Reinventing Nerds: Recent Episodes
Joanie Connell
Joanie interviews Juliette Powell, author, entrepreneur, technologist, and strategist. Juliette’s background is varied and extensive. She is a co-author of the book, The AI Dilemma, and her consulting services focus on global strategy and scenarios related to AI and data, banking, mobile, retail, social gaming, and responsible technology.
Highlights:Q: How did the book come about?
A: Juliette tells the story of how the book emerged from her graduate studies and talks about the research she incorporated to back up all of the assertions in the book.
Q: How does bias get incorporated into AI algorithms and exacerbated by them?
A: Juliette posits that much of the bias is not introduced on purpose and describes how that can happen. One of the ways bias is introduced stems from the demonstrated fact that we humans have the tendency to want to work with people like us and that can lead to a lack of diversity of experiences and thought. Juliette describes other ways bias is introduced and how to bring different people together to reduce it, from the individual level up to the organization and government levels.
Q: How can we get businesses to invest in AI auditing?
A: Juliette acknowledges that we are still in an experimental space with generative AI, but also suggests incorporating risk analysis at the organizational level to examine potential consequences. Reputation, for example, is important for a corporation. Government regulations are also being formed.
Listen to the episode to learn ways to create and use AI responsibly.
Words of Wisdom about AI:Ask yourself: how much control do you want to have in your life?
Examine the culture of your organization to determine your AI governance.
What am I not willing to do for a buck?
What are you as an organization not willing to do to make money?
Book:The AI Dilemma
Contact Juliette Powell:Website: juliettepowell.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliettepowell/
Abby Malchow is a Manager of Small Business Partnerships at Amazon. She develops and manages partnerships that help drive success for early-stage entrepreneurs and small businesses through delivering programs and investments that support their continued growth. Abby appeared on Reinventing Nerds Episode 6 and talked about Women Vets in Tech when she was working at Intel. Abby is a retired U.S. Navy Chief and combat veteran, serving more than 20 years in the military. In the current episode, Abby discusses how to navigate a career in a big tech company.
Highlights:
Q: Tell us about the variety of interesting jobs you have had at Amazon.
She has remained focused on small businesses and entrepreneurs in various roles and in various organizations within Amazon. She was first hired to work on the Global Military Affairs team and figure out where Amazon can help military small business owners if they do want to sell in their store and look at entrepreneurship as a form of employment. She gave them educational opportunities and worked closely with the Military Empowerment team. She moved on to the Finance organization to manage strategic partnerships with a diversity of small business owners and entrepreneurs. Now she works in the broader consumer organization, where she has worked in a couple of different roles.
Q: How do you navigate a career in a big company?
Abby talks about the importance of networking and creating partnerships across the organization. Because Amazon is a fairly flat company, it is important to identify people across different teams to drive a goal forward. She says she is a huge believer of going into the office.
Q: Why is going into the office important?
Abby discusses the importance of being in the office to meet people and build relationships and how simply being there in person facilitates networking. Abby also gives other networking suggestions, such as getting involved in different initiatives and finding common interests and being proactive about meeting people in different roles.
Q: How do you maintain your flexibility to work in a fast-moving, ever-changing organization?
Abby likes the unpredictability and being able to innovate and create in her roles. That is what keeps her there. She describes how she has become much more marketable having worked in different roles. She has gained a variety of skill sets.
Q: Research repeatedly shows that people leave jobs because of their manager. How do you find the good ones to work with? What do you look for?
Abby suggests that people learn more from their terrible managers than from their good managers. She also suggests that direct, honest feedback to one’s manager is important and having a manager who gives you opportunity for growth is critical.
Listen to the episode to hear more about Abby’s tips on knowing the culture, being nimble and flexible, being able to compromise, and challenges that women face in big tech.
Words of Wisdom:I’m a huge believer of being inside the office.
You always have to “make the ask” to schedule time with people and get to know them.
You can almost always come to a compromise, but you have to be open to feedback.
You want a manager who is a gardener, not a gatekeeper.
Contact Abby Malchow:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbymalchow/
In this episode, Joanie interviews Franklin Taggart about his recent book about AI called, Straight from the Bot’s Mouth: A Conversation With ChatGPT About Artificial Intelligence. Franklin created the book using ChatGPT and had the whole project done in less than a week. In this interview, Franklin describes his experience as well as AI’s impact on society, jobs—especially jobs in the creative sector—and more. Franklin is a coach who works with creative people at every level of their business and sometimes life.
Highlights:Q: What was the experience like of creating a book with AI?
Franklin said it was a curiosity and an experiment for him, and he has been a fan of AI for years. He didn’t set out to write the book. He just wanted ChatGPT to answer his questions. This latest wave of artificial intelligence has really captured my attention and my imagination.
He keeps a notebook of questions he has about AI. He had also thought about writing a book about it for a while but didn’t have a year’s worth of time to dedicate to the project. In comes AI…
Q: What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of AI for people in the creative space?
Franklin said that ChatGPT’s responses to his questions about its impact tended to be quite balanced. Franklin does have concerns, though, especially for creatives. He gives a detailed account of how musicians were impacted by technology over the last several decades as an example of what the AI landscape might look for other creative people. It is a gripping story that is worth the listen!
Q: What do you use AI for?
Franklin has used AI to develop sales pages and said he can accomplish this normal hours’ long process in minutes. This raises the question about how to make money for developing sales pitches for people. The hourly rate may no longer be applicable. What will the future be? Franklin uses his experience and imagination to suggest new ways creative people (and everyone!) will need to work differently as AI becomes more prevalent.
Franklin also talks about how AI will affect the workforce, how to utilize AI to increase your productivity, and much more.
Words of Wisdom:This latest wave of artificial intelligence has really captured my attention and my imagination.
AI can mirror your creativity.
Ultimately, my business model is already changing to adapt to having AI resources at my fingertips–because it has to.
The key is to figure out how to shift your business model so that it can be more fluid and flexible and responsive to the marketplace as AI technology is introduced.
Franklin Taggart’s book, Straight from the Bot’s Mouth: A Conversation With ChatGPT About Artificial Intelligence, available on Amazon.
Shout Out:Matt Wolfe curates AI tools and shares them on https://www.futuretools.io/.
Contact Franklin Taggart:Website: https://www.franklintaggart.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franklin-taggart-coaching/
Podcast: Your Own Best Company
Kamales Lardi is a digital tech expert, business advisor, speaker, teaching fellow, and an author. She recently published a book called The Human Side of Digital Business Transformation. Kamales is globally recognized as an influencer and Thought Leader in Digital Transformation. She has been advising multinational companies across various industries in Europe, Asia and Africa for over a decade. In this episode, Kamales talks about what an effective digital business transformation looks like, how technology affects humanity, how to use tech for good, and how a diverse ecosystem of players increases business success.
Highlights:Q: What is your background and how do you use your knowledge of both technology and business?
Kamales is from Malaysia originally. She did her MBA in the United Kingdom, and she now lives in Switzerland. She started out in tech working for Anderson Consulting (a.k.a. Accenture) performing technology implementations for large corporations and found she needed to have a deeper understanding of how businesses work and that’s when she got her MBA. Since then, she has been helping companies use the application of technology to increase business value.
Q: What is your book The Human Side of Digital Business Transformation about?
The transformation part is taking the business on a journey to be successful in the digital economy. That involves taking the people in the organization on the journey. It goes beyond change management and cultural change to creating an ecosystem of players that help the organization become successful in the future. The players are located both inside and outside the organization and include business owners, management teams, employees, customers, partners, collaborators, educational institutions and so on. Kamalesh describes the ecosystem model and how the different players contribute.
Q: How are generational shifts affecting tech?
Kamales describes how bridging generational divides is a part of digital transformation efforts. She discusses how different generations of people have different values and demand different things from companies, such as stability and purpose, and what that means for companies.
Kamales also talks about diversity as part of an effective digital transformation strategy and many other things, including the importance of artificial intelligence (AI), and how technology is affecting humanity. Listen to the episode to hear the full interview.
Words of Wisdom:The new generation of people knows there is an alternative to the 9-5 job.
Technology has not only triggered a change in behavior, but also it has triggered a change in mindset.
I am a technology optimist. I believe in the transformative capabilities in tech, the good in tech.
There is a darker side to technology if we don’t apply it well. A diverse ecosystem provides checks and balances.
There are hype cycles of technology, but there are no “silver bullets.”
Technology can allow us as humans to focus on deeper interactions.
Contact Kamales Lardi:Book: The Human Side of Digital Business Transformation (Wiley) is currently available on Amazon
and wherever books are sold.
Website: www.kamaleslardi.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kamaleslardi
Instagram: www.instagram.com/kamaleslardi
Sarah Tenisi is the CEO of TenisiTech, an IT Service provider firm. They to help companies build the IT foundation to support their business goals and manage the IT as the business evolves to ensure that the IT continues to be a tool not a hindrance. Sarah also hosts a podcast for people interested in … Continue reading Sarah Tenisi: Supporting Employee Growth →
Pat Cullen is the VP of Engineering at Carrot Fertility, the leading global fertility healthcare and family-forming benefits provider for employers and health plans. Pat oversees and directs Carrot’s information security, data, and engineering teams. He has more than a decade of experience as a technologist & thought-leader who builds effective teams by driving engineering … Continue reading Pat Cullen: Leading Through Growth →
Joanie has a conversation with an IT-manager-turned-coach, Kristeen Barth. Kristeen works with people and teams to challenge their current thinking, and she is committed to their growth experience. Kristeen also has a nerdy background. She has worked in IT project and product management as well as cultural integration. Her current work focuses on team culture … Continue reading Kristeen Barth: Creating a Healthy Relationship with Work →
Highlights: In this unique episode, Joanie presents a short overview of her new book, Consulting to Technical Leaders, Teams, and Organizations: Building Leadership in STEM Environments and responds to audience questions. She differentiates technical leaders and industries from nontechnical leaders and industries and answers questions on a variety of topics ranging from how did she … Continue reading Joanie Connell Speaks about her Book on Consulting to Technical Leaders →
Keith Mangold is a Senior Manager of IT Applications at Make-A-Wish Foundation. His passion is finding the right technology for organizations and helping improve their processes through innovative and new ideas. He loves playing with new tech, but his specialty is making the tech work for the organization’s needs. In this episode, Keith talks about … Continue reading Keith Mangold: A Technical Leader’s Dream Job →
Joanie hosts a special holiday episode with Fabrice Paracuellos. Fabrice is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California. He helps individuals, couples, teams, and organizations with emotions, relationships, self-worth, and wellness. In addition, Fabrice has a technical background with multiple degrees in engineering and business and he’s worked for startups and … Continue reading Fabrice Paracuellos: Supporting People Through Holiday Stress →
Katheryn Baker is Vice President at Artic Consulting, a consulting firm that provides technology solutions for business and data management. Katheryn is passionate about both technology and business and is skilled in Enterprise Software, Business Strategy, Productivity, Data, and Program Management. She’s joining us today from Anaheim, CA. Highlights: Q: You have a background in … Continue reading Katheryn Baker: Bridging Business and Technical People →
Joanie has a conversation with Steve Hoffman, CEO of Founders Space, one of the world’s leading startup accelerators. Steve has trained hundreds of startup founders and corporate executives in the art of innovation and provided consulting to many of the world’s largest corporations, including Qualcomm, Huawei, Bosch, Intel, Disney, Warner Brothers, NBC, Gulf Oil, Siemens, … Continue reading Steve Hoffman: People Skills for Founders →
Franklin Taggart is the host of the podcast called Your Own Best Company. He coaches and leads a community of people who enjoy working alone. A lot of nerds work alone and it seemed like a good idea to learn more about what kind of support is out there for them. This is also a … Continue reading Franklin Taggart: Pros and Cons of Working Alone →
Joanie has a conversation with Angelo Ponzi, a marketing architect at The Ponzi Group. Angelo has more than 25 years of marketing experience in and outside of companies in industries ranging from semiconductors to financial to restaurants to beverage to ice cream. As a fractional Chief Marketing Officer (and marketing nerd!) he helps define market … Continue reading Angelo Ponzi: Strategic Conversations About Marketing →
Joanie has a deeply personal conversation with Michael Puldy, CEO and Founder of Puldy Resiliency Partners, LLC. Michael has over three decades of technology, information risk management, and operations experience in the aerospace, banking and computer technology sectors, including at IBM. He is passionately focused on ways companies can improve their offensive and defensive posture … Continue reading Michael Puldy: Managing Critical Life Circumstances →
Vladimir Baranov is the founding CTO of AdvisorEngine, a fintech company that was recently acquired by Franklin Templeton. Vladimir has been building successful technology solutions primarily in the fintech industry for 15 years, and he shares his experience on managing the business/tech divide. Highlights: Q: What are some of the common challenges that come up … Continue reading Vladimir Baranov: The CEO/CTO Relationship →
Joanie has a conversation with Manish Bhardia. Manish is a principal at Think AI, a software development and consulting firm, author of the book Teamwork and Collaboration: How to Select and Use Right Productivity Environment for You and Your Team, and co-host of True Stories in Tech podcast. Manish specializes in AI and cloud consulting and has more than 17 years of experience leading complex technical projects.
Highlights: Q: How did you move from being an engineer to a project manager?
Manish was told he was good at communicating with the clients and business users and that got him thinking about becoming a business analyst or project manager. Also learning about the bad things that project managers do, such as working their teams too hard, made him want to do better with his team.
Q: How did you come to start your company, Think AI?
Because he worked well with clients, Manish decided he wanted to work with multiple clients as a cloud consultant and business owner. He tells us how he learned how to build his sales skills too.
Q: How did you come to write your book, Teamwork and Collaboration?
A lot of Manish’s work at Think AI has been focused on teamwork. They conducted a user-group survey to find out what their challenges were, and he wrote the book on the top ten items that centered on teamwork and collaboration.
Q: What are some of the unhealthy habits that remote workers have adopted and how can they get back to or start new healthier ones?
Manish said there are easy answers, but they are hard to implement. He gives many tips both in his book and on the episode. He also talks about how to add fun to a remote work environment, how to add clarity as a leader. He also talks about how people adapting to interacting with AI.
Words of Wisdom, especially for Remote Work: Keep your body active.
Keep calendar slots open for fun.
Create your ideal calendar and try to fit your schedule to that.
Be clear to your team on what to ignore.
Shout Out: IAMCP, the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners.
Contact Manish Bhardia: Website: Think AI
Book: Teamwork and Collaboration: How to Select and Use Right Productivity Environment for You and Your Team
Podcast: True Stories in Tech
Joanie interviews Lydia Chiu, a partner at Jub Jub Interactive. Jub Jub is a web application development company based in Orange County, CA. Lydia has over 15 years of programming and web development experience. She has a deep understanding of content management systems and enterprise application development. Listen to the episode to hear Lydia’s stories on how she became a web developer, how she developed as a leader and how communication has been core to her success.
Highlights: Q: How did you develop an interest in web design and become a partner at Jub Jub?
It’s not the typical story and it involves an interesting pivot and an unusual partnership.
Q: What challenges did you run into early on as a team lead and how did you overcome them?
It included a feeling of imposter syndrome, a lot of learning, and good communication skills.
Q: How have you evolved as a leader over the years, for example as a partner at Jub Jub?
Learning how to groom new leaders and employees who could interact effectively with clients.
Q: How do you understand your clients’ businesses and needs and what skills did you have to develop to get better at that?
Lydia’s early work in customer service while in high school was an important experience for her to develop communication skills and comfort in delivering bad news. Delegating is an ongoing challenge.
Q: There aren’t many women who do what you do. What has been your experience as a woman in the field of software development?
Lydia has had great female role models but has also encountered some unfortunate situations with clients who respond to her differently than her male counterparts. Listen to the podcast to hear her stories.
Words of Wisdom: Mom was always right.
No matter what you’re doing, writing and coding are fundamental skills for success.
Anytime you start a business with partners, there’s a huge amount of trust that you need.
Knowing you’re going to work through conflict is key to a successful partnership.
Contact Lydia Chiu: Website: jubjub.com
Email: lydia@jubjub.com
Twitter: @lydiaatjubjub