Jullie Gordon on How Giving a TED Talk Benefits Career

In Chapter 12 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, motivation teacher Jullien Gordon answers "What Do You Find Most Exciting About Giving a TED Talk?"  Gordon finds TED Talks increase his ability to make an impact by giving him a platform to reach a larger, targeted audience.  The TED Talk also helps Gordon focus his message to make it more memorable.  Gordon is the founder of the Department of Motivated Vehicles, a personal and professional development company that helps clients identify purpose and map it to successful outcomes. Gordon has written five books and speaks regularly to college students across America.  He earned masters degrees in education and business from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from UCLA.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  What do you find most exciting about giving a TED talk?

Jullien Gordon:  The impact.  The impact.  I know that these videos reach thousands and thousands and thousands of people just by the views on TED.com and I’ll be honest that I feel like I’ve had some difficulty actually sharing my messages widely as it needs to be heard and so the opportunity to share this and hopefully touch thousands and thousands of lives online moves me a lot and makes me take this moment very seriously. 

I just did a TED talk in Chicago for TEDx Midwest and now I’m doing one for TEDx Brooklyn in December.  So I’m really taking these spaces seriously and it really makes me think about if I had one thing to say to the world, what would that thing be?  And so I have some insights that I’ve garnered through my own life and my own experiment and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to maybe shift the way 1, 2, 3 or 3000 or 4000 people think about their lives going forward as a result of these short 10 to 18 minute videos.

Jullien Gordon on How to Take Action on an Inspiring Moment

In Chapter 14 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, motivation teacher Jullien Gordon answers "What is Your Process for Designing Career Learning Products and Programs?"  Gordon goes into detail on how he takes action on inspiring moments and creates learning products and expeirences that help others.  Gordon shares the step-by-step evolution of that idea and how he packages the idea and delivers it to an audience.  From this, Gordon, develops an annual framework that allows him to continuously turn new ideas into learning and career education products.  Gordon is the founder of the Department of Motivated Vehicles, a personal and professional development company that helps clients identify purpose and map it to successful outcomes. Gordon has written five books and speaks regularly to college students across America.  He earned masters degrees in education and business from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from UCLA.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  What is your process for designing career-learning products and programs?

Jullien Gordon: The first process is for inspiration.  For instance, the Route 66 tour started out of being inspired by a statistic from the National Association of Colleges and Employers in 2009, that only 20% of college grads had jobs on hand at graduation and I had two little brothers who had been through college and that was inspiration.  I was just like, you know what I have to do something about this, this is a huge problem. 

From there I wrote a blog entry called 66 things to do before you graduate then I tried to share that blog entry with as many people as possible so I reached out in the National Society of Collegiate Scholars who I was a member of during undergrad and all I originally wanted them to do was send it out to their membership. When they saw it, they invited me in to come share it as a presentation.  They loved the presentation and we formed a partnership and that became a tour.  So that’s kind of been processes starting with being fully inspired and committed to solving a particular specific problem, from there packaging it or creating some sort of comprehensive way of delivering it. For this instance we chose a book and a presentation and a tour and then from there just going and doing the work. 

So I noticed that I have this rhythm in my life that has been occurring for the past three years, which is in the summer is like my down time when I’m actually in creation mode.  That’s when The Innerview was produced, that’s when 8 Cylinders of Success was produce, Good Excuse Goals, Route 66, those were all produced in this summer type area and then I go out in the fall and I try to test them.  I test them in small places at first and then to see if they work in those test markets and once I get proof that they work then I commit the rest of the next year to actually expanding them and spreading them as widely as possible. 

So I have this rhythm in my life of this creation phase like in June, July, August, this experiment phase towards the end of the year and then this execution phase from January to June of the next year.  So that’s kind of been my cycle and my rhythm of creating the products that I’ve created.

Jullien Gordon on How to Make Great Products

In Chapter 15 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, motivation teacher Jullien Gordon answers "What Have Your Experiences Taught You About What Makes a Product Great?"  Gordon explains how he has refined his products by listening to how users are using the products each day.  This allows him to iterate the products and tailor them to core user needs.  Additionally, he looks for multiple product uses that fit into an ecosystem.  He offers an example from one of his books, "Good Excuse Goals" and the learning programs that connect the book content into his other products.  Gordon is the founder of the Department of Motivated Vehicles, a personal and professional development company that helps clients identify purpose and map it to successful outcomes. Gordon has written five books and speaks regularly to college students across America.  He earned masters degrees in education and business from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from UCLA.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  What have your experiences taught you about what makes a product great?

Jullien Gordon:  The number one thing for a great product is knowing that it’s never done and that there’s constant iteration that needs to occur. So for instance, the Innerview is actually an iteration of the career change challenge, 101 things to do before you graduate is an iteration of what I experienced on the Route 66 tour but the only way you can iterate properly, because you can constantly iterate, but the only way you can iterate properly is by listening very carefully to the people who are using your product on a daily basis and seeing how they’re using it and what issues that they’re having in order to make it constantly better. 

So there’s constant improvement in regards to a product development.  The next thing is I think creating an ecosystem.  When you look at for instance iPod, right?  You have iPod and then you have iPod speakers, you iPod cases, you have iPod this, headphones etcetera.  You create an ecosystem around a product so that people can use it in different ways.  I like to use the notion of the snowball and ice cream scoop, right?  So a snowball scoop sells in the winter.  Ice cream scoop sells in the summer but when you look at their physical definition they’re actually the same device and so you can figure out how to use this one device and actually create multiple use cases for it kind of like baking soda as well.  Baking soda is used for toothpaste, to clean things, to keep your refrigerator smelling good. So when you think about all the uses of your products I think and build an ecosystem that allows people to use it and access it in different ways I think that that’s what makes a product great.  So iteration and an ecosystem.

Erik Michielsen:  Give me an example of how an ecosystem works for one of your products.

Jullien Gordon:  So I have my book, Good Excuse Goals, right?  And it’s not just a book there’s actually a community of people who are in 30-day do-it groups around the country who are using this methodology in their lives.  So the 30-day do-it groups work kind of like alcoholics anonymous which I talked about last year where you get in a group of people, you set one goal for the month, it’s called a new month resolution and you hold each other accountable to that one goal that you set.  So that’s an ecosystem that’s built as another layer beyond just the book, right? 

The Innerview is not just a book there’s also videos and at Indiana University and at Cornell there’s actually a class that I come and help teach in order to deliver that curriculum.  So it’s constantly layering on value to the base product which is the book or the formula but you know a lot of people write books, self-help books but what’s the next layer, what do people need after they’ve read and digested the information that’s gonna support them to actually integrate those insights into their lives on a daily basis.  So constantly layering, which is the iterative process, and then ultimately once you continue to iterate that creates an ecosystem of other things to use.

Jullien Gordon on How Self Publishing Helps Personal Brand Marketing

In Chapter 16 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, motivation teacher Jullien Gordon answers "What has the Self Publishing Process Taught You About Personal Brand Marketing?"  Gordon finds self-publishing books - five to date - an excellent way to distribute products and build his personal brand.  He notes the importance of understanding alternative distribution options and how commitment to a goal opens doors to new opportunities.  Gordon is the founder of the Department of Motivated Vehicles, a personal and professional development company that helps clients identify purpose and map it to successful outcomes. Gordon has written five books and speaks regularly to college students across America.  He earned masters degrees in education and business from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from UCLA.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  What has the self-publishing process taught you about personal brand marketing?

Jullien Gordon:  Especially in this kind of economy and when you look at the music industry and self-publishing industry I think you actually want to demonstrate that you can create value on your own first before you go to a big person, a big player in the game.  So I wasn’t gonna let a publisher or wait for a publisher to give me permission to write my own books.  That would be stupid. That would be ridiculous. 

So I’ve been able to distribute over 10,000 copies of my books on my own and now if I was to approach a publisher I would have a different stake in the negotiation, more leverage in the negotiation but even then some publishers have approached me and the margins that they’re trying to give me off of my own products despite their wide distribution just hasn’t made financial sense and so it’s been very powerful to do something independently.

If I could find the right distribution partner, then I’m open to it because that means more impact, and more spread of these messages and ideas, right?  TED is an example of a distributor, they’re not a distributor but they are creating a platform for me to distribute some of my ideas through TEDx, etcetera.  So I love partnerships but the partnerships have to also make sense.  So I think what attracts people is when you’re already in motion on yourself – on your own.  You’re already making progress on your own, not I’m at a standstill I have this idea, will you come support me.

People like to support things that are already in motion. So when it comes to personal branding and getting your products out there, you want to get things in motion as fast as possible using your own resources and we have hidden resources all around us that we don’t acknowledge.  Your friends, your parent’s friends, your parents, organizations right around the corner from you, if you just really are committed to getting it out there as far as you possibly can on your own, when you tap out that’s when I’ve noticed that other relationships have emerged to expand your ideas even further.

Media Training Pros and Cons - Andrew Hutson

In Chapter 7 of 17 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Andrew Hutson answers "How Has Media Training Helped You Be a More Effective Communicator?"  Hutson notes the challenge that come with formally learning how to communicate in high profile publicity or public relations settings.  He notes integrity challenges inherent in media training as well as the communication benefits it provides.  Hutson is a senior project manager at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), where he advises corporate partners such as Wal-Mart on sustainable supply chain initiatives.  Hutson holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MEM from the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment.  He earned his BA from Michigan State University. 

Nina Godiwalla on Why Authors are Entrepreneurs

In Chapter 3 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "What is the Business Model for Being an Author?"  Godiwalla notes the business model is being an entrepreneur, the book is the product, and everything else is the business world.  A Wharton MBA, Godiwalla finds her networking skills very useful making connections that create opportunities to accelerate her career.  She finds value and reward in pursuing an outreach strategy to senior level leaders as well as across her business networks.  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:  What is the business model for being an author?

Nina Godiwalla:  The business model is being an entrepreneur and I see the book as your product and everything else is -- it’s the business world.  I used my MBA to the nth degree as part of this—as part of this book process because the reality is, is you get handed this gift of being able to have a product and then you can do nothing with it or you can expect everything to come your way but what I found is my business skills especially networking -- and I don’t even call it networking -- because what I did was I literally found people that I would have loved to meet.  Just people I would have you know like ‘oh that person is so interesting, they’re doing something so fascinating, I want to talk to them’ and I reached out to them and I – these are, some of them were authors, some of them were maybe they got a sense a better sense of the marketing than I did and it’s technically networking but the reality was it was just me reaching out to people I wanted to and the same with the networks.  I was already involved with a lot of networks and it’s basically how did I build deeper relationships with those networks.

So one of the most interesting pieces is the marketing piece, to be able to go out there and basically, you get to talk – I mean I get to talk all the time about things that I’m passionate about so I mean it’s hard to complain about any of it.  It’s just – it's fun and exciting and the other part is, is it’s what you make it, with any entrepreneurial thing.  One of the things I found astounding is you learn in a way I didn’t with a corporate job.  You have somebody standing over you and kind of telling you what you need to do and I don’t – you don’t have that.  I have that with my publisher and I do have a publicist, I have an agent, so they’re there but the reality is, is you get to do what you want to some extent and if you don’t like doing something you procrastinate, you put it off and you don’t do it.  So when you’re doing your own thing you get to do all the stuff you love because the reality is you just put your time behind things that you love.  So for me it’s just it’s been what I’ve made of it and the thing is I love is so much that you know it ended up just doing really well.

How Writer Nina Godiwalla Define and Measures Success

In Chapter 4 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "How Do You Define and Measure Success in Your Work as a Writer?"  Godiwalla realizes the importance of sharing personal experiences to create conversations, especially knowing so many that have struggled with workplace discrimination who elect not to share their stories.  She builds upon this sharing and then be able to change others lives by speaking to them.  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:  How do you define and measure success in what you do as a writer?

Nina Godiwalla:  When I wrote the book I didn’t have a goal.  I never had that this is what I’m trying to tell people and this is the message I want, it was I really just wrote an experience and I was so focused on -- I saw so many people that had a difficult time and they weren’t willing to talk about the experience and I wanted to get that message out there.  I saw people that really struggled with it, very successful people later in life but they didn’t -- they were too scared to say, “Hey, this experience happened to me and it was difficult at the time,” because it somehow made them feel weak.  So for me I just wanted to get – I wanted to get – I wanted to get it out there but I didn’t know the bigger thing that I was working towards and so in the end, I realized like I said you know it was as much – after – after going and speaking at all these events and my even realizing I have a bigger message about diversity.  So, I feel like I’m just learning – I'm learning about what I’m interested through this process of writing the book and going out there and success for me is impacting other people.  It’s not just about putting something out there, it’s how do – how do I get to change, I feel like I have this, I’ve been handed this power of, how can I go and affect other people’s lives and make their lives better? And success to me is being able to articulate things to people and change their lives in a positive way.

Author Nina Godiwalla on How to Pitch a Book More Effectively

In Chapter 5 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "What is Your Advice to More Effectively Pitch a Book?"  She notes how pitching is but one element and that aspiring authors must embrace the process.  The process includes advice and feedback and learning how to filter this by staying open-minded, especially when statements repeatedly come up.  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:  What’s your advice to aspiring authors in how to more effectively pitch a book?

Nina Godiwalla:  Pitching is just the beginning of it.  You have to love, love, love your topic, really enjoy it, because the process is quite extraordinary.  It’s so long and you have to live behind it.  One of the things I see with some authors is they’re very stuck on, ‘this is exactly what I want to do and I’m not going to budge at all’ and I found when I was pitching my book initially I started – I pitched it as fiction because I didn’t want to deal with the whole non-fiction aspect of it.  There are real people in there, my family was in there.  People I worked with that I still talk to, they were in there.  I didn’t want to deal with the whole ramifications of it but I was very open-minded about the process and when I pitched it, a lot of people would come back to me and say, “You know this doesn’t look like fiction to me, it reads like a memoir.  It reads like its non-fiction.”  And it was.

And I, you know, the first few people that said it, I was like whatever you know it’s – I'm not going to put it out as non-fiction so and I kind of ignored the advice that I was getting and my advice to people is you’re going to get an incredible amount of advice when you’re pitching and you don’t need to listen to all of it but certain things I heard probably about 20 times, you know, I heard it a lot.

And in the end I had to sit with myself and decide, is what they’re saying true or not true and the reality is, is yes, the whole book that I’ve written reads like a memoir.  It reads like a memoir because it is a non-fiction book and I think for people being a little bit more open to taking some feedback from people actually can make you more successful.  There are certain changes I made along the road to make the book a little bit more marketable but they were not things that I couldn’t – that were killing me.  They were things I felt comfortable with.

Nina Godiwalla on Publicity Advice for Newly Published Authors

In Chapter 6 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "How Have Your Aspirations Changed Since Writing and Promoting Your First Book?"  Godiwalla sees writing a book as a releasing a product that is part of a larger business.  In promoting her book, she gains feedback that allows her to take next steps and better control the process underlying her writing and speaking.  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:  How have your aspirations changed since writing and promoting your first book?

Nina Godiwalla:  So the promoting never seems to end, that’s one of the catches I didn’t know.  My aspirations, so I think what’s happened with the promotion part of it is the aspirations change because what happens, I think when you start a business and I think of the book as the product, as part of a larger business is that you go along with what comes your way to some extent.  When you’re starting up, you’re just trying to get a feel out there, meet with a lot of people, see what’s working and the whole publicity piece has been what’s working, what’s not working?  Who’s coming to me? So, I mean I’ve done TV, I’ve done the interviews, I’ve done the newspaper and all these different invitations came to me from across the country from different organizations. I’m at that point right now, where I have to start thinking how do I control this process.  Not just who’s coming to me but backing up a little bit and like regaining control over the process is really where I am mentally now with the book.

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 to More Effectively Engage and Inspire Groups

In Chapter 8 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "How is Public Speaking Teaching You to More Effectively Engage Audiences?"  She learns the importance of preparation and getting to know her particular audience.  Godiwalla finds mingling with audiences before and after speaking events helps her better tailor her message and connect with her audience.  Ultimately, it helps her leave a more approachable impact the audience can put into action.  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:  How is public speaking teaching you to more effectively engage an audience?

Nina Godiwalla:  The whole process has been really quite something.  For me, one of the things I’ve done is -- so when I started I would go into an event and I would speak and I would leave and now I usually, when we do events, we try and do cocktail events or something there’s mingling before and after and I think it completely changes the dynamic.  I’m asked to speak to so many different groups of people that sometimes I have to really refresh my memory.  I was asked to speak at a high school.  One day I was speaking to politicians and the next day, I was speaking to high school students and the next day, I was speaking to young professionals. And I don’t just talk about the book and we talk about bigger issues – I mean diversity is one of the larger issues I talk about and I integrate the book into whatever is important to them. 

So the audience engagement is so important to me but it’s also important to me to physically find ways to engage with them so I usually – I take very seriously the time beforehand when I – and when I did the high school event, we did – they took me on a whole high school tour and told me about what their high school represented and how it had evolved and honestly what was so helpful for me is to be into the mind of a high school student.  I don’t see high school students so I loved hearing, you know, this young girl talk about what, you know, her classes and what she does and it was just bringing me back to the reality of this is, you know, this is what her world is and I need that time for connection because it helps me switch into the mind set of what can I deliver here to you all that’s going to be inspiring to you, that’s going to make a difference to you and affect your world in a different way. I usually, I always give out my email and the conversations I get back, it’s just such an iterative process.  I learn a lot from the people that I’m with and hope to you know share something with them as well and that’s – it’s been wonderful and it’s been fun. That parts have been very fun.

Nina Godiwalla on Speaking Up for Corporate America Minority Workers

In Chapter 9 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "How are You Learning to Adapt Your Message to Reach Broader Audiences?"  Godiwalla spends considerable time on the public speaking circuit while promoting her book.  By listening to audience stories and challenges, Godiwalla accepts responsibility to be the voice of the unspoken and unheard on workplace diversity issues in corporate America.  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:  How are you learning to adapt your message to reach broader audiences?

Nina Godiwalla:  I’m less worried about broader audiences because I feel like I didn’t realize how broad my group would be.  What I want to do is have a message that’s more focused.  That’s become more important to me.  Right now, I get invited by all different kinds of institutes and organizations that I love.  I love speaking at the literary – from literary festivals to woman in leadership to Mind Science Foundation, I mean literally I’ve been invited so I have the broad audience and now what my focus is, is giving messages that are impactful and trying to find out what it is that’s my passion – through this process, I didn’t know, I mean I wrote a book and I didn’t know what it – I didn’t know that I had a message that I specifically want to get out there.  I didn’t know what that message was and through all of these events and all these presentations and these speaking events, I’ve started to realize I’m really passionate about diversity. 

I’m really passionate about giving a voice to people that don’t necessarily have a voice and I’m in a place of power to do that.  I used to be that person that was at the bottom of a company that came from the public school background, the woman where there were no women, the minority that didn’t – there weren’t a whole lot of minorities and the attitude is is a little bit of, you don’t necessarily get an opinion at the table because you are trying to prove yourself.  You are sitting there and you don’t belong and everyone around you knows that you don’t belong and they want you to do well and they want you to succeed but you’re not in a place to say, “Hey I don’t agree with anything you all are doing and I – actually, you know, what you said was offensive and this is…”  It’s not – you’re still that little person they’re trying to make it like them and I think I’m out of that.  I’m kind of out of that mindset and unfortunately, I think a lot of people that are in several different corporate cultures feel that way.  Like, “I don’t get to have that.  I don’t get to say what I want to say all the time.” 

So, I think of myself as being that voice and saying the – I mean they’re not even controversial things but things that people would like to say and I get so many emails and you know things that people say to me afterwards of, “I’m so glad you said it because I can’t say it.”  Because if you say that while you’re part of a corporation, it’s almost like you’re not being part of that team.  You’re not, you know, “Why don’t – do you think we don’t treat you well?”  And it’s not that they don’t treat you well, it’s just that sometimes I don’t agree with the things that go on around me but I don’t always have the, you know, the comfort to say it because I don’t want to be put on the side as that that person that was too vocal about things I didn’t agree with.  So I see myself as their voice if you will.

Nina Godiwalla on What Makes a Professional Women's Network Valuable

In Chapter 13 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "What Makes a Professional Women's Network Valuable?"  She shares how a network of female professionals supports her career development as well as allows her to support helping other women succeed.  Godiwalla also shares how she has built network relationships with more senior women professionals.  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:  What makes a professional women’s network valuable?

Nina Godiwalla:  I’ve really used my network, so part of my, I think, my success with my book has been leveraging the networks that I’m part of and 85Broads is one of those and I think they’re an incredible women’s network.  I’ve had so many people that helped me.  Part of it is we share a passion for helping other women succeed because we have seen that there’s challenges out there.  Everyone’s coming from a different field and you can see how sometimes it’s not as easy to make connections and some of the organizations were most of them are in male-dominated environment so you see that connection.  What I think becomes so successful is that passion that people have for each other and what’s interesting about that particular environment is people are from across the board so when I’m interested, here I am.  I was a corporate executive.  I’ve been in the advertising world, the finance world, marketing.  I’ve just switched through so many worlds and now I’m into publishing world and the writing world and the reality is, is I need – as I switch through different things, I don’t necessarily have a network all piled up.  What I’ve found is through the women’s network, I do have a network all piled up.  I have – I can reach out to all these people in different industries and say, “Hey I just got a book deal and I have no idea what to do.  Do I need an agent?  Do I not?”  And not everyone takes the risk of going out there and just reaching out to people they don’t know but I think that’s one of the best things that I do is I’m very comfortable with it and the reality is I help so many people that you have to – it’s an exchange.  I’m always looking out for who can I help and I always have people reaching out to me and I make it within any kind of busy day that I have to help, you know a certain number of people that week.  That’s just - you make the time for it because so many people have helped me along the way and the fact that, you know, when you have that accessible – it’s just a diverse group of people that we have and it’s so accessible that I think it just – it makes it completely you know people are able to do -- kind of get whatever they need out of that environment which I think is amazing.

Erik Michielsen:  Do you tend to find yourself working more with people at your level or work, reaching up and dealing with more senior individuals or is it, does it vary?

Nina Godiwalla:  I will grab any which way and I don’t have a problem reaching out to the senior people. I think you always have to be careful and it’s one of the advice I give to younger women when I’m talking is, one of the things I wasn’t scared of and I haven’t been is, I typically do reach out to very senior people but there usually needs to be a reason so I mean I’m not talking you don’t walk into a 50,000 person corporation and contact the CEO right away but I’ve seen a lot in my environment.  I worked at Johnson & Johnson and I was interning there once and there was a president of that whole organization that I was in-charge that -- she ran that whole organization and I mean my boss’s boss’s bosses probably didn’t talk to her very often but I just decided we had a connection that we talked about meditation.  I heard her mention it to someone else.  I didn’t speak directly to her and honestly, I just wanted to meet her.  I was interning there.  She seemed really interesting so I reached out to her and nobody else would reach out to her.  My boss wouldn’t reach out to her and I just let her know I wanted to get to know her a little better.  I was interested in what she’d said about meditation and there it was.  I mean I ended up meeting her and she is one of my biggest advocates for the rest of the time and the reality is, is I think a lot of people are too scared.  We see the hierarchy and – but when I think there’s a natural -- I wouldn’t be persistent about reaching out to someone incredibly senior but sometimes you take that risk and it really pays off and I’m one of those people that are very comfortable taking that risk.

What Gets Easier and What Gets Harder - Scott Gold

In Chapter 1 of 20 of his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and writer Scott Gold answers "What is Getting Easier and What is Getting Harder in Your Life?" Gold notes that after ten years in New York City, it is becoming harder to be away from his New Orleans roots. Professionally, as a writer, it is getting easier for Gold as he settles into his style, makes connections, and as a result carries himself more confidently. Scott Gold is an author and writer based in New York City. When not writing, Gold moonlights as a bartender at Char no. 4 restaurant in Brooklyn. He earned a BA in Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis.

How Food Writer Expands Creative Pallette into Spirits - Scott Gold

In Chapter 5 of 20 of his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and writer Scott Gold answers "Since Our Last Interview, What Has Been the Most Exciting Thing to Happen in Your Life?"  Gold notes how he has expanded his writing beyond food into spirits, specifically American whiskey and bourbon.  The art, history, and science compels Gold to begin teaching, meet the people behind the American whiskey industry, and develop expertise and story ideas alike.  Scott Gold is an author and writer based in New York City.  When not writing, Gold moonlights as a bartender at Char no. 4 restaurant in Brooklyn.  He earned a BA in Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis. 

Why Writer Enjoys Telling Stories - Scott Gold

In Chapter 8 of 20 of his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and writer Scott Gold answers "What Do You Enjoy Most About Telling a Good Story?"  Firstly, Gold notes the satisfaction of physically delivering something and receiving the positive response.  He also finds gratification in the storytelling process itself, detailing several ways in which it provides satisfaction.  Scott Gold is an author and writer based in New York City.  When not writing, Gold moonlights as a bartender at Char no. 4 restaurant in Brooklyn.  He earned a BA in Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis. 

Why Haruki Murakami Inspires Writing Career - Scott Gold

In Chapter 9 of 20 of his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and writer Scott Gold answers "How Has Haruki Murakami Inspired Your Approach to Developing a Storytelling Career?"  Gold appreciates not only Murakami's non-traditional background but also his non-traditional storytelling style.  Murakami's clear, simple writing allows him to achieve what is termed "the willing suspension of disbelief" and hook readers into complex storylines.  Scott Gold is an author and writer based in New York City.  When not writing, Gold moonlights as a bartender at Char no. 4 restaurant in Brooklyn.  He earned a BA in Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis.

How Writing a Book Compares With Recording an Album - Scott Gold

In Chapter 11 of 20 of his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and writer Scott Gold answers "How Does Writing a Book Compare and Contrast with Recording an Album?"  Gold notes the respective challenges and rewards associated with each.  He notes how writing a book is less expensive to create and can be done alone at any time.  Conversely, recording albums are typically collaborative efforts that require larger investments.  Gold also takes time to share, compare, and contrast how writers and musicians derive satisfaction from others receiving their art.  Scott Gold is an author and writer based in New York City.  When not writing, Gold moonlights as a bartender at Char no. 4 restaurant in Brooklyn.  He earned a BA in Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis.