What gets you going every day (besides coffee/tea/alarm clock), and what keeps you motivated?
I am not naturally an early morning person, yet I have found that getting in even a minimal 30-minute workout makes a significant difference not only in how I start my day, but how I feel throughout the day. For me, it is a mindset boost.
What keeps me motivated: passion for what is possible, and what is next. I am high in “Excite” (5 Dynamics). And coffee–seriously, coffee simply cannot be excluded–I’ve tried and for me, it is a must-have.
What IT initiatives/programs/goals are you most interested in pursuing in the next 2-3 years?
My near-term focus is launching and contributing to the success of the new Doerr School of Sustainability. I expect as our strategic priorities are identified, key initiatives will quickly align.
I appreciate this quote from Professor Bill Barnett of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business: “When you lead by design, your job is not to know the future, but to create an organization that discovers the future.”
How do your colleagues and team members help you achieve your vision? What challenges do you face?
Colleagues and team members play a significant role in achieving our vision. We strive to maintain transparency, and communication is an essential part of that. By ensuring awareness and openly soliciting input along the way, we are able to maintain excitement and engagement with team members and colleagues so they feel valued and very much a part of achieving the vision.
There are always challenges, and sometimes they come in from all directions, so maintaining a positive and optimistic mindset is important.
How do you decompress outside of work?
I get outdoors, mainly hiking. When I really feel the need to decompress, I go climb a 14k peak [a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet]. I've found that the physical and mental effort, together with a view from the top, often helps me put things appropriately into perspective. I’ve climbed eight of the 13 x 14k peaks in California, and several in Colorado.
My other activities include music, cooking, and reading. I’ll grab my acoustic guitar and play some of my favorite songs; I recently took a BeWell class on mindful gardening taught by one of our postdocs, and love being able to use homegrown ingredients in our recipes. I also now bake sourdough bread weekly. As for reading, I tend to go back and forth between fiction and business/leadership books.
What advice would you give early or mid-career IT professionals looking to grow at Stanford?
Maintain a passion for learning, and remain open to any new opportunities to learn or apply learnings. Recognize most career paths are not linear trajectories, and each role you play can lend itself to a future role. Seek out and engage with a mentor. I’ve had quite few great mentors over the years, and have been serving as a mentor as well. Lastly, build your network. As I’ve learned from MOR Associates, “relationships matter and are the currency of the realm.”
