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I interviewed Chisom Udeze, 6 x founder and diversity leader of the year in the Nordics 2023. We discussed everything from setting up business ventures to choosing between for-profit and non-profit endeavors and our experiences as parents juggling priorities in life.
This post includes;
The recording of our discussion
An AI-generated briefing summary
Reflections on our discussion in comparison to another of Chisom's interviews
Additional learnings we made after concluding the recording
NotebookLM generated briefing doc.
I just like NotebookLM's structure. Even if you could prompt ChatGPT to create something similar to the “one-click” briefing doc, it would suit podcast summaries really well.
Main Themes:
Leadership: Chisom emphasizes the importance of adaptability, humility, and recognizing individual strengths when leading. She believes in hiring motivated individuals and focusing on "not demotivating" them.
Entrepreneurship: Chisom approaches problem-solving through entrepreneurship. Based on needs she identifies, she founded both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Her ventures range from coworking spaces to consulting companies.
Work-Life Balance: As a working mother, Chisom prioritizes spending quality time with her children and setting boundaries to avoid burnout. She also highlights the importance of finding support from a partner.
Parenting: Chisom believes in exposing her children to diverse experiences and cultures and advocating for the inclusion of children in social settings.
Personal Growth: Chisom reflects on her own journey of self-discovery, emphasizing the importance of listening to her body, setting boundaries, and embracing personal evolution.
Key Ideas and Facts:
Finding the Right People: Chisom stresses hiring for motivation and adaptability rather than simply filling a position. She values self-starters and individuals with proven track records of success.
"It is less expensive to wait for the right person rather than to hurry to hire someone because you need that spot filled."
Non-Profit vs. For-Profit: Chisom uses a needs-based approach when deciding whether to structure a venture as for-profit or non-profit.
"A lot of my endeavors, if we look at the nonprofit space, have been for something I needed."
A primary factor is whether the target audience can afford to pay for the services.
Diversify: This organization, one of Chisom's ventures, focuses on providing free services and advocating for marginalized communities, including immigrants, women, and refugees.
Diversify often hires from its intern pool, demonstrating their commitment to fostering talent and growth.
HerSpace: A for-profit co-working and co-creation space Chisom founded to address her need for the community after becoming a mother.
Although emotionally rewarding, Chisom acknowledges that renting an expensive space posed significant challenges.
The Importance of Community: Chisom highlights the importance of community building, particularly for newcomers to a city or country, reflecting on her own experience of feeling isolated after moving to Oslo.
Advice to Future Self: Chisom hopes to continue living with courage and pursuing her goals without needing permission, emphasizing the message "Just do it!"
Global Expansion Plans: Chisom has plans to expand the reach of Diversify's conference and consulting services globally.
New Ventures: Chisom plans to write a book (not related to DEI) and is currently engaged in a project in the shipping and maritime sector.
Notable Quotes:
"Rather than motivating, focus on not demotivating the right people."
"It's about how you let your children raise you."
"My body feels something before my brain processes it."
"Self-care is also just recognizing who am I? What is my truth in this moment?"
"If there's something you want to do, do it. Don't ask for permission. Just do it."
Overall Impression:
Chisom Udeze comes across as a driven and passionate individual who uses her entrepreneurial skills to address societal and personal needs. Her experiences as a woman, mother, and immigrant heavily influence her work and approach to leadership. She strongly advocates for building inclusive communities and providing opportunities for underrepresented groups. Her reflections on balancing work, family, and personal growth offer aspiring entrepreneurs and leaders valuable insights.
Reflection on Discussion
Chisom recently did another interview with Uduak Amino, who’s producing the Fearless podcast. I strongly recommend her content; I like her go-to questions, “What do you fear?” and “What are you grateful for?” as few individuals stop to think about these questions. Not to mention, her production output is way better than mine.
Watching this, I didn’t want to ask the same questions as Uduak, which ultimately led to a back-and-forth discussion with Chisom. I would love to follow Uduak on Substack and others who feel they have sharp voices with fearless thoughts! Uduak has only a few views on YouTube, but venturing on regardless.
Further insight
As it seems the Just Thoughts podcast produced with the help of NotebookLM is the most popular, I needed to ask what Chisom would think about creating an episode that would consolidate, say, our discussion, Uduaks, and some content from Diversify’s YouTube channel, as well as some other she has done.
Chisom said, “The people behind the words should be represented.” Especially when it comes to personal and cultural stories, NotebookLM's only option for white male and female Caucasian voices makes using it for such a use case controversial. HeyGen, for example, offers hundreds of voices and avatars in multiple languages, but it’s weird for various use cases, whereas NotebookLM is ultimately for research purposes.
If you’re navigating these questions and how to best go about finding the right service provider in diversity questions, Chisom is leading yet another new venture called Deisola; think of it as Fiver or Upwork for DEI consultancy work and freelancers. It’s yet to be deployed for alpha customers, but help Chisom and her team by filling it up if you’re interested in buying DEI services, are a DEI service provider, or are just curious to learn more about DEI issues to become a modern-day leader!
Until the next podcast! Next week, we’ll feature another exciting entrepreneurial story! Subscribe for more Just Thoughts!
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