The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Barack Obama’

Interviewee Name: Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia, Founder

Company Name: NORSUN Diversity and Cross-Culture Consulting

Website: http://diversity-and-cross-culture.com/

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: I am Norwegian, I have lived in Switzerland, Cyprus and the US, now I’m living in France. I am a consultant, trainer and coach – and also mentor on a voluntary basis for the European Professional Women’s Network (EPWN). And I recently started up my company NORSUN Diversity and Cross-Culture Consulting.

Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: As a business owner, it tends to get a bit mixed up. But it is important for me to get a good balance, so I create structures around e.g. computer time. I tend not to use my computer during weekends.

Avil Beckford: What’s a major regret that you’ve had in life?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: I don’t like to think “regrets”, I prefer to think about possibilities. When I look back, I don’t quite understand my choice of education. But then again, I am happy where I have landed in life, which is a result of choices I have made during life.

Avil Beckford: What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia:

1. Be grateful for your life
2. See possibilities, rather than problems
3. Enjoy the things that surround you; a beautiful view, good weather, the dog happy to go for a walk…
4. Keep going when things get tough
5. Don’t listen to the “noise”, do what is right for you

Avil Beckford: When you have some down time, how do you spend it?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: Walking my dog, reading, spending time in our house in the Alps, traveling.

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: It is the ability to NOT think, which often happens when I am walking my dog. It is about getting outdoors and doing something with my body rather than my head

Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: There are so many, but I quite like the one I have chosen for my business brochure “what helps people, helps business” by Leo Burnett. I believe that happy people bring great results, which seems to be theory, but not practice many places.

Avil Beckford: How do you define success?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: Success means different things to different people, but for me it is about having done some work that I feel makes a difference and that I believe I have done a good job.

Success is also to live comfortably and have meaningful relationships.

Avil Beckford: In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: Well; for me it is about getting a career that means something to you. When your job consist of a personal interest, it doesn’t feel like a “job” and I believe you are likely to succeed

Avil Beckford: What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: A mix of being informed, listen, work hard and deliver on promises.

Avil Beckford: What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: Get into networks so that you get a feeling for what is being discussed. Make sure you have the theories in place and stay informed of research and news.

Avil Beckford: If trusted friends could introduce you to five people that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose? And what would you say to them?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia:

1. President Barack Obama: “If you could freely decide, what changes would you implement in the USA?”
2. Writer Paulo Coelho: “Let’s have a chat about the meaning of life”
3. Corruption hunter, judge and politician Eva Joly: “If you had the power, means and possibility, how would you stop corruption in e.g. Africa?”
4. Writer Isabel Allende: “Tell me about your inspiration behind your stories”
5. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed: “Tell me about your journey to power, and what are your dreams for Bangladesh and the region (including India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan)?”

Avil Beckford: Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. It describes the evolution of man and how natural resources have influenced our progress. I saw the world differently afterwards and it has helped me in my work.

Avil Beckford: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are five books that you would like to have with you and why? Summarize the book in two sentences.

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia:

1. Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. It is a historical novel about the cathars in southern France. Gripping story about how they were wiped out by the French king.
2. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The voyage of a shepherd, a spiritual as well as a physical journey.
3. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. A true story about a climber who gets lost in Afghanistan and ends up building schools for girls in Afhanistan and laterPakistan.
4. A Corner of Heaven by Chin Y. Lee. It is about love, life and laughter in a Burmese paradise; published in 1959.
5. Marley and Me by John Grogan. A true and funny story about the crazy dog Marley and how he impacts the life of a young family.

Avil Beckford: What one music CD and movie would you like to have with you (on the deserted island) and why?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: BEN L’Oncle Soul. Because it gives me energy. I don’t like to see movies again and again, but I could probably see “Ice Age” a few times, it really makes me laugh.

If you cannot view the YouTube Video of BEN L’Oncle Soul click here.

If you cannot view the YouTube trailer of Ice Age click here.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: The endless possibilities, the beauty of nature, the contact with animals, the enriching conversations with people

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: Reading, being outdoors, being with animals, taking time to think and reflect.

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for? Or, if I gave you a magic wand, what would you use it for?

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: I would stop the need some people have to abuse children.

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

Sunniva Heggertveit Aoudia: My husband and I spend time in our 400 year old house in the French Alps.

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

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In Part One of Diane Danielson‘s interview, the three words that I used to describe her are Brave, Bold and Pioneer. And, after processing the interview, here are the steps that I think are required to be a trailblazer:

• Take risks
• Have a support network
• Think big and be bold
• Jump in and try things, fail fast if you have to
• Embrace change
• Say yes to opportunities

Of course there are other requirements but I think the ones I listed are pretty important, what are your thoughts? Part Two of Danielson’s interview is just as powerful as the first, and is also filled with lessons and ideas that you can use immediately.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am the founder of the Downtown Women’s Club, which is a women’s business network and career website. I’m also Vice President of Business Development for a social media consulting firm called Convengine. I try to combine the two because a lot of what I do at the Downtown Women’s Club is the social media strategy and a lot of our online networking program. I’m also recently remarried, I have four kids and a huge dog and I live outside the Boston area.

How did mentors influence your life?

Hugely! And I don’t look at mentors as the traditional more senior person who helped me, even though I had a couple of those who would help me with specific situations, but because some of the fields that I’m in such as social media and creating a networking group that was mostly online, there weren’t a lot of people who had done this who were ahead of me so I really depended on peer mentors. I have a group of peers that depending on the situation I will call them and they have the most wonderful advice and input, and I think that’s a huge thing and I probably would have given up on a lot of things if I didn’t have them sit there and keep me accountable and say, “look how far you’ve come and we are proud of what you are doing.” But they also gave me advice and would say, “you know what, you should focus on this.”  They have been there and helped me to make decisions. I rarely make decisions in isolation, I usually have someone who is impartial enough, and cares about me enough to help me make the right decisions, so mentors are enormous.

What’s one core message you received from your mentors?

Trust my gut and take risks because most of the times, by the time I come to them they are able to say to trust your gut and take risks.

As an Invisible Mentor, what advice would you like to give to readers?

Go for the grande, especially if your readers are women because a lot of us don’t think big enough. They may think let’s open up a coffee shop, let’s not create another Starbucks. Think bigger even if you don’t create another Starbucks, what if you end up with a chain of three or four coffee shops? Women need to think better and bigger, and I think that’s one piece of advice that I’d give to almost any woman that I meet.

For everyone else, I would say know your network, and know who you can turn to for really good advice. I think sometimes we build close networks of people who are vested in the outcomes of whatever we do, and we surround ourselves with people. So if your best friend doesn’t want you to get, or take that promotion, that’s not necessarily helpful information, you need to find people who will be able to give you good advice that’s in your best interest and not theirs.

Build a network of core people you can trust to help you build your business life and it turns out that they generally help you with your personal life as well.

Which resources (books, movies, training etc.) did your mentors recommend to you?

Usually I’m the one recommending all the books. Early on someone encouraged me to get sales training, even though I was coming from law with an analytical background, it was great advice and I would recommend to anyone to take sales training because it affects everything that you do.

How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

It seems that because I’m a working mom I tend to be friends with women who work. A lot of my best friends are women from the working world who do not have kids, so that’s my social life. For me, my personal and professional life is seamless, it just flows, I don’t keep the two separate. To know me is to know what I do.

What’s a major regret that you’ve had in life?

I’m going to go back to not having more kids of my own. My major regret is not to give my son as he is growing up a typical situation. I think sometimes it was hard on him, hard on me and probably hard on my ex-husband because we didn’t have the normal nuclear family. But what is normal anymore.

What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?

1. Have a network of people who you can call on. Having friends and family to support you is huge and you shouldn’t do anything in isolation.
2. Think bigger on everything. I was single for eight years and at times I said that I wouldn’t get married again, but when the opportunity came I took it and I said that I could still do this.
3. Take risks. Every time I’ve taken big risks they tended to have worked out, and whenever I took the safe route I wasn’t happy and it didn’t work out for other people either. So it’s like going for the job of your dreams instead of settling for a job. Every time I’ve settled for a job, it has never been great.
4. Take the high road at all times. I know that it sounds trite but sometimes I’ve wanted to retaliate and then thought just let it go and take the high road because I would sleep better at nights and people start to realize that. And putting yourself in other people’s shoes, giving them second chances helps you to understand and be empathetic. I think we live in a society where people are not empathetic to others.

When you have some down time, how do you spend it?

Generally I’m playing sports with my kid or reading.

What process do you use to generate great ideas?

I brainstorm with people. I belong to an international women’s networking group (The Belizean Grove) and going away with them to meetings I always walk out with big thoughts, because I have these thoughts and I bring them there and have other people synthesize them and chime in with their background, and definitely my great ideas come from there. I can come up with some good ones but I need the input of my team there to come up with great ones.

What’s your favourite quotation and why?

“Just say no to status quo,” because when you accept the way things are when they are not working you need to change them because change isn’t scary and often a good thing. You don’t change for the sake of changing. So when the status quo is no longer working you need to think creatively and change it.

How do you define success?

Success for me is a mix. It’s being content with having a good mix of my family is happy, and work is going well, and I think for me, that is success when everything seems to be flowing. Work and family have to be flowing, one or the other won’t work.

In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

First you have to define what you think success is, and a lot of us define success based on what others think. Contentment and happiness is the formula for success, so it’s going to be unique to everybody. For me personally, work has to be a part of it. I couldn’t be just happy with work, and I couldn’t be just happy being a mom, I actually need both.

What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?

Let’s take social media as an example. I became knowledgeable by just jumping in and trying it. I didn’t hesitate when someone asked me to give a speech, I just jumped in, did it and figured it out later. I think a lot of steps to my success were trying new things and not being scared to do so. It’s also a lot of finding out what works and doesn’t work, and sometimes it’s easier to figure out what doesn’t work then focus and build on what’s working, and I think those are the steps. When I found out that writing didn’t pay well enough, but speaking did, I jumped right in and started speaking. And by being out there, and speaking about social media while doing it, I can show the success of the Downtown Women’s Club, and other clients.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

If we are looking at someone who wants to start a network and website, they have to realize that it’s a lot of work. I see new women’s group starting every day claiming to be the first this or the first that, and they generally disappear within three months when they realize that it’s not easy to get 12,000 people on a list and keep them there. That took 10 years to build that up so I think the thing is to have patience, have a good plan and partner with people because you cannot do it alone. I don’t do anything alone. I have a lot of partners. You have to persevere and have patience, there are no overnight successes.

If trusted friends could introduce you to five people that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose? And what would you say to them?

1. Obviously I would like to meet Barack Obama. I would just ask him to reassure me that he knows what he is doing, and that he is way smarter than me, and that this is all going to work out. And of course I would congratulate him on hanging in there and doing what he believes in.
2. Another person that I’d like to meet is Steve Jobs and I’d like to find out about his creative process. It’s impressive how he keeps on coming up with new things.
3. I’ve always wanted to meet George Clooney, not because he’s cute, but because I like that he has understated a lot of his humanitarian work and he has a good sense of humor and I think he is truly a good person.
4. I would say Stephen Colbert because he is actually a very bright person and bright people fascinate me. He is very talented and I think he would be a fascinating person to meet. With him you wouldn’t be able to control the conversation. I really liked that he sponsored the speed skating team. He seems like a really incredible and interesting human being.
5. I would like to meet Margaret Thatcher. She was one of the first woman leaders and I would like to know what her experiences were, just hearing behind the scenes what it was really like running a country during tough times.

Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply? Did you have an emotional or intellectual attachment to this book? Why?

Looking at the way I run the business it would be the two books by Chip and Dan Heath – Made to Stick and Switch. They make things so simple and clear that I find myself referring to both books a lot in business conversations. I would say those two and The Tipping Point, the concepts constantly come up in conversations and in thoughts on how I’m running the business.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are five books that you would like to have with you and why? Summarize the book in two sentences.

1. Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. I’m a big Jane Austen fan and that’s a classic, the love story, the wittiness. She is a sharp observer of society and the book transcends time.
2. Les Miserables has been one of my favourite books of all times. It’s nice and long and the characters are so many and so varied and I think it covers so much.
3. I do like the writing of War and Peace and it’s also long and that’s important if I can only take five books with me on the deserted island.
4. I haven’t read John Adams so I’d take that one with me, I would need something I haven’t read before. He was one of our founding fathers and I think in today’s society looking back at what the founding fathers thought we really misinterpreted things and I think that I should go back and read that book that I haven’t read to clarify for myself what they were really thinking.
5. For the last one I’m going to go classic and say To Kill a Mockingbird. It was about someone standing up to society. It’s a classic case of overlooking prejudice and I just hate people who are prejudiced. It’s a well told story and it has a great message.

Have you read any books that inspired you to start a business, service or invent “something”? If yes, which book?

Most of the books have just clarified the direction I was going.

What one music CD and movie would you like to have with you (on the deserted island) and why?

The movie, and I would take the book too is Breakfast at Tiffany’s, that was a favourite movie. I think I would have to go with Garth Brooks Greatest Hits for the music CD.

If you cannot view Garth Brooks YouTube video The Thunder Rolls click here.

If you cannot view Breakfast at Tiffany’s Trailer on YouTube please click here.

What excites you about life?

Learning new things everyday.

How do you nurture your soul?

I spend time with my 10 year old who tells me what life is really about.

If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for? Or, if I gave you a magic wand, what would you use it for?

I know that I sound like a Miss America but I have to say world peace. I think I would also wish that our country was not so divided and dysfunctional at this point, and it’s really upsetting to me. I wish that we’d be more rational because we are a world leader and we need to play well with others and amongst ourselves.

Complete the following, I am happy when…..

I’m with my family and friends

What can you learn from Diane’s experiences? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right side) by email or RSS Feed.

About Diane Danielson

Diane K. Danielson is the founder and chief social media strategist for the Downtown Women’s Club, a professional network and career website.  She is the author of The Downtown Women’s Club Beginners Guide to Facebook ebook (2009), the co-author of The Savvy Gal’s Guide to Online Networking (or What Would Jane Austen Do?) (2007) and Table Talk: The Savvy Gal’s Alternative to Networking (2003).  Diane blogs for www.womensDISH.com, and Entrepreneur magazine and serves as a workshop leader and social media coach for companies, non-profits and individuals.

She is a former vice president of business development for Spaulding & Slye Colliers, a vice president of marketing for Meredith & Grew, Inc./ONCOR International, and an environmental attorney.   Diane is a graduate of Colgate University and Boston College Law School.

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This is the second segment of the interview with Duke Redbird. I learn so much from these interviews, and I hope you do too, and I never know what I will take away. When Duke was asked about his one wish, he responded that he’d like to see what the world looks like in 100 years. And he would take the 25-volume set of Encyclopedia Britannica on a deserted island because that’s all he would need. Duke told a story about a core message from his mentors and I was touched by it, we are our brother’s keeper. We live in a me-me-me world, but that’s no excuse. What are your thoughts?

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am a First Nations Ojibwe Elder from Saugeen, a small reserve located in Ontario. I was born in 1939 so I’m 70 years old and will be 71 in March. I lived my entire life between the sacred and the profane, and I see the sacred as anything that has been created by the creator and nature, and the profane as anything that has been created by human beings. So when I am in the sacred I try not to profane it, and when I am in the profane, like I am today, I try to bring something sacred to it, so that’s my rule and prime directive.

What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

I am very proud of my three wonderful children: a boy and two girls and grandchildren. They haven’t given me any trouble or worry. It’s a proud accomplishment to see how well they turned out.

How did mentors influence your life?

They influenced me in terms of encouraging me to understand that the pursuit of money and power as an end was unwise and that the best advice I got, often was follow your bliss. Use the talents that you were gifted with and the money will come.

What’s one core message you received from your mentors?

Be wise. I remember I was on a reserve in Morley, Alberta and there was this man in his late seventies or early eighties sitting under a tree. I sat beside him and he said to me, “What do you think about white man’s insurance?” and I said that I had never thought about it because I have never had it. He said, “I have thought about it a lot because they came around to my house to sell me insurance and I didn’t buy it,” and I said, “why?” he said, “When I was a young  man, about your age, I would chop wood for the older folks. I am an old man now, when I need a pillow someone gives it to me, and if I tell them to chop wood, they chop wood for me. That’s Native insurance. White man’s insurance won’t do that for you.” And that was the conversation and it has lived with me ever since.

Which resources (books, movies, training etc.) did your mentors recommend to you?

They encouraged me to read non-fiction books.

As an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

Realize that what gets everyone up in the mornings is one of four motivations or a combination of them: money, power, self preservation and romance, which includes all the arts, and everything associated with the arts. These are the motivators, and put more emphasis on the self preservation and romance side, and less on the money and power side. You’ll be a happier person.

How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

I mentor and advise in my career, and I am also a broadcaster. I work in film and television. I write poetry, essays and give speeches. My personal and professional lives are one and the same.

What’s a major regret that you’ve had in life?

The biggest was that I spent more time on activities that were not enhancing and rewarding than I should. This is especially important when you are young.

What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?

This is a tough question and I could write a book just to give it justice. But I would say don’t sweat the small stuff, the only thing we have is now, this moment, there is truth and relative truth, most people function on relative truth and few people have an idea about what is really truth. Another life lesson is that the opposite of birth is death and the opposite of life is eternity.

When you have some down time, how do you spend it?

I watch television, read, go to clubs, engage people, take walks, and sit in cafes. I also like discovering the city and the environment, wherever it happens to be.

What process do you use to generate great ideas?

I guess the fact that there are no great ideas inspires me.

What’s your favourite quotation and why?

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s the golden rule and if everyone followed that we would have a better world to live in.

How do you define success?

Success is getting what you want, but happiness is wanting what you get.

In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Success is when you get what you want.

What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?

Never burn bridges, treat everyone with respect, and follow the golden rule.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Be compassionate and have charity in your heart.

If trusted friends could introduce you to five people that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose?

Dalai Lama, President Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, and Eckhart Tolle

Which one book had a profound impact on your life?

The Bible

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are five books that you would like to have with you and why?

Encyclopedia Brittanica, that’s all you need.

What one music CD and movie would you like to have with you (on the deserted island) and why?

The one CD is anything by Jesse Winchester and the movie is The Godfather.

What excites you about life?

The fact that it exists at all.

How do you nurture your soul?

I write poetry.

If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for? Or, if I gave you a magic wand, what would you use it for?

I would like to see what the world will look like in 100 years.

Complete the following, I am happy when…..

I get what I want and I want what I get.

What nuggets of wisdom have you gleaned from Duke’s interview? How might you apply his responses to your situation.

Keep the conversation flowing. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

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I know there is a lot of information, but go through it slowly and think about it. At some point I will have a PDF of the interviews for download. While reading, jot down the information that applies to your unique situation. How would you answer the interview questions. After you have read the interview extract what you perceive as five great ideas.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am a 48-year old woman, married to a Danish man. We have four children together ages 9-23. Our daughter is the oldest and only the two youngest live at home. I am from Houston, Texas, and moved to Denmark (to a small town north of Copenhagen) in 1985.

Since 1988 we have lived in an old house, built in 1922, which we have refurbished and continue to change and maintain. We also have a fairly big lot, by Danish standards, and one rooster and 11 hens. I spend a lot of money on organic vegetables and fruit as well as milk. I have cut down on the amount of frequency of our meat consumption. I also whole-heartedly support Obama and am very concerned about the environment.

How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

I have had domestic help for years. We just got an au pair and that has really helped. Housework is important but boring, time consuming, and perpetual. (Note from Avil: au pairs share responsibility for the family and some of the housework)

What’s a major regret that you’ve had in life?

That I haven’t travelled more. Still so many places I haven’t seen.

What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?

1. Learn to listen.
2. It is better to give than receive, especially when it’s unexpected.
3. The golden rule still applies.
4. Love is infinite—your children teach you this.
5. Good health, physical and mental, really is priceless.

When you have some down time, how do you spend it?

Food, friends, family, films

What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Swimming laps, jogging, and listening to great talk radio.

What’s your favourite quotation and why?

There’s a better way to do it. Find it! Thomas Edison

How do you define success?

I think it has something to do with being honest, realistic, and altruistic to an extent.

In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Devoting time to focus on the right things

What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?

Not so sure that I have but I do keep up and change the content of a course to be as relevant as possible.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

If you don’t love it, leave it. Do something else. There are a lot of options.

If trusted friends could introduce you to five people that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose? And what would you say to them?

Nelson Mandela, Obama, Bruce Springsteen, Albert Einstein, Peter Drucker. I wouldn’t say much, just listen and feel

Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply? Did you have an emotional or intellectual attachment to this book? Why?

Maybe Robert Pirsig’s Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance because it is so brutally honest and goes into such depth about quality.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are five books that you would like to have with you and why? Summarize the book in two sentences.

Books I haven’t read yet. Comprehensive books about philosophy, literature, history, art and science/technology

What one music CD and movie would you like to have with you (on the deserted island) and why?

That’s really tough. It would have to be something that didn’t make me feel lonely.

What excites you about life?

Having choices, freedom and happiness

How do you nurture your soul?

Eclectic choices in reading, music and food

If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for? Or, if I gave you a magic wand, what would you use it for?

That the natural aging process on my body wasn’t so overt

Complete the following, I am happy when…..

I feel loved

What are three takeaway from Lynn’s interview? How can you apply Linda’s interview? Which aspects resonated with you? What are your five great ideas? Here are 10 great ideas that I pulled from the complete interview.

10 Great Ideas

1. Simplify difficult to understand information
2. Understand the different learning styles so that you can improve communication (Three learning styles are visual, auditory and kinesthetic)
3. People have different perspectives on what they perceive as being important
4. Read, read, read
5. Travel and see the world
6. Keep improving the way you do things. Thomas Edison said, “There’s a better way to do it.”
7. Focus on the things that will take you where you need to go
8. Change to remain relevant
9. You always have options
10. “If you don’t love it, leave it. Do something else.”

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

About Lynn Kahle

Originally from Houston, Texas, Lynn has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark since 1985. She holds a degree in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M University and worked in industrial sales (pipe, valves and fittings) in Texas and joined Brüel & Kjaer in Denmark in the electro-acoustics department, heading up sales and marketing of studio microphones.

Since 1989, Lynn has been an associate professor of international marketing at Copenhagen University College of Engineering, global business engineering department, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Copenhagen Business School’s marketing department. Her topic is Experience Innovation, which is what led her to the GEL (Good Experience Live) conference and Creative Good. She produced euroGel2006 in Copenhagen and is the moderator for Executive Council 9.

Lynn is married to a Dane and they have four children, an old house, and lots of Wyandot hens and one rooster.

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