Podcasts about from insight

This episode, "From Insight to Action: Reimagining Learning for Heartfelt, Equity-Centered Education," is all about transforming the insights we gain from student stories into meaningful actions that create a more integrated, supportive, and equitable classroom. In this episode, we cover: Developing cultural competence by deeply understanding your students' diverse backgrounds. Centering equity to ensure every student gets the support they need to thrive. Designing liberatory learning spaces where all students are empowered to succeed. Join me as we explore practical steps to bring these concepts to life in your classroom, turning understanding into impactful change.

New Residency at The WREN in the Watermark Hotel Hi there I have a new residency! For December, Industry Night is hosted by WREN in the Watermark Hotel. This area is on fire! An entire town center has built up on the other side of the highway from what you traditionally think of as Tysons. Here in the Watermark Hotel is the Japanese izakaya, Wren. Chef Yo Matsuzaki draws upon locally-grown ingredients and serves Japanese street food with modern American elements. Think shucked oysters and expertly-cut sashimi and wagyu steak. There's also an incredible Omakase menu, and do not get me started on the cocktail program. And I don't have to because old friend Erik Bergman, Director of Restaurants & Bars is joining me later. Even later in the show, I'm excited to nerd out with two industry veterans, Des Reilly and Kris Carr, both co-founders of SRG Concepts. You may not know the SRG concept name, but you know Chicken and Whisky and Doi Moi! But first! Where have I been?! Where haven't I? Centrolina — Been a minute since I've caught up with Amy Brandwien at Centrolina and she is still hitting the ball over the fence. It was a Chefs For Equality celebratory luncheon since we raised a half a million! -Bombay Club — 35 years young! Congrats to Ashok Bajaj oh this incredible anniversary. This gorgeous reimagined space and anniversary menu features iconic classics like crab masala & spicy green chile chicken -Corso — It's a new restaurant from Jill Erber of Cheestique. Are you ready? Chef Cathal Armstrong is back in the kitchen spinning up pasta. Classic family Italian - rigatoni bolognese, porchetta, Italian wines - in Shirlington —so needed -STC — As You Like IT — A mash-up of the Bard and the Beatles equals a toe-tapping, sing a long experience. Who knew I'd be singing and swaying during a Shakespeare performance?! Oh Erik Berman, you are up! Erik Bergman Director of Restaurants & Bars at The Watermark Hotel Now, I remember when the Chicken and Whisky concept opened on 14th Street. I loved that it was all business in the front and party in the back. I didn't know who was behind the concept — a rarity, I know - but I liked it and thought this is an excellent addition to the 14th Street neighborhood. Fast forward several years, and I finally met Des Reilly. Des & his business partner, Kris Carr are co-founders of SRG Concepts. They both have deep roots in the industry and have their hands in several concepts, including the C&W expansion as well as taking over the beloved Doi Moi — formerly owned by Mark Kuller — Featured Guests: Des Reilly and Kris Carr He/him/his + he/him/his Des - Managing Principal, Co-Founder, SRG Concepts; Kris - Managing Principal, Co-Founder, SRG Concepts Highlites with time stamps: Guests Social Media Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chickenandwhiskey Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chickenpluswhiskey https://www.facebook.com/TheWalrusNationalHarbor https://www.facebook.com/doimoidc Twitter: https://x.com/chicken_whiskey?s=20 Quotes "Stay true to yourself, reject BS, and present a united front to earn your staff's support." - Des Reilly "Our goal: a neighborhood bar that surpasses expectations, ensuring exceptional experiences and a guarantee of fun." - Kris Carr Chapters 00:00 - Introduction 04:02 - Promoting Human Rights Through Culinary Excellence 09:43 - City Center Chronicles: Unveiling the New Development 11:21 - A Decade of Deliciousness: Celebrating 10 Years in the Restaurant Industry 16:19 - From Insight to Success: Jamie Mulholland's Impact 18:04 - Navigating the Unknown: Embracing Fluid Situations 21:21 - Bartenders to Masters: Rising Through Operations and Creativity 24:48 - Vibrant City Vibes: Praising Diversity and Energy 28:35 - The Fortunate Second: Aligning with Key Operators 30:55 - Simplicity as the Backbone: Unveiling the Operational Approach 34:24 - Dive Bar Dreams: Chris' Vision Takes Shape 36:41 - Alma Cucina Latina: A Worthwhile Indulgence 41:05 - Uniquely 14th Street: Irreplaceable Charm 43:58 - Reflecting on 2023: A Year of Growth and Lessons 47:48 - From Friend to Colleague: Meeting Jason Koehler and Joining the Team 51:09 - Collaborative Success: Making Decisions and Pitching Together 52:33 - Turning Negatives into Positives: Successful Adaptations 57:19 - Stay True, Unite, and Persevere: The Recipe for Success 59:00 - Outro Featuring Nycci Nellis https://www.instagram.com/nyccinellis/ https://www.thelistareyouonit.com/ Produced by Heartcast Media http://www.heartcastmedia.com

Today, we dive deeper into the concept of crafting a unique personality brand that captures attention and makes you stand out in your industry. Together with my guest, Danielle Hughes, we explore the power of storytelling and humanizing a company to build a genuine connection with your audience. Danielle Hughes is the creator of the Personality Brand. She teaches clients how to bring more of themselves into their message so they feel comfortable expressing it and can convey what makes them different from their competition, attracting the right audience and repelling the wrong one. Often referred to as a magician with words, while she can't pull a rabbit out of her hat, she can hone your brand message and deadlift you or your employees, but not at the same time. That's just irresponsible. (note: Danielle is available for office party tricks and accepts payment in bottles of Bordeaux.) Episode Breakdown: 00:01:40 - Unveiling the Power of You: Personal Branding vs. Personality Branding Discover how revealing your authentic personality can forge powerful professional connections. Learn the key distinctions between personal and personality branding to unleash your full potential in the marketing realm. 00:06:44 - From Insight to Impact: Embrace Your Unique Journey Navigate your path to success by understanding your strengths and limitations. Gain insights into independently grasping and applying concepts or seeking guidance to amplify your impact. Unleash your potential and embrace your distinct journey! 00:10:19 - The Art of Captivation: Content and Foundational Concepts Master the art of captivating your audience through compelling content and solid foundational concepts. Explore the secrets to holding attention and piquing interest, unlocking the gateway to deeper connections. 00:13:06 - Ditch Generic, Embrace Authenticity: Keys to Success Shatter the mold of mediocrity and embrace authenticity to stand out and attract the right people and opportunities. Avoid wasted time vetting prospects by showcasing your unique qualities and values for genuine connections and elevated success. 00:17:32 - Colorful Socks and Captivated Clients: The Power of Humanizing Your Brand Delve into the intriguing tale of a PR professional who turned vibrant socks into a brand that resonates with potential clients. Learn how humanizing your brand can create authentic connections and lead to lasting success. 00:21:46 - Stand Out, Be Outstanding: Unleash Your Unique Branding Power Discover the secret to building an exceptional brand by highlighting a unique aspect that sets you apart. Explore the impact of carving your own niche in the competitive world of branding. 00:24:36 - The Magic of Creative Branding: Embrace Your True Self Join Danielle on a journey of admiration for clever and humorous branding. Uncover the potential fears and embrace the creative freedom of expressing your true self. Witness how authenticity can create captivating connections with your audience. 00:27:24 - Tailored for Triumph: Personalized Branding Workshops and Sessions Unlock your branding potential with personalized workshops and one-on-one sessions. Tailor-made for solopreneurs and job seekers alike, these experiences provide expert guidance and create standout content for lasting success. Links Mentioned: morethanwordscopy.com/pbb-checklist linkedin.com/in/daniellehughes

In the vast world of entrepreneurship, many find themselves on a perplexing crossroad — possessing a wealth of knowledge but seemingly paralyzed, unable to act as much as we desire to act. Welcome to the "Knowing-Doing Gap", a phenomenon that has ensnared countless ambitious minds. But what if there was a roadmap to navigate this chasm? "From Insight to Action: Bridging the Knowing-Doing Gap for Breakthrough Success " aims to be that guiding light. As entrepreneurs, we often feast on a buffet of strategies, courses, and seminars, stuffing our minds to the brim. Yet, many times, we find ourselves stuck at the starting line, revving our engines but not moving an enough. This isn't just about missed opportunities or looming regrets; it's about unrealized potential and dreams left on the drawing board. Dive into this insightful exploration as we demystify the gap, unearth the barriers of stagnation, and unveil actionable steps to bridge it. Whether you're a seasoned business owner or a budding entrepreneur, this guide promises to reshape your belief system, aligning conscious desires with subconscious action. Ready to transform knowledge into tangible progress? Let's embark on this transformative journey together.   Chapter Stamps: Introduction to the Knowing-Doing Gap - [00:00:00] Shahid's Personal Experience - [00:00:30] Overcoming Resistance to Action - [00:01:00] The Challenge of Moving from Knowing to Doing - [00:01:44] The Mysterious Knowing-Doing Gap - [00:02:28] Subconscious Conditioning and Self-Esteem - [00:03:06] Addressing the Question of "Why do I keep doing this?" - [00:03:41] Analysis Paralysis and Fear of Failure - [00:04:59] The Comfort Zone Dilemma - [00:05:27] Becoming Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable - [00:06:30] The Perils of Stagnation - [00:11:30] Shifting Belief Systems - [00:12:22] Navigating the Realm of Regret - [00:12:59] Awareness and Bridging the Gap - [00:13:57] Taking Baby Steps and Breaking Down the Journey - [00:14:27] Embracing Accountability and the Buddy System - [00:15:00] Celebrating Small Wins - [00:16:04] Harnessing the Power of Emotion and Continuous Learning - [00:16:30] Encouragement to Share Stories - [00:18:06] Closing Thoughts and Building Bridges - [00:19:09]   Pullout Quotes:   "Caught in this space between knowing what's good for us and actually rolling up our sleeves to do it." - Shahid   "The journey from knowing to doing sometimes feels like trying to leap across the Grand Canyon." - Shahid   "Our subconscious conditioning is a product of our environment and past experiences." - Shahid   "Fear comes from not knowing; the unknown causes us to be fearful." - Shahid   "Becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable is achievable. Once we know the working of the mind..." - Shahid   "The gap between knowing and doing can have real costs. Missed chocolates or opportunities, feeling stuck, and a heart heavy with regret." - Shahid   "Every little victory deserves its moment. It's like giving yourself a gold star. Why? Because it feels great and fuels you to keep going." - Shahid   "It's not all rain clouds and missed chocolates. Let's switch gears and chat about the bright side, the steps you can take to bridge this gap." - Shahid   "Each tiny action you take, each moment you decide to stride forward, you're not just closing a gap, you're building bridges." – Shahid   Socials:   Website: shahiddurrani.com Links: https://zez.am/officialshahiddurrani       ----more---- Notice to the Super Entrepreneurs community:   Before we part, remember to join our Private Facebook group, 'Mindset for Business Success.' Here we share mindset wisdom to elevate your life and business, ready for a transformative journey? This group is your key to unlocking potential and achieving business growth. Don't miss out on this incredible free resource. Join us in 'Mindset for Business Success' today!   https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindsetforbusinesssuccess/     ----more---- Affiliate Disclaimer: If you make a purchase using one of my links above then I might earn a commission (at no extra cost to you).   Disclaimer: Please be aware that the opinions and perspectives conveyed in this podcast are solely those of our guests and do not necessarily represent the views, ideologies, or principles of Super Entrepreneurs Podcast, its associated entities, or any organizations they represent or are affiliated with. We provide a platform for discussion and exploration, and the content of each episode is understood to be independent expressions from our guests, rather than a reflection of the beliefs held by the podcast or its hosts.

As instructional coaches, one of our goals is to develop a strong coaching culture. Unfortunately, in many schools, administrators undermine or completely sabotage this mission. So how do you create a coaching culture when your administration doesn't support you? In this episode, Dr. Delia Racines, owner of From Insight to Equity, joins me to help answer this important question. We explore what a positive coaching culture looks like and how you can create one at your school. Dr. Racines and I discuss the importance of a common language, the problem with asking coaches to only work with struggling teachers, and the role of trust in coaching. Some of the other things we talk about are showcasing your coaching work with teachers, the challenges of leading from the middle, and defining your coaching role. Listen now to learn about building a coaching culture when your admin isn't supportive. -Chrissy Beltran Buzzing with Ms. B Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/buzzingwithmsb/ Buzzing with Ms. B TpT - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Chrissy-Beltran-Buzzing-With-Ms-B The Coaching Podcast Show Notes - https://buzzingwithmsb.com/Episode157 Thank you for listening to Buzzing with Ms. B: The Coaching Podcast. If you love the show, share it with a coach who would love it too, subscribe to this podcast, or leave me a review on iTunes! It's free and it helps others find this show, too. Happy coaching! Podcast produced by Fernie Ceniceros  

Gabriel Eckert, CAE, director of the Building Owners and Managers Association, and author of "From Insight to Action," discusses the "six emerging competencies" that help you lead and sustain a positive and dynamic organizational culture.

My guest today is Andy Polaine. Andy is a service designer, consultant, educator, author, and podcaster. He's co-author of the book Service Design: From Insight to Implementation and host of the Power of Ten podcast. In this conversation, we discuss service design, and how it helps organizations think more holistically about the experiences they enable. Listen to the full conversation   Show notes Andy Polaine Andy Polaine on Twitter Andy Polaine on LinkedIn Power of Ten podcast Service Design: From Insight to Implementation by Andy Polaine, Lavrans Lovlie, and Ben Reason Adobe Director (aka Macromedia Director, or Video Works) Antirom School of the Arts & Media, University of New South Wales Ben Reason Livework Lavrans Løvlie (in Norwegian) Chris Downs on LinkedIn Fjord Powers of Ten (film) by Charles and Ray Eames The Guide to Self-sufficiency by John Seymour Service blueprint Design for the Long Term by Andy Polaine UK Government Digital Service (GDS) This is HCD network Some show notes may include Amazon affiliate links. I get a small commission for purchases made through these links. Read the full transcript Jorge: So, Andy, welcome to the show. Andy: Thanks for having me. It's pleasure to be here. It's very nice to be the other side of the mic, as they say. Jorge: Well, it's a pleasure having you here. For folks who might not know you, how do you introduce yourself? Andy's background Andy: So, my name is Andy Polaine. I am a service designer, consultant, trainer, coach, writer, and podcaster. And so, it's never really very easy. I've got one of those kinds of “hyphen” professions where I just kind of add bits to it all the time. My background is… so I actually studied film and when I did my undergraduate, I wanted to be a film director. And, initially I wanted to do visual effects actually from a very early age. And then, got interested in film and filmmaking. And when I started my degree, which was photography, film, video, and digital media, that just came in – this was early nineties, like 1990 – as I knew there was this thing called multimedia where you could… with Macromedia, or it wasn't even that, it was called Video Works, I think it was before it even became Director. And I'd always noodled about with computers; I'd had a personal computer as a younger kid, played games a lot and stuff. So, it was always kind of fascinated with interactivity. And I had those kinds of dual tracks all the way through. There was a sort of bit of competition in my head between the world of filmmaking and this new thing. And I chose this new thing, “new media,” as it was at the time, because I was kind of interested in it as a form. What does it mean to be able to interact with stuff? What are the affordances of this new thing? And so that's where I started. So, I started kind of doing interaction design before it had that name. And sort of discovering some things about interactivity, with a group called Antirom. And then, I started teaching it quite a lot and I'd always done a lot of teaching, even when I was a student, I used to of teach my peers quite a lot. And that's always been a… The secret thing about teaching is you hoover up a lot of knowledge. I think you gain more knowledge from teaching than you do give out actually. And then I was heading the School of Media Arts at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. And we were having a kind of faculty restructure, and I'd started getting interested in the idea of organizational design. And in these meetings about the restructure, the faculty – mostly designers and artists, who were the faculty – were having a meeting where they read out pages of A4 to each other, and then had long conversations and I thought, well, this is a design process. Why aren't we up at the whiteboard, you know, designing this organization? And then when I went back to the UK to visit a friend of mine, Ben Reason, in his newly minted studio of Livework, he started talking about service design. And he said, we're doing this thing called service design and I met Lavrans and Chris Downs as well and suddenly there's, “oh right! There's a whole way of thinking about this stuff.” And sort of language. And so I started kind of making the shift into that and then co- wrote the book with them, and then started teaching it. And I actually, you know what? [It was] the other way around, I started teaching it and needed the book that I wanted to teach from. So, there wasn't one, so I wrote it with them, and that's sort of been my journey. Then I went to Fjord for a while where I was, again in a kind of teaching role, as well as design director role. And I've just recently – with brilliant timing, on the 1st of March – went independent again, as a design leadership coach and also training, clients and client teams. Powers of Ten Jorge: Your podcast is called Powers of Ten, and that's named after the very famous film by Charles and Ray Eames. Why Powers of Ten? What is it about “Powers of Ten” that is so powerful? Andy: There are, there are two books that – I realized that only recently – that had seemed to have had a massive influence on me when I was a kid. My dad is an artist and was a designer too. And he had a book version of Powers of Ten that's where I first saw it. I saw, you know, a book with the frames in it. And there was another book called the Guide To Self-Sufficiency by a guy called John Seymour. Now I can talk about later and it talks about the, kind of, how to be self-sufficient, grow your own stuff, but it talks about the four seasons of the garden. And the Powers of Ten thing, just stuck with me, cause this guy actually called Andreas Elba (?) who was a friend of mine, and we were having a conversation about how to explain service design to people. Because that ability to zoom in and out and zoom out from big picture to detail and back again, and understand how they affect each other is really, really important, right? And we've really seen it recently with the coronavirus stuff, but small things can make a massive difference, particularly when they sort of aggregate up. But at the same time, a shift in policy or something can ripple – or a shift in business model ripples across all the details. And so, I'm talking about it and I had this kind of model of these different layers. And I think Andreas said, “Oh, do you know that film ‘Powers of Ten'?” And I was like, “Oh yeah, yeah, no, I love that!” And then I started using that as the way of explaining it to people. And so the thing about “Powers of Ten” is this idea of… One, it's an exponential thing, which now everyone understands, thanks to the coronavirus. But this idea of… To those that don't know, it starts with a camera above a guy on a picnic blanket, one meter above him and then 10 meters and then a hundred meters, the powers of 10 each time. So, one of the things is how quickly you're out into the universe, right? How quickly that multiplies up. And then it goes back down into the subatomic level. But the other thing is this kind of rhythm that there is, where there are moments of density: there's lots of matter, there's lots of planets, or there's lots of whatever, and then space. And as you know, good chunks of it in both the subatomic level and the kind of universe level where there's just lots of space and then suddenly there's a lot of density again. And I just found it, that sort of fractal thing where these patterns kept repeating themselves, I found it really, really fascinating, and it really stuck with me as a kind of way of thinking. I don't know if it has anything to do with my kind of film background. Maybe there's a bit of it there. You know, and when you've got like a line and a scene and kind of an act and so forth, or, maybe. But I just find it a really useful way of thinking about everything. Consulting Jorge: I'm wondering, in consulting work – because I take it from what you've been describing that most of your career has been as a consultant, in advisory roles to organizations… Andy: A mix. So, I've had… I switch in and out of kind of academic life and consulting. And so, I've had periods where I've been doing likes of 10-15% consulting every so often and doing talks and stuff and mostly teaching. And then I've had periods of the other way around. Jorge: So, these subjects, I think, fit in very nicely with what I would expect to be an academic perspective on the work, right? Where it's more introspective and you're… you were talking about this notion of zooming up and down the levels. And in my experience, folks in the business world are more focused on the nearer term, perhaps more actionable or kind of like… I've even noticed a resistance to ideas that they might consider more philosophical. Andy: Yeah. Jorge: And I'm wondering, first of all, if that somehow corresponds with your experience, and if so, how do you deal with that? Andy: It does correspond to my experience. So, service design in particular… You know, fundamentally it deals with ecosystems and services are kind of multiple touch points, they're multiple kind of channels. If you can think in terms of ecosystems and actually try and pull the parts of those ecosystems together to understand that you're actually all involved in delivering the same thing. You know, there's I think a bit in the book where we say a service is designed in silos, or created in silos, or experienced in bits. And it has a reputation, service design does, of boiling the ocean. Right? So, it's… Laddering up is a great thing, but you can very quickly get into a point… And I see it with students a lot, where it's like, “I want to do something about sustainability. And that means we have to change the use of plastics. But in order to do that, we have to change this…” And then all of a sudden, they're like, “Oh, we have to change the entirety of capitalism,” which is absolutely true. We do. But it's very, very hard to tackle it at that level. And so, I think one of the things that, in that sort of consulting world is to work out, what's the level of influence of… First, there are two things. One is, what's the level that we're actually trying to achieve, change at, and having a conversation at? Because often I think clients will state will want – or stakeholders will want – to be making change to what's essentially a structural change to the business, but sort of hoping that they can do it through some sort of customer experience mapping or something. So getting that right, getting everyone understanding that this is the level that we're tackling at, or working at, is important. And then making sure when you're having those conversations, you don't get kind of out of whack, you don't get kind of misaligned. Because I've seen, you know, plenty of times people having a really long discussion or debate or argument about some detail and yet the bigger picture thing is actually in fact the thing we need to be talking about at that time. And vice versa, right? In my head, I've got those different kinds of zoom levels and I'm trying to kind of work out where people are at and where the project is at and try and bring everyone aligned on that or move them up and down as well, you know? Jorge: Yeah. And I'm guessing that also understanding what level of role you're dealing with in the organization itself might be important, no? Andy: Yeah. Yeah. And, and that's what, I guess what I meant by that kind of, someone who's jurisdiction is quite… it doesn't have to be smaller, like it could be they're the head of customer experience or something, but if they are then in competition for budget or whatever it is with the head of marketing and the CEO has another idea and whatever, they're all essentially part of the same ecosystem if they're fighting with each other. Or they feel like, “Well, that's not my kind of role and that's not my jurisdiction.” It makes it very, very hard for them to operate. So a lot of that job is facilitating the conversations between them. And I guess a lot of my frustration is… I've come away from the idea of kind of breaking down the silos. I think silos are actually… they're often for good reasons and you need some kind of containers, but sort of bridging them or making them a bit more porous, I think is really crucial. I think that you really need to make sure that you know how you fit into the other part of whatever else is going on. Jorge: One thing that I've experienced in consulting engagements is that sometimes these design projects serve as the excuse for people in those silos to work together collaboratively, perhaps for the first time. And they become more aware of the… more tangibly aware of their differing objectives, incentives, and communication styles, perhaps. And just that knowledge is a powerful catalyst to changing the conversation, somehow. Andy: Yeah. So one of the things… this is a service design thing, but it doesn't necessarily have to be this… but one of the things in service design is a service blueprint, where you're mapping out the front stage and backstage, all the sort of bits of the enterprise that actually deliver or support the delivery of that service or that experience. And I think it's often seen as… we're going to design this thing and then we're going to fix it, you know? And blueprints are actually a kind of terrible name. Because it's, it's not really a blueprint, what it is is a map really. And in that it's often its main value is actually, for the first time, different parts of the organization, see how well their stuff fits together, you know? And it's one of those things of, our tools, you know, shape our thinking. And if you sit in PowerPoint decks and Excel sheets the whole time, you don't ever really see the connectedness between all of those different things. And so, whether it's synchronously, everyone's in the room together, asynchronicity of people coming in and out, I think that's a really kind of useful tool for that. What is service design? Jorge: Some folks listening in might not be familiar with service design. Andy: Hmm. Jorge: What is the introductory spiel? What is the “101” to service design? Andy: There's a, there's a big debate about this. So, one of the ways of thinking about it is, it's the design of all the different touch points that go into delivering a service or a customer experience, plus the kind of backstage, behind the scenes things, and that's kind of IT. Could be man-in-a-van delivery, it could be all sorts of things that go into actually delivering that service and making sure that they are coherent across different channels. So when you move between say a website and an app or call center, you're speaking the same language, talking about the same things and so forth. And also, that there are kind of seamless transitions between steps, so as people move through the journey. And so, with that, that means someone can take a journey through your service ecosystem in whichever way they like and it's always coherent. And service design is basically about doing that the way I usually explain it to kind of, you know, my mother, is this idea of… if you've ever had an experience with an organization, often with government, but often with things like telcos and insurance companies and so forth, where if you've got a problem and it feels like every time you phone up or have some kind of contact or, you know, use a touch point, it feels like you're dealing with five or six different companies instead of one. Our job is to make it feel like it's a seamless experience. Jorge: One thing that is coming to mind, hearing you describe that, is that it sounds comprehensive in nature and holistic, right? Andy: Yeah. Jorge: In that it's looking to embrace as much of the experience as possible for someone who is trying to accomplish something by interacting with either a system or organization. And that strikes me as a direction that might be in tension with another direction, which has to do with specializing more or wanting to compartmentalize design. And I'm thinking now of like professional self-identities, right? Like some people think of themselves as visual designers or, I don't know, industrial designers or, you know, in… Andy: UXers or whatever. Jorge: Right. And what strikes me here is that in all of those cases, the object of design is some kind of tangible artifact. Some are more tangible than others, but something that you can examine and point to and say, “I designed that.” Andy: Yes. Jorge: What is the object that's service design designs? I don't even know if that's a fair question. Andy: No, it's not really. I mean, it's, like I said, you're designing what you're doing is taking a zoom level up actually, or a couple of zoom levels up and trying to design, make sure that all those objects or those touch points – that can be people, incidentally, or systems – are working in cohort, that you can interact with each one and understand what's going on. That there's a kind of seamless sense to them. They feel like they're a whole. So, in some respects, what you're designing is a kind of ecosystem. But there's another bit to that also, which is the business model, right? So, you know, most service design teams have a business designer amongst them. Because they're the two halves of the same coin. If you're trying to design a service… and let's take an example where you say, “Well, we're going to change the business model from freemium to subscription.” Then the way the whole… all the touch points around that and the way you talk about that have to change, right? You know, to communicate it right. And often you'll see that a business model and the design of the different touch points in the service are slightly at odds to each other. The most… well, one of the ones I know of is a telco's name I won't mention. The call center, when you phoned the call center with a problem, they would tell you to go into the store in order to get some help. But the same company had created an app, a sort of self-help app, in order to try and get people not to go into the store. So, see you have two touch points that are kind of working against each other, with different messages, coming from the same company. Jorge: Yeah. And you talked about coherence earlier, right? Like there's this misalignment there that stepping up a level and looking at the entire – or as much of the picture as you can – exposes those points of incoherence. Andy: Yeah, and it breaks trust, right? You know, humans anthropomorphize everything, right? We give our cars names; we shout at our computers. We do it with our pets and everything else. And I'm pretty sure we're just basically hardwired to see the world narcissistically as kind of everything in the world is like another human being, right? And I think we also relate to companies like that too. And so we have these you know, things in this relationship, you go, “Oh, I thought we had this relationship and it turns out we have a different relationship,” and there's a little kind of ding in the trust there. And, and so that, that kind of happens all the time. If you imagine someone who you kind of know quite well, who you're spending a lot of time with – which is often the case with some services – and all of a sudden, they do something really out of character, you start to kind of wonder, “well, what's going on there?” And so that's, I think, what's going on when you get that destruction of trust, when those things aren't designed as a kind of coherent whole. Jorge: It feels to me that service design is kind of systemic design; it's design of the system. And perhaps calling it systemic design might lead people to assume that it really is about technology or something when it's meant that, “system” meaning in the broader sense, no? Andy: Yeah. And you know, I've been really interested in systems thinking in the last few years. I think I've always have been, but in the last couple of years, I've read more up on it and stuff. And you know, I think there's a lot of overlap there. And one of the reasons why I think there's a lot of overlap between that and say, circular economy and sustainability, is a lot of the way of thinking is around kind of ecosystems and human behavior and understanding how small changes can add up to a kind of big difference. And, do you need to kind of map out those big things, but also you also need to deal with the absolute details of how easy it is to find a recycling bin and stuff like that. All those things that are just the barriers to people changing their behavior don't have to be very high for them to not do anything at all. Projects and governance  Jorge: When thinking about design engagements, I often think of them as projects to be undertaken, especially as an independent consultant. Andy: Right. Jorge: You get called in because the organization has some kind of need, and you get brought in to help them design a solution that addresses that need, right? And one of the systemic aspects to any kind of situation that an organization might find itself in is that whatever caused it and whatever intervention you're designing is not something that is going to be fixed into a particular time. There are going to be ongoing changes happening, right? And I'm curious about the relationship between service design interventions and ongoing governance of the systems that are set up. Andy: Yeah. This is the kind of bane of agencies' lives actually. So, it's design agencies, I think because, you're absolutely right. I mean, there's lots of different parts to this. One is just a purely kind of… we talked about it before, is a sort of jurisdiction level of who is your stakeholder? Who is basically hiring you as an agency or as a consultant? And, what's likely to be their kind of budget, right? And they have a kind of certain amount of budget, and it seems to sort of pan out to be where you've got enough money for kind of three or maybe six months of work, which often means that you kind of get the discovery and the kind of ecosystem mapping and the concept of this sort of beginning of the kind of concepts done. And then basically the budget's used up of, what's probably at least a kind of two- or three-year process really. And so service design is slightly got a bad rep in that sense of being, you know, or you guys just come up with a load of kind of journey maps and blueprints and concepts, but never execute on them. And the reason why our book was actually called From Insight to Implementation is because you really need to be able to follow those things through and keep referring back. So, that is a real problem, actually. And the other bit is that jurisdictional thing, which is that person has started a process, which in fact affects the whole company or it needs to involve the whole company in order to maintain it and deliver it and so forth. And there does need to be governance there. And that governance is often set up sort of internally focused around well, you're in charge of IT, you're in charge of marketing and so forth, rather than thinking about the, how does this relate to the service and the delivery of the service? And so, who needs to be in the room, basically, having conversations about how this gets modified or changed and so on and so forth. And that is a real problem. I think there's a real problem with this idea of when again, you know, it comes back to, say, in a funding model, in an organization, the difference between funding a team versus funding a project. Projects, I think, are a natural way of people to think about things. And I'm guessing it probably comes from school. It's actually often a terrible way to think about services. I much prefer gardening and we talked about the such, I think, over email. That's why I gave this talk. I talked about that gardening book, right? And that there is no sense where you, you say, “we're done. We've shipped the garden!” Right? It's not, it's never finished. It's always changing you plant something. And some, it really does well. And then all of a sudden it does too well, because it's casting shade over all the other stuff. And then something else is withering in the corner and you either just chop it out and throw it in the compost deep or you move it somewhere else. And so, it's kind of ever going, changing thing. If you think of government services, like, I don't know, applying for a passport, or going to jail, or visiting people in jail – that's not a thing that's ever done; it's just always changing. Jorge: The idea of gardening brings up the element of time into the project, right? Andy: Yes. Jorge: And this notion that the intervention you're making now is going to have effects down the line. And in some ways, what I'm hearing you say is that ultimately the object of design might be the thing that makes the design as opposed to the intervention itself. Andy: It makes the design in what sense? Jorge: So, when you talk about funding teams versus funding a project, in some ways the project serves as a reason for a team to coalesce. But ultimately the thing that you want to do is ensure that the team is in place and that they have the resources necessary for whatever goal the thing is setting out to accomplish; to be an ongoing concern as time passes. Andy: I do think that as a… you know, if you're coming in it from a sort of consultancy/agency kind of angle to an existing organization… or an organization that isn't a design organization, like a bank or an insurance company or whatever, you only really can be successful if that company can take on some of the skills and work and become – you know, quite often, a lot of them do have internal service design or design teams internally. I don't think it's realistic for them to constantly rely on externals. I think those external consultants can bring knowledge from other spheres, which is really useful, and experience from other spheres, and see patterns where, if you've been stuck in the same organization for a long time, your field of vision narrows, and also can do some of the heavy lifting sometimes. But ultimately, and particularly for public services – it's why the GDS in the UK have been so successful, because they've really got a fantastic group of designers working on that stuff all the time and have become much more integrated into the sort of ongoing process. I don't know if I answered your question there, though. Jorge: Yeah. No, you touched on something that I was wondering as well, which is the relationship between internal design teams and people who come in from the outside. To bring it back to the Eames image… the very nature of the engagement, if you're external to the organization, you are by definition, less close to the situation, less close to the problem at hand, so to speak. And as you were pointing out, you have this broader perspective informed by projects, perhaps in a variety of different industries, even. Andy: Yeah, yeah. Jorge: So, you bring that perspective to bear on these projects and you have to work with people who are internal to the organization and, and much closer to the situation at hand. So, in some ways you have to develop this ability to very quickly move up and down those zoom levels, right? So, that's one thing that comes to mind. The other is that there are upsides to doing this kind of work that transcend the immediate project at hand, right? You might be hired to help solve for something that isn't working well or ease transitions between steps or what have you. And you might deliver on that, and that might be part of the value that you're bringing to the client, but you're also demonstrating a different way of working, right? Like one that does take in the bigger picture, perhaps.  Andy: Yeah. I think this is both a sort of beneficial thing that you bring in and is a cause of frustration too. You know we sort of talked about it a bit before, that zooming in and out lens is really useful in the sense that you're showing how… because particularly a department or a team inside a larger organization can get a little bit sort of stuck in their own bubble or their own kind of confinement, and they often get sort of learned helplessness, this, “and we would, we'd love to work that way, but we can't. Cause that's just the way things are done around here.” So sometimes that's true in which case, well then, your design problem isn't really the thing that you're trying to tackle, your design problem is the thing that's constraining around you in the organization. And you know, if you get the chance, then we have to deal with that in order to kind of make you be successful. That can be liberating because you're able to make that connection, you can create some change inside an organization. Or it can be deeply frustrating, because the answer to that is, “well, that's all very well, but we just have to fix this thing. You know, we just have to kind of deliver this thing for whoever by this impossible deadline and we don't have any chance to affect that other stuff.” And so, you are just kind of selling them a kind of a pipe dream. You know, a lot of the kind of training or coaching I've done is interestingly less around, “we're really struggling with this design problem. Can you help us?” Than it is around facing the other way, “we are struggling as a department inside our organization to kind of gain traction, to gain buy in, to… we can see that there's this thing, and we can see this connectedness, but we can't seem to kind of convince anyone else of it.” And then, you know, and so that's actually a lot of the work I do is kind of non… it's not really focused on the design object, actually. It is focused on the server ecosystem around those designers. Jorge: Again, hearkening back to “Powers of Ten,” right? Making the invisible, visible by zooming up and down the levels. Andy: Yeah, it is. And, and like I said, that can be, you know, it can be liberating and frustrating for people. And, you know, can also be a bit annoying if you're kind of… so, one of the things is when you come in as an external, it's just like any other kind of therapy or something it's much, much easier to see someone else's relationship problems from the outside than it is to see your own and your own patterns and stuff. And so, you know, the advantage of bringing someone in externally is they've got that kind of view. They can also probably say things that internal stakeholders can't say. So that's, that's kind of one of the roles I often play. But that said, it can very easily sort of come across as, you know, I can see this whole kind of picture and you guys can't. Or even if I paint it for you, then they're just going to feel frustrated that you're not just focusing on the task at hand. Closing Jorge: Well Andy, I feel like we have so much to talk about and we could keep going. I feel like I have like four or five different things that I want to ask you about, but we have to wind it down. Where can folks follow up with you? Andy: So, I have a website it's polaine.com, P O L A I N E, like my name. I'm on Twitter as @apolaine, you'll find me on LinkedIn. Those are sort of main three places and I don't really hang out on many other social media places anymore. I sort of cut down on it. Jorge: And the name of podcast is Powers of Ten, right? Andy: It's Power of Ten actually. Yeah, so I gave this talk about “design to the power of ten,” and so that was where it came from. And I didn't want to kind of too heavily steal the Eames's title. So, yeah, it's called Power of Ten it's on the, This is HCD network. Jorge: Well, fantastic. I will include links to all of those in the show notes. It's been a pleasure having you on the show Andy. Andy: Thanks very much for having me.

Dr. Kenneth M. Nowack is a licensed psychologist (PSY 13758) and President of Ofactor (www.ofactor.com) an international consulting company providing neuromanagement based organizational and leadership solutions. Dr. Nowack has conducted research and published extensively in the areas of 360° feedback systems, health psychology, occupational stress and job burnout. Ken also serves as Chief Learning Officer of Envisia Learning Inc. (www.envisialearning.com) and is a member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Educational Psychology at the University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Ken also serves as Associate Editor for the APA journal Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research and is author of two books: Clueless: Coaching People Who Just Don't Get It and From Insight to Improvement: Leveraging 360-Degree Feedback.

Today I'm interviewing Dawna Jones and She's the author of Decision Making for Dummies for the 21st century. She's also a best selling co-author From Hierarchy to Performance. She's unearthing human organizational potential in leaders and decision makers for expanding adaptability. She also runs the Insight to action Inspirational Insights Podcast, she also contributes to the Huffington Post, hosts workshops and speaks to of course transform mindsets and business culture. Decision-Making Strategy For Dummies Organisational Strategy Management  - How strategy changes when there's exponential change underway.. a mindset shift 22.02 Change Management: Why play and people work more effectively to respond to change - 37.00 Emotional Social Intuitive Intelligence: the role of sensing over thinking - 49.44 Corporate Social Responsibility: Why it isn't a department or a tagline - 58.56 People Management: Trust versus controlling. The difference between autonomy and chaos - 113.33 Buy Dawna's DMFD Book Here  If you want to learn more about Decision Making for Dummies visit From Insight to Action Here are the AI transcriptions! Well, it's great to see you Dawna. And I'm really quite interested to hear what you got to say. We've got some fantastic topics we're going to talk about today. Dawna Jones 1:12 Thanks, Nate. I'm interested in hearing what I'm going to say! We're gonna have a fun conversation. Nathaniel Schooler 1:22 We are. And, you know, I know, you know a lot about all of these topics, because you've written a best selling best selling book, and some some other books as well. I'm quite interested to hear about the decision making strategy for dummies, because that's quite interesting. Decision making, for me, it causes me a headache. I mean, you know, when I get too much on my brain. I'm going through a lot of stuff, personal stuff as well, and business stuff and working, you know, like people in life, even if you're in your own business, or you're not, if you're working within a corporation, you have so much on your mind. And it can be, it can be sort of almost debilitating with decisions because you you don't know, do you send that email or not, you know! Where do you start with decision making for dummies? Dawna Jones 2:20 Oh, great question. And, you know, it's funny, because when I was writing decision making for dummies, or the proposal for it, I was in California. And in some, like, just, and somebody told me, they asked me that same question. They said:- "What is the key decision making?" And the answer was "self awareness." And I didn't actually pre meditate that answer at all. But I realized that when you're aware of how you're feeling, where you're, what you're thinking, where your focus is going, you know, what's your feeling in terms of overwhelm, or balance or whatever it happens to be, then you can make the decisions that correct the situation so you can actually make the, the optimal decision. So I think it said self aware and contextual awareness, you know, what's going on for me? and what's going on in this environment that's having an impact on me? So it's those two together that kind of have a little bit of a dynamic dance happening. Nathaniel Schooler 3:09 Right, right. I just put one of these massive sweets in my mouth! It got to the point in the afternoon. I just, you know have worked really hard. And, and literally, I just needed a bit of a sugar boost, you know! So with all that said, there are all sorts of different types of decisions that we have to make. Right. And, you know, some of them are going to be more important than others, obviously. But so how do you stop the paralysis of like, just delaying making the decision? How do you how do you stop that in, in in people's minds? Dawna Jones 3:51 Yeah, there's a couple ways of answering that. I mean, generally, what I look at decision making, I'm looking at it through the lens of biology and what an architect recently...

Dr. Kenneth M. Nowack is a licensed psychologist (PSY 13758) and President of Ofactor (www.ofactor.com) an international consulting company providing neuromanagement based organizational and leadership solutions. Dr. Nowack has conducted research and published extensively in the areas of 360° feedback systems, health psychology, occupational stress and job burnout. Ken also serves as Chief Learning Officer of Envisia Learning Inc. (www.envisialearning.com) and is a member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Educational Psychology at the University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Ken also serves as Associate Editor for the APA journal Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research and is author of two books: Clueless: Coaching People Who Just Don't Get It and From Insight to Improvement: Leveraging 360-Degree Feedback.

Dr. Kenneth M. Nowack is a licensed psychologist (PSY 13758) and President of Ofactor (www.ofactor.com) an international consulting company providing neuromanagement based organizational and leadership solutions. Dr. Nowack has conducted research and published extensively in the areas of 360° feedback systems, health psychology, occupational stress and job burnout. Ken also serves as Chief Learning Officer of Envisia Learning Inc. (www.envisialearning.com) and is a member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Educational Psychology at the University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Ken also serves as Associate Editor for the APA journal Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research and is author of two books: Clueless: Coaching People Who Just Don't Get It and From Insight to Improvement: Leveraging 360-Degree Feedback.

Clearlink attended the Mob Programming conference in 2017 and came away thinking folks there were either crazy or genius; possibly both. One year and a half later they had implemented mob programming, where a team writes the code rather then each person sitting in their cave. Learn from Torrey Powell, Nate Wixom and developer Charlie King how collaborative coding helped the company scale, the journey from Bare Bones Manifesto, from working in a Dev cave to working with others along with some tips for introducing a new way of working into the workplace. You'll also hear about the management issues that melt away when you give autonomy and trust to the team.Torrey Powell is Tech Leader, Nate Wixom is Director Marketing Tech and Charlie King is Web Dev for Clearlink. Clearlink is a digital marketing and sales company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. www.Clearlink.comThis episode was recorded live on site at the Mob Programming conference 2018 in Boston, MA where host of the Insight to Action podcast, Dawna Jones, was delivering a workshop on using conflict to expand skills. Find Dawna on LinkedIn or at her website: From Insight to ActionPodcast intro music is provided by Mark Romero Music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dr. Kenneth M. Nowack is a licensed psychologist (PSY 13758) and President of Ofactor (www.ofactor.com) an international consulting company providing neuromanagement based organizational and leadership solutions. Dr. Nowack has conducted research and published extensively in the areas of 360° feedback systems, health psychology, occupational stress and job burnout. Ken also serves as Chief Learning Officer of Envisia Learning Inc. (www.envisialearning.com) and is a member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Educational Psychology at the University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Ken also serves as Associate Editor for the APA journal Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research and is author of two books: Clueless: Coaching People Who Just Don't Get It and From Insight to Improvement: Leveraging 360-Degree Feedback.

Do you have to get lucky to get a role role in tech? What if you could create a plan to get from your current job to your next career opportunity in tech and implement it at a pace that you've set for yourself, over a time-frame that feels comfortable for you? How would it feel to give your current employer a month's notice before moving to your next role. Eugene Nam, today's featured Empjoyee, shows us a way to navigate our career transition and job changes with a sense of security and organization. In doing so, Eugene highlights ways to minimize a feeling of risk involved with changing paths from a professional, personal, and financial perspective. Enjoy! Listen to this episode now to learn how to: Take incremental steps towards your career change goals through planning, organization, and constant execution Balance your current full-time role while still spending extra time learning and taking action for your next role Access your skill sets to help you get your next role through a step-by-step process that's both easy and quick to do   From Insight to Action Your Joyney: Share with us one skill that you are looking to build based on your skill set analysis and the plan that you will use to bridge that gap within the Empjoyment Community ( use #joyney21! You are not alone - We understand you and want to help you make this change successfully. Complimentary 1-on-1 Tech Career Coaching: I'm offering the complimentary personalized roadmap coaching experience to 15 high-achieving professionals who, despite a track record of success, are struggling to make a transition into tech to develop a personalized path into a non-coding role in a tech company. Apply now at empjoyment.com/coaching to get your challenges handled with a roadmap to help achieve your career goals faster going forward  Free Empjoyment Community - Come be a part of our supportive and action-oriented community full of career changes who have been in your shoes to help you take another step closer to a successful career in the tech industry. Join us at http://employees.com

Reinventing yourself and your career is not an easy feat. In our pursuit of enjoyment through employment, it can often feel like a daunting and unsurmountable roadblock to overcome. How do you pivot your brand from being an expert in one thing (and quite frankly being exceptional at it) that doesn’t fulfill you to a new brand that positions your unique experiences as your value proposition in a business role in tech. Luckily, Sumant Yerramilly, our featured Empjoyee, lays out a step by step roadmap based on his experience. He takes it a step further by also sharing the top 2 pillars for successful career transitions into tech and what he looks for when hiring people for his team. Enjoy! Listen to this episode now to learn how to: Articulate your experience when you have variety of skill sets that don’t seem to lead to a specific role (at least not on paper…) Leverage two key principles to differentiate yourself from other candidates applying for a role Approach product management with a “sell before you build” mentality to enhance company success and client satisfaction Episode takeaways available at https://empjoyment.com/sumantyerramilly From Insight to Action Your Joyney: Come share with us 1 thing that you are currently overthinking in your career journey and the 1 action you will take today to help you break the cycle of over analysis within the Empjoyment Community using the hashtag #joyney20 so we can jump in no matter when you see this! You are not alone - We understand you and want to help you make this change successfully. Complimentary 1-on-1 Tech Career Coaching: I'm offering the complimentary personalized roadmap coaching experience to 15 high-achieving professionals who, despite a track record of success, are struggling to make a transition into tech to develop a personalized path into a non-coding role in a tech company. Apply now at empjoyment.com/coaching to get your challenges handled with a roadmap to help achieve your career goals faster going forward  Free Empjoyment Community - Come be a part of our supportive and action-oriented community full of career changes who have been in your shoes to help you take another step closer to a successful career in the tech industry.

Have you thought about how valuable your industry experience can be within the tech world? We’re not just talking for startups and new tech companies, but throughout any type of organization. Often times, a background within a specific industry can prove a great differentiator for you as a candidate, and an immense value-add for employers. The best part is that this can be leveraged with or without technical skills or interest! Liz Sanders, today’s featured Empjoyee, shares with us how her background as a pharmacist and in healthcare positioned her to play a much needed role driving digital tech projects as an Information Systems project manager for a large healthcare system. Enjoy! Full episode notes found here: https://empjoyment.com/lizsanders Listen now to learn how Liz: Leverages her past experience in healthcare as a retail pharmacist to bridge gaps between multiple functions within a large hospital system Applies an agile project management mindset to bring time-saving applications to doctors and nurses in a fraction of the time of more traditional methods Describes real-life challenges and opportunities specific to the healthcare industry and how her background outside of tech uniquely positioned her to help solve them From Insight to Action Your Joyney: Come share with us one opportunity that you took advantage of before you were “ready” and the experience that led to your success within the Empjoyment Community (use hashtag #joyney19). You are not alone - We understand you and want to help you make this change successfully. Complimentary 1-on-1 Tech Career Coaching: I'm offering the complimentary personalized roadmap coaching experience to 15 high-achieving professionals who, despite a track record of success, are struggling to make a transition into tech to develop a personalized path into a non-coding role in a tech company. Apply now at empjoyment.com/coaching to get your challenges handled with a roadmap to help achieve your career goals faster going forward  Free Empjoyment Community - Come be a part of our supportive and action-oriented community full of career changes who have been in your shoes to help you take another step closer to a successful career in the tech industry. Join us at Empjoyees.com or text "empjoyment" to 33-444 on your phone to get access! See you in the community!

Not every Empjoyee lives in a place where there is a vibrant tech community. However, today’s conversation with Brian Ssennoga proves that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be one in the future. It just might be up to you to make it come to life, and support that growth along the way. Today’s episode walks us through Brian’s journey to supporting Information and Commjunication Technologies (ICT) communities in Uganda and how he has been able to design a unique lifestyle and seek the right experiences to support that to have a successful career that spans multiple continents. In addition to technical excellence, Brian shares his passion and insight for leadership and management with us today to help Empjoyees better manage others in the tech industry. Enjoy! Listen now to learn how Brian: Builds networks that support and contribute to his success in making both career transitions and tremendous impact for the communities he serves Approaches leadership and development growth and application to help managers lead successful teams Supports the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) communities in Uganda and throughout Africa and continuously finds new ways to apply his technical experience to overall business needs Full episode notes found at https://empjoyment.com/brianssennoga From Insight to Action “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.” – John F. Kennedy Brian encourages you to envision the life and career you want, seek experiences that will make that a reality and take action on the items that will most impact your success. Your Joyney: Let us know what are the big things (big “rocks”) that you’re working on this week and how do they add and contribute to your team and carer goals within the Empjoyment Community (use hashtag #joyney16). You are not alone - We understand you and want to help you make this change successfully. Come be a part of our supportive and action-oriented community full of career changes who have been in your shoes to help you take another step closer to a successful career in the tech industry. Empjoyees.com - the home for all Empjoyees globally or text "empjoyment" to 33-444 on your phone to get access! See you in the community!

As Empjoyees, we're not about following the same path to success as others. We're about finding the best path for you and blazing a trail where you don't have to compete with others to transition into tech. Instead, you're in a whole league of your own. Patrick Burke, our featured Empjoyee today, shares his views on what really makes people enter their our differentiated league as well as what holds many qualified people from progressing forward in interviews. Enjoy! Listen now to learn Patrick's take on: The 3 intrinsic values that are more important than pure talent and experience when hiring Maintaining a level of urgency without creating a high-burn environment Getting a job at a tech company in cities that typical tech hubs From Insight to Action Patrick shares his take on the 3 X-factors that he believes are an indicator of true ability for long-term success in tech. Your Joyney: Share your take as to why these three factors lend themselves to career growth for transitioning career changers within the Empjoyment Community. And if you don't agree with this, come tell us why - we grow through exploration, and welcome a meaningful and impactful discussion. Take your personal Empjoyment to the Next Level! Experience Empjoyment Coaching: Apply for a complimentary 1-on-1 coaching session where we focus on YOU, your life and career goals, the roadblocks, challenges, and opportunities in front of you, and develop a personalized roadmap to get you to your destination. Apply now at https://empjoyment.com/coaching  

"Follow your passion" is a common phrase people say when it comes to pursuing a new role. That's all well and good, but how does that translate when you feel that your passion has nothing to do with technology? Alli Goldberg, today's featured Empjoyee makes it clear that there really can be an intersection between what you love and technology. And if you're having a hard time finding it out there already, then you can create the future you want for yourself. Alli and her friend Jen Jamula co-founded Blogologues.org, a comedy organization focused on the intersection of theater and technology. Enjoy! Listen now to learn how Alli: Continues to explore the juxtaposition of arts and tech through new mediums Acts on ideas and "books the theater" to transform that idea into reality in a matter of weeks Iterates on models to scale a business centered on bringing people together to experience tech Get your hands on the full episode notes over at https://empjoyment.com/14 From Insight to Action Alli encourages us to "book the theater", which generally means to commit to the #1 action that imposes a deadline make progress in a tangible external way (i.e. thinking "I'll do X by Y." is not enough). When Jen and Alli had the idea to act out the internet, physically booking the theater locked them into the decision and got them to take a fun idea into a hilarious reality. Now it's your turn. Your Joyney: Share with us one idea, project, or outcome that you've been wanting to accomplish and what you plan to do this month to "book the theater" within the Empjoyment Community. Getting to Know Today's Featured Empjoyee: Alli Goldberg! Allison Goldberg is Yale graduate and a co-creator / producer of Blogologues, a sketch comedy show in which internet content is performed live and verbatim. Blogologues has been featured in Newsweek, The Daily Beast, CBS, The Huffington Post, NPR and more. She is also one of the co-creative directors of GoldJam Creative, an organization dedicated to exploring the influence of the Information Age on communication, and to bringing comedy and creativity to the workplace. Through GoldJam Creatiive, Alli has leads communication skills workshops for companies, co-working spaces, incubators and student groups as varied as Buzzfeed, Time Warner, Spotify, has created content for brands such as The Guardian and Time Out New York, and has spoken and performed at conferences nationwide, including SXSW, Internet Week, and TheLi.st Summit.  

Getting things done quickly in a tech company is one of the gold standards to success. But how do you manage to do that when you're just one person and there are multiple priorities that people have within the organization. Maren Engh, today's featured Empjoyee, dives into her experience implementing large-scale projects within her role as a Customer Education Manager at Optimizely. Enjoy! Full Episode notes over at https://empjoyment.com/marenengh Listen to this episode now to learn how to: Build relationships with CEO and other influential people through social media and email Take advantage of the personalized learning trends that are emerging in online learning to augment your skills faster Drive a large scale project from idea through completion in 1-2 quarters (tech speak for 3-6 months)   From Insight to Action Your Joyney: Come share with us the best online learning experience (course, group, coaching, etc.) you've taken and what went made that experience so impactful within the Empjoyment Community (conversation hashtag: #joyney13) Getting to Know Today's Featured Empjoyee: Maren Engh! Maren Engh is a Customer Education Manager at Optimizely.   She is originally from Oslo, Norway and spent the early part of her career in the hospitality industry, first working for boutique hotel properties and moving into hospitality technology.   Now, Maren works for an experimentation platform in San Francisco, CA.  She lives in a tiny house with her fiancé south of San Francisco. You are not alone - We understand you and want to help you make this change successfully. Come be a part of our supportive and action-oriented community full of career changes who have been in your shoes to help you take another step closer to a successful career in the tech industry. Empjoyees.com - the home for all Empjoyees globally or text "empjoyment" to 33-444 on your phone to get access! See you in the community!

You've done it - it's your time to shine, and the pressure is on. The question is do you sink or swim? (Spoiler: You're an Empjoyee - You swim!) How do you: Handle the high-stakes situations that come with switching careers and progressing in your career? Find a way to bring your best self to work and do your best work when you only have one chance to get it right? Come back from a mistake or misunderstanding in a project so that you can deliver on project and customer goals? Today, you'll get insight into how you can perform at your best in high-stake situations through the Sam Port's career journey. Sam has pursued multiple careers in his life from amusement park operations, to acting and producing, to his current role as Creative Director at Proscenium where he designs and executes large-scale live experiences for some of the largest brands in the US. Enjoy! By the end of this episode, you'll be able to: Identify examples of how to meet business objectives and of B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer) through large-scale experiential events Utilize multiple methods to perform at the top of your level in high-stakes situations Apply techniques to quickly bounce back from missteps at work to move forward and continue providing value Access the full episode show notes here: https://empjoyment.com/12   From Insight to Action Sam shared how he was able to identify what mindset supports peak performance and mitigates fear. His specific solution is not a solution that will work for everyone, but the approach of reflection and observation (aka increasing self awareness) is a path to anyone learning how to position themselves for peak performance. Your Joyney: Share a time when you were in a high-stakes works situation and the way you felt/things you did that lead to that success within the Empjoyment Community

Q: How do you transition into tech when you've had a long gap in US employment or have been out of the country for a while? A: Use what you did during that time to your advantage by incorporating it into your story and your differentiated value proposition. Our featured Empjoyee, Adele Sanchez did just that as she shares in today's conversation. This is not intended to be an over-glorification of the gap period, as Adele took steps to make an impact during that time. Instead, we encourage you to explore how Adele positioned her experience abroad and leveraged it to to her advantage when she returned to the US. And now, you'll have the opportunity to shape your experiences in a way that works to your advantage too. Enjoy! Listen now to learn how Adele: Hires and develops career changers with non-technical backgrounds to career success Leverages her 7-year gap living in Bangkok to obtain a job in tech during one of the worst US employment markets Navigates a career that started as a gate agent at an airline to growing with an organization From Insight to Action Adele encourages us to open ourselves to opportunities throughout your career journey. Let's explore how that could come to life for you and the other Empjoyees. Your Joyney: Tell us about a time when you allowed yourself to just be open to the possiblibilities that presented themselves in your career including the results of making that decision within the Empjoyment Community. Check out https://empjoyment.com/11 for full episode notes. Let us know your thoughts, comments, and insights!  

Re-organizations (more commonly called “re-orgs”) are a common occurrence in tech companies as they grow and adapt to accomplish better meet product and market fit.  These reorgs may result in a shift in team structure, priorities, and often the day to day roles. Knowing how to navigate the ambiguity and ultimately continue to make the most of your time at a company for both you and your employer is an important skill to strengthen in the tech world. Angela Christian walks us through her journey in tech which more or less starts with a re-org and the steps that she’s taken since to progress in her career and add value. So much value in fact, that she has been able to work remotely between two cities throughout her career. Get the full episode notes at https://empjoyment.com/angelachristian Listen now to learn Angela’s: Top strategies for growing through reorgs and changes to your role Approaches to building skills in a new role quickly Highest criteria when she hires new team members Method of dealing with a lot rejection while looking for a new job and her universal recommendations to get through that as quickly as possible Process to build (and maintain) trust with your teams to afford you extra additional flexibility (remote working in her case) -- From Insight to Action: Angela stressed the importance of demonstrated self-motivation and growth without required to do so for people she hires. Let’s explore the various ways we can accomplish that as a community. Your Quest: Share one thing you do outside of work that shows your commitment to self-motivated growth and learning within the Empjoyment Community. Take a step closer to your goals in the community: https://empjoyment.com/community or just text “EMPJOYMENT” to 33-444 on your phone -- Spread the Joy: Please help your friends, family, coworkers and others looking to experience enjoyment through employment be making a recommendation to the #1 person who you feel would benefit the most from the Empjoyment platform. Together, we have the ability to help double the number of current people whose career change will be supported by Empjoyees.

Full show Notes: https://empjoyment.com/9 Let's face it: making a career change when you've invested a lot just to get to where you are currently can feel really scary. To take things further, transitioning into a brand new industry can make the fear of the unknown (and whether you're making a good choice) even more overwhelming. We get it, we've been there, and we've got Leslie Lai's story to help you navigate that path to a place of personal fulfillment. Leslie holds nothing back as she shares the resistance she faced while transitioning out of a career in law to tech. Listen now to learn how Leslie: Built new skills through a coding bootcamp which landed her a job as a software developer, a role she's using to get to her next destination of product manager Found a group of supportive friends and mentors who encouraged her to pursue the career and lifestyle she desired Classified 3 do's/don'ts that you can apply to get your next role in tech   From Insight to Action Leslie shared that companies consider the risk involved with hiring someone for their organization and recommended several ways for you to reduce the perception of risk during your job search. Your Joyney: Let us know "What is one thing you've done or have seen done that you feel has someone more comfortable / reduced the risk associated with you when taking on a new role or project"within the Empjoyment Community. 

As a career changer, there is a natural level of risk associated with an employer taking you on for a role. In fact, the fear of making a mistake with a “risky” higher can be a common roadblock to getting into a new field. Great – now that that’s out in the open you can use this to your advantage. Why? Because you can make sure you’re taking steps to proactively mitigate that risk for an employer. James Kaikis shares several examples of how to set, manage, and exceed expectations for both employers and clients through his incredible career journey. You’ll want to listen to this several times to capture all of the actionable lessons he provides! Listen now to learn how to: Manage expectations effectively, especially for the purposes of job interviews and exceptional client sales & service Demonstrate the value you’ll bring to the team from your first interview by doing what few others are willing to do Articulate the way sales engineers can fit into organizations and their role within tech organizations (including the difference between sales and sales engineering and what tandem selling looks like in practice) Get all full episode notes over at https://empjoyment.com/jameskaikis From Insight to Action James shared a powerful example of what it takes to exceed expectations for potential employers, through research and going above and beyond from the outset. Each role and company will differ and we want you to get comfortable with how you reduce the risk of hiring you through demonstrable action. Your Joyney: Share one example of a) how you personally set yourself apart for other candidates in a job search b) what you’ll do at your next interview to stand out from the crowd or c) what someone else has done that made you feel the candidate was exceptional within the Empjoyment Community. Getting to Know Today’s Featured Empjoyee: James Kaikis! James Kaikis currently manages a Sales Engineering team for a tech company in San Francisco, USA. Prior to his current company Showpad, James worked at Revinate (a hospitality start up) and Hyatt Hotel Corporation prior to that. James has worked in roles that focus on Customer Experience across a number of industries (Tech, Hospitality, Athletics, & Operations).

One thing that holds a lot of us back from making the career change we know that we’re meant to make is the nagging feeling that we don’t know enough about the job/ product/ company industry/ [insert your personal limiting belief here] to truly excel in a new career in tech. Mila Singh, our featured Empjoyee today shares a simple, yet powerful tool to bridge every gap you come across at work – Ask questions. Get the full episode notes at https://empjoyment.com/milasingh Listen now to learn: Mila’s multi-year journey to Empjoyment at a tech startup How asking questions makes you a better teammate How to overcome making mistakes early in your new tech career How to consistently leverage your past job experiences to get you the role(s) that you desire How to find opportunities to pursue your passion even before you transition into tech 3 Actionable Takeaways from today’s episode (find more from the Empjoyment community at https://empjoyment.com/milasingh) Steer your career and life in the direction that you want at any time – You are in the driver seat and you are in control ASK QUESTIONS and constantly be curious – people are always willing to help, even when you think they are too busy. Use the opportunity to wear “many hats” when working in a small startup to your advantage. From Insight to Action: Let’s get used to asking (and answering) questions from each other so we can build that skill as well. Your Joy Quest is to *Ask 1 Question and Provide 1 Answer* (to a separate question) within the Empjoyment Community that will help you and others move forward in your journey. Take a step closer to your goals in the community: https://empjoyment.com/community or just text “EMPJOYMENT” to 33-444 on your phone

Full episode summary: https://empjoyment.com/denizcebenoyan You got this! Deniz Cebenoyan, our featured Empjoyee, reminds us that you already know what you need to know to be able to be widely successful in tech. It’s not about the specific skill sets that you possess, but rather how you approach problems, adversity, ambiguity, and more that plays a key a role in your ability to add value in a tech company. Deniz sheds some light on the Imposter Syndrome and how she has transformed her view on her non-technical background from that of a hindrance to a form of strength and differentiation in the workplace. Deniz’ own career journey has taken her from research to product management and she still leverages that background daily. Through that journey, she’s developed a confidence and a mindset that will help you embrace the postiive power of being non-technical in a tech company. Enjoy! Listen now to learn how to: Determine which product features to pursue and when through a product management process Use a background outside of tech to your advantage to design products that end users would enjoy Work through the fear and Imposter Syndrome of not being super knowledgeable in tech TL;DL (Too long; Didn’t Listen): 3 Actionable Takeaways Find a friend who has a background in tech to go over your resume to help you translate your experiences to incorporate terms a potential employer would understand Surround yourself with people you trust to help fill and support your gaps (and vice versa as your personal experience and view of the world is valuable) Do your own research on potential features and suggestions prior to pursing product enhancements to confirm the value that you are looking to provide to both your company and your customers From Insight to Action Deniz fueled us all with tangible examples of how she’s leveraged her non-technical background to help her succeed at her job. Now we’d like you to figure out how you can do the same and start changing your story from a place of scarcity and weakness to a place of abundance and confidence. Your Joyney: Share one skill / trait from your background outside of tech that could translate to a unique contribution in a tech company within the Empjoyment Community (feel free to drop in a video explaining it to us if you’d like). Getting to Know Today’s Featured Empjoyee: Deniz Cebenoyan! Deniz Cebenoyan has a B.S. in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon. She spends her day time solving problems for a tech company and my night time writing stories and songs to no one. An east coast transplant, Deniz also enjoys sitting in cafes and wondering why everyone is hiking all the time.

Visit https://empjoyment.com/jonfosdick for full show notes Jon Fosdick's journey is one of perseverance and making consistent strides towards an overall goal: to become a software engineer. We're happy to share that at the time of this recording, he was just transitioning into his first role as a software engineer. Leveraging a computer science major from years passed, he harnessed his skills on-the-job as a testing analyst writing scripts to test the code written by other developers. The road there wasn't easy or brief, but Jon takes the time to walk us through each step of the way there. Listen now to learn Jon’s: Journey from IT Consultant through Testing Quality Analyst to his goal of software engineer Metaphor on puzzles and problem-solving Approach to doing the work you love even when you're not in your dream role Method to reframing problems to in a way that fills him Toughest lesson learned while transitioning to a new role and his mindset to push through mental barriers Definitions of "code base" and "code review" From Insight to Action:  Jon pointed out the importance of your resume containing "evidence to suggest" that you'll be good for the job, which is particularly important for career changers. Your Quest: Share one thing on your resume that provides "evidence to suggest" that you have relevant experience for the role that you want. If it's not on your resume yet, let us know how you plan to build that experience in your current role using Jon's suggestion on finding one way to demonstrate your readiness for the role within the Empjoyment Community. Get Involved Become a part of the Empjoyment Community: https://empjoyment.com/community or text "Community" to 33-444 This growing group of like-minded, action-oriented career changers, past guests, and Empjoyees who are finding more ways to experience enjoyment through employment every day is where you want to be as you find a home in tech.

Interested in putting your skills and passion for writing to good use in tech? Are you prone to find ways to connect and build relationships with people through text? Regardless of your writing background and aspirations, today's episode with Katie Sawyer, Content Marketing Manager at Eventbrite, is bound to shed some light on how you can truly delight customers in tech through content marketing. Katie spends time shining a light on some of the myths and misconceptions that she had when she was transitioning into tech and offers us all a way to feel comfortable realizing that "It's OK not to know". Enjoy! By the end of this episode, you'll be able to: Describe what a content calendar is and at least one method to building and managing a calendar Articulate how content marketing managers interact with other members of the organization to create relevant blogs and articles for target customers Discuss the difference in process and timeline on being on a team of writers in a fast-pace tech environment as opposed to other industries writing at a high-level Learn more through the full episode notes over at https://empjoyment.com/katiesawyer From Insight to Action Katie pointed out how important having a system (even a low-key one like post-it notes) to keep yourself on track are in order to keep up with the fast-paced nature of tech companies. Your Joyney: Share your system of staying organized to keep yourself on track to short deadlines (3-6 months aka 1-2 quarters) within the Empjoyment Community (pictures encouraged - let's get some ideas on systems we can adopt).  

Have you ever heard the quote “If you build it, they will come.” from the movie Field of Dreams? That might have worked at the time that it was released, but in today’s economy that phrase speaks more to the dreamer than the successful person in technology. Why? Because in today’s global economy, where there are lower barriers to entry for new businesses, products, and marketing, there are far more options for a customer or user to choose from. To meet this shift in consumer behavior, companies are putting an increase focused on the consumer or user experience. This translates to understanding what problems users have, and building solutions that not only solve that problem, but also designing it in a way that is easy, useful, and intuitive to the end-user. That’s where product designer Angélique Bélizaire,  steps in as she leverages her passion in design to help companies build online products, websites, and features that potential customers will actually use (and enjoy themselves while doing it)! Listen now to learn how to: Apply a 7 Step process to design thinking and implementation to create customer-centric products that people want and will use Utilize concepts like low, mid, and high fidelity to obtain consensus and test ideas quickly Collaborate with stakeholders of varying functions/ backgrounds to accomplish results faster From Insight to Action Angélique’s journey contains several times where she made an investment in herself to not only learn new skills but also demonstrate those skills in a tangible fashion. Your Joyney: Share how are you planning to build and/or demonstrate your skills over the next two weeks to get a job in tech within the Empjoyment Community. Getting to Know Today’s Featured Empjoyee: Angélique Bélizaire! Angélique has found her EmpJoyment through the world of design, which she applies in tech through produce design. Angélique graduated in 2009 with a degree in Design. She has worked as a freelance Designer in social media before making a switch to User Experience (UX) and Product Design. To accomplish this, she took a 3-month immersion class with General Assembly and then got a job working as a UX consultant before getting a job in tech at VenueBook. She now works at a startup called Managed by Q as a Product Designer.

Throughout your career journey, you'll likely find aspects of different roles and project that speak to you both in terms of interests and skills. With your transition into tech, you'll have the opportunity to find a role and contribute value to your team in a unique manner based on your personal background. Monette Sommers has done exactly that in her career and share her tips and strategies for how you too can experience enjoyment through employment by bundling your unique set of skills. While Monette's experience has positioned her for success in her role, her drive to keep growing and learning allows her to continue exploring new opportunities and ways to experience empjoyment. Listen now to learn how to: Identify a customer-centric platform and the ways businesses in tech are leveraging that to meet client desires and drive profits Position yourself to be chosen for stretch projects to help you add more tangible experience to your career story Take you past experience to add new value to new teams in different ways From Insight to Action "If you want to be, do." - John Lee Dumas Monette walked us through a few examples of where she "raised her hand" to get exposure to something new Your Joyney: Let us know "What project, type of work, or person would like you learn more about as you move to the next stage of your career, and you will do in the next 2 weeks to put yourself in a position to gain that experience "within the Empjoyment Community. Additional Resources to Accelerate your Growth Find out more about Monette's company: SurveryMonkey Connect with Monette on LinkedIn Build your skills online through: Udemy; Coursera; Girls Who Code; Code Academy; General Assembly; Empjoyment Community Continue finding empjoyment by seeing how Alaric Eby  has been working in tech within a large financial company and loving it! – (Product Manager - American Express)

If you’ve been trying to figured out how to keep the security and structure of a well-established, large company while pursuing a life in tech, you’ll definitely want to listen to today’s episode with Alaric Eby (probably multiple times)! Alaric’s journey starts right at the beginning of the most recent economic depression in the United States working at a Citigroup, a large financial institution in New York City. He’ll share his struggles in making his transition into Product Management at a smaller hospitality-focused tech company and how he’s currently solving problems through digital solutions at American Express. Alaric has found his Empjoyment by asking himself “how and why” to build Jenga towers out of Legos (you’ll get it when you listen), which he applies in tech through product management. We dive into Alaric’s view on what a product manager is and what skills, approaches, and mindsets can lead you to success as well. Listen now to learn how to: Gain experience in tech while working in large companies and industries not known for their tech approaches Leverage the words “Why” and “How” in your current role to build work examples that can translate to product management positions Embrace a mindset that will help you be successful in tech regardless of your previous background   From Insight to Action “If you want to be, do” – John Lee Dumas Alaric brought up that the way to gain experience is to find a problem and solve it. We want your resume and interview experience to be filled with relevant experiences, so let’s make sure you build one more today. Your Joyney: Come share “What problem have you seen in your work life (incl. volunteer work) that you can address and how will you go about solving it”within the Empjoyment Community. Getting to Know Today’s Featured Empjoyee: Alaric Eby! Alaric graduated from Cornell University in 2010 with a degree in Applied Economics and Management. He has deep experience working across companies both large (200K+ employees) and small (

Dr. Kenneth M. Nowack is a licensed psychologist (PSY 13758) and President of Ofactor (www.ofactor.com) an international consulting company providing neuromanagement based organizational and leadership solutions. Dr. Nowack has conducted research and published extensively in the areas of 360° feedback systems, health psychology, occupational stress and job burnout. Ken also serves as Chief Learning Officer of Envisia Learning Inc. (www.envisialearning.com) and is a member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Educational Psychology at the University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Ken also serves as Associate Editor for the APA journal Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research and is author of two books: Clueless: Coaching People Who Just Don't Get It and From Insight to Improvement: Leveraging 360-Degree Feedback.

Join Dr. Krister Lowe and this week's guest and leading organizational coach Jean Frankel as we explore developing leadership cultures through team coaching.  Jean Frankel is an internationally known and respected management consultant, educator, facilitator and executive coach.  She is a Founder and Principal for Ideas for Action, LLC. and the author of a number of books the most recent of which is called "From Insight to Action: 6 New Ways to Think, Lead and Achieve."  Tune in to this week's episode and listen to Jean share three team coaching stories.