Alan Baker is a successful martial arts expert based in the United States. In this interview, we covered topics that revolved around discipline, weakness, and taking challenges as they come. As a professional, Alan has had many experiences with various kinds of people. Alan shared his insights on how to get along with people you may not be similar with and how to build those people skills. The main focus of this episode was on attitude and human interaction.
If you could leave the youth with one piece of advice, what would it be?
You don’t realize your potential yet.
“As a person, you should be adaptable and flexible.”
Jon Levy is a behavioural scientist that loves to create meaningful interactions between individuals from all different backgrounds. Taking his knowledge, Jon created the ultimate space for influential people to come together and for a brief moment, take off the weight of being known for their name. Through his Influencer Dinners, Jon tries to unite people from different parts of the world and work fields to nurture better relationships. Jon is an author of books on behaviour and human interactions. He does a lot of public speaking and influential talks.
Quick Summary
What is The Influencers Dinner?
This is an experience for people from different fields to come together and cook dinner. The catch is that those people can only use their first names and not mention work. After the group sits down to enjoy their meal, everyone guesses what the other people, slowly revealing their identities. This relaxed environment creates bonds over things that have nothing to do with fame, background or money.
What are some of your favourite places and events you have been to?
Jon remembers his trip when he went to Antartica and saw the penguins as well as plunging into some of the coldest water. Other countries he talks about was Indonesia, Singapore, Sweden and Iceland. An event he was at whilst going to Sweden was the Midsommar Festival which takes place on the longest day of the year. Jon said that the spontaneous nature of the trip really stood out to him.
How are businesses adapting to covid?
Jon said that many businesses are trying to find ways to connect people. Loneliness can bring just as much harm to our bodies as cigarettes which makes it crucial that people stay connected and bond with others. Different tools like online games, ice breakers and social distanced events have been a key in many corporations that want to create a strong relationship between their coworkers.
If you could leave the youth with one piece of advice, what would it be?
People we surround ourselves with are fundamental to a good quality of life.
“People at the top are those who most often feel imposter syndrome.”
Lucas Steuber is a Clinical Business Manager at Verge Learning as well as the Director of Clinical Product and Marketing at Cognixion. Born in the States, Lucas is a linguist and speech pathologist. Working alongside technological advancements, Lucas creates devices to help with speech impairments.
Quick Summary
What was your journey like?
Coming from a family of businessmen, Lucas was navigated to do the same. He however was much more interested in tech and what is why he went into doing that at college. Having taken linguistics at college as a separate mandatory subject, Lucas had no intentions of making this his profession. However, he soon realised the power that language had. He wanted to take his studies further and got a Masters in Linguistics. After college he did work in various subsections of linguistics and speech therapy before finding his passion in neurotech and AI.
Why should we go into linguistics?
Lucas believes that language and speech are so powerful in this world. Although students tend to not like learning new languages and breaking down words to their core meaning, linguistics is much more than that. It focuses on looking at relationships between words and their meanings and how people use those sounds to deliver their emotions, thoughts and feelings.
What are some trends with the small percentage of males in this industry?
About 3% of all people working in this field are males. This is predominately because it isn’t a field most males look at when choosing a job. It is often associated with speech therapy and child behaviour. Stigmas around those professions have to be broken down because it is so much more than that. There is a real imbalance of mindsets in this sector, however, with more discovery and intertwining with different sectors, neurotech and linguistics have a real future.
If you could leave the youth with one piece of advice, what would it be?
Words matter. Learning beyond the classroom, will make you a better communicator.
“Language is the way the universe expresses itself.”–
Jeremy Jacobs is the co-founder and managing director of Raise Bakery in the United Kingdom. Jeremy worked in a digital media company until 2009 after which, his family started a bakery. Starting off as a business to customer (B2C) company and then growing to business to business (B2B) through working with Virgin Atlantic, Raise Bakery has been adapting to scenarios of the world for a lot of it’s time.
Quick Summary
What is the importance of sustainability in businesses
Jeremy is very passionate about sustainability and protecting our environment. We explored the topics of Covid-19 and how that has proven that as a community, we are able to change and adapt quickly; why not do the same with sustainability in big businesses. Jeremy believes that everyone has the responsibility to take care of the planet. Big companies have an even bigger responsibility due to their resources and access to make changes happen.
How to come up with a unique selling point and use that to differentiate yourself.
It is easy to say “have a unique selling point” but Jeremy believes that it is important to come up with something truly meaningful. A unique selling point of raise bakery is that it is a family business with a unique story. There is a way they operate, that other businesses can’t copy. It is also important to look at opportunities and make sure that you take onboard whatever you can without hesitation, especially as a small business.
What are some tips on time management?
Jeremy was doing his MBA in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was a stressful time for many people. It was especially tough mentally. Jeremy suggested that recognising how difficult it is to be going through online learning, is already a good step. Practically, you need to be strict with yourself and your time management in order to keep sane in such a tough time.
If you could leave the youth with one piece of advice, what would it be?
You have one life, choose it and choose your path.
“Every business on this planet has a duty and a responsibility to serve it’s community and the people around it.”–
Insights with Experts 