Enjoy,
Stephen Ibaraki

Dr. Lecia Barker is a Research Associate Professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas in Austin and a Senior Research Scientist for the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). Barker’s research and evaluation studies fall in two areas:

1. Attracting, retaining and advancing groups under-represented in professional computing and science careers, both industry and academic; these studies focus on social climate, identity/belonging, faculty adoption of alternative teaching and curricular practices and sustainable organizational change.
2. Educational technologies from the viewpoint of learning outcomes and user studies; these studies focus on how situational factors influence use and usefulness of the technologies.

Some current projects include NSF Broadening Participation in Computing Alliance, intending to retain minority students in majority institutions; a project to diversify the user base of TeraGrid in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, and disciplinary field; study of use of video lectures with automatic indexing by a traditional, diverse, and urban student population; and study of tacit learning based on choice of browse terms in a digital library collection.

Prior to joining University of Texas in 2008, Barker was the founding director of the ATLAS Assessment & Research Center at the University of Colorado, which had two foci: adoption, uses, and implementation of innovative technologies in higher education; and recruitment, retention, and advancement of under-represented groups in computing. Barker and colleagues collaborated as evaluators on many exciting educational outreach projects, such as outcomes assessment for a Knee Anatomy learning module using the Visible Human data set (with Center for Human Simulation at the University of Colorado), formative evaluation of Web Weather for Kids (with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research), train-the-trainer workshop of GLOBE (with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research), and evaluation core center for the Digital Library for Earth System Education (with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at University of Colorado).

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:49:
Lecia shares a typical week and then month in her schedule including her activities, outcomes, and lessons learned.
“….You can find all of our National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) resources at http://www.ncwit.org….”

:04:05:
What can you tell us about yourself that few know?
“….People may not know that very little things bring me great happiness….”

:04:58:
What were the biggest obstacles in your career and how did you overcome them?
“….I’d say that the encouragement and support that I’ve gotten from other people have been a huge benefit to me….”

:06:34:
What are the milestones in your life and why?
“….I think milestones are marking out stages of life or somehow changing life’s path….”

:07:50:
You are an internationally recognized authority on diversity and education, so let’s drill down further into this area. How would you define unconscious bias and can you provide examples?
“….Scientists say that we are exposed to as many as 11 million pieces of information at any given time but can only consciously pay attention to about 40 – so that the way we deal with this is that we interpret and interact with the world according to what social scientists call knowledge schemas….They are based only on our experiences as we walk through our lives through cultures, society, being raised in certain families, school systems and all of our human experiences….Some people call them implicit biases….”

:10:38:
Can you talk about the negative effects of unconscious bias?
“….Negative effects can be shown in the case of gender schemas or unconscious gender bias…..It’s really important to stress that this isn’t just something that happens to women, it’s something we all do to ourselves and to each other and to recognize that we all carry unconscious biases and we use them to make judgments…..”

:16:40:
In my last discussion with Maria Klawe, President at HMC, she talks about some best practices on how she is able to achieve more than a 40% enrolment rate of young women into her programs. What are your recommendations in this area?
“….We’ve recently produced a workbook for developing a strategic recruiting plan and this is available for free at the http://www.ncwit.org website….”

:20:21:
If you have women enrolled, what can be done to keep them?
“….Create opportunities for student interaction in and outside of classrooms….It is important that examples given in lectures and meetings and as the basis for assignments be about things the students are interested in – especially ways that students can contribute to society….Revise the curriculum or add classes that are more interesting to students’ career goals….Make sure that students and faculty have opportunities to talk to each other….Evaluate results, find out what works on your campus and what does not work. Let us know at NCWIT, we are always interested in success stories and new ideas to share with our members. We also have a guide book and a summary of how to strategically plan for retention on the ncwit.org website ….”

:26:16:
Can you define “Classroom Climate” and its relationship to retention and learning?
“….Basically ‘Classroom Climate’ is the social aspect of the learning environment, though it can be influenced by the physical layout of the room….”

:30:34:
Lecia expands further on her work with middle school kids and the solutions that are being implemented.

:35:02:
What are the best resources for learning more about the issues we discussed?
“….http://www.ncwit.org….http://www.diversitybestpractices.com….”

:36:32:
What lessons can you share from your other roles and past experiences?
“….There is something to be learned from every situation….To ask for help even when I don’t think that I need it….”

:37:21:
You are quite engaged in the community through volunteer roles. Can you describe why you contribute and if others should engage?
“….There are some important competencies that I think I can share and which are very expensive to buy (for example, people don’t have time to go out and learn about program evaluations). People in non-profit organizations are making huge efforts with their own lives and they don’t have time to learn new things or to implement them even if they had time to learn. Yet they need program evaluation as much as any organization and have limited resources for doing them….”

:38:56:
You’ve participated in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Education council meeting recently, and in the future computing summit. What kind of value do you get from those kinds of activities?
“….I’m a social scientist, an outsider to the computer science world, and it’s important for me to get a deeper understanding of people whose work and opinions are so important to my work….”

:40:23:
What top lesson can your share from the projects you have worked on?
“….Be open to disbelieving my own interpretations….Be open to surprises….”

:41:50:
Please make your predictions for the future in educational technologies, their implications and how we can best prepare?
“….Information retrieval systems are going to be improved based on increased data capacity and storage, and as scientists in the information field come with new ideas about what kinds of words and ideas tend to go together we can use new technologies to do better searching and get more information on particular topics….”

:48:10:
If you were conducting this interview, what questions would you ask, and then what would be your answers?
“….’What do you mean by gender parity?’….’Why are women under-represented in computing in so many countries of the world?’….’Who are some other interesting people who have stories to tell about other under-representation in computing?’….”

:50:50:
What do you see as the top challenges facing us today and how do you propose they be solved?
“….When I think about serious challenges facing us in the world today I don’t think that these are new challenges….People have the inability to accept different ideologies as valid, and that humans often are dogmatic and this leads to war….Peoples’ inability to share wealth….”

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Enjoy,
Stephen Ibaraki

Maggie Johnson is a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at Stanford University, and Director of Education and University Relations for Google. Her extensive past and present roles include: Assistant Chair, Director of Educational Affairs & Undergraduate Studies, Stanford Computer Science 2003-2006; Software Litigation / Expert Witness; Executive Vice President and Director of Research for Metricnet (1999-2004); Member, ACM Education Board and Council; Member, ACM Professional Development Board; Member of Governing Board, NSF NSDL Computing Pathway; Member, Advisory Board of UCCP (University of California College Prep).

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:48:
Maggie profiles her education, training and her many past and present roles.

:02:10:
You have a background in music – do you see a relationship with mathematics and computing?
“….The way that I think about it is that you get wired a certain way in learning (especially the kind of music I was and still am interested in – Bach and baroque). There are mathematical tendencies in that music – a lot of underlying math and music theory that have connections – but I think it’s a little bit more about how your brain is wired….”

:02:58:
What can you tell us about yourself that few know?
“….Probably the music background….”

:03:27:
What were the biggest challenges in your career and how did you overcome them?
“….One of the biggest challenges was being a woman in a field of mostly men. I’ve often felt the need to over-achieve and over-perform in order to be taken seriously in certain situations. It may have been my perception that pushed me to do that but there have been times where I had to do more than a male colleague in order to get to the same place in the end….”

:05:04:
What are the milestones in your life and why?
“….My family is really important to me….Getting my PhD….Getting the academic position at Stanford…Coming to Google – that was a significant change in direction….”

:05:39:
What evidence is there that benchmarking produces value?
“….If I am a CIO of a company, I certainly know how much I spend each year, how many are on my staff, the processing power of all the computing resources, etc….Once I have those basic metrics there are some interesting ratios, things like how much does IT spend versus revenue, what does IT spend per employee. There are those kinds of ratios which are interesting metrics and benchmarks. They also map against all the published benchmarks that are available….”

:07:54:
Why are critical failure factors so important?
“….There have been a lot of lessons learned from failures and benchmarks….You want to be careful about making decisions based on really high level data or incomplete data….”

:09:15:
What is “benchmarkable” and what aspects of IT should be considered?
“….Anything really obvious and easy to collect is usually easy for others to collect. Once you have a lot of people collecting the same thing, then you can start creating these published benchmarks and you have a basis for comparison….”

:10:11:
What are the common measures that have produced value?
“….The more granular you get the better. There are a lot of different perspectives that we’ve taken when looking at the different kinds of data that characterize an IT organization or the services it provides….”

:11:18:
How can benchmarking be turned into a sustainable process and integrated into the “business of IT”?
“….It’s not just about benchmarking….The real message is how you can use data creatively to make those decisions….Data should be used wherever it’s possible to better understand the current state that you are in and the future state that you might want to be in….”

:13:18:
What does the future of benchmarking look like?
“…It’s getting more granular, it’s getting more detailed – which is really helpful….Also this whole notion of more innovative use of the data to support decision-making is another thing that we are seeing more actively and more explicitly done….”

:13:58:
Do companies need to do benchmarking periodically or will it be another form of “market data feed”?
“….I think it depends on the company or industry….”

:14:38:
What are the best resources and tools for benchmarking?
“….One of the most prominent experts on IT benchmarking is Howard Rubin….Partner Group, a consulting group in IT, do a lot of studies in this area….”

:15:18:
Where else can we go to get more information?
“….If you want to learn the basics of getting started there is a certification course offered at Stanford in IT Benchmarking…http://scpd.stanford.edu under the Degrees and Certificates….”

:16:01:
What lessons can you share from your role as an expert witness?
“….Software systems really stretch traditional intellectual property laws in that you have trade secrets, copyrights and patents and those are the standard methods of protection for intellectual property. There has been a lot of interesting adjustments that have had to be made to these traditional forms of protection to work with software….It’s interesting to watch and to be part of the process….”

:17:48:
You are quite engaged in the community through volunteer roles. Can you describe why you contribute and if others should engage (how and why)?
“….I serve on a number of different boards that relate to the work that I’ve done at Stanford and that I currently do at Google. It’s really important to have networks outside one’s immediate environment in order to learn what’s going on in the outside world….Those relationships are key and it’s a great way to give back to the community as well….”

:18:33:
What are the top priorities in computer science and computing education?
“….The first is, thinking about Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics (STEM) education in K-12 – we really need to improve this….I feel we have to completely change the way we do education and we need to expand it to go way beyond what happens in the schools….The second is the enrollment crisis in computer science and IT at the undergraduate level….We have a serious image problem in computer science and IT – the field is not attractive to students and we have to try to fix this….”

:21:24:
You are an outstanding teacher. What qualities make for good teaching and teachers?
“….Respecting your students and really listening to them to try to get a sense of what they are understanding and what they are not understanding and using that information to improve….You need to know your stuff cold. You need to have the knowledge of the material to get and maintain the credibility….”

:22:16:
Maggie shares her top best practices for corporate training.

:25:14:
How do relationships play a role in IT?
“….It’s not something that is specific to computing and IT….It’s an absolute critical part about being in the business world….”

:26:14:
What lessons can your share from the projects you have worked on?
“….Define the problem carefully….Think of an ideal but achievable end space that will solve that problem….Understand clearly why you are doing something and who is asking and why. Sometimes analyzing the motivation behind a request might uncover a completely different issue and the different issue might call for a different solution….”

:28:33:
Please make predictions for the future, their implications, and how executives and IT professionals can best prepare?
“….My perspective is really geared toward education right now….We need to fix our K-12 education system by loosening that really archaic structure….”

:30:29:
What do you see as the top challenges facing us today and how do you propose they be solved?
“….Lack of interest in our young people to pursue technical careers….There is a really strong presence of cloud computing and all the benefits of economies of scale that it provides, but one of the challenges we have is the security and privacy around the data that people are putting in the cloud….”

:31:33:
Please provide your quick comments on the IFIP IP3 program on professionalizing the profession? [http://www.IPThree.org].
“….It’s a long standing question in the IT and computer science field as to whether or not credentialing, certification or even licensing can help build public trust in software engineering and information technology….What IFIP is trying to do is making great progress because I think the profession has matured and evolved enough now….”

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Enjoy,
Stephen Ibaraki

Dr. Lecia Barker is a Research Associate Professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas in Austin and a Senior Research Scientist for the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). Barker’s research and evaluation studies fall in two areas:

1. Attracting, retaining and advancing groups under-represented in professional computing and science careers, both industry and academic; these studies focus on social climate, identity/belonging, faculty adoption of alternative teaching and curricular practices and sustainable organizational change.
2. Educational technologies from the viewpoint of learning outcomes and user studies; these studies focus on how situational factors influence use and usefulness of the technologies.

Some current projects include NSF Broadening Participation in Computing Alliance, intending to retain minority students in majority institutions; a project to diversify the user base of TeraGrid in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, and disciplinary field; study of use of video lectures with automatic indexing by a traditional, diverse, and urban student population; and study of tacit learning based on choice of browse terms in a digital library collection.

Prior to joining University of Texas in 2008, Barker was the founding director of the ATLAS Assessment & Research Center at the University of Colorado, which had two foci: adoption, uses, and implementation of innovative technologies in higher education; and recruitment, retention, and advancement of under-represented groups in computing. Barker and colleagues collaborated as evaluators on many exciting educational outreach projects, such as outcomes assessment for a Knee Anatomy learning module using the Visible Human data set (with Center for Human Simulation at the University of Colorado), formative evaluation of Web Weather for Kids (with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research), train-the-trainer workshop of GLOBE (with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research), and evaluation core center for the Digital Library for Earth System Education (with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at University of Colorado).

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:49:
Lecia shares a typical week and then month in her schedule including her activities, outcomes, and lessons learned.
“….You can find all of our National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) resources at http://www.ncwit.org….”

:04:05:
What can you tell us about yourself that few know?
“….People may not know that very little things bring me great happiness….”

:04:58:
What were the biggest obstacles in your career and how did you overcome them?
“….I’d say that the encouragement and support that I’ve gotten from other people have been a huge benefit to me….”

:06:34:
What are the milestones in your life and why?
“….I think milestones are marking out stages of life or somehow changing life’s path….”

:07:50:
You are an internationally recognized authority on diversity and education, so let’s drill down further into this area. How would you define unconscious bias and can you provide examples?
“….Scientists say that we are exposed to as many as 11 million pieces of information at any given time but can only consciously pay attention to about 40 – so that the way we deal with this is that we interpret and interact with the world according to what social scientists call knowledge schemas….They are based only on our experiences as we walk through our lives through cultures, society, being raised in certain families, school systems and all of our human experiences….Some people call them implicit biases….”

:10:38:
Can you talk about the negative effects of unconscious bias?
“….Negative effects can be shown in the case of gender schemas or unconscious gender bias…..It’s really important to stress that this isn’t just something that happens to women, it’s something we all do to ourselves and to each other and to recognize that we all carry unconscious biases and we use them to make judgments…..”

:16:40:
In my last discussion with Maria Klawe, President at HMC, she talks about some best practices on how she is able to achieve more than a 40% enrolment rate of young women into her programs. What are your recommendations in this area?
“….We’ve recently produced a workbook for developing a strategic recruiting plan and this is available for free at the http://www.ncwit.org website….”

:20:21:
If you have women enrolled, what can be done to keep them?
“….Create opportunities for student interaction in and outside of classrooms….It is important that examples given in lectures and meetings and as the basis for assignments be about things the students are interested in – especially ways that students can contribute to society….Revise the curriculum or add classes that are more interesting to students’ career goals….Make sure that students and faculty have opportunities to talk to each other….Evaluate results, find out what works on your campus and what does not work. Let us know at NCWIT, we are always interested in success stories and new ideas to share with our members. We also have a guide book and a summary of how to strategically plan for retention on the ncwit.org website ….”

:26:16:
Can you define “Classroom Climate” and its relationship to retention and learning?
“….Basically ‘Classroom Climate’ is the social aspect of the learning environment, though it can be influenced by the physical layout of the room….”

:30:34:
Lecia expands further on her work with middle school kids and the solutions that are being implemented.

:35:02:
What are the best resources for learning more about the issues we discussed?
“….http://www.ncwit.org….http://www.diversitybestpractices.com….”

:36:32:
What lessons can you share from your other roles and past experiences?
“….There is something to be learned from every situation….To ask for help even when I don’t think that I need it….”

:37:21:
You are quite engaged in the community through volunteer roles. Can you describe why you contribute and if others should engage?
“….There are some important competencies that I think I can share and which are very expensive to buy (for example, people don’t have time to go out and learn about program evaluations). People in non-profit organizations are making huge efforts with their own lives and they don’t have time to learn new things or to implement them even if they had time to learn. Yet they need program evaluation as much as any organization and have limited resources for doing them….”

:38:56:
You’ve participated in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Education council meeting recently, and in the future computing summit. What kind of value do you get from those kinds of activities?
“….I’m a social scientist, an outsider to the computer science world, and it’s important for me to get a deeper understanding of people whose work and opinions are so important to my work….”

:40:23:
What top lesson can your share from the projects you have worked on?
“….Be open to disbelieving my own interpretations….Be open to surprises….”

:41:50:
Please make your predictions for the future in educational technologies, their implications and how we can best prepare?
“….Information retrieval systems are going to be improved based on increased data capacity and storage, and as scientists in the information field come with new ideas about what kinds of words and ideas tend to go together we can use new technologies to do better searching and get more information on particular topics….”

:48:10:
If you were conducting this interview, what questions would you ask, and then what would be your answers?
“….’What do you mean by gender parity?’….’Why are women under-represented in computing in so many countries of the world?’….’Who are some other interesting people who have stories to tell about other under-representation in computing?’….”

:50:50:
What do you see as the top challenges facing us today and how do you propose they be solved?
“….When I think about serious challenges facing us in the world today I don’t think that these are new challenges….People have the inability to accept different ideologies as valid, and that humans often are dogmatic and this leads to war….Peoples’ inability to share wealth….”

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Enjoy,
Stephen Ibaraki

Dr. Lecia Barker is a Research Associate Professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas in Austin and a Senior Research Scientist for the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). Barker’s research and evaluation studies fall in two areas:

1. Attracting, retaining and advancing groups under-represented in professional computing and science careers, both industry and academic; these studies focus on social climate, identity/belonging, faculty adoption of alternative teaching and curricular practices and sustainable organizational change.
2. Educational technologies from the viewpoint of learning outcomes and user studies; these studies focus on how situational factors influence use and usefulness of the technologies.

Some current projects include NSF Broadening Participation in Computing Alliance, intending to retain minority students in majority institutions; a project to diversify the user base of TeraGrid in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, and disciplinary field; study of use of video lectures with automatic indexing by a traditional, diverse, and urban student population; and study of tacit learning based on choice of browse terms in a digital library collection.

Prior to joining University of Texas in 2008, Barker was the founding director of the ATLAS Assessment & Research Center at the University of Colorado, which had two foci: adoption, uses, and implementation of innovative technologies in higher education; and recruitment, retention, and advancement of under-represented groups in computing. Barker and colleagues collaborated as evaluators on many exciting educational outreach projects, such as outcomes assessment for a Knee Anatomy learning module using the Visible Human data set (with Center for Human Simulation at the University of Colorado), formative evaluation of Web Weather for Kids (with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research), train-the-trainer workshop of GLOBE (with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research), and evaluation core center for the Digital Library for Earth System Education (with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at University of Colorado).

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:49:
Lecia shares a typical week and then month in her schedule including her activities, outcomes, and lessons learned.
“….You can find all of our National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) resources at http://www.ncwit.org….”

:04:05:
What can you tell us about yourself that few know?
“….People may not know that very little things bring me great happiness….”

:04:58:
What were the biggest obstacles in your career and how did you overcome them?
“….I’d say that the encouragement and support that I’ve gotten from other people have been a huge benefit to me….”

:06:34:
What are the milestones in your life and why?
“….I think milestones are marking out stages of life or somehow changing life’s path….”

:07:50:
You are an internationally recognized authority on diversity and education, so let’s drill down further into this area. How would you define unconscious bias and can you provide examples?
“….Scientists say that we are exposed to as many as 11 million pieces of information at any given time but can only consciously pay attention to about 40 – so that the way we deal with this is that we interpret and interact with the world according to what social scientists call knowledge schemas….They are based only on our experiences as we walk through our lives through cultures, society, being raised in certain families, school systems and all of our human experiences….Some people call them implicit biases….”

:10:38:
Can you talk about the negative effects of unconscious bias?
“….Negative effects can be shown in the case of gender schemas or unconscious gender bias…..It’s really important to stress that this isn’t just something that happens to women, it’s something we all do to ourselves and to each other and to recognize that we all carry unconscious biases and we use them to make judgments…..”

:16:40:
In my last discussion with Maria Klawe, President at HMC, she talks about some best practices on how she is able to achieve more than a 40% enrolment rate of young women into her programs. What are your recommendations in this area?
“….We’ve recently produced a workbook for developing a strategic recruiting plan and this is available for free at the http://www.ncwit.org website….”

:20:21:
If you have women enrolled, what can be done to keep them?
“….Create opportunities for student interaction in and outside of classrooms….It is important that examples given in lectures and meetings and as the basis for assignments be about things the students are interested in – especially ways that students can contribute to society….Revise the curriculum or add classes that are more interesting to students’ career goals….Make sure that students and faculty have opportunities to talk to each other….Evaluate results, find out what works on your campus and what does not work. Let us know at NCWIT, we are always interested in success stories and new ideas to share with our members. We also have a guide book and a summary of how to strategically plan for retention on the ncwit.org website ….”

:26:16:
Can you define “Classroom Climate” and its relationship to retention and learning?
“….Basically ‘Classroom Climate’ is the social aspect of the learning environment, though it can be influenced by the physical layout of the room….”

:30:34:
Lecia expands further on her work with middle school kids and the solutions that are being implemented.

:35:02:
What are the best resources for learning more about the issues we discussed?
“….http://www.ncwit.org….http://www.diversitybestpractices.com….”

:36:32:
What lessons can you share from your other roles and past experiences?
“….There is something to be learned from every situation….To ask for help even when I don’t think that I need it….”

:37:21:
You are quite engaged in the community through volunteer roles. Can you describe why you contribute and if others should engage?
“….There are some important competencies that I think I can share and which are very expensive to buy (for example, people don’t have time to go out and learn about program evaluations). People in non-profit organizations are making huge efforts with their own lives and they don’t have time to learn new things or to implement them even if they had time to learn. Yet they need program evaluation as much as any organization and have limited resources for doing them….”

:38:56:
You’ve participated in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Education council meeting recently, and in the future computing summit. What kind of value do you get from those kinds of activities?
“….I’m a social scientist, an outsider to the computer science world, and it’s important for me to get a deeper understanding of people whose work and opinions are so important to my work….”

:40:23:
What top lesson can your share from the projects you have worked on?
“….Be open to disbelieving my own interpretations….Be open to surprises….”

:41:50:
Please make your predictions for the future in educational technologies, their implications and how we can best prepare?
“….Information retrieval systems are going to be improved based on increased data capacity and storage, and as scientists in the information field come with new ideas about what kinds of words and ideas tend to go together we can use new technologies to do better searching and get more information on particular topics….”

:48:10:
If you were conducting this interview, what questions would you ask, and then what would be your answers?
“….’What do you mean by gender parity?’….’Why are women under-represented in computing in so many countries of the world?’….’Who are some other interesting people who have stories to tell about other under-representation in computing?’….”

:50:50:
What do you see as the top challenges facing us today and how do you propose they be solved?
“….When I think about serious challenges facing us in the world today I don’t think that these are new challenges….People have the inability to accept different ideologies as valid, and that humans often are dogmatic and this leads to war….Peoples’ inability to share wealth….”

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Nick Corcodilos is the host of Ask The Headhunter® and author of How to Work with Headhunters (2009).

Nick is also the author of Ask The Headhunter: Reinventing The Interview to Win The Job (Plume, 1997), the #1-selling interview guide on Amazon for 26 consecutive months. (Also published in several foreign editions.)

Nick started headhunting in 1979 in one of America’s most competitive job markets: California’s Silicon Valley. Using the methods described in his book and on the ATH blog, he has helped people win management and staff jobs in companies including IBM, GE, Hewlett-Packard and Merrill Lynch.

Featured in The Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, USA Today, The New York Times, Fast Company, Working Woman, on CNN, CNBC and MSNBC, Nick’s iconoclastic techniques for job search, hiring and career development are used by job hunters and employers alike. Publishers including IDG, CNet and CMP Media have licensed Nick’s work for use by their millions of members in the fields of information technology and electronics engineering. Since 2008, Ask The Headhunter features have been distributed worldwide by Universal Press Syndicate.

The Ask The Headhunter approach to job hunting and hiring has been recognized by management gurus including Peter Drucker and Tom Peters.

President of North Bridge Group, Inc., Nick Corcodilos has been retained by companies including AT&T, Merrill Lynch, Becton Dickinson, and Procter & Gamble to teach managers to recruit and hire more effectively, and to help groom employees for promotions and career transition. Companies using his books as a hiring tool include Disney, Marriott, Microsoft, Merrill Lynch and the U.S. Government.

Nick holds a Bachelors Degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from Rutgers College where he was a Henry Rutgers Scholar, and a Masters in Cognitive Psychology from Stanford University (where his academic bent was quickly corrupted by the Biz School and Silicon Valley). He plays music (keyboard and guitar), and enjoys Chi Gung and T’ai Chi, backpacking and kayaking. He loves his work, but would rather be in Alberta climbing big rocks.

To learn more, go to: www.asktheheadhunter.com/whoisnick.htm.

You can listen to Nick in his latest Microsoft TechNet Webinar (select the Selling Yourself tab): http://technet.microsoft.com/en-ca/cc837417.aspx

WEB: www.asktheheadhunter.com
BOOK: “How to Work with Headhunters”
LATEST BOOK: “How Can I Change Careers?”

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:35:
Looking back, what were your biggest career challenges and why?
“….My biggest challenge was figuring out how to get out of academia and into the business world….”

:01:58:
What were your biggest career wins and why?
“….Shedding the fear of getting into the business world and trying something completely different….Turning my headhunting business into a publishing business….”

:03:18:
What are your key messages in the Microsoft Webinar delivered in September 2009?
“It’s less a question of looking at yourself and selling who you are and it’s more about identifying what the problem is and reaching into your skill set and figuring out how to sell that….”

:04:56:
How has your work evolved since we last chatted and can you profile the services you currently offer?
“….I’ve written my second book in twelve years….I wrote a new book called ‘How to Work with Headhunters and How to get Headhunters to Work for You’….”

:08:06:
How do you view the current job landscape?
“….The job landscape for those who are very good at what they do never really changes….The best companies out there, even if they are laying people off out of one door (for whatever reason) continue to hire top quality people in through the other door because they are not expecting to go out of business….”

:09:45:
Provide your predictions of the job market in 2009, 2010, and 2011?
“….I think rather than being afraid of what’s happening…ask yourself, what are you really best at and what motivates you the most, then pursue opportunities in that direction. I think it’s almost irrelevant where the so-called job market is going….”

:10:40:
What are some longer term work trends?
“….I think more people will be working from their homes. More people will be working as contractors. More people will be working for multiple companies at a time, providing specific kinds of expertise….Jobs are not going to be as traditional as they have been….”

:11:49:
Tell us more about your latest book and why it is a must read today.
“….When a company retains a headhunter what they are really paying for is not the résumés of the candidates, they are paying for that headhunter’s personal contact. What I try to teach in the book is how to use and exploit (in a positive way) the personal contacts that you can develop out in the professional world. Headhunters tend to be hubs of great contacts….”

:14:33:
What role do headhunters play in the current economy in filling jobs?
“….They act as the first level filter, the personal contact who brings the credible candidate into a company….”

:15:37:
How should the audience incorporate headhunters in their career development strategy?
“….A headhunter can be a valuable tool but you don’t call headhunters, they call you. You need to be someone who is visible enough that headhunters will recognize you out in the market…..”

:17:28:
What are some “gotchas” about working with headhunters that can cause problems?
“….Knowing whether you are working with a good headhunter or an unsavory individual who is out to make a quick buck. What I talk about in the book is there is a list of qualifiers that help people to figure out whether you are dealing with someone credible – and some of tips are so fundamental that people just don’t think about it….”

:19:00:
Can you give us some good tips about how to making working with a headhunter most profitable for a job hunter?
“….Check the headhunter’s references….Establish some ground rules….Know how to negotiate with a headhunter….”

:21:06:
Headhunters are paid by their employer clients. How can I ensure that a headhunter is acting in my interest, too?
“….The best headhunters out there really earn their living and develop their business not so much by having great client companies but by having good credible access to the pool of professionals in the community that they recruit from….”

:22:16:
Nick shares some stories and experiences from his work.

:25:35:
Provide your predictions of future trends and their implications/opportunities?
“….If you are really good at what you do there are some fantastic opportunities out there…”

:26:14:
Which are your top recommended resources and why?
“….Ask the Headhunter….LinkedIn….Richard Bolles’ ‘What Color is your Parachute’ is a good tool….Mentoring….Go hang out with people who do the kind of work you want to do. That’s the best way to network and to get in the door and find the opportunities….”

:27:43:
If you were doing this interview, what added question would you ask and then what would be your answer?
“….’What’s the single best way to find the job you really want to do?’….”

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Enjoy,
Stephen Ibaraki

Alex Lin Yong Qing is the leading international business and information technology authority, founder and CEO of ChinaValue.net, the largest top-ranked online business media, professional social networking service, and business marketplace intelligence service. In late 2009, the London School of Economics (LSE) profiled Alex in “Blazing Trails”, due to his unique success as an entrepreneur and visionary innovator transforming the world.

• Alex brings an extensive history of accomplishment and successes to his many ventures. Previously in China, over a period of seven years as Intel’s senior executive, he built and then managed the world’s largest IT sales channel. Moreover, as Deputy General Manager and VP of Marketing, he supported the growth of the “TOP 3″ PC maker in China, TsingHua TongFang Computer Ltd.
• Alex was the first MBA (XiaMen University) with Intel (China), and the first global EMBA in China from the prestigious TRIUM program jointly sponsored by the London School of Economics and Political Science, New York University Stern School of Business, and the HEC School of Management Paris (www.triumemba.org, Ranked No.2 amongst Global EMBA programs by the Financial Times).
• Alex is a special advisor to the MII (Ministry of Information Industry), which controls the IT industry in China. He also advises CIW, and CCID, the two major official outlets. CCID manages the only official IT research group in China. One of the Alex’s key executives is the father of the Internet in China – Hu Yong. Hu contributed as a visiting scholar at Berkeley due to his recognized standing.
• In late 2009, Alex was a special nominee and CEO delegate to the World Economic Forum (WEF) and then to the Global Leaders Summit in New York held concurrently with the G20 Summit attended by President Obama and President Hu of China.

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:39:
Alex, you bring an incredible background of innovation, business, and technology success to our audience. Considering your very busy schedule, we thank you for doing this interview with us. Tell us a little about ChinaValue?
“….ChinaValue is the first “Real name verification website in China in which the members are required to prove their identity in order to build a creditable and trusted business environment online. We are also the first professional social media community providing information for different levels of business executives in China. Professionalism is one of our core competences which differentiates our value from others….”

:02:31:
You were recently invited to participate at the World Economic Forum (WEF). Share your insights and experiences?
“…In the past 3-5 years, there were many Chinese companies “going out” to increase the growth rate and explore more business opportunities for business expansion and development in North America and European countries; however, you can see today China has been one of the biggest foreign capital destinations and it became the major topic during the World Economy Forum….”

:04:24:
In September, you participated in the global leaders forum in New York City which was held concurrently to the G20 summit. Share your sights and experiences from this work.
“…The conference was jointly organized by the UN Assembly and Foreign Policy Association of US. The conference invited some top global leaders in politics, industries and finances. They were discussing critical global issues like financial crisis, climate changes and new energy development during the conference….”

:08:00:
Due to your standing as a noted innovator, you are invited to provide your views on the world’s largest television network, CCTV. What insights can you share from this work?
“….From a long term perspective, I think governments should open the market of the TV industry in order to enhance competence and knowledge through competition….”

:09:28:
Can you share your key lessons from building the world’s largest sales channel for Intel?
“….I learned two key lessons from Intel. First, you have to believe everything is possible. You also have to set a higher goal and vision than normal standard and try your best to achieve it. Second, an opportunity was given by Intel for me to broaden my horizons….”

:11:49:
Alex, can you talk about the TRIUM program, your fellow alumni, and share your best practices that you gained from the experience?
“….TRIUM program is jointly organized by the London School of Economics (LSE), HEC Paris and NYU Stern. Financial Time ranks it as the world’s number two, three and two in 2007, 2008 and 2009 EMBA program respectively….The program is very helpful and valuable and it really helped in my career path. It also opened my mind and broadened my horizons and I gained much knowledge and expanded my inter-personal relationships. It gave me the confidence and belief that Chinese entrepreneurships are also capable of changing the world and becoming the business leaders….”

:15:06:
You regularly talk to global leaders. Can you choose 3 of them and insights that you want to share from them?
“…When I talked to global leaders, such as John Naisbitt, Jim Rogers and Don Tapscott, they gave me so much enlightenment….Now is the time for globalization and to learn from others from all over the world, and it is very helpful to talk with them and to learn from their insights or their observations….”

:20:12:
What were the initial drivers behind your founding of ChinaValue in 2004?
“….Our position is to be the professional business media and social community which can provide knowledge and a business networking platform for Chinese online….”

:21:57:
What are the major accomplishments of ChinaValue now?
“….There are over five hundred thousand members registered in ChinaValue. They are not only reading the information and articles; they also contribute content for the platform. ChinaValue has fifty million to sixty million professional readers ranging from undergraduates to the managing directors of listed companies….We have proposed the draft for legislation to Chinese Congress and even though the proposal has been rejected, it showed our determination to the real name system on the Internet and drew attention from the general public….”

:25:14:
When comparing with other web2.0 sites worldwide, what are the key innovations of ChinaValue?
“….We have built a new model of a web2.0 ecosystem in China. From the standpoint of ChinaValue, it means every member can fully utilize the functions and environment that are created by ChinaValue to build relationships and more importantly, to contribute to the community by making use of their expertise and knowledge. In addition, ChinaValue provides a series of functions that members can get most of the information they may need in one single website. In my view, web2.0 is not a product or technology innovation, but a system innovation…..”

:30:28:
Please share your views about the entrepreneurship of Chinese people?
“….Most of Chinese entrepreneurships are at the grass-roots level…On one hand most Chinese entrepreneurs are very diligent and hardworking, but on the other had I think the entrepreneurs here need to be more critical thinking and need to be more innovative…..”

:34:49:
What do you think is the role of ChinaValue in China and in the world?
“….China will be the center of world economy in the 21st century. If knowledge is the most powerful asset, ChinaValue is trying to become the engine of China economy….The power of professional knowledge and collective wisdom will help ChinaValue and China’s economy….”

:38:13:
What do you see as the key trends shaping the planet?
“….Buddha states that today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s world. We can see that the world is built based on humans’ thoughts. In addition, the world is flattening by the speed of the development of networks across the world. People have more exchange due to the ease of communication. It also creates a favorable environment for globalization and cultural exchange….”

:42:06:
Can you describe some of your other activities that shape China and the world?
“…I actively participate in youth education because the youth generation will be the pillars of our future. I think Chinese youth should learn more from the traditions both in the West and in China. Many local universities have invited me to be the speaker to share my experience and thoughts on how to become a successful entrepreneurship. In addition, ChinaValue has helped many foreign publishers and authors, translating their books into Chinese version as we think it may help Chinese youth to better understand the key factors for their success. I am also the general advisor of the biggest student organization – AIESEC in China…..”

:45:39:
You are a distinguished mentor-advisor or professor for the top business schools in China including Beijing University, Beijing Normal University, and Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. You are also a lecturer on Chinese Entrepreneurship to the Peter Drucker Academy. What 3 tips can you provide on entrepreneurship?
“….The mission and vision of a company is more important than just making a profit….Everything is possible, you need to believe in yourself and insist your belief….The best way to predict or estimate the future is to create it instead of just following it….It is better and more efficient to learn from others’ success than from your own failure….If we all know the fundamental concept of entrepreneurship means building something from zero, you’ll realize that knowledge is the most critical and only asset in a knowledge-based economy…..”

:49:31:
What questions would you ask and what would be your answers if you were doing this interview?
“….’What is your philosophy in your life?’….’What should China continuously learn from this world?’….’What will be the role of China in this world?’….”

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Rohit Talwar is an award winning futurist speaker, entrepreneur, specialist advisor and strategic change agent and the founder of the research and consultancy organization Fast Future. He was profiled as one of the top ten global future thinkers by the UK’s Independent newspaper. He spends his time traveling the world, researching the ideas that will shape the future and meeting the people and organizations behind them. Rohit has spoken to audiences of leaders around the world. His book Designing Your Future was published in August 2008 (http://tinyurl.com/5trt4x). His next book FutureTweet 2012 will be published in the spring of 2010. His study for the UK government on future directions in science and technology and the implications for ‘The shape of jobs‘ to come was published in January 2010.

He is currently in high demand for his inspirational speeches on Global Trends, Innovation, Winning in a Downturn and Future Focused Leadership. He has consulted with leading corporations, associations and government agencies globally on scenario planning, development of future strategy, and driving innovation and change.

He also has a particular interest in the evolution of China, India, their emerging economies and the future of associations, travel, tourism, meetings and events. Rohit partnered with ASAE & The Center on the Association of the Future research program – the first output of which was the book Designing Your Future. He has also led a major study on the Future of Travel and Tourism in the Middle East and on the mega-real estate developments across the region. Rohit has also completed major global studies on the Future of China’s Economy – The Path to 2020 – and is working on scenarios for 2030 and the implications for global migration.

Rohit has spoken and consulted on 6 continents and in over 40 countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, The Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA and Zimbabwe.

In government he has worked with the US Department of Defense, the Singapore National Horizon Scanning Centre, the Saudi Government, The Finnish Foresight Programme and in the UK – the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Defense Science and Technology Laboratories (DSTL), Home Office, Environment Agency, Foreign Office, Health Modernisation Agency, Ministry of Defense and Office of Science and Technology and the Departments for Constitutional Affairs, Trade and Industry and Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

His clients include 3M, ABN Amro, Aerovista, Alliance and Leicester, The BBC, BT, British Aerospace, Bayer, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Chloride, Citibank, DeutscheBank, Diamond Trading Corporation (De Beers), DHL, EADS, Electrolux, Ernst & Young, GE, HBOS, Hyundai, IBM, ING, Intel, Intercontinental Hotels, KPMG, Linklaters, Marks and Spencer, Morgan Stanley, Nakheel, Nokia, Nomura, Novartis, Ocean Spray, Orange, Panasonic, Pepsi, Pfizer, Playtex, PwC, Qatar Airways, Royal Bank of Scotland, Samsung, Saudi Supreme Commission for Tourism, Shell, Siemens, Siraj Capital, Thames Water, Travelport, Wragge and Co. and Yellow Pages and governments in the US, UK, Finland, Dubai, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Singapore.

Rohit’s association and events industry clients include: Academy for Chief Executives, ASAE & The Center, Arabian Travel Market, Association Management Company Institute, British Business Group Dubai, California Workforce Association, CEO Club, Chief Executives Network, Confex, Corporate Responsibility Group, EIBTM, Entrepreneur’s Organization, The European Food Service Network, Green Meetings Industry Council, ICCA, IMEX, Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland, Institute of Directors, International Bridge Tunnel and Turnpike Association, International Special Events Society, Meeting Planners International, The Middle East Duty Free Association, National Association of Broadcasters, Pacific Asia Travel Association, PCMA, Securities and Investment Institute, Travel Agents Association of India, and the World Student and Youth Travel Confederation.

Rohit has previously worked in research and consulting roles for GKN, BT, Andersen Consulting and BMS Bossard.

Education
MBA – London Business School – 1992
BA (Hons) 2:1 Electronics and Computer Science – University of Keele 1984

For more background on Rohit’s Key Projects: rohit_talwar_projects.html

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:55:
You have an unusual job title – can you tell us a little about how you came to be a futurist and what your role involves?
“….I’ve always been very interested in economic developments and how economic power is shifting around the world and how the balance between developed and developing economies changes….I realized that there was an opportunity to help people think about what forces, in fact, were shaping the future and I discovered this whole field called futures research, foresight and the profession of being a futurist….”

:04:57:
Can you share some of the most important issues and challenges you’ve addressed over your lifetime and the essential lessons you wish to pass on from these experiences?
“….One is around childhood….The goal is to have a really positive conversation about the future we want to create for children and young people….The second one we are working on is in Nigeria, in the Niger Delta, one of the hardest hit areas in Bayelsa State. The state governor there says, “If you look out of my window it is completely acceptable to say that there is no future for these people. 70% of my people are unemployed, most earn less than a dollar a day, and if the past is anything to go by, they have no future prospects.” His view is – why don’t we give ourselves permission to believe that some other future might be possible for them….So we’ve been working with them on it….”

:12:47:
You talk about 10 global patterns of change that are shaping the future – can you tell us about them – what are the implications and what should we do to leverage your predictions?
“….The first is the demographic shift (the most important shift of all)….The second is the economic shift….The third pattern of change is a new level of geo-political complexity – a big shift where power sits on the planet and in how we deal with issues….The fourth area is that organizations themselves are going into a whole new era of how they design themselves. We are increasingly in a global world where we are just starting to learn how we truly manage on a global basis….Another set of challenges is understanding how our consumers and how our society has changed….The next area is the rate of evolution of science and technology….Another pattern of change is this whole expansion of communications technology….The next area is what needs to happen with talent, education and training in our world….Another area is the generational impact in an aging society….The next patterns of change are that attitudes are changing all over the world….The final big patterns of change are around natural resource challenges….”

:35:16:
What other key trends and emerging issues should we focus on for the next few years?
“…One is that there is a big power shift going on….The emerging economies have much more say….The second is that there has been a big shift in the way critical resources are being competed for….The third big trend is that there has been a big outflow of investments from developed economies to developing economies particularly during the downturn….A fourth critical trend is the embracing of social media….Another trend is on the political front and the social front; as I travel around the globe one of the things I see is a very uneven distribution of hope….The final trend is the notion of hyper-competition where in every sector we are seeing a downward pressure on pricing….”

:42:14:
Rohit comments on the youth demographics worldwide.

:45:54:
You have recently completed a study looking at science and technology developments over the next 20 years and the new jobs that could emerge as a result – can you tell us about the most interesting developments and jobs coming out of your research?
“….The nano-bio-info convergence….Developments that are coming in agriculture. We know that food demand is growing at twice the rate of production so we are going to need some very radical techniques for how we grow food and how we farm….An example is the notion of vertical farming….”

:54:41:
What are your top predictions for European Union (EU), North America (NA), Asia (particularly China)?
“….The challenges for China going forward….infrastructure….the environmental footprint….How it moves it forward with all fronts together is a very difficult one. I think what it’s showing is that it is entering a new era and none of us really knows what the rules of the game are and China is one of the leaders in creating those rules….A lot of countries in the EU see a big value in the EU in terms of creating foreign policy, in terms of saving them money at the national level….The real challenges now to the EU are what are the right models going forward….In the US there are some encouraging noises coming about the reform of the banking system because we’ve all understood that it’s very hard to grow a full economy without confidence….We must not forget that it is still the biggest economy in the world and everyone is hugely dependent on the US in many ways….”

:01:05:18:
Can your share your insights about the Future of China’s Economy – The Path to 2020?
“….We did this study a couple of years ago where we asked people around the globe to give us their views about China’s economy and their own plans for China. What was very clear from everyone who we surveyed (the vast majority) was that they were very clear that they were expecting China to be the world’s biggest economy by 2030. Some of the most interesting things that came out were differences between the aspirations of businesses and the expectations of people coming from Asia versus Europe….We also saw some interesting things in terms of people expecting China to exert significantly more influence in key areas such as setting of product standards, expecting to see more Chinese leaders in global business that weren’t run by Chinese businesses – but also to see more takeover businesses in other economies by Chinese corporations and bringing in a very different style of Chinese management…..”

:01:07:24:
Looking at the top companies for market capitalization there are several Chinese companies in the top ten which were not there ten years ago and three of the top four banks are based out of China. What are the implications of all this?
“….I think it is a real challenge for us. We really don’t understand China at all. Most of the analyses I’ve seen about China and Chinese policy starts with the position of either being very pro-China or anti-China or treating China as though it were another country in Europe or a city in the US, and not really understanding that there is a very different culture there, a very different political motivation, a very different history….”

:01:10:58:
What projects do you have in terms of that whole region?
“….We try to take projects that are cross regions, going by industry. What we are doing at the moment is looking at the whole future of the convention industry which cuts across every country on the globe. We are looking at the issues of how these industries grow….That is the kind of work that we tend to do – advisory work for other people looking to get into China, where we use our knowledge on the ground and people we know on the ground to give us the inside insights; to advise others who are trying to break into the Chinese market or to operate there….”

:01:13:48:
What are the key findings of the research you did for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on scenarios for 2030 and the implications for global migration?
“….The study was looking at about fifty different countries that are heavy producers of migrants to OECD countries. We looked at a number of different scenarios on how the global economy could play out over time….The challenge now is in domestic economies where there is a strong need for migrants; how do you deal with the policy issues how do you deal with the social integration issues. Most of the research over the years has demonstrated that migration also drives innovation (brings new ideas and skills)….”

:01:21:21:
What top lessons and tips can your share from the projects you have worked on?
“….Change your assumptions….Think the unthinkable….Have the conversations about the big undiscussibles….Industry timelines for the future….Be explicit about assumptions, and think about a range of possible futures….”

:01:24:05:
If you were conducting this interview, what questions would you ask, and then what would be your answers?
“….’How should we be educating our children to prepare them for the future?’….’How can we avoid a future economic meltdown of the scale we have just witnessed or worse?’….’How can we deal with big global governance challenges in the age of the internet?’….’Given the failure of the COP-15 climate change summit – what should we do next?’….’We have lived with an assumption that economic growth is essential – can this continue?’….”

:01:32:01:
Rohit shares his views on the IFIP IP3 program on professionalizing the IT profession. [http://www.IPThree.org].

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