OneHaas

In today's episode, Kenny Vaughn had a chat with Elisse Douglass, co-founder of the Oakland Black Business Fund. She is an established real estate professional and has extensive experience in private equity impact investing. While at Haas, Elisse served as co-president of the Black Business Student Association together with Kenny.

Elisse talked a little about growing up in Philadelphia, what made her take architecture in college, and then going into real estate development. She also shared the story of why she ended up at Haas and what she loves about Oakland.

Elisse also opened up about how the pandemic has taught her to re-evaluate her decisions. You're also going to love the story of how Elisse made it an opportunity to support local black businesses.

Her biggest takeaway having gone through the pandemic:

"I think we've all just had to face our realities in a way that can be uncomfortable. It makes us reevaluate every decision we've made. For me, I've had to reevaluate why I live where I live and where I work and who was in my life, and the different relationships that I had. So, my takeaway from that is just being more selective about those things and being more appreciative and gracious to what I have, where I am, who I have in my life, what I'm doing. It's just been a real eye-opener."

On her experience as co-president of the Black Business Student Association:

"I think it showed me that there's a place in the world for people who are thinking about that whole idea of doing well and doing good. There's a place to be impactful, to think about innovation, and not just for innovation's sake but innovation for all our sakes. That was the greatest thing coming out of that experience."

On raising funds, especially from the Haas community:

"If someone is willing to do it, let's get it done. And what I think people were really responding to is the problem was bigger than just broken windows. We all know that it's a systemic problem, and let's put real dollars and energy and impact into that."

Why black businesses matter:

"When we talk about why black businesses matter and why it's important to apply resources to this, one of the most important things is about innovation and resilience. So, black people sort of lead culture and innovation in a lot of different ways that often aren't monetized, and they're not appreciated.

On the other hand, when you talk about resilience, if you look at the structural issues that black people face as entrepreneurs in terms of access to capital, in terms of credit, in terms of all these different things, it's incredible that we have any black businesses at all. Yet we do. And many of them thrive, and they grow despite all of the changes. They're still finding a way."

• LinkedIn Profile
• Oakland Black Business Fund

Allie Foote (she/her) likes to say she has both a day job and a “gay job.” She is currently the director of digital product strategy at Nike and in addition to her formal position, she is also heavily involved in DE&I at Nike. In this episode of the Crossroads Series, we talk to Allie about how she has brought her personal life into her professional work, the importance of authenticity in the workplace, and how to create a more inclusive office culture for all. 

Why she decided to get an MBA:

"I needed to take a little space to think about what I wanted to be doing. And honestly, when I decided to go to business school, I still had no clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. I just knew that I wanted to go and learn more and continue to round out business skills so that I can think about what I wanted to do next. And I knew that business school would be a great way to do that reflection and figure out ultimately where I wanted to go."

Why Haas?

"When I visited Haas, I was just in love with it. The students were so diverse in their backgrounds and careers. I felt like I would learn a lot and get exposure to new people, careers, ideas. Everyone was so excited to meet me and wanted to tell me how amazing the school was. And so, yeah, it made it feel like home."

On following her gut instinct:

"I don't know if it's like me being competitive or just being very driven; if I know what I want, I'm going to go after it and try to get it. That's just been how I've been since I was a kid. Once I know and have it in my gut, I'm pretty clear that's the direction that I want to go, and I'll do most things within my power to make that happen. That feels pretty accurate with how my career has gone."

How she prepared herself for her new role in the digital world:

"I relied on my strengths, which I think are curiosity, strategic thinking, seeing kind of a broader picture, and relationship building, to just come in and learn as much as possible. And I've continued throughout my time to seek various opportunities to enhance my education. Being able to just kind of bring that rigor to things that I was doing was super helpful."

The importance of representing minority groups in the actual office space:

"Many people are spending so much energy and time, and brain space in the workplace hiding pieces of themselves. And it just doesn't make for, honestly, a productive or happy employee. Being able to bring your authentic self to work is so critical for both your mental health and your team."

"I've been so lucky that I've always felt like I could show up authentically as myself. I try to do that because I've just heard so many stories and so many people who have not been able to do that or have that opportunity or feel scared. And so I think that allowing people to come out of their shells and show them that it's accepted and it's okay. My goal is to show up who I am at work the same way I am outside of work."

• LinkedIn Profile
• The GenderCool Project
• The Trevor Project
• Athlete Ally
• GLSEN
• Out Foundation
• Basic Rights Oregon

What does it take to be an effective leader? Haas School of Business Alumnus and Founder of Group Sixty, Darren Reinke talked with host Sean Li about his book The Savage Leader: 13 Principles to Become a Better Leader Inside Out. Their conversation covered how leaders can form a better bond with their tribe by being humble, showing their curiosity and eagerness to learn. 

Darren tackled and shared his learnings over the years and how the willingness to put in hard work will eventually pay off. And his definition of perseverance means getting out of your comfort zone, even if you need to face your own fears. 

But does facing your fears mean saying yes to everything? Tune in until the end of the show as they talk about how his experience taught him that great leaders are authentic and how reaching deep inside to know your values will help you prioritize which things to say yes to.

Find nuggets of wisdom in this episode as they talk about self-limiting beliefs and encouraging your team to face their fears and take risks with you.

How do you connect with your tribe better?

"People generally think of communication as voice inflection, how you frame a conversation, project, vision, but I think there's something actually more fundamental than that. It's about humility, curiosity, empathy, and being present. Accepting that other people have value to any conversation. You don't know everything. You don't know the answer to every question. There's something that can be gained from even the rank and file in your organization. I think the same thing holds true for curiosity. The intrinsic curiosity that leaders should have about the world, around them, about the people around them. I think that connects back to humility."

How do you become a great leader?

"The willingness to be introspective. So that gets to the points of being humble, being curious, being more self-aware of yourself and the people around you. You have to be willing to put in the hard work because growing and changing is definitely not easy. It requires two things, which is that desire to be great, which creates that North Star for yourself. The introspection, which allows people to get to who they are as a person. What they need to do to get better. Then they have to put in the work because we can't just think about change."

Thoughts on Surfing and Facing Fears:

"I think to me, the upside for surfing is just too valuable. It makes me think about life. We're so anchored on things we can and can't control. I think I started to have this moment, I don't know if it was lucid or the opposite of that. I realized if I can just truly let go of the things that I can't control, it's like a superpower. In the same thing, it's like when you're surfing. All you can control is what's above the surface."

• Darren on LinkedIn
• His Book: The Savage Leader
• His Company: Group Sixty
• Their Podcast: The Savage Leader Podcast

When Alan Lock unexpectedly lost his sight due to macular degeneration, he knew his military career was over. What he didn’t know was how many adventures were about to begin. In this episode of The Crossroad Series, Alan tells us about how he took control of his life by setting four extreme goals: to run the Marathon Des Sables, to row the Atlantic Ocean, to ski to the South Pole, and to swim the English Channel. He shares his wisdom on the power of goal setting, how to benefit others through your own accomplishments, and not limiting yourself in life.  

On how people can get the most out of their lives:

"Get out there and hopefully create opportunities for yourself and align those to your goals. If you can, you can. Make that a positive experience for those around you as well. Be a good thing."

Alan's thoughts on having his sight back:

"I think, of course, obviously if I could have my sight, I'm going to have this completely different career. I'd love to be able to just do basic things, like ride a bike and read a book again. In some ways, I can honestly say probably if I was offered that choice now I'd probably say, “You know what, I'm going to stick with what I've done”. Because having had that experience quite early in my life, it was almost being slightly hyperbolic. I guess the worst thing that could have happened, happened. So at that point, a lot of the fear and apprehension fell away."

On eating the elephant:

“And so day by day. I know that if I can just mentally, just take it a day at a time. Which again is an overused phrase, but it's really true. Then eventually all these days are going to add up and I'll get to the other end.”

• Alan Lock on LinkedIn
• Icarus Originals 
• BlowLeaf 
• Sense 
• Guide Dogs for the Blind 
• Sightsavers International 

In this episode of the OneHaas Undergrad Series, Soo Song, 2017 Haas School of Business undergrad alumna, shares her experiences after graduating from the program. She talks about lessons she wished she had known in the early stages of her career, how she is embracing her Asian American heritage, and how she moved from becoming a Business Administration student to building a career in growth marketing.

During her conversation with host Ellen Chan, Soo discusses Twitter's newest projects and developments. Make sure to tune in until the end because she’ll be sharing her experiences from studying abroad, her advice for current undergrad students, and her relatable experiences on campus!

Do you have regrets in your career?

“When I look at my career, I don't necessarily have regrets. I do think that there are lessons that I wish I'd learned earlier. One of the biggest lessons I've learned in my career is that at the end of the day, it really comes down to relationships and building strong connections with people.”

Her advice for undergrad students on what to expect after graduation and in building their careers:

“I also think that's the beauty of a career. More so than when you're a student, because obviously, when you're a student, you're still trying to figure yourself out. In a career, as you switch teams, companies, or roles, you continue to build it and continue to change it. That's one of the best things about working.”

On how to handle big and small changes that happened during and after the pandemic?

“Celebrate the change. Don't feel tied to anything that necessarily happened during the pandemic that you don't want to take back. But if you have changes that you didn't expect, it's great to celebrate them.”

• Soo Song’s Profile on LinkedIn
• Twitter’s ERG Program
• Blueprint, Technology for Non-Profits

In today's episode of OneHaas, hosts Ellen Chan and Sean Li profile Haas Alumnus Andrew Chau, the guy who refers to himself (on LinkedIn) as the "janitor" and CEO of Boba Guys. As AAPI and mental health awareness month come to a close, Andrew discusses discrimination and mental health.

Andrew discusses how leaders are vulnerable to being dehumanized. Check out his tips on how to handle these mental health issues affecting leaders. Listen to the end of the episode as he discusses his experiences with discrimination as a leader and as a business owner. 

The episode ends with a very good discussion on the struggles Asian American leaders face in balancing their eastern influences on collectivism and western influences on individualism.

On Discrimination and Prejudice in the Food Industry:

“I believe that there is bias and prejudice, definitely in business that people don't want to talk about. We're not perfect, but we're trying to fight the good fight. We're not gonna do that much damage in one generation. It takes multi-generational to kind of move the whole industry.”

What’s One Advice He Gives to Young People Who Want to Study Business?

“You want to study business and you want to be a great leader in business? The number one skill you're going to need to have is your people skills.”

Andrew shares tips on handling the stress and pressure of CEOs and founders:

"Every founder has got to get a therapist […] if you can afford one, get one ASAP. The number one thing that hurts[...] most founders, because it happened to me, is when people dehumanize founders and leaders[…] Especially if you get big. I'm going to tell you, people will never understand."

• Andrew Chau on LinkedIn
• Andrew Chau on Instagram
• The Boba Book
• Dare to Lead, Brené Brown
• The Gifts of Imperfection, Brené Brown
• Rising Strong, Brené Brown
• The Boba Guys Official Website
• The Boba Guys Official FB Page
• The Boba Guys Official Instagram Page
• The Boba Guys Official Twitter Page

In today’s episode, host Sean Li is joined by co-host, fellow alumni, CEO, and co-founder of Sounding Board Christine Tao. An exciting conversation takes place between them and Roy Ng, the founder, and CEO of Bond

In honor of AAPI month, the group tackled relevant social issues. Learn how they navigated this situation as leaders of their organization and members of the Asian-American community.

Take note of how they draw inspiration from successful Asian-American founders. They discussed their struggles as leaders in addressing social issues. Tune in until the episode’s end as they tackle how diversity helps build better business outcomes.

On creating a diverse team: 

"On diversity, I don't look at diversity as an HR topic. I look at diversity as to how to build the best possible team that can address what our customers want [...] Diversity is a way for you to be successful, to incorporate the broadest scope of perspectives as possible in everything that you do [...] Diversity is a business imperative. Diversity is not philanthropy.”

Their views on balancing being a CEO, connecting with employees and customers amidst movements and social issues: 

"I think companies can be a very positive influence in terms of shaping, society and shaping culture [...] You can't be purely apolitical. I don't think that's possible." -Roy Ng

"People want connection. People want to understand more than ever. Even customers, your employees, those things matter[...] It's through friction, through conversation that you are able to create more understanding." -Christine Tao

Thoughts as a founder, a member of the AAPI community, and succeeding:

"There are a lot of people who kind of look like you with a similar background. Those who are immigrants, coming into a new country, who are successful entrepreneurs. I think for me, it's also validation. To me paying it forward to kind of fund that next generation of Asian entrepreneurs. That's the reason why I got involved."

• Roy Ng’s LinkedIn Profile
• Official Website of Bond
• Bond as Featured in Fortune.com
• Christine Tao’s LinkedIn Profile
• Christine Tao’s Profile at Sounding Board
• Sounding Board, Coaching Leaders for Business Impact

Christine Tao, Haas undergrad alumna, co-founder, and CEO of Sounding Board shares her insight with host Sean Li. She talks about how coaching and development led to her rapid career advancement in Silicon Valley's media, mobile, and tech sectors. Discover what inspired her to create Sounding Board with her co-founder Lori Mazan. 

Learn why leadership development creates a direct impact on business outcomes in the episode and how she made leadership development coaching accessible to all levels of an organization.

Her inspiration for building Sounding Board:

“I ended up seeing just the impact that coaching had on my own development. I brought coaching to the people on my team as well. I was able to build a team that was high-performing... The more people that got exposed to coaching, the better that they would operate. It's great for companies to have a well-equipped leader.”

How can start-ups have access to coaching?

“When you graduated and your start-up needs coaching, check in with your alumni office. They often have a deep network of coaches, facilitators, and folks that can help support alumni around their coaching needs”

Why do people of color and women get overlooked for opportunities?

“You get overlooked sometimes because you don't look and sound like the patterns that other people recognize as leadership, like the prototype...It also becomes easier if you have diverse people that are in leadership positions. There also need to be more women. There need to be more people of color on the other side writing checks. It starts there. Then from there what happens is you attract and impact the other people around in the ecosystem.”

• LinkedIn
• Christine Tao’s Profile at Sounding Board
• Lori Mazan, Co-founder and Chief Coaching Officer at Sounding Board
• Maha Ibrahim, General Partner at Canaan
• Sounding Board, Coaching Leaders for Business Impact

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, today's episode features Michael Martin. He is a systems thinker, consensus builder, and self-starter who currently serves as the Data and Analytics Global Transformation Manager at Google. 

Michael and host Sean Li chatted about how mental well-being contributes to productivity and the importance of building a sphere of influence. Besides his professional work, Michael established the John E. Martin Memorial Fellowship and the John E. Martin Mental Healthcare Tech Challenge, a partnership with Google and Haas Healthcare Association.  He discussed how experiences in his personal life and family shaped how he became more self-aware. 

On mental health and well-being is a continuous journey:

“Unlike certain physical issues where you go in for surgery, the issue is addressed and you're good to go thereafter. I think with mental health care, it's this constant journey and you're going through. It’s like this helix. Sometimes it looks like you're going up and sometimes it looks like you're going down, and trusting that you're proceeding forward in the right direction. It’s really one of the things that are so key to your ultimate success.”

What recent stigmas have you witnessed regarding mental health?

I think things are getting better. And I think that's because people are more comfortable sharing that, which is their full self. I bring this up because a lot of times, I’m personally concerned with what I see in social media where, what’s being presented is seemingly one's best life, perfect life. And probably in many ways, nothing to go and do with the majority of that individual's life.

On learning from the younger generation about speaking up on issues surrounding mental health:

“The faster that we go and identify that there are issues, the faster, I think we're going to come up with effective solutions. And it's a bit of like, that first step in the 12 step program where you're going. I'm admitting that I’m no longer in control of this[...]But I certainly think, to go and admit that, is something that our younger generations have a much easier time doing. I'm really appreciative of that in a strange kind of way. I think they're actually teaching folks that are much more senior, the power that you can have, by going and sharing that part of your story.”

How can writing help you build habits that help improve your mental well-being?

“By writing things down, I feel like it gives them a chance to go and have their voice documented. In a sense, be listened to. I think one of the things we always strive for, it's we just want to go and be heard. It's a really empowering thing. It's a really great way of loving oneself, not in a narcissistic way. But, in terms of showing compassion to all of those facets of you and it goes along the way up this idea of striving for perfection.”

• LinkedIn
• Haas Healthcare Association and John E. Martin Mental Healthcare Challenge

Christina Ma discusses how Haas School of Business prepared her for leading a cross-cultural and cross-border team at Goldman Sachs Asia Pacific. The episode features an exciting conversation between her and Dr. Brandi Pearce together with host, Sean Li about how she managed a team with diverse cultures. 

Her advice for building a high-performance team? Listen to everyone within the organization, from the CEO to the newest employees. A key insight that she offers is that leaders shouldn't follow one-size-fits-all communication methods when dealing with employees.

She ends with an important message about the importance of genuine recognition, nurturing passion, and encouraging empathy as key ingredients to a truly successful global team.

On how Haas gave her a good foundation on diversity:

“It was an amazing two years. The people that I met in terms of the types of people, the variety, both international and domestic, the industries. It's not something that I think I could have outlined, you read the glossy brochures and you say, 'Oh, okay. That's great. That's great' [...] the program was slightly smaller and it was high on the diversity factor, whether it was ethnicity or from a gender perspective. I don't think any of that, the brochures, the marketing material is wonderful, but I don't think any of that did justice to that fact.

How do you build a culture of honesty and transparency between junior and senior members of a culturally diverse team?

“It’s the market and then stocks move as they are. So sometimes you have to listen to the junior member of the team because they noticed something that you don't. And, you have to make sure that they're fully confident enough that they can speak up, and say to someone like me that, “Hey, this is wrong. You’ve got to look at this”, and so on. Building that trust amongst the team that they can say stuff to you, that maybe might feel a little bit hard, or, telling a senior person that they're wrong is important.”

Her advice on maintaining her drive for growth:

“So my view is always, you have to have passion for, and you have to be interested in, and be passionate about what it is that you do. Because otherwise it just seems like a job, then it becomes dreary. As opposed to a career and something that is upstep and forward.”

• LinkedIn
• Meet Goldman Sach’s 3 New Hong Kong Partners