How Feedback Helps Author Nina Godiwalla Refine Career Purpose

In Chapter 7 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "Where Has Audience Feedback Been Most Helpful Finding a Sense of Purpose?"  Releasing a book focused on workplace diversity for women working on Wall Street, Godiwalla finds her message appeals not only to women outside finance but also minority men.  The stories remind Godiwalla she has a greater purpose to speak for people whose voices go unheard.  Godiwalla is the author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street". She is also a public speaker on workplace diversity and founder and CEO of Mindworks, where she teaches mind-based stress reduction techniques to help organizations improve employee wellbeing.  Godiwalla holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MA in Creative Writing from Dartmouth University and her BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  Where has audience feedback been most helpful in refining your sense of purpose?

Nina Godiwall:  What’s helped me with purpose is I went out with a story about Wall Street, a story about my experience particularly as a woman, also as a minority but less so as a minority and so I expected my audience would be women probably on Wall Street and what surprised me is I do have – I have a very strong woman audience but what I didn’t expect is I didn’t expect it to be all across corporate America and other organizations.  I’ve had so many people write me, contact me and say, “Thank you so much for just telling your story because I had a similar experience in X.”  So I’ve seen that with the women in terms of all different industries, that surprised me and it reminds me that I have a bigger message that’s just not so limited to this small world that I thought it was. 

The other part that surprised me even more is I was doing a media interview -- I was doing a TV interview -- and after I was done with the interview, I got several guys who worked at that station email me, someone from a different country -- someone in Europe -- and then someone who came to me, it was a minority man who came to me afterwards and he’s a very senior person at the company and he pulled me aside while I was trying to walk out the building and he said, “I just want to thank you so much for saying what you said.”  And I thought I didn’t necessarily say anything profound, at least I didn’t think so.  I just said, “Hey, it’s a difficult environment and you spend so much time hiding what you are to be in this culture.”  And that I never expected to strike so many men and one of them was an international guy and this other guy, he was American but he was – he talked to me a little bit about how people don’t get that I have to work so much harder and it’s not because it’s difficult for me, it’s just I’m constantly having to prove myself so even two years into this, when I’m established and everyone knows I can do a good job.  When I mess up, when something goes wrong, there are those people there that thinks it’s because I am who – it is because of who I look like.  Whereas I don’t get those cards all the time that just say, “Uhh you know.  No, we totally get you, you’re fine.”  And he said I always have to be on and I had to explain that to someone in a meeting who was trying to tell me, “You know what, we’re just going to pull one of your things together, we’re not going to put…”  You know they worked on life events and stuff and he was like, “I can’t pull something together sloppy.”  You don’t understand, he said I have to pull him out aside and quietly tell him, “I can’t be sloppy.”  That’s not a card that I have. And that was striking to me. 

I carry his story around all the time because I never expected to be touching him in that way and for me it just reminds me that I have a bigger purpose.  It’s not about me.  It’s about something much bigger and speaking for people that don’t necessarily have the opportunity or chose to speak up for themselves.

Nina Godiwalla on How Inclusion Improves Corporate Diversity Programs

In Chapter 11 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "Why are Corporate Diversity Programs More Necessary Than Ever in the Workplace?"  Godiwalla notes how workplace culture is far more diverse than ever before and how organizations are able to recruit entry-level and mid-level talen but rarely retain them long-term.  She finds inclusion programs complement diversity hiring programs and pushes to shift the conversation toward inclusion programs and the culture they can create.  Godiwalla is the author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street". She is also a public speaker on workplace diversity and founder and CEO of Mindworks, where she teaches mind-based stress reduction techniques to help organizations improve employee wellbeing.  Godiwalla holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MA in Creative Writing from Dartmouth University and her BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  Why are corporate diversity programs more necessary than ever in the work place?

Nina Godiwalla:  If you look at something 30 years ago, we might not have had a whole lot of people that were different but now, we’ve even got people in the environment and one of the challenges I think is the part that I would call inclusion.  So you’ve got, there are so many organizations that are able to bring people in.  They typically stay at lower levels, maybe make it to the middle levels and then they’re gone and it’s almost mysterious to companies I feel when they talk about it is, “What happened?  I mean we put so much money behind it.”  And it’s frustrating on the their part of I don’t get it, why are these people not staying and so I think the focus needs to be a little bit more on diversity and inclusion and we’ve heard that term, some of the programs have actually changed their name to diversity and inclusion and the idea is, is it’s not you just bring people in and hope that they survive. 

The reality is when you have an environment that tends to be so closed off to any type of people that are different, thought processes that are different, to values that might be different.  If the culture is that intense and that closed, it becomes hard to keep somebody feeling happy and welcome in that culture and I think there’s more work that needs to be done around inclusion.  I actually don’t think it’s that challenging to bring in somebody.  I think it’s challenging to make it a place where somebody wants to stay.

Matt Ruby on Finding Inspiration by Interviewing Peers

In Chapter 10 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, standup comedian Matt Ruby answers "Where Have You Found Inspiration Interviewing Others on Your Podcast?"  By interviewing comedians offstage on his "Sandpaper Suit" podcast, Ruby connects with artists in a more personal way.  These experiences motivate him to take a more direct and personal approach to his standup comedy work. 

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian based in New York City.  He co-produces the weekly show "Hot Soup", co-hosts the monthly show "We're All Friends Here", and manages a comedy blog "Sandpaper Suit".  Ruby graduated from Northwestern University. 

How to Make Personal Connections in a Crowded Room - Matt Ruby

In Chapter 14 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, standup comedian Matt Ruby answers "What Have You Learned About Making Better Individual Connections in Crowded Rooms?"  Ruby learns how and when to share something personal to create a more universal element to reach his audience.  Even if sharing something is not a direct match with the audience, by letting his guard down, he finds common ground with individuals in the audience. 

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian based in New York City.  He co-produces the weekly show "Hot Soup", co-hosts the monthly show "We're All Friends Here", and manages a comedy blog "Sandpaper Suit".  Ruby graduated from Northwestern University. 

How Band Chooses Album Producer - Conrad Doucette

In Chapter 20 of 21 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, musician and Takka Takka drummer Conrad Doucette answers "What Factors Should a Band Consider When Choosing a Producer?"  Doucette shares experiences from choosing producers for recording two Takka Takka albums.  His band finds comfort working with friends and chooses to work with producers it knows.  The band also values working with a producer that can bring new experience, ideas, and perspectives to the recording process.  Doucette notes other artists choose wo work with producers they admire but do not know.  Doucette is the drummer for the Brooklyn-based band Takka Takka.  He also performs with The National, Okkervil River, and Alina Simone.  When not performing, Doucette works as a copywriter, blogger, and digital media producer.  He has worked at Blender, Fuse TV, and Heavy.com.  Doucette earned his BA in History from the University of Michigan. 

How Stanford PhD Program Turns Engineer into Social Scientist - Ben Hallen

In Chapter 7 of 21 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, business school professor Ben Hallen answers "Going into Your PhD Program at Stanford, How Did You Reconcile Your Engineering Background With the Expectations of Becoming a Social Scientist?" Hallen finds his engineering problem solving skills complement what his business strategy and social sciences program teaches about how people interact. Hallen is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. Previously, he was Assistant Professor of Management and Organization at University of Maryland. Hallen earned his PhD from Stanford University and its Stanford Technology Venture Program (STVP). He has been a startup CTO and graduated from the University of Virginia with a BS in Electrical Engineering and a Masters in Computer Science.

Stacie Bloom on How to Write a More Effective Grant Proposal

In Chapter 14 of 19 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, Stacie Grossman Bloom answers "Through Your Experience, What Lessons Have You Learned About Writing More Effective Grant Proposals?" She finds the best grant proposals are the ones that tell the best stories. She notes grant writing is a skill that can be learned. Bloom notes the importance of using both resource centers as well as doing outreach to the grant organizations to assess fit in advance of writing the proposal. Grossman Bloom is the Executive Director at the NYU Neuroscience Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center. Previously, she was VP and Scientific Director at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS). She earned her PhD in Neurobiology and Cell Biology at Georgetown University and did a post-doctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University in New York City. She earned her BA in Chemistry and Psychology from the University of Delaware.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: Through your experience, what lessons have you learned about writing more effective grant proposals?

Stacie Grossman Bloom: I would say that the best grant proposals are the ones that tell the best stories. And grant writing is a really important skill. You know, some people have it and some people don’t and if you don’t have it, you can absolutely learn it, but you should go out and learn it. You know, we have in New York City, and a lot of cities have a foundation center. We have one on lower Fifth Avenue. They’re amazing, they have free workshops that talk about how to write grants and there are a lot of good resources out there. Another thing that I’ve learned that is important about grant writing is not to be afraid to pick up the phone. So, often, you know, you’re submitting a grant, you are submitting it to someone somewhere, don’t be scared to call that person and say, “hey, look, I’m scoping this out, do you think this is a good fit for you?” Don’t waste your time writing a grant when someone is just going to say no. And, nine times out of ten the person on the other end of the phone is going to be really happy to talk to you, even if that person is at the National Science Foundation.

Stacie Bloom on Solving Problems With Public Private Partnerships

In Chapter 18 of 19 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, Stacie Grossman Bloom answers "What are Public Private Partnerships and Why are They Important to What You Do?" She notes these public private partnerships are alliances that bring together academic and industry groups to collaborate and drive fields forward. In her experience at the Sackler Institute, Grossman Bloom notes how public private partnerships also enable traditional competing firms such as Coke and Pepsi to come together, share information, and work with universities to solve global problems.

Stacie Grossman Bloom is the Executive Director at the NYU Neuroscience Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center. Previously, she was VP and Scientific Director at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS). She earned her PhD in Neurobiology and Cell Biology at Georgetown University and did a post-doctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University in New York City. She earned her BA in Chemistry and Psychology from the University of Delaware.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What are public private partnerships and why are they important in what you do?

Stacie Grossman Bloom: So public private partnerships are alliances that bring together industry people with academic people, typically, and why they are important is because very often and historically those two sectors have been siloed. A lot of people believe that by forcing conversations between those two sectors and increasing collaborations and cross-fertilizations of ideas, that you can drive fields forward.

Erik Michielsen: So, why are they important to the nutrition science program that you’ve just launched?

Stacie Grossman Bloom: A public private partnership is a really important element of the Sackler Institute because it brings often-competing groups of people to the table and forces them to talk in a more collaborative way, to hopefully drive progress in the field. In our public private partnership we currently have a number of leaders who have come on board. This includes Pepsi, Coke, Pfizer, Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, DSM, Nestle. I think it’s pretty clear what the impact is of bringing these mega companies together at one table. But then when you are also introducing the academic partners, Cornell, Columbia, Tufts, Hopkins, Wageningen University, universities from all over the world. You are starting with such a powerful group of people and sharing information that may not normally be exchanged.

What Makes a Near-Peer Mentoring Relationship Valuable - Lauren Serota

In Chapter 5 of 18 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, interaction designer and researcher Lauren Serota shares how mentor Jon Kolko encouraged her independence and built her self-confidence. While studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Serota forges a mentoring relationship her professor, Kolko. Only a few years older than Serota, Kolko provides presence and encouragement as a mentor to help Serota gain confidence in her work and become more independent in her aspiration. Serota is an interaction designer at frog design - http://frogdesign.com - and a professor at the Austin Center for Design - http://ac4d.com . She earned her bachelors degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

How Red Carpet Celebrity Interviews Make Career More Meaningful - Mark Graham

In Chapter 16 of 19 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, editor and writer Mark Graham shares what he enjoys most about working red carpet events. Shortly after joining VH1, Graham gets his first red carpet experience at the Critics Choice Music Awards helping on-air correspondents cover the event. During the event Graham gets firsthand experience with nearly 25 celebrity interviews. Graham compares this personal connection with his experience interviewing celebrities on the phone over the course of his media career. Graham is currently a senior editor at MTV Networks. Previously he worked in editing and writing roles at New York Magazine and Gawker Media. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English.

How Outreach and Reciprocity Play into TV Show Social Media Strategy - Mark Graham

In Chapter 7 of 19 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, pop culture writer and editor Mark Graham shares how the blogging commenter culture he discussed in his first Capture Your Flag interview is evolving across online social media. Now working at Viacom's VH1, Graham finds onsite commenter culture insufficient to build fan and viewer relationships. Social media effectiveness also rests on individual outreach - going to fans and viewers where they tweet, update, and blog - as well as engaging in a quid pro quo game of reciprocity. Graham is currently a senior editor at MTV Networks. Previously he worked in editing and writing roles at New York Magazine and Gawker Media. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English.

What is the Joy of Cooking Comfort Food - Jason Anello

In Chapter 3 of 15 in his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, Forking Tasty supper club co-founder, creative director, and experience marketer Jason Anello details the creative stimulation he finds cooking and serving comfort food to his supper club guests. Anello constantly seeks and finds new ways to make interaction and relationship building more approachable and enjoyable for those joining him in a dining experience. He finds the comfort food creates an open atmosphere where people can relax and, as a result, often make lasting connections. Anello is the co-founder of non-traditional marketing agency Manifold Partners - www.wearemanifold.com . He is the co-founder of Brooklyn-based supper club Forking Tasty - www.forkingtasty.com . Previously he held creative leadership positions as an Ideologist at Yahoo's Buzz Marketing team and as an associate creative director at Ogilvy & Mather - www.ogilvy.com . Anello is an alumnus of the University at Albany - www.albany.edu .

How to Teach Clients Creative Thinking - Jason Anello

In Chapter 4 of 15 in his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, Forking Tasty supper club co-founder, creative director, and experience marketer Jason Anello details meeting tactics he uses to teach clients to think more creatively. Anello draws upon his experience hosting supper clubs in New York City and uses many of the approaches that create shared experiences over dinner to challenge clients to think differently at the office. Anello is the co-founder of non-traditional marketing agency Manifold Partners - www.wearemanifold.com . He is the co-founder of Brooklyn-based supper club Forking Tasty - www.forkingtasty.com . Previously he held creative leadership positions as an Ideologist at Yahoo's Buzz Marketing team and as an associate creative director at Ogilvy & Mather - www.ogilvy.com . Anello is an alumnus of the University at Albany - www.albany.edu .

How Dad Teaches Son Valuable Social Skills - Geoff Hamm

In Chapter 1 of 16 of his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, online media sales executive Geoff Hamm grows up going to work, a community college, with his father. Hamm's dad encourages him to take the initiative and introduce himself to the many people he meets each week at his dad's office. Over time, this openness to meeting people helps Hamm navigate a school change in college and sets the foundation for his sales career. Hamm graduated from the University of Illinois - http://illinois.edu/ - and is now SVP of Sales at at Scribd http://www.scribd.com/ in Silicon Valley. Previously he held online sales management positions at Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Orbitz, IAC, and Excite.

How to Improve Gender-Based Cross-Cultural Communication - Gabrielle Lamourelle

In Chapter 18 of 21 in her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, global health consultant Gabrielle Lamourelle shares how she overcame gender-based cross-cultural communication challenges as an American woman working abroad in Chennai, India. Lamourelle graduated with a BS in Sociology from University of California at Berkeley and a Masters in Public Health (MPH) in Sociomedical Sciences from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. View more career learning and development knowledge videos at http://www.captureyourflag.com. Follow Capture Your Flag on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/captureyourflag. Follow Capture Your Flag on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/captureyourflag.

Why College Graduates Should Network With Confidence - Alayne Cotterill

In Chapter 6 of 13 in her 2010 interview with Capture Your Flag Host Erik Michielsen, wildlife biologist Alayne Cotterill details how she landed her first conservation job working with lions in the African wild. As a young twenty-something, Cotterill exerts confidence speaking with others at a cocktail party and is rewarded with a fully funded project opportunity. Learn more about Alayne's work at http://www.lionconservation.org.

How Approachability Improves Non-Profit Field Work - Adam Carter

In Chapter 11 or 16, micro-philanthropist and humanitarian Adam Carter shares why he resists formal dress when introducing himself to local communities scoping non-profit project financing opportunities. Through experience as a travel guide writer and as a micro-philanthropist, Carter finds dressing casually and playing down appearance - in many cases shorts and tank top - provides an unassuming but heartfelt connection with communities. Carter finds himself not seen as a checkbook, but rather an individual genuinely interested in community challenges. As a result, Carter gets a better perspective and is able to identify and, in many cases, finance projects he might not have discovered by dressing formally and announcing his position. Carter is the founder of the non-profit Cause and Affect Foundation (www.causeandaffectfoundation.org).

How Immersive International Travel Teaches the Golden Rule - Adam Carter

In Chapter 10 or 16, micro-philanthropist and humanitarian Adam Carter graduates the University of Michigan and travels extensively across the world. Carter immerses himself in cultures across races, nationalities, and socioeconomic classes and, through the process, sees them as equals. As an equal, Carter then gets a better understanding of the roots contributing to impoverished communities and cultures. From this, Carter begins working through ways to create solutions to these problems, over time moving on to create Cause and Affect Foundation (www.causeandaffectfoundation.org) and become a micro-philanthropist.