Question 3
What methodology is used in successful AI/ML projects?

NUSA Lab (N-U Sigma U-Square Analytics Lab LLP) has developed a framework that is proven to be effective. Here is our framework:







We start with the data and find out the patterns or problems/issues/challenges where data is
available. Else, we start with the business problem/issue/challenge in discussion with the organization. In the second scenario, we suggest the data to be collected if available or partially available. We then analyze the data, understand the data, and clean up the data using various relevant methods. 

Once the cleaned data is available, we determine a suitable algorithm to be applied to the data to ensure generalized learning on the data. We build the AI/ML model, optimize it, and validate it. In this process, we apply relevant optimization methods until we get a highly accurate generalized model. 

We also apply any relevant recent research which adds value to the project. Then we deploy the model on to production and keep checking the output vs. the expected output. In the process, we carry out the research, and we use that research in recalibrating the model, as and where required. We then redeploy the recalibrated model needed to ensure that the model is still valid despite the changes happening in the ecosystem. In the current world, change is the only constant.

Question 4
What skills do you need to implement an AI/ML project?

The following are the skills typically required to implement an AI/ML project effectively:

• Determining the right business case/problem to be solved
• Allocating the right resources – Data Scientist, Data Plumber, Data Engineer, etc.
• Determining the data needed to train the AI/ML model effectively
• Exploring the data to understand its completeness and correctness
• Determining the appropriate method/algorithm to be used
• Determining appropriate validation methods and optimization methods
• Understanding if the model has appropriately generalized and is not overfit or underfit
• Providing appropriate data stream to the model and eliminating any Bias before deploying the model on the production system and
• Recalibrating the model on a need basis with any changes

Question 5
How do you know whether you have the right data and enough of it that will result
in AI/ML success?

By analyzing the data related to the problem to be solved, we can make out if the right data is collected and available. Normally, we guide the organizations as to what data is required based on the problem/issue being solved. Nowadays, most organizations have a good amount of data, as most of them have moved to digital platforms. However, the quantity of data is secondary. The quality of the data is the most important. There are various ways we can augment the available data. If the problem/issue/challenge makes business sense, and we have quality data, we can always proceed. The relevant data may also be many times possible to be sourced from third-party agencies.

Bonus Questions
Dr. Hodeghatta answered all the questions I sent to him, so I have included them under bonus questions.

Question
Can you explain supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning? When would you use one over the other, and can you use all three with the data you have?

We use "supervised learning" for predicting a category or a class given that the model is trained based on the data whose categories are already labeled. When we say labeled, somebody, either from their experience or other means, has already classified the record into specific classes. Regression, Classification are some of the areas where we use Supervised Learning. We use unsupervised learning when we do not know the categories/classes to predict.

There is no labeled data to train the model. It is not possible to label them, either because of the lack of evidence or the high cost of labeling. The model itself will identify the data class by categorizing it based on some measure (normally distance measures). Clustering is one of the methods which are part of unsupervised learning. We use reinforcement learning, particularly in those scenarios where there is a reward involved and later steps depend upon the earlier steps.

Question
If a CEO needs to see something quick before providing more funding for an AI/Ml project, what do you suggest an approach CEO should take? 

Analyze the data and show the pattern or carry out a small dummy-proof of concept and show the possible value.

Question
How can a CEO determine whether a data scientist is any good? What kind of
questions should he be asking to a data scientist he is talking to?

The CEO should make out the following characteristics of an effective data scientist:

• Should be able to understand the business problem when explained – open mind with good listening skills and understanding capability
• Should be able to suggest the data to be collected based on the discussion with relevant domain experts
• Should be able to determine the right algorithms, optimization methods, and validation methods to be applied
• Should have good interpersonal skills and communication skills to deal effectively with other relevant stakeholders
• Should be able to apply relevant research to the project in hand to deliver a high level of benefit to the company

According to us, I have listed above not the conclusive and exhaustive list but some of the key requirements.

Question
Since you hear AI/ML everywhere, how can a CEO determine whether a problem
lends to automation or machine learning?

Automation is straight forward. You know the rules of the game already. You need to program those rules, test that the rules provide the output as required, and deploy the solution or application. In the case of AI/ML, the patterns or rules are not known. Rules are the one learned by the AI/ML models and are generalized so that the model works effectively on a wide range of
applicable data values.

Question
Can you explain how to mitigate or even eliminate bias in machine learning models and AI systems? Is the problem mainly with the data or algorithms? When you try to mitigate bias, is it possible to overcorrect so that there is a different kind of bias? 

A good data scientist always tries to eliminate the AI/ML models' bias by understanding if the model has generalized well. She/he applies various types of validation over a wide range of possible data points using appropriate evaluation methods to validate that the model has generalized well. A well-generalized model is typically not biased. The experiment is the key to the success of a scientist. A data scientist shall not hesitate to experiment to understand that there is no bias. To do that ideally, she/he should not carry any pre- notions. A detailed webinar is conducted by Dr. Hodeghatta, Umesh, on December 16th, 2020
regarding the bias in AI/ML models. 

You can register to learn more about "Bias in AI":
https://www.brighttalk.com/webinar/bias-in-ai-and-machine-learning-models/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=social&utm_term=data&utm_content=umesh&utm_campaign=Big

Three Book Recommendations on AI/ML for CEOs

Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die by Eric Siegel
Small Data: The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends by Martin Lindstrom
Analytics in a Big Data World: The Essential Guide to Data Science and its Applications by Bart Baesens

Dr. Umesh Rao Hodeghatta's Contact Info:

WebSite: http://www.mytechnospeak.com/
Email: umesh@mytechnospeak.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uhrao/

I want to thank Dr. Hodeghatta for answering the questions about a very important subject that is changing our world. 
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When you are innovating, you can do everything right and still fail.  

How is that possible?  

According to Ron Adner, he writes in his excellent book The Wide Lens that "your success depends not just on your ability to execute your own promises but also on whether a host of partners—some visible, some hidden—deliver on their promises too."

Companies that innovate are adept at execution focus, such as gaining customer insights, building core competencies, and beating the competition. The pitfalls they run into are co-innovation risk and adoption risk.  

Co-innovation risk occurs when a company's innovation is dependent on the commercialization and affordability of other innovations. 

Adoption risk occurs when a company's innovation is dependent on partners' adoption of it so that end consumers can decide whether it satisfies their needs and their willingness to pay for it.

After reading The Wide Lens, I had few questions for Ron Adner. I narrowed it to five questions whose answers are below: 
​
Five Questions

Question 1: 
You point out how hard it is for companies to have innovation success. Do companies
need to experiment with many innovations using the minimum viable ecosystem (MVE)
approach to have a handful of successes?
 
When companies innovate in ecosystems, their success depends on their ability to line up
partners. The MVE is an approach to finding and organizing the starting coalition on the larger
journey. Unlike an MVP approach, which is focused on discovery, and the MVE approach is
focused on aligning – you need to have a good sense of where you are heading before
approaching partners. If you don't, it will be hard to get them to commit at scale, and the risk is
getting trapped in pilots. 
 
Question 2:
Do you think China has changed the game when it comes to innovation? Is their
approach different from the wide lens approach with the government playing an
important role? Does their approach mitigate or even eliminate the co-innovation and
adoption chain risks?  
 
Successful innovation in China, like everywhere else, depends critically on managing adoption
chain risk and co-innovation risk.
 
One difference in China is that the government can play a more active role in resolving these
issues on both the regulatory and the incentive side. The Chinese approach is reminiscent of
the role that Japan's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MITI) played in its rise through the 1970s
and 80s.
 
A second difference is one of context – China's rapid rise in prosperity interacts with what had
been a challenged infrastructure to enable a fast path adoption. For example, where mobile
payments in the West have to outcompete credit cards, in China the competition is cash in the
absence of wide-spread credit cards. And when you combine that with the government wanting
more traceable transactions, you can see why mobile payments would take off as quickly and
penetrate as deeply as they have.
 
These two differences in the Chinese approach are not a substitute for innovation, they allows
innovations to scale and succeed faster.
 
Question 3:
Is innovation so complex today that only large companies like Apple, Amazon, Google,
etc. can adopt the wide lens when it comes to innovation?
 
If anything, innovation's complexity means that it is even MORE important for smaller firms to
master the Wide Lens principles. 
 
The giants have the time and resources to take multiple shots on goal. We see them failing in
many of their ecosystem ambitions (payments, health, mobility, all around, with shout-outs to
Google showing how not to launch a game platform with Stadia, and Apple losing in the
education market that gave them their start).
 
There is plenty of room for innovation, and even ways to outcompete the giants, as long as you
know how to change the game (this is the subject of my new book, Winning the Right Game,
which will come out next year).

Question 4:
Do you think innovation success will ever be achieved by one company the way AT&T
Bell Labs did by creating universal connectivity? Do you feel that companies will have to
continue to overcome all three risks: Execution, Co-innovation, and Adoption Chain?
 
Even the rise of the Bell network was the product of decades of ecosystem construction. Bell
Labs was founded in 1876, so looking at Bell Labs in the 1970s is looking at the cutting-edge
R&D lab of a long-established monopolist. Keep in mind too that Bell/AT&T did not capture the
benefit of the vast majority of its inventions. Other innovators figured out not just execution at
scale but also how to align the adoption chain and co-innovators that brought the inventions into
mainstream reality… Everyone has to, or had to, deal with the Wide Lens issues.
 
Question 5:
As of this writing, Tesla's market capitalization is higher than GM and Ford combined.
Can you briefly explain what made Tesla succeed in electric vehicle (EV) when Better
Place could not?  
 
Market cap is variable, but the accomplishment is absolute. Telsa has succeeded in changing
the game in EVs and – more impressively – in the automobile industry writ large. Better Place
imploded because of an own-goal on execution and a clash of egos. There is a nice epilogue on
their story posted at ronadner.com.
 
Tesla's biggest disruption in my view is less EV per se (though that is huge) than the integration
of software into so many parts of the car and the car network, which allows them to do unique
things with upgrades, recalls, charging networks, acquiring autonomous driving data, etc. – an
incredible achievement. In addition to Musk's innovative and strategic brilliance, he deserves
credit for his ability to manage the finance side, bringing money forth from almost thin air. Bezos
did this in the early days of Amazon, and that gave him the freedom to operate that he has used
since.
 
With Better Place, which had a strategy and model that I still think is superlative, the oxygen of
capital simply ran out, and founder/CEO Agassi could not bring in the next critical tranche. It is a
very disappointing end to what was a promising innovation.
 
Bonus Question:
Do you think Wall Street is more patient with charismatic CEOs like Jobs, Bezos, and
Musk when they start making money with their innovation? Is charismatic leadership
today a necessity for innovation success?
 
Neither sufficient nor necessary, but it never hurts. : )

I want to thank Ron Adner for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer few questions I had about his book The Wide Lens.

To learn more about Ron Adner:
Book:
The Wide Lens

Web site at Dartmouth:
Professor at Dartmouth
​
Speeches:
An Interview with Ron Adner re: The Wide Lens​

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We all make assumptions. Occasionally, Frequently,  they can lead to confusion, embarrassment and get us into trouble. But If assumptions are made in certain professions, (such as business, engineering and medicine), that are bad, they can prove to be disastrous. 

Neville Chamberlain, prime minister of Great Britain, made one of the most catastrophic assumptions in history. Chamberlain assumed that by letting Adolph Hitler take over Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, he would stop there. This assumption was made after Hitler had already annexed Rhineland and Austria. Though Great Britain and France had the military strength to stop Hitler, they assumed that Hitler would be satisfied. This assumption led to WWII.

The book to turn to so you learn not to make assumptions is “Stop Assuming,” by Professor Bob Schoenberg. The book teaches you techniques you can use to avoid making assumptions. I recommend you read, study, and practice those techniques. It will help you not make assumptions and, instead, make better decisions. 

Schoenberg defines assumptions as “thoughts we have that we think are true, but we don’t know that they’re true.” He writes that there are two types of assumptions: general and personal. General assumptions do not involve you and can be proven true or false. Personal assumptions do involve you and are hard to prove because you may not be aware of it.

The book main focus is on personal assumptions which tend to be “hidden” and are restrictive and/or negative in nature. If we can better understand how we can easily fall into this trap it would help us avoid making deleterious personal assumptions. to turn avoiding personal assumptions into a habit requires work and lots of practice. But as you will see in the book, anyone can do it and it will benefit you immensely in life and business.

The book has many techniques you can learn to stop making assumptions. One of the simple techniques Bob writes about is Special Role Play. He writes how it works:

• Identify a personal assumption  
• Role-play using the opposite point of view  
• Vigorously and passionately support this opposing point of view for 2 minutes  
• Write down whatever reasons, thoughts or viewpoints you discover

Below are five questions I posed to Bob about assumptions after reading the book.

Question 1:
I don’t believe I was ever taught this when I attended school. Is this skill taught in any school, or is this skill taught to those on an executive track to become effective leaders?  
​
The ability to identify and recognize assumptions is a critical thinking skill taught at the Critical and Creative Thinking Program at UMASS, Boston. However, they don’t focus on “personal assumptions.” I do that in my book, and in a non-credit course I teach.

Question 2:
Aren’t we making a lot of assumptions every day, so do you suggest keeping a log and review them at night to see how you did and what you need to do to refine your assumptions? 

Everyone makes assumptions, even I do. The important thing is to recognize that you are making an assumption and “challenge” it. Attempt to find out if it is true or false. Personal assumptions, although “hidden”, can easily be identified when you notice yourself using the phrase, “I can’t”.

Question 3:
We have a president who made an assumption---even with all the available resources---that COVID-19 Virus will simply go away. And as of this writing, we have over 165,000 COVID-19 related deaths. And he still has the job. So why should one learn what you teach when there are no consequences for making wrong assumptions repeatedly? Isn’t this a problem that the person holding the most important job in the world can get away with impunity for making terrible assumptions? 

There are indeed consequences, even for President Trump. We still live in a Democracy, and he could be voted out of office if people are dissatisfied with how he handled the COVID 19 virus. He will only get away with it if people vote for him, which indicates that they are satisfied with how he has been running the country. The majority of people are not satisfied with how he has handled the Virus. We will see what happens on Election Day.

Question 4:
Herman Cain recently died from contracting the COVID-19 Virus. He assumed that COVID-19 was not a threat and did not take adequate precautions such as social distancing and wearing a mask. He was a very successful businessman and gained a lot of attention when he ran for president in 2012. Aren’t we hardcoded in what we want to assume such that no supporting facts will change our beliefs? 

I don’t know enough about neuro-biology to answer the question about being hard-wired to our beliefs. Some people make up their minds and don’t want to be “confused” with the facts. People have different reasons for what they believe. Many people have taken a health crisis and turned it into a political issue. To change your belief, you have to be open to change. Beliefs are often very strong and entrenched. It takes a certain degree of open-mindedness and even courage, to even entertain the idea that maybe the belief you have isn’t valid.

Question 5:
Can this approach be used when you are giving a speech, sales call, and negotiation?
​
Identifying and challenging assumptions, both general and personal, can be used in all of the above situations. This is a skill that takes practice, like all skills. However, there are more than assumptions at work here. You could definitely use this skill before you go to a sales call, but if the prospect doesn’t need your service or product, she won’t buy it. If you try and give a speech to a group of people who are opposed to your topic, you still might have a difficult time delivering the speech. Lastly, some of the best negotiators can’t resolve an issue if people are not willing to listen to the other side. There are many more skills involved in each of these activities.
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What can we learn from lawyers? A lot.  

Lawyers advocate for their clients in front of jurors who will make the critical decision whether to acquit or convict their clients. That is high stakes. The skills lawyers use to advocate for their clients are the same skills we all have to learn and master to effectively advocate for ourselves and others, when necessary. 

Heather Hansen has written an excellent book, "The Elegant Warrior" that teaches us how to effectively advocate for our position in life, business and at home. She has captured this in her book from her twenty years of experience working as a lawyer. The book is short and simple but packs a lot of punch. I learned a lot from this book; hence, I had so many questions after reading it that Heather was kind enough to answer a few of them below.

I highly recommend you get this book, read it, study it, and practice what Heather teaches. Soon you will start seeing results when you have to advocate for yourself if you want to win. As Heather points out, if you are well prepared and ready to fight, the other side will be highly motivated to settle with you rather than duke it out with you in a trial which is unpredictable. Now, don't you wish you had this critical skill for success? 

You can learn more from Heather by listening to her podcast The Elegant Warrior Podcast with Heather Hansen.

Also, you can get more information about Heather Hansen on her website  heatherhansenpresents.com.

Question 1
When someone tells a story, how do you know that you are not being manipulated?

The short answer is practice. Twenty years of watching people answer questions at deposition and at trial have made me adept at reading the tone of voice and body language. But the best way to be sure is to compare the story to other evidence. For example, if you're a customer going to buy a car, you have the evidence of competitors' prices, online reviews, past experience with cars. Some types of evidence are more relatable than others. Still, I try to collect as much evidence as possible before making a judgment, and I recommend others do the same. 

Question 2
Do you role play with your clients before putting them on the stand so they are well prepared to handle anything the opposing attorney may throw at them?

Yes! Role-playing is vital any time you have to advocate for yourself. Being on the stand is stressful and completely outside of my clients' comfort zone. The more we practice the more comfortable it becomes. And if I can ask tougher questions in our "mock cross exams" than opposing counsel does at trial, I've done my job. 

Question 3
What keeps the jury's attention in a case since people today don't have a long attention span? Isn't this a challenge today not only for lawyers but non-lawyers too?

You'd be surprised at how invested jurors become. Most people don't want to be chosen, but once they are, they work hard to pay attention. That said, they do fall asleep. Often. I find my voice is helpful because I'm often the only woman in the courtroom. Surprises keep jurors interested, and my voice is a surprise after hearing male voices for hours. I try to incorporate other surprises too. 

Question 4
As you mention in your book that jurors are human, so do they occasionally get swayed by lawyer's performance more than the evidence that the lawyer has presented?

Yes. In many ways, a trial is often like theater, and the one who puts on the best show wins. 
​
I have never had a doctor on one of my juries. But one thing I have going for the doctors I represent in a trial is that every juror is a patient. So I think, as humans, jurors are more swayed by their personal experiences and perspectives as a patient. And that is hard to overcome. 

Question 5
You write not to "fake it 'till you make it," but grow it. But don't we all occasionally have to fake it to get a foot in the door so we get the opportunity to grow it.  

I think faking it never works. I think you have to find something inside that you have real confidence in and show that until it grows. 
I know juries can read fake from a million miles away, and they hate it. But if a client shows them some humor, some confidence, some love for what they do, the jury responds with interest, and then the confidence grows.  

Bonus Question
You wrote short chapters that got to the point. Is this based on how you would present a case to the jury by keeping it short, simple, and to the point? You use the following format: Heading, Famous Quote, Story with a Lesson, Proof, Summary. Is this something you ever use when you are presenting to the jury? 

It is similar. We also write briefs in a similar format. But I think my preference for short chapters comes from the TV Work I do. On TV, I have one minute to make my point. That makes you very aware of how much time you're taking from a person's life..... ​

Five Book Recommendations by Heather Hansen:
1-To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel Pink
2-The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
3-Can You Hear Me Now?  How to Connect with People in a Virtual World by Nick Morgan
4-Data Story: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story by Nancy Duarte
5-What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobe Yamada

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In this blog post, I pose five questions to Patrice Bain, co-author of an excellent book on teaching titled “Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning.” I have taken these five questions plus a bonus question from the video interview I did with Patrice and edited them for clarity. Also, I asked Patrice to recommend five books on teaching and learning that one can read to gain more knowledge.  

How did you discover the scientific approach to teaching elementary school students on how to learn?

Teaching is challenging since there are so many demands put on teachers, and there is not sufficient time to do everything teachers want to accomplish. My first several years were trying to figure it all out like how do I get the lesson plans done, how do I cover the curriculum in classes and how do I finish other tasks.  

After teaching for several years, I started asking, “Why are some students learning well and others aren't?” and “What is the disconnect here?” 

It was about this time that I met two wonderful cognitive scientists Mark McDaniel and Henry Roediger, who are cognitive scientists from Washington University in St. Louis. They wanted to research how students learn in authentic classrooms.They were interested in this because up to this point, most research up to this point was done at universities in laboratories with college students. Dr. Roediger and Dr. McDaniel chose my classroom after they obtained a grant from the Institute of Education Science (IES) to research how students learn in elementary schools. 

I was fortunate to be at the forefront of how learning takes place in elementary schools, and the cognitive scientist who came to work with me in my classroom was Pooja Agarwal, the co-author of my book “Powerful Teaching.” Soon, we started looking at strategies that were effective in students’ learning. 
I worked for years with these cognitive scientists and was able to learn how students learn because how students learn is typically not taught in teacher education programs. I taught for over 25 years, and it probably took about fifteen years before I was able to start perfecting my craft and creating learning strategies based on cognitive science.

Why are students not taught how to learn?

As a teacher, I was never taught how to learn through my education programs. I can't remember once where we ever discussed how students learn and what strategies improve their learning. I began to question why educator’s often didn’t have access to the cognitive science research. I made it my mission to not only test research based learning strategies in my classroom, but promote it to other teachers so they could help their students learn how to become effective learners.

When I taught my students how to learn, they felt empowered and started feeling good about learning. Learning became fun. Getting students to feel empowered about learning was very important since some of my sixth graders had internalized failure. They were saying to themselves, "I'm just not smart," but in reality, that was far from the truth. 

Once they learned how to learn, they not only got excellent grades, but could rattle off important information and demonstrate deep thinking on their essays. When I think of so many of the problems that affect students these days, I believe it is often because of this internalized failure that has crept into their mindset. I keep asking, "Why don't we simply teach these type of students how to learn?" It would change many lives by empowering students how to learn, especially when they are young..

What are three stages of learning and why retrieval is so important to learning?

There are three main stages of learning: encoding, storage, and retrieval. 

The first one is encoding. Encoding is where we, as teachers, impart knowledge. This imparting of knowledge can be through lectures, texts, websites, articles, video clips...we choose the methods we see best fitting our student needs. It is getting the information out to others. In schools, this is teacher-driven. 
The second step is storage. We have been taught to get information into students' heads, not out of their heads. What is important to students is not putting information in, but how do we pull information out of students' heads. 
This leads us to the third step: retrieval. This is the most important step of learning. Students become adept at doing homework, such as read a question and come up with a correct answer. But they had difficulty retrieving that information on tests. 

What I found was that students who excelled in doing their homework were not getting good grades on tests when critical thinking was required. That's when I realized that these students were not able to retrieve the information. Once I focused on using different retrieval strategies to address this problem in my classroom, students' grades improved, and they became better critical thinkers. 

Can the learning strategies that you used in school be used in the workplace?

All of the learning strategies can be used anywhere, including at the workplace. Companies need to look at this closely since they spend so much money on training. If employees knew how to learn, they would feel empowered and probably become more engaged in the workplace.  

Many of the things we write about in our book "Powerful Teaching" such as retrieval, spacing, interleaving, and metacognition, are now used in engineering and medical schools. The reason for this is that students in these cognitive intense programs need to be able to retain a lot of information. For example, a doctor in the ER can't just google something. They must have the information at their fingertips when they are taking care of patients. 
People in corporations also have cognitive intense jobs where they have to pull things out of their heads quickly, whether in meetings, solving a problem, or providing service to customers.  Speed is critical for these corporations to compete, and their employees have to be fast in everything they do, including how quickly they can retrieve relevant information to get the job done.

All companies want to be a learning organization today, but what we see is that many of them have become teaching or training organizations.Teaching does not result in learning. I think they should closely look at what we write about in our book "Powerful Teaching" and start applying learning strategies or work with us in helping their employees learn faster, better, smarter so the company can indeed become a learning organization.

Is the 2/20 technique a good learning strategy?

I used this strategy with my son, where I spent two minutes with him in the morning to get him ready for school and focus on what he's going to learn that day in school. Then spend 20 minutes after he came back from school and had something to eat and was ready to go over his day in school. I just let him talk and not say anything till he was done. All I would say to him after he was done was whether he needed any help. Most of the time, he was able to focus and get his work done and be prepared for tests. So I wanted to ask Patrice what she thought of this strategy I used with my son.

Patrice Bain's Answer

That is a wonderful idea. You are setting your child up in the morning to start thinking ahead. Then after he got home and the 20 minutes you are offering gave him chances for retrieval where your son was going through the day and pulling out information he learned during the school day. 
Talking about his day is so valuable. As parents, simply asking our children to retrieve what was learned earlier is a powerful learning tool.  

Bonus Question:  What makes someone an outstanding teacher?

From my years of experience, I would say you need compassion, a solid understanding of learning strategies, your curriculum, and a passion for learning. In addition, it helps to have good mentors who can guide a novice teacher along with a supportive administration. Many things come together to make one an outstanding teacher.

Five Book Recommendations

1. Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel
2. Why Don’t Students Like School? by Daniel T. Willingham
3. Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov
4. Small Teaching by James Lang
5. Love to Teach by Kate Jones

You can get more information at the following websites:
patricebain.com
powerfulteaching.org

You can contact Patrice at patrice@patricebain.com or follow her on Twitter at @PatriceBain1.

I recently had the opportunity to meet Jeffrey Hayzlett, Chairman and CEO of the C-Suite Network at a local National Speakers Association event in New Jersey where he was speaking. He exceeded my expectations. He not only gave an inspirational talk on what has made him successful as a public speaker and an entrepreneur, but spent a lot of time interacting with attendees, including me.  

Since I still had more questions, I reached out to him to see if you would be open to answering five questions that I would post it as a blog so others can benefit too.  He replied immediately with a terse email: “On the BIG 5—bring it.”

Jeffrey is a busy man. Besides running his company, he is an author, keynote speaker, and a host of his own podcast show. He could have ignored my request but didn't. He knew I was going to add value to him by spreading his thoughts and enhance his brand. I learned something very important from attending his talk and interacting with him in that he is a great marketer and has an effective and efficient system in place. 

To get the job done, he assigned one of his outstanding Senior Media Strategist, Keira, to work with me. I had a very good experience working with her. She made Jeffrey look real good that shows that he certainly knows how to hire the best. 

To learn more about Jeffrey’s thinking about business, values, and success, I recommend you read his excellent books:

The Hero Factor: How Great Leaders Transform Organizations and Create Winning Cultures
Think Big, Act Bigger: The Rewards of Being Relentless
Running the Gauntlet: Essential Business Lessons to Lead, Drive Change, and Grow Profits
The Mirror Test: Is Your Business Really Breathing?

I have read all of them and will be blogging about what I learned about his working with Donald Trump in his book Think Big, Act Bigger.

Below you will find the answers to my questions and the five book recommendations that have influenced his thinking.

Five Questions

Can you briefly talk about what your preparation is like before you give a speech?

I like to prepare for a speech by knowing as much as possible about the event, its organizers, the venue, and the audience. I research everything about them – bios, interviews they’ve done, any press and I also look for some type of factoid, or original piece of knowledge, pertaining to any or all. I find that the more you can personalize your speech, the more successful it’ll be.

How do you measure your speeches’ success?

By the engagement I receive all over social media and the engagement I receive from the crowd while I’m on stage. For example, I always look out at the crowd, and if I see half of them on their phones, something’s gone wrong. My speeches are meant to live lively, engaging, and interactive. Afterward, I get tons of requests for pictures with audience members, and they ask me all kinds of questions about business, marketing, or leadership. I’m happy to answer any questions and take pictures with them. The more pictures I see on social media, the better. That’s how I measure success, not to mention the standing O’s are a pretty clear indicator.

With so much noise today, what makes one stand out?

What makes anyone stand out: being yourself. Authenticity is one of those ‘old’ values that never goes out of style. It’s about being yourself, regardless of the scenario you find yourself in. Being authentic, genuine, and speaking from the heart is how you stand out. Anyone can make a speech, not everyone is capable of reaching an audience.

What does it take today to get to the C-Suite?

Hard work and dedication. In business, nothing happens by chance or by luck alone. You have to work harder than anyone else, and while there are no guarantees that you’ll reach the c-suite, hard work always pays off. It’s called “work” for a reason -- because it’s HARD.

What skills, attributes and competencies folks in the C-Suite look for in people they hire?

They look for someone who is dedicated to the company’s mission and vision, someone who will roll up their sleeves to do whatever it takes to move the needle forward and increase the bottom line. They look for ‘clock changers,’ which I describe as people who are willing to stand out and go the extra mile by making a difference and doing whatever needs to be done, instead of being more interested in blending with the rest of the pack. Personally, I look for people who are willing to learn and not always necessarily the people with the most impressive resume. Don’t get me wrong, a good resume goes a long way, but you can always teach people a higher level, or different, skillset. You can’t teach attitude or passion.

One More Question

What makes you so good at what you do and what do you do to keep getting better at it?

You just keep trying every single day to do your best. There’s no such thing as perfection, but you have to keep on trying. You can’t let one bad day influence the rest of the week/month. People often ask me, “what has been your best day?” or “what has been my highest accomplishment?” I always reply with “I’ll let you know when that happens.” There’s always tomorrow (and room for improvement).

Can you please recommend five books that have influenced your thinking?

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Rise and Grind: Outperform, Outwork, and Outhustle Your Way to a More Successful and Rewarding Life by Daymond John
​Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renée A. Mauborgne
​Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The Art of War by Sun Tzu 
               
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Question 1:
Can a salesman have credibility at both Above the Line and Below the Line?  Or do you recommend that a salesman bring his ATL executive for an ATL to ATL meeting, assuming they have practiced, planned, and prepared well before the meeting?

You can talk to kids as a dad and to other adults as parents, yes?  It's two value points. One needs to use the best product they can afford, BTL, and one need is to have it have an effect on the bottom line of the business, especially some initiatives that the ATL is working on and they need help with.  Don't overcomplicate it. There are two different value propositions, and you have to address the right one with the right person in the right language.

Question 2:
Do you think there may be more than one line in a large enterprise-wide sale where you often have to start at BTL for proof of concept and pilot before moving to ATL for a departmental wide solution and then TL (Top Line) for an enterprise-wide solution? The reason I ask this question is that companies are risk-averse, thus are reluctant to make an enterprise-wide decision until they see the solution deployed at one or more sites. When companies take this approach, aren’t you dealing with more than one line since the conversation is likely going to be different with the buyers or managers, operational executives, and financial executives?  

Of course.  Companies are set up to mitigate risk and trial things out unless they have a very urgent need to do something.  Very urgent, like loss of market share, new competitive product, or major product mistake. However, there are a ton of ATLs who will jump in the pool and do not have a toe in the water first,  if their value prop is addressed correctly. ($3M deal in 6 weeks kind of stuff)

See the section of TRAINS in the Train Station in the book as well.  The more trains you can effect, from one station master (ATL BUYER) or affect multiple train stations, the better the value and the more risk the customer is willing to take on, and weight that into the purchase decision.  To be single threaded in an enterprise account is very dangerous.

Question 3:
Don’t companies like to pigeonhole vendor salespeople at the BTL level and work with the top consultancies like McKinsey to help them at the ATL level?  How can you break through when a company is not looking at a vendor salesman for ATL insights? Another reason for this could be that the ATL executives may have an excellent relationship with the consultancy and view them as a trusted advisor and keep vendor salesman at the BTL level thus possibly commoditizing the solution that he is offering? What do you do here?

Salespeople pigeon hole themselves by only speaking features and functions, and then they get to ATL, they regurgitate their successful BTL speak/presentation, which is not what the ATL wants to hear.  I know of a ton of great salespeople who talk ATL so well, they are sought out by ATLs. McKinsey, Bain, BCG, and all the rest are great at top strategic stuff. Execution, at the point of attack, with a solution is what vendor salespeople have. The good vendor solution sales people hunt out problems first.  Bad vendor solution sales people are a solution looking for a problem...wrong way!

What do I do on a call? I call ATL...Hunt for Trains (as an example I use in my book)...Identify Gaps.  That's my mission.

Question 4:
My focus is on helping people get senior to executive level jobs, including sales professionals. When they are interviewing, don’t you think they have to use what you are teaching in your book Above the Line to resonate with key decision makers that they can sell well both internally and externally at both Above the Line and Below the Line?  

You nailed it.  The more the salespeople can demonstrate they can speak to BTL and ATL, know the differences, ask great questions, invoke transfer of ownership, and request decisions, win.  The rest, they SELL, DEMO, TALK, SHOW, GIVE, CHAT, HELP....notice these are 4-letter words?
But don't speak BTL to an ATL buyer or ATL to a BTL buyer, they won't be in rapport with you, and that's not good.

Question 5:
After reading your book, I have to ask this question about energy at the ATL level.
Is it a stretch to say that the Boeing 737 MAX is a good example of what happens when there is too much energy at the ATL level and little at the BTL level? By this, I mean that Boeing executives and carriers’ executives did not get adequate input at the BTL level, the people who built the plane, such as engineers at Boeing, and those who have to make the plane fly such as pilots at carriers who purchased the planes.

I don't know about the example, but the ATL who makes a decision without getting the BTL buy-in runs a risk.  In the printer story, if I would have bought a printer for Ann, the BTL buyer in this case, and she didn't like it, I would have to and to return the printer, which would have wasted time and cost me money. I could force her to use the printer I want, but that usually does not end well. Only a corporate emergency would have an ATL do something without getting BTL involvement.

One More Question:
What is the one thing you are really good at that has made you so successful in sales, and what do you do keep getting better at that?

I can sit in the customer chair and ask buyer customer-centric questions, rather than questions about my product or service.

Can you please recommend five books that have influenced your thinking in sales?

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldrat and Jeff Cox
SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... And Others Don’t  by Jim Collins
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Selling the Way Your Customer Wants to Buy by Marvin Sadovsky
                                                                                                               

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According to business leaders, one of the most important skills for success in business today is critical thinking.  Companies value this highly if they want to compete and win.  Since we are becoming more dependent on machines, humans often have to think critically so they make critical decisions.  If they don't possess this skill, the result can be catastrophic.

The problem is that Business schools embed Critical Thinking into the Business curriculum, but do not offer a specific course in Critical Thinking, making it difficult for students to learn this type of thinking.   Students place priority on hard skills to get a job out of school and little or none on soft skills like Critical Thinking.  They are pretty much on their own to learn it on the job. If you don't master Critical Thinking fast, it is likely to hurt your career since you can't succeed for long as a good business leader without Critical Thinking.

Bob Schoenberg noticed this problem when he was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Massachusetts.  He taught thousands of students on courses related to developing their critical thinking skills.  

But what drew my attention to Bob's work was his excellent book Critical Thinking in Business.  It is an excellent start for those who want to learn this quickly.  Though the book is short, you should use it as a textbook to master it. To learn this skill, you will keep coming back to this book and study it. He has also written a new book Stop Assuming  that helps people not fall victim to making assumptions that can backfire.

I had the opportunity to talk to Bob about the work he has done and is currently doing.  He has an online course that you can take and gives talks and workshops.  You can reach Bob at  bobsch3@gmail.com.

Below are five questions Bob was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer and since he has such an impressive background that includes being a pianist, teacher, speaker, and writer, I wanted him to recommend five books that have influenced his thinking.  

Five Questions
​
Since critical thinking skills are highly valued in job candidates, can you explain how businesses define critical thinking skills that they need in employees to help them achieve their business objectives?

The Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Test is the gold standard that businesses use to evaluate a job candidate’s critical thinking skills.  However, this test does not focus exclusively on business, and many of the questions have nothing to do with business.  A candidate may score high on the test, but it does not measure one’s ability to apply critical thinking skills to business.  Conversely, a candidate may score poorly on the test, but still be able to think critically on the job.

In general, many businesses value a candidate’s ability to solve problems, which actually involves several critical thinking skills and even some creative thinking skills. The problem with the term “critical thinking” is there are hundreds of different definitions, and there isn’t anyone agreed upon definition.


How does a candidate demonstrate critical thinking skills in a job interview?

One of the best ways for a candidate to demonstrate critical thinking skills in a job interview is to state that they use several critical thinking skills and give an example of how they would use a specific skill in a business setting.  This lets the interviewer know that you know more than just the definition of critical thinking skill.  It actually demonstrates that you can use critical thinking on the job.

 
Is critical thinking skills different today due to intelligent machines which we often have to work with? By this I mean we have to defer a lot of our critical thinking skills to machines to make faster decisions.  How has this changed in how we think today?

While we are becoming more and more dependent upon machines for certain tasks, many of the problems in business involve “human factors” such as personality clashes, distress (emotions that are uncomfortable), various learning styles and management styles.  Computers are not programmed to deal with these human factors.  However, some critical thinking skills can deal with these issues, such as Methodological Believing which helps to understand an opposing point of view.  This is not a skill that is well recognized in the business world but is quite useful and valuable.

However, because we have become more dependent upon machines, it has changed how we think.  We let the machines do the work for us and sometimes don’t think at all!  For example, some high school students don’t know how to use a dictionary. Instead, they just use a computer to find the spelling or meaning of a word.  But if the computer goes down, they are helpless.  In this respect, some people don’t know how to think in a situation like this. 


Is critical thinking valued during job interviews but less valued once a person is at work in that politics often trumps critical thinking in just about everything?

It varies from one business to another, but I think that politics do often trump over critical thinking and people often get into illogical arguments and use fallacious thinking.  A good critical thinking skill to use in situations like this is Fair-mindedness.  Using this critical thinking skill, you listen to an opposing point of view even if you don’t agree with it.  You also are willing to change your own point of view if you agree with the speaker. 


How do you measure critical thinking skills?

Businesses often use the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Test.  There are other tests designed to measure CT skills.   I often have people keep a journal listing what critical thinking skill they used during the week – or could have used.  I also have them describe how and why they used or could have used that skill.  In a relatively short period of time, an improvement can be seen in their critical thinking ability.

One More Question

How does one develop and master this skill besides reading your outstanding book? 

I recommend one take a course in critical thinking and practice and engage in the skills.  The Critical & Creative Thinking Program at UMASS, Boston offers both online graduate courses and face to face courses.  I offer non-academic courses specifically geared for business people and courses for use in one’s personal life.  For more information contact me at info@StopAssuming.org or email me at Bobsch3@gmail.com.  Like any skill, you need to practice it.  In my courses and workshops, whether online or face to face, I encourage people to collaborate with one another and practice their skills online or in person. 

Please recommend five books that have influenced your thinking.

1.     Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
2.    Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don't by Michael Losier
3.     Propaganda by Edward Bernays and Mark Crispin Miller
4.     Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power by  Noam Chomsky
5.     The Daily Drucker by Peter F. Drucker

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Ladan Davia is the CEO and founder of Beeya.com.  She is a young dynamic serial entrepreneur who loves to solve problems that others are not solving well.  That’s why she founded Beeya.com to solve a problem that both job seekers and employers were experiencing.

Beeya.com is a recruiting platform that matches job seekers with over millions of jobs. The website not only gives candidates a percentage of how close the match is but makes suggestions on the type of jobs that would be a good fit. The goal of the platform is to make the whole process simple, fast and successful for both the candidates and the employers.

Five Questions for Ladan Davia

​​​How should one use a site like Beeya.com to increase one’s chances of getting a call from a company?

Beeya.com uses AI and machine learning to match a candidate to the jobs best fit for them. The goal of Beeya.com is for employers to be able to see which candidates are truly qualified for their job posting, show them the match scores and let them choose who to interview from there. This allows candidates who don't necessarily have an introduction to a certain company, to have a fair chance at being considered for an interview. In order to get the match score and be apart of the process, a candidate needs to make a free account, upload their resume, and start searching for jobs. ​

What resume tips, techniques and tricks do you recommend one use to get past the Application Tracking System?

​I am really against Applicant Tracking systems because I don't believe they work. Finding a job shouldn't be based off of which tricks to use and which key words get more hits, it should be based off merit and qualifications. I believe when you are subjected to judgment by an ATS, it's primarily based on luck and nothing else. Therefore I don't have any tricks or techniques, that's why I started Beeya so job seekers wouldn't have to go through those hoops.

What kind of bias exists in recruiting platforms? The reason I ask is that I know people who have a lot of experience but get little to no response from recruiting platforms indicating that perhaps there might be an age bias in the platforms.

There is a lot of bias in recruiting, primarily around gender, race, socio-economic background, and age. Employers are overwhelmed with resumes and most online job boards provide little to no filtering and deliver stacks of applications to employers on a daily basis. To avoid reviewing all of the applications, the easier thing to do is take referrals. This is where the main source of bias comes into play because the only applicants who "pass" the screening process, are in the hiring managers inner circle, or some extension of it.

Is there much difference from one recruiting platform from others? Is there a metric that one can use to decide which recruiting platform will result in more matches?

I think most recruiting platforms are the same product, with a different logo. As the world and technology change, we are desperate for change in this as well. I think a job seeker should look out for platforms that do not provide results from key word matches.

Is it a good idea to use multiple recruiting platforms or use one?

I think the way the industry is right now, job seekers almost have to use more than one platform to make sure they don't miss jobs posted on all of them, unless they use Beeya. I don't say that because obviously I have bias toward using my own product, I say that because I truly believe in my product and it solves that issue. We're a meta search so we bring all jobs from different websites, to make sure a job seeker only has to go one place to access listings.


One More Question:

Is there a resume format that Beeya.com recommends candidates use that gets the best response from companies?

No, but I highly recommend any candidates to always have their resume in PDF format. That way you ensure your resume will always be formatted correctly and looks the same on every employers computer it ends up on. 


Five Book Recommendations​

1. Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill
2. The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses  by Eric Ries
3. Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh
4. Lean In: Women, Work, and  the Will to Lead by Sherly Sandberg
5. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Startup by John Carreyrou

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