similar to what has been done with Investopedia, Meetup, and 1–800 Flowers.com, and others. So perhaps it was a funny mistake to have chosen consulting because I realized how much I hated it, but mistakes can be great things because they also provide incredible life lessons and key takeaways.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I’m always working on something exciting at Meetup, and there are three projects which come to mind immediately: our podcast, Meetup Live, our soon to be released organizer app and my book, Decide & Conquer.

First, I love hosting our podcast, Keep Connected. A podcast is another way to connect, but not in front of a screen. People listen to podcasts while walking, driving, exercising, you name it, and we have the privilege of sharing positive stories of community. Meetup’s mission is to inspire and empower people’s growth through human connections, and our podcast guests — be it experts or Meetup organizers — all aim to inspire people about the positive impact of community, as well as how to build one that works for them. We feature the stories that are better heard by the voices that lived them. We have so many fascinating stories of human connection, and now more than ever, people need to know it is possible to connect with each other. If our podcast can encourage someone to attend or organize a Meetup event and feel more connected with others, it is worth it. In fact, our top three most downloaded podcasts share a theme of friendship and happiness: How to Hack your Happiness, An Introverts Guide to Friendship, and How to Live a Meaningful Life.

The company’s public Meetup group, Meetup Live, produces two live events weekly and topics vary from educational to entertaining featuring experts, authors, executives, and event organizers. The most popular live event to date was Making New Friends as an Adult. This event attracted 11,500 RSVPs for a live, online video conference.

Another exciting update we have in the works is a new Meetup organizer app for iOS and Android. Using the organizer app, Meetup group leaders will be able to manage their groups, oversee events, and learn best practices wherever they go. That means, much like Uber, Etsy, and other dual-sided platforms, Meetup is going to have two apps: one focused on creating an amazing experience where members can find great groups and events, and the other for organizers to make it easy for them to manage their groups and events wherever they go.

The third thing I am excited about right now is the forthcoming launch of my book, Decide & Conquer (HarperCollins/release date: March 2022). It shares my perspective on community building, decision making, business and teamwork, and what not to do from real-life personal experiences I had working as the Meetup CEO reporting into WeWork. I think there will be quite a few lessons that help people come together to grow, professionally.

Can you share with our readers a bit why you are an authority about the topic of the Loneliness Epidemic?

As CEO of Meetup, it’s my job to understand why Meetup has been the leader in connecting people, fostering friendships, and building real communities since 2002. Meetup is kind of the antidote to loneliness in a way.

We’ve learned that when Meetup brings people together over a common interest, or to participate in an activity, we are providing them with a straightforward way to converse easily and connect authentically. Everyone at a Meetup event shares something in common, which is a clear starting point for new friendships.

We’ve also done studies and have learned that Meetup has a positive impact on those who use it. The researchers at ImpactED, University of Pennsylvania, surveyed members and the feedback was outstanding.

The findings for Meetup members revealed

80% of people who go to Meetup events feel more connected to others
90% of those who joined to learn something new increased their knowledge and/or skills
72% of people reported an increased number of friendships

The findings for Meetup organizers revealed

89% of organizers reported an increased ability to impact the lives of others
74% of organizers say Meetup has made their life better
78% of organizers reported an increased impact on their self-confidence

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?

There’s a famous study around loneliness and its effects on one’s physical health — it had a conclusion that being lonely is as harmful as smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. I think we all know today how dangerous smoking can be for one’s health. Yet, so few of us really understand and appreciate the same level of danger that loneliness can be for one’s health. In fact, there is a famous study that Harvard has been conducting for the last 50 years. The study looks at people in their college years attending Harvard and follows them into their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s even into their 80s. They looked at the levels of happiness for those individuals and what life events had the most significant impact on their happiness. The number one indicator of one’s happiness in this long-term study was relationships, or often, one’s lack of relationships. Lonely people also pass away at an earlier age.

Another interesting avenue of research is looking at happiness as a chemical phenomenon. Radha Agarwal, founder of Daybreaker and the author of an awesome book called Belong, uses an acronym, D.O.S.E. to understand the natural chemical components of happiness: D stands for dopamine, O for oxytocin, S for serotonin, and E for endorphins. These four naturally-occurring chemicals give people energy and cause them to want to get out and do things. And when people are motivated to be out and experience life, they’re often much less lonely. For me, it’s incredibly motivating to take care of myself, and make sure I’m sleeping 7 or 8 hours a night, eating healthily, and exercising. All these things contribute to your health, but they also make it so you’re less lonely. Loneliness affects your health and health affects your loneliness: it works both ways, if you end up finding ways to decrease your loneliness, it also has a direct impact on your health as well.

On a broader societal level, in which way is loneliness harming our communities and society?

One of the greatest dangers in the world is its divisiveness. And we see that in our own political systems from both sides. One of the biggest reasons for that polarization is ignorance. It’s a lack of exposure of people from the right to the left, from one religion to another religion from people of one race to people of a different race.

When people isolate themselves they don’t meet people who are different from them, who have different experiences than them, they make assumptions about others and that can be dangerous. Loneliness can cause feelings of fear and isolation, which make it harder to interact with new people. Add in a Facebook feed with misleading or false information — this only exacerbates a one-sided view.

Meetup is focused on bringing people together who are different — different ages, different religions, different races and from different countries, who can all come together over a common interest, whether it’s board games, tech events, knitting, you name it!. There’s something healing about that opportunity to meet people who are different from yourself and learn what you have in common. People need to come tougher to end loneliness, it’s also necessary for reducing racism and xenophobia.

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.

One of the biggest cities in the world is New York City and on a per capita basis we probably have a higher proportion of people who feel alone. It’s an unfortunate phenomenon, being in the nation’s biggest city and feeling such a profound sense of loneliness.

We believe Meetup is the antidote to loneliness. We use technology to get people off of technology. When you’re using technology, you are not participating in the beautiful world that we have in front of us.

So you asked for three reasons why we’re in a loneliness epidemic. Here are my top three:

Technology is addictive. You can watch the movie Screenagers or any of the other documentaries and research studies. Social media platforms and gaming companies are intentionally making their products highly addictive, which drives profit for founders and their investors. The addictive nature of gaming and technology is the first reason we’re in a loneliness epidemic.
There’s an incredible book by Robert Putnam called Bowling Alone and in it he really sheds light on the fact that back in the day, there used to be an enormous number of communal infrastructures where people could socialize, like bowling leagues. I’ll tell you that my grandparents were in a bowling league for 20 years, and they just loved bowling together. My mom who’s in her 70s was in a bowling league too, in fact she and I were in a parent-child league together. The number of people who go bowling regularly has increased significantly, while the number of people who are part of leagues has decreased. People bowl alone now often. The number of people who join communities like the PTA, synagogues, churches, and temples has also declined significantly. People are missing out on large communal experiences. Reason number two is the lack of communal infrastructure that exists today. In the past, there were built-in communities where you could connect with others. Today those aren’t as common.
Lastly, it’s 2021 we’re close to reaching two solid years of the pandemic. There is no question in my mind that this is making people more isolated. Before the pandemic studies found that 46% of people regularly felt lonely and 62% of Gen Z were rarely lonely. Because of the pandemic, every one of those numbers is higher today. The impact of COVID is felt now but it’s going to be felt for generations to come. And that’s certainly a third reason why we’re facing loneliness today.

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.

It’s very easy for people to understand the benefits of going and doing something social. The challenge is actually doing something. My first advice is to stop thinking. Just do it. There’s a reason why Nike is so successful. Yes, their sneakers are great, but their slogan and what it represents is the number one action I would suggest people do to solve the loneliness epidemic. Say yes to everything. Be a “yes” person.
Often, people are reluctant to do things with others because they have a fear of rejection. And that’s completely normal. Everyone fears rejection. Figure out a path for yourself to invite others out. Don’t wait to be invited, invite others. That’s the second action that I would recommend in terms of a solution.
Third, talk about your current situation. If you’re lonely, you’re not alone. There are so many others that feel the same way. Be vulnerable around the challenges that you’re facing and why it might be hard for you to go out and do things, especially during the pandemic. By talking about it, acknowledging it, and sharing it with others, you’ll be on the way toward finding a solution.
Number four: I’m the CEO of Meetup, so I have to say this, but it also happens to be that I strongly believe in the power of Meetup’s ability to solve the loneliness crisis. Join a meetup group. There’s an incredible person that I had the opportunity to meet through my work at Meetup. His name is Omar Acosta and he’s one of Meetup’s top organizers. Before joining Meetup, Omar was on his couch, playing video games for hours and hours every day and he was not happy. His brother recommended that he try Meetup to get out and make friends. Omar went to a Meetup event. He went back a second time. By the sixth time, he went to an event the group’s organizer (who was moving away) asked Omar to take over his group. That was nine years ago. His outdoors group in Dallas, Texas has had 900+ different events, from rock climbing to hiking. There are six marriages (that Omar knows of) that came as a direct result of people Meeting through the group. This is someone who was reluctant to take the initiative. Now Omar is a leader. He’s not only cured his own loneliness but has helped thousands of other people become less lonely.
Another incredible person I’ve met is a Meetup organizer in Michigan named David Good. He is very introverted but wanted to make friends. He knew that he loved playing board games, specifically strategy board games, so he came to Meetup to find gaming events and meet people. Then, after a period of time, he decided to become a Meetup organizer and created his own group. He now runs three groups on Meetup. Hopefully, he will never feel lonely again. By organizing a new group on a topic he loved, David was able to find a close-knit community. Being a Meetup organizer can be even more impactful than attending Meetup events.

This is not going to be a surprise. Currently, we have 55 million people around the world and 193 different countries who use Meetup. Meetup, like Facebook, is a movement and Facebook has close to 3 billion people around the world who use Facebook or Instagram or WhatsApp and their suite of apps. There’s no reason that 3 billion or 7 billion people around the planet shouldn’t use Meetup as well. I invite everyone to join what I’m calling “the Meetup Movement,” a commitment to getting off the couch and meeting new people out in the world. Let’s commit to making new friends, and learning new things. Every single month. The good that could come out of that movement is absolutely profound. So if you’re interested in that movement, let’s talk. My email is [email protected].

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 🙂

A few months ago I reached out to Angela Duckworth, a truly incredible behavioral psychologist, neuroscientist, and host of the podcast, No Stupid Questions. She wrote a powerful book on resilience called Grit. I reached out to her because she is someone who I deeply admire and I would love to find a way in which she and Meetup could collaborate.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

They can follow Meetup at @Meetup, and find me on LinkedIn using this link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmsiegel/ or follow me at @Davidmeirsiegel on Twitter

Tell us about your book Decide & Conquer?

Like many people, during the pandemic, I had a chance to take a step back and reflect on my life and career. I thought about the choices I made — from delaying my career and opting to get an MBA when my son was a newborn, to navigating Meetup’s divestment from our former owners at WeWork, to pivoting Meetup’s event model in a pandemic. Making decisions when people are counting on you — whether it’s your family, your team, or a company of people — is hard. But with the right mindset and a few rules of thumb, it can be much easier.

Decide & Conquer is a book on decision-making that I wish I had been able to read when I became an executive. I share the 44 major challenges that new leaders face and offer a framework for making decisions in a new leader’s first 30, 60, and 90 days on the job. It draws on my education at The Wharton School, advice from some amazing colleagues and mentors I’ve had over the years, and, of course, my experience leading Meetup as its CEO.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

Author David Siegel Of Meetup: 5 Things We Can Each Do To Help Solve The Loneliness Epidemic was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Alisha Moopen Of Aster DM Healthcare: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During…

Alisha Moopen Of Aster DM Healthcare: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Be willing to actively ask others for help, including external paid consultants. We brought Senior Consultants from Bain on-board to further redefine our future strategy.

As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Alisha Moopen.

Alisha Moopen is the deputy managing director of Aster DM Healthcare, managing the company’s operations in India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Having joined the company as a director in 2013, she is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction and development of the company, and notably spearheading the expansion of the group into new markets. Aster DM Healthcare is one of the world’s largest integrated healthcare conglomerates with 365 facilities, including hospitals, clinics and pharmacies, across seven countries, most notably in the Western Hemisphere with the development of a hospital in the Cayman Islands.

Before joining Aster, I became a Chartered Accountant from the ICAS (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland) and worked with Ernst & Young. I graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with distinction in Finance & Accounting and hold a degree in Global Leadership & Public Policy Change from Harvard University.

My philosophy in life is “Healthiness is Happiness.” I want to enable quality healthcare across the globe through treating people with compassion, precision and excellence. I am dedicated to the cause of women empowerment and mental health. I believe in the diversity of workforce, strength in differences and focused on improving the glass ceilings at work for women. I was instrumental in launching the Women in Leadership program at Aster DM Healthcare which empowers talented and capable female employees with training and growth opportunities, to shape them for leadership roles.

I am also an active philanthropist, being a trustee of Aster DM Foundation and involved in social welfare through Aster Volunteers program which bridges the gap between people who would like to help with those in need.

I am dedicated to ensuring that humanity leverages on advances in science as well as personal re-engineering of self, ranging from lifestyle choices to dealing with the external environment, to staying happy and healthy, both physically and mentally. I believe using technology can enable better health outcomes for population management through precision medicine, connected care and AI.

Outside of Aster, I am a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, I serve on the Board of YPO’s Dubai Chapter and I am also the founder and managing director of the Dubai Healthcare Business Group. Recently, I joined the board of directors for the Thought Leadership & Innovation Foundation, a not-for-profit organization based in the United States working at the nexus of science, technology and public health.

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?

I am grateful for my father, Dr. Azad Moopen, who founded Aster DM Healthcare in 1987, with a small clinic and has grown Aster into a major healthcare company with 27 hospitals, 115 clinics and 223+ pharmacies that sees 20 million patients annually and growing.

I had a family support by way of mom, dad, husband and in laws who supported my every journey. But I had strong external support as well such as my executive coach and mentor as well as my YPO community that helped me always look with an outside in perspective.

To follow in my father’s footsteps, looking after people’s health and fulfilling my role in strengthening communities and contributing to humanity, was absolutely a natural choice.

While my father has been my mentor who has always guided me in the right direction and helped me grow as a leader that I am today, I am extremely thankful to our team of 21,000 passionate Asterians who have been passionately striving everyday to build the organization into a leading healthcare provider in countries that we currently operate.

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?

Health and knowledge I truly believe are the biggest assets in one’s lives.

People work in healthcare who are keen to care, give back and show compassion through our darkest moments. I feel very proud of this organization of ours that thrives on making peoples’ lives better every single day.

Over the last 35 years, Aster has created a healthcare eco-system across two geographical regions. In the Gulf region, Aster’s primary care clinics act as the initial touchpoint in the patient journey, while pharmacies and hospitals continue the care. For complex tertiary and quaternary care, patients are referred to Aster Hospitals in India. Within Gulf country operations, clinic doctors can hone their surgical skills at Aster’s hospitals.

We have a caring mission with a global vision to serve the world with accessible and affordable quality healthcare. When nobility of purpose is powered by knowledge and technology, there are no limits. At Aster DM Healthcare, we strive for excellence, every moment, every day to bring great healthcare within reach for millions of people.

The COVID-19 pandemic was the biggest challenge in our history. In India, where the country’s entire healthcare system was confronted with challenges to supply oxygen and ventilators and set up field hospitals for the multitude of patients that struggled with COVID-19, I helped lead patients on the road to recovery and was responsible for a remarkable turnaround on behalf of patients at Aster’s hospitals. We launched field hospitals in major hotspots like New Delhi, Kerala and Bangalore in a matter of a few days and had 100 Aster doctors from GCC consult COVID-19 patients in India free of cost. As India braced for another possible surge in infections around its September-November festival season, I worked with our staff to ensure that our Aster Hospitals are prepared to respond proactively, adding beds and working to ensure ample supplies of essential resources are available.

I am also directly responsible for the integration of critical functions in the organization such as human resources, procurement and leading new digital health initiatives. As a result of the integration of these functions under my management, I was able to initiate efforts and execute a wide-ranging array of projects aimed at creating synergy between verticals and reducing cost expenditures across the group. This enabled me to grow the healthcare business into newer service verticals with added revenue streams like home care services, telehealth, labs & pharmacy.

While pivoting to digital health was a key priority for Aster, I accelerated this initiative with the onset of COVID-19 that led to conducting 100,000 consultations, onboarding of almost 800 doctors on the tele consult platform across five countries within the first eight months.

Meanwhile, I ensured that the core business of Aster DM Healthcare continued to grow amidst a significant drop in patient footfall, elective surgeries, and international patients.

Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?

No, I have never considered giving up, rather the challenge pushed me to think of it as an opportunity and adapt quickly with the circumstances to be able to continue serving our patients as per their needs. COVID-19 challenged people to the core and as a healthcare provider Aster had to remain at the center of the epidemic and help humanity cope up with this crisis. Doing nothing was simply not an option for me or Aster at this critical time in our history.

My motivation came from reminding myself that we have had countless accomplishments before the pandemic and we could get through this challenge now. The fact that we had many accomplishments during the pandemic was a major motivator to keep going and finding new ways to assist people and keep Aster on solid ground. I also wasn’t afraid to ask for help from my father who motivated me and kept me accountable and reminding me why we were doing all these efforts. I also connected and worked with experts to ensure that we have the best strategic inputs, ideas and timely execution in place. As a team, we celebrated our successes, both large and small.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

A leader must set a positive tone, acknowledging that is a challenging time, framing the challenges as growth opportunities and displaying empathy. It is also essential to speak openly about maintaining and strengthening resilience as well as listening and understanding to as many people as possible to figure out what is within your control to address.

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?

During uncertainty, the best way to boost morale is to show gratitude to your team’s efforts because this can increase their sense of wellbeing and ability to manage stress, while acknowledging that they are doing all they can possibly do in these circumstances. Besides work, people have their own personal challenges to handle, so it is key to recognize their efforts and be thankful for them.

A leader can inspire, motivate and engage their team by openly asking them what is and isn’t working for them and working together to find the best solution and help them work to the best of their abilities.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

I found the best way to communicate is in real-time using team and one-on-one meetings on a regular basis as a way for all to ask questions and raise concerns. It is best to be as transparent as possible and show that you are all in this together.

How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?

A leader needs to help the team set priorities and realize they can’t be on top of everything at once, while maintaining a collective, long-term view.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

The key is to remain agile, open to adapting to new solutions and maintain a constant connect with the pulse of your customer needs.

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?

One of the most common mistakes is not to maintain transparency with your people during difficult times. This raises suspicions and makes people feel uncertain and fearful and over-communication can overwhelm them when they may be already feeling this way. For us at Aster, we ensured that our employees are constantly aware of the difficult times that our organization is going through and aligned with us on the larger purpose that we are trying to serve.

I mentioned earlier about the importance of having a collective, long-term view so thinking too short-term is another common mistake.

The other mistakes I have seen are lacking empathy and not saying thank you. At Aster, we heavily stress empathy and gratitude at all times because it is part of our organizational culture to treat people well.

I am directly responsible for the integration of critical functions in the organization such as human resources and procurement and leading new initiatives. As a result of the integration of these functions under my management, I was able to initiate efforts and execute a wide-ranging array of projects aimed at creating synergy between verticals and reducing cost expenditures across the group. This enabled me to grow the hospitals business to newer markets while also looking at added revenue streams like home care services, telehealth, labs & pharmacy.

Meanwhile, I ensured that the core business of Aster DM Healthcare continued to grow amidst a significant drop in patient footfall, elective surgeries, and international patients.

Stay agile, open to new ideas and solutions and connected with the pulse of what your customers need. During the pandemic, we were quick to identify that patients wanted to seek medical care in the comfort and safety of their homes. This helped us launch our telehealth and homecare verticals.
Develop coordinated, high-level plans, implement and evaluate. A good example is Dubai’s Covid Management Strategy and the Taskforce that effectively implemented the strategy to ensure Dubai is one of the first countries to emerge out of the shackles of the pandemic. Being a part of the Taskforce, I have witnessed a seamless management of the situation with precision and accuracy, led by the Visionary Rulers of the UAE themselves.
Include others on the leadership team at the table to concisely enumerate what the real issues are and eliminate the background noise. Demand and model high energy and low drama.
Be willing to actively ask others for help, including external paid consultants. We brought Senior Consultants from Bain on-board to further redefine our future strategy.
Maintaining a direct connect with our frontline staff who are responsible for serving our patients. At Aster we started regular frontline obsession sessions through which we directly get to hear from our staff on what their patients need and how we can support them in doing it better.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Challenge the status quo!

Never just assume that things have to remain a certain way because it’s been like that always.

Always be courageous to challenge and curious to learn more.

How can our readers further follow your work?

You can learn more about Aster DM Healthcare and the work we are doing to improve healthcare access around the world at https://www.asterdmhealthcare.com/ and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Alisha Moopen Of Aster DM Healthcare: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Meet The Disruptors: Pelu Tran Of Ferrum Health On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your…

Meet The Disruptors: Pelu Tran Of Ferrum Health On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Take care of your employees. There are plenty of rational reasons to do this, from cost of turnover to institutional knowledge, but at the end of the day, these are people who trust us with their livelihood and time, and who believe in our company’s mission more than anybody else.

As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Pelu Tran.

Pelu is a serial healthcare entrepreneur who studied both medicine and engineering at Stanford University and was four months away from receiving his MD when he dropped out to start his first company, Augmedix. Pelu led the product and commercial teams, growing the company to over 1,000 employees in five countries and $20M in annual revenue from over half of the largest health systems in the US. After watching his uncle pass away from a preventable medical error in 2018, Pelu founded Ferrum Health, an enterprise AI deployment platform with the mission of improving patient outcomes by democratizing health systems’ access to the most innovative and impactful clinical AI technologies from around the world. Today, more than 500,000 unique patient records have been clearly analyzed via the Ferrum platform. Pelu is Technology Pioneer and expert contributor for the World Economic Forum, a Fellow of the UN World Summit on Innovation, and a member of Forbes’ Healthcare 30 under 30, and more. He also guest lectures at UC Berkeley, UCSF, and Stanford on healthcare leadership and innovation. Pelu would be a valuable contributor to this series because he’s has built his company on disrupting the status quo of healthcare technology.

I am originally from New Jersey and grew up with parents who had immigrated to the US. I attended Stanford to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in engineering, and continued on to med school.

Fast forward to 2018, I was 6 years into building my first company to over 1,000 people, with the support from strategic investors like McKesson, Sutter Health and CommonSpirit Health. During that time, I was also spending hours every week helping my family navigate my uncle’s late-stage lung cancer — a terminal condition that should have been treated years earlier, but had been missed by his physicians until it was too late.

I knew that there were dozens of AI tools that could have identified the medical error that led to my uncle’s death, but none of them were being used then, and few are being utilized even today. I saw then that healthcare leaders needed a trustworthy partner to help them keep up with the pace of and new AI disease diagnosis technology, and could deploy solutions to protect patients like my uncle before their lives and healthcare journeys become just another unfortunate statistic.

I approached my friend Ken, knowing his unique skill set could support me in starting a business to combat these medical misses. Together we founded Ferrum Health to manage the technological complexity of securely deploying new applications in health systems to support their patients, allowing healthcare leaders to focus on what they do best — delivering care. We believed this was the future of radiology.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Studies highlighting radiology malpractice statistics and error rates claim that 30–40% of lung cancers were actually present on imaging at some point before they were diagnosed, and approximately 40% of breast cancers were present on imaging before they were diagnosed as well. These errors of omission lead to a huge amount of preventable morbidity and mortality for patients.

Our team moved forward with the assumption that the data found in these publications was accurate, but that we, as a society, aren’t aware of it. This was a huge leap of faith for us. We understood that there probably was not a single doctor that believed the findings, but we decided to build a system that would confirm the problem, and then solve it.

We have built a safety net to catch patients who might slip through the cracks of diagnosis and peer-review through AI technology and our AI Hub that empowers physicians without disrupting their workflow. Together with our health system and developer partners, Ferrum Health is building a future in which every patient can benefit from the best technologies in the world, no matter who or where they are.

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?

This mistake seems obvious in hindsight, but hindsight is always 20/20 right? Early on when building our AI technology, we had this err of self righteousness. Once we identified the errors reported in the studies, then built the platform to find them in everyday use, we couldn’t fathom how others couldn’t see what we saw.

This was a rough reality, because we were basically telling brilliant, caring, hard working doctors that they were basically committing malpractice regularly. Through our conversations with doctors, we realized we were using accusatory words or phrases in our discussions, such as “patients deaths” or “mistakes” that caused physicians to shut us down.

We knew they were doing the best they could but it’s a system that’s failing them. They care, we care, and we couldn’t go at them with this antagonistic language. We learned OUR mistakes, and rephrased our approach to those conversations to communicate what we knew: there’s more data, more patients getting sick and more complex scans that are all pieces of a broken system that were converging to cause this.

Once we communicated our vision accurately of the benefits of marrying artificial intelligence and radiology, we had countless doctors who believed in our approach and we got a much larger adoption rate after we changed our positioning.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

My sophomore year of college, I had a chance to work as a corporate finance intern at a company called Integra Lifesciences. Seeing the CEO of the company, Stuart Essig at work, I remember vividly the relationship he had with his leadership team. They respected each other, were able to disagree constructively, were strategic thinkers who could still execute flawlessly on the operationally complex details of projects, and still managed to all be friends. As a mentor, he set the bar for the culture and team I aspire to have.

Healthcare is a complex system with countless lives at stake. It’s like a mechanical watch. There are many ways to disrupt it that will break it, and very few that will actually make it better. Most changes to complex systems will cause more damage than good, so we have to be particularly careful about the patient lives that will be affected. In healthcare, even seemingly obvious changes, like making providers financially responsible for patient outcomes, can have unintended negative consequences like forcing under-resourced rural hospitals and clinics to close.

Clearly negative disruptions, like Covid, can lead to positive changes, like accelerating the adoption of telemedicine. This leads to the dilemma where everyone agrees that healthcare needs to be disrupted, but nobody can agree on how that disruption needs to happen.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

The best three pieces of advice I got were:

Every business is made up of people, and people make every decision in a business. Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start when we go after large accounts that we want to work with, but the first step is always the same. Find an ally and champion within an organization who believes in the future we are building, and make them successful.
One of the rarest resources in the business is trust. I’ve come to appreciate how differentiating it is to have a reputation of trust, and how many opportunities arise because of it. Whether it is an investor, customer or employee, change and progress always requires some level of risk and therefore trust.
Take care of your employees. There are plenty of rational reasons to do this, from cost of turnover to institutional knowledge, but at the end of the day, these are people who trust us with their livelihood and time, and who believe in our company’s mission more than anybody else.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

We are offering a bold change to how health systems ensure they are delivering the right care for their patients, from population screening through diagnosis and treatment. I would love to be able to establish deeper partnerships with health systems where, rather than selling AI applications one by one to different clinical leaders, we are able to collaborate at the system level to fundamentally revisit how patients flow through their system and drive deeper systemic change together. We’d love to really take ownership over patient populations and clear pathways for commonly mismanaged conditions like lung cancer, aortic aneurysms and osteoporosis.

Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?

It’s an old book, but I continue to reread Positioning by Al Ries, which digs into why individuals remember brands and how successful companies have created and defended positions in crowded and noisy markets. Any business owner is going to need to think about how they stand out from their competition, and I think this book provides a great perspective on human psychology on the matter.

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 the classic one by Henry Ford: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

This is the challenge when you are trying to build technology to match a vision for a better future, and it’s extremely relevant to advances being made in the current state of the world.

I don’t think of it as ignoring the needs of the customer, but rather it’s about improving how the world looks no matter how obvious it is to us, or frustrating it is to communicate a vision and build something that doesn’t exist today. This is a challenge that every innovator has experienced.

I believe the solution is to solidify goals and pave a clear path to the future that intelligently brings together AI and radiology. And if and when we experience resistance, it’s important to focus on big picture needs and solve for those pain points.

There’s a lot of great things about our healthcare system and providers within, and there are also a lot of opportunities for improvement to support the physician’s themselves so they can be the greatest doctors. We need to improve the system in a way that eases the burden on doctors and their staff, and supports them in approaching each patient holistically.

We need a system that optimizes all of the moving pieces within healthcare and eliminates the clogs that have become the norm. If I could start a movement, it would be to bring people together to make smart, necessary improvements to the way patients flow through the healthcare system and drive deeper systemic change together. This could improve the lives of millions of people worldwide.

How can our readers follow you online?

Thank you! They can follow us on LinkedIn or our Ferrum Health blog page.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Meet The Disruptors: Pelu Tran Of Ferrum Health On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Dr Lawrence M Drake II Of LEADership: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During…

Dr Lawrence M Drake II Of LEADership: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Act with integrity and honesty. This is especially important when you have to deliver news about layoffs, but there are other times when you have to deliver unpleasant news, and you have to do it with integrity. People want to know the truth — resist the temptation to use the company or anything else as a crutch. When you are respectful and deliver the truth the way you would want to hear it, people will have more respect for you.

As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Lawrence M. Drake, II.

Dr. Lawrence M. Drake, II is a dynamic and focused global leader whose domestic and international experience has led him to be a champion of targeted recruitment and people development. After more than four decades as a corporate executive, entrepreneur, and researcher, Dr. Drake is now President & CEO of LEADership, Education and Development, a 21st century learning access advocacy organization, and the Chairman of executive development consultancy Hope 360, Inc. He was recently appointed Dean of the College of Business & Entrepreneurship at Bethune-Cookman University. He is a member of several boards, alumni associations, and professional organizations such as the International Coaching Federation, Forbes Coaches Council, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. His most recent collaboration Business Success Secrets: Entrepreneurial Thinking that Works (2021) is now both a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller. His book Color Him Father (2019) has received critical acclaim within the US and around the world. When he is not leading organizations, writing, or serving his community, Dr. Drake enjoys spending quality time with his wife, three daughters, two sons and six grandchildren.

I spent over forty years as a corporate executive, moving twenty times and living and working around the world. Through these experiences, I learned to think entrepreneurially about everything. When I left the corporate world, I began to apply my knowledge to a variety of industries. I realized that applied leadership and helping people become the best version of themselves while believing in possibilities of “what can be not just what is” were my zones of genius.

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?

I remember when I partnered with another entrepreneur on a venture. I was doing the payroll for our team. We weren’t using ADP or anything — we were actually calculating the payroll ourselves. When I added all the numbers up and compared the payroll to what we had in the bank, I realized there wasn’t enough money to pay me. I had to let my family know not only would I not get paid that week, but I wasn’t sure when there would be enough to pay me because of all the people we had on the payroll to keep the business going. It wasn’t very funny then, but as I look back, I wondered how I could not have known the balance between how much money was in the bank and how much needed to be paid out. I think I just had wishful thinking — I was hoping that money would magically appear so I could be paid too — but that didn’t happen. That went on for six months — for six months, I didn’t get paid at all. It was quite a time; I found out the real meaning of being a broke entrepreneur!

What I learned from that is that I was a bit ambitious in terms of hiring people. What I should have done is hired only what I needed rather than hiring what I thought I was going to need. I ended up hiring beyond our capacity in terms of customers and revenue coming in. I haven’t made that mistake since — it’s a pay as you go methodology when you’re starting a firm. You don’t hire more than you actually need, and everyone has to understand that if we don’t have work, we don’t have employees.

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 so many people, it’s hard to single out one — but I will share three stories that are especially meaningful.

In my corporate career, I will never forget my first boss Denny Larson. He was a young vice president at the company and I thought a lot of him because he was smart and savvy. One day, he called me into his office and asked me about my goals and career trajectory. I told him I wanted to be a vice president at 35, be a CEO before I’m 40 and retire when I’m 45 — I was in my mid-twenties at the time.

So he looked at me and he said, “Well first of all, Larry, you have to look the part. Meet me after work.” I was a little nervous, but I liked Danny and I trusted him. We got in his car and he took me over to his men’s shop and I’ll never forget the guy who waited on us — his name was Marv Soldner- real tall, lanky, skinny guy, looked like Mr. Magoo, but he was an incredibly nice man. And Danny told him to measure me for a suit. Now the back story here is I never had a suit — ever — because I couldn’t afford one. And so, he fitted me and asked what kind of suit I wanted, what color and all of that. He bought the suit and told me to come back and get it in a week. And then he leaned over to me and he said, “Look, if you’re going to get those things, if you’re going to do those things, you’ve got to look like you’re ready and prepared to do those things. Put some money aside every paycheck to buy some clothes. Make sure you look the part; make sure people take you seriously when you come into the room. And that has stuck with me my whole life. And, you know, when I look at my closet, I look at how I dress today, it has a lot to do with that lesson Danny taught me.

The second story is about Price Cobbs, my executive coach for 20 years, who passed away about two and a half years ago. He wrote the book Black Rage. He was an M.D. by training — he was a psychiatrist, and he was very interested in diversity long before we were having conversations about it like we are today. Price was over 80 years old when he died. When I lost my oldest daughter, Price was the first person I thought about when I started to look for therapy to help me get through that time. He was one of those people who would set you straight. He started coaching me when I was at PepsiCo, when I was a senior executive there. There were only 13 Black men and women in the senior ranks. He took a liking to me and I took a liking to him, and he was my coach for the rest of his life. He was always there and I made very few big decisions without talking to him about it.

He was a father figure, a friend. A confidant, a jokester. He was all of those, and I miss him terribly. He was instrumental in helping me really look at myself which, as I tell my executive coaching clients, is the reason you need a coach. I tell executives, particularly Black executives, that we’re never good at being able to see ourselves like other people see us. Part of coaching is being able to help you really see yourself like other people see you or at least have some vantage points so that you can be much more emotionally intelligent about what you do and how you do it. Price was very good at that; I learned not only how to be a better executive, but I learned my craft through paying attention to the way in which he coached me and others. Price was a coach for a lot of successful Black executives that I know — everybody from Ann Fudge, to Carla Harris to — you name it. He was a coach to all of us.

Finally, I can’t forget my kindergarten teacher, Ms. Solomon. She would get down on the floor with me and teach me how to count. She was very patient and very kind; I think about her all the time.

Those are three people who come to mind who have helped me — there are many, many more.

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 have three companies, so it’s hard for me to single them out, but let’s stay with the coaching business — I didn’t found it, my wife did. She and I reimagined the company — it used to be called Visions plus Solutions, but when we remarried, we changed the name to Hope 360, Inc. Hope stands for “helping other people excel.” She would always say that our company is here to give people hope. We’ve coached executives for 22 years and that is always the aim — how do we help them see a better version of themselves?

We’re all about purpose. We talk about coaching from a 360° perspective, which is mind, body and spirit. Individuals are not one dimensional, and neither should their coaching or our coaching practice be, so we focus on the total person. When we do that, we find purpose not only in the work we do, but we help them find purpose and we talk a lot about them finding their why. One of our key tenets is helping people realize why they do what they do. I’m a psychologist by training, so I have a natural need to be in that space anyway. But as a coach, it’s not about pathology — it’s all about helping individuals figure out how to be the best version of themselves in every space and area of their lives — whether at work or at home, raising children, single, married, building a company, or navigating their career. All of those are situations in which the passion and the purpose we have are married.

In 2008, when I was CEO of one of my investment partner’s portfolio firms, our mission was to build the brand of legacy recording artists of all genres. Our end goal was to make this company the choice destination and primary connection source for music, entertainment, and information. Due to a significant slowdown in ad spending, we couldn’t afford to cover our costs — it got to the point where we had only 90 days cash. The economic recession prevented a lot of our investors from continuing to provide funds. While we found two angel investors who got us through another three months, the company folded in 2009. The lessons learned from this experience was that even if you have a terrific concept, you must be aware of the ebbs and flows in the market. We didn’t realize how big of a downturn the market was in at the time.

Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?

I don’t know any entrepreneur who doesn’t say, “You know what, I need to go back and get a job, you know, because this is outrageous. This is hard.” And that’s particularly true when you’re not getting paid, business is not moving fast as you want to, or you don’t think you’re going to get the clients that you need. My drive comes from my faith. I’m very resilient in the sense that I’ve had a lot of doors closed in my face over the years, and that’s still happening.

There’s no one who runs an organization who doesn’t experience doors being closed in your face. When I was in high school, I was the kid who always wanted to ask that girl that was really cute to dance but I never did because I was so afraid they would say no. And and I can remember the times that I asked and they did say no and I was just crushed. And it made me even more gun shy. Some people wouldn’t believe that I’m an extrovert because I’m shy about a number of things — I think it’s because I’ve experienced some rejection over the years. However, I’m a resilient person. I work very hard — I’m not one to just throw in the towel; I’m going to stay with it as long as I can.

Probably the best example I can give is my marriage — this is my third marriage. I first got married when I was 20 and stayed married for 18 years. I foolishly got married a second time, stayed married 12 years, and now I’m in year 14 of my third marriage. I’ve been married practically my whole life — can’t figure out why I do that — but this time, thank God, I hit the jackpot. I don’t think there were very many women in the world who would have been as resilient as she was for me when I lost my oldest child. I’m glad I stuck with the idea that marriage could work, regardless of having two that didn’t.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

The most critical role of a leader in challenging times is for your people to feel like you are with them and you are present. They need to see that you have unshakable faith — that it’s going to work, that you’re going to get it. That they see you as someone who is committed wholeheartedly. And even if it’s not going exactly to plan that you’re faithful about it, you’re realistic enough to know, and you’re committed to an outcome. Even if you don’t make it, they will know you were there with them until the end. Your people need to know that you’re present, they need to know that you’re there.

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?

Uncertainty is a fact of life. We never know what’s around the corner completely. But I think in terms of inspiration, having purpose is really important to people. If you’re fighting for something and you really believe in each other, nothing is impossible. Everybody wants to believe that they’re going somewhere. The moment in which we believe that there’s nothing else to do and no place else to go is the moment that we can’t continue to strive and it’s when we lose that we’ve lost everything.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

Be straight, no chaser. Don’t try to beat around the bush. People can handle the truth if you give it to them. Be respectful, but don’t hide the truth because it’s hard. When I was at PepsiCo, we had to eliminate 250 management jobs. My HR director and I flew to about four or five cities on the same day to have these meetings and let these people go in person — it was hard. But what people appreciated was we told the truth and respected them enough to be honest and tell them in person. Some people cried because they had been with the company for 20 years — but we had to tell them straight, not send a note or letter in the mail. They appreciated that.

How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?

There is a Biblical proverb that says without a vision, the people will perish. I believe this and have practiced it in my life. You sent a vision for where you want to go, not a goal. Now, you may not reach it — really, visions are designed that way. But once you set it, all of your plans will come underneath that vision, and you can work on it regularly and adjust as needed. Yes, the future is unpredictable — but there will always be uncertainty. Life is about ambiguity; our ability to be agile and nimble in environments like that really determine our ability to stick it out, our ability to deal with uncertainty.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

The number one principle that will guide a company through difficult times is to be true to its mission and purpose.

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?

First, some companies are too ambitious, meaning they may overstate what their ability is or what they can actually do.

Second, many companies don’t have a clear strategy and purpose. In other words, they haven’t clearly identified the problem that they’re trying to solve or their product is trying to solve, and they don’t develop a good strategy and implementation plan. They haven’t chosen a proper strategy because the problem they’re trying to solve is not clear.

Thirdly, some companies hire bad people. When you hire bad people, you don’t have the best individuals to help you implement your strategy, and you will pay the price for that. There’s no substitute for having good people and good leadership, and there’s no substitute for having a clarity of purpose.

Finally, some entrepreneurs are arrogant. They think they know the answers to all the questions, and they refuse to hire the people that can provide answers because they’re intimidated by people who are smarter than them. Solid leaders and astute entrepreneurs don’t make this mistake.

The number one strategy is to constantly examine whether or not the product I’m trying to sell is something the market really wants or needs. It’s important that you make what you can sell rather than selling what they can make. If you do something really well and you’re really good at it but the market’s not buying it, you have a problem. Be agile enough to maintain your direction. Have multiple ways that you can improve your margins and improve your top line growth and your net income on your profitability. There’s only a few ways you can make money — you can sell more, you can raise your prices, or you can get new products in your portfolio.

During the pandemic, a lot of businesses changed what they offered, the way it was offered, and the price. They found new niches and, in some cases, built entirely different companies. That’s how the best entrepreneurs think — they’re always looking to the market to help them adjust.

Listen to the market, your people, and your customers so you can understand how everything is playing out and how you may need to respond in a crisis or uncertain situation. When I worked at PepsiCo running the KFC business, I was very concerned about our product offering. Our customers were telling us that our service was mediocre and they were visiting us once every 52 days, which was less than most quick-service restaurants (QSR). At the time, we only offered dinner — we didn’t have lunch or breakfast. The market was telling us that if we wanted to be competitive, we needed to have some semblance of one of those or both of those, and we also needed products that were unique to us. One of my markets was Chicago. I knew I couldn’t change everything, but I could adapt our product offering to complement what we already had on our menu. I got the company to change our uniforms and added a few soul food items to appeal to our customers in that market. We added macaroni and cheese, green beans, and cornbread and did a media campaign called “KFC is cooking.” The campaign was a huge success and our customer count improved significantly. People would come just for the sides even if they weren’t buying chicken, which improved our visitation rate and purchase rate. Since we had good margin on those products, we generated additional revenue. We also made the environment within the stores relevant to those customers. I replicated our Chicago success in Detroit and our other urban markets.
Be agile and willing to take measured risk. When I lived in Africa and was managing the Coca-Cola business in several countries there, one of our biggest challenges was that our water packaging wasn’t meeting the needs of our customers. There were local vendors who were selling water in plastic bags, while the Coca-Cola water was in a plastic bottle and very expensive. We realized there was an opportunity to change our packaging and create something smaller and more moderately priced that would be competitive against non-branded products. We also changed our juice ingredients and provided jobs for farmers who weren’t getting their products to market as efficiently as they needed to; this was important because their crops were supplying our juice business. We partnered with a manufacturer co-op in Ghana, shipped those products, and got them moved across the border to Nigeria. This was a win-win situation because we were able to support the local farmers and expand our business into new markets.
Lead by example — you shouldn’t ask your people to do things you’re unwilling to do. If you look at it, you have to walk the talk — your audio and video need to match! When I was in corporate, I couldn’t ask my people to work late or make sacrifices if I wasn’t willing to do the same. I don’t sit back and watch, that’s not how I lead and it’s certainly not what I believe in. In my early days at Coca-Cola, I asked my team to go out into the market and look at what was happening in real time. Since I asked them to do that, they had to know that I would be out there as well. I went out Thursday to Monday every single week so that I could lead by example.
Act with integrity and honesty. This is especially important when you have to deliver news about layoffs, but there are other times when you have to deliver unpleasant news, and you have to do it with integrity. People want to know the truth — resist the temptation to use the company or anything else as a crutch. When you are respectful and deliver the truth the way you would want to hear it, people will have more respect for you.
Be emotionally intelligent. Consider the impact of your actions on others because you never are able to see yourself as others see. Being emotionally intelligent really means knowing how your emotions impact your decision making and how they are affecting others, especially in times of crisis and difficulty. It’s about being sensitive to how others respond to situations so that your vantage point is as balance as possible. Emotionally intelligent leaders are those who will be the most successful, particularly in this season where we’re going to have more uncertainty, not not less. Emotionally intelligent leaders will be those who will weather the storms much better.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Yes, my favorite quote is that if you can change the way people think, you can change the way they behave — that is my life quote.

It’s important to recognize how to help people be the best version of themselves. Oftentimes, the difficulty is getting them to think differently about themselves, think differently about others, and therefore act differently. There is a Biblical proverb that says “As a man thinketh, so is he.” Our thoughts have everything to do with how we behave. We have to examine our thinking constantly and make sure that we’re open to rethinking.

Alvin Toffler, who was a futurist and businessman, said that literacy in the 21st century will not be defined by whether or not you can read or write, but whether or not you can learn, unlearn and relearn. It’s vital that we have a quest for lifelong learning, that we continue to reexamine the how and why behind our thinking. Make sure that you’re allowing yourself to see the world through a multidimensional lens.

People are multidimensional and complex, so you have to allow yourself to think differently about them. For instance, how do you allow yourself to think differently about racism, systemic racism, and the socioeconomic challenges that we face today? The opportunity to behave differently really requires you to examine your thinking and then examine why you think the way you do. Since we’re products of our environment, we have to constantly step back and reexamine our thinking. Our environment may have taught us one thing, but the world today is in a different state. If we don’t adjust, we’re still operating with the original thought patterns we had when we first learned instead of unlearning and replacing it with new information. If you change the way people think, you can change the way they behave.

How can our readers further follow your work?

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Dr Lawrence M Drake II Of LEADership: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Meet The Disruptors: Jason Wright Of Wilde On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Impatience. The day you stop being impatient is the day people will stop investing in you.

As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Wilde Brands.

Wilde Brands could only ever have a wild founder, enter Jason Wright. He fell in love with chips early in his childhood, with a household mantra of “an open bag is an empty bag”. When he realized his favorite snack would not support his quest for a stronger and active lifestyle, he turned to making his own snacks, but nothing gave him the satisfaction like a good old fashioned potato chip. Thanks to his entrepreneurial spirit and never-give-up attitude, Jason’s bold idea starts to take shape in his boulder, CO kitchen: replace the potato with protein using “chicken breast ‘’. Naming it would be easy. Wilde Chips. Jason makes his first trial batch using recycled potato chip equipment, and two years later he finally nails it — reinventing his favorite snack “potato chips’’ forever.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I fell into the modeling industry, and did that as my full-time gig for 5 years. I became very committed to my health and taking care of my body, and started learning about natural foods. I really started to feel the correlation between what I ate and how I felt. And for the first time in my life, I felt great, so I became somewhat obsessed with eating clean. I ended up launching a cereal company, and I learned a lot. Afterwards, I really wanted to fill a white space in the clean earring world. And I LOVE potato chips, so I thought there had to be a better way so I set out on a mission to create the perfect chip made with fresh, wholesome ingredients. I knew that chicken breast was one of the healthiest proteins on the planet, and just like that, Wilde Chips was born.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Wilde Chips are the first of their kind. A chip that eats like a potato chip but is made with 100% all natural Chicken Breast has never been done before. After launching Wilde, we learned that a few companies have tried to create a meat based chip by dehydrating or using a baking process which turned out to have a negative effect on texture. Our approach from day 1, was to make a product that crunched like a traditional potato chip.

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?

Originally, I thought we were going to make our product in a pork rind facility, and the owner was so excited about this new product, and he also thought we were going to make it there. I ended up burning the largest batch of Chicken & Waffle-flavored chips ever. I did such a number on the chips that the owner’s plant had to be shut down for a day — there was smoke everywhere, and they had to do a thorough deep clean. He basically ran me out. Whoops! Lesson learned — I needed custom built equipment, because the right equipment didn’t yet exist.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

Philippe Barnoud is a well-seasoned industry vet. He told me my product tasted like … you-know-what. He thought it ate like cardboard. He started to test my ego, and gave it to me straight. I asked what he would do to change it. He told me exactly what he would do. So I hired him. To this day, he’s a mentor and friend.

If it has a positive effect on people and on the planet, great. If we’re doing some harm, it just isn’t worth it. Simple as that.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

Hustle. Or someone else will. You gotta pay the rent everyday.

Impatience. The day you stop being impatient is the day people will stop investing in you.

Dream. My grandma used to say “if you can dream it, you can do it.”

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

Maybe we’ll send Wilde Chips to space!

Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?

There’s an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp, and they talk about UFOs. Conversations like that remind me that we’re just a blimp on the radar.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I don’t think I have a quote. It’s more of a vision. I have a vision, I focus on it, I go after it, and I don’t give up on it. It doesn’t mean it’s going to work — but that’s it. You just have to keep going.

We’re all sitting at a poker table. You don’t know what cards you’re going to get dealt. But you have to play your hand. I grew up in a small single family mobile home. You have to play the cards you were dealt. I promise you — if you focus on the cards YOU’RE dealt, and giving it your all, you’re going to come out a lot better than if you’re worried about what everyone else has, or how they got there, or why they’re successful.

How can our readers follow you online?

You have to follow Wilde 🙂

@wildechips

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Meet The Disruptors: Jason Wright Of Wilde On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Author Dr Mary Kovach: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Be honest. If you don’t know what to do in terms of next steps, establish a team of SMEs (subject matter experts) and empower them to provide you with possible solutions.

As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Mary Kovach.

Dr. Mary Kovach is a university professor and #1 international best-selling author. She earned her Ph.D. from Miami University, her MBA from Cleveland State University, and her BA from Baldwin Wallace University. Dr. Kovach holds a LEAN Six Sigma Black Belt certification, as well as multiple Agile certifications, which she used to demonstrate substantial career growth in her 15 years at Fortune 500 companies managing multi-million dollar global business units. Additionally, she is published in various scholarly journals, magazines, and is a regular contributor to Italy USA Magazine and In the Limelight magazine.

Dr. Kovach also serves on the International Editorial Board for the Journal of Values Based Leadership, the Assistant Executive Editor to In the Limelight magazine, and as a blind peer reviewer to a variety of scholarly/academic journals. With over 50 publications including two books, she has received a number of awards, and she serves as a co-host on the TV series OSDIA Interviews LIVE in the NY metro area.

Absolutely! The ROCKSTAR Manager brand was developed from the pandemic. I am an associate professor and teach business courses. When we flipped from face-to-face courses overnight to 100% online in Spring 2020, I revisited some of the best practices from when I worked at Fortune 500 companies managing remote teams around the world. I began creating some voice over videos for my students on specific topics, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. From there, I was asked to create a show for In the Limelight TV, which led to the podcast and the first book in the series (the next book will be released in 2022!). It’s been quite a busy year, and I’ve enjoyed the experience!

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?

Let’s just say I enjoy the part of the interview when I’m asked whether or not I have any questions! If I’m going to work for someone, I want to know about his or her character, how he or she will develop my skills and push me to grow. I want to understand his or her management style, to know that I will be challenged, a valued resource, and that I will be in a positive working environment. I enjoy working, contributing, and adding value. If I don’t want to get up every day and go to work, something’s wrong. In my career, I was fortunate enough to work for, and with, some outstanding people.

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 want ROCKSTAR Manager to be a go-to resource for others to build skills and use the tools and techniques that I learned, in order to grow and develop professionally. The book, ROCKSTAR Manager: From Theory to Practice, has done really well. There is a related show on In the Limelight TV, currently on Binge Networks entitled ROCKSTAR Manager, which just launched season 4. I also share this show on my YouTube channel Dr. K The Management Professor. The intention behind the ROCKSTAR Manager brand is to cover topics to help you, be your best you! Topics include leadership, motivation, finance, communication, how to deal with conflict, among others. I walk you through the ideas behind the concepts and show you how to apply them in everyday life, in short, pithy videos.

Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you share with our readers a manner in which to lead your team during uncertain or difficult times?

I’m blessed to have built the skills that I have, over the course of my career. I think it’s important to examine your core competencies. What do you do better than everyone else? Whatever that is, keep doing it. If the world throws you a curveball, figure out how you can deliver the same outcome in a different manner, or, use the competency you perfected and replicate it elsewhere.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

Mindset. Leaders need to stay positive, demonstrate creative initiative, and promote new ideas among their workforce. Life will always have ups and downs — the more you are prepared for the long-term, the more likely you are to flatten the dips when they hit.

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?

There are two ways to motivate employees — internally and externally. Internal motivation comes from the employee, such as driving for the next promotion, creating a successful project outcome, developing a solution to a major issue, or becoming a valuable resource. However, the leader needs to create the environment for the employee to thrive. External motivation includes opportunities such as providing bonuses, flex time, generous salaries, reduced full-time hours (i.e. less than 40 hours per week or four 10-hour days during the workweek), or other perks for achieving objectives, i.e. creating a situation that motivates the employee to achieve a different outcome or change behavior.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

Be real and be honest. If you don’t know what the future holds, that’s ok. It’s more respectable to say, “Here’s where we are, and we are exploring options for the future,” rather than saying “everything will be ok,” when you have no idea. If it’s a very sensitive message, it should be done in person (or to the extent you can make it personable in a pandemic). Message delivery is just as important as the content itself. The medium of delivery (e.g. face-to-face, phone call, email, text) should match the message intensity (e.g. the department is being eliminated vs. I have a dentist appointment this afternoon). The more intense the message, the more likely it will be face-to-face.

How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?

This is a great time to reset. Hold a brainstorming session to resolve questions such as:

1) What do we do if our core competencies are impacted and how do we overcome (i.e. contingency plan)?, and

2) Given this opportunity to reset, where do we see ourselves in the future? Are there other markets to pursue and/or other creative solutions we wouldn’t otherwise think about?

Other options include partnering with similar organizations for one-time initiatives to help one another stay afloat, cross-promote, and build from the experience.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

Flexibility. If you need to create a second shift, change your short-term strategy, or partner with a competitor, do it to stay afloat. If you can get through a difficult time, it demonstrates your resiliency and ability to adjust when necessary. It shows how you want to support your customers and provide for your employees. It’s in the tough times that we grow. Stay true to your values, keep exhibiting that robust work ethic, stay positive, and the rest will follow.

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?

If you can’t operate as usual, don’t force it. Change the working hours as necessary, work remotely, and/or discover new ways to function.
When you aren’t able to adequately forecast revenue, revisit each expense line on your P&L to determine what is absolutely required to run your business and what are the nice-to-haves, or consider items that you can postpone payment.
Take advantage of new possibilities, creative ideas from your workforce, and new programs that emerge.

Plan for your worst case scenario. If you already have a plan when the tough times hit, you’ll have direct line-of-sight to get out of it. This plan should include operations and finance. The other component you’ll need to manage is morale. Good leaders have people who want to work for them. This is true in the tough times. Whether that means you do the little things such as announce that ROCKSTAR employee’s name on social media and say thanks for a specific job well done, or name a hamburger after them for a month in the cafeteria, keep your best employees happy. Create an environment where they want to come to work. Employees are fully aware of the tough times; employers who make an effort for them don’t go unnoticed.

Respond immediately. Even if you don’t know the details of what the future holds, it’s better to demonstrate that you’re in front of the situation (e.g. reviewing the situation and formulating a game plan) rather than allowing the rumor mill to start churning. When this happens, not only do you have to correct rumors, you have to be sure your intended message is heard.
Stick to the facts. Identify a select few to stay in front, so the workforce (and customers) know from whom to receive updates and approved communications. You don’t want someone self-designating his or her newfound public speaking skill if he or she receives attention from it. Additionally, steer clear of negative responses or neutral comments that don’t show control of the situation. This includes statements like “I don’t know,” and “no comment.” If you don’t know, that’s ok, as long as you have a team researching the answer. When that is the case, share that you have a team of experts currently reviewing the situation.
Be honest. If you don’t know what to do in terms of next steps, establish a team of SMEs (subject matter experts) and empower them to provide you with possible solutions.
Think creatively. Determine how you can continue to engage your workforce and keep them working. Connect in new ways with your customers to keep revenue flowing. Negotiate with your vendors and suppliers to maintain good relationships and allow for some leniency when necessary.
Go LEAN. Eliminate waste from your process and create efficiencies. I use WORMPIIT to identify wastes within the process: W — Waiting; O — Overproduction; R — Rework; M — Motion; P — Processing; I — Inventory; I — Intellect; and T — Transportation. In short, focus on what steps in the process add value and remove what doesn’t. The three questions to help determine which steps in the process are wasteful include:

A. Is the customer going to pay for it?

B. Does the activity transform the product or service?

C. Is it done for the first time?

I also have a video entitled Understanding LEAN and Identifying WORMPIIT Waste on YouTube posting December 2021 for additional details.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Be your best you. I tell my students this when I end every course, and I include it at the end of my ROCKSTAR Manager video shows. There’s literally only one person with your genetic code and your experiences. You have so much to offer; make conscious decisions so that you will be your best you, every day.

How can our readers further follow your work?

Thank you for asking! The platforms and corresponding links are:

LinkedIn: Mary Kovach, Ph.D.

YouTube: Dr. K The Management Professor

Books: ROCKSTAR Manager: From Theory to Practice and Don’t Cut the Basil: Five Generations of Authentic Italian Recipes

Podcast: Spotify, Anchor, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, and Radio Public

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Thank you so much! It was a pleasure to talk with you!

Author Dr Mary Kovach: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Meet The Disruptors: Dr Steven Katz Of Naturopathic Physicians Group On The Three Things You Need T

Meet The Disruptors: Dr Steven Katz Of Naturopathic Physicians Group On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

To shake things up next, I am going to continue to push for equality in medicine. As the former President and current Treasurer of the Arizona Naturopathic Medical Association, I want to help grow the profession of naturopathic medicine and help get naturopathic doctors recognized as a part of mainstream medicine. I also want to grow this field of medicine around the country and continue to fight for the patient’s right to their choice in medicine. Naturopathic medicine is all about a patient’s right to choose.

As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Steven Katz.

Dr. Steven Katz is the owner of Naturopathic Physicians Group and has worked there since 2013. During his clinical education, he spent a year and a half working at the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS where he developed protocols to strengthen the immune system’s ability to fight both acute and chronic illness. Dr. Katz also spent two years working in alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers utilizing many naturopathic modalities. He is trained in IV therapy protocols as well as how to properly detoxify patients and help restore health and balance.

Dr. Katz is an expert in pain management. He addresses problems using a patient-centered approach. He determines the root cause of the pain and then uses naturopathic treatments and restorative injection techniques such as PRP therapy (platelet-rich plasma therapy), Prolotherapy and others to heal conditions.

Dr. Katz also treats digestive disorders such as food allergies, acid reflux, IBS, Crohn’s Disease, and Ulcerative Colitis. With each patient, Dr. Katz develops an individualized plan to help treat their condition. He believes in balancing the body’s biochemistry to help restore proper function.

Dr. Katz has continued his own education and become trained in advanced restorative treatments such as ozone therapy. Dr. Katz’ passion for naturopathic medicine does not stay isolated to the clinic. He was also the former Arizona Naturopathic Medical Association President. He devotes his time and energy to improve both the patients he works with as well as his profession. Due to his dedication, he was recognized in 2017 as the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine Alumni of the Year as well as the 2019 AZNMA Volunteer of the year.

When I was 18 years old, I wanted to be a pharmacist. As a pre-pharmacy major at ASU, I ended up working in a pharmacy for more than six years and became a certified pharmacy technician. Throughout that time, I realized the impact drugs were having on people and it seemed as if the more medications someone was on, the unhealthier they looked. I knew that there had to be an alternative option to drugs, but I did not know what that was yet. Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine was at a career fair I had happened to attend and there, I found out about naturopathic medicine. I fell in love with the profession right away and changed my career so that I could help people get better by treating the root cause of the condition without taking drugs.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

A naturopathic doctor’s philosophy is to treat the cause. My job is to find the cause of a problem so that I can treat it as naturally as possible and get the patient better. If it is not a cause, then it is an effect. Conventional medicine, in comparison, are all about the “treat the symptom” approach. They use drugs to “treat symptoms” which in turn is treating the effect and not the cause. This is why I work to pull people off of drugs, instead of prescribe them.

My work allows me to provide cutting edge new and unique treatments to my patients, such as regenerative injection therapy such as Prolotherapy, and platelet rich plasma therapy, that all work to heal damage in the body. There are also plenty of diet and lifestyle treatments that I recommend to patients to work on inflammation in the body and build a stronger immune system. Naturopathic medicine is disruptive because we prefer to use alternative medicine approaches rather than conventional medicine (pain pills and steroids) that weaken the immune system.

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?

This is meant to be a funny thing, but it was sort of my ah-ah moment. When I was having skeptical thoughts about becoming a pharmacist, I decided to skip a class at Arizona State University despite there being a quiz on that day. I went instead to a career fair for science majors. I only decided to skip the class because each student was allowed to drop one quiz grade. That was where I first heard of naturopathic medicine, as Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine was at the fair. Their approach inspired me and from there, I started pursuing naturopathic medicine. That lightning bolt hit, and I’ve never looked back. If you could not drop a quiz in that class, I would have never gone to the career fair and unsure of where my career path might have ended up. Everything happens for a reason.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

My most influential mentors are my parents. Nearly 40 years ago, my parents started a business from scratch that is still thriving today. They started with very little and have worked all the way to the top. My parents have taught me to fight for everything.

Another mentor to me is Alan Isaacson because he sparked my journey into medicine. Before I was a pre-pharmacy major, I was a business major at Arizona State University. While working at a shipping company in Scottsdale, while on a break, I stopped into the Fry’s grocery store next door and ran into Alan. He was a pharmacist there and asked me what I wanted to do in my career. He encouraged me to work in pharmacy, which was not something I had ever considered, but he said he would help me if I was interested. Alan got me a job at that pharmacy which is how I started my journey into medicine.

And finally, my wife. Basically for putting up with me while I was in medical school. For anyone who understand how daunting a doctorate program is, they will understand. I was basically in school during the day and studying at night. Despite all of the time away, she understood why and never complained. She saw the big picture and was the biggest supporter I had.

Stepping out of the norm is good when your motivation is helping people. Naturopathic Medicine works to help people both treat and prevent chronic conditions. We thrive when patients are frustrated with the normal approach to healthcare. In the medical field, it’s so important to educate doctors to only be motivated by the goal of healing their patients. When the motivation for the doctor is anything but healing patients, then they are in the wrong field. We need doctors to understand that drugs and pain pills need to be used as a last resort option. Drugs used for autoimmune disease have side effects that are sometimes worse than the conditions they are treating. Naturopathic doctors try to figure out where their inflammation is coming from. We believe in treating the cause, not the effect. Drugs are treating the effect.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

The best words of advice I have gotten along my journey is, “stay the course and standout.”

Students in medical school will think at least once during the program, “What am I doing?” Medical school can be a rigorous program, but it is important to focus on the bigger picture. Halfway through my medical school program, I had my first child and thought about how I was going to continue my journey. I stayed the course and kept my mind on the big picture, which is why I now operate my own practice. If you do not standout, no one will notice. A fitting example is with naturopathic doctors and doctors of medicine. Naturopathic doctors must stand out from the traditional methods of medicine, or no one will notice them. Never take the easy road. If they are not talking about you, then you are not worth talking about.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

To shake things up next, I am going to continue to push for equality in medicine. As the former President and current Treasurer of the Arizona Naturopathic Medical Association, I want to help grow the profession of naturopathic medicine and help get naturopathic doctors recognized as a part of mainstream medicine. I also want to grow this field of medicine around the country and continue to fight for the patient’s right to their choice in medicine. Naturopathic medicine is all about a patient’s right to choose.

Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?

Books focused on the Revolutionary War, such as John Adams by David McCullough and Killing England by Bill O’Reilly, have had a deep impact on my thinking. These books discuss how perseverance was needed to overcome obstacles and defy all odds by the risks taken. Nothing in life is handed to you, but you must persevere and keep going forward. I read a lot of books, both fiction and non-fiction, but the Harry Potter series also stand out as a favorite. I love the story of J.K. Rowling and how she started out with nothing for her first book and now has created a modern-day Star Wars. It is that type of motivation you need to keep pushing forward.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“A great thought begins by seeing something differently, with a shift of the mind’s eye,” — Albert Einstein.

This quote is one of my favorites, because it represents the role of a naturopathic doctor. Patients do not always understand what we do, but our goal is to teach them how to get better and stay better. Naturopathic doctors work to show patients that there is another way to treat their pain. While both conventional doctors and naturopathic doctors want to give patients relief and treat them, naturopathic doctors work to shift their patient’s mindset on how to stay healthy.

I want to make drastic changes to our food industry. Our health industry pays no attention to food and the food industry pays no attention to health. This causes chemicals and other unhealthy ingredients to enter our foods, requiring people to pay heavy attention to the labels before consuming as well as increasing the toxicity in people. The best way to protect people is by making it illegal to have chemicals within our food that causes harm.

How can our readers follow you online?

Readers can visit us at our website at https://www.naturopathicgroup.com/ or on our Facebook page.

They can also contact us at 480–451–6161.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Meet The Disruptors: Dr Steven Katz Of Naturopathic Physicians Group On The Three Things You Need T was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Agile Businesses: Alex Curatolo On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive…

Agile Businesses: Alex Curatolo On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Fail fast: To pivot and stay relevant in the face of disruptive technologies, your company will need to experiment and adapt. Some of these experiments will fail and when they do, fail fast. Learn the lessons you can and move on.

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 Alex Curatolo.

Alex Curatolo is a Senior Associate at Fortuna Advisors, a strategy consulting firm that helps companies embrace an ownership culture to create exceptional value for stakeholders and shareholders. Prior to joining Fortuna Advisors, Alex spent just under a decade at a boutique economic consulting firm specializing in transfer pricing and other international tax issues. She earned an MBA from the George Washington University School of Business and a BA in Economics from Wellesley College.

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?

My first year in college, I took something like eight courses in eight different departments because there were so many different things that interested me. Narrowing my focus was a challenge, though I settled into economics and continued taking a little bit of everything else. I began my career in economic consulting where I quickly learned that I loved problem solving, relationship building, and use of data and analysis to support real-world solutions. I am constantly learning something new and being challenged. As I came to the end of my MBA program, I was looking to move into a position with more of a strategic focus, and feel delighted to have landed at Fortuna Advisors, with its emphasis on analysis, behavior, and purpose.

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 I was first starting in consulting, a partner asked me to pull some data for a particular company and (I thought) referenced a date that was about 30 years in the past. I was a bit confused based on what I knew about the timeframe of the analysis, but I was both new to the firm and the project, and I wanted to figure out how to retrieve the data myself. It took me a substantial amount of time because it was not readily available in our database. I was chatting about the difficulties with a colleague who knew more about the project than I did — and they encouraged me to ask why data from that period was needed. Turns out, I’d gotten the date incorrect by about 20 years!

Not only did this illustrate the importance of asking clarifying questions as needed, but it turned out that knowing how to locate older data came in handy later in a totally different context. So I learned that when you make a mistake, learn everything you can from it before you move on!

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?

The list of people for whom I am grateful is lengthy. I feel so fortunate to have learned from so many smart, generous, wonderful people. Since I was little, my parents have always been my biggest supporters, encouraging me to do my best, persevere, and stand up for what’s right (regardless of context). In one particularly memorable story, my mother was the parent who raised her hand and asked, “What do you mean by that?” at parent-teacher night when my eighth-grade math teacher explained that an assignment was included because “even the girls will like this one.” I aim to always ask good (even if hard) questions, speak up, and do what is right for myself, my firm, and my clients.

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?

Fortuna’s ongoing research on the link between corporate purpose and value creation echoes the fact that purpose-driven businesses are more successful. Our work is predicated on our conclusion that “High Purpose” companies outperform on a wide range of financial, valuation, and value creation metrics — and that this outperformance intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our continuing vision, purpose, and reason for existing is to make the world better by making our clients better for all their different stakeholders.

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?

Very big picture, Fortuna Advisors helps to improve the value of a business by delivering better insights and helping them make better decisions that lead to better behaviors. We start by helping companies measure and increase their value, importantly including the value from both tangible and intangible assets by and for all stakeholders (not just shareholders). We do this through our proprietary metric, Residual Cash Earnings, a cash-based measure of economic profit, which assesses performance based on growth, margin, and the cost of capital to realize better returns across the portfolio. We also help clients implement an ownership culture (where people across all levels of a company own decisions, results, and consequences). Our work on behalf of some of the most well-known and respected companies ultimately helps society by enabling them to better achieve their corporate purpose. One great example is how we helped Varian Medical Systems evolve their value and culture, enabling them to treat more than 40% more cancer patients within three years through the adoption of more strategic and value-focused behaviors and more meaningful investment in the future.

Which technological innovation has encroached or disrupted your industry? Can you explain why this has been disruptive?

Consulting has absolutely been impacted by the digitalization of the economy — which has been hastened along by the COVID-19 pandemic. Consulting has traditionally involved significant amounts of face time and onsite work — which has been drastically reduced during the last year or two. As the method of delivery to clients has skewed increasingly digital, we have adjusted our strategies as well.

I would also like to point out that consulting has been disrupted by the proliferation of available data. When I started my first position out of college, the database we used was updated monthly — and those updates were mailed to our offices on CD-ROMs. Sometimes it would take a few months before company reported data made it to us, the end users. Now, data updates are almost instantaneous, and the individual number of data points readily available is far greater. Big data and artificial intelligence will likely continue to make their mark on consulting moving into the future and I look forward to seeing how consulting continues to change and grow.

What did you do to pivot as a result of this disruption?

Well, I’m a direct example of one of Fortuna Advisors biggest internal pivots — converting and committing to a fully remote model. I don’t live in the city where the firm previously had an office, and it’s likely that neither I nor several of my current coworkers would have applied for positions here previously.

In terms of client work, Fortuna is in many ways continuing on a remote path. Many consultants traditionally spent Monday to Thursday on site with clients, and embracing digitalization means trying to figure out how to not only replicate — but improve — the client experience. There are a myriad of techniques and tools that allow for more effective remote work, many of which are being used widely by consultants. We continue to try new things all the time to bring additional value to the clients with whom we work.

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.

The pandemic was the “aha.” It hastened along a trend that had already begun because it demonstrated how our work could continue remotely. Yes, there were hiccups and adaptations, but fundamentally, we could continue to serve our clients regardless of where we (and they) were located by making use of the variety of digital tools available.

So, how are things going with this new direction?

On the whole, quite well, though we are always working to improve both internally and with clients! As an example, in our practice, we’ve found that one of the most difficult aspects to replicate has been the 5-minute hallways chats that “just happen” when you’re working in person — and can be elusive through the screen. I have been learning to be more deliberate about connecting with people than I was when I was working non-remotely, pre-pandemic.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this pivot?

Given that I started with Fortuna Advisors remotely and during the pandemic, I did not meet any of my colleagues or clients in-person until I had been in my role for about six months. Learning how to build relationships from scratch, virtually (sometimes deliberately and sometimes from serendipitous muddling through) added a fascinating layer to starting a new position!

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during a disruptive period?

I believe the most critical role of a leader during a disruptive period is to communicate openly and transparently with others. During a disruptive period, uncertainty is high, and transparency builds trust — employees want to know that they can count on their leader. To make the best decisions for the organization, employees need to know its direction and goals (even if they are frequently shifting). Similarly, a leader who hears about the needs, questions, and concerns of employees is then able to make sure those employees are equipped with everything they need to be able to do their best work. This feedback loop within the organization is critical at all times, but particularly during a disruptive period with a shifting landscape.

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?

Leaders should recognize the impact uncertainty can have on their teams. They (we) must listen, and make sure team members are and feel supported — as both employees and as people. When I think back on great leaders I have worked with, I remember how in difficult times they would take a moment to speak with me, allow me to ask questions and answer me directly and honestly. I always left such meetings feeling energized, focused, and important, like I — and my specific contributions — mattered.

I also think that building in time for fun, which is often hard during a time when morale might be dipping down, is incredibly important. This is a tiny example, but during question & answer sessions or competitions, one of my colleagues will always ask the respondents if they want a standing ovation or a wave as a reward. Watching everyone try to do the wave on Teams is hysterical and can absolutely lighten the mood!

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

Yes — Empathy. Empathy towards employees, towards clients, and towards any other stakeholders of your organization absolutely helps people feel like they are connected and appreciated.

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?

1. Being unwilling to invest in ideas that have the potential to cannibalize your current assets. Companies need to recognize that today’s technologies will eventually become outdated and that you’ll be best prepared if you are unafraid to adopt new ones. If you don’t, you’ll end up flat footed when confronted with a competitor’s disruptive technology.

2. In the face of disruptive technology, investments need time and money to come to fruition. Cutting the innovation budget during a time of disruption to attempt to hit plan can stymy future growth.

3. Being unable to make decisions — what is sometimes known as “analysis paralysis.” This can result for a variety of reasons. Oftentimes, this is due to conflicting metrics that do not provide clear signals or signal a lack of ownership such that no one “owns” decisions. Inability to make decisions can prevent a company from being able to stay nimble and pivot to meet the changing business environment.

1.Turn to purpose: It is no secret that authentic purpose is a competitive advantage, and that advantage only becomes stronger in the face of disruption. I recently came across the story of Ørsted (formerly Danish Oil and Natural Gas), a company that weathered extreme challenges by turning to purpose in the face of disruption. Under the leadership of CEO Henrik Poulsen, Ørsted transformed from a struggling oil and natural gas company to a sustainable provider of wind energy. All changes may not be so extreme, but companies would be wise to consider their unique purpose during a time of transition.

2. Aim high: Continue to set aspirational goals — don’t allow the circumstances to dictate a plan for mediocracy. I would note, however, that this is predicated on having an incentive structure that supports this type of goal setting. This is a reason why Fortuna advocates a bonus plan that de-links performance from plans and has multi-year connectivity (i.e., is based on improvement over last year). In this way, if there is a down year, people are still rewarded for the value they do create and they know that if their pay is lower in a given year, that means the bonus threshold for the next year will be lower — making it easier to achieve a higher multiple.

3. Don’t forget the long term: In the face of disruptions, it can be easy to get bogged down in the immediate challenges you’re facing and let the long-term take a backseat. Be deliberate in striking a balance.

4. Fail fast: To pivot and stay relevant in the face of disruptive technologies, your company will need to experiment and adapt. Some of these experiments will fail and when they do, fail fast. Learn the lessons you can and move on.

5. Consider culture: Organizational culture is pivotal to success and doesn’t just happen. Companies like Amazon and Netflix, which have both undergone dramatic transformations in the face of disruptive technology, are explicit about the culture and leadership they want to cultivate within their organizations (Amazon’s leadership document is here and Netflix’s culture document is here). Consider embedding an ownership culture (which both emphasize), whereby you empower people to make decisions and own the results of their actions.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Like many people, I am a fan of Ted Lasso. Towards the end of the first season, he uses a Walt Whitman quote that really resonated with me: “be curious, not judgmental.” As a consultant, I see building honest, empathetic connections with people — often people who have roles, responsibilities, expertise, and opinions that differ wildly from my own — as one of the critical factors of success on any engagement. Those types of relationships are often based on mutual curiosity and respect (but never on judgement).

How can our readers further follow your work?

Readers can find me on LinkedIn and can also follow Fortuna Advisors on our company website, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Thank you, you as well!

Agile Businesses: Alex Curatolo On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future Is Now: Kirk Huntsman Of Vivos Thereapeutics On How Their Technological Innovation Will…

The Future Is Now: Kirk Huntsman Of Vivos Thereapeutics On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Don’t be afraid to take a risk. Sure, everything you invest in may not pay off as much as you expect or desire, but you’ll never know until you take the plunge and go for it. I’ve never regretted taking a chance on something that I felt passionate about and that I believed could change my life or others’ lives. When you take those risks, the payoff can be especially rewarding.

As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. T. Edwin Chow is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at Texas State University. His research interests focus on geocomputation and human dynamics. He has published dozens of empirical and theoretical articles in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters and moderated conference proceedings. Edwin received contracts/grant funding from National Science Foundation (NSF), American Association of Geographers (AAG), and Census Bureau. His recent projects investigate the potential of big data, including web demographics and social media, to unearth spatial patterns of human movement in dynamic events, e.g. disaster response, protests, etc.

R. Kirk Huntsman is a co-founder of our company and has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a director since September 2016. In June 2020, he was elected Chairman of the Board by our board of directors. In 1995, he founded Dental One (now Dental One Partners), which, as President and Chief Executive Officer he grew to become one of the leading DSOs (dental service organizations) in the country, with over 165 practices in 15 states. After a successful sale of Dental One to MSD Capital in 2008 and subsequent merger in 2009 with Dental Care Partners, Mr. Huntsman was appointed in 2010 as Chief Executive Officer of ReachOut Healthcare America, a Morgan Stanley Private Equity portfolio company. In 2012, he founded Xenith Practices, LLC, a DSO focused on rolling up larger independent general dental offices, which were sold in 2015. From January 2014 to September 2015, Mr. Huntsman founded and served as the Chief Executive Officer of Ortho Ventures, LLC, a US distributor of certain pediatric oral appliances with applications for pediatric sleep disordered breathing. Since November 2015, he has served as the Chief Executive Officer of First Vivos, Inc., which is now our wholly owned subsidiary. He was also a founding member of the Dental Group Practice Association (DGPA), now known as the Association of Dental Support Organizations (ADSO). He is the father of Todd Huntsman. He holds a BS degree in finance from Brigham Young University.

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 always been drawn to entrepreneurship. I love creating businesses and serving customers. Back in 1988, a close friend told me about an opportunity to broker dental practices in Texas. By 1991, I was running the top dental practice broker in America. From there, I began buying and managing practices, and by 1995, I had formed one of the first large corporate group rollups in dentistry.

After I eventually sold the group to a private equity firm, I started looking for my next big opportunity. That’s when I met Dr. Dave Singh, DMD, PhD, DDSc. We met in 2016, and I was blown away by his amazing technology and what it could mean for the future of sleep apnea and healthcare. Together, we formed Vivos Therapeutics. Today, we are a rapidly growing public company listed on the NASDAQ as VVOS.

Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?

There are two separate but complementary technologies that Vivos brings to the market. The first is a diagnostic product called VivoScore, powered by SleepImage, which represents the easiest-to-use and most affordable home sleep test form factor available. With this technology, medical-grade individual sleep tests can now be administered at home to children and adults for as low as $3 per test, down from nearly $3,000 for an in-lab polysomnogram. The more people get tested, the more people we can identify with sleep disorders and begin their much-needed treatment. In fact, once they are tested, over 50 percent of patients test positive for obstructive sleep apnea.

The second technology is our Vivos treatment protocol. The journey begins with a comprehensive sleep wellness assessment. This will include a complete health history, a series of photographs and measurements and an in-home sleep study using VivoScore. From there, a multidisciplinary healthcare team will compile the data to arrive at a diagnosis. Finally, with the help of a sophisticated algorithm, a Vivos-certified doctor arrives at a specific treatment plan and prescribes one of our custom, proprietary oral appliances, which is worn in the evening and overnight for approximately 12–24 months.

Once complete, the patient’s airway is typically larger and less prone to collapse at night. Patients report sleeping better, dreaming more, and waking rested and ready to take on the day. Unlike CPAP machines — which are obtrusive, only a temporary fix and require lifetime use — the Vivos treatment is truly groundbreaking. In one independent survey from June 2021, 97 percent of respondents said that Vivos has helped them achieve their desired treatment outcome.

How do you think this might change the world?

There are approximately one billion people globally with a sleep disorder such as OSA, and an estimated 87 percent don’t know they have it. OSA is comorbid with virtually every chronic condition known to mankind — everything from heart disease and diabetes to Alzheimer’s and depression. If we can get this treatment to those who need it, we could transform peoples’ lives and drastically improve their well-being. Sleep is important, and we want to eliminate as many barriers to excellent sleep and health as we can.

Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?

When I heard the statistics about how many people had OSA and how it affected nearly every area of their health, I knew I wanted to help people get access to a solution that would genuinely help them solve the core of the issue — not just address the symptoms. Then, after talking with Dr. Singh about his technology, I knew that dream was attainable — even more attainable than I might have originally imagined. We sat together and talked for hours about OSA and its connection to so many serious, life-changing conditions, and I knew this was a cause I was passionate about.

What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?

We have taken a very methodical approach to our go-to-market strategy. First, we educate and train independent general dentists and DSO group practices throughout North America, both via virtual learning and in-person at the Vivos Institute in Denver, CO. Second, we participate and market to the medical community through virtual and in-person events, utilizing our medical key opinion leaders to advance adoption within the medical community. Third, we have strategically aligned the Company with top dental and medical suppliers in the industry, showing the marketplace advanced third-party adoption and endorsement. And lastly, we are instituting a direct-to-consumer model that will deliver even more accelerated adoption for the end user. All our strategies continue to build momentum for the growth of the Company.

What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?

As a company, we utilize one of the top PR firms in the industry to help us publicize our message. We also enjoy hosting events and conferences where we can form true connections with medical providers around the country and provide hands-on training and courses that will help them provide better care for their patients. Vivos is about more than just providing dentists and doctors with a great product to treat OSA: It’s about offering continuing education and exposing healthcare providers across the spectrum to a vision of what is now possible using our unique technology and protocols. We make sure that all our marketing efforts reflect these ideals because, at the end of the day, that’s what it’s about: forming genuine connections that will improve lives.

Absolutely. I can think of so many important people in my life who inspire me every day to not only work hard and prioritize my business goals but also improve the lives of people around the world. The passion and dedication what I see every day from our Vivos team constantly reminds me why we’re working so hard to get our treatment technology and protocols out there. Their determination, drive, and expertise are essential to our success as we work to impact and even save lives.

We set the bar high for everything we do here — something that is reflected in our daily customer service efforts as well as our monthly and annual events and conferences. Seeing our Vivos team working closely together to ensure every aspect of an event is perfect — regardless of each of our individual departments or priorities — is really something special. It’s rare to find so many people that are not only hardworking but also willing to help each other in areas they aren’t familiar with to achieve success. I truly believe being united around such a meaningful mission makes that possible. The cause is bigger than any one person.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I truly believe that Vivos Therapeutics has already brought so much good to the world and will continue to improve millions of lives. My success with previous businesses has been gratifying, but to be able to contribute in a meaningful way to something that will reduce suffering and bring positivity to people who need it is a rare opportunity. When the world sleeps well, we can reduce health concerns, be happier and more productive in our daily lives, and even form healthier relationships.

Moving forward, I would like to get our message out there and reach those who may not have as much access to these solutions all over the world. People shouldn’t suffer in silence anymore.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

Building a great and reliable team is a must! You can’t do anything alone; investing in a team that is as passionate about your vision as you are can drastically improve your company’s success. I am so grateful for my team because they believe in Vivos as much as I do.
Learn about yourself as a leader and an individual. The more you know about yourself, the more effectively you can manage your energy and make sure you’re on track to best serve yourself and others. There are things that will drain your energy and things that will refill it — make sure to prioritize the work and leisure that motivate you so you can show up and get the job done.
Don’t be afraid to take a risk. Sure, everything you invest in may not pay off as much as you expect or desire, but you’ll never know until you take the plunge and go for it. I’ve never regretted taking a chance on something that I felt passionate about and that I believed could change my life or others’ lives. When you take those risks, the payoff can be especially rewarding.
Take a break when you need to. This is another reason why it’s important to know yourself. Nobody can possibly work on full drive at all moments of the day. I’ve heard many people say that you can’t run a business without sacrificing your free time, but I believe that you can’t fully give yourself to your work without allowing yourself to recharge. Otherwise, you’re going to burn out and negatively affect your business.
Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you are. Be open to being wrong and learn from others. You can’t know everything, so use your support system to learn as much as you can. It’s perfectly fine to not know the answer to every question — that’s when you grow and learn the most. Avoid the drain of people who consume your time and energy and prevent things from truly moving 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?

I clearly feel very strongly about spreading the word about the OSA epidemic and informing people about the dangers associated with the disorder. Completely eliminating OSA throughout the world is our mission at Vivos.

Every day someone remains undiagnosed and doesn’t have access to treatment options for their OSA is another day one suffers without knowing why. There are so many people out there that are exhausted and ready to give up because of their sleep apnea, and they don’t even realize that there’s a very real answer to their problems.

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 🙂

Vivos has provided treatment to nearly 22,000 patients in our mission to rid the world of OSA, and people have seen life-changing results. That’s why 97 percent report Vivos has helped them achieve their desired outcome in treating the sleep disorder. People are in dire need of treatment that is noninvasive, nonsurgical, nonpharmaceutical, and low cost — which is exactly what Vivos provides. Our technology will not only improve the lives of individuals with OSA, but it could also transform the healthcare industry forever, providing lifelong benefits for dentists as they transform their practices. Dentistry is already a $156 billion industry and is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 2.8 percent. Moving forward, it could grow at an even higher rate if dentists continue to adapt their practices and provide more solutions to their clients.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

You can connect with me on LinkedIn, where I am most active, or connect with Vivos through our site at vivoslife.com.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future Is Now: Kirk Huntsman Of Vivos Thereapeutics On How Their Technological Innovation Will… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Adam Carlton Of PinkPanda On The 5 Things That Can Be Done To Improve and Reform The Cryptocurrency…

Adam Carlton Of PinkPanda On The 5 Things That Can Be Done To Improve and Reform The Cryptocurrency Industry

An Interview With Tyler Gallagher

Provide Broad Education: I spend a lot of my time talking to friends and family about blockchains and cryptocurrency. Almost everyone is VERY interested, and very few have even a rudimentary understanding of it. And the industry really isn’t doing anything to help this — quite the contrary it seems as if it revels in the fact that a lot of people have made vast wealth and quickly taken on an elitist attitude.

As part of our series about the “5 Things That Can Be Done To Improve and Reform The Cryptocurrency Industry”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Adam Carlton.

Adam Carlton, founder and CEO of PinkPanda, believes in the profound and unifying power of community, innovation, cryptocurrency, and decentralized finance. Mr. Carlton has been at the cutting-edge of technology and business for over 20 years in a variety of consulting, executive, and entrepreneurial roles. Working to solve many of the industry’s issues with a “customer and community first” mentality, a deep dedication to simplifying superior investment opportunities, and a relentless drive towards product innovation, Mr. Carlton is a driving force behind $PINKPANDA rapidly rising to the forefront of the cryptocurrency industry.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”?

Sure can! I grew up in Colorado, did a lot of skiing on the weekends in the winter, camping, and fishing and all the great outdoor activities Colorado has to offer. My parents were divorced when I was 15 and I moved to Illinois with my mother. Pretty normal life…school, marriage, had my first child then my best friend was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma when I was 30. He made it a little over a year, that was my first experience with cancer and it had a profound impact on my life. I guess that’s when you could say I started living with more of a sense of urgency and purpose. Fast forward almost 20 years– I live in Chicago, I now have 4 wonderful children, experienced divorce myself, and lost my mother to cancer in 2019. That last experience really set me in motion; I was determined to “put the pieces together” in some way to tie my life experiences and talents together. I didn’t know it at the time, but that loss really was the genesis of Pink Panda. I felt like all the experiences, both personal and professional I had in my life, had put me at the ready to do something real and impactful and significant, driven by technology and innovation, and community. I’ve spent most of my career enriching corporations through business and technology, and I want to change that model — and everyone on my team feels the exact same way.

Can you tell us the story of how you got first involved in blockchain and the cryptocurrency industry?

Well, I’ve always had curiosity about new technologies ever since I was a child if there was a gadget– I was interested in it. I even went to a “computer camp” one summer in the 1980’s — who does that? I built my own computers, was the “go-to” person for everyone’s tech problems(especially my mom), and just always had a good grasp about how technology, real life, and business intersect.

My first experience with cryptocurrency stemmed from when I had heard about Bitcoin in 2011, and was pretty fascinated by the concept — more as an alternative digital currency than a store of value. Like most people, I also had a lot of doubts about it. Would the government ban it? Would it be adopted? And…I had 330 of them, but I ended up selling them for about $1,200 as I was going through some tough personal and financial times. I had been laid off, I was going through a divorce, and my home was underwater. The 2008 financial crisis caught up with me. So…there’s my bitcoin pizza story. I don’t even remember what I spent it on!

Fast forward to about 2 years ago, the whole economic climate started changing. Institutions were now building crypto trading desks. Bitcoin and alt-coins have been through a few cycles, and I decided to get much more involved. Started with research and trading, and ended up in a chat room through an acquaintance, who is the CEO of a top 100 token. I met a brilliant young developer and we came up with the concept of Pink Panda.

Can you share a story of a time when things went south for you? What kept you going and helped you to overcome those times?

In the crypto and startup world, “things going south” is a fairly regular occurrence. When something goes wrong, I usually say something like, “another Tuesday in crypto.” I recently had a key member of the marketing community quit with short notice. He had basically leveraged our brand in order to build his own promotion business, quit while I was in an airport in Helsinki — with virtually no notice. Needless to say, I wasn’t pleased and the timing couldn’t have been worse, but it was “Saturday in Crypto” and time to solve a problem. I rarely claim to be the smartest person in the room, but I’m usually the most persistent!

In my opinion, community based marketing is critical in crypto. My nature is I’m a problem solver, and I believe in empowering people and empowering the community. So my response was to immediately reach out to key members of the community, let them know what had happened and formulate a plan. The one thing I know and trust is that what a community appreciates more than anything is transparency and accountability. I’m not the head or leader of this community, I’m a part of it. And so I have a responsibility to stay intimately connected to this community and engage them in all the decision making process. That person leaving allowed others to step up, for us to revise our processes and grow closer together as a community, and ultimately create deeper resilience.

In your experience, what are the top strategies that blockchain companies should consider to have a stronger competitive edge?

I essentially view blockchain as a new form of a database, and I’m not unique in that viewpoint. In the commercial database industry, there’s a very large number of competitors out there — some large, some small, some specialized, some generalized. There’s a bit of a “one blockchain to rule them all” mentality out there, that in my opinion, is a bit short sighted.

If you want to be more competitive, delight your customers. I don’t think every blockchain necessarily has a customer in mind. This is a deeply technical industry, and so it is dominated primarily by engineers. No offense to the brilliant engineers out there, but sometimes they get lost in the details and forget, “who is my customer, and how can I better delight them.” The “triple constraint war” doesn’t mean anything to your average customer. This, for example, is where I think Ethereum falls flat. It might be the superior decentralized technology and blockchain leader, but what do I care if gas fees are $100? In my mind, if cryptocurrency is just creating an alternative elitist financial system, well then it’s not any better than the existing systems that already exclude the average person. This is quite simply the problem I want to solve– create real access for your average person to this new and exploding ecosystem.

What are the 3 things that most excite you about the blockchain industry in general? Why?

I believe that this is an incredibly resilient and innovative industry. “That which does not kill it makes it stronger”. Anyone who remembers MTGox — we’ve come a long, long way since then. Web3 is changing everything, and both human and monetary capital is pouring in. Real use cases are being built and executed on and this will further perpetuate the cycle.
I think the potential for growth is phenomenal, especially in Decentralized Finance. If you don’t believe me, go look at the TVL “Total Value Locked” graph for 2021. We started the year at about $20B. This number is over $200B as I write this on October 10th. Then compare that to the world equities market at over 90 TRILLION. The world bond market is $120 TRILLION. DeFi is a grain of sand on a very large beach, and it is in its infancy.
And I’ll double down on my excitement for Decentralized Finance. I truly believe that this is the first time in history where we have a real opportunity to systematically change access to returns on investment and creation of wealth. We are talking about the ability to give access to the 99% of the world returns that have been reserved for the 1% up to this point. Most of my core team and advisors come from the financial industry and are so in alignment with this — and believe it is achievable — because it’s already happening!

What are the 3 things that worry you about the blockchain industry? Why?

I’m concerned about the extreme presence of scammers & bad actors, “rugs”, and a certain billionaire that seems to take glee in creating chaos with cute “hype” tokens with absolutely no utility. While part of this can be cleaned up by better regulations and enforcement, this is a pervasive issue that isn’t exclusive to cryptocurrency, it’s really about the ease with which anonymity on the internet allows someone to conduct a scam, vanish, and reappear to do it again. And many of the technology companies out there really don’t seem to care, and some I believe actively and knowingly enable it. This has to change.
I’m concerned about regulation going the wrong direction — becoming overbearing, stifling innovation, crushing investment opportunities, being hijacked by traditional financial institution lobbyists. Big financial institutions HAVE to be very scared of DeFi, and I imagine they are pulling the lobbying levers to tilt things in their favor.
I’m concerned about the overall tone of industry, from hyper-aggressive “maxis” battling it out with each other on social media, the mocking and taunting and often just childish behavior taking place. It’s funny — there’s already a formation of “old money” in crypto. A few months ago I was networking and looking for a specific developer resource. I got introduced to someone, scheduled a meeting, and moments before — he cancelled the meeting and said “Oh, I don’t work with anyone on the Binance Smart Chain”. That actually was a pivotal moment for me — recognizing that with as much innovation there is, there’s also a lack of innovation in a number of ways, and a whole lot of ego. Someone turning me down is always a great motivator for me!

Ok, thank you for all of that. Here is the main question of our interview. Can you please share “5 Things That Can Be Done To Improve and Reform The Cryptocurrency Industry”? If you can please share a story or example for each.

Make Fraud the highest priority: I’ll start very broad and say that the fraud, scams, cons, rugs. Whatever you want to call it.. in crypto is just insane. It is rampant, predatory, and it is brazen. It is technologically automated. And we literally have the technology to stop it — the blockchain. There are certainly privacy issues to be worked out, but for example I believe that when someone can create a fake account across multiple platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, etc.), create a fake website to harvest recovery phrases or other cons, and it takes WEEKS for them to come down, and then it happens again with absolutely no recourse, we have an incredibly serious problem. That’s just one example of many, I have actually have real world examples of direct fraudulent activity taken more than once against Pink Panda, and there’s very little that can be done. We could do an entire article on just this subject!
Provide Broad Education: I spend a lot of my time talking to friends and family about blockchains and cryptocurrency. Almost everyone is VERY interested, and very few have even a rudimentary understanding of it. And the industry really isn’t doing anything to help this — quite the contrary it seems as if it revels in the fact that a lot of people have made vast wealth and quickly taken on an elitist attitude.

My example — one of my team was new to crypto and I had him write a buyers guide on simply how to buy the Pink Panda token. It took him days to figure it out, far longer than to actually create the guide (which can be found here — shameless plug).

3. Encourage Responsible Regulations: We are getting to the point where there is a clamor for clarity around regulations. I can tell you that I’m incredibly well advised on regulations from a compliance and regulatory perspective, and there is such a variety of opinions even amongst full time professional legal counsel. Is it a commodity? Is it an unregistered security? Is it something else? I think we are seeing steps in the right direction. I’m a bit of a regulatory geek — but our Sr. Compliance Advisor Gene Truono (Former CCO for PayPal, 30 years fintech/crypto regulatory and compliance experience) has forgotten more about this than I will ever know. We take regulatory compliance very seriously and frankly see it as a competitive advantage when the inevitable regulations come.

For an example of our commitment — Pink Panda recently joined the Global Digital Asset and Cryptocurrency Association, which is a self-regulatory association to help shape the future of the digital asset and cryptocurrency industry and create a transparent, accountable infrastructure that promotes integrity in all aspects of the market.

4. Encourage Responsible Growth and Adoption: We should be looking at ways to intelligently stimulate, encourage, sponsor innovation and responsible growth. We have a lot of wild, speculative, irresponsible activity happening — which isn’t innovative at all. And the crypto industry as a whole is largely responsible for this. When you have people expecting 5–10–100X multiples…in days, or even hours…clealry this is out of control. On every trade (and every scam), there’s a winner and a loser, and there’s a lot more people losing out there than winning. You only need to look at the several daily “InuRisingElonEverMoonRocket” tokens to see it’s a very broken system right now.

5. Encourage and Embrace Diversity: Crypto is a microcosm of both tech and finance — which are already two very low diversity industries. We know that this is a challenge that not only requires systematic change, but also personal introspection and real change. Gender is probably the strongest factor in this, I don’t have statistics but I can tell you from our community and other crypto communities it seems to be about 90% male.

Pink Panda actively encourages our community to embrace inclusion and we are truly multinational — we have them primarily based on geography/language and have probably 12 different communities now. We work very hard to ensure diversity in both our communities as well as in our organization. While we can always do better, we have a fair amount of diversity on our advisory board, and our recent community marketing lead is a woman of color.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share a story?

Well I hope I’m just getting started at this, as this is a huge driver for the mission of Pink Panda. Our small little startup has already donated three times to cancer charities. The first was .4 Ethereum ($1,000 at the time) to the American Cancer Society, the second was 2 Ethereum ($4,800 at the time) to the Go2 Foundation for Lung Cancer, and we just completed a $4,000 USDC donation to Breast Cancer Action, whose motto is “Think Before You Pink”. My vision is that these donations will scale with Pink Panda’s success.

Outside of the charitable donations, I truly believe that my bringing decentralized finance in an easily accessible, user friendly way can absolutely and directly change lives. Everyone has a cell phone, but very few have access to decentralized finance. A person in India could take $10 and with a solid investment make life changing money. A person who lives in an unstable country could secure their assets in stablecoins. A young person could start dollar cost averaging and create real wealth over the long term. The potential is unreal, DeFi is absolutely in its infancy but the value proposition is already proven.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

A dear friend and mentor of mine and I were having a conversation about whatever my latest life challenge of the moment was (which I totally forget), and I said something along the lines of “I feel accepted by this person”.

And he said to me “Adam — forget ‘acceptance’. You don’t want to settle for those who “accept” you in your life — you want to surround yourself with those who CELEBRATE you”. He actually didn’t say “forget”, a different F-word, but I made this G-rated! I think as a society we are conditioned to look for acceptance, to look to “fit in”, to not be judged.I spent much of my life doing just that. It was a really pivotal moment for me, it changed really where I focused my energy and my time both in work and personal life. I spend less time and energy on those who seem to be more transactional and “going through the motions” and much more time engaging with those who want to be engaged — and unsurprisingly those relationships are just so much more rich and rewarding, because I want to celebrate them in return.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can find more information about us, our social media links, etc at https://pinkpanda.finance as well as see regular updates on our medium at https://medium.com/@PinkPandaFinance

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

Adam Carlton Of PinkPanda On The 5 Things That Can Be Done To Improve and Reform The Cryptocurrency… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Amanda Hamilton Of Hamilton Raye: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During…

Amanda Hamilton Of Hamilton Raye: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Get clear on your priorities. Being laser-focused on what matters most to growing in your role requires having the ability to step back from menial tasks.

As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Amanda Hamilton.

Amanda Hamilton is the founder of Hamilton Raye “Your Outsourced Admin®”, which brings professional remote administrative support to startup organizations and businesses.

With a decade of experience in the corporate retail industry, she learned best practices for staying organized, managing constant changes in priorities, and finding process efficiencies to reduce workload.

Content with her career but Amanda longing to work remotely in order to live and work anywhere she pleased, Amanda decided to take her fate into her own hands and start Hamilton Raye “Your Outsourced Admin®”.

Finding that the founders, CEO’s, and small business owners she partnered with were wearing multiple hats and looking for more time in their days and weeks, Amanda realized that the most necessary piece of being a business owner is to maintain maximum efficiency and productivity, by keeping your schedule moving and remaining highly organized. That was how she developed the concept of maximizing her clients’ time by providing knowledgeable admin professionals who could act as a trusted extension of their team.

Prior to starting Hamilton Raye, I spent ten years working in the corporate retail industry in Columbus, Ohio. After spending several years in burnout and no longer feeling fulfilled, I decided to make a life change and leave my job while also moving to another city. I spent a little over a year working odd jobs to pay my bills such as the front desk at Orangetheory Fitness and working as a virtual assistant for an agency out of Georgia. While working as a virtual assistant, I identified an area of opportunity for small to mid-sized businesses with the skills I’d developed throughout my corporate career, I realized I could provide a higher level of support as an executive assistant and bring a thought partnership relationship to the table.

In March of 2020, I officially launched Hamilton Raye and, as any business owner in this moment, had to pause and identify the best way to move forward, given the state of the world. Fortunately, the swift shift of moving to fully remote for most organizations brought a lot of great opportunities to Hamilton Raye. People were no longer concerned about hiring a fractional executive assistant that lived in a different part of the country and it became more of the norm.

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 I first started my business, I was working on a client account, and we’d just started working together. He needed me to book travel for him within days of the trip and he needed to leave at a specific time and return at a specific time. He was open to traveling between airports to manage these timelines. I remember being up late at night, searching for an accommodating flight. I finally found the perfect option and booked the car service he needed to get there. I came to find out a few days later that I’d booked the car service for the wrong day. Upon learning this, I was mortified and thankfully we were able to get the car service there on time without any impact on his travel time. But this triggered multiple lessons for me.

First, don’t force yourself to work when you’re exhausted because it doesn’t benefit anyone! Secondly, have multiple checks and balances in place to avoid oversights like this in the future. I’ve used this mishap as a very funny story to share with my team to remind them that we are all human and mistakes can be made. However, it’s how we learn from them and move forward that’s most important.

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 would be my mentor. When we first met, back in 2019, I was a very young and naive entrepreneur. I was clueless regarding how to identify my ideal client or go about building a marketing strategy. He kindly and politely offered to mentor me and in the first 6 months, we spent several hours working together to build the business I am now so proud to have started. I remember when we were brainstorming on identifying the best name to go with “Your Outsourced Admin” and we had several funny moments of name options such as “Miss Hamilton” that we still laugh about today. He continues to be a listening ear when I need him and always provides me with positive and constructive feedback to continue to improve. I’m forever grateful for his guidance and support.

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?

Our ultimate goal and mission at Hamilton Raye is to give back time to our clients by providing businesses that do not have the need for a full-time administrative associate with an experienced professional for a fraction of the hiring cost.

Our mission: “Our mission is to provide Founders, CEO’s and Small Business Owners with reliable, professional, and trustworthy support to unlock their most valuable asset. TIME.”

Our vision: “We are here to create accessibility for all-size businesses to an experienced administrative associate.”

Our difference: “At Hamilton Raye, we are focused on providing our clients with experienced professionals that will seamlessly integrate into your business and provide you with reliable and high-end support.”

In March of 2020, I officially launched Hamilton Raye. I had been working in the industry for a little over a year at that point and had been working towards an official launch that month. We had a small client portfolio at the time, but I was the main point of contact amongst the majority of our clients. Then March 14, 2020, happened and the news of the world shutting down went global. At this moment, I was very uncertain of the impact this was going to have on the business. While we were fully remote, I did not know whether our clients would be negatively impacted which would cause contract cancellations and ultimately a failing business. It was during this first month that I had to be strategic and pivot while maintaining an optimistic attitude with my team. I was consistently in communication with them, checking in to make sure they felt safe, supported, and ultimately healthy. People appreciate knowing they are supported, and in a turbulent time such as the COVID pandemic, this was the most important part of leading. Ensuring that the team had the right amount of support was a priority for me.

The benefit for Hamilton Raye was that everyone had moved to a fully remote organization, which allowed businesses to realize they did not need a full-time and in-office executive assistant and that a service like ours was needed. Our mission is to find more time in the day for our clients, so based on already having an existing infrastructure for a remote business, it was an easy transition for existing clients to expand with us.

Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?

I definitely have moments where I feel exhausted and don’t have the drive to continue forward but, then something wonderful will happen. It’s usually when a member of the team has a positive experience with a client or impacts another team member in a positive way. Those small moments throughout the days and weeks give me so much joy that is motivation and it’s enough to keep going. Our ultimate goal is to give back time to our clients so they can use that time to be present with family and friends and when we see our work paying off it’s extremely motivating.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

To be there when your team needs you. Challenging times can mean something different for everyone and having the ability to be a listening ear or to provide a sense of security for your team is key. As a leader, you will gain respect and maintain a positive working environment when your team feels supported in any type of circumstance.

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?

Maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude. I truly believe that a positive and optimistic attitude can get anyone through challenging times, both personally and professionally. It is the job of a leader to assess the team and determine their status on the mood elevator.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

Open and honest communication. Even in difficult situations and while sharing difficult news, it is so important to lead by honesty while maintaining an optimistic attitude. A leader’s thoughts and attitudes set the tone for the rest of the team and if they come across negatively or as a pessimist that will naturally exude onto the team and ultimately the client base.

How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?

I think it is very important to have weekly, monthly, semi-annual and annual plans. It all starts out with The One Thing and identifying what your main priority should be weekly, monthly, semi-annually, and annually to achieve your goals.

It is necessary to reassess within each timeline to determine if a different decision is required to pivot and adjust within certain circumstances. The pandemic in 2020 was a perfect example of a time when businesses might have had different goals in March of 2020, and everyone had to step back and assess the current environment and how to best move forward without a complete disruption of the business.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

Remaining true to the organization’s mission and core values. The values adopted by a business serve as the basis in which to remain engaged and carry out major initiatives with a strong sense of purpose. This helps create a culture and environment that can withstand any challenge or obstacle. In my experience, a solid company mission and meaningful core values to stand by and embrace can steer the entire organization in the same direction because of a shared mentality and desire for growth and progression. The proper mindset truly matters.

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?

Not listening to their customers.
Allowing challenging times to bring toxic behaviors into their work environment.
Making impulsive decisions.

I think the two most important aspects of running any business is listening to your customers and your team. In a service-based business, your team is supporting the client. If the team member is unhappy, there is a great possibility that the client will not receive the level of service you desire. In turbulent times, continuing to monitor your employees’ satisfaction can be extremely difficult but, making the effort to always resort back to the core of any business — the people — and making that a priority is key.

I think this ties back to identifying short and long-term goals and continuing to review and assess what needs to be done to achieve those goals. A turbulent moment, such as the pandemic, brought nuances to navigate that was never expected. It was necessary to sit down and assess the current financial status of the business and determine what would need to happen to sustain business versus growing the business.

One strategy I use is evaluating how we’re growing our business — whether that concerns identifying new client opportunities or building within our existing client base. I knew that when the pandemic came into play, I might not be receiving as many referrals to grow the business as I’d initially anticipated, so I came up with a new plan to identify new business opportunities outside of referrals. Additionally, I started connecting with our existing clients to determine what needs they had and found by hiring a few different specialists, we could support our existing client base with different levels of work allowing us to continue to grow.

Master the art of delegation. Delegating tasks to trustworthy team members is a great way to decrease your stress level and minimize interruptions to your daily routine.

As a business leader, you need to delegate with intention to open up more capacity to focus on your expertise and the value you can provide the business. We have a client that started working with us in 2019 and initially we managed a small percentage of her daily tasks which ultimately caused her stress and burnout. As soon as she delegated with intention to allow herself the time to open up her creative space her business has more than tripled in the last year.

2. Expand your team. Building an admin team of professionals who can help you run your business grants you more time to focus on growing.

In a larger business it’s not always about one admin team member there could be a need for multiple. We find success with having one admin per three to four executives within an organization. This allows focus on building relationships and learning personalities and preferences.

A client recently made the shift to having three admins supporting the three different levels of leaders within the business and it has allowed for efficiencies with calendar management as well as coordinating team and offsite activities. This has led to them having more time on engaging and developing their team rather than managing all of the administrative pieces that go into a leadership role.

3. Focus on what matters most. Having reliable administrative support allows you to focus on critical tasks and meet business growth goals.

It is always important to continue to focus on the core values and purpose of your business. When you stay focused on the core this allows the entire team to march in the same direction. Allowing an administrative professional to take on those menial tasks will give you more time to focus on the critical tasks. I had a client share that the support we provide him has given him and his family more time than he could have ever imagined without our administrative team.

4. Create a robust team that runs without your input. Trained professionals can pick up the slack on your behalf, which allows you to focus on what you do best.

They say culture is what happens when you are not around and focusing on team development and happiness, in the beginning, will reward you in the long run. When I first started Hamilton Raye, my focus was to build a culture of openness and happiness. My priority has been building the correct infrastructure around training and expectations so that as a team we are unified with our thinking and approach.

5. Get clear on your priorities. Being laser-focused on what matters most to growing in your role requires having the ability to step back from menial tasks.

It all goes back to focusing on your “One Thing” every day, week, month, and year. After I read the book The One Thing I started to focus on my priorities differently and this opened up my capacity both personally and professionally. Rather than creating a long to-do list, I would never accomplish, I started focusing on a success list and identifying the one or two priority items I would need to accomplish to move the business forward to meet our goals.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Every problem is a gift, without problems we would not grow.” — Anthony Robbins

My most challenging moments throughout my life have been the biggest lessons. Looking back at those moments makes me realize that I was given those tumultuous moments to really learn and grow into the person I am today. Life is a journey and there are ups and downs on all of our respective paths. But it’s how you take the downs and turn them into ups that make the ride worthwhile.

How can our readers further follow your work?

Hamilton Raye Social Media Accounts & Website:

Website: www.hamiltonraye.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamilton_raye/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hamiltonraye

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HamiltonRaye

Personal Social Media Accounts:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/admindiaries

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-raye-hamilton/

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Amanda Hamilton Of Hamilton Raye: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Robert Pieper Of Responsive Advisors: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During…

Robert Pieper Of Responsive Advisors: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Think big, act small- It’s important to take a look at the big picture, but not get overwhelmed. Be methodical in our actions, and plan as best as we can, but know that if something isn’t working, we can’t be married to the idea. Break out goals into short increments so that it’s attainable, and you can celebrate the wins, while still working toward long term goals.

As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Robert Pieper.

As CEO and Principal Advisor at Responsive Advisors, Robb believes that things that evolve can survive in a changing world. With that in mind, he has set out to maximize customer value by delivering techniques and lean practices with expert-level skills to professionals looking to be change agents. As a former class clown, he injects an energy into class that makes learning Scrum actually fun without the spitballs. He’s worked with a wide range of well-known organizations, including Cray Super Computers, John Deere, Walgreens, and many more. He loves metalcore, cupcakes, tacos, and most of all, watching companies successfully transform into agile organizations ready to take on the future.

My first job was me working for myself as a paperboy. I would buy the local newspapers from the paper company, turn around and sell them and keep the profit. I also had a candy business in grade school. It’s safe to say that the entrepreneurial spirit has been in me since a young age. I knew that one day I wanted to own and run my own business, I just had no idea what that would be.

I’ve always been someone who has just loved to fiddle with electronics. It’s been a hobby of mine since I was young. I got a job at Circuit City installing car stereos and absolutely loved it. I loved it because I got to see the look on people’s faces when I would install their car stereo and they would pick up their car and be amazed at how much better it sounded. I was young at the time, and didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but I knew I loved to make things better and more sustainable. In my spare time at that job, I would spend my time upgrading my own PCs and making them better, which piqued my interest in computer programming, and eventually led me to focus on a degree in software development where I worked a few corporate jobs. One of the jobs I worked was going through an Agile transformation of their own. It was my first experience seeing a company go from pretty darn messed up to pretty darn cool. I got my first experience with Agile delivery frameworks and I went to my first Scrum class. One thing led to another, and that became my passion. This passion would eventually lead me to start by business today, Responsive Advisors.

Can you share a mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?

I didn’t have a very large business network when I first started Responsive Advisors. It would have been great to build that network before I started so I could see if any of my former colleagues were in need of a consultant. A lot of consulting firms start because of their connections. Many independent consultants break off on their own after doing it for 15–20 years, I broke off after three. I really had to focus on being open to the public, and building that network while starting my business.

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?

When I was starting school for my electric engineering degree, I was working as a waiter, but there were two guys that would regularly come into the restaurant. They would have a great time, and order fancy wine and food, so they got my attention. I found out after a while that they owned their own electrical engineering company, and they built software for industrial purposes. I got to know them, one thing led to another, and I was their intern. They taught me the basics of programming, and it was really fun! They were super interesting guys, and it didn’t feel like work. They taught me that as an engineer, your job is to figure it out. Regardless of how, you just figure it out. I got kind of used to that, I would find available resources, I would google things, be in contact with support teams, whatever it took. They really instilled persistence in me, and I am grateful for that, and embrace that lesson even today.

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?

Our mission is this: We partner with our clients to help create a sustainable culture that is responsive to change. That mission still rings true today as change is inevitable.

I envisioned us as being a management consulting firm that uses Agile delivery techniques to make better businesses. Not just regarding technology, but the entire thing including process and culture, and everything in between.

With the pandemic, things quickly shut down and we really didn’t see it coming. We were getting word of not being allowed to gather in groups of more than 10. Well at the time our entire business model was centered around group classes, and our students were getting nervous. I didn’t want to act irrationally because I really didn’t know what I was looking at. So I remained calm and saw what I had to do in order to pivot.

Since we had no choice but to pivot, people’s job descriptions changed. Those logistical jobs changed to tech set up. We immediately offered virtual classes. We figured out a structure to keep our classes engaging (which is what we are known for) even despite not being in the same room. I had to be everyone’s biggest cheerleader while also having a level of transparency about the changes we were making. It was a balancing act, but at the end of the day we were better for it.

Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?

Never was going to just “give up.” That wasn’t an option for me. It all goes back to what I learned in my internship from those guys who took me under their wing. We just figure it out, we pivot, and we find a way to do it better. Since I’ve found my passion for problem solving at an early age, this helped me to stay motivated.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

The most important role is a balancing act of being a source of encouragement, while still being realistic. We can’t just approach turbulent times with rose colored glasses and not address the elephant in the room. It’s important to set the tone and inspire, while still communicating your plan of action.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

Preserving trust is huge, because if you are vague with the news, people start to do bizarre things when they don’t have trust for leadership. So be transparent, don’t sugar coat it, and be straight forward. People will respond well if they feel you’ve given respect.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

Being adaptable and open to trying new things is the only way businesses can survive. Just look at Blockbuster, they had the opportunity to respond to change, and find a different way of doing things, and they didn’t. Eventually new services like Netflix and other streaming services found a way to make consumers’ lives easier. Never stop learning and doing research on your customer, as that can also help to prepare you for change.

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?

They kept everything a secret. As I’ve stated before, transparency is critical. When you don’t let people know what changes are being made, and take the time to explain the rationale behind it, you are creating a toxic work culture. People like to be informed, and as leaders, it’s our job to keep everyone in the loop and be sensitive to human beings in our workplace. When people aren’t informed, they’ll start to do bizarre things.
They were very reactive, not proactive. Knee jerk reactions can be very costly. It can damage reputations and it can lead to really bad ideas and unhappy customers. That’s why it’s important to be methodical in all approaches. Doing your research, evaluating your customers, etc. It takes time, but will pay out in the end.
They weren’t set up to pivot. Agility is key for the continued success of almost all businesses. While the ability to pivot has to happen sometimes, the reality is, a company has to be equipped without the need to change their entire internal infrastructure. This means before a problem arises they should be equipped to change. From a new competitor, to a change in consumer preferences, and more. If your company isn’t set up to adapt and change, that’s a problem.

I had read a lot of books about businesses that survived economic crises, such as the Great Depression, and other intense situations, but it’s different when it happens to you. However, from those books I learned about mistakes people made when they were running lean on cash. They became desperate, and made irrational decisions. I never wanted to be desperate. So I made sure I had enough money in the bank to make payroll even if nothing new came in for months. Unlikely situation, but that paranoia was always in my head. Because I had this money in the bank when push came to shove, I was able to slow down and really think through my plan.

Have a cash reserve- When you are low on money in trying times, your actions will display panic mode. You’ll find yourself taking on jobs that you shouldn’t have, working with customers that you shouldn’t have. All of this because you are desperate. Having a cash reserve allows you to slow down and make decisions during critical times, such as a pandemic or crisis that you didn’t see coming.
Transparency is always best- A human-centered approach is always best. You can be your team’s biggest cheerleader, but it’s important for them to see you acknowledge that these are scary times, and have an action plan that they can listen and respond to. Be open and leave time for questions, because trust is everything.
Think big, act small- It’s important to take a look at the big picture, but not get overwhelmed. Be methodical in our actions, and plan as best as we can, but know that if something isn’t working, we can’t be married to the idea. Break out goals into short increments so that it’s attainable, and you can celebrate the wins, while still working toward long term goals.
Know that the future is always uncertain- Know that you can plan ahead as much as humanly possible, but there will always be a fire to put out. There will always be a competitor that will arise, new consumer needs, new trends, the list goes on and on. It’s about how you respond to the changes happening around you that will help you rise above.
Play the hand you are dealt, and adapt- The more you resist change, the harder you fall. If you find yourself in a situation where what you’ve always done suddenly isn’t working, try something new and seek an outside perspective.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

When nothing is going right, go left.

I am very persistent when I want something. I was like that while a student in school, with software projects I worked on as a software developer, and even now running and growing Responsive Advisors. I’m always looking for new information, for new techniques and strategies to grow this company even when a pandemic tries to destroy my business. I just do not quit until I get where I want to be.

How can our readers further follow your work?

Blog: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbpieper/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbpieper/

Instagram: @responsiveadvisors

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Robert Pieper Of Responsive Advisors: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Simon Kardynal Of Trench Leadership: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During…

Simon Kardynal Of Trench Leadership: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Be empathetic: It’s easy to be a leader when the team is cohesive and the company is healthy. It’s when things start to break down, or the leader the leader becomes personally or professionally stressed, that leaders need to exercise their emotional intelligence and be empathetic of their teams concerns and feelings, even if the leader doesn’t agree.

As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Simon Kardynal.

Simon is the host of Trench Leadership: A Podcast From the Front that brings together diverse and passionate leaders to support and inspire emerging leaders. Through conversation and story-telling, Simon and his guests talk everything from workplace culture to hard chats to personal leadership brands, offering advice, insight, and practical tools to new and leaders-to-be.

Simon’s journey to becoming a podcast host started back in 1994 when he joined the Canadian Army as an infanteer. Later on, Simon joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as an aircraft structures technician, and it was in this trade when he would eventually begin his formal leadership journey by being promoted into the first levels of leadership in the Canadian Armed Forces command structure. In 2011, Simon became an aircraft maintenance superintendent and he began to switch his leadership focus from the tactical level to the strategic and institutional levels.

In 2021, Simon completed a Master of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University and he has undergone many formal and informal leadership training programs.

It was during his graduate studies when he was introduced to ‘new to him’ leadership principles and practices and where he embraced the concept of heart-brain-centric leadership. He also realized that to be a truly passionate leader, he needed to follow his own passions, and so, in January 2021, and with 26 years of service, Simon retired from the RCAF as a Master Warrant Officer.

Simon spends his time running more often, riding his motorcycle (never enough), and flying airplanes as often as his budget and the weather will allow. But most often, Simon can be found in his office, building connections with like-minded leaders as he creates content for his podcast.

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I covered portions of my backstory in my bio, but I’d like to expand on how I came to making a podcast. There are two instances that led to me becoming a podcast host.

The first is that I watched the movie, Knight and Day, starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. In the movie, the two stars are travelling in an airplane and Cameron Diaz says something to the effect of, “Someday I’m going to take a trip along the coast”. It was Tom Cruise’s response that really struck me, and sticks with me to this day, he said, “Someday. That’s a dangerous word. It’s really just a code for ‘never’”. I remember thinking that while I loved being in the Canadian military, I was no longer living into my passions, and that I was living a ‘someday’ lifestyle. And so, I started looking at my options.

The second point was when I began to create the associated knowledge product (AKP) for my graduate degree. I knew I wanted to create something fun and intriguing, but also make ‘it’ look and feel professional. I had already started toying with the idea of making a podcast and so I decided to create a 3-part podcast mini-series that highlighted my research with the goals of finding out if I could make a professional sounding podcast, and also make something unique for the listener.

Once I realized that I could actually make a decent sounding podcast, things moved pretty quickly, and here I am with 18 episodes released, doing this interview for you fine folks.

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?

I’m reminded of the time when I was a brand-new Master Corporal (the first leadership level in the Canadian Armed Forces Chain of Command), and I had a team of three people. I was still figuring out what it even meant to be in charge of people and shortly after I arrived at the squadron, the unit was going away for an exercise. During the exercise preparation, one of my team members and myself received an email from the supply section telling us to ensure we had our equipment at the supply section in time to pack the equipment. To me, this seemed like a very obvious thing to do, especially consider one of my team members had been part of many exercises with the squadron.

So, I sent the email to my direct report with text something along the lines of, “I’m sure you already know this, but make sure you get your s&^t in to supply right away!! AHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!”

Except….. I didn’t click forward, I clicked reply.

I can tell you that it didn’t take long for me to get a phone call and get called into my supervisor’s office to explain myself, getting told quite often that I was a leader now and there were more expectations on me. I was profusely apologetic and I learned two things in that moment.

First, I realized my influence as a leader transferred into everything I was doing and said, including emails.

Second, I learned to make sure that I was sending my now-always professional emails to the proper person.

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 a great question. There are so many people I’d like to recognize, but for me, I’d like to talk about the first leader I had in my first unit with the Canadian Army, then-Master Corporal (MCpl) Rick Nolan. When I arrived at the battalion fresh off of my basic infantry course, I was posted an infantry battalion, and a standard platoon. My section second in command (2IC) was MCpl Rick Nolan. It’s important to side bar for a moment and explain that I was an immature 20-year-old who thought he knew everything and that I didn’t need to have things taught to me because “I knew it all” and I didn’t fully comprehend I had started a ‘real’ career. I wasn’t a bad soldier, but I wasn’t living to my potential either, and this is where Rick comes in.

As time went on, my little mistakes, and more importantly, my cavalier attitude to my job started being noticed and I was beginning to develop a poor reputation with my peers and superiors. After one particularly poor performance, Rick pulled me aside and he didn’t chew me out, or yell at me, berate me, or try to make me feel small. Instead, he chose to talk to me, to help me understand what I was doing and why I needed to pay more attention to me and my surroundings. He highlighted my strengths and he made sure I knew my failings. Now, many people are probably thinking all of this is common sense, and for the most part it is, but… this happened in the infantry (a traditionally macho environment), in 1994. Things were different, how we did things was different. Rick was my first real mentor, he didn’t give me the answers to grow up, but he pointed me in the right direction, and when I started to stray off track, he would get me back in line again.

Rick’s leadership has been an integral part of my leadership journey. I’ve blended my leadership approach with parts of what I took from Rick, and made my own leadership flavour, and now I have a podcast where I hope to mentor and coach emerging leaders at the beginning of their leadership journey as well.

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?

When I first started my podcast, I wanted to help emerging leaders by providing advice, inspiration, and practical leadership tools. My podcast continues to focus on these points for each episode, but as the show has evolved, I’ve realized that I also want to help people understand leadership without passion limits their vision.

The reality is that anyone can be in charge, but it takes passionate leadership to create a vision that will inspire your team. And so, I try to bring guests and topics that provide advice for emerging leaders, that will give the listeners practical leadership tools as they navigate their leadership journey, but mostly, I want to inspire leaders, to let them know they are not alone, that they are making a difference, that mistakes and triumphs are all part of their journey.

I’d like to talk about when I started my new job after I retired from the Canadian Armed Forces. I now work as a contract manager and I joined the company in January 2021. I also happened to join the company right in the middle of a COVID-related lockdown. I had to make connections with dozens of people without being able to physically meet them. And this was hard.

In lieu of actual meetings over coffee or lunch, I had one-on-one teleconference calls, but most importantly, I created a bi-newsletter. In the newsletter, I offered information about my passions, my focuses for my position, how I could help them, and how they could help me. I also added fun information about the company and I added biographies of people from other divisions within the company. I did all of this with the goal of creating team cohesion by showing everyone my human side and then hopefully building a sense of community even though we couldn’t come together into one room. And this worked. I know the newsletter worked because I received many notes and calls thanking me for finding a way to bring people together although we were all separated.

My learning from this example was how I was reminded that team cohesion doesn’t need to be an over-the-top action or complicated in its nature. Team cohesion comes from being genuine in our desire to want to bring the team together.

Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?

I think everyone considers giving up when things get tough, it’s part of our evolutionary fight or flight instinct, but it’s what we decide in those moments that defines us.

My motivation to get through challenges is partly because of my personality type. I’m the type that sees a challenge as something that won’t beat me. I’ll put my head down and keep working until I’ve defeated the issue. This part of me is great when I need to have laser focus on a task, but it also has its disadvantages because I can get so focused on the challenge that I can lose sight of the other things around me. Striking a balance between the two has been, and continues to be, one of my challenges.

As for what sustains my drive, part of it is that I’ve matured, evolved, and I’ve learned to acknowledge my accomplishments. And so, when I’m struggling about whether or not I have the capability to do something, or feel I don’t deserve to be in the same group as others, I’ve learned to remind myself of the fact that I HAVE made important accomplishments in my personal and professional career. I DESERVE a seat at the table. I’m smart enough to solve the problem. When I remind myself of these things, it motivates me to keep driving forward. In short, I look to inspire myself, and in leadership roles, if we can’t inspire ourselves, how can we inspire our team?

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

Communication.

Nothing is more important than talking to your team. Even if the talk is to tell them that you don’t have time to talk. Any information is better than no information. When times are tough and the days are long, teams will look to their leaders for inspiration and that comes in the form of talking to your team, communicating to them how things are going, telling them what’s working, and if things need to change and why.

And it’s the ‘why’ of things that absolutely must be explained. In this information-rich world, team members will fill the information voids left by leaders who are ‘too busy’ to talk to their teams. If we don’t provide the why, your team will assume the worst-case scenario, whether or not that’s the case. So please, talk to your people, keep them informed and everyone will get through the challenging times.

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?

In my opinion, the best way for leaders to boost morale or to inspire and engage with their teams is to ask them what they feel would do all of these things. Now, the argument could be made that leaders should already know their people, and I won’t disagree with this statement, but the thing is, when times are tough, people and teams tend to want different things to engage and inspire them. And so, the best way to know what your team needs is to ask them, and then you, as the leader, can provide it. If they want a pizza party, get out your wallet. If they want to throw a pie in your face, wear an old shirt to work. In short, hear what your team wants in troubling times and then make it happen, because that’s leadership.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

Be honest, professional, and empathetic. Most people can tell when they’re being handled, especially during a difficult conversation.

How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?

Flexibility is the key in unpredictable times.

I think the best leaders can do is make their plans, remembering to be flexible when the plans change, because plans will change. Helmuth von Moltke said it best, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy”. In this instance, unpredictability is the enemy, but as long as leaders are expecting their plan to change, then they are more likely to be flexible to making adjustments.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

Companies need to be honest and transparent. Do you remember when I talked about the information-rich worlds we live in today? Well, the same concept rings true here as well. If there are challenges, people will want answers, and in the absence of corporate information, they will either make their own answers or believe whichever information suits their personality.

The thing is, it’s very easy to be honest and transparent when things are going great. Most people love to give and receive good news, but it’s how leaders act during the hard times that define the make-up of companies. Talk to your people, be empathetic to their concerns, and truly hear them. Respond to their fears and concerns in a transparent way, and don’t leave people hanging.

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?

Information Blackout: I touched on this point earlier, but I’d like to expand upon it. Teams look to their leaders for a show of strength during difficult times, and information is power. So, if the leader isn’t relaying information of any kind, or if they are hiding in their office while the company is reeling from the challenge, the team will assume the leader isn’t leading, and this will build resentment, anger, and confusion.

These issues can be overcome by talking to your team. Tell them the answers are coming, and most importantly, when the information arrives, share it, even if it’s tough news, keep your team informed.

Pre-emptive Panic: How many of us have seen or had a leader that hit the panic button before there was a need to panic? In fact, these leaders are often the cause of panic in a team, because as I mentioned in the first point, your team is looking to you for strength in leadership. If you’re running around with your hair on fire, your team will assume they need to as well, and I think we can all agree that a team with flaming heads is not ideal to defeat a challenging situation.

So when you feel the stress rising, go away from your team, take a moment (and there is always time) and re-centre yourself. Once you’re ready, go back and lead your team like the amazing boss that you are.

Too cool for school: Guess what? You’re not cool just because you’re the leader, and it’s REALLY important not to lose sight of this. Now, I’m not saying that leaders shouldn’t be confident, I’m suggesting that leaders need to be themselves and take the lead in a way that is natural to them while not losing sight of the fact that their success is directly attributed to their team.

I’d like to offer two strategies.

First, I do my best to stay calm. I know this is much easier to say than do, but as a leader, your team is looking to you for how they should react during difficult times, so when I begin to feel the spiral happening because growth targets aren’t being met, I step away, I take a breath, and I stay calm. I recommend leaders say it out loud when they are beginning to spiral, “Stay calm”.

Second, I don’t make knee-jerk reactions. Difficult times are often turbulent in nature and leaders feel the pressure to make decisions quickly. And so, I’ve learned that during these fast-moving challenges, I try to take the time to ensure I have all of the information before I make a decision. Sometimes taking a little longer to ensure leaders are fully informed saves the company time and money in the long term.

Be empathetic: It’s easy to be a leader when the team is cohesive and the company is healthy. It’s when things start to break down, or the leader the leader becomes personally or professionally stressed, that leaders need to exercise their emotional intelligence and be empathetic of their teams concerns and feelings, even if the leader doesn’t agree. I’m reminded of the time I was a Basic training instructor and I had a candidate request to speak with me. I could tell the candidate was very dejected and upset just by the way they came into my office. The person sat down and proceeded to tell me that they were in financial jeopardy and that this was causing them significant stress, and that was why they weren’t performing as well during the daily training. My response was to tell the candidate that it was their responsibility to fix their own financial problems and it should not be affecting course performance. The candidate almost broke down in front of me, and I sat there, blankly staring back at this person, completely unempathetic. It wasn’t long after that moment when I experienced some challenges and I noticed a decrease in my performance. I went to my supervisor to apologize for my poor performance and their response was to tell me to suck it up and get back to work. I was appalled, how could my boss not empathize with my plight? And then I remembered the complete lack of empathy I had for the young private who was asking for the very same consideration I had been looking for.
Communicate: Talk to your team during hard times? No kidding, but it’s not just about informing your team, it’s also about HOW you talk to them. For example, don’t rush through meeting points and then run out the door muttering about being busy. Stay and talk to your team, make eye contact with every one of them. The thing is, your team is looking to you for leadership and if you appear panicked and frazzled, they will assume this is how everyone should be feeling and acting. Also, know yourself and your communication style. For myself, when I’m excited or passionate, I tend to speak very quickly and wave my hands all over the place, using gestures to emphasize points. I’ve always thought this was a good speaking habit of mine as I could really nail a point home, but what I learned many years ago was that these gestures, during tough times, also gave some people the sense that I was overwhelmed, or even angry. It took a very brave junior team member to tell me that this was the message I was sending. Ever since then, I’ve gone out of my way to ensure I read the room and pay attention to how an audience is reacting to my presence, and I adjust accordingly. Now, I’m not suggesting that leaders have to change who they are; rather, I’m offering that leaders can feel the vibe of their team and adjust their presence to communicate more effectively and efficiently.
Roll with the punches: Leadership is about being flexible to constantly shifting targets, and it’s never going to change, so when you have to adjust your plan, I recommend stopping for a moment, take a breath, and when you’re ready, and only then, engage with the shift…… and don’t forget to communicate the ‘why’ of the changes to your team (Are you seeing a theme in this article?) Instead of me offering a story for this point, I’d like to offer that the reader thinks about a leader or boss they had that didn’t communicate changes to them. What did you feel? Frustrated? Confused? Upset? Now, how could you communicate in a way to avoid these feelings with your team members?
Honesty is key: This point is another that should be common sense, but the reality is that during hard times, most often the news isn’t great and it can be easier to use a little white lie to avoid another confrontation. But…. if the leader gets caught, their credibility is destroyed and team cohesion will definitely suffer at the worst possible time. So, for this point, my advice is to be professionally honest. Deliver the news with a professional calm, one that gives an air of confidence, empathy, and understanding. Do you remember when I mentioned your team will look to you for leadership? Being honest is one of those leadership moments. They are looking to the leader to be honest and understanding. I’m reminded of a time when my team leader brought us together after a particularly difficult work week. We had spent most of the week working on a time-sensitive project, only to have to change everything at the last moment, causing many expletives and long hours. When it came out that we had to change our focus, our team leader let each of us vent, and when it was their turn to speak, they told us point blank that the required changes were needed because they had made a mistake in understanding what was required of us. They apologized for the what lay ahead, but that we needed to achieve our goals, and then the leader brought out a case of beer (We’re Canadian after all) as a good-faith token. None of us liked having to redo our work or stay late, but at least we knew why, we accepted it, and we moved on.
Be kind to yourself: You are going to make mistakes. You will forget some things. Some of your decisions will negatively affect others. And you know what? That’s ok. Leaders have a tendency to think they need to be perfect all the time with all of the answers, and the fact is that we can’t, and won’t, be perfect. And when leaders make mistakes, they tend to be extra hard on themselves. But by acknowledging the irrefutable fact that we will make mistakes, maybe leaders can be kind to themselves when the mistakes happen.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favourite life lesson quote is, “Let’s see where the river will take us, but someone has to steer the boat.”

Earlier, I talked about the importance of being flexible. Well, the truth is that I wasn’t always very flexible. If I had a plan, I wanted to it to go just as I laid it out because I believed that making changes meant I failed as a leader to take into account every detail. It wasn’t until many years later, and many mistakes, to finally see that being adaptable wasn’t weakness, it was actually strength.

So, this quote reminds me that we can make plans and even build in some room to allow for changes, and also that someone has to be the leader to get us back in the right direction when things go sideways.

How can our readers further follow your work?

Readers can find out more about me and the podcast at www.trenchleadership.ca. The web-site provides helpful leadership advice, links to all of the episodes as well as my Clean Water Initiative of trying to ensure that everyone has ready access to clean drinking water.

Trench Leadership: A Podcast From the Front can be found on all of the popular (and quite a few less mainstream) sites. New episodes are released every Monday at midnight.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

Simon Kardynal Of Trench Leadership: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.