1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,600
Finally, what about you?

2
00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:03,000
Yeah, of course.

3
00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:04,700
Me as well.

4
00:00:04,700 --> 00:00:09,800
The most thing I'm most excited about is spending time with my three oldest children.

5
00:00:10,100 --> 00:00:12,000
My youngest will be in Mexico with her mom.

6
00:00:12,100 --> 00:00:17,500
My three oldest will be with me for Christmas and lots of I have five sisters who are going

7
00:00:17,500 --> 00:00:18,100
to be in town.

8
00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:20,500
First time we've been together in many, many years.

9
00:00:20,500 --> 00:00:22,500
So it's going to be great.

10
00:00:22,900 --> 00:00:26,200
That sounds like a really nice family gathering.

11
00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:29,500
Yes, hundreds of desserts.

12
00:00:29,500 --> 00:00:35,500
We're all going to be much, much larger after going into 2024.

13
00:00:35,500 --> 00:00:36,800
That'll be fun.

14
00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:38,000
Hundreds of desserts.

15
00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:39,300
Okay, tell me where you live.

16
00:00:39,300 --> 00:00:40,700
Right?

17
00:00:40,700 --> 00:00:41,300
For sure.

18
00:00:41,300 --> 00:00:42,000
You're going to come.

19
00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:42,900
Can I say hi?

20
00:00:42,900 --> 00:00:43,600
Come to San Antonio.

21
00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:44,700
Take a little vacation day.

22
00:00:44,700 --> 00:00:47,600
I'm going there for the dessert and seeing you.

23
00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:48,800
Just kidding.

24
00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,000
We call it the heavenly bar.

25
00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:53,600
That's what my grandma used to do it every year.

26
00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:58,100
So my mom, my sisters picked it up this year and decided to go all out.

27
00:00:58,100 --> 00:00:59,000
I'm serious.

28
00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:00,900
It's like never ending desserts.

29
00:01:00,900 --> 00:01:01,600
It is so cool.

30
00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,200
So as far as what about resolutions going into the new year?

31
00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:07,500
What's 20 resolutions?

32
00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:12,400
Oh, there's so much to look forward to for next year.

33
00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,200
Scaling up my business and I have a book on my way.

34
00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,300
And yeah, I'm really excited about that.

35
00:01:21,300 --> 00:01:24,400
And what else?

36
00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:28,300
I guess this next year, I really wanted to have a more balance.

37
00:01:28,300 --> 00:01:34,800
Like building business is hard, but keeping balance and continue to bring in that mindfulness,

38
00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:37,800
that integrity for the business is important.

39
00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:39,800
I'm also starting my podcast.

40
00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:45,000
So I could use everyone's help.

41
00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:47,100
Absolutely.

42
00:01:47,100 --> 00:01:47,500
Okay.

43
00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:49,700
So you're writing this book.

44
00:01:49,700 --> 00:01:59,300
What are two challenges that you face with writing the book that you can warn authors about as they go through that grueling process?

45
00:01:59,300 --> 00:02:00,400
I know what that feels like.

46
00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:01,100
Yeah.

47
00:02:01,100 --> 00:02:04,700
Two challenges.

48
00:02:04,700 --> 00:02:07,300
I think the first challenge is just time.

49
00:02:07,300 --> 00:02:12,400
Like every time you're working on a project, it's about time and priorities.

50
00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:22,300
So knowing that I really have to be disciplined and carve out time and to make sure that it's a priority.

51
00:02:22,300 --> 00:02:24,500
It's important because it's something important to me.

52
00:02:24,500 --> 00:02:26,600
And the second challenge is.

53
00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:28,000
All right.

54
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,500
Welcome in to Vision Pros Live.

55
00:02:30,500 --> 00:02:32,600
With Jackson Calame, I'm your show host.

56
00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:47,600
We'll be doing interviews for visionary entrepreneurs and guest leaders who are building fantastic visions out there.

57
00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:51,200
What's up Vision Pros and welcome into another episode of Vision Pros Live.

58
00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:57,500
We've got Ava Tack behind the scenes and she's in the middle of writing a book and getting her book published.

59
00:02:57,500 --> 00:03:00,200
That's one of her resolutions for the upcoming year.

60
00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:05,300
And she's run into the challenges, of course, of getting that book published well.

61
00:03:05,300 --> 00:03:06,800
She revealed one of those secrets.

62
00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:13,200
The second one, I highly recommend you reach out to her to find out about that, because today we're going to be diving into personal leadership,

63
00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:22,900
culture, really some of the cores of success and how it also relates to one of the growing,

64
00:03:22,900 --> 00:03:29,900
I would say an element of awareness that is so needed in relation to DEI.

65
00:03:29,900 --> 00:03:35,000
If you're not familiar with that term, DEI, then I'd recommend a quick Google search.

66
00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,200
We'll let you play with that while we're in the middle of talking about it.

67
00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,300
You'll understand in a minute if you're not there yet.

68
00:03:40,300 --> 00:03:47,400
Part of the challenge and opportunity of creating successful cultures in today's very open ended society

69
00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:49,900
where everybody in the world can kind of connect, I shouldn't say everybody in the world,

70
00:03:49,900 --> 00:03:54,300
but lots of people in the world can now connect together from different cultures and backgrounds,

71
00:03:54,300 --> 00:04:01,400
which means that it's to our advantage and important for the success of the world to understand what DEI is.

72
00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:03,400
So we'll go into that in just a minute, too.

73
00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:08,700
Before I bring Ava on stage, I want to bring up the sponsors up here, of course, in the corner,

74
00:04:08,700 --> 00:04:14,000
both very, very important entities to me in this case, very dear and near to my heart.

75
00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,300
First is Patrick Creighton with Laidback Languages.

76
00:04:18,300 --> 00:04:24,300
He is a language expert who has mastered and speaks six different languages fluently.

77
00:04:24,300 --> 00:04:28,100
And I'm sorry, he has mastered more than that.

78
00:04:28,100 --> 00:04:34,700
The six languages that I'm talking about here, though, are the languages he helps people learn and learn fast.

79
00:04:34,700 --> 00:04:36,000
I speak Spanish fluently.

80
00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:37,800
I'm very blessed to be able to do so.

81
00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:40,400
It took a lot of hard work and took a lot of time.

82
00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:45,700
He has this nurturing capacity and this understanding of how to unlock the powers of these languages

83
00:04:45,700 --> 00:04:46,900
to help people learn very fast.

84
00:04:46,900 --> 00:04:48,500
I think it's very cool what he's up to.

85
00:04:48,500 --> 00:04:53,800
If you're in the process of learning languages, I highly recommend checking out what Patrick is up to.

86
00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:55,400
Detail publishing on the other side.

87
00:04:55,400 --> 00:05:00,600
If you're in the process of publishing a book like Ava or you want more,

88
00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,400
you know the value of having strategic content online.

89
00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:04,600
People say content is king.

90
00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:07,400
That's that's blowing. Great content is king.

91
00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:15,000
It still is, whether that's in video format or written format, shared as a blog, as a post, et cetera, as an ad.

92
00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:22,200
All your content, if your content is on point and it reaches the hearts and the minds of the consumer that you're trying to help,

93
00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:25,100
then it's going to help influence them moving forward.

94
00:05:25,100 --> 00:05:30,700
Ashley Detail is one of the best in the business when it comes to research and development.

95
00:05:30,700 --> 00:05:34,100
In addition to delivering what that content looks like on the other side,

96
00:05:34,100 --> 00:05:39,000
some of the companies that she's worked with, one of the most impressive in my opinion is Nomad Capitalist.

97
00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:50,300
She helped run all 2000 plus articles that they wrote or were in the process of re-editing to shift his thoughts about those subjects

98
00:05:50,300 --> 00:05:53,400
that certainly changed over an eight-year period.

99
00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:59,200
You know, if you reflect back on what you were thinking eight years ago, you might also realize like, wow, my perception has changed a lot.

100
00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:08,600
Well, she's managing content for an entity that is writing about global currency, blockchain, Bitcoin, that stuff, not as important.

101
00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:15,700
And cool to me as the elements such as citizenship as related to finance and investing.

102
00:06:15,700 --> 00:06:18,400
And I mean, she really dug in deep there.

103
00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:27,400
And she happens to write children's books, too, to have somebody with that type of science capacity and that type of nurture capacity is almost unheard of.

104
00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:31,400
She's a unicorn. I highly recommend checking out the table publishing.

105
00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,700
She's been one of my absolute favorite people in life to work with.

106
00:06:34,700 --> 00:06:36,100
Then there's the Water Project.

107
00:06:36,100 --> 00:06:41,500
So before we move into the actual show, this is about giving back to the world,

108
00:06:41,500 --> 00:06:51,800
especially a side of the world that's probably going to have a less probably not going to have as many toys under the trees as some of our kids do.

109
00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:57,500
In fact, most of these children are looking for clean water for their families, and that tears my heart up.

110
00:06:57,500 --> 00:07:03,900
So if we can do more to raise awareness for this, what I love about the Water Project is they show you if you're looking at the screen right now,

111
00:07:03,900 --> 00:07:07,000
you're seeing actual projects that need funded.

112
00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,300
You can then contribute to that and they will send you an email.

113
00:07:10,300 --> 00:07:13,600
It was several email updates about what they're teaching that community,

114
00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:21,800
how they're helping them build the wells that they're building to get access to access to clean drinking water for these communities and showing them how to sustain that process.

115
00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:29,200
This is going to have a generational impact on the livelihood of people in areas of the world where they desperately need it.

116
00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:34,400
So if you have it within your heart to give and your wallet capacity, please do.

117
00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:41,800
If you do not have the ability to give financially and spread the word, share the story, make it meaningful for people.

118
00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:49,900
And as you do that, you might be surprised at who you influence and how much you actually drive for for others to be able to do good and participate as well.

119
00:07:49,900 --> 00:07:54,300
If you have a cause that you'd like us to highlight something's on your heart, like Jackson,

120
00:07:54,300 --> 00:08:00,600
I wish that you were talking about this particular cause. Do yourself a favor. Be bold. Be brave.

121
00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,100
Throw that in the comments. Allow us to contribute.

122
00:08:03,100 --> 00:08:06,200
Allow us to look and see what you're also affecting for good.

123
00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,200
And we're we're happy to reciprocate where we can.

124
00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:11,500
So with that said, let's bring Ava up.

125
00:08:11,500 --> 00:08:17,400
So Ava, I was reading through her background after having met her twice and on our two different occasions,

126
00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:27,900
the humility that she expresses, yet with the power and background that she has available as well of experience from Stanford

127
00:08:27,900 --> 00:08:33,000
to working with different startups, to having traveled and lived in different places.

128
00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:37,300
There's just the depths to this woman that should be tremendously appreciated.

129
00:08:37,300 --> 00:08:42,200
So without further ado, Ava Tak, welcome to First Class Business and Women's Cross Life.

130
00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:46,600
Thank you, Jackson. Thank you very much for the kind introduction.

131
00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:52,900
Hey, absolutely. To help people quantify what I rambled on about a little bit in terms of what you do,

132
00:08:52,900 --> 00:09:00,500
where we're going with this. How would you, from your own perspective, kind of walk somebody through your resume, your past?

133
00:09:00,500 --> 00:09:09,200
What is it that you've done, Ava? And what are some of those those elements that are going to be important for visionaries listening in?

134
00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:11,200
Well, that's how long do you have?

135
00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:17,600
Well, you start with some and I'll prod you from there. Sure.

136
00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:25,000
So I have a background in business and I started out with the background in organizational behavior.

137
00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:33,000
And I didn't think much of it, but actually it helped me tremendously when I started out with my job in digital transformation.

138
00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:40,200
One of the big projects I've done, including over 20 plus billions of dollars in digital transformation.

139
00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:43,800
And I work with startups and work with enterprises.

140
00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:47,800
And what excited me the most is to integrate the two together.

141
00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:59,000
So I did some design thinking and product innovation in the Bay Area and work with startups there and work with international government.

142
00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:02,600
And it's fantastic. It's been a fantastic ride.

143
00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:12,300
And also, I work with a venture and really focus on digital transformation in the later years of my career.

144
00:10:12,300 --> 00:10:29,600
And after that, I just really, really feel compelled to to really use my mission to help mid-sized companies and help women leaders to really thrive in what they do,

145
00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:34,000
especially the world's changing so fast in digital landscape.

146
00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:37,600
Absolutely well said. And so I saw that. Go ahead. Go ahead.

147
00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:38,600
Yeah, thank you, Jackson.

148
00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:48,000
I mean, one of the things that I'm doing right now is working to integrate technology like AI into existing or new IT platforms.

149
00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:53,400
And that's come with culture and strategy and training in Nepal.

150
00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:57,400
Very good. And so you were born in Vietnam.

151
00:10:57,400 --> 00:10:59,800
You are a U.S. citizen. Yes.

152
00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:06,800
You've lived in Australia. You've lived in Jamaica.

153
00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:09,400
You had some some background of helping with Jamaica.

154
00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:12,800
Did you actually live there or did you do development projects there?

155
00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:21,600
Yeah, Jamaica was it was an international development project during my time at university.

156
00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:28,400
And it was amazing. We created a new center for youth in inner city.

157
00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:32,300
It was the first computer center that we built.

158
00:11:32,300 --> 00:11:36,600
And it was an eye opening when I came there for one week in the spring.

159
00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:40,100
We did a lot of like fundraising and organizing for the entire year.

160
00:11:40,100 --> 00:11:44,100
And then when we came there, we met with the most beautiful people.

161
00:11:44,100 --> 00:11:56,400
But then we also know how hard it is for people like for kids and even for women to really get into education.

162
00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:59,900
And a lot of them is like in the class and they are in different ages.

163
00:11:59,900 --> 00:12:09,900
So having a computer, the first computer center in the inner city was so helpful because then people can start to research and open their mind.

164
00:12:09,900 --> 00:12:17,300
Yeah, absolutely. Now, I saw that when you were you were a teen and you began studies, you went to this.

165
00:12:17,300 --> 00:12:22,000
It's called the Canadian Lester B. Pearson United World College School.

166
00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:26,700
Lester B. Pearson is not a name I'm familiar with, but he was a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

167
00:12:26,700 --> 00:12:33,800
And it's so interesting to me with your background that, you know, again, yet another country,

168
00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:40,400
yet another entity up to, you know, like that has some type of standards, some type of vision for good.

169
00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:45,900
You don't typically end up with a Nobel Peace Prize without having something to do with good things.

170
00:12:45,900 --> 00:12:51,000
And so it's just like, whoa, your background is so diverse.

171
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:59,400
And that's that's again, what I'm most excited about for any visionary listening in is just kind of soaking in the principles that we explore while we talk.

172
00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:02,500
So I'm going to dive into one specific question and we'll go from there.

173
00:13:02,500 --> 00:13:10,200
And that's what's your vision for those that you serve, whether it's the medium sized businesses or or others, feel free to continue to redefine that.

174
00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,200
But what's your vision for them?

175
00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:18,900
What is my vision for those I serve?

176
00:13:18,900 --> 00:13:29,600
I think I'm just looking for a more. More equitable world where we can have people from different,

177
00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:34,100
just like my experience working with people from different countries,

178
00:13:34,100 --> 00:13:43,800
I would love to to see that vision happening in a mid-sized SDS scaling up because culture is something that you can't really

179
00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:48,200
you can't really scale up when when things are so complex.

180
00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:54,600
So it has to be, you know, from the starting point, from the point where you hire people,

181
00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:58,500
from the point where like an everyday working and living.

182
00:13:58,500 --> 00:14:10,000
So my vision is to have. To have a world where leaders are more involved and the companies have all the roles in places

183
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:16,800
that really focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and even the neurodiversity from day one,

184
00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:24,700
even day zero before people coming in in the recruiting process so that by the time people get hired,

185
00:14:24,700 --> 00:14:31,100
they feel a sense of belonging and they feel right at home and they have a chance to continue to grow,

186
00:14:31,100 --> 00:14:42,100
especially if you see that how how a lot of research talk about diversity is not just something that's nice to have,

187
00:14:42,100 --> 00:14:47,500
but it's something that's really a good thing to do for leaders to do,

188
00:14:47,500 --> 00:14:52,800
but also essentially it can bring you a lot of equity back into the company as well.

189
00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:57,700
So it's really serving the entire lifecycle of business.

190
00:14:57,700 --> 00:15:06,300
So having a way for companies to really think seriously about DEI and neurodiversity is so important

191
00:15:06,300 --> 00:15:12,500
because essentially it can be treated like a transformation by itself.

192
00:15:12,500 --> 00:15:18,900
Absolutely. You know, a lot of visionaries may shy away from this this topic because, you know, it's like one.

193
00:15:18,900 --> 00:15:21,600
Well, we didn't start with all that stuff in the beginning.

194
00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:23,700
So we can't start from day zero.

195
00:15:23,700 --> 00:15:28,100
Others know that they're building something from scratch and it can be an overwhelming process

196
00:15:28,100 --> 00:15:31,400
when you don't have all the resources to put everything in place up front,

197
00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:37,000
but that doesn't nullify the importance of the foundation that doesn't,

198
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,400
you know, just because you don't have the ability to build a phenomenal foundation right now doesn't mean

199
00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:47,900
that we shouldn't be learning about how to add and build that foundation or rebuild with that foundation in mind.

200
00:15:47,900 --> 00:15:54,500
So one thing that you sparked in me was a reminder of LeBron James and I promise school, right?

201
00:15:54,500 --> 00:15:58,500
So I've never done this before, but we're going to do this right now.

202
00:15:58,500 --> 00:16:02,000
And we're going to look at that particular entity for just a minute.

203
00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,100
This, you know, I promise school.

204
00:16:04,100 --> 00:16:09,900
We are family. Well, when he launched this, he I believe that he did such a great job

205
00:16:09,900 --> 00:16:13,700
to bring in the right types of people on the front end and have the right type of vision

206
00:16:13,700 --> 00:16:22,700
to help create an immense success, amazing success for the inner city children in the Akron, Ohio area

207
00:16:22,700 --> 00:16:28,800
and beyond by by really reshaping and redefining what education looks like

208
00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:34,400
and what types of things they need to be thinking about in regards to these children out there.

209
00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:36,500
Again, I'm not meaning to do a complete promotion for it.

210
00:16:36,500 --> 00:16:41,400
But again, it's about it's about what Ava talked about in terms of planning ahead, right?

211
00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:48,300
These kids are on a very different time schedule than other kids are for school.

212
00:16:48,300 --> 00:16:51,500
The teachers are paid to be available in different capacities.

213
00:16:51,500 --> 00:16:56,300
The kids are taught safety aspects of how to get to school in safe fashion.

214
00:16:56,300 --> 00:16:58,700
They're all given bikes and helmets as well.

215
00:16:58,700 --> 00:17:01,400
They have scholarship raising.

216
00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:06,100
They're very aware of the scholarship process from a very young age versus, you know,

217
00:17:06,100 --> 00:17:10,400
you look at public school or other entities. Point being,

218
00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:16,900
he spent so much time and dedication to laying that foundation in a way where people,

219
00:17:16,900 --> 00:17:21,600
you know, from all walks of life could feel comfortable with supporting that.

220
00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:26,600
Not everybody does, but so many people do because it was so clear.

221
00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:28,900
I would say it's a great example. Would you agree it's a great example?

222
00:17:28,900 --> 00:17:30,900
Or would you be like, no, Jackson, I got a better example.

223
00:17:30,900 --> 00:17:37,400
It's a fantastic example because even for me, when I was when I when I was really young,

224
00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:40,700
like I didn't really have a huge vision.

225
00:17:40,700 --> 00:17:42,500
I didn't know exactly what I'm going to be doing,

226
00:17:42,500 --> 00:17:46,600
but I just knew that I'm going to be out of my country.

227
00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,000
And I didn't speak a lot of English back then.

228
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,900
But I just have this faith that I really want to learn.

229
00:17:52,900 --> 00:17:54,500
I really wanted to expand myself.

230
00:17:54,500 --> 00:17:58,100
And the idea of the school I went to, Lester B. Pearson,

231
00:17:58,100 --> 00:18:03,200
it was created in honor memory of Lester B. Pearson.

232
00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:04,900
He's the Canadian Prime Minister.

233
00:18:04,900 --> 00:18:10,100
And his idea was like, how can we build a sustainable world if people from all over the world,

234
00:18:10,100 --> 00:18:17,800
from all walks of life, just like you say, don't meet and work and learn all together?

235
00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:22,900
And it changed my entire project for my career.

236
00:18:22,900 --> 00:18:29,400
So I wholeheartedly believe that the same thing with diversity, equity and inclusion.

237
00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:33,800
A lot of time I work with people from all over the world after the school.

238
00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:39,600
And it's really not about liking each other from the start,

239
00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:45,000
but it's really about learning how we work with each other and learning our differences

240
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:49,600
so that we can really align and come to a common vision afterwards.

241
00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,600
So it was actually harder at the beginning to work.

242
00:18:52,600 --> 00:19:00,400
But once we get that bond, the bond has become unbreakable with the people all over the world.

243
00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:05,700
And we create amazing things that we've never even imagined.

244
00:19:05,700 --> 00:19:08,500
Love it. I love it. Let's talk about that vision.

245
00:19:08,500 --> 00:19:15,600
So expanding upon that, what's your vision for you?

246
00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,200
What's vision for me?

247
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:26,800
My vision is to continue to learn and grow as I share and contribute to the digital world.

248
00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:32,500
And I wanted to bring in education as well as coaching for organizations

249
00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:37,600
while I transform the organization digitally.

250
00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:39,500
Nice. Very good.

251
00:19:39,500 --> 00:19:47,100
I mean, the vision is one day we can all bring in the ecosystem between the startup and the enterprises

252
00:19:47,100 --> 00:19:50,600
and having really that open innovation across the globe.

253
00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:52,700
And we would have like a 3D platform.

254
00:19:52,700 --> 00:19:55,200
I mean, there's a lot of 3D platform already happening,

255
00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:57,400
but how can we make it seamlessly?

256
00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:01,200
I feel crazy about this, but like one day, you know,

257
00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:05,600
we could have even a virtual coaching stand where we just hop in

258
00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:12,500
and it's just like going out of your backyard and seeing people from different parts of the world.

259
00:20:12,500 --> 00:20:15,600
Like, oh, here's my friend from East Asia.

260
00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,200
Here's my friend from Western Europe.

261
00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:23,900
And we all come here to really just hop in and everyone's really create amazing project

262
00:20:23,900 --> 00:20:28,200
and really integrate technology across the globe.

263
00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:31,100
It's so funny too that you use that term hop in.

264
00:20:31,100 --> 00:20:38,800
There's a program called hopin.com and hop in literally creates spaces like that

265
00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:46,700
where you can divide rooms and have a more holistic virtual presence with different purposes based on it.

266
00:20:46,700 --> 00:20:50,800
And you know, it's up to the creator to create the environment in a way that's seamless.

267
00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:58,200
But it's, you know, it's really cool that you use that term and that program exists to do just that.

268
00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:05,100
Mark Zuckerberg as well, and it was just on a podcast with the headsets

269
00:21:05,100 --> 00:21:11,300
and him and the podcaster were both in the headset and you, you know, they couldn't see the headsets.

270
00:21:11,300 --> 00:21:12,900
They were showing the headsets behind the scenes.

271
00:21:12,900 --> 00:21:15,600
You know what it looked like from a tech standpoint still,

272
00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:20,100
but they were like in each other's faces and a little bit too close, you know,

273
00:21:20,100 --> 00:21:22,500
and he's like, I feel like you're breathing on me.

274
00:21:22,500 --> 00:21:27,400
And they had a good laugh about the reality that it just felt so much more natural

275
00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:35,800
and like they were actually present and the vision pros, the technology from Apple, Oculus with Facebook and beyond.

276
00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:43,800
This integration is allowing us to get more personal with people on an online fashion.

277
00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:45,300
I could hug you like right now.

278
00:21:45,300 --> 00:21:50,300
I'm already at that point where like I can hug you and send the others in the back end as well.

279
00:21:50,300 --> 00:21:55,300
And like feel like we're friends and that wouldn't be awkward to me.

280
00:21:55,300 --> 00:21:58,800
But you did hit something that I appreciate rather than force that issue.

281
00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:03,300
You said it doesn't necessarily mean we start with liking each other.

282
00:22:03,300 --> 00:22:06,700
Do you mind looting? Do you mind diving deeper into that?

283
00:22:06,700 --> 00:22:07,700
Yeah, of course.

284
00:22:07,700 --> 00:22:19,700
So, you know, when I was doing, working in bigger IT consulting companies and I have junior,

285
00:22:19,700 --> 00:22:25,900
not junior, but like really even experienced consultants that I would mentor and train.

286
00:22:25,900 --> 00:22:33,300
And first I would create, you know, before going into engagement, we have clients and everyone is getting so excited.

287
00:22:33,300 --> 00:22:37,200
And we tend to forget how do we work with each other?

288
00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:43,300
How do we make sure that we work well so it portrays and then we have a better way to communicate

289
00:22:43,300 --> 00:22:47,700
so that we can help our clients even better and partner better with them.

290
00:22:47,700 --> 00:22:53,700
So the few things I realized that we need to do your personality assessments,

291
00:22:53,700 --> 00:23:00,200
but then do it in ways that facilitate in ways that build trust and build transparency.

292
00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:08,000
So at first we, you know, kind of we consultants, we're trained to be very good in communicating,

293
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:14,700
but also very polite and diplomatic at point.

294
00:23:14,700 --> 00:23:17,400
But I said, you know, look, we're different individuals.

295
00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:19,800
It's OK that we don't think the same way.

296
00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:24,100
It's OK that we don't even like each other because we come from a very different background.

297
00:23:24,100 --> 00:23:31,800
So with the assessment, personality assessment, what was really helpful is to get everyone in the same line

298
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:33,200
and then we can see different spectrum.

299
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:37,700
Like I may be more the big vision thinker, you know, I'm trained to be your consultants.

300
00:23:37,700 --> 00:23:43,100
We have to look at the detail, but then some other people have the innate to be more detail oriented.

301
00:23:43,100 --> 00:23:46,700
So together we facilitate and we say like there's no bad, there's no good.

302
00:23:46,700 --> 00:23:53,500
But how can we use different strengths and then complement each other's and then really work

303
00:23:53,500 --> 00:24:01,400
as a team and some other time if we wanted to improve or challenge ourselves to to go maybe think bigger,

304
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:08,200
then that's somewhere we can we know someone in the team that have that ability and we can go forward with that.

305
00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:13,300
Another thing is good is also we don't really know where we are.

306
00:24:13,300 --> 00:24:15,000
Like it's everything is relative, right?

307
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:21,400
Like, but knowing everyone in the spectrum is so nice because then we have this radical transparency.

308
00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:27,200
And then know I know that in the next meeting, if I'm having like this huge vision and I look around the room

309
00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,900
and everyone is like, OK, Ava, I think this is awesome.

310
00:24:30,900 --> 00:24:37,100
And I need to digest a little more than I know is not personal and vice versa because we're built differently.

311
00:24:37,100 --> 00:24:43,200
So so then from there we start to create this working agreement.

312
00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:49,200
And it's become a leaving document for us as you know, we can even has certain best words so that when we go out there

313
00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,300
and see clients like how do we show up when things get difficult?

314
00:24:52,300 --> 00:24:53,900
How do we show us as a team?

315
00:24:53,900 --> 00:24:58,800
And it's come from knowing our differences.

316
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:00,300
Yeah, absolutely.

317
00:25:00,300 --> 00:25:08,900
So there's you mentioned a radical transparency as an outcome of this type of facilitation.

318
00:25:08,900 --> 00:25:15,000
And you also mentioned the front and personality assessments.

319
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,100
Pros or cons of personality assessments.

320
00:25:17,100 --> 00:25:18,600
Are you for them?

321
00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:22,800
What personality assessments do you recommend or are they all trash?

322
00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:24,700
Where do you stand on that?

323
00:25:24,700 --> 00:25:27,700
Well, I don't usually do a lot of personal assessments.

324
00:25:27,700 --> 00:25:29,000
That's a great question, Jackson.

325
00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:37,300
So I don't really usually do a lot of those because I feel like as we grow, our personalities can change

326
00:25:37,300 --> 00:25:40,700
and our purpose and our values can change with it.

327
00:25:40,700 --> 00:25:45,700
But there are some good values in certain personalities assessment.

328
00:25:45,700 --> 00:25:49,900
So the one I did was with Ray Dalio and Adam Grant.

329
00:25:49,900 --> 00:25:56,700
So they really specifically created for organizational development and seeing that radical transparency.

330
00:25:56,700 --> 00:26:00,400
So what I like about it is that we all relative, right?

331
00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:05,900
Like so we know as a team, we know where we stand in the same line.

332
00:26:05,900 --> 00:26:09,800
So that way we can have this conversation with each other.

333
00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:19,900
Like we can build this island that have all of us in it and it's nowhere our strengths and our innate tendency that we tend to do.

334
00:26:19,900 --> 00:26:22,400
And then I have a lot of team members came to me afterwards.

335
00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:27,300
Ava, I so appreciate that facilitation because I understand myself better now.

336
00:26:27,300 --> 00:26:36,000
Like yeah, there's definitely a lot of people who resonate with the way, you know, the way we discover it.

337
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:43,500
And we make it so so the personalities there we but it's I'm so excited.

338
00:26:43,500 --> 00:26:52,800
But the most important thing is that we have to bring it back to team and people and not having that as as a way to punish,

339
00:26:52,800 --> 00:27:02,700
but as a way to really share thinking and know that, you know, in every meetings, I understand my team now.

340
00:27:02,700 --> 00:27:11,000
Like I get to know a different perspective. I know where they're coming from and make it become a more conversations and coaching.

341
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:15,200
A lot of companies get lost in the mechanics. Right.

342
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:18,500
And I believe that's what you're you know, I hear loud and clear.

343
00:27:18,500 --> 00:27:26,200
That's what you're alluding to is the fact that there's different ways to to assess, especially when you're with the doctor.

344
00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:31,900
Right. You know, like don't get me wrong, the doctor is probably going to check the pulse, you know, on the blood pressure and all that.

345
00:27:31,900 --> 00:27:38,400
But in certain circumstances, you know, I imagine the movie I'm dating myself here, but the old movie Pearl Harbor, you know,

346
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:41,200
where everybody gets attacked and now it's like, you know, stop on the check.

347
00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:44,500
Everybody's blood pressure at this point. You got people who've lost limbs.

348
00:27:44,500 --> 00:27:52,600
You got people who are dying on the spot. Like it's time to put your doctor's hat on and just go in and assess assess assess the right way based on the occasion.

349
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:55,900
Right. I hear you making that same type of space for OK.

350
00:27:55,900 --> 00:28:04,700
The assessments are nice and helpful to an extent. But if we lose the personalization of the experience, what are we really doing here?

351
00:28:04,700 --> 00:28:09,300
Are we really serving people that well? So go ahead. You got something big. I can see.

352
00:28:09,300 --> 00:28:11,400
Yeah, I know exactly. Thank you, Jackson.

353
00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:20,000
So it's really about understanding our innate strengths, but also turning though in its strength even just even louder.

354
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:27,500
Right. Like if I if I wanted to collaborate with someone who's like very, very detail oriented,

355
00:28:27,500 --> 00:28:33,900
I love to have the second eyes. And if I wanted to collaborate with someone who's like even more of the big picture,

356
00:28:33,900 --> 00:28:39,300
like we always in the spectrum. But the most important thing is no no bad, no good.

357
00:28:39,300 --> 00:28:46,300
It's just who we are and how do we work with each other and and really celebrate our strengths at the same time.

358
00:28:46,300 --> 00:28:50,900
So it's it's really not a way to measure what we're lacking,

359
00:28:50,900 --> 00:28:59,300
but it's the way to to actually measure our innate strengths and use that and amplify that to really work in a team together.

360
00:28:59,300 --> 00:29:02,900
That's big. All right, we're going to dive into a dark subject.

361
00:29:02,900 --> 00:29:08,100
What's the worst leadership experience you've ever had?

362
00:29:08,100 --> 00:29:14,700
Share with me more. What would you mean? Like the worst leadership experience I have experienced or?

363
00:29:14,700 --> 00:29:20,900
You know, I would say dive into that heart and mind and find whichever side you want.

364
00:29:20,900 --> 00:29:24,000
This could be yours. This could be you being the leader.

365
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,000
It could be somebody else. It could be a movie that you saw.

366
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:32,900
I don't know that reflects that. But yeah, you know, it's it's it's a big question.

367
00:29:32,900 --> 00:29:40,000
But I my experience from time to time with any transformations that I'm doing,

368
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:46,000
it's always come back to communication. Even in my line of work now,

369
00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:51,300
I coach leaders and executives and it's come down to communication because we're human.

370
00:29:51,300 --> 00:29:55,600
And often we were very different. Like this is why we're doing the assessment sometime.

371
00:29:55,600 --> 00:30:03,300
Right. But our like our language, our even we call it our love language is very different.

372
00:30:03,300 --> 00:30:10,400
One may be really geared towards, you know, service. Some for me, you know,

373
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:16,500
I I like giving people a hug. But of course, we can't always give people a hug until we know each other.

374
00:30:16,500 --> 00:30:21,800
So when we don't really have that line of communication, we don't really understand each other.

375
00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:24,700
It's hard to build trust and it's hard to align.

376
00:30:24,700 --> 00:30:32,100
So some of the worst, some of the worst experience that I I mean, I've experienced in the past,

377
00:30:32,100 --> 00:30:37,700
some of the some of the some of the manager I have, I have some amazing manager,

378
00:30:37,700 --> 00:30:40,000
but some some have a very different style for me.

379
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:45,500
And it have to come from the the communication and where we're coming from.

380
00:30:45,500 --> 00:30:50,600
And some of we don't learn how to be empathetic to others.

381
00:30:50,600 --> 00:31:00,700
So that is a skills that we need to continue to learn and and give empathy is a way for leaders to.

382
00:31:00,700 --> 00:31:03,400
To showcase that they they hear others.

383
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:09,000
It's a way for for us to feel heard. And when it's lack of empathy,

384
00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:15,700
it's come to sometime a huge misunderstanding and that could lead to some of the worst experience.

385
00:31:15,700 --> 00:31:26,900
So every time I go into a team, leaders or managers or directors, I often have this alignment with them.

386
00:31:26,900 --> 00:31:32,000
I said, no matter where we're coming from, now we're a team. Let's just have this cadence in place.

387
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,900
We're working, we're rolling off sleeves and we're working together as a team.

388
00:31:35,900 --> 00:31:40,800
No matter how our pay structure is, like we are all walking on the same ground.

389
00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:43,600
We're human. So there we are. We're here on a purpose.

390
00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:48,000
And we're wanting to make sure that purpose is aligned for the rest organization.

391
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:51,100
And we're working truly as a team.

392
00:31:51,100 --> 00:32:00,400
Absolutely. That's that communication factor can't be can't be expressed enough ways.

393
00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,200
There's a lot of ways that we need to look at that.

394
00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:07,400
And for instance, I'm very great at speaking with Alphas.

395
00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:11,000
Alphas and I communicate super, super well together.

396
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:14,200
One of my struggles is communicating with the beta.

397
00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:16,000
Beta's have their place, right?

398
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:20,500
They're the supporters in the process at the at the top level.

399
00:32:20,500 --> 00:32:23,800
A lot of times their job is to protect the Alpha, you know,

400
00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:28,400
is to make sure that people fall in line and pay attention to what the Alpha is up to.

401
00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,800
So again, Alpha to Alpha coming in and communicating,

402
00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:37,800
the beta sometimes feels left out or boxed in or like they're being replaced, et cetera.

403
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,400
And I, as a young leader, had a very hard time making that space.

404
00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:47,000
So I would have a beta who loved me within the first week or two.

405
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,500
Oh, man, by the time that second week's done,

406
00:32:49,500 --> 00:32:56,700
they wanted to torch my life because I didn't do a great job of making space for their needs

407
00:32:56,700 --> 00:32:59,600
and learning their communication styles of beta.

408
00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:02,100
So the best leadership experience,

409
00:33:02,100 --> 00:33:06,200
what would you say has been your best leadership experience ever?

410
00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:09,600
Best leadership experience, I think is the opposite, right?

411
00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:15,200
Like someone who is inspiring and who have this big vision like me,

412
00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:18,800
but also have really good effective communication skillset.

413
00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:20,000
And a lot of those times...

414
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:22,500
Do you have a story in mind?

415
00:33:22,500 --> 00:33:26,000
A story for effective communication.

416
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:27,500
Yeah, I've been spelt here.

417
00:33:27,500 --> 00:33:30,300
I mean, even just like last week, right?

418
00:33:30,300 --> 00:33:37,100
Like I'm working with my team on, we're working on integrating AI into this existing IT.

419
00:33:37,100 --> 00:33:40,500
And like I am a coach, but I'm also a consultant, management consultant.

420
00:33:40,500 --> 00:33:45,500
So I'm an strategic advisor and sometime like you say this Alpha and Beta, right?

421
00:33:45,500 --> 00:33:49,400
Like I jump back and forth sometime and when I get excited,

422
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:57,600
I often really provide like tend to provide solutions why actually I should hold back sometime.

423
00:33:57,600 --> 00:33:59,600
Like so that's a lesson for me, right?

424
00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:04,700
But my team was so compassionate, you know, there's a CEO of the company

425
00:34:04,700 --> 00:34:10,600
and you know, very talented product team, product manager there too.

426
00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:14,400
And the CEO was like, hey Ava, so I have this question for you.

427
00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:21,700
So that's bring me right back to, oh, and I once he asked that question,

428
00:34:21,700 --> 00:34:25,800
I realized that okay, now is the time for me to sit back a little bit

429
00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,000
and be a coach rather than being a consultant.

430
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:31,200
So I came to, you know, I said to him, you're right.

431
00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:35,900
Like, you know more about this target audience than I do.

432
00:34:35,900 --> 00:34:40,100
So I'm going to hold off and I would love to hear your insight first.

433
00:34:40,100 --> 00:34:44,100
So a lot of time I do that in my coaching because I know that's I'm going to the coaching sessions

434
00:34:44,100 --> 00:34:45,100
and that's what I'm doing.

435
00:34:45,100 --> 00:34:48,700
But when I'm doing working as a team and rolling up my sleeves,

436
00:34:48,700 --> 00:34:51,800
sometimes I going back and forth and I, you know, like,

437
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:54,000
so that's something that I could have to hold back.

438
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:57,000
But it was become the best thing because we build trust

439
00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:01,400
and we're able to really share what we think to one another.

440
00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:03,200
And it's just a question.

441
00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:09,300
So then having that self-awareness really help to hone in that effective communication

442
00:35:09,300 --> 00:35:13,800
and empower others with empathy and understanding.

443
00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:22,600
What an awesome, awesome paradigm on a best leadership experience because it's subtle, right?

444
00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:27,700
And most of the time, the most effective leadership, the most powerful,

445
00:35:27,700 --> 00:35:32,700
it's just that you don't even see it because it's taking place.

446
00:35:32,700 --> 00:35:37,100
A lot of mothers are great examples of that, you know, just the way they show up,

447
00:35:37,100 --> 00:35:41,400
serve, love their children, help them when they're going through struggles or whatever.

448
00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:44,200
It's often, they're often the unsung hero.

449
00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:48,400
And most of the time, your best leaders in life are just not the unsung heroes

450
00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:53,500
because they're doing things that are helping us go the right course,

451
00:35:53,500 --> 00:35:56,200
yet they're not getting in the way and boasting about it.

452
00:35:56,200 --> 00:36:01,000
Exactly. And by that, like, you know, we, so we did our pitch, right?

453
00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:09,700
And out of 15 awesome, amazing projects from really talented people and companies,

454
00:36:09,700 --> 00:36:15,900
we got number one, we got ranked number one, like, judge number one with flagship engineering.

455
00:36:15,900 --> 00:36:20,900
And, you know, we're going to talk with their, yeah, so we're going to have coaching there as well.

456
00:36:20,900 --> 00:36:22,500
So every coach needs a coach, right?

457
00:36:22,500 --> 00:36:28,900
So I'm really into learning and I'm really excited that, that because of effective communication,

458
00:36:28,900 --> 00:36:32,900
we work as a team, it's not always about agreeing with each other,

459
00:36:32,900 --> 00:36:36,300
but it's about through asking powerful questions.

460
00:36:36,300 --> 00:36:41,600
It's about learning how to have that self-awareness that we become a stronger team.

461
00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:43,100
Yeah, absolutely.

462
00:36:43,100 --> 00:36:47,100
All right. So diving into one of the more difficult questions, I would say,

463
00:36:47,100 --> 00:36:48,900
because we just got to think through it, right?

464
00:36:48,900 --> 00:36:55,000
And that's if this was your last opportunity to share a powerful lesson with other visionaries,

465
00:36:55,000 --> 00:37:00,900
so they can learn from your experience, what would, what would the lesson be?

466
00:37:00,900 --> 00:37:05,700
I think for me, it would just be continuous learning and be humble.

467
00:37:05,700 --> 00:37:09,200
There's things are changing so fast in our world.

468
00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:16,100
Things that can really help us to be successful in the past might not be something that applicable in the future.

469
00:37:16,100 --> 00:37:20,400
It's like there's some leaders who come to me and said, Eva, like, I've got to where I am now

470
00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:23,800
because I'm always the one who's providing the solution.

471
00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:27,000
And this problem becomes so complex.

472
00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:30,900
And I just told them, you know, what about asking questions, asking more questions,

473
00:37:30,900 --> 00:37:36,000
bringing that design thinking, asking questions that's really helped enable your team

474
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:43,200
so that you can, they can be the visionaries with you, partnering up with you as well.

475
00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:48,800
Yeah, helping empower people to be visionaries for what it is they're up to.

476
00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:53,500
I think one of the fears that people, that leaders have in that regard is, well, won't they leave?

477
00:37:53,500 --> 00:37:56,300
Like, what, won't they abandon our vision?

478
00:37:56,300 --> 00:37:59,500
What's your response to that?

479
00:37:59,500 --> 00:38:06,000
I mean, we can't really tell the future, right?

480
00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:08,200
The thing is, like, we can never predict the future.

481
00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:16,300
But there's one thing I know from my experience that if I can really get myself out of my current job,

482
00:38:16,300 --> 00:38:18,500
I'm always get to the next level.

483
00:38:18,500 --> 00:38:23,000
I challenge myself and it's always come to a better end.

484
00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:24,900
Like, a lot of hard experience come.

485
00:38:24,900 --> 00:38:28,800
And at first, we might think it is something that happened to us.

486
00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:35,700
But if we can change to it happened for us, there's always a way that we can elevate ourselves,

487
00:38:35,700 --> 00:38:38,600
continuous learning and sharing.

488
00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:43,800
That's the best way that it's, we can grow our career.

489
00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:45,400
Yeah, absolutely.

490
00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:48,400
The, you know, there's the thought process, too.

491
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:56,500
What if I don't help my team gravitate towards a vision that matters, right, to them personally?

492
00:38:56,500 --> 00:38:59,000
And they stay, right?

493
00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:02,700
Now I've got a team where I've got a team that doesn't really care.

494
00:39:02,700 --> 00:39:06,800
And that results are going to be affected by that process, too.

495
00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:09,400
So I love that you said we can't predict the future.

496
00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:14,900
We don't know. Maybe they will go build something on their own or maybe they'll buy in at a whole new level.

497
00:39:14,900 --> 00:39:19,800
And production will go through the roof because they care further than they did when they didn't have vision.

498
00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:23,800
Yeah. And I love what you said, too, Jackson, because you're right.

499
00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:32,900
Like this is where, when I go into the, you know, an engagement, I often do coaching and understanding what matters for people is important

500
00:39:32,900 --> 00:39:36,000
because we would set objective and key results.

501
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:45,100
But we also want to make sure how do we connect that individual objective and key results to the bigger vision so that way people get excited.

502
00:39:45,100 --> 00:39:48,500
And it's, you know, sometime there's just really no match.

503
00:39:48,500 --> 00:39:50,000
People might just want to do something else.

504
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:55,600
And to your point, that may be the best thing to alleviate people to do what they do best.

505
00:39:55,600 --> 00:39:58,500
And then we create win-win for everyone.

506
00:39:58,500 --> 00:40:03,000
Interesting. So OKRs, objectives and key results.

507
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:08,000
This might be new to some people. It was to me a few years ago.

508
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:10,600
Let's talk about that. What does that mean?

509
00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:15,500
Oh, it's a very technical term.

510
00:40:15,500 --> 00:40:17,700
Right. There's a lot of language around it.

511
00:40:17,700 --> 00:40:21,800
But in terms of driving success, do you feel that I feel you brought it up?

512
00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:26,900
So I'm assuming that's a big part of driving core success is establishing those OKRs.

513
00:40:26,900 --> 00:40:29,800
Is that correct? Do you call that formula?

514
00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:33,200
Yeah, you're just like you're a really great interviewer.

515
00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:36,100
So like you're keeping me on my toes.

516
00:40:36,100 --> 00:40:37,700
So we use it all the time.

517
00:40:37,700 --> 00:40:40,300
So thank you for catching that.

518
00:40:40,300 --> 00:40:43,900
You know, with every business, right, like we have a vision and we have a goal.

519
00:40:43,900 --> 00:40:50,500
So when I go in and I often think about, OK, what is the existing goals and objective for the organizations?

520
00:40:50,500 --> 00:40:56,300
And the key result is just basically how do we measure if this is the right, like if this is the objective,

521
00:40:56,300 --> 00:40:58,700
we have to understand, is it the right objective?

522
00:40:58,700 --> 00:41:01,400
Is it being aligned with the organization?

523
00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:05,100
And if not, like we need to create a way to align it.

524
00:41:05,100 --> 00:41:06,800
And that's what I do.

525
00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:12,200
And then bringing in key measures that really support that objective.

526
00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:20,700
So a lot of time we companies would create really big vision, really big objective that is very also disconnected with the team.

527
00:41:20,700 --> 00:41:30,500
So that way, you know, sometimes I bring the team in and also have that conversation and really have really that alignment and 360 view.

528
00:41:30,500 --> 00:41:35,000
And once we have that, we have to have a mechanism in place so that it's just not really being put in a shell,

529
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:40,600
but it's really being executed on, you know, on a daily basis.

530
00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:41,800
Everyone needs to know about this.

531
00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:47,900
So we have to bring in that communication, once again, like that effective communication that everyone know.

532
00:41:47,900 --> 00:41:52,300
And then being the metrics, measure it so that it makes sense.

533
00:41:52,300 --> 00:41:59,200
So, you know, you may have, like, for example, like the other day, actually, I was taking giving a talk on metrics.

534
00:41:59,200 --> 00:42:05,400
So in order to get the right metric, if you if a job, if the objective is measure health,

535
00:42:05,400 --> 00:42:07,300
then we need to understand a bit further.

536
00:42:07,300 --> 00:42:09,700
Is that mental health? Is that physical health?

537
00:42:09,700 --> 00:42:15,200
Then we can drive that objectives to and the key results to really match.

538
00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:21,500
And then bringing in that even scorecard and 360 degree to really bring in the right measure for it.

539
00:42:21,500 --> 00:42:27,000
Absolutely. Now, let's tie that reality to the subject of DEI.

540
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:36,400
Right. So diversity, equity, inclusion, equality, inclusion, a couple of different ways people frame that.

541
00:42:36,400 --> 00:42:42,600
From what I understand, one of your one of your purposes is to help business owners,

542
00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:49,000
visionaries understand that the process success comes through.

543
00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:58,500
DEI, right. DEI is not this roadblock and barrier to entry that say, like, oh, man, we have to deal with this, you know, in order to avoid failure.

544
00:42:58,500 --> 00:43:01,500
It's it's it's actually the way through.

545
00:43:01,500 --> 00:43:07,100
And two, a more successful outcome is paying attention to it.

546
00:43:07,100 --> 00:43:10,900
I don't want to put too many words in your mouth, but you might talk to us about that.

547
00:43:10,900 --> 00:43:17,600
Why why do you focus in on DEI and what's why should visionaries be focused on it?

548
00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:20,300
Yeah, like there's so many things that I can think about.

549
00:43:20,300 --> 00:43:28,800
Right. But DEI, diversity, equity, inclusion and even neurodiversity, because every transformation,

550
00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:35,200
every success of the company, we have to account for the technology,

551
00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:38,500
savanness, the, you know, the advance of the innovation.

552
00:43:38,500 --> 00:43:41,800
But we also have to account for the process.

553
00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:47,500
But most importantly, the people, you know, the the workforce, the people,

554
00:43:47,500 --> 00:43:53,700
those who actually work to enable that innovation, that new platforms, that new processes.

555
00:43:53,700 --> 00:44:02,300
So if we're not really bringing in that diversity, equity, inclusion, even from

556
00:44:02,300 --> 00:44:10,100
how we treat our folks and how do we give that space so that people can voice

557
00:44:10,100 --> 00:44:12,700
and how can we create that innovation in the first place?

558
00:44:12,700 --> 00:44:15,700
Because if you think about a lot of projects that failed in the past,

559
00:44:15,700 --> 00:44:19,600
it's due to a fear of voicing, you know,

560
00:44:19,600 --> 00:44:24,100
or the inability to really have ownership from the leaders,

561
00:44:24,100 --> 00:44:26,700
but also that dialogue between the people.

562
00:44:26,700 --> 00:44:32,800
So when I, when I go in and create innovation, it's really about the people.

563
00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:37,800
And that's why the training and the coaching, I can give you an example.

564
00:44:37,800 --> 00:44:43,100
Like when I was coaching a product manager in a big enterprise

565
00:44:43,100 --> 00:44:46,200
and they come to me and say, hey, Ava, how am I doing?

566
00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:48,500
And the conversations I want to switch to is like,

567
00:44:48,500 --> 00:44:50,500
okay, so how do you think you're doing?

568
00:44:50,500 --> 00:44:54,300
And then really using the voice and the tone to create that space.

569
00:44:54,300 --> 00:44:59,300
And then the person will start to talk about, well, you know, I've noticed this is,

570
00:44:59,300 --> 00:45:01,400
A is doing really well, B is not great.

571
00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:05,600
And then we have further opportunities to really dig deep into

572
00:45:05,600 --> 00:45:09,900
how do we brainstorm into some solution for that.

573
00:45:09,900 --> 00:45:14,400
But the second thing is that they come from, they're, you know, on the ground,

574
00:45:14,400 --> 00:45:16,800
they're working and they realize that there are certain initiative

575
00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:18,700
that they realize is not very fruitful.

576
00:45:18,700 --> 00:45:23,300
And then the conversation become, okay, so let's talk about how do we

577
00:45:23,300 --> 00:45:26,900
really bring that back into leadership so that they understand.

578
00:45:26,900 --> 00:45:28,100
And then they did.

579
00:45:28,100 --> 00:45:32,900
And they save a lot of money by banning certain project that is not very fruitful

580
00:45:32,900 --> 00:45:38,300
and focusing the ones that is more fruitful based on the data.

581
00:45:38,300 --> 00:45:40,000
Yeah, absolutely.

582
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:43,900
So hearing people, you know, we innovate one conversation at a time,

583
00:45:43,900 --> 00:45:47,000
one meeting at a time, one person at a time.

584
00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:47,900
Very good.

585
00:45:47,900 --> 00:45:52,100
And so one of the elements that came to my mind as you're talking through that

586
00:45:52,100 --> 00:45:56,800
is that entrepreneurs are known for being very good at delegating.

587
00:45:56,800 --> 00:45:58,300
I'd flip that script though.

588
00:45:58,300 --> 00:46:01,500
I would say most entrepreneurs are awful at delegating.

589
00:46:01,500 --> 00:46:02,700
They love to delegate.

590
00:46:02,700 --> 00:46:06,900
They love to, you know, allow people to do things they don't want to do.

591
00:46:06,900 --> 00:46:11,300
But there's a difference in, you know, just telling people what to do

592
00:46:11,300 --> 00:46:15,200
and fitting the right people to the right processes

593
00:46:15,200 --> 00:46:19,000
or the right type of education for the right reasons

594
00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:21,600
while respecting their own individuality.

595
00:46:21,600 --> 00:46:25,700
Right. That's a much harder recipe to figure out.

596
00:46:25,700 --> 00:46:31,400
So do you have like a DEI framework that you follow or how does that work?

597
00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:36,000
There's some framework out there, but for me, every organization is unique.

598
00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:38,500
Every organization has their own DNA.

599
00:46:38,500 --> 00:46:43,700
And I tend to, this is why I come in and I like to customize my,

600
00:46:43,700 --> 00:46:47,400
the way I solve the problem because we need to understand

601
00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:49,000
is that the right problem to be solved?

602
00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:52,000
Is that the problem big enough that we're tackling?

603
00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:56,800
And with DEI, it's just like any other digital transformation.

604
00:46:56,800 --> 00:46:58,000
It is a transformation.

605
00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:03,000
So often we need to look at who are the people in the organizations,

606
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:06,400
who are the champions, who are the advocates, do we have any right now?

607
00:47:06,400 --> 00:47:09,200
What is the landscape, what the political landscape?

608
00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:13,000
All of that taken to place to create that customized training

609
00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:15,200
and coaching to both leaders.

610
00:47:15,200 --> 00:47:21,700
So I would say often it works best when it comes from really a better understanding

611
00:47:21,700 --> 00:47:26,800
of that specific organization and without a specific framework.

612
00:47:26,800 --> 00:47:27,700
Yeah, no, I love that.

613
00:47:27,700 --> 00:47:32,000
That's very much mirrors how I do things and my organization.

614
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:33,200
And it's not common.

615
00:47:33,200 --> 00:47:35,000
It's not appreciated in most of the market.

616
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:39,000
People have a scarcity mindset and the scarcity mindset comes in and says,

617
00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:41,700
Ava, let's just focus on the framework.

618
00:47:41,700 --> 00:47:44,200
Come on, like how much does this cost?

619
00:47:44,200 --> 00:47:48,000
How do we make this happen on repeat, etc.?

620
00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:51,600
But that needs to be customized, right?

621
00:47:51,600 --> 00:47:55,100
In order to get true results, in order to really drive depth,

622
00:47:55,100 --> 00:47:59,500
there has to be an appreciation and understanding for what exists.

623
00:47:59,500 --> 00:48:01,400
You can't shortcut that.

624
00:48:01,400 --> 00:48:06,200
You have to have the access, the transparency in order to see the strengths,

625
00:48:06,200 --> 00:48:08,000
weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the workforce.

626
00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:10,400
I love that answer and that approach.

627
00:48:10,400 --> 00:48:13,400
It's like, oh, I might be writing down like, oh man,

628
00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:15,000
I thought she was going to give me the framework.

629
00:48:15,000 --> 00:48:18,800
You know, it's like I can magically solve all my life problems.

630
00:48:18,800 --> 00:48:20,900
I burst the bubble.

631
00:48:20,900 --> 00:48:23,600
Yeah, but it's an important bubble to burst.

632
00:48:23,600 --> 00:48:25,000
So your bubble is fake.

633
00:48:25,000 --> 00:48:28,400
You know, like let's burst the bubble, get that out of the way.

634
00:48:28,400 --> 00:48:33,400
Yeah, I mean, if there's one thing that I would share is how do we build trust?

635
00:48:33,400 --> 00:48:34,800
Trust is that framework.

636
00:48:34,800 --> 00:48:39,000
Like whatever we do, if we can really build trust with the people in the organization,

637
00:48:39,000 --> 00:48:43,800
then we can get advocates, we can get champions and we get leaders involved.

638
00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:50,600
That's where DEI or transformation happen because with any initiatives,

639
00:48:50,600 --> 00:48:53,600
we don't have supporters, we don't have leaders, we don't have owners.

640
00:48:53,600 --> 00:48:54,700
Everyone has the role in it.

641
00:48:54,700 --> 00:48:57,400
This is why like a transformation takes everyone involved

642
00:48:57,400 --> 00:49:02,000
and we have to really help everyone to walk across that mountain together.

643
00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:06,400
So building trust is the first because, you know, like in companies, right,

644
00:49:06,400 --> 00:49:09,600
like we face with so many changes with technologies, with structure

645
00:49:09,600 --> 00:49:12,400
and a lot of time system change along with that.

646
00:49:12,400 --> 00:49:17,100
And the more change happened, the more trauma that it created.

647
00:49:17,100 --> 00:49:20,300
And if it didn't really do well in the first time, the second time,

648
00:49:20,300 --> 00:49:24,800
it has a way to really dampen the trust.

649
00:49:24,800 --> 00:49:28,000
And without trust, it's really hard to move forward.

650
00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:28,600
Absolutely.

651
00:49:28,600 --> 00:49:34,200
If there's an overwhelming sense of mistrust around the company,

652
00:49:34,200 --> 00:49:39,600
the entity, the environment, the culture, then it absolutely still starts at the top.

653
00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:43,400
And that's where, you know, it typically is best to be addressed.

654
00:49:43,400 --> 00:49:48,600
Big fan. I'm a big fan of this poster behind me of, whoops, my finger can't get there.

655
00:49:48,600 --> 00:49:50,600
There it is.

656
00:49:50,600 --> 00:49:52,400
I still don't see it.

657
00:49:52,400 --> 00:49:57,800
No, it's a little bitty hint to Patrick Lincione's Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

658
00:49:57,800 --> 00:50:02,400
And that talks about the base and foundation of vulnerability and trust.

659
00:50:02,400 --> 00:50:04,100
And that's not established.

660
00:50:04,100 --> 00:50:08,200
You cannot build a championship level culture and a high performance culture.

661
00:50:08,200 --> 00:50:11,800
It has to start with vulnerability and trust.

662
00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:15,000
We often need somebody to help us facilitate that.

663
00:50:15,000 --> 00:50:17,300
So this was a fantastic conversation.

664
00:50:17,300 --> 00:50:20,100
We're super grateful to have had you on the show.

665
00:50:20,100 --> 00:50:21,700
Vision Pros, those we're listening in.

666
00:50:21,700 --> 00:50:25,000
If you have a vision to share, by all means, apply.

667
00:50:25,000 --> 00:50:26,800
See if you qualify.

668
00:50:26,800 --> 00:50:31,100
If you're a good person, your vision is wholesome and uplifting and helping people.

669
00:50:31,100 --> 00:50:35,400
You don't need to be Tony Robbins or Ava Tack to come on my stage.

670
00:50:35,400 --> 00:50:40,600
You can come in with your preliminary vision and we can discuss it and see how it inspires people.

671
00:50:40,600 --> 00:50:43,500
You might become bigger than Tony Robbins someday.

672
00:50:43,500 --> 00:50:47,100
And if that's, if you get a start on my stage, then I'll be that much happier.

673
00:50:47,100 --> 00:50:48,700
Like, yeah, we found him first.

674
00:50:48,700 --> 00:50:50,300
We found her first.

675
00:50:50,300 --> 00:50:53,500
So, you know, it'll be an exciting accolade for us.

676
00:50:53,500 --> 00:50:55,800
We hope every single one of you enjoy the holidays as well.

677
00:50:55,800 --> 00:50:59,600
If you have any questions for Ava, feel free to drop those in a comment.

678
00:50:59,600 --> 00:51:02,800
And all of her links will be available on the show notes as well.

679
00:51:02,800 --> 00:51:05,200
Of course, Ava, this is my honor and pleasure to have you.

680
00:51:05,200 --> 00:51:07,100
Thank you so much for being on Vision Pros today.

681
00:51:07,100 --> 00:51:07,700
My pleasure.

682
00:51:07,700 --> 00:51:08,800
Thank you so much, Jackson.

683
00:51:08,800 --> 00:51:11,600
It's wonderful to have this conversation with you.

684
00:51:11,600 --> 00:51:12,000
Absolutely.

685
00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:15,600
I look forward to more in the future and everybody have a great rest of your evening.

686
00:51:15,600 --> 00:51:16,400
Bye bye.

687
00:51:16,400 --> 00:51:16,700
Bye.

688
00:51:16,700 --> 00:51:18,000
Thank you for being here today.

689
00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:20,500
I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live.

690
00:51:20,500 --> 00:51:25,300
I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions as these episodes continue to move forward.

691
00:51:25,300 --> 00:51:27,100
This is going to get more and more fun.

692
00:51:27,100 --> 00:51:28,900
We'll have more and more engagement as well.

693
00:51:28,900 --> 00:51:31,000
We'll invite people to participate in the show.

694
00:51:31,000 --> 00:51:33,300
And thank you for giving us your time and attention.

695
00:51:33,300 --> 00:51:48,300
Have a nice day.