Audrey French on How Grade Skipping Impacts Child Development

In Chapter 1 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Audrey Parker French answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental to Shaping Who You Are Today?" French starts preschool early and then skips 2nd grade. Being the youngest in her class by two years has a profound impact for French as she goes through school.  She shares the challenges of being 11 years old in 8th grade and then starting high school at 12. The experience ultimately helps her succeed as a young entrepreneur doing business with much older people. Audrey Parker French is an entrepreneur who co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm she helped grow to #144 on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies and then sell to General Catalyst Partners. She currently volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and teaches children's choir. She graduated from Wake Forest University and lives with her husband in Austin, Texas.

Audrey French on How Parents Get Child Excited to Learn and Motivated to Succeed

In Chapter 3 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Audrey Parker French answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?" From an early age, French is stimulated and motivated by learning faster and performing at a higher level than peers. She learns this from a stay-at-home mom and a father who challenge her to explore new concepts and solve problems. This excitement for learning carries through an accelerated education and, ultimately, into entrepreneurship.

Audrey Parker French is an entrepreneur who co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm she helped grow to #144 on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies and then sell to General Catalyst Partners. She currently volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and teaches children's choir. She graduated from Wake Forest University and lives with her husband in Austin, Texas.

Bijoy Goswami on How Boarding School Influences Early Development

In Chapter 1 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, leadership philosopher Bijoy Goswami answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental to Shaping Who You Are Today?" In his childhood, frequent moves teach Goswami to be open-minded about context and not to assume the way he sees things is the way others see things. He highlights his 6th grade Catholic boarding school experience at Montfort in Tamil Nadu, India where he learns routine and structure in a very regimented setting. Bijoy Goswami is a writer, teacher, and community leader based in Austin, Texas. He develops learning models to help individuals, organizations and communities live more meaningfully.  Previously, he co-founded Aviri Software after working at Trilogy Software.  Goswami graduated from Stanford University.

Bijoy Goswami on Learning a Lifelong Lesson in High School

In Chapter 2 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, leadership philosopher Bijoy Goswami answers "What Do You Find are the Keys to Managing a Busy Schedule and Getting Things Done?"  Goswami shares how as a high school student, he tried to get a B+ final grade changed after the semester completed.  Goswami's teacher, Mr. Earhart, reminds him of the opportunities he had along the process and how he chose not to do them. This teaches him a life lesson to embrace the process, not the result, be it in school, life or career. 

Bijoy Goswami is a writer, teacher, and community leader based in Austin, Texas.  He develops learning models to help individuals, organizations and communities live more meaningfully.  Previously, he co-founded Aviri Software after working at Trilogy Software.  Goswami graduated from Stanford University.

Hammans Stallings on How Parents Raise Gifted Children

In Chapter 1 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "Where Has Your Family Been Most Supportive in Your Career Development?"  From an early age, Stallings finds his family an extension of his career.  He grows up in a family of doctors and learns medicine is not the career for him via a variety of experiences, from doing home Skinner Box psychology research to taking personality tests in junior high school to learning at camps such as Odessey of the Mind and Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP).

Hammans Stallings is a Senior Strategist at frog design. Previously he worked in strategy at Dell and investment banking at Stephens. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, a MS in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia.

Brett Goldman on Having Courage to Stand Up for What You Believe

In Chapter 2 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, real estate developer Brett Goldman answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental in Shaping Who You Are Today?"  Goldman recalls a fight he backed down from in elementary school.  He regrets the experience and it drives him into boxing.  He takes away a life lesson to be courageous and stand up for what he believes. 

Brett Goldman is a Real Estate Acquisitions Director at Triangle Equities in New York City.  He holds a BA in General Studies from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Real Estate Development from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.

Jason Anello on Applying Work Ethic in First Job

In Chapter 3 of 20 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and Manifold ad agency co-founder Jason Anello answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?"  Anello learns his work ethic from his father and grandfather.  He learns to apply this work ethic - when given a job, you do the job to the best of your ability - working a high school job at a five and dime or party store.  Working there seven years teaches Anello a lot about how business works. 

Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at Manifold Partners, an award-winning creative advertising agency.  Previously, Anello worked in creative leadership roles at Yahoo!, Ogilvy & Mather, and Digitas.  A passionate foodie and traveler, he runs the Forking Tasty food blog and supper club series.  He earned a BFA from University at Albany.

Mike Germano on How Childhood Influences Career Choices

In Chapter 1 of 20 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, Carrot Creative social media agency CEO Mike Germano answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental in Shaping Who You Are Today?"  Germano shares what he learned from his grandfather's small manufacturing business.  Watching the company contract as foreign competition increased teaches Germano to pursue innovative, creative work that is more price inelastic and offers him an opportunity to create new jobs. 

Mike Germano is co-founder and CEO of DUMBO Brooklyn-based social media agency Carrot Creative.  Previously, Germano ran for and was elected to public office in Connecticut.  He is a graduate of Quinnipiac University. 

How to Learn and Develop a Hard Work Ethic - Mike Germano

In Chapter 2 of 20 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, Carrot Creative social media agency CEO Mike Germano answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?"  He notes how he looked up to his parents as role models and learned to work hard from his Mom and Dad.  At 14 years old, Germano gets his first job selling hot dogs at St. Louis Cardinals baseball games and learns that by outworking others he is able to outperform them. 

Mike Germano is co-founder and CEO of DUMBO Brooklyn-based social media agency Carrot Creative.  Previously, Germano ran for and was elected to public office in Connecticut.  He is a graduate of Quinnipiac University. 

Phil McKenzie on Learning Work Ethic in an American Immigrant Family

In Chapter 3 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?"  McKenzie learns his work ethic from his parents.  With both parents first generation American immigrants, McKenzie learns from his Mom, from Barbados, and his Dad, from Guyana, as they make sacrifices and do what it takes to raise a family in a new country.  This informs McKenzie's hard work ethic to outwork and outhustle competition and find internal motivation to compete against himself. 

Philip L. McKenzie is the Founder and Global Curator of Influencer Conference, a global content platform that brings together tastemakers in the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology to discuss the current and future state of influencer culture. Prior to that, he was Managing Partner of influencer marketing agency FREE DMC and an equities trader at Goldman, Sachs & Co.  He earned an MBA from Duke University and a BBA from Howard University.

Cathy Erway on the Benefits of Having Supportive Parents

In Chapter 1 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, writer and healthy food advocate Cathy Erway answers "Where Has Your Family Been Most Supportive in Your Career Development?"  Raised in a strict home and taught to be studious and diligent, Erway finds her parents support style transitions from "iron-fisted parents" to more of a peer support.  They push Erway to learn from trying new things, teaching her a work ethic in the process. 

Cathy Erway is a Brooklyn-based author, part-time cook, freelance writer, radio host and teacher focused on healthy food advocacy.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Kyung B. Yoon on Elementary School Influences on Career Choices

In Chapter 4 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental in Shaping Who You Are Today?"  Yoon recounts learning memorization skills as a 6th grade elementary school student.  Learning to memorize and recite poetry gives Yoon an appreciation for memorization and practice she uses later in her career as a journalist and public speaker. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Jullien Gordon on How a Hard Work Lifestyle Can Help or Hinder a Family

In Chapter 1 of 21 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, business coach Jullien Gordon answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental in Shaping Who You Are Today?"  Growing up with two busy working parents, an anesthesiologist and an oral surgeon, Gordon sees the downside of working a lot, namely having parents miss important events.  Conversely, he watches his 86-year old Godmother keep a family together by employing family at her Carmela and Family Bar-B-Q restaurants in Hayward, California.  Jullien Gordon is a high performance coach and consultant to organizations, individuals and teams who want to increase employee performance, motivation, engagement and retention.  He earned a BA from UCLA, an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a Masters of Education from Stanford University.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: What childhood experiences have been most fundamental in shaping who you are today?

Jullien Gordon: There’s a couple of them. One, I’m the son of two doctors. So I grew up the son of an anesthesiologist and an oral surgeon, and I saw the way my parents worked. They woke up at the crack of dawn, and even on weekends they’d be on call, and so they had to miss some very important events in my life as a child. On the other side, I saw my godmother who—her name is Carmen Kelly and she has a barbecue restaurant in Hayward, California called Carmen & Family Bar-B-Q. And even at the age of 86 today, she still works six days a week. And that restaurant has employed the entire family, and it’s even expanded to three restaurants, run by the two sons. And so, I’ve seen this way of entrepreneurship helping a family stay together as opposed to a career keeping a family apart, and I think that’s a tension that a lot of people deal with growing up. As I think about their careers and think about how their parents manage their careers, how much their dad and mom had to travel, what kind of events they missed. I saw two different models, I didn’t just see one way of doing it.

Erik Michielsen: And how has that reform your own approach?

Jullien Gordon: Well, obviously, I’m an entrepreneur today and I’m trying to think about my life, not just my career, my life, from a lifestyle-design standpoint. So how can I find my unique balance between my career, my family, myself, and my community, and really that’s really been the focus. It hasn’t just been how can I maximize my career and make the most income. I’m not playing a game of income maximization. I’m playing a game of satisfaction maximization. And so it requires me to find my unique balance and designing my life according to that.

How Childhood Experiences Shape Work Ethic - Jullien Gordon

In Chapter 2 of 21 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, business coach Jullien Gordon answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?"  Gordon learns his work ethic from both his parents, two practicing physicians.  He takes inspiration from a Jamaican immigrant father - one of seventeen kids - who comes from little, studies hard, and earns professional success.  Gordon takes his first job working as a Little League umpire and goes on to work at a batting cage before going off to college.  Jullien Gordon is a high performance coach and consultant to organizations, individuals and teams who want to increase employee performance, motivation, engagement and retention.  He earned a BA from UCLA, an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a Masters of Education from Stanford University.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: Where did you learn your work ethic?

Jullien Gordon: My work ethic came from my parents. I mean they were grinding, they’re both doctors. And to be a doctor, you go through medical school and you work harder than anybody else I know. It doesn’t necessarily afford you the best lifestyle, maybe an income later on once you retire, but that’s where I really learned my work ethic. My dad is from Jamaica, he was one of 16 or 17. And I saw him work his way out of that particular environment of having no shoes playing soccer, to going to boarding school, to going to McGill to University of Chicago, to the University of California San Francisco where he ended up running the dental school there. And my mom as well. So I just saw two people working extremely hard, not necessarily getting the full rewards for themselves of working so hard but I definitely get my work ethic from looking at their lives and the way that they navigate it.

Erik Michielsen: What was your first job?

Jullien Gordon: Working as an umpire in the Little League, and I loved it. My little brother was playing in the Little League at the time and sometimes I would have to umpire his games, but I was fair, I was fair. And I remember one time he got so mad ‘cause I called him out at second base when he thought he was safe, and he was mad at me for like a week. After that, I went on to work at a batting cage. You know, too many rain delays for the baseball games, so I said I’m gonna take this indoors, and I ended up working at a batting cage before going off to college.

How Art Director Lulu Chen Helps Brands Tell a Story to Customers

In Chapter 10 of 16 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, art director Lulu Chen answers "As an Art Director, How Do You Help Brands Tell Their Story?"  Chen notes how brands are in effect personalities and working on brands comes down to understanding the customer, the customer lifestyle, and putting a consistent, on-brand message in place to connect with them. 

Lulu Chen is a photo art director working in retail e-commerce in New York City.  Previously, Chen worked as a freelance stylist for leading fashion catalogs and magazines.  She earned a BFA in design and art history from the University of Michigan.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: As an art director, how do you help brands tell their story?

Lulu Chen: Well, it’s really important to stay consistent, and on brand. Which basically means that you’re always answering that same question, like, “Who is the customer?” “How does this fit into the customer’s life? Her needs, her—his needs, you know, their lifestyle, their budget, even, you know. And all of the things that the target audience represents.
Once you understand the brand, and once you understand what the goals are, I don’t think it’s hard to stay on brand. It’s like understanding a personality. 

Erik Michielsen: And that’s just something that you try to figure out through conversations as a team?

Lulu Chen: So much of it is something that you grew up with. You know, there are so many brands that you already know without thinking about it, or without having to break down what that brand is, you already know it, right? I mean, think about it, you know. I think it was in an interview and they said, “Do you know this brand?” And I said, “Yes, of course, I grew up with it.” You know, we used to go to the mall and we used to shop there. Yes, you know? Yeah, so even if you don’t think about it, you know, I think you’ve been exposed to brand identities your whole life. 

Ken Rona on What Marriage Teaches About Teamwork

In Chapter 2 of 15 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, digital media executive Ken Rona answers "What Has Marriage Taught You About Teamwork?"  In his marriage, Rona learns that conflict builds up more often than not when communication gaps exist, so he and his wife prioritize more consistent communication.  Rona also learns the importance of positive reinforcement and flattery.

Ken Rona is a Vice President at Turner Broadcasting, where he leads teams across advertising sales, big data software development and business strategy.  Rona earned a BA and MA in Political Science from Stony Brook University and a PhD in Behavioral Economics from Duke University. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What has marriage taught you about teamwork?

Ken Rona: I was never a sports kid. I wore glasses. I’m—you know, I’m not—I have slow muscles. I have slow twitch. You know, no endurance. And, you know, it’s how I was made. So a lot of those experiences I think that people have growing up in terms of being parts of teams, nobody ever wanted me on a team, and for good reason, I mean it totally makes sense. The—you know, I’d say that my lessons—My lessons around teamwork with my wife I wouldn’t say are—I wouldn’t say they’re life changing, right? I think that we’re just—we try really hard to communicate, so there’s a lot of—in fact, we—when we have conflict, it is typically because I have been away for 2 weeks, right? Or she’s been—I was away for a week and she was away—we haven’t had a chance to really talk. And things are building up. So I’d say that without the steady stream of communication then things fall apart.

I’d also say that I’ve learned a lot—the benefit of positive reinforcement and flattery—and my team I think will tell you this too that I will both come in and say, hey, you didn’t such a great job here, but then I will come in and say, ah I caught you being good. So I think that’s something that I learned from my wife that she’s somebody who needs—when she’s done something well she needs you to notice it, right?

So I think that’s one of these things where—just, you know, just lubricates the—it lubricates the team. If one isn’t just like, you, you know—Like I’m not a yeller coach, right? You know, like, I’m not one of those coach—like Bobby Knight. I don’t think that’s—That’s not a model that—it certainly wouldn’t work in my marriage. But that’s a—Yeah, so I think it’s—I’d say the communication is the—is probably the single biggest thing.

Ken Rona on How to Be a More Engaged Parent

In Chapter 4 of 15 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, digital media executive Ken Rona answers "What Does It Mean For You to Be Engaged in Your Children's Education?"  Rona reflects back on his own childhood education experience growing up with Eastern European immigrant parents and taking on school more or less alone.  As a parent, Rona shares how he stays engaged as an advocate for his 7-year old daughter and his son in Pre-Kindergarten. 

Ken Rona is a Vice President at Turner Broadcasting, where he leads teams across advertising sales, big data software development and business strategy.  Rona earned a BA and MA in Political Science from Stony Brook University and a PhD in Behavioral Economics from Duke University. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What does it mean for you to be engaged in your children’s education?

Ken Rona: I think folks would say I’m a very engaged parent. When I was growing up, my parents were busy earning a living. That they worked very hard to keep food on the table, and keep us, you know, in clothes, you know, we had a lower middle cla—what I would call lower middle class existence. And we had everything we needed but not much more. We had, you know, a few toys but it was, you know, a pretty modest life. And I kind of had to figure out school by myself. I more or less was left alone to kind of figure that stuff out. And I made some choices—I’m not exactly sure that they were wrong, I mean I certainly turned out well. 

But certainly early on, certainly like from junior high school, high school, and into college, parents weren’t very involved. Partly by my design, truthfully, they probably wanted to be more involved and I kind of kept things at arms bay and—because I thought that I could make—I was a person on the ground, right, I was a person that could make decisions better. And part of it is because my parents were eastern European immigrants, right? 

So part of my involvement with their education is to say I believe that you can have a better experience than mine in school. And I am one of the science dads, me and one of the other dads come in and do science experiments for the kids. Charlotte certainly understands what an experiment hypothesis is—at least on a basic level. I’ve tried very hard not to be, you know—what I’m committed to is not being a helicopter parent, right? The kids have to figure out their own way but in an appropriate pace, right? 

So I’m sure by—I’m sure by grade 12, our involvement will be much less after colleges are picked. But for now, I’m very committed to staying engaged and making sure that Charlotte has a good experience and that she has an advocate. So I would say actually that the primary way I’m involved with Charlotte’s school is that I’m an advocate for her, not that—and I’m trying to teach her to advocate for herself. Both my wife and I would say that I think that—and you know, she’s 7, so she’s not really in a position—although she does a—I think a pretty good job of it. 

So my involvement is, you know, is to be an appropriate advocate. I’m not planning on—I’m not planning on being one of these parents that calls up your kid’s first job and say why didn’t you promote him, right? That’s not—That’s—They’ve gotta run there.  But I think at age 7, at age 8, you know, for the foreseeable future, her mother and I and Doyle—you know, Doyle requires less advocacy at this moment, because he’s in preschool, but I would expect that we will continue advocacy, but interestingly you know, we—You also have to be really thoughtful about when you don’t advocate. 

So—just today, we got the class list for what class she’s—Charlotte’s gonna be in next year, and she’s—there are 3 classes in her school, each class has 21 kids, and there’s a shuffling from year 1—from 1st grade to 2nd grade, and Charlotte’s—like we’re not super thrilled with Charlotte’s shuffle. There are a very few friends from that class in her new class, right? Seems like—and I think that’s a shame, right? Because we just moved to Atlanta. And I—My wife and I haven’t discussed it but I’m pretty sure we’re on the same side of it like we’re not gonna advocate for changing a class, we’re not gonna—like Charlotte’s gotta kind of figure out how to be successful in an environment which is very friendly, right. Is it exactly what I would’ve wished for her? No. But like that is part of our existence, right, that you—that—this is not an incredible hardship, right? She certainly has friends in the class, she will make other friends. She knows all of those children. I would’ve liked that one or two of her close friends would’ve been in the class, that didn’t go that way. It’s gonna be fine, right? 

So I think that part of what you need to be able to do in supporting your children’s education is knowing when to not advocate, right, when to hold back and not be involved, because I think being involved is actually easy. You can just say yeah I gonna be involved. I think restraint is the harder part.

Conrad Doucette on How Family Relationships Change With Age

In Chapter 6 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, musician Conrad Doucette answers "How Are Your Family Relationships Changing As You Get Older?"  Doucette notes how he is becoming more aware of what his family members have gone through in the past.  As he gets older he seeks to learn and appreciate the lives of his parents.  As an uncle watching his nieces and nephews growing up, Doucette is reminded of a child's view of the world. 

Conrad Doucette is a Brooklyn musician and the drummer for Takka Takka, which released its 3rd studio album, AM Landscapes, in late 2012.  He has performed with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, The National, Alina Simone, and many other leading acts.  When not performing music, Doucette is the communications and brand director at music licensing and publishing startup Jingle Punks.  Doucette earned a BA in History from the University of Michigan.