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Strategy & Leadership : Growth Mindset Virtual Conference
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Nov 9, 2023
A conference growth mindset, success, and motivation. Join live panels and ask your questions about digital transformation, emerging technologies, innovation, strategy, and leadership. Enjoy live music played during session breaks. Brew exotic tea, coffee, and learn how to mix drinks from an award-winning bartender. Conference Website: https://growthmindsetconference.com PANELISTS David Hickethier - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hickethier Russ Starke - https://www.linkedin.com/in/russstarke Justin Mathews - https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillykarizma MODERATORS Raj Tiwari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/srajivtiwari 🌎 C# Corner - Community of Software and Data Developers 🔗 https://www.c-sharpcorner.com​​​
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0:00
Okay, very good, Mahesh. Thank you very much. And I'm delighted and very excited to host some of those great and very innovative leaders. Everyone has a very different and unique profile
0:18
and we're going to be talking about the strategy and the leadership for next 30 minutes with the
0:26
Justin, with Russ and with David. They all had coming from the very, very diverse and the great
0:34
thinking and very unique, I would say. If you're going to go and look at the each of the company's
0:40
name, believe me, I never heard these kind of companies name, like look at the Russ company
0:45
It's called a think company. You know, very self-explanatory, putting the emphasis on thinking about it
0:54
putting the strategy in place, putting the designer thinking. Now coming to the David
0:59
David is end culture. My God, the culture was every time it was important
1:08
but now it is becoming even more evident because of the chain dynamics
1:12
Coming to the Justin, Justin has tons of experience and a great leader in the interactive digital experience
1:21
So I'm excited to host the panel. Simon, can you put the panel on the window
1:29
Here you go. Hey, Raz. Good afternoon. Happy Friday. Same to you
1:38
Hey. David, how about you? Hey, good to see you. Yeah, likewise
1:44
Likewise. Justin? How are you doing, Raj? Thanks for having us. Hey, very good
1:49
I'm super excited to host a great panel with the amazing leaders, very, very distinguished leaders
1:56
When I was looking at the company's profile, I was amazed to look at the creativity
2:03
You know, it's not like a conventional leader. So thank you. Welcome aboard, all three of you
2:10
So next, we are going to be just a little bit like the housekeeping. We are nine minutes over
2:15
I hope Simon gave us a little bit more time because they took our time
2:21
But we'll try to stay on time. Oh, plus five minutes. He's kind enough
2:25
Okay. So we are going to be having until the 2 or 5. So no further delay
2:31
We're going to be talking about for all of the participants, you know
2:36
like the strategy and the leadership. it was very much needed for every organization to succeed, whereas every individual, all of you on the call, is also needed to grow in your organization as well
2:53
So we're going to be talking to all three great leaders and try to get their thoughts about what, like when we are talking about the pandemic time, how much is important is about the rethinking, reinventing and repositioning
3:11
and pandemic has taught us a lot. We were talking about it in the morning
3:18
not only the learning, but how important is the unlearning as well
3:22
like the think again kind of thing, right? So I will take a pause here
3:28
and I would love to hear about a little bit because I was amazed to hear all these great names
3:36
So Russ, I would go first with you. Your company name. called a think company. Wow. How have you come up with the great name
3:48
Yeah, I mean, it was an evolution. And luckily, when we decided to simplify and just call it the
3:53
think company, because, you know, that that's what we're doing on a daily basis is trying to
3:57
you know, when people are under a lot of pressure, and, and a lot of times thinking falls into ruts
4:02
of, well, I've done this before, or, you know, I'm under a ton of pressure, and people are just
4:06
pulling the trigger, you know, that it's really important to try to stick to a tried and true
4:11
process and actually use your brain, think through it, make sure you're not just doing what you've
4:16
always been doing in the past and kind of follow the process, right? So we actually have had a
4:22
couple names in the past, but ultimately trimmed it down to just the Think Company and it's been
4:27
great for us. Wow, great. David, like and culture, believe me, when I was reading that statement on
4:35
your LinkedIn, I didn't realize that company name itself is and culture. And you know, like
4:41
like many of those 60s, roughly around like 60, 67% of the strategy globally fails because the
4:50
organization didn't have the right culture. Individual, like, you know, I'm the big believer
4:56
my dad always used to say that heredity and environment is deeply affected on your behavior
5:01
So the culture is very important, right? And such a thoughtful name, David, why don't you say something about your company? What does that mean? Yeah, and culture
5:13
Yeah, sure. Yeah, I think you're absolutely right. Culture is absolutely an incredibly important factor
5:19
And we decided for our name that we wanted to move culture from the butt end of the sentence to the front of the sentence
5:25
Right. Culture was talked about frequently in terms of, you know, other areas that were important and it was kind of tacked on at the end
5:32
And so we moved it to the front. We think it's extremely important. And so as a design company, we focus on really hunting for broken realities that we can help reinvent
5:40
And impact that we can have at the cultural level is truly where impact is felt the most significantly
5:47
So, yeah, that's kind of what we seek out as a design firm
5:52
Awesome. Awesome, Dave. Justin, 30 seconds for you. What about the Moxie Labs
5:59
Yeah, we wanted something catchy. We wanted something, you know, we wanted something that was easy to say
6:04
but we wanted something different. And I think that there's another co-founder and myself who
6:08
had another company and the name was Charisma. We wanted to stick to that like grit, tenacity
6:13
charisma. Moxie was something that we thought, you know what? We have some Moxie, right? We might
6:17
not be as big as thing company and maybe not as successful as in culture and whatnot, but
6:23
you know, we have determination, we have grit and we are small and mighty. And I think
6:27
sometimes in an agency, you need a little bit more creative thinking and needed
6:32
you need efficiency and sometimes you just need to get the work done you know and uh we come in uh
6:38
a lot of times for for companies and just tell them hey listen this is something like that we do
6:42
we can get it done for you and let's you know let's talk after it's finished you know and uh
6:46
i think moxie kind of lays that out there for us amazing amazing uh just an absolutely the creativity
6:51
is is the mantra in the in the in this era right so now we are in the era like we are in the digital
6:58
era, right? And the definition and what we used to do for the strategy and for the leadership
7:04
that may not be true anymore, right? So how to develop a strategic thinking behavior to see the
7:10
big picture As you know like most of the participants they coming from the technical background and we love to hear from you And I will start Russ with you because that what your company do like the design thinking
7:24
So do you want to share your thoughts for our participants that how to develop strategic thinking behavior to see the big picture, not only just delivering the task or the program
7:34
Yeah, sure, sure. I think that both for companies and for clients that you work with, and even as individuals, when you talk about something like growth mindset, that sounds great on the surface. But there really is a question of growth in service of what
7:50
Right. And I can tell you from experience that, you know, even even our staff, like growth for growth's sake, that gets old pretty quick
7:57
Like that's not enough to motivate people. And I think it's even true on the individual level where you have to say, you know, what are we really doing this for
8:06
And the best way to kind of do that is to look at what is what you know, what you can find out objectively about the current state today
8:13
So what are the real pain, pain points, workflows, wants, needs of everybody kind of in your ecosystem
8:20
And then basically do a photo negative of that and say, if these things were better in the future, what would that look like
8:27
And actually tell that story and then say, if that story sounds better, what things do we need to do to make that future a reality
8:35
And that's that's a really powerful exercise to go through with clients, even as a company and even as an individual
8:41
You know, the act of sitting down and laying out for yourself, what am I really trying to achieve here other than just turning the crank and having another year of work
8:49
Like what do I want life to look like? And then what things do I need to do to make that a reality
8:54
It's a powerful exercise. Very good, Russ. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts
9:00
Now, coming just into you is like many a time we focus on what we are doing in the same continuation, extension of the same question, right
9:09
But why we are doing, right? for the strategic perspective and the leadership
9:14
Justin, do you want to share your thoughts? Yeah, I think we've always liked to say
9:20
that we're delivering work for the customer's customer, right? So if I'm a developer, if I'm sitting on that side
9:27
what I really need to do is take myself out of my development shoes and put myself into the designer shoes, right
9:32
Actually figure out exactly what Russ said. Why are we doing this? Who is it for
9:37
And what is the point of it, right? So I know a lot of times as developers
9:40
We sit there and we think that, cool, we can figure this out
9:44
We know the process. We'll nail this. However, the design and the UX of the entire thing is very, very important
9:50
It's the most important thing you're doing, actually. So the smartest developers, they take themselves out of their comfort zone for a second, put
9:58
themselves in the designer place, and then actually start asking those questions, those
10:03
really tough questions of why they're doing it in the first place. And I think once you start figuring out those whys, you're going to develop a better product at the end
10:12
Amazing. Amazing. Thank you, Justin. And now, like this, we were talking about on a higher level, putting on the strategy and the leadership
10:22
When we were kicking off, we were talking about the culture, right
10:27
The how important the culture for to growth or to be a great leader or to put the strategy with the right mind frame
10:36
Right. So, Dave, I want to start with you because, you know, your company, again, like and culture
10:45
Right. So what are your thoughts, like how to create the strategy and the leadership as everyday culture
10:51
Right. What we think is is many a time, oh, the leadership is a position
11:00
Right. But that is a behavior, in my opinion. Right. That's that's a not a just a position that you are living with it
11:08
So what do you think? Like because that doesn't doesn't come. Oh, I become a leader today. Now that's a whole world journey
11:14
Right. That's a culture you live with for a longer time. So what do you suggest like to have that kind of the culture, strategy and the leadership culture in building you in every day
11:27
Yeah, Rosh, that's a great question. I think as leaders and practitioners in our field, I think that we have a real opportunity in front of us now
11:37
We've seen a pretty significant year now pass by that has disrupted and changed a lot for us personally and professionally
11:44
And I think as leaders, you try to launch off of a solid foundation from a planning standpoint
11:51
Well, we all know plans have been torn up, ripped up. They're thrown away. The plans are meaningless at this point
11:57
And I think that ultimately what the opportunity that's in front of us now is to recraft, to remake a lot of the experiences and reality that surrounds us
12:05
And I think we have momentum because humanity faces this change together
12:09
Right. We all have to find new ways of creating reality. So I think, you know, as a practitioner, as a software engineer, as a designer, you know, I would encourage all of us to to recognize that, number one, our job descriptions are a lie
12:28
They're just not true. Right. They try to frame up the day to day of what we need to be responsible for, what our skills are
12:34
And I think more important today is to recognize that taking initiative, trying new things, finding ways to move beyond the frame that your job description has put on you is absolutely essential
12:47
And so I think as leaders, we have to find ways to inspire the best in other people, right
12:52
We have to find ways to help them be successful and grow. And from that perspective, I think a lot of it comes down to each one of us personally realizing that the new normal is never going to be what it was before
13:06
And so let's craft it together in a different way than we have before. Absolutely. Absolutely. Russ, any thoughts from your side
13:14
I mean, that's great stuff. I don't want to I don't want to repeat what Dave would say, because that's all really good stuff
13:18
The only thing that was going on in my head to just echo one thing he said is, yeah, you know, I think one of the mantras that we have internally and that we talk about with clients is that there's no I in design
13:28
Meaning that if you're starting a lot of sentences with like, well, I think it should work this way
13:33
If it were me, I would. I'd like to see. That's a big red flag, right
13:37
Because there's no I in great design. There's also no I in great leadership
13:42
People are more interested in we than they are in I, right? And I think going forward, especially to Dave's point, you know, everybody who wants to should have an opportunity to be part of that leadership effort
13:56
And frankly, if you're working somewhere where they don't want to hear that, you might want to start looking elsewhere
14:00
Because I think the strong companies that are really going to do well going forward, they might have functional hierarchies, but they don't have these antiquated social hierarchies that put leadership in this us-them kind of continuum
14:12
I think those days are over and they should be. Amazing. What I was thinking when all of you were talking
14:18
and previously, Maesh and Shell and other speakers, I think we should put one book together
14:25
write one book together. That gonna be a bestseller I telling you Seriously So amazing amazing So now Justin I going to come to you because like as Dave thank you for mentioning that was my next question is now the new normal is never normal
14:45
All right. You're going to be seeing the rapid changes. What we are talking about today may be true in this second, right
14:52
Very this moment. Next movement is going to be coming with the new opportunity or the challenges, right
14:58
So Justin, as you are the champion into the interactive digital experience, marketing and advertisement, all about the creativity, and I can see in your room in the back, all of the creativity there, right
15:11
So question for you is how to be a virtual leader, right
15:15
We talked about before the pandemic, how going to be the leader? Now we all are sitting remote, right
15:21
Finding the challenges. So how do we become a virtual leader, resilient in the stressful working environment and how to stay positive
15:30
Because whomever you talk, earlier we used to walk on the aisle and talk to our colleagues
15:36
That's not anymore, right? We are confined in the one room, talking, back-to-back meetings, a lot of the stress which you have to handle by yourself
15:45
So your thoughts on to be a virtual leader and be resilient into this virtual environment
15:52
Yeah, you know what's funny? This is kind of a passionate topic in some ways for me, only because I feel like probably a lot of the audience here, they have been remote most of the time
16:03
For a lot of these kind of people, you guys have set the bar for how we're supposed to work now
16:09
And I think as leaders, we just have to remember sometimes we need to get out of our own way
16:15
Culture cannot be forced. We cannot force the culture for the company. The company creates the culture
16:20
Right. So now you throw in the wrench that now we're all virtual. And I think, you know, what you're going to start seeing is, you know, something that I want to coin one day, but it's called trust based culture
16:29
Like we have to trust our employees that they're going to do their jobs
16:33
We have to trust them that they're going to reach out to us if they need something, you know
16:37
And of course, you know, as leaders, like you're absolutely right. You know, you can walk down the hall and walk down, you know, knock on a cube and say how you're doing
16:43
But as leaders, it is up to us to go in and check in with the team in the morning, making sure everyone has everything, you know, moving the mountains that are there for the day for people to get things done and feel successful because they're not around people that are going to constantly say, hey, you did a great job today
16:58
You know, so if you are running teams, you know, in the audience, just remember, like everybody has something different, you know, going on in their life
17:06
And every culture is different. You can't just go steal and match another culture. You have to create your own. A lot of times it creates itself
17:13
It's about the people. So as long as you're taking care of your people and that trust-based culture that I'm talking about, you'll see the success that comes out of it
17:21
It's natural. It's a natural creativity that happens. Absolutely. Thank you very much, Justin
17:27
And I'm just wondering how the time flying, like I'm just keep looking at the watch and like 154
17:35
So I just want to move on to the next question. And Simon, I have until the 205 or 2010, just you can type it
17:46
Okay. 205. 205? Okay. Running short of time. Okay. So we want to give 5-7 minutes last to our participants to ask the question
17:55
Russ, I want to come to you here for what do you suggest or recommend our participants
18:02
how to grow in your organization, be a leader, be a virtual leader now, right
18:07
when we are into the digital era? Any of your thoughts? You want to give it to the participant
18:13
Sure. I mean, well, I recognize that this is easier said than done
18:17
But again, I think how people respond to it is an interesting data point for you
18:21
that I think one of the most important things is starting to test the waters with speaking up
18:27
and being vocal about the things that you see and or want to see
18:30
and the data that you're collecting kind of on the front lines, right
18:34
And to echo the panel that came before us when they talk about how philanthropy fails when the funders from the top think that they're going
18:41
to tell you what the solution is. And then that's that, right? That's when philanthropy fails
18:46
Leadership fails when they're also not listening to the people on the front lines who are seeing
18:49
things day to day. And they believe that they can just wave a magic wand and they know what's right
18:54
That's a problem. So I think no matter where you are in an organization, kind of testing those
18:59
waters and speaking up and communicating is like one of the most important things that we can do
19:03
And again, I recognize that that's hard. There are power structures in place and things like that. And not every organization is open to these kinds of things. But I think speaking up and being communicative will show you what the appetite is for that wherever you are. And it'll give you some data points. And I also think it is the strongest way to truly move into a leadership mindset and have an impact because it doesn't happen by just heads down and taking the punches
19:30
Thank you. Thank you, Russ. Simon, do you have the question or I can have? OK, so I will take a pause here. OK, what is a different fit for new hire for your organization, a culture fit or a skill set fit? Any one of you
19:52
yeah sure i'll take that one uh i think there's you know i think the the cultural fit um as justin
20:02
mentioned earlier culture is something that you can't force you can't uh you know create uh it
20:06
has to be organic and so i think uh cultural fit um to me is a bit of a misnomer i think you're
20:11
looking for folks that are going to stretch your culture they're going to have a different perspective they're going to bring uh at ant culture we call it a clash of perspective right
20:18
We want folks with very different views and mindsets to come together
20:23
And that's where you really get the spark of creativity and change. And that's how impact is felt
20:28
So I'd say skills can be learned. I think cultural fit I would choose
20:31
although I would say more cultural augmentation or enrichment than just a fit
20:37
Right. Yeah, Dave, I've seen people, they're using that term now, culture add
20:42
which I like a lot better than culture fit. Yeah. Yeah, I see that a lot too, Russ
20:46
Culture plus, right? So it's the same type of thing, right? It's you can have the best people in the world, but if nobody wants to work with them, then they're not going to work for the organization
20:55
Yeah, here you go. Hey, Pradeep, thanks for a great question. As a leader, do you believe it's important to constantly be cultivated, someone to rise, to take your place
21:09
Second line, the cultivate, the second line leadership, right? Some of those corporates have, but maybe your thoughts
21:14
Go ahead. Russ, you want to take this? Well, Justin, you haven't taken one. You want to take this one
21:21
Yeah, absolutely. I would say I know it sounds ridiculous, but I would say 100 percent
21:28
Right. Like at the end of the day, we want to continue building the next level of leadership
21:33
We're always talking about that at Moxie. We're saying, hey, who's going to rise up and run this team
21:37
Who's going to be the next person that takes over my job? Right. That allows me to go do futuristic you know planning for the company and taking us to the next level who going to take my current job Right And we we do want our members every single day And we try to train them in meetings
21:54
We're pulling people up from lower ranks and saying, hey, listen, you know, you seem to have
21:59
the qualities that we need for this next position. Are you interested in taking this next level
22:03
You know, and I think for everybody, they have a little bit different of a path that they go
22:07
through. But with the right training? Yeah, absolutely. One hundred percent. Always looking
22:11
for the next person to rise up. Very good. And just in 10 seconds
22:18
because we were talking about the talent and everything, and I read on your LinkedIn that you are hiring
22:24
So maybe not now. A lot of our participants, they will definitely love to be a part
22:31
of the great organization with all of you guys. So I appreciate. Two seconds, what you are hiring
22:38
We're hiring for every position. If we're talking to this audience, with a developer. We're looking at full stack
22:43
front end, back end, you know, React, and I would say iOS and Android as well
22:48
So for mobile development as well. So we're always looking for great talent
22:53
Awesome. Awesome. So the part is, you know whom to reach out then
22:58
Okay. This is not a hiring event, but if there are a good opportunity, why not
23:02
We all look for, you know, the great talent. Now, Bhaskar, very, very interesting question
23:09
do we really need everyone to be a leader in the organization or should choose only few of them
23:16
anyone of you Russ is this your area I know I know I can see yeah yeah just one like I think
23:26
that's a great question because because really what it what it kind of speaks to is that you do
23:30
have to honor everybody's different comfort levels and and where they want to play right and there's
23:35
there's, you know, introvert tendencies and extrovert tendencies and you, and all that can
23:40
and should be honored. So it's important that like people shouldn't be pushed into a place of
23:46
of extreme discomfort. That's not okay either. Right. But I, but I think there are, there are
23:51
lots of ways you can be a leader, right? You can be a leader in your domain without having to do
23:58
the kinds of things that you typically associate with leadership, like, like the tap dance that we
24:02
do all the time, you know, like this, right? Talking in front of large, large audiences and
24:06
things like that doesn't have to look like that. You know, leadership can look can be, you know
24:11
real expertise in your area and sharing that knowledge with other people and what have you
24:15
And also, like I said before, I think it's very important that, you know, even everybody being a
24:20
leader does not mean that every single thing has to go through committee and be and be approved by
24:25
100 people like that. All you'll do there is grind yourself to a hall. You have to have a
24:29
functional hierarchy where people say, hey, look, I know not everybody's going to understand this
24:34
but I've heard everybody and this is the decision I'm making. That needs to be in place and everybody
24:38
needs to respect that or you can't move forward. But even being able to operate in an environment
24:44
such as that and understand the hierarchy and work within it and work to change it from within
24:49
that's leadership as well. There's a big difference between trying to be a part of that improvement
24:54
and not just providing complaints, but providing solutions along with those complaints
24:59
All of those things are leadership qualities. And that's a big difference from just kind of like, you know, a silent ship is a sinking ship
25:07
And if people aren't complaining and aren't speaking up, they're about to leave. I love that, Russ, because be a part of the solution, not just be part of the problem, right
25:16
So absolutely, I loved it. And many a time when we talked about the leader, right, people think about we're talking about the C-suite, right
25:26
We talked about CEOs, CIOs, and you articulated very nicely that leadership is not about up in the hierarchy, but you could be a leader in your domain, right
25:37
Even if you are a full stack architect, keep doing great in there
25:41
Keep sharing your thoughts with your team members, right? Going ever and beyond what you are contributing or what you are paid off
25:49
That's all about the leadership, right? And leadership can be at every position that nicely you have articulated
25:56
Dave, any thoughts on this? We just have the two minutes left and please go ahead, sir
26:00
Yeah. No, look, I think leadership is a verb, not a noun. Right. So to echo Russ, I think the idea that that there's, you know, only one way to achieve success in your path, your career path
26:11
We've made the mistake in the past of having amazing, incredible individuals that thought they had to become a leader in their career path to make more money or to advance themselves
26:21
And I think the reality there is that leadership is found in an organization in lots of different ways
26:27
And it's not always tied to your title or usually not tied to your title, to be quite frank
26:31
So I think I think leadership is absolutely something that you can you can try to get if you if you desire
26:36
But I'd really stay focused on on the track that most excites you and you're passionate about
26:42
And from that perspective, I'll leave this thought on it. I think that fear is our friend. Right
26:47
So I think everyone in an organization needs to be doing something that makes them afraid or, you know, afraid of the next level of whatever they're doing
26:56
Right. I think that if you're not afraid at any level of taking a risk, then you're simply not taking enough risk
27:04
And I think for each one of us, leaders and leadership is something that that everyone can aspire to as it relates to taking more risk and taking more on
27:13
Thank you. Thank you. So great. I think we just have the one minute left
27:20
This was a very great, any final, Simon? Do you have any final question
27:25
I know we have just like 30 seconds left, but yeah, Simon says like there are the, like
27:33
he don't want to take, allow us to, of course we are on the top of the hour, but this was
27:38
like one of the very interesting panel. So really, thank you very much, Russ, Dave, and Justin
27:46
Very diverse, very creative, lot of great thoughts. Leadership is not all about I
27:53
Russ, thank you for sharing that. It's about we, definitely, and leaders in your domain
27:58
not just the leadership in the hierarchy we're talking about. Be a part of the solution, not just a problem
28:05
Love that. Dave, you were talking about how we need to talk about the recraft
28:09
and the importance of the culture overall. People many a time think, oh, let it go. But
28:14
you have articulated very nicely just in about the creativity and that the why concept
28:21
that definitely is amazing value add and great thought. So we are, okay. So great. Thank you
28:30
very much. I just want to jump in before everybody leaves is that this is perfect
28:35
this has to be the perfect panel. You guys were on time
28:39
just answering the right question. You can tell these guys are the leaders
28:44
No time wasted. We actually covered five minutes in this panel. We made it
28:51
Thank you again. Thank you so much
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