Cathy Erway on Writing a Cookbook About The Food of Taiwan

In Chapter 3 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "Since We Spoke a Year Ago, What Has Been the Most Exciting Thing to Happen in Your Life?" Erway shares how she has been working on a new cookbook about the food of Taiwan. She shares how the book will introduce American audiences to Taiwanese cooking and build awareness about the unique and flavorful dishes of Taiwan.

Cathy Erway is an author, food writer, freelance copywriter, radio show host and teacher focused on healthy food advocacy. Her second book, "The Food of Taiwan: Recipes From the Beautiful Island" is a cookbook featuring Taiwanese recipes ranging from homestyle dishes to street food favorites. Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  Erway earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College. 

Phil McKenzie on How West Indian Grandmothers Inspire Family Values

In Chapter 1 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "What Were Your Grandparents Like and How Did They Influence Your Development?" McKenzie shares how his West Indian grandmothers shaped his family values, teaching him to appreciate life and also what it means to be a committed caretaker in a large family. Being around them gives him the confidence to aspire high and develop a strong sense of ambition.

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

Phil McKenzie on Empowering Remote Workers by Letting Go

In Chapter 7 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "What Skills Are You Working on Right Now to Get Better at Your Job?" McKenzie shares how he is working on letting go of project management responsibilities and handing them over to remote project teams working all over the world. Between time differences and cultural connections, McKenzie finds it is time to give his overseas teams such as one in Mumbai, India, a chance to lead their own projects.

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

Jullien Gordon on Building Advanced Public Speaking Skills

In Chapter 15 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business coach and public speaker Jullien Gordon answers "How Are You Improving Your Public Speaking Skills as You Gain Experience?" After taking storytelling classes and comedy classes to improve public speaking skills, Gordon improves more by researching his audience before speaking to them. By understanding audience experience, values, needs and expectations, Gordon can tailor a presentation, speech or talk that best resonates with listeners.

Jullien Gordon is a business coach and consultant to organizations, individuals and teams who want to increase performance, motivation, engagement and retention. Gordon is also a public speaker on career planning for colleges, conferences, and corporations. He earned a BA from UCLA and MBA and M. Ed degrees from Stanford University. 

Hammans Stallings on Assessing Fit Interviewing a Job Candidate

In Chapter 16 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, strategist and management consultant Hammans Stallings answers "How Have You Learned to Better Assess Fit When Hiring New Employees?" Stallings shares how frog design approaches new hire candidate assessment. He notes it is not about trick questions or mind benders but more about understanding candidate capabilities via behavioral interviewing and having them present work as they might on an actual client project. The next step is to have an interdisciplinary team review the candidate.

Hammans Stallings is a Principal Strategist at frog design. Previously Stallings 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 Why Working Internationally is a Good Career Move

In Chapter 17 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, strategist and management consultant Hammans Stallings answers "How Has International Work Experience Contributed to Your Professional Development?" Stallings finds working internationally has been a fundamental benefit to both his personal and professional growth. Working in distant places teaches him to think differently about people, culture, choices and values and then bring what he learns back into his own culture at home in the United States.

Hammans Stallings is a Principal Strategist at frog design. Previously Stallings 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.

Michael Olsen on 3 Ways Parents Instill Positive Values in Children

In Chapter 4 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental in Shaping Who You Are Today?" Three childhood experiences shape Olsen's view of the world. First, his parents teach Olsen the importance of travel, culture and inclusiveness. They do this by taking him to Europe as a 9-year old and, every Christmas, inviting people from different cultures to the Olsen family dinner table. Second, his father gets him involved in local Rotary Club events, specifically an annual pancake breakfast fundraiser, which teaches him the value of community service. Third, his parents show him the value of education by not only pushing him to value education but also by constantly learning and leading by example.

Michael Olsen is a management consultant at Accenture. Previous to Accenture, Olsen earned dual MBA and MPH degrees at Emory University in Atlanta. Olsen earned a BA in symbolic systems from Stanford University and spent the next five years founding an IT consulting company, Redwood Strategies. 

Bryan Law on Learning Languages in International Business Consulting

In Chapter 10 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "As a Non-Native Speaker, How Did You Overcome Language Barriers Working in Brazil?" Working as a management consultant, Law is staffed on a Brazil project and, as a non-native speaker, learns Portuguese when he finds the work is done in native language and not English. As an international consultant, the experience teaches him the importance of engaging clients in their native languages as best as possible. This helps him on future projects, including one working with the Mozambique government.

Bryan Law is a Principal in the Global Business Strategy Group at Google and a board member at Angola University. Previously, he was a manager at Monitor, management consulting firm. He has worked in consulting roles at Watson Wyatt and Mercer. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business and a BA from Georgetown University. 

How International Work Experience Benefits Your Career

In Chapter 13 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "How Has International Work Experience Contributed to Your Professional Development?" Working internationally in Dubai, Brazil, Mozambique, South Africa, and India teaches Law to appreciate the differences amongst people. In his international work, Law looks to understand where people are coming from as it pertains to beliefs, motives and rationale.

Bryan Law is a Principal in the Global Business Strategy Group at Google and a board member at Angola University. Previously, he was a manager at Monitor, management consulting firm. He has worked in consulting roles at Watson Wyatt and Mercer. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business and a BA from Georgetown University. 

Etiquette Advice for International Work Trips

In Chapter 16 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "How Have You Learned to Work More Effectively Across Different Cultures?" Law quickly learns different cultures do business in different ways. While in the UAE working in Dubai, Law makes a social faux pas around a Muslim woman and eases tension by making fun of himself.

Bryan Law is a Principal in the Global Business Strategy Group at Google and a board member at Angola University. Previously, he was a manager at Monitor, management consulting firm. He has worked in consulting roles at Watson Wyatt and Mercer. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business and a BA from Georgetown University. 

Ramsey Pryor on How Moving Often as a Child Shapes Adult Life

In Chapter 2 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, product management executive Ramsey Pryor answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental to Shaping Who You Are Today?" Pryor shares how moving often as a child taught him to be better at adapting and embracing new environments. Living in rural and urban areas also gives Pryor an appreciation for and an ability to relate to small town values and urban living.

Ramsey Pryor is a product management executive at IBM focused on cloud-based collaboration and security software products. Previously he was VP Product Marketing at Outblaze, acquired by IBM. Pryor earned an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain and a BA in Economics and Spanish from Northwestern University.  

Ramsey Pryor on Building Trust by Having the Courage to Be Yourself

In Chapter 10 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, product management executive Ramsey Pryor answers "How Do You Establish Trust When Building Relationships?" Pryor finds to establish trust is to expose yourself as a human. By having the courage to be yourself you build a connection with the person you are meeting first. Pryor finds this especially helpful doing business in Asia when building relationships.

Ramsey Pryor is a product management executive at IBM focused on cloud-based collaboration and security software products. Previously he was VP Product Marketing at Outblaze, acquired by IBM. Pryor earned an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain and a BA in Economics and Spanish from Northwestern University.  

Mark Graham on Assessing Fit Interviewing Job Candidates

In Chapter 12 of 15 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, media executive Mark Graham answers "How Do You Assess Fit When Interviewing People for a Job?" As a hiring manager who regularly interviews job candidates for writing and digital media jobs, Graham looks not only for talent but also for alignment of interests and skills to the brand's audience expectations. He makes sure to set clear expectations on what he is seeking from a job candidate and in the job description. Graham finds peer and ex-colleague feedback useful to assess fit and speaks to references as well.

Mark Graham is currently a managing editor at MTV Networks. Previously Graham worked in editing and writing roles at New York Magazine and Gawker Media. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English. 

Idan Cohen on Finding Inspiration and Support Living in New York City

In Chapter 4 of 13 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, technology entrepreneur Idan Cohen responds to "Living in New York, it's an aspirational city and people have big dreams - how has being around that community of people affected you?" Cohen shares how much more optimistic and supportive people are in New York City than where he lived before in Tel Aviv. As an entrepreneur, he finds the diverse, positive support system helps him dream big dreams and work toward those dreams.

Idan Cohen is a technology entrepreneur and product management leader at Samsung Electronics. He co-founded Boxee, which was acquired by Samsung in early 2013. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: Living in New York, it's an aspirational city. People here have big dreams. How has being around that community of people affected you?

Idan Cohen: So I think the main thing for me, moving here and being here, was the positive and optimistic approach that everyone has. You know, coming from Tel Aviv, which is a very entrepreneurial place or Israel in general, and a lot of people have a lot of aspirations, and they do something about it, and they are not afraid to shake things up, definitely more than anywhere else. They're always ready to cut corners and go around walls, and they have their own unique and successful way of doing that.

But the main difference of being here is, first of all, I feel that at the end of the day, it's just that people have more appreciation to what other people are doing. And I remember when I first moved here, when you would meet people and you'd tell them what you were doing or they would tell you what they were doing, and everyone is just, you know, “Wow, that's great. That's so awesome that you are doing that.” And in Israel, that was not like that. Everyone would start punching holes. It's kind of like the nature, that nature of, you know, “Yeah, it's great that you're doing that, but this is not going to work, this is going to work.” And it's not a bad thing. I mean, it's okay, but at some point, it starts grinding on you.

And here, even though sometimes it might be a little superficial, but that-- the fact that, like, everyone is a big support system, and in a place like New York, which is actually so big, and in a place like the US, then it's wonderful, and it helps a lot. And then combine that with being in a city that's extremely diverse and funnels the most talented people in the world, you know, in every domain, I think that's what makes it so interesting because where I came from, yeah, I was in a community that was doing-- you know, that was around technology, but even there, it's very segmented to very specific things just because you can achieve very specific things when you're, like, from there. Like, not every startup is the right startup. I mean yeah, I can give tons of examples, but things that you couldn't build in Israel. Or, I mean, you could move here and do them. Obviously I did that, but still, yeah, maybe even Boxee is not something that you can do from Israel. You have to be here. And that's the thing. Just in New York, you can find all these people, and they're all a big support system, and that's wonderful.

Idan Cohen on Hiring Product Developers Based on Cultural Fit

In Chapter 7 of 13 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, technology entrepreneur Idan Cohen answers "How Have You Learned to Better Assess Fit When Hiring New Employees?" Cohen shares how first you need to understand if candidate is technically competent to do the work. Second and more importantly, Cohen assesses cultural fit and whether or not the candidate will connect with the family feeling in the office.

Idan Cohen is a technology entrepreneur and product management leader at Samsung Electronics. He co-founded Boxee, which was acquired by Samsung in early 2013. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: How have you learned to better assess fit when hiring new employees?

Idan Cohen: I used to do a lot of the sourcing of new people. So after you kind of figure out that technically, professionally they are the right people for you, which is actually hard and not-- you know, you're not always able-- a lot of people that look good on paper and look good in interviews and extensive interviews-- it doesn't guarantee how they're going to be professionally. But because of that, I think that the most important thing is actually having a good fit culturally, fostering that company culture and creating this family feeling where everyone is really connected.

And it's not always that everyone is connected to everyone, but even-- like, there's just overlapping groups inside of the company. And you really want to find people that can not just find their place but find their place within the group.

And I think that affects also productivity. When someone is extremely connected to the group, he is much more connected to the product, he is much more connected to the vision, and he enjoys his job better, and he performs better. When it's someone that's very much an individual, it can be a much harder job to do-- or it's just-- it's more of a struggle on everyone's side.

Idan Cohen on How to Attract and Retain Software Engineering Talent

In Chapter 8 of 13 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, technology entrepreneur Idan Cohen answers "What Has Your Experience Taught You About How to Attract and Retain Engineering Talent?" Cohen shares what he has learned about attracting and retaining top software engineering talent for product development teams. He finds three things help do this. The first is having a family-based culture where people love to work. The second is to provide a product vision and make sure developers feel connected to that vision. The third is to make sure the employee stays engaged in the work even when it may not necessarily be cutting edge.

Idan Cohen is a technology entrepreneur and product management leader at Samsung Electronics. He co-founded Boxee, which was acquired by Samsung in early 2013. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What has your experience taught you about how to attract and retain engineering talent?

Idan Cohen: So there's kind of three main things. One is culture. The other is the product and their connection to the product and the vision. And the third is just technically keeping them, you know, engaged and interested and intrigued. And I think we were always able to do that. Everything we worked on was always somewhat cutting edge and trying to do things very differently and working on new things. So that was great.

The product was something that they were connected with, and obviously the culture was-- where it broke was when one of those was missing. You know, I've seen people that were just working on something that was a little boring, and especially if they are pretty ambitious people, they start looking aside. I've seen when we recruited people, you know, they were not connected to the vision. In a start up, the most important thing when you connect someone-- everyone needs to be cheerleaders. Everyone needs to feel that they are building something for themselves first.

And I think that's what makes it, for instance, much harder when you are building like a B-to-B product, because at the end of the day, people are working on something that they are personally not going to use. And when you are working on something that you are going to use at home-- and you know, everyone at Boxee uses Boxee daily when they go home, and their families use it. That's an amazing effect on the way that they perform, the way they view the company, the way they like what they're doing. In terms of attracting talent, that's not easy because I think there's always the newer, sexier thing.

So it was easier at the beginning, and then as you're working sometimes on new things, and suddenly you can kind of lure people because there's something that they would find interesting, but at some point, you're-- like, through the process, you have these plateaus sometimes that are just a little harder to go and find exactly those extremely talented people that you want because suddenly, there is something else that's shiny.

And then I think it comes to personal connections that you can make with them, and again, that connects to culture. And I've seen that many times where I met with people, especially when I kind of tried to poach someone who was already working somewhere else, and I meet with them.

So a lot of times-- I've seen it happen again and again. So we go and sit down for coffee, and you know, and we bring it up, and he's not ready, and he's thinking of something else, and he actually thought of moving away. And you give it time. And you meet again in two months, and suddenly you see that as he learns you and who you are, and what the company is and comes for a visit, it kind of starts brewing in his stomach, and eventually, that-- he jumps ship and comes along and joins you. And I think that-- I've seen that work really successfully for us. So I do that a lot, just pinpointing someone and creating that relationship, especially if it's someone that I don't know, and then bring him over.

Nina Godiwalla on Building Family Bonds in an Immigrant Community

In Chapter 1 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and entrepreneur Nina Godiwalla answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental in Shaping Who You Are Today?" Godiwalla shares why she valued her experience being raised in a close knit Persian Indian immigrant community in Houston. She details how it informed her and her husband's decision to raise their two children in that same community. Nina Godiwalla is an expert on diversity, leadership and women in the business world. She is CEO of Mindworks, which provides leadership, stress management, and diversity training to companies all over the world. She is also a bestselling author and public speaker. Godiwalla earned an MBA from Wharton, a MA from Dartmouth and a BBA from the University of Texas.

Transcript

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

Nina Godiwalla: I grew up in a Persian-Indian immigrant community. I really got this sense of community from being in that sort of environment, and, to me, now I have my own family. There are all these elements of community which I took for granted growing up, to me that was normal. My parents took us out for New Year’s, I was always with my family for our weekly events. It was much less just our family time, and everything revolved around our community, whether it was for a big event or for every single weekend, we were with our people in our community. So I think that sort of element has been incredibly impactful because I constantly feel like I have to create a sense of community for my family now when I think about what has had such an impact, and it’s interesting because my husband grew up in a completely different community but it was very much that way too, that they were part of a small community that they were always getting together, and so I think because we grew up in these communities, we both feel that, and it’s interesting because I don’t feel a lot of my other friends sincerely feel that way, and I think, partly, it may be because we’re both from different immigrant communities. I’m not sure if that is part of it, but it definitely—it informs so much of what I do now within my family life. It does inform my professional life as well.

Erik Michielsen: In what ways?

Nina Godiwalla: Well, I think, professionally, so much of what I determined what I would do when I was growing up, what I determined what I would major in, so much of what I was exposed to, from my entire growing up, like the first 18 years, was so much through that community, (chuckles) and so I think it informs all these choices you’re making at such critical times. What am I interested in? What are my interests? Who do I wanna be like? Who are my role models? All gets informed by this community, and you got your parents in this community, and so that was a lot of it, a lot of it was around that.

Nina Godiwalla on Finding New Ways to Learn From Your Clients

In Chapter 12 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and entrepreneur Nina Godiwalla answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?" Godiwalla shares how learning from clients has been instrumental in her professional development. She finds great value in the knowledge sharing reciprocity that comes in the client relationship and shares an example on biases in the workplace from her work with the State Department. Nina Godiwalla is an expert on diversity, leadership and women in the business world. She is CEO of Mindworks, which provides leadership, stress management, and diversity training to companies all over the world. She is also a bestselling author and public speaker. Godiwalla earned an MBA from Wharton, a MA from Dartmouth and a BBA from the University of Texas.