Tag: work

creativity

In the pause: Don’t let money run the show. At least not at the beginning.

Christa Avampato

On Friday, I was talking to a friend about a new business she’s thinking of starting. She reached out to another friend of hers to ask for advice. Though she has a lot of passion for the idea, she wasn’t sure how to monetize it. Her friend, a very successful entrepreneur in the financial services space, said, “Don’t worry about monetization right now. Just build what you want to build.”

That might sound like odd advice, especially from someone who works in finance. Aren’t we taught that to build a business we must think about bootstrapping or raising capital and an exit strategy? Doesn’t it all start with how to get money in and then how to get your money back out? This is where a lot of ventures fall down – they worry so much about the money at the start that they lose sight of why they’re building a business in the first place. It starts with passion and heart.

At the beginning of a business idea, you’re experimenting and testing. You’re trying to figure out what you can do and who you can help. To do that, you build the smallest possible piece that you can with as little money as possible for a very small number of people. Go ahead and dream big, but build small. You don’t need to save the whole planet in the next hour. All you need to do is make one thing better for one person. That’s the seed. Start there and see where the path leads. Stay curious. Stay hungry. Stay alert. Pay attention. Listen. Try, fail, and try again. Right now, that’s the only work you have to do.

creativity

Wonder: Go someplace where you can glow

Christa Avampato

About a dozen years ago, I interviewed for a job that was boring but paid well. I interviewed and really thought I made a great impression. Then the hiring manager told me, right in the interview, that she wasn’t going to hire me. I was devastated, until she explained why she wasn’t going to hire me. She said, “Christa, you’re a bright, shiny candle. Taking this job would be like taking a candle and putting it under the table. And that’s not where candles belong. Go somewhere where your light is needed and appreciated. Go do something really good with your life.” I’ve never forgotten that advice, and every day I try to live up to it. Sometimes I fail, but the daily pursuit to do something good with my life has always been worth it. I tried to find that hiring manager’s contact information so I could thank her, but it’s been lost in the shuffle over all these years since my interview. So this post is my attempt to thank her, and to encourage us all to find the place where our light is needed and appreciated in the coming year. Go where you can glow.

creativity

Wonder: A new kind of artificial intelligence

Christa Avampato

Can we build algorithms for compassion, empathy, kindness, understanding, and love? We build all kinds of algorithms to process enormous data sets and to cull through endless masses of information in a variety of formats in a variety of fields. Can we also build them to help us become better people and make choices that improve our sense of humanity?

In other words, does artificial intelligence only apply to IQ or can it also extend to EQ (emotional quotient)? What about the lesser known Understanding Quotient (UQ), Passion Quotient (PQ), Courage quotient (CQ), Communication Quotient (COMQ), and Spiritual Quotient (SQ)?

We know they can be used to guide weapons. Can they be used to stop war and violence? Could they make our neighborhoods safer and more efficient? What kind of data would they need to do that, and what kind of output would help us achieve these goals?

These are some questions I’m thinking about as I consider my next career move. Comments, ideas, and suggestions welcome.

creativity

Wonder: How to use time to your advantage

Christa Avampato

A few weeks ago I read the book The Power of When. It’s a quick read that helps each reader understand their chronotype—when they have maximum brain power and do their best work. I’ve read books like this before but this is the first one that’s helped me really understand when and why I do my best work. It’s not a perfect match for me, but in terms of my sleep and work hours, it’s a pretty good fit.

Like about half of people, I’m a bear:

  • I like to get 7-8 hours of sleep and wake easily once I’ve rested enough (I can’t tell you what a relief it is to have this after years of insomnia)
  • I do my best work between 10am and noon
  • a walk before lunch and a quick 20-minute nap or some meditation around 2pm help to keep up my energy
  • by 3pm I’m ready to leave my desk and be with people
  • I love food
  • I love my friends
  • Have a can-do attitude and enjoy having time to relax

In the new year, I’m going to try to make this schedule more of a reality so that 2017 becomes my best year yet. If you want to take a 45-second quiz time find out which of the 4 personality types you are, check out: http://thepowerofwhenquiz.com/

creativity

Wonder: Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Christa Avampato

“I fell in love with my work and dedicated my life to it.” ~Jiro Ono

A friend of mine recommended I watch the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. It’s about Jiro Ono. 85-years-old, he is considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. (Yes, the finest food can be found in a subway station!)

Humble and unassuming in appearance, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious three-star Michelin Guide rating. Sushi fan from all over the world repeatedly visit and make reservations months in advance. Jiro is completely unimpressed with himself. At 85, he says he is still searching for perfection, still trying to get better every minute of every day. He is also a fierce advocate for greater environmental regulations to protect the oceans and wildlife.

His dedication, passion, and commitment to his work is without equal. I enjoy my work but I don’t have what he has. It gave me something to aspire to, to search for. I’m looking.

creativity

Wonder: Once an entrepreneur…

Christa Avampato

As much as the security of a full-time job is comforting and the angst of being an entrepreneur is anything but, I’ve begun to think about striking out on my own again. This next leap is likely at least a year away as I start small, test ideas, ask for feedback, and develop a solid plan. I just know in my gut that I’m meant to do my own thing, to use opportunity to its full advantage where and when and how I see it, not how it’s defined by others. I’m only at the very, very early stages of this process and the lessons (tough and otherwise) of my last independent venture are looming large in my mind, and I plan to take all that wisdom and reinvest it in this new venture.

Last week I went to the U.S. News & World Report Healthcare of Tomorrow conference here in D.C. and I left every panel inspired, energized, and hopeful. There is such an immense amount of innovation happening and we are just beginning a new era of medicine in which we’re literally outpacing science fiction. From genomic and precision medicine, to transplants and prosthetics, to life-saving nanotechnologies and artificial intelligence paired with human creativity, there is so much possibility. I want to do my part to usher that possibility into reality.

I’m just now floating early ideas by some trusted people who aren’t shy with their critique and also unfailingly supportive of my dreams. It is a fine line to walk and they do that with grace and intelligence. I can see the future now, out there on the horizon, and I’m taking steps toward it every day. Like all things, it’s a journey and just knowing where I’m going has given me a lot of peace in the pursuit of the next adventure.

creativity

Wonder: The toughest reality about leadership

Christa Avampato

A long time ago I embraced the idea of leadership as service. If leaders take care of their teams, their teams will take care of their customers, and their customers will take care of the company. If we’re going to lead an organization, a group, a product, or a yoga class, the last thing we should do is play the “look at me and look what I can do” card.

This is what so many leaders get wrong. They bury themselves in their work and forget the crux of their role—to support their team members, individually and as a group, and spend the vast majority of their time removing roadblocks so that their teams can do their best work. The roadblocks can be funding, revenue, processes, procedures, services, and the list goes on.

It takes a tremendous amount of two-way trust to lead—leaders have to trust their teams and vice versa. It’s about crossing the finish line together, not beating one another to the end, whatever the end is. Just as the Lean Startup revolutionized how we see entrepreneurship and management, I hope that this idea of leadership as service revolutionizes the way we see company culture. A leader needs to be the last in line, not the first. It’s so much easier to push than to pull.

creativity

Wonder: A walk through D.C. to clear my head

Christa Avampato

On Tuesday nights I play in a bocce league. I walk from my office in Arlington through Georgetown, past the White House, and then to downtown D.C. to the court. It’s a magical ~4 mile path.

Yesterday my brain was tired after work. I’m learning coding in addition to writing dialogue for our AI product, getting up-to-speed on the healthcare industry’s best practices, processing and pulling apart medical triage guidelines (with plenty of medical vocabulary that’s brand new to me!), and planning our product’s strategy, pricing, marketing, and testing. It’s a lot and I needed a good, long walk to clear my head.

As I wound my way through this city yesterday, I fell in love with this city a little more with every step. The architecture, colors, light, water, pattern of the streets, iconic symbols of our country, and people. All of it just dazzled me. It lifted me up out of my tired fog and into a state of supreme gratitude. Movement creates a movement.

creativity

Wonder: Give yourself time

Christa Avampato

I’ve been at new job for six weeks and I’m working hard to get up-to-speed in a new industry with a product that has an aggressive timeline to launch. I’m learning so much and by the end of the week I’m spent. And I know I still have so much to learn.

I’m very likely to be tough on myself expecting myself to be 100% up-to-speed with very little runway. While that helps me in some respects it certainly harms me in others. Six weeks, especially in the summer, isn’t much time at all. I’ve got many more questions to ask and many more things to learn. And that’s okay. I’m climbing the mountain one step at a time, and I’m giving myself the chance to reflect on every view.

creativity

Wonder: Dealing with adult bullies

Christa Avampato

Bullies in the classroom and on the playground grow up to be bullies at work, in politics, and in their communities. And dealing with these unfortunate people, no matter what the environment, requires the same approach: you must stand up to them, strengthen your voice and resolve, and not back down. It is as painful to do as an adult as it is as a child, and we must do it. Once you stand up to them, their insecurity will cause them to lie about you and do and say anything possible to disparage you. Promise yourself to be such an amazing person that no one would believe them. Stand your ground and be your best you—that’s the only way forward. If you’re dealing with this now, let me tell you a story.

When I started working at a financial services company in 2008, my Director and VP were pretty awful people. 14 months after my start date, I found another job at the same company in a completely different division with great people. The work was interesting and the role was a coveted one. My Director and VP were furious that I had gotten another job without their help and after they had done everything possible to prevent me from moving on to a new role. They were bullies and because I worked hard, spoke my mind, and did well despite their poor leadership, they continued to speak badly about me even after I left my role on their team. I moved on and never looked back.

Within a handful of months, they were both managed out of the company (a nice of way of saying they were fired). Shortly after that, my old VP reached out to me on LinkedIn. He had started a consulting practice and wanted to know if I could introduce him to my new VP in the hopes of getting a contract with my new team. He wanted to work for me after treating me so badly! It was shocking.

I ignored the message and never responded. To a bully, silence is deafening. Dismissing them without a second thought is intolerable. And in my eyes, that is exactly how he deserved to feel after his bullying—intolerable. It was a satisfying moment to hit delete. I fired him from my career and my life. I never heard from him again.

I recently faced a very similar situation and I’ve decided to deal with it exactly the same way. I’ve moved on and focused my attention on my new role with a great boss, talented team, and fascinating work. I’m not looking back nor listening to the noise and toxicity that I left behind. My future is ahead of me, not behind me.