#lisathee

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee from Launch Consulting sits down with Jamie Fiore Higgins, author and ex-Goldman Sachs Managing Director. They discuss how company culture — and the differences between the version espoused by leadership and the actual version that employees experience — can impact both employee engagement and innovation. They touch on how having a vision isn't enough because it takes leadership curiosity to ensure it's being followed in practice. The pair also chats about some of the topics from Jamie's book, Bully Market, including how marginalization is hiding right in plain sight most of the time. 

Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/

Find Jamie at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiefiorehiggins/
https://jamiefiorehiggins.com/

Learn more about Launch Consulting at https://www.launchconsulting.com/

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee sits down with Shantha Mohan, who is an author, mentor, and Executive in Residence at Carnegie Mellon University. They chat about the challenges that people can face when making the jump from a technical individual contributor role to technical leadership. Shantha shares stories of her own career path from an individual role to eventually leading teams around the world — including some of the challenges she faced and how she overcame them. Hear some of the advice she gives her students, including what you should be doing every day and how to know when it's time to find something else to do. 

Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/
Find Shantha at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanthamohan/ 
https://shanthamohan.com/

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee chats with Lynda Grindstaff, VP of Engineering at McAfee, and Creighton Adams, Senior Director of Cybersecurity at Launch Consulting. In the cybersecurity realm, they discuss personal cybersecurity posture, how to stay aware of what's important for your own situation, and how personal posture can impact enterprise security when working from home. Also, they give great ideas for people looking to break into (or pivot into) a cybersecurity career and they encourage anyone to go ahead and take the risk and try it out. 

Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/
Find Lynda at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndagrindstaff/
Find Creighton at  https://www.linkedin.com/in/creighton-adams/

Learn more about Launch Consulting at https://www.launchconsulting.com/

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee sits down with Mita Mallick, Head of Inclusion, Equity and Impact at Carta and also the author of "Reimagine Inclusion: Debunking 13 Myths to Transform Your Workplace." Also joining Lisa is Melanie Roberson, Director of Organizational Effectiveness at Launch Consulting. 

The trio discusses how inclusivity issues can impact employee engagement and performance — and how the solution really starts at the kitchen table, not the conference room table. Along the way, Mita shares the 13 myths that she covers in her book, including which one seems to be sparking the most conversation. Complete with personal stories and reflections, it's an enlightening conversation that's sure to make you stop and think about your own workplace, leaders, and coworkers. 

Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/
Find Mita at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mita-mallick-2b165822/
Find Melanie at https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-roberson-55a0a23/

Learn more about Launch Consulting at https://www.launchconsulting.com/

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee from Launch Consulting chats with author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Aaron Hurst. In a wide-ranging conversation, they touch on topics from scaling innovation in the nonprofit sector, to the differences in how AI is perceived globally, and to the importance of lifelong learning for both today's leaders and the next generation of leaders.

They also delve into the concept of the purpose mindset (including how it differs from "finding your purpose") and how it can help you create meaning on a daily basis. Plus, Aaron explains why work is changing from being like a high school band to being more like a jazz ensemble — and how that's related to the rise of AI in the workplace. 

Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/

Find Aaron at https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronhurst/ and https://purposeeconomy.com/

Learn more about Launch Consulting at https://www.launchconsulting.com/

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee, Managing Director of Data & AI at Launch Consulting, sits down with Russ Whitman, Chief Strategy Officer for The Planet Group to discuss the AI imperative. They discuss  what makes this AI moment different from other technological advancements that have come before and why it just might be the largest change management challenge in our lifetimes. 

The pair cover some key topics and trends that executives and leaders should consider as they think about their strategies for 2024 and beyond. Listen in for Russ's three main takeaways, including why he thinks NOW is the time to be bold and what could happen if you're not.


Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/
Find Russ at https://www.linkedin.com/in/russwhitman/

Take the Launch Consulting AI Readiness self-assessment at https://www.launchconsulting.com/aiready

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee, Managing Director of Data & AI at Launch Consulting, welcomes Rupal Hollenbeck, President of Check Point Software for a discussion about AI and cybersecurity. They delve into both the challenges and opportunities that generative AI brings to cybersecurity, including that bad actors can now use tools like ChatGPT to compose more convincing phishing emails and even to create malware. On the flip side, they also talk about how AI can also help companies supercharge their own cybersecurity efforts. 

They also touch on how important it is to make sure that employees are learning about generative AI both now and on an ongoing basis as technologies evolve. Additionally, they discuss how organizations need to communicate about the security and privacy implications of generative AI use so that well-intentioned employees aren't accidentally sharing sensitive data. 

Find Rupal and Check Point Software at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupal-hollenbeck/ 
https://www.linkedin.com/company/check-point-software-technologies
https://twitter.com/checkpointsw
https://twitter.com/rupalshah1011 

Find Lisa and Launch Consulting at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/launch-consulting-group/
https://www.launchconsulting.com/studios/data-ai

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee chats with Blake Kuhre, Co-Founder and CEO of SWIM. With a background that includes stints at Disney, Meet Group, and ByteDance, Blake has a passion for pursuing the next frontier in tech and entertainment. SWIM is a Web3 company with a new product currently in stealth mode, but Blake gives some hints about their direction in his wide-ranging discussion with Lisa. 

Their talk ranges from WeChat to Twitter to AI  to synthetic influencers and covers the transition from Web2 to Web3 — including the in-between state we’re in now that’s basically Web2.5. With an international perspective based on time they’ve both spent overseas, Lisa and Blake dig into super apps, decentralization and transparency of transactions, and the current AI race (and how maybe we need a kill switch). 

Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/

Find Blake at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkuhre/ and https://swim.eco/

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee is joined by best-selling author and former Silicon Valley CEO, Hilary DeCesare. Now, as the founder and CEO of The ReLaunch Co., Hilary helps women and businesses transform with her 3HQ framework. Featured in her book RELAUNCH! Spark Your Heart to Ignite Your Life, the framework focuses on the heart, the head, and the higher self. 

Hilary and Lisa delve into some of the challenges facing entrepreneurs, employees, leaders, and businesses as they navigate a post-pandemic landscape that has been impacted by quiet quitting, ongoing layoffs, and other stress-inducers. Key to thriving in this new world is reigniting the passion and energy of leaders who can then do the same with their teams. Hilary leads Lisa through a re-energizing exercise that starts with Lisa having to choose a song – and you’ll never guess which one she chooses. Listen in for a lively conversation that just might have you thinking differently about how you approach the new normal – which isn’t very normal at all. 

Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/

Find Hilary at https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilarydecesare/, https://therelaunchco.com/ 

Launch Consulting 
Navigators in the Age of Transformation

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee chats with David Smith and Brad Johnson, co-authors of Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace and Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women. These former naval officers are dedicated to helping men become better allies, colleagues, and mentors for women — which in turn helps men become better and more inclusive leaders within their organizations. 

Lisa, Brad, and Dave discuss some common misconceptions and fears that men might have on their journey to becoming better allies, along with some ways to conquer their fears of disrupting the behaviors of other men. Along with effective strategies for allyship, they also talk about the different ways in which younger workers may approach the workplace and the different questions and concerns that they might have. They also touch on how gender equity starts at home, noting the importance of role modeling allyship at home. 

Find Brad at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wbradjohnson/

Find David at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgsmithphd/

Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/ 

Website: https://www.workplaceallies.com/

Launch Consulting 
Navigators in the Age of Transformation

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee speaks with Wendy Turner-Willams, former Chief Data Officer at Tableau. With over 20 years of experience in data, Wendy is an Advisory Board Member for several organizations, including the University of Washington Information School. She also recently joined Carnegie Mellon University as an Adjunct Professor in their Tepper School of Business Chief Data Officer program. 

Lisa and Wendy discuss the role of a Chief Data Officer and how the CDO focuses on not just data, but how it interacts with the unique people, processes, and technologies within a company. The conversation also touches on security, risk, and trust – and even the politics of data. In addition, they talk about data literacy and what it means and how its pursuit is perceived by both employees and executives, along with some advice for those looking to increase their own literacy. Finally, Wendy and Lisa chat about healthcare, invisible illness, and the ways in which data and automation intersect with medicine.

Find Wendy at https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-turner-williams-8b66039/
Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/
Resources mentioned:
https://www.womenindata.org/
https://www.donatingplasma.org/donation/find-a-donor-center 

Launch Consulting 
Navigators in the Age of Transformation

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee chats with Harrison Tang, the CEO and cofounder of Spokeo. Along with his college roommates, Harrison started Spokeo in his parents' basement in 2006. From those early days in the basement with parents as investors, the people search engine has now grown to serve 20 million people per month and half a million searches per day. 

Lisa and Harrison discuss Spokeo's mission to increase transparency in the way that identity data moves around and is utilized, along with the concept of self-sovereign identity. They also touch on the long tail aspect of the people search market, including how Search Angels uses Spokeo to help people find biological family members. As a startup cofounder, Harrison also shares what has kept him going through the ups and downs of the journey from the basement to the present — including some wise words about persistence from his dad.

Find Harrison at https://www.linkedin.com/in/theceodad/

Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/

Launch Consulting 
Navigators in the Age of Transformation

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee chats with author and speaker Julia Nicholson. Formerly the CEO of the Motion Picture Industry Pension & Health Plans, Julia now has her own consulting business and is a keynote speaker on the topics of resilience, adversity, and grit. Having overcome and prospered after facing adversity and unwanted change, she now shares her message through her TEDx Talk and a book due out this month titled Move Forward Stronger. 

Lisa and Julia discuss how conventional wisdom such as ‘time heals all wounds’ doesn’t necessarily help us move forward after unforeseen, challenging events. Julia talks about how just getting back up after getting knocked down isn’t what’s most important: it’s HOW you get back up again and how you find that resilience and grit that we were all born with. Harking back to Julia’s healthcare background, they also examine some of the important issues impacting the patient experience in the modern world of healthcare and insurance. 

Find Julia at https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliaanicholson/

• Move Forward Stronger is out on Jan. 24: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BKTW6Y85

Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/ 

On this episode, Lisa Thee talks with author and executive coach Amii Barnard-Bahn. In additon to her work with Fortune 500 executives, Amii is also a guest lecturer at Stanford University and UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. A regular contributor to Harvard Business Review and Fast Company, she is also the creator of The Promotability Index® and author of the companion PI Guidebook. 

Lisa and Amii discuss topics relevant to both today's leaders and those who aspire to be future leaders. They touch on Amii's five principles around getting promoted, which can also apply to continuation of growth and learning and not just to a literal promotion. They also dive into some of the complexities of business communications in a hybrid world, along with Amii's six-step process for delivering bad news in a way that considers the psychology of both the bearer and the recipient of the news.  

Find Amii at https://www.barnardbahn.com/
Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/

Launch Consulting 
Navigators in the Age of Transformation

On this episode, Lisa Thee talks with Ed Soo Hoo, an executive coach who is also the Worldwide CTO Global Accounts at Lenovo and an Industry Fellow at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at UC Berkeley. Ed helps drive innovation and transformation with his customers, and he does it through a unique lens that comes from his wealth of experiences in what he calls his blue collar, white collar, and no collar phases. With eight startups under his belt, Ed is a master of reinvention with a wealth of insights into technology and leadership trends and topics.  

Ed describes himself as a catalyst, connector, and storyteller—and he lives up to the storyteller moniker here. He and Lisa discuss data and leadership in a wide-ranging conversation that will take you from Henry Ford to the metaverse, from the moon landing to the temple of Apollo at Delphi, and from Cadillacs to Ferraris to bumper cars. Along the way, they highlight how an innovation spark can come from the least expected situations and people and why it’s so important that data and diversity go hand in hand. 

Find Ed at https://www.linkedin.com/in/edsoohoo/.
Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/.

Launch Consulting 
Navigators in the Age of Transformation

Irakli Beridze is the Head of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at UNICRI, United Nations​. Beridze advises governments and international organizations on numerous issues related to international security, scientific and technological developments, emerging technologies, innovation and disruptive potential of new technologies, with a particular emphasis on the issue on crime prevention, criminal justice and security. 

Beridze and host Lisa Thee discuss the future of AI, the implications and impacts of AI on human rights, and the importance of ethical oversight and accountability to ensure the safety of children worldwide.

https://unicri.it/in_focus/on/unicri_centre_artificial_robotics
https://www.linkedin.com/in/irakliberidze
https://twitter.com/irakli_un

Lisa Thee talks with Mike Amato on the challenges of realigning company culture, setting goals beyond the bottom line, and motivating the rapidly evolving workforce to achieve positive outcomes.

Mike Amato's career in the corporate world includes a roles as Division President of Washington Mutual Bank, leader of Barclay's global retail, and board member for multiple banks in Europe. Mike is now sharing his leadership wisdom with the masses as a book author and keynote speaker. On top of all his accomplishments, Mike is also a winery owner.

His new book, The Better Way to Win, releases this month.

Mikeamatosparks.com

On this episode of Navigating Forward, host Lisa Thee sits down with Dr. Michael Blum, Chief Digital Transformation Officer at the UCSF Center for Digital Healthcare Innovation, and Founding CEO of BeekeeperAI. Lisa and Dr. Blum discuss the potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning in healthcare to enhance our health and improve patient outcomes. Dr. Blum also shares how his medical expertise and background in engineering led to BeekeeperAI - a secure collaboration platform for algorithm owners and data stewards that will accelerate AI Innovation in Healthcare and the future of precision medicine.

Navigating Forward podcast is brought to you by Launch Consulting. www.launchconsulting.com

BeekeeperAI: www.beekeeperai.com

On this week's episode, Lisa Thee sits down with Sadie St. Lawrence, the founder and CEO of Women in Data. As a Coursera instructor, Sadie has trained over 300,000 people in data science, and she has led multiple analytic transformations in corporate America and beyond.

Listen as Lisa and Sadie St. Lawrence discuss Sadie's unique path to leadership in the field of data science, the future of AI, and the importance of building community.

Women in Data is an international nonprofit that is connecting the world of data scientists to each other, to expand the impact that we can all have.  www.womenindata.org


ABOUT THE PODCAST
At the crossroads of uncertainty & opportunity, how do you Navigate Forward? This podcast focuses on making smart choices in a rapidly changing world. We investigate the challenges of being at a crossroads (societal, business, & personal) and finding the opportunities that arise out of disruption. Listen in on future-forward conversations with the brightest luminaries, movers, and shakers. We dig into topics such as elevating the human experience, evolution of business, workforce of the future, and fascinating technologies powering the age of digital transformation. Let’s Navigate Forward together and create what’s next!

Sponsored by Launch Consulting
Navigators in the Age of Transformation | launchconsulting.com