Taking back control #FearlessFridays

With Mark Andersen, co-founder SWISS FIN LAB

Payment platforms, social media, email accounts, website hosting, telephone companies, smart phone providers, airline accounts, banking apps, clouds, blogging platforms, news subscriptions, the list goes on. Do you see what I see?

20 years ago, few of us had more than a handful of online accounts. If that. The same doesn’t hold true today. Think of what you’ve signed up with over the years.

“Each of us has a digital identity that spans across a vast amount of data. This includes friends, contacts, preferences, education and employment history, religious and political tendencies, etc. Where does that identity exist? It hides behind the walled gardens of dozens (and maybe hundreds) of centralized online services.

However, we have little control and ownership of that identity. It’s fragmented, inconsistent and insecure. Each of those services holds its own image of our information. Much of it is redundant. Some of it is old, some of it invalid. We don’t know how much information each of those services collects and stores. Consequently, we have no other choice than to trust them with keeping our data secure and use it responsibly.

Given the amount of sensitive and intimate information they handle, these services have a heavy burden to bear. And oftentimes, their knees buckle under the weight of that burden, at our expense. Long story short, our online identities have become too valuable and complicated to entrust their safekeeping and management to anyone else but ourselves.” (Source: The Next Web)

It is probably time to take back control of our digital life and profiles. New regulation is around the corner, but how are companies adjusting and how will we exactly take ownership back? 

Fortunately, technology is on the cusp of a major paradigm shift in the field of identity. Blockchain will create a major revolutionary transformation in this area — but many questions of how still remain unanswered. Companies, governments and NGOs are beginning to tackle this question in ways that hint at the profound impact this will have on how we live our lives.

“It is counter-intuitive, but the reality is that we don’t really own ourselves (in the digital sense). Though we can edit the profiles we create, third parties ultimately own our data. And it can be painful (or impossible) to wrest back control of that data. Imagine trying to sustain your personal relationships while deleting all your social network accounts, or put a down payment on a home without a credit history.

Why is this important? Well, to begin, as Jaron Lanier writes in Who Owns the Future, “You don’t get to know what correlations have been calculated about you by Google, Facebook, an insurance company, or a financial entity, and that’s the kind of data that influences your life the most in a networked world.” Lanier calls these services siren servers, and notes that we are eerily comfortable giving away personal data in a trade for convenience.” (Source: TechCrunch).

What are the implications of this paradigm? And how are organizations really managing data?

“More than ever, the ability to manage torrents of data is critical to a company’s success. But even with the emergence of data-management functions and chief data officers (CDOs), most companies remain badly behind the curve. Cross-industry studies show that on average, less than half of an organization’s structured data is actively used in making decisions—and less than 1% of its unstructured data is analyzed or used at all. More than 70% of employees have access to data they should not, and 80% of analysts’ time is spent simply discovering and preparing data. Data breaches are common, rogue data sets propagate in silos, and companies’ data technology often isn’t up to the demands put on it.” (source HBR)

Source: TechCrunch

Interestingly, in the past few months I have happened to (re)connect with two ex colleagues who, like myself, have left the safe corporate harbor to go out and find ways to make an impact and change history. Of course, I only found out about their latest whereabouts on my LinkedIn feed, where else?

Mark`s story has been for me of particular interest for different reasons: his newly founded company has set out to improve exactly the semi-chaos I describe above, his choice to leave behind a corporate career to tackle impact entrepreneurship speaks volumes to someone who has done the same, funnily enough at the same time, and finally, his energy is too good not to write about! I say this as someone who has worked with him in the corporate world and once out, during a lunch, we both nearly missed a meeting because we just could not stop talking about the exciting projects that lie ahead!

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Q. Mark, tell us a bit about yourself.

Mark Andersen

I am a 38 years old Danish guy living in Zurich. I am married, but with no kids. My wife lives in Hong Kong, so I naturally travel a bit. I love meeting interesting people, trying to solve challenges, make a difference, and have a bit of fun as I go along. 

Q. You recently co-founded SWISS FIN LAB. How did that come about?

I moved to Switzerland in 2006 to join UBS as an investment strategist. After a tremendous 10 years with UBS and a career that gave me the opportunity to meet interesting people around the world, learning to engage with people and lead teams, training my analytic and diplomatic skills, understanding the good and bad of large organisations, living in buzzing cities as Hong Kong and New York, learning to get a bit more comfortable with public speaking, and most importantly taking everything in as an experience...

I thought it was time for another adventure. It didn't have to be FinTech, but technology is a tremendous enabler, and with a personal toolbox that includes finance and investment related skills, it was the natural place to go. From a development perspective, I am really excited to learn how to run a company, and be part of the ongoing technology revolution, which is turning industries upside down right now.

Q. Why did you co-found SWISS FIN LAB?

The mission statement and the first few lines of our shareholder agreement spells out the reason we exist as a company. It's the desire to:

1. Make meaningful products that the world needs

2. Build a company where people love to work

3. Be financially successful so we can continue doing 1 and 2

Q. What are you up to at SWISS FIN LAB?

We believe that the successful companies of the future will have access to data and the ability to use it for smart algorithms to provide more relevant services for people. We also believe that individuals will thrive with ownership of their digital identity and control of its usability for services. We try to take advantage of this by developing software that enables the exchange of personal data between individuals and companies and in its usability for applications, in particular for personal financial management. 

The SWISS FIN LAB team

Q. Do you have a higher purpose with your company?

Yes, I think we do. Two keywords for me are data democracy and helping people reduce stress in their daily lives. In terms of "problem statement", I would say:

1. Data democracy: Today, personal data is gathered and sometimes "exploited" by the large Tech giants. Upcoming data regulation tries to democratise this process, and we want to support this development by helping people and companies access and make use of personal data for better services.

2. Reducing stress: Personal finances is the largest source of stress for people globally. We want to help solve that by making use of people's personal data and smart investment algorithms for better personal financial management. 

Q. What type of products does that lead to?

Mark with Robert C. Merton at a conference on retirement investing in Oxford. Robert won a Nobel Prize for improving the Black-Scholes formula, and has a passion for financial institutions to have “more meaningful dialogues” with their clients and bring people solutions instead of products.

We come at it from the two angles described before. First, in terms of personal data, we are just launching ZOA GDPR, a software for companies to manage EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that will also work as an enabler for companies and individuals to exchange personal data. Secondly, to help people reduce stress around personal financial management, we are offering investment applications to financial service providers via our product FINANCIAL LIFE GOALS.

Q. What gets you most excited?

At the moment, it's building a company. The creation of a team of super experts in their field, no arrogance, just competence, and the prospect of bringing a contribution to this world. I have nights when I am off to bed, where I can hardly wait to get up in the morning. 

Q. What are your biggest challenges?

As a young company, we are relying on people believing in our skills and vision to work with us. We believe in partnerships, and we are proud and happy to have found the first companies that trust in us and have given us work, and then of course talented individuals that want to join the ride and come work with us.

Q. How do you manage your energy?

I am trying not to sound too "zen" about it when I say this, but I really try to listen to my body and optimise the use of my energy. I have times where I feel I can really concentrate. Then I work full speed and preferably uninterrupted. Some of my most concentrated work hours, I can get in while travelling. Other times I need to move, socialise, rest and so on, and whenever I can, I will try to play into those needs. I understand I am in a privileged position to manage my life in such a fashion, but I think it's a way to optimise ones' capacity. I also try to stay healthy and do sports to give myself more energy.

Q. How does that play out in a work-life-balance?

I am still learning my rhythm, but my experience is so far that I tend to work most days. Some days more than others. But I rarely push myself through a consultancy or investment banking style working day.

Q. Any life philosophy?

Good memories being made. Mark with his parents, Hong Kong.

I recently discovered this American psychologist, Carl Rogers, who I think has a quite cool life philosophy, and that represents somewhat how I try to approach things. He says: "This process of the good life is not, I am convinced, a life for the faint-hearted. It involves the stretching and growing of becoming more and more of one's potentialities. It involves the courage to be. It means launching oneself fully into the stream of life". 

Q. You still have an engagement with UBS - tell us a bit about that.

Yes, I am still 20% employed at UBS. UBS is really an extraordinary company with some extraordinary people, and I think my working arrangement speaks highly of the capacity of the firm to adapt to a future working model. The attempt is to create a win-win model between a large visionary corporation like UBS and what we believe is a visionary young company SWISS FIN LAB.

Q. There is a large debate going on around the future of work. How do you see it playing out?

I think the future of work is more flexibly and more meaningfully defined. As more and more people are fortunate to grow up not struggling with the basic human needs of food and shelter, I think looking to bring a meaningful contribution to the world becomes an increasing focus. And that's a really cool thing for society. But it also means that if your mission as a company is simply to "make money", you will no longer attract the best talent. It's a bit of an anecdote, but since we launched as a company, we have had some really exceptionally talented people reach out asking to be part of our team and mission. That's really motivational, but also something to live up to.

Q. Any final thoughts for the #FearlessFridays readers?

I really like the concept of "Own the way you live". Many of us are fortunate enough to live in parts of the world, where we don't have to be prisoners in our own lives. And when we dare taking charge, that's often when the magic happens.

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A few final words on the second key societal goal of SWISS FIN LAB: “Reducing stress when it comes to personal finances by making use of people's personal data and smart investment algorithms”.

The fact that personal finances is the largest source of stress for people globally is undeniable and true for everyone. However it is especially true in the case of women. Women live longer statistically and over a life time, for different reasons, earn less than men. It is often the inevitable result of taking time out to care about children or family members. But what increasingly research shows is that women have been holding back from taking charge of their own finances due to lack of confidence. Women suffer more from this than men and in the area of finance – so set about jargon and idiosyncrasies – it`s all too easy to become intimidated.

What I have learned is that sorting out finances – to buy property, invest in the stock market, get better educated, take care of your pension - takes time and trust. In yourself firstly and in the advice that sources you choose to trust will provide. What happens to trust when it is managed by smart investment algorithms combined with your own personal data, beliefs, needs and preferences? Watch this space, as your world is about to change, bringing back that much needed little extra confidence boost. What`s not to like about such a rising star?

Thank you Mark, we look forward to hearing more about SWISS FIN LAB in 2018!

- Manuela Andaloro

info@smartbizhub.com

“This process of the good life is not, I am convinced, a life for the faint-hearted. It involves the stretching and growing of becoming more and more of one’s potentialities. It involves the courage to be. It means launching oneself fully into the stream of life”

— Carl Rogers

Business as a force for good. The age of the impact entrepreneur. #Fearless Fridays

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

- George Bernard Shaw

"Why has bettering the world become a mantra for a new generation of entrepreneurs?

More than ever, today’s entrepreneurs are striving to build businesses that make a difference in the world. Businesses that make money — but pursue a path greater than just profit. Call it altruistic-capitalism, or, as I prefer, “impact entrepreneurship.”

Impact entrepreneurs are driven by a desire to disrupt the status quo. Doing their bit to push the world forward is what gets them out of bed in the morning. They believe in creating businesses that are more ethical and transparent, dislodging the dinosaurs that give the consumer a bad deal." (Source: Wired) 

"So, what is the importance of wealth to the “unreasonable man”? If impact entrepreneurs happen to become overnight millionaires, then the cause doesn’t stop; it just becomes more viable. PayPal founder Elon Musk made enough money by the time he was 30 to retire for the rest of his life. Instead of Ferraris and desert islands, he used his newfound funds to launch electric car manufacturer Tesla, disrupting the automotive industry forever. However, acknowledging that Tesla alone cannot save the planet from heavy emission vehicles, Musk is making public all of their patents for the advancement of the industry. The enemy is the carbon crisis, not rival car manufacturers.

Among the “crazy ones” featured by Jobs in his iconic film, was Virgin founder Richard Branson. Since the 1970s Branson has been the champion of the “better alternative.” From health clubs to airlines, Branson has disrupted the old guard and won the hearts, minds — and importantly — loyalty of customers by guaranteeing a better way of doing things. His philosophy is embedded firmly in the DNA of the 400+ Virgin companies operating across the globe.

As Branson has stepped back from running his empire, he has become a prolific ambassador for what he calls “business as a force for good.” Whether this is leveraging entrepreneurial tenacity to tackle problems that governments have failed to solve, or by launching The B Team, a not-for profit that encourages businesses to be of “social, environmental and economic benefit,” Branson is paving the way for impact entrepreneurs everywhere.

With this new approach to entrepreneurship rapidly shaping business in the 21st century, we’re on our way to business success being judged not by just profit, but through cultural impact. Subsequently, business is becoming more responsible, more transparent, more rewarding, more interesting and ultimately more fun." (Source: Wired)

On November 17th, 2017 I was attending the annual TEDxZurich event, kindly invited to interview some of their wonderful speakers. Between interviews, presentations, and notes taken while moving from backstage to the main theater and back, I nearly missed the beginning of his presentation - but I was stopped in my ranks as soon as I heard these words:

"I'm convinced that all of us are making a difference everyday. In our families, at work, in our community. But sometimes I have the feeling I could do better. Or I could do more? Let me share with you today my very personal story. And how I went from feeling completely powerless to making a difference."

And continued:

"The fact that you and I, and most people in this room, were born in the first world, to mostly wealthy, balanced families, is a completely coincidental fact and none of us has done anything to deserve it."

Well, that is an interesting start I thought. Pen and notebook put aside I focused on listening carefully to his words, spoken and unspoken.

Having just heard the incredible story of immigration of the wonderful Rima Alaifari (more on her speech soon) and witnessed first-hand how unconscious biases can harm our society, our economies and our future, I was very keen to understand what a known Swiss entrepreneur has done to make real impact on our world.

Christian Hirsig is a Swiss serial business and technology entrepreneur, an open innovation pioneer and the founder of Atizo.com, a crowdsourcing platform, and of PowerCoders. In 2009 he was selected to be on the Swiss national set-up team, named 40 under 40 by Bilanz in 2012 and, in 2016 represented Switzerland at the Global Entrepreneur Summit at Stanford.

Credits: TEDx Zurich, Boris Baldinger, Manuel Lopez, Christsna Züger

I met Christian in the backstage after his inspiring speech. While exchanging numbers and looking at articles on our phones, we briefly discussed career, family, life with little children - ours happen to have similar ages - how time is running and how important it is to switch off from time to time and avoid to suffer from "fragmented attention". Christian is genuine, inspiring, fresh, a true ‘force for good’.

Manuela. Christian, what led you to start PowerCoders and can you tell us more about it and its impact? 

Christian. Hi Manuela, sure. Let me go back of five years. We were a successful start-up working for very cool brands, winning all these fancy start-up prices. My story starts on a warm summer day in Paris. After a successful workshop with a famous jewelry brand, I walked to the station to head back to Switzerland. Once comfortable in my seat I looked around and realized someone had forgotten a newspaper on the table. I lazily started reading it, page after page, until, boom.

A picture of a little girl, probably 4 years old. Sitting alone at a beach, likely somewhere in Greece. Wrapped in blankets, probably just pulled out of the water by some strangers.
I went in one second from being enthusiastic about my life and my businesses, riding the wave of success, to completely powerless. I felt a very strong pain. I still do. And I don't know where exactly it is coming from. But let me try to elaborate a bit on this. I believe it is a mere coincidence that I was born in Switzerland. And this girl in Syria. She also could be sitting in that very same train I was sitting in. I probably was feeling the sheer injustice. It was just not right that she was sitting at that beach, alone. When I got back home I started speaking with friends about the refugee crisis and what we could do. But we all had great excuses. Employees, investors, family - and so did I. I just tried to push it aside. Quite successfully I have to confess.

M. What happened next? 

C. Let me fast forward to summer 2016. Our start-up was sold. On a trip to Washington last summer I met Cornelia and Dita. Cornelia has a catering company that provides food for refugees. And Dita has a coding academy for women. Together we came up with the idea of a coding academy for refugees. And there it was again the picture of the girl. But this time I could picture a whole different context. I felt strong, I felt I could make a change. I was the only one of our small group that had some spare time so I suggested to run a pilot of our business idea in my home town in Bern.

M. From running a pilot to building a school, how did you do that?

C. After securing funds for Bern we put together a team consisting of IT experts and social workers. Within just a few weeks we had 150 students applications and 100 volunteers. The solidarity was just unbelievable. In January 2017, 15 students from 8 different nations started school. It was such an incredible mix of people. Young, eager, smart and humble. In February we were able to match all of them with companies that offered internships in Switzerland. And after 12 weeks of intense school in April the first group of students graduated and received their the diploma. The students gifted us with flowers. Lhamo, our Tibetian student put a scarf around our shoulders. It was her sign of honoring our work. And for me probably one of the best things that has happened to me in my whole life, both humbling and empowering.

M. How did you promote integration between the students, the local population and the hiring companies? 

C. The students started internships. We were kept updated on their progress and met them once a month to assess each case. I guess I felt a bit like parents of teens must be feeling when their kids are leaving for college. A couple of months in we were informed by one of our students that he had signed a contract, the week after another followed. And on and on it went. All students were successfully hired with stable contracts.

6 weeks ago 18 students started in Zürich, this week they all had multiple job interviews.  During the same week we were also informed that the Swiss government will support us to run 5 more Powercoders schools for the next 3 years across the country. Tonight we will be on Swiss national TV to report on our mission and achievements. The students` achievements.

This is just the beginning. Very soon we will be able to open-source our program - a bit like TED and its TEDx series - so everyone around the globe who wants to impact lives by teaching to code can do so. And we will support them by building PowerCoders schools in their cities.

I found how to leverage my entrepreneurial background to make a tangible difference in this world. So think about what are your core skills and how can you use them to create sustainable impact?

Credits: Mike Niederhäuser

M. Your story and energy are so inspiring and your achievements are impressive! On your blog you state: "the common definition of success is completing university and getting a well paid, stable corporate job". Obviously your story is not common and your definition of success is quite different, thankfully. What made you choose to become an entrepreneur?

C. I think the challenge, and at the same time the opportunity, that we have in Switzerland and in most of the "first world", is that we have great work opportunities after our studies, so it is relatively easy to secure stable jobs. Most of us are more likely to join big corporations and quickly get to a 6 figure salary, the incentive to start your own business is somehow lower than elsewhere. It is therefore not too surprising that recent research from the University of St.Gallen on innovation potential by country and global likelihood of entrepreneurship, points to the fact that in emerging economies people are more likely to start companies and to be innovative because well, they have few other options. I also believe that many of us have a strong entrepreneurial drive in their DNA, they simply need to push themselves out of the comfort zone.

I come from a very entrepreneurial family, every single person in my family has his of her own business(es). Even so, I did try the corporate route before starting my first business, but I became very frustrated very quickly. I was working for a large Swiss company that while presenting its workforce with interesting and innovative projects, was struggling with internal processes, and had an incredibly long decision time for the smallest tasks. We worked hours on-end-to produce concepts and projects that in the end were not approved. Too low ROI, too much work for little result, too little recognition. So I left. I never gave too much relevance to high income, I was happy to leave behind a corporate salary to start my first company, on the one hand I had reserves, on the other I could reduce expenses for a while without impact. So that part  gave me the freedom to focus on my business.

M. I suppose we already know part of your goals and incredible achievements, is there any further impact you wish to make on others and the world? 

C. Wow that is a big question! I suppose I do want to make an impact. From an entrepreneurial perspective, with Swisspreneur we want to inspire young people to start their entrepreneurial ventures as early as realistic. It can be as simple as helping running events, working alongside a start up, just ways to dip your toe in this world. We believe that countries with a higher percentage of entrepreneurship will adapt a lot faster and better to digital age and to innovation at large, soon we will see a rapid change in how we work and what we work on. I incentivize young people to push themselves out of the comfort zone daily, for different reasons, but especially when it comes to their employment choices.

We have a social responsibility to improve the status quo of our planet, from pollution and global warming, to third world challenges, hunger, poverty. I personally try to walk the talk, I don’t own a car, I reduce my carbon footprint, I reduce meat intake, I support NGOs and charities that try to make a difference.

Leading PowerCoders has been an amazing journey so far, we have been able to make a real difference for migrants who have had to move to Switzerland. It is important to give them the dignity they deserve, it is also key for Switzerland as these are skilled talented people who can and will help economies to flourish further.

M. What challenges did you encounter in pursuing your passion and pushing yourself out of the comfort zone?

C. Many! Success is failure in small doses. Every successful entrepreneur had to fail in small steps, you just learn when you fail. The biggest challenges are putting together the right teams and finding and retaining customers as the world moves so fast. It is difficult, right now my main personal challenge is finding a good balance between all my projects and time for my family, having quality time with them while truly savouring our time together, being relaxed and giving them my full attention. Probably a challenge common to all parents of young children who are investing time and passion in their work.

Credits: Digital Festival @digitalfest_ch @alainchuard

M. So can you give us a few tips on how do you balance life and work with a young family?

C. I don`t have all the right answers, it has a lot to do with being clear with our goals. In our family we are very creative and learn as we go by, we try to be very organized and plan ahead, we almost run the family as a small company, with a lot of different calendars to be on top of activities and run the home business. Children just want to have time with you, at this stage for them everything else matters less. If I am with the kids I focus on them and shut off the world. 

M. I can only relate. Increasingly more bright minds are choosing to leave the corporate world and start their business or join start-ups that are thriving to make an impact. What will the future hold for slow adapting large corporations that are no longer able to retain their talents in your opinion and what could be the impact on society? What will happen to corporations who are embracing great change?

C. Yes there are many companies that are not doing a good job at retaining talents, some however are reacting, although very slowly. Normally once they start moving they move and they are powerful. We are seeing this in the Silicon Valley: many companies are starting to adapt and develop new working models and being successful at that. Companies that will not be able to adapt will not survive.

Thank you Christian, more soon!

"Starting your own venture or joining a startup is typically not encouraged.  As the global economy changes and as technology alters the kind of jobs that are available to people, we believe that it’s critical that young Swiss people have a more open and adaptable view towards their careers. We think helping to instill a more entrepreneurial mindset into Swiss youth is critical to Switzerland’s ability to compete in the global economy" (Swisspreneur.org)

M. 

(info@smartbizhub.com)

From purpose to impact. #FearlessFridays

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. —Mark Twain

"Over the past few years, there’s been an explosion of interest in purpose-driven leadership. Academics argue that an executive’s most important role is to be a steward of the organization’s purpose. Business experts make the case that purpose is a key to exceptional performance, while psychologists describe it as the pathway to greater well-being. Doctors have even found that people with purpose in their lives are less prone to disease. Purpose is increasingly being touted as the key to navigating the complex, volatile, ambiguous world we face today. Despite this growing understanding, however, a big challenge remains. Fewer than 20% of leaders have a strong sense of their own individual purpose. Even fewer can distill their purpose into a concrete statement." (Source: HBR)

Rainy summer days, June 2014. Demanding job, an 18-month old baby, a life I find interesting and inspiring. My third year in Zurich, somewhere in the background the knowledge of the different life I would have had, had I stayed in London. Or gone back to Milan. 

Better, worse? Neither.

My passion for finding, driving and enabling positive societal change was born in part due to some of my personal experiences of those years. They made me become aware of my purpose, and care about the future of leadership. Pushed me to find ways to make an impact, raise awareness on topics that are key for society and that I am passionate about. They shaped who I am and the fulfilling projects I run today.

"Your leadership purpose is who you are and what makes you distinctive. Your purpose is your brand, what you’re driven to achieve, the magic that makes you tick. It’s not what you do, it’s how you do your job and why—the strengths and passions you bring to the table no matter where you’re seated. Although you may express your purpose in different ways in different contexts, it’s what everyone close to you recognizes as uniquely you and would miss most if you were gone." (Source: HBR)

Back in 2014, Lisa and I had agreed to meet in a cafè near the city centre. We had been in touch over emails, introduced by common local friends.  Her friendly and inspiring smile, her drive and a strength you could just feel before any words were spoken is what I still clearly remember as my very first impression. They say you decide whether you like a person within the first few seconds from shaking hands. Right there and then, I had no doubts.

The #FearLess Fridays series that launched last Friday, December 1st had been on my mind for a few months. During that time I had quickly mentioned the idea to a few inspiring people in my circles. In two weeks l had a solid schedule of outstanding stories that filled my pipeline every other Friday for the following 10 months. The first post on "Republik" had an incredibly high amount of organic traffic, shares and related. It was followed by an overflowing inbox too. And that, I believe, is not due to my blogging skills in a non-native language, but to the fact that we are increasingly craving inspiring stories from the bravest of us. We seek authentic leadership and strong purpose. The definition of "courage", "purpose" and "leadership" varies, people interpret them in different ways, the desired impact on lives and society at large however is the same. My personal definition draws on the many diverse stories of wonderful talented minds I have the pleasure to know.

Lisa is one. Hers is a greatly inspiring story that defines and frames the meaning of courage, purpose and leadership.

"Marrying my Swiss husband was the reason I quit my corporate job in the first place. My dad’s heart attack was the reason I never went back.

When my now-husband proposed, he also inadvertently asked me to give up my career, my friends, my family, and my entire life in America to permanently move to Switzerland.

I was confident I would arrive in Zurich and quickly settle in with a new career and a new set of friends (as I had done when I’d previously moved to different cities) so the idea excited me rather than scared me.

But just two weeks before our wedding day, as I was packing up my cubicle and leaving my corporate job for the day, I noticed a missed call on my mobile phone from a number I didn’t know -- a number with the area code from my parents’ hometown. It was my mom, calling from the hospital with the news that my dad had been rushed to the emergency room. He’d had a serious heart attack and was going in for major surgery.

It was the first moment anyone in my family had been sick; it was the first moment I’d ever really recognized that health was not infallible. Sitting by my dad’s bedside with my mom and three siblings was one of the most disorienting moments in my life.

In just a few short weeks, I was scheduled to get on a one-way plane ride and permanently move away from them, half way across the globe. Did I really still have the nerve to do that now?

We all spent a lot of time that week reflecting on life. My family, and particularly my dad, convinced me I still needed to go out and live the life I needed to live. Health was health, family was family, but life is life; you need to go out and make your impact in the way only you can. After some deep soul-searching, I decided to follow my family’s great advice and added one condition: I would dedicate my life to making it one worth living.

Upon arriving in Switzerland, with my newfound quest for living a meaningful and fulfilling life, I undertook my biggest task to date: figure out who I really am, what I really want out of life, and what impact I want to have on the world. That is, of course, a lifelong search so I simply started with discovery steps towards figuring out my values and interests. For example, I knew I wanted to prioritize family. I wanted a career that would also provide me the flexibility to visit the United States regularly and stay home with my (future) children. Additionally, I knew I wanted to prioritize doing meaningful work that would have a lasting positive impact on the society. I certainly didn’t want to just be doing a job to earn money.

Keeping values like these in mind, I began designing my career. Because entrepreneurship had always fascinated me, I decided to start my own small consultancy working with startups. Entrepreneurship had always seemed so sexy when it was covered in the news. Be your own boss. Create your own vision for the world. Follow your dreams. In reality, I discovered, 90% of being an entrepreneur is disheartening, hard work that includes lots of failures, rejections, uncertainties, mistakes, and people telling you repeatedly why your ideas definitely won’t work. Despite all those stressful aspects, working with entrepreneurs was fun, and I enjoyed it immensely. I loved consulting because I loved the strategy discussions, the digging into the psychology of the customers, the creative problem solving that was inevitably required.

But I truly loved one aspect more than all the others: witnessing the transformation of the entrepreneurs themselves. To be the kind of person who can handle this level of instability, uncertainty, criticism, and public failure is mesmerizing. To courageously stand by your vision and continue making progress towards your goals in spite of all these hurdles is the embodiment of living a life worth living.

I turned this admiration into my dream job: serving as a leadership coach, consultant, and corporate trainer. I work with a range of leaders (from large multi-national corporations to solopreneurs) on personal and professional development, focusing on what holds these leaders back from performing at their full potential and achieving their goals. This often includes growth in areas like emotional intelligence, how to be more effective in influencing and communications, and how to be flexible and agile with uncertainty to avoid undue stress. I also enjoy working with people who are looking to inject more meaning into their lives and who want to design a new career (and life) they find more fulfilling.

I can’t say enough how inspiring and motivating I find my job. No two clients are the same, no two days are the same. I love helping people work through their struggles in the pursuit of something great. I love that I get to tap into my insatiable curiosity and interest in connecting with people in a deeper, more significant way. I love that my days are filled with clients telling me how their lives have transformed because of the work we’ve done together.

As odd (or clichéd) as it may sound, my dad’s heart attack really helped me to find new importance in living a life aligned with my values and it helped me to develop an entirely new career outlook. Having a meaningful, impactful career balanced with great family and friends confirm that I’ve been successful in my pursuit: every day I feel like I’m leading a life worth living."

Lisa Christen is a leadership coach, trainer, consultant, and thought leader at her firm Christen Coaching and Consulting. She is fascinated by the hidden potential in people and works tirelessly to help people discover that they already have all the ability, answers, and courage they need to live a happy and fulfilling life. Lisa has years of experience working across Fortune 100 companies and the US Government and holds an MBA, a PMP® Project Management Professional certification, and an International Coach Federation (ICF) certification. Lisa enjoys balancing her work life with her personal life, including coming home to a loving husband, two adorable young daughters and an overflowing bookshelf.

For more information visit www.christenconsulting.ch or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisachristen/

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.  Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.” — Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching 

M. 

Raise 2 Million Swiss Francs. In 2 Days. Done. #FearlessFridays

This is how the most successful fundraising effort in Swiss history unfolds. 

"The goal was to generate 750,000 Swiss francs (about $750,000) in 35 days by convincing 3,000 people to pay 240 francs each for a one-year subscription to an online magazine that has yet to publish its first story. Within two days, they had raised $2 million. (source CJR)

Constantin Seibt, one of the most famous journalists of the German-speaking part of Switzerland and actively involved in the project, describes the concept of "Republik" as simple: `No-bullshit journalism.` 

The magazine, which will publish in German, promises to upload three pieces of journalism a day—articles, podcasts, photo reportage, or video—that will be well researched, well sourced, and factual. That material will sit behind a strong paywall, because content has value.

The fundraising success proves that Republik has hit a nerve. `No one was expecting this success,` says Anja Draeger, a board member of the Swiss Union of Broadcast Journalists. But, she adds, `The need was clear.`

With trademark Swiss attention to detail, the group has even created its own typeface. The Republik font is messy by design: `It’s not clean, not finished`, says Nadja Schnetzler, president of „Project R“. `It’s something that will irritate you, like we hope our articles might from time to time.`" (source CJR)

I stood and watched Nadja speak about "Republik" at the annual TEDx Zurich event a couple of weeks ago. I was kindly invited as part of the TEDx crowd to interview their incredibly interesting speakers. Needless to say, I headed to dinner that night after the event and after so many inspiring conversations with a notebook full of notes, a bag full of the most interesting business cards and a head full of inspiration and to do`s.

The next day I wrote notes about the presentations that had hit a nerve. Nadja`s speech stood out so clearly in my mind. Not only because of the initial contrast between her firm and passionate words on stage and her approachability and interest once I met her off stage, but because in the past ten years I have watched with increasing worry the damage that cheap press and social media are doing to human brains. And that is a soft way of putting it. 

Social media should be intended for sharing of information, pictures, facts. It is great to keep people in touch, to give a voice to everyone (not in all cases), however what should be easy to understand and obvious, is often not. Social media information has no source verification, there is tons of fake information, or very personal views, it is a circus most often than not, and your circle is only that, your circle. Most people in your circle will likely think like you but by no means that is a representation of reality. Raise your hand if the day after the latest UK and US elections you were surprised by what your circle of people had predicted on social media. Our brains should be able to filter all this. It turns out often they are not. Just look at the damages we see hitting the political and societal scenes. Not only new generations and younger audiences but also and maybe even more so older generations must learn to distinguish truth from lie. It sounds easy. Sadly it is not.

Let us talk about free press - what are the budgets behind the verification of news of free press? So how authentic and verified do we think oftentimes their news can be? And now imagine with digital devices as extension of our bodies and social media, how fast inaccurate information fires up around the internet. 

In the era of low-cost-everything and endless ongoing streaming of noise, call it cheap news, call it questionable "gurus", we must go back to the basics of journalism and understand that quality has a cost and often comes with a credible name. As simple as that.

If we are ready to pay for high quality food, holidays, IT, security, childcare, schools, universities, professionals, caretakers, good films, theaters, why have we forgotten that we should indeed be aiming for high quality when it comes to what we feed our brains with? How come have we forgotten that the information that we allow our brains to process, the way we understand the world, has a massive impact on the world itself? And paying is not even sufficient, we must train and re-train our brains to filter the noise too. Because while I recognize the value of it, I know only too well that social media is loud, as well as most free stuff is loud and often unsolicited.  It distracts us too often. Personally I make distinct choices when it comes to reading newspapers, magazines, or "research": I trust and follow some journalists, writers and sources since years, I am happy to pay for what they write and I would argue we should be paying them more. I also read ‘free’ press rarely and occasionally social media articles, like everyone else, lightly paid by advertising normally or sponsored by household names, and I train myself to filter and check sources. We are talking about the proverbial strangers’ candies for children. Would you want potentially poisoned food for your brain? In today’s world, critical thinking should be taught in school starting with little children and stands as a key parental duty.

On the morning of June 15 2017 I must have been frowning so hard above my Financial Times copy on my iPad because my 4 year old came up to me and asked "Mummy, are you angry?". I am actually very worried little boy, about what the future holds. I was reading an article called "How Facebook is changing democracy" by Simon Kuper, full article here (yes, it is behind paywall, but a 14 days FT trial costs 1 CHF, please go ahead and subscribe). 

"Recently, a political operative came to my office, opened his laptop and showed me how he fought an election campaign on Facebook in a European country that he won’t let me name.  Let’s say that, in the UK election, you wanted to sway fortysomething women in a particular Kensington street who own homes abroad. You make a video of Theresa May saying “Brexit means Brexit” and you experiment with formats. One might be a question: “Is hard Brexit risky?” Another is a statement: “Hard Brexit: Insane.” You vary colours. You pay Facebook to send out the videos, and see which gets the most clicks. Then you re-target those who clicked it. Only they, and friends with whom they share it, will see your ad. So you can send an entirely different ad, maybe even a pro-Brexit one, to voters elsewhere. It’s practically a secret campaign. And it’s cheap. My friend spent about €50,000 to reach four million voters. His country’s election regulator will probably never find him, especially as he wasn’t working for a party. These methods are going global. Matthew Oczkowski, head of product at Cambridge Analytica, the big data company that worked on Donald Trump’s campaign and reportedly advised the Leave campaign in the UK’s Brexit referendum, says: “We have elections going in Africa and South America, and eastern and western Europe.” Facebook has changed democracy. That may help explain recent surprising election results." (Source: FT)

I know. Shocking. However, unexpected? Not really.

So with the above in mind, can we still afford to feed our brains with uncontrolled, often unsolicited, often fake, information? Luckily, like me and like you, if you are reading this, increasingly more people have understood that something must be done. Now. That is likely why Republik raised more than $2 million in two weeks (along with $3.5 million of investor money) to do long-form journalism.  (Source CJR)

Below is an extract of my conversations with Nadja Schnetzler, president of „Project R“, the force behind "Republik", made of 10 founding members, five men and five women of different ages and a variety of backgrounds.

Nadja, you are an alumna of Ringier Journalism school, and a serial entrepreneur. Co-founder of BrainStore, founder of «Word and Deed», co-founder of the soon to launch "Republik" and president of Project R cooperative, which aims to strengthen democracy through the continuous evolution of journalism. 

Credits: BrainStore

An innovation pioneer is safe to say. "Word and Deed", reading from your blog, was born to "inspire other people to try new things when it comes to innovation, collaboration and communication".

Question. What inspired you and led to your current direction?

Answer. During my two decades at BrainStore I got curious why many teams do not implement the great ideas they create and I noticed that teams are having a hard time dealing with change and incorporating change into their teams, systems and organisations. I wanted to help change that.

Q. What impact you wish to make on others and the world? 

A. My purpose is to inspire others and to be inspired. This is my compass that helps me select work, direct my attention and choose the things I focus on. I recommend everyone to define their own purpose, ideally it matches both work as well as personal life. 

Q. Why do you think "Republik" was such a well received and successful crowdfunding operation?

A. There are many reasons, but I would say that it was a combination of a very important purpose, the right timing and excellent collaboration in a diverse team. 

Q. Did you ever have a change of direction in your career, if so, when did you feel it was right for you and why?

A. I breathe change with every part of my being. I cannot live without change and I hate routine. So I am always looking for new challenges. No two days should be the same in my opinion. 

Q. What challenges did you encounter? 

A. As an entrepreneur, I have lived through every kind of challenge imaginable. The trick is to adapt to change gracefully and to accept change and insecurity as your friend. Only when you can do that you can survive challenges like financial crisis, debt or help a team that is insecure navigate change. 

Q. How do you balance life and work?

A. Work is life and life is work. I really do not make any distinction or try to artificially “balance” anything. My personal purpose and my work purpose are the same. Be inspired and inspire others. Also having different people in my life who support me and are my friends or partners in different circumstances helps me keep a healthy balance. In times of stress I do practice transcendental meditation. 

Q. Increasingly more bright minds are choosing to leave the "old corporate world" and start their business or join start-ups that are thriving to make an impact. What will the future hold for large corporations who are no longer able to retain their talents in your opinion and what could be the impact on society? Is the balance of power shifting? 

A. The corporate world has yet to realize (they do, but they are slow at it) that they need to create environments of purpose. If there is no purpose, talents cannot develop. In systems with purpose, self-organisation and self-direction is key. It is crucial for large corporates to make that shift now.  

Thank you Nadja, we look forward to the launch of Republik in January!

M. 

(info@smartbizhub.com)

Credits: Nadja Schnetzler

#FearlessFridays. Is the balance of power shifting?

No career is a straight line. A few follow predictable paths; most take surprising curves to unexpected places; while others receive incredible boosts leading to different outcomes. After 17 years in the corporate world, last month I started some incredibly exciting business ventures and left behind a steady visible role in a large organization and decided to invest time, work and brain into some of my (remunerative) passions and purposes.

Will I go back one day? Maybe yes maybe not, surely not for a little while: I am increasing in value meanwhile as they say, staying laser-focused on my purpose and making impact where right now it matters most to me. I am incredibly grateful for what the corporate world has given me, I could not be doing this had I not had the experiences, network and discipline that only years of hard work in the corporate world often provide. Make no mistake, I worked hard, very hard and nothing was ever given for free, in fact, the opposite really, I gave much more than I received, as it happens for many in the corporate world. But if you are smart you learn from the good and the bad, I treasure this truth and have made it mine daily.

I am born and bread in the corporate world and have met a great amount of smart,  talented people in it. I have met those who love to thrive in it, and probably could not thrive elsewhere and surely not on their own, I have met those who believe to be seriously smart, but get nothing done and really smart are not, they simply shout louder or can temporarily leverage the right "vitamin", which by the way, will not last forever. I have also met a great amount of what one of my old bosses would call "floaters" - still makes me smile thinking of some people I have met over the years who perfectly fit this definition, you know who you are guys. And finally I have met some gems that could really shine brighter in other environments and some who are just perfect where they are and thank goodness for them, please keep shining. 

These dynamics today are increasingly interesting to me. Who stays, who goes back, who leaves the corporate world and why? Is it a generational phenomenon or part of the "4th industrial revolution" or both?

What becomes apparent rapidly once out is the highly peripheral view we often suffer from when plugged deep into a corporation. I recently had lunch with Mark A., an admirable ex colleague who has decreased to the minimum his working hours at his company and started his own exciting business. Like me he has been on his entrepreneurial journey for only a few weeks and we both marveled at the amount of reality we only found out about once both out and about to build our businesses. More about him and his story in the coming weeks.

So what happens once "out"? As mentioned you realize immediately that the business world is much wider than you had perceived. Of course, you do know that while at your corporate desk, but you don`t really size it up because everything you breathe is scanned through the "corporate lens". The incredible amount of seriously smart, brave leaders, ex-corporates mostly, who are driving and launching incredible businesses all on their own while having fast, high, tangible impact is positively overwhelming. And their impact affects their businesses, the economy and society at large. Not in years and multiple headlines, but in weeks or months with stats and facts.

From years as a D&I champion in various corporate roles, I had realized the high amount of talents that the corporate world loses every year. 7 weeks into my own entrepreneurship adventure I can see where many of the brightest minds are increasingly heading to. What will the future hold for large corporations who are no longer able to retain many of their talents I wonder and what could be the impact on society? Is the balance of power shifting? Is this due to the new generations coming in, moving up and out, to the new opportunities offered by digital life, to a new awareness, or is it simply cultural and economical winds of change?

Just over a year ago I was sitting in front of a very forward looking financial services economist, UBS`Paul Donovan who stated that "Labour markets are undergoing a cultural revolution: what we are seeing in the global economy today are the early stages of the 4th industrial revolution: 76% of UK businesses today employ nobody. They are 1 person businesses." Watch his presentation here.  How real does that ring now.

“Fearless Fridays" is about outstandingly talented human capital that has started businesses in the past few years. A series of blog-posts that will showcase the amazing stories of successful, purpose-driven entrepreneurs I have come across in my first 7 weeks outside of the corporate world and of those I met along the way in my highly formative years on the corporate ladder.

We will portray talents that have left the corporate world behind to do something less conventional, whether it was to move into a different sector, to start their own business, or to do something more creative. 

Stay tuned and don`t miss our first story on Friday 1 December on the single, most successful ever-recorded case of crowd-funding in Switzerland. 

M.

(info@smartbizhub.com) 

Credits: Joseph Pisani for Manuela Andaloro

Editing genes, delaying aging, flying cars. Welcome to the present.

• Cryptocurrency
• Estonian eResidency
• AI-based legislation
• Plastic ban
• Artificial Meat
• Vertical Forests
• Solar Farming
• Flying cars
• Biohacking
• Bionic Limbs
• Asteroid Mining
• Asgardia, the first space nation

If you think any or all of the above topics come from some futuristic novel, well, you may need to think again.

The future is here, and we are steadily working on solving some of the biggest environmental challenges of our time: climate change, food production, overpopulation, epidemic diseases.

Carol Hofmann presentation at FFS2017

Often, most of the latest progress made on some of these developments is happening under our nose. Literally. As in, my friend and neighbor`s husband is working on flying cars. Vertical farming and vertical forests happen 500mt from my apartment in Milan.

Milan, Bosco Verticale/Vertical Forest

You can apply for Estonian e-residency today if you wanted to. Mice experiments have shown that reversing aging is possible.  The office next to my gym hosts a start-up working day and night on alternative energy. They have one challenge only: too many requests, they are growing faster than they had ever expected.

I am an avid fast reader so I feed my brain for breakfast with news first, then espresso (or the other way round, it depends on the sleep deprivation degree).  I am a world citizen, so I care about the one and only planet we have and how we are handing it over to our children.  I talk over lunch with friends  or business partners about the tragedies happening as we speak but far from our eyes. How can this be happening. What can be done. There is little time for sadness, we need to act, fast, we can`t just sit there and read.

A month ago I was trying to come to terms with the incredible fact that we are de-facto eating plastic when eating ocean fish.  And in June I was wondering how fast can we get to use AI to counterbalance the amount of arrogance and ignorance in politics and in the corporate world. On this point, God forbid the return of Berlusconi seems to be real again. The guy is nearly 100 and while his aging might seem delayed, his stupidity is advancing.  

But what hit me the other night at the Female Founders  Summit 2017 was the amount of change that is coming our way.

Among many others, the wonderful presentation of Carole Hofmann, founder of the Summit, managed to pull together all the #FutureTech developments happening or coming our way and paint a fantastic, albeit sometimes scary picture. Thank you again, Carole, for such a good speech and event.

Carole Hofmann, Female Founders Summit 2017

What would happen if we were to have a prolonged electric black-out she asked?

My mind ran fast to the depth of our cellar where we keep a small solar panel charger. Which could probably manage to charge a mobile phone in 24 hours as opposed to the current 45 minutes. We have batteries, sure, but how many and for how long would they last? If we were to have an electricity black-out, we would go from highly sophisticated busy human beings to cavemen in the space of a few days. Riots would begin within a week. Have you ever wondered how much dependent we are on electricity? No phones, no heating, no water, no transport, no cars once fuel runs out. Surely no TV and related, and no analogical telephone lines are any longer available so no communication. No cooking, no life as we know it. Do you have a fireplace? Great, get out in the deep winter and start cutting wood once your stacks run out. Oh we have no tools for that, have we.

Suddenly the importance of the work of Tesla and all those wonderful start-ups working on alternative forms of energies and fuel seems of paramount importance.

“The smartest minds and smartest companies in the world are not only dealing with cryptocurrencies, but they are also bringing synergetic forces to finance a wide range of amazing solutions. One of these solutions: reducing travel time and solving traffic jams. For example, companies such as Tencent and Freigeist are funding Lilium, a German start-up company, to develop the first all-electrical vertical take-off five-seat flying taxi. “Lilium, a Munich-based company, promises to enable passengers to travel five times faster than by car. Lilium’s mission is to introduce “the world’s first all-electric vertical take-off and landing jet: an air taxi for up to five people. You won’t have to own one; you will simply pay per ride and call it with a push of a button. It’s our mission to make air taxis available to everyone and as affordable as riding a car.” (Read more here)

Lilium Founders

I have chosen to focus on one of the presentations that, among others, has hit a nerve. There were many others and there will be much written about them, about the great and brave founders of the event, about the importance of start-ups and of female founders. The Summit is a yearly event taking place in Switzerland, featuring pitches and showcases of innovative Female Founders, insights from the Ecosystem, access to Investors, Venture Capitalists, Business Angels, Corporate Venturing Initiatives, Networks and Mentors. In one sentence, it is the place to be if you wish to make a difference.

Follow the FemaleFoundersSummit on FB and mark you calendars for next upcoming events.

M.

Fully Engaged

Right up until the last night before our latest summer holidays I kept running at full speed. Work mostly, kids, packing, getting my oldest son`s lip stitched up (!), admin, projects for the second half of the year, more work. Finally by 3am on July 19th I had all suitcases packed, a note from the doctor on how to remove stitches (!!) all emails answered and my out office on. Now I could think about myself for the following 2 hours. That was, until the 5am alarm went off to start our road trip across Italy. Thankfully I was not the one driving so once we hit the road, I was the one sound asleep for the first 2 hours. 

Once holidays officially started on 20th July I made the conscious decision of logging off from everything that would not keep me 100% engaged with my life, my holiday, my family. With the exception of a few work emails, and slow visits to FB and whatsapp, I refused to look at any emails, any social media, any media at all in fact, except the news and the weather apps if really needed. And sadly have also had no time for this blog, which is however due to change soon, on this point, thank you to all those who visited also during these last few weeks of silence!

I have enjoyed 3.5 weeks of uninterrupted real life, of people and their stories, treasured life moments that have no space for the busy `standard` packed life schedule many like us lead these days.

One night during one of the many incredible dinners at our favourite resort in Sicily we were gifted with a short live concert. A gorgeous couple, guests of the resort like us and that we had seen and exchanged a few words with in previous years,  sat behind their violin and harp and started playing one of the most enchanting melodies we had heard so far. I turned towards my husband and we both instantly thought the same. This is amazing. Who are they? The very next day at the same restaurant I shake hands with the harp player, telling her how she and her husband had had us almost in tears with the power of their music.

That`s when her little daughter came to ask something.  She looked at me, I looked at her, what a common scenario, mums trying to exchange a few words interrupted by the softly urgent voices of their little ones, we smiled, and clicked. How did she do it all? How can you both combine musical careers at one of the most prestigious Opera Houses in the world and run a family and have time for yourself and your partner. She could not she said, just like I could not. She had decided to change, just as I had, only a few months prior, decided to shift priorities and re-calibrate efforts and engagement in my life.

More time for `being` and staying fully engaged should not happen only during the holidays. It should be a standard condition of our daily busy lives. Research clearly shows the benefits that a balanced life and time for oneself have on businesses, productivity, society and health. So why are we rushing and ending up exhausted constantly?

What is a “vacation” after all? Why do we feel the need to “vacate”, to “empty” for certain periods in order to regenerate ourselves and recharge batteries? Why would the ritual action of “being temporarily absent” from our own lives be desirable? On the verge of the 4th industrial revolution, where the borders of work and life merge constantly, it is perhaps time to ask ourselves how to make our own daily lives more desirable, less exhausting and finally fully engaged.

M.

Corporate Royalty. Political Thrones. Authorized Incompetence.

Four recurrent questions have been coming to my mind in the past few months.

1.       How can incompetent, often arrogant people make it systematically to the top? (Hello Mr Trump and corrupted  processes across businesses and politics)

2.       How can we be fooled by fake confidence over competence? (Yes, you, highly incompetent, arrogant guy in a suit in that meeting)

3.       How can we be less biased when hiring or letting people into our professional and personal networks? (How hard it should really be to scan through CVs when you thrive to be unbiased and hire the right fit?)

4.       How can we best define intelligence? (How can we move away from the one fits all approach that plagues our schools and our workplaces?)

Truth be told all questions above have a lot to do with my daily life so how do we go about making a change and having an impact?

1,2,3 - How about we make artificial intelligence tests compulsory for some. As it is increasingly employed in many businesses and sectors and will become soon extensively used by HR and hiring managers, why can we not make AI compulsory for those aspiring to top jobs that have an impact on human lives, on our planet or on our money, to have a basic but thorough, impartial, machine-unbiased assessment on whether they are mentally stable and fit for the actual job? A sort of AI ID card on basic human competence and emotional intelligence. This would happily erase the chances of all the loud incompetent people across businesses we see getting hired and promoted year on year. This would decrease the chances of some political leaders even starting their careers leave alone being elected presidents.

Maybe such tests could be a suggestion also for those who go to vote without knowing what their vote will mean, nor understanding the basis of the pros and cons.

Maybe we could avoid another financial crisis. Or global warming. Or many innocent human lives.

4 – I am raising two little children, feeding their little bodies and their little brains and wondering what it is that we are leaving behind.  I am naturally very interested in what the future holds for the future of education and the future of the workplace when it comes to understanding intelligence.

We all know by now that IQ tests and their scores are outdated and only give a rough indication of one way of measuring one type of intelligence. We all know and have heard across high level platforms and in depth research for many years that real leaders are those who have great emotional intelligence and understand the value in the people around them. So why workplaces keep hiring, rewarding and retaining ancient dinosaurs and their poster children with often one type only of cold unemotional intelligence?  Why are there still so few exceptions and very few enlightened leaders?

Accordingly to the World Economic Forum by 2020, emotional intelligence will be the 6th most sought-after skill, ahead of decision making and negotiation. 

Back at school in my day there was one unspoken rule. I attended a scientific high school/gymnasium, where the most important subjects were the main language/culture/literature (Italian), English and mathematics. Out of 10 subjects and as many professors, those teaching these three were highly regarded, the other 7 were lucky to be considered 'real' professors, being them music, gymnastics, arts, phylosophy or history experts they simply did not get the same credit. Students who scored high in Italian, English and Maths were considered smart and good and would go on to conquer the world. Those who did not were considered less worthy. By far. It was not phrased that way but it was absolutely meant that way. What a waste of talents in so many ways.

I was decent in maths, I was good in all subjects. Because I studied.  But I was never incentivized to follow my passions by my professors (thankfully I was at home by my forward looking parents).

We were instead systematically threatened by my maths professor whom we were exposed to for a minimum of 6 hours a week for 10 months a year for 5 years, if we could not get analysis right and the study of spacial functions right during each monthly test, we would never achieve anything in life she said. EVER.

Then I went to university, hoping to find more enlightened professors. But no, back in 2003 one size (of intelligence) must fit all and if not bad luck, seemed to be the mantra. I did fit, but it was a tight skin and it took some work to nourish my other natural inclinations.

Well, here I stand and I salute you nearly 15 years later, dear high school and university professors across Europe.

So looking back on when I signed the last page of my master thesis, there is one thing I wish I had known: intelligence takes many different forms and all need to be nurtured in the same way as they are all equally important.

Source: CNBC

·         Spatial: Visualizing the world in 3D

·         Naturalist: Understanding living things and reading nature

·         Musical: Discerning sounds, their pitch, tone, rhythm and timbre

·         Logical-Mathematical: Quantifying things, making hypotheses and proving them

·         Existential: Tackling the questions of why we live and why we die

·         Interpersonal: Sensing people's feelings and motives

·         Bodily-Kinesthetic: Coordinating your mind with your body

·         Linguistic: Finding the right words to express what you mean

·         Intra-personal: Understanding yourself, what you feel and what you want

There are multiple benefits to embracing your own type or types of intelligence. For starters, you can stop comparing yourself to others, and find your best work environment. You're also more aware of what skills you may need to develop and ultimately of what makes you happy.

Which one(s) can you count yours?

M.

The 8 days week. Work, Sleep, Family, Fitness, or Friends: Pick 3.

The past 10 months have been a squeeze. On the one hand we got so much done that we surprised ourselves on outcomes and positive results, on the other hand, we had to let go of quite a few things in order to keep our sanity and find some pockets of time available just for us to “decompress”. 

Looking back, since last July, husband and I:

-          Worked an average of 12 hours a day on workdays, across office hours, nursery school picks ups, dinners and bedtimes and hours in our office at home.

-          Worked an average of min. 3 hours every weekend. (No, not proud of it but those in our shoes know only too well).

-          Renovated our new place, moved into it, dealt with the impossible lack of organization and reliability of our decorators and builders (lost it a few times with a few of them, that costs energy too).

-          Lived with said builders for nearly two months once moved in. Thankfully the place is fairly big. However that meant dust had a lot of surfaces to cover too.

-          Went on an average of 8 business trips each, plus equivalent number of family trips (family birthdays, special occasions etc). Packing, unpacking and doing laundry for 4 is what comes with it, along with the happy memories of course. 

-          Tried to keep a minimum amount of social life, failing often.

-          Dealt with family accidents, helping out those we love (broken legs, aging grandparents` sicknesses).

-          Dealt with a variety of kids viruses, kids sick and home from nursery school, typically on the day when you have 8 meetings and some vital presentation, last minute rescheduling of packed days, trips, commitments.

-          Have had daily very early starts and fairly late nights. Making hours of sleep up here and there on weekends.

-          Pushed through patchy childcare, in that the earmarked or hired help/caretakers we regularly rely on had their own set of personal challenges or were simply not available.

-          Managed to enjoy life, on most days, even on the days we were too tired to look at each other and could just yawn, pat each other on the shoulder, and type away.

-          Organized events and family gatherings, we both share the same affection for our families. 

-          Raised our 4 and nearly 2 year olds. Fed them and their little brains. (Not as easy as non parents might think).

-          Both received work gratifications (which means we get to work on very interesting projects but nearly had to work around the clock through some patches and through holidays).

-          Saved a few occasional hours here and there to reconnect with each other and ourselves.

-          Had the occasional “I might kill you” episode.

-          Survived sleepless nights of kids sick, changes of bed-sheets and mopping of floors at 3am only to be up 2.5 hours later to get ready for work and deliver whatever it was we had committed to deliver. How fun to keep your brain productive and sharp after 3 nights in a row of these happy episodes.

-          Dealt with exhausted brains that just would not cooperate to meet that deadline due to lack of sleep and exhaustion.

-          Tried to avoid going crazy when pressure was on, crammed days of 12 hours straight were looming, kids fell sick, grandparents fell sick, little help was available, we were sick ourselves and still had to pull through. The proverbial fan being hit by you know what.

-          Incredibly managed through all this with one single sick day each in 10 months. 

-          Carved as much time as possible out over the weekends to be able to fully focus on the kids, be with them, enjoy them, grow up with them. Paint stones and do hand-prints and clean paint off couches and tables. Laugh. Laugh some more and watch them watching us.

-          Live and possibly be happy with the fact that in the past 4 years we aged 10 years on the outside, gained 10 years of experience on the inside.  

-          Decided we will never go through the above all at once ever again. If possible.

Ten months into this we know we managed decently and pushed through well enough, we know we will get through more if needed, we know this was a special 10 months and we will not renovate another house nor move into it nor (EVER!) deal again with renovators and builders. And we also well know that a lot of people, young families, parents, go through this hectic patches, and learn the same lessons. But this is not sustainable.

The amount of people diagnosed with “burn-outs” is increasing steadily year on year, the amount of mothers who leave the workforce and/or suffer burnout or extreme degrees of stress is also increasing, incredibly. If I look around us, probably only 20% of our network of friends and acquaintances share our exhausting set up, 2 young kids, 2 demanding jobs, no family living nearby. And that 20% is decreasing. Only last week two couples I know went through the exercise of decreasing pressure on their families. In both cases the mothers, passionate career women suffering from near burn out symptoms, decided to leave their jobs and stay at home.  Sadly it is always the women who stay behind. First we are slowed down in our careers because of motherhood, then we are paid on average 23% less (UN data 2016) than our male counterparts and in the end we decide to leave our jobs due to simple mathematics that were forced on us.

I have no solution or way out, the only reason why at present I keep my sanity and check items off my list is probably due to a combination of DNA, strong will, self-taught patience, self-imposed resilience, hands-on husband, skill of using pockets of time whenever I spot them. Far from multi tasking, which we all must deny we do these days as apparently some new research says it is not very productive because what your brain really does is not multi-tasking rather switching from a task to the other, a more tiring exercise than focusing on one task at a time (breaking news, all women still do it and are pretty good at it). I focus on tasks my mind can carry out while my body is at rest. And the other way around.  If I am sitting at the hairdresser for 2 hours on a Saturday, I use the first 30 minutes to wind down, the remaining precious 1.5 hours I will politely decline chit chat or gossip magazines and fire up my laptop or that research I want to read or that book I want to finish. If I am working at my desk or in a meeting while at it I try to focus on posture, tone of voice, non verbal communication. If I am commuting or driving I listen to podcasts, speak to the people I love, record a voicemail of to dos or ideas. If I am waiting for a doctor appointment I put together the album of pictures of the last 6 months and order it online (mind you I still have not ordered those of 3 years ago though). Once a month, if I have 30 minutes to wind down I write this blog and put thoughts black on white. Optimising and discipline are the key words. The only exception is playing with the kids. If I am playing with the kids then all I do is focus on them. And yes, maybe take a few pictures with my phone.

When the older generation tells me they have been through all this too I can`t help but smile. Did they enjoy emails at 5am and 12am and work laptops at home and were expected really to be available 24/7 30 years ago while raising young families? No. Not to my knowledge. They had other challenges for sure. Of course none of us is expected on paper to be available 24/7, but in reality, well, you know the answer. Sure, it is down to you to set limits, and you do, but some patches, some projects, simply do require your time and your brain, often many hours a day, no matter what. Is it down to you to let go or to scale down? Are you selfish because you don`t quit and decrease the pressure on yourself and on your family? Do you do it just for the money? Maybe not, or maybe some, but what if you actually like your job, have some skin in the game and actual real, precious interest or passion? And even if you do, how easy or time-efficient is it to look for a different job? And what jobs are available these days which require little effort and are still interesting or make an impact of some sort? What if you are actually in it because you want to make a change? Be it to the corporate world or with your own company or to the world out there?

I was only delighted to read this article that in a way took some pressure off our need to try and be on top of everything. We simply can`t.

“Endless ink (and pixel space) has been spent discussing the challenges of work-life balance for founders. Want to see your kids, keep fit, and keep your business going? Forget sleep, according to this formula. And you won't be spending much time with your friends, either. For many, - especially parents with demanding jobs and young kids - fitness and friends often fall by the wayside, a sad reality but one they are willing to level with the world about.

In order to kick ass and do big things, you have to be imbalanced. I'm sure there are exceptions, but every person I've seen riding on a rocket ship was imbalanced while that rocket ship was being built. You have to decide if you want it. If you want to spend a lot of time with your friends and see all the Oscar-nominated movies and get good sleep at night and exercise, then it's going to be hard.”

In a sort of natural progressive way, this is what most people with busy work and family schedules do too, let a few things fall by the sidelines. What I challenge to this principle is whether we can build up time for all 5 and stick to a timeline that a few times a year lets us have time for the rest, friends and fitness for example.

Would this be possible and sustainable? Share your stories, and I will report back in a few months time!

M.

Hot teas, brain gears and crocodiles.

Hot tea, tissues, blanket, ipad, blackberry (yes, these things still exist), documents, private laptop, work laptop, notebook and pen. 11 pm, sofa. Windy and rainy outside. Winter is not letting go.

I am technically on holiday, I have the mother of all colds, I look like Rudolph the reindeer and sound like a man when on the phone, it is a busy week at work so despite my “holidays” I am “keeping an eye” (in three hours five calls, one presentation,  forty plus emails out of the 5,742 sitting in my inbox:  pros and cons of modern technology…), I think back of the days when nursing a cold meant calling in sick at work and staying in bed all day, having the time to feel miserable. Back to when I did not know that having children is the highest of all honours, the magic of raising little humans, being (for now) the most important person in their lives, watching them watching me with curious loving eyes and learning from me, listening to their little daily adventures and discoveries,  as well as the hardest of all jobs, being well for them even when all you want is hide under the duvet with paracetamol, cleaning their little noses before you actually swallow that paracetamol, thinking of their own well being before your own, putting their needs first, loving them unconditionally, laughing with them, balancing their wonderful little lives with your own needs and the demands of your responsibilities at work. Learning to shift gears. Learning again to see with their eyes. Then shifting brain gears again.

In my current life in one day, even on a sick day, I get more done in three hours than I ever did in a week pre-kids. And I even find time to enjoy and be grateful. What a major boost that came at the cost of looking like someone who has not slept in 5 years (yes, five years as I count the sleepless nights of the last trimester of pregnancy!).

Four years and two kids in I have learnt that the hardest thing to handle, I am guessing for all working parents with demanding jobs out there, is shifting gears.  Having your brain slow down and switch from super-efficient and productive mode (let´s just get the effing project done) to loving, patient and caring (Mami, why do we need to sleep? Mami, can we play until the sun is up? Mami, I know I did not eat any of my dinner, but now that I am ready for bed with my PJs and brushed teeth, can I eat something? ........). I am getting good at this I believe but there are days, especially those days when you know a massive flu is coming your way and your brain is starting to tell you to slow down, that I get stuck in no man´s land and end up staring at the teachers and other parents in nursery school asking myself what am I ever doing there.

Leave the office running to make it on time to pick up the kids. Mummy cannot always be the last mummy to pick kids up (but she is). Park the car somewhere praying all Gods that no police/ancient angry woman with nothing better to do will tell you off. Put best smile on and run through the gates. Look like you are perfectly calm and very interested in all the details of the day (brain thinking: what? You took them out with -15C/in the pouring rain/made them play with frozen mud ?) and ask about how long did they sleep/how many servings of soups (brain thinking: why do they never eat up MY soup and at school they seem to be the best eaters ever/did I send that last email or is it stuck in my outbox/what was it that I had to buy in Coop and I forgot/can I get away with some quick pasta tonight/will other mums glare if they see me giving my kids a bio ginger innocent candy before dinner so no tantrums while I put muddy shoes on/if kids fully asleep by 9pm I can get some admin done, maybe relax 15 mins then get onto emails/ppts again/need to sleep more I aged 10 years in last 4 years/need to plan date night/holidays/make payments/update multiple to do lists for tomorrow/forgot the carton day again/there are too many meetings planned for tomorrow again/…).

Then finally by the time I am in the car and driving back home with the kids while tuning in to “hello song” or “il coccodrillo come fa” (“what do crocodiles say?”) my brain has temporarily switched again and I can enjoy the chatter in the back seat.

It is only a temporary break and as soon as kids are in bed the sharp productive brain mode is on again. 

Does it end? I am hoping it won´t for a long time because this ride is actually quite fun!

M.