Jon Kolko on Aspiring to Achieve a Creative Flow State

In Chapter 5 of 16 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, educator and designer Jon Kolko answers "How Are Your Aspirations Changing as Your Experience Grows?" Kolko talks to the importance of achieving a flow state of mastery in his work and teaching. To Kolko, aspirations have less to do with fame or money or legacy and more about finding a flow state of productivity and mastery alone and around others. Jon Kolko is VP of Design at MyEdu and the Founder and Director of Austin Center for Design (AC4D). He has authored three books on design and previously has worked in design roles at Austin, Texas venture accelerator Thinktiv and global innovation firm frog design. He was a professor of Interaction and Industrial Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and earned his Masters in Human Computer Interaction (MHI) and BFA in Design from Carnegie Mellon University.

Jon Kolko on Making an Impact in an Executive Leadership Role

In Chapter 10 of 16 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, educator and designer Jon Kolko answers "At This Point in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?" Kolko shares how work experience in his new Vice President role is helping him learn entrepreneurial strategy and executive leadership skills from colleagues. The senior-level role and its related exposure to higher level conversations open opportunities for Kolko to champion design strategy as a company leader. Jon Kolko is VP of Design at MyEdu and the Founder and Director of Austin Center for Design (AC4D). He has authored three books on design and previously has worked in design roles at Austin, Texas venture accelerator Thinktiv and global innovation firm frog design. He was a professor of Interaction and Industrial Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and earned his Masters in Human Computer Interaction (MHI) and BFA in Design from Carnegie Mellon University.

Matt Curtis on How to Have a Better Career Advice Conversation

In Chapter 10 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, HomeAway government relations director Matt Curtis answers "How Have You Learned to Give Better Advice When People Ask You For Help?" Curtis learns early not to give unsolicited advice. When approached for career advice, Curtis tries to get to the root question or issue being asked and answer it in a straightforward manner. He asks for feedback constantly and learns to manage his time by scheduling phone calls when in-person meetings are unnecessary. Matt Curtis is the director of government relations at HomeAway Inc. Previously he was communications director for Austin mayors Lee Leffingwell and Will Wynn. He earned his bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas.

Audrey French on Creating Impact Doing Meaningful Volunteer Work

In Chapter 18 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Audrey Parker French answers "How Do You Make the Most of Your Volunteering Experience?" French talks about the social impact she is able to create by volunteering in Travis County, Texas as a court-appointed special advocate for non-profit CASA. There she works for abused and neglected children in the foster care system and helps them navigate the legal system. 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 Getting Ordained to Marry Friends

In Chapter 9 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, leadership philosopher Bijoy Goswami answers "What Has Officiating Friends' Weddings Taught You About the Power of Friendship?" Goswami shares the joy that getting ordained and having the honor to marry his friends has brought to their relationship. By getting ordained via the Universal Life Church he gets certified to tell the story of his friends and play a role making their wedding day a success.

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 Managing Complexity by Embracing Simplicity

In Chapter 18 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, leadership philosopher Bijoy Goswami answers "How Are Your Responsibilities Changing as Your Career Evolves?" As Goswami develops a greater mastery of his stewardship skills, work opportunities expand from individual-level into organizational- and community-level. By striking a balance embracing simplicity and managing complexity Goswami shares how he makes the transition.

Goswami is able to perform at higher levels. 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.

Honing Interdisciplinary Job Skills to Do More Impactful Work

In Chapter 10 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "What Skills Are You Working on Right Now to Become Better at Your Job?" Stallings finds honing his interdisciplinary skillset - psychology, design, marketing, and strategy - is helping him contribute more to a team and take on more leadership responsibilities.

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.

Hammans Stallings on Gaining Leadership Job Responsibility

In Chapter 18 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "How Are Your Job Responsibilities Changing as Your Career Evolves?" As Stallings gains experience, he finds himself carrying more responsibility. This process allows him to think differently about what it means for him to contribute, namely it becomes more about framing how others can contribute and how he can set expectations and motivate his team.

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.

Hammans Stallings on Becoming a Role Model Leader

In Chapter 19 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "What Goals are You Setting as You Look to What Comes Next in Your Business Career?" Stallings shares how his point of view on management and leadership have evolved with experience. In order to do better work, Stallings acknowledges the need to empower teams with frameworks, tools, and motivation that will get greater results. He questions the selfish nature of a leader or manager and thinks about how this plays against the talent development and team motivation outcomes that come from effective management and leadership.

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.

Jason Anello on Finding New Ways to Share What You Know

In Chapter 18 of 20 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and Manifold ad agency co-founder Jason Anello answers "How Are You Becoming a Better Teacher?" Anello finds the more experience he has to draw on and share, the better he can distill and impart the knowledge to others. He tries to find teachable moments in everyday, non-classroom moments which help him look for new ways to learn and to share.

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 Manage Across Work Disciplines - Andrew Epstein

In Chapter 9 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, charter school CFO Andrew Epstein answers "How Have You Learned to Work More Effectively Across Different Disciplines?"  Epstein shares how he first puts people he trusts in place to do very specific jobs.  He then is able to make a specialist to generalist transition in his own role to then be a more effective general manager. 

Andrew Epstein is CFO of the Ascend Learning Charter School Network.  Previously, Epstein was a finance executive at Democracy Prep Public Schools and an operations executive at Universal Music Group's Island Def Jam Records.  He is a former Teach for America corps member and middle-school science teacher.  He holds a BA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Kyung B. Yoon on How to Craft a Communication and Publicity Strategy

In Chapter 12 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "Having Worked as a Journalist, What Advice Do You Have for Organizations on Generating Publicity?"  Yoon notes publicity strategies rooted in press releases will come up short.  Strong communication strategy starts with building relationships with journalists and understanding their beat.  Journalists need sources to do their jobs well and want to have these relationships too. 

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.

Kyung B. Yoon on How Family Relationships Change With Age

In Chapter 16 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "How Are Your Family Relationships Changing As You Get Older?"  Yoon notes how she has transitioned into a lead role for family gatherings and hosting family for the holidays.  For her it is taking on a parental or matriarchal role for extended family. 

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 Family Relationships Change With Age

In Chapter 3 of 21 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, business coach Jullien Gordon answers "How Are Your Family Relationships Changing As You Get Older?"  Getting married in July marks a huge milestone in Gordon's life.  Additionally, Gordon turns his attention to thinking how he will care for his aging parents from a distance and what role he will assume in that relationship.  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: How are your family relationships changing as you get older?

Jullien Gordon: First and foremost, I got married. I got married in July, so that’s been exciting this year. And of course, as you get older you start looking at your parents as opposed to adult to kid, you start looking at them eye to eye and you’re able to have different kinds of conversations than you were able to have when you lived in their household, or even when you were in college and not as independent.

I find myself having to think about how I’m going to take my—take care of my parents, especially as my mom gets older, or just trying to take on that responsibility, understanding what my role is in that relationship. We are—she’s in California, I’m in New York, and just trying to figure out how do I create my life as I build my family, but still support my mother in her—I don’t wanna call it aging, but as her life continues, how do I support and be a good son from a distance, if I don’t happen to move back to California, so that’s been challenging, thinking about that, ‘cause here I am, a newly wedded husband and I have my wife to take care of, we don’t have kids yet, but at the same time, I feel like I’m starting to have to think about how I’m gonna take care of my parents, and so that’s an interesting dynamic, and I didn’t picture it being that way as I was growing up. You know, your parents take care of themselves and then you start taking care of your family, as your family takes care of its kids and it goes that way, but… So I’m finding some interesting dynamics as I explore being a son and being a husband.

Jullien Gordon on Improving Employee Engagement Practices

In Chapter 20 of 21 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, business coach Jullien Gordon answers "How are You Helping Corporations Improve Employee Engagement Practices?"  Gordon notes how in his personal life, he learned you cannot get engaged (to be married) until you ask the question.  He applies this philosophy helping corporate clients understand their employees and their goals after the hiring decision.  This improves the onboarding process and raises employee engagement at work.  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: How are you helping corporations improve employee engagement practices?

Jullien Gordon: Well, I just got engaged October of 2011, and you can’t get engaged until you ask the question. And so that’s why I always start with a question, right? Oftentimes, we get into organizations and we commit before we even know if we’re engaged, and employers have to know that for the first six months to a year, an employee is not necessarily committed, they’re really just feeling it out because they chose this because you recruited on campus or it was the most available thing to them, not necessarily it was the best thing for them yet.

So they’re still in an exploration phase. And so in order to get someone engaged, you have to ask them the right questions, and the right questions include: What are you passionate about? And how are you exercising that, or how can you bring that to what you do on a daily basis? What problems do you see for our customers, or our clients, or our colleagues, or the company in general that you may want to solve that is actually valuable? Who is it that you really serve within the context of the organization? And, again, how do you define success, personally and professionally?

Those are some of the right questions that employers need to ask their employees in order to understand who they are because the greatest depression that we have in this economic environment is the gap between who we are and what we do. That’s the greatest depression. And to the extent that we can get people to bring more of who they are to what they do, the more likely you’re gonna have higher engagement and presence in the workplace. And so that’s how I help employers actually navigate that space is by asking the right questions so that they can increase career presence ‘cause a lot of employers are actually paying full-time salaries for part-time presence, right? They have somebody who’s already quit but stayed, right? And so this is not necessarily because the person hates what they do, it may be because they hate how it’s being done, why they’re doing it, or who they’re doing it for.

Erik Michielsen: That’s a great point. And you also in our past interviews mentioned underemployment being such a big challenge in today’s job market. And one of the things we often forget is that to solve underemployment doesn’t mean you have to change jobs, sometimes you need to tweak the job you’re already in.

Jullien Gordon: Exactly. So a lot of times, especially for employees, they think that the first thing to do, when there’s a gap between who they are and what they do is to change what they do. But then they change what they do and no more of who they are is actually in that next thing and they still feel the same gap, so they just jumped from the frying pan to the fire, right? And so if we actually figure out how to bring more of who we are to what we do, then that gap is closed and you feel more present in the work that you do. There’s nothing wrong with being an investment banker but perhaps because of the reason you’re doing it, how you’re doing it, who you’re doing it for, if you take that same person and you put them in Kiva, and all of a sudden they’re doing it for small entrepreneurs in developing countries and they’re doing it for a social cause and they’re not doing it for money, all of a sudden that person feels fully alive yet they’re still doing the same thing, there’s no difference between someone who’s financing entrepreneurs at Kiva and a venture capitalist or investment banker, it’s just a different scale, a different type of customer and a different process in terms of how the work gets done.

And so oftentimes it’s not about changing what you do or changing the job, that may be the second step, first we need to ask ourselves, how can I bring more of who I am to what I do? Because there’s thousands of people who do exactly what you do. There’s thousands of lawyers. There’s thousands of bankers. There’s thousands of consultants. So you’re great at what you do, so are they. What makes you different is who you are and how you bring that into what you do. And so you have your position and you have your presence, and what a lot of people are lacking is they’re good at their position but they’re not bringing their presence or their extra who-am-I to what they do.

Lulu Chen on How to Help a Friend Find a New Job

In Chapter 6 of 16 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, art director Lulu Chen answers "How Has Your Network Helped You Find You Jobs?"  Chen notes it is especially about the little things where your friends can help you find new jobs.  This includes having your friends vouch for you as well as having them give you help updating your resume or writing a cover letter. 

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: How has your network helped you find new jobs?

Lulu Chen: It’s all encompassing, you know, your friends can send you job postings or ideas, or tell you about things that they’ve heard of and opportunities which is I think huge, you know, and I think that a professional network or just a personal network does that, especially in such a big market in New York. But, I mean it’s the little things, really, you know, it’s like helping you proofread your cover letter, and making sure that your résumé looks good, and we all do it for each other. And from the technical small things to the fact that they will go and vouch for you, and really say to a friend or a colleague, or their boss, like, “Oh, you know, I’ve worked with this person before. I really think that they’re the best candidate for the job, and it might not be somebody who is obvious, but, you know, if you give this person that chance, she won’t let you down.”

Art Director Lulu Chen on Learning to Work in Retail E-Commerce

In Chapter 8 of 16 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, art director Lulu Chen answers "What Does It Mean to Be an Art Director Working in Retail E-Commerce?"  In her online retail projects, Chen works to keep the photography simple yet useful to share the look, feel an shape of the clothes virtually with the consumer.  She shares examples how the lighting, photography and presentation can change based on the mood or presentation goals. 

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: What does it mean to be an art director working in retail e-commerce?

Lulu Chen: So, for the projects that I’ve worked on, we try and keep things simple so that it’s easy to view and we really try and do the clothes justice. You know, we try and present the shape, the silhouette. We try and show the texture, you know, we try and show the style, but—you know, there’s a lot of things that we’re trying to get across. But, really, it’s a selling shot. So we’re trying to show how many buttons it might have, you know, if it’s a boxier fit or a slim fit, or, you know, where it would—you know, the proportions of certain things, pockets—I mean all these details, really, it’s trying to get all of that across, so that it’s a fair representation for the consumer, because you’re not there, you’re not able to tangibly touch things, but, you know, so we try and show them.

So brand to brand, it’s different. And also there are some more editorial elements to certain retail e-commerce sites. Some have simpler backgrounds and they’re against gray or white. And it really just—the focus is on the clothing or the accessories. But sometimes, you know, with the more editorialized shots, it’s really about the mood.