Hopefully attendees of DISTRIBUTECH International will go back home at the conclusion of the event with a beginner’s mind, prepared to invest in their personal development and do something differently because they attended.
This was just a piece of the message delivered by Tiffani Bova during the third of five keynote sessions, on Wednesday morning. Bova is an executive advisor, former growth evangelist with Salesforce, and Wall Street Journal two-time best-selling author.
In her presentation, The Experience Mindset: The Flywheel of Growth, Bova elaborated on a few key themes. The first of them, the beginner’s mind, is what’s required when attending events like DISTRIBUTECH, with plenty of new ideas and information coming at you. A beginner’s mind allows you to take in ideas and information, take them back to your organization, and drive success. This is contrasted with an expert’s mind, which says, “I know how to deal with what we’re facing today.”
Bova also emphasized the importance of investing in your own personal development. “What will you do differently because you were here?” What got you to where you are today is fantastic, but will what you know and can do today get you to … the next destination? She encouraged attendees to be bold. “The worst that can happen is it doesn’t work and you’ve learned something,” she said.
All of us must reinvest and reskill not only ourselves but also those who work for us, Bova said. The World Economic Forum said 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025. To drive this home, she contrasted reactions from people when asked if they want change … vs if they want to change.
Bova used the “jobs to be done” concept to illustrate her points: In the end, what is the job to be done? She provided the example of people using kerosene lamps, candles, and electricity. The job to be done is to have light. What has changed over time is the solution to achieve that job. Always frame yourself in this “jobs to be done” concept, she said. How is your solution different or better or changing how the job is done?
Bova also touched on the recurring theme of AI, which was a featured subject in the previous two DISTRIBUTECH keynotes. Recognizing that the pace is not slowing down, she said the use cases for AI are still being described, understood, and put into action. AI can play a huge role and is a game changer on the customer-facing side. “Companies that use technology better than their competition will win,” she said.
John Gounaris, vice president – marketing with G&W Electric, introduced Bova. Some of his key points included the focus on customer centricity and the challenge of making a major transformation, likening it to changing the wings, engines, and maybe even the pilot while the airplane is still flying. What is needed in the effort to transform the grid, or any major transformation within an organization is first a culture of listening, then a culture of collaboration and people of passion and resiliency.
What will you do differently within your company and your personal life, with the lessons learned at DISTRIBUTECH International 2024?
