*Not* Your Typical Corporate Presentations: Live Signature Talks from Thought Leader Academy Grads with Dr. Bonnie Boles, Denise Cárdenas López: Podcast Ep. 437

437-SYB-TLA-Grads.mp3: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

437-SYB-TLA-Grads.mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Carol Cox:
I think corporate presentations have to be boring and not the way we do them. Here are two of our recent Thought Leader Academy grads share versions of their new signature talks on this episode of the Speaking Your Brand podcast. More and more women are making an impact by starting businesses, running for office and speaking up for what matters. With my background as a TV political analyst, entrepreneur, and speaker, I interview and coach purpose driven women to shape their brands, grow their companies, and become recognized as influencers in their field. This is speaking your brand, your place to learn how to persuasively communicate your message to your audience.

Diane Diaz:
Welcome everyone to backstage at Speaking Your Brand. I’m Diane Diaz, lead speaking coach at Speaking Your Brand. Yesterday, you had the opportunity to hear from three of our recent Thought Leader Academy graduates. And today I am super excited to bring you two more graduates from our recent Thought Leader Academy program. They are going to share with you for the very first time, live anywhere. The first ten minutes of their talk that they worked on with us during their time in the Thought Leader Academy. You know, I often hear from women that I meet that I chat with that either they’ll either say I’m not really a speaker because they only speak internally to their teams, or that since they are speaking on behalf of the corporation they work for, that their personal story shouldn’t really be part of that. And like, why would I include my personal story? Well, today you’re in for a treat because our thought leader Academy grads are going to share with you their talks that not only incorporate personal stories, but also are for speaking that they’re doing internally to teams. And so you’ll see how you can use the framework that we use to create talks, whether you’re speaking inside your company to internal teams, outside, at conferences, to small groups or wherever. But these talks work for all those different types of audiences, so you are in for a real treat today. Now, as you watch our Thought Leader Academy grads deliver their talks, look for the stories, listen for how they are using frameworks and just how they’re generally delivering the message that really resonates with an audience to move them to action. All right, so let me introduce who we have here with us today. First we have, um, Denise, go get my tongue together where I can speak. We have Denise Cardenas Lopez and Denise is a technology and innovation executive. And then we have doctor Bonnie Boles, who is senior vice president and chief medical information officer at Tanner health. Now, I will first welcome to the stage doctor, Bonnie Boles. Bonnie, take it away.

Bonnie Boles:
Thanks, Diane. It’s great to be here. Today I’m going to talk about a feeling that most of us are experiencing. And that’s a feeling of being completely overwhelmed by new technology. At the same time that we’re completely overwhelmed. A lot of us are very excited about new technology. All of the new technology coming to us today has artificial intelligence. So we’re going to talk about breathe, slow down beta, start small and build. Build your team so that you can successfully address all the new technology. And if you’re worried about AI taking your job, we’re going to hear a story about robots getting the pink slip. I’m Bonnie Boles, chief medical information officer at Tanner health. We go by the acronym CMI. And if you’re wondering what a cameo does. You’re not alone. My parents wonder what a CMO does. They said, wait, you went to medical school? And what are you doing now? You aren’t really seeing patients. So this is a role that is a liaison or a bridge between health care information technology and the clinical world. And as a medical doctor, we know the clinical side. As a CMO, we learn and have help with our teams on the technology side, and we try to bridge that gap. So I’m going to share principles that I’ve learned, making the transition from an ICU doctor to a healthcare technology worker, because in the ICU, there’s no time to go to the bathroom, much less breathe. There’s no time to beta. There’s no time to build teams and consensus.

Bonnie Boles:
You have to take care of patients in the moment and what’s right there in front of you. So I hope that sharing three principles and lessons learned will help you when you are addressing the onslaught of new technology. So many of you are familiar with the Roger innovation. Roger’s innovation adoption curve. And it’s fascinating that the smallest percentage. Is innovators and early adopters. And then equal to those two groups are the laggards. And crossing that chasm between innovation and early adopters to get your majority buying in a new technology can be super challenging. And then the laggards often are thought to be a completely lost cause. I myself must confess that I was a laggard. But more about that later. We’re going to get to principle number one. And that is slow down to go fast. We know the story of the tortoise and the hare and we know how that turned out. Slowing down the go fast allows you to really think about and address the problem that you’re trying to solve, and sometimes, more importantly, to look at the resources that you have to solve that problem. And often during this phase of looking at new technology, we have to tell our teams. The answer is not no. We don’t want you to implement that new technology or have that. The answer is yes. Comma. Yes. Comma. If yes. If we have the resources or yes. Comma. When when we finish the other 15 projects that we have going on right now.

Bonnie Boles:
Because sometimes going fast is a recipe for failure. So I’m going to tell a story about my mom that I hope ties in that principle of slowing down to go fast. Does anybody remember this hungry, hungry Hippo game? I may be aging myself, but this was a game that we like to play. You press that lever and advance the mouth of the hippo to try to grab those marbles. Well, little did I know, until my niece had a graduation party and my sister thought it would be a great idea to do this. There is an adult version of the Hungry, Hungry Hippo game. It’s a giant inflatable. And adults actually strap themselves to a bungee type cord and run out and try to get to the center of that giant inflatable and grab those marbles or the little balls to win the game. It’s quite challenging, and the bungee cord is pulling you back and you’re bumping into one another. My mom is the joy of our family, the glue that holds our family together. She rides bikes with her grandkids, plays basketball, gets on the floor with her great grandkids. The hungry, hungry hippo, however, was a little challenging. Mom decided she wanted to play, had a great time, but towards the end of the game she experienced a knee injury, so that sidelined her mom. And this is where she ended up in a hospital bed after a knee replacement for underlying arthritis. That the injury just really highlighted. So the good news is because of the great shape that my mom was in.

Bonnie Boles:
She did well with surgery. She did so well with recovery. She was up and ambulatory after surgery. She passed all the milestones to be discharged home. The bad news was the nurses who were very, very busy were not able to discharge her. They came and told her they had the discharge order. They were ready to send her home, but they needed to go at MIT. A couple of patients who had been waiting, and it would take at least two hours or more. So my mom looked very discouraged. The whole family was upset because everyone is more comfortable at home. But the nurse said, you can go home. If yes, you can go home, comma, if you’ll let our virtual nurses do your discharge. My mom said absolutely. Bring it on. Let’s do it. So the screen in her room became a two way video audio, and the virtual nurse went over my mom’s surgery, her post-op course, the expectations, her physical therapy plan and follow up, her medications, her new medications. And my mom was discharged in less than 30 minutes. This highlighted to me the just the epitome of innovation, making a huge difference for patients and for the nursing staff. Now, the sad thing is that I realized that the nurses at Tanner health, where I work, have been begging for this technology they wanted implemented yesterday, but we currently don’t have the resources and the staff to successfully implement this because of all the other competing projects.

Bonnie Boles:
So what I have learned to continue to leverage the technology and keep the team excited about what’s coming is to teach them about slowing down to go fast and understanding that while we have a problem we’re trying to solve, and that is discharging patients in a timely manner. We aren’t quite there yet with the resources. In addition to the influencers and champions, which is principal we get to later. So slowing down to go fast is the first lesson learned. The second lesson is start with a pilot. Start small beta something. Start with a pilot. Pilot don’t plunge is what I like to tell the team. There are a lot of pilots happening in healthcare with new technology. There are a lot of robotic things happening, and there are robots and hospitals that are being deployed to deliver supplies, deliver blood, deliver telemetry boxes, deliver labs to the lab, medications to the bedside, keeping the nurse at the bedside, hospital robots and one health system save the staff 14 million steps over a year. But those kinds of technologies need to be piloted so that they can be tweaked and improved. Because what you don’t want to happen is for a robot to go rogue in real time. So there was a large health care system with 19 floors and 90 robots, and their robots had a traffic jam trying to get in the elevator, and they all came to a complete standstill. The good news is this was a pilot before the hospital was occupied.

Bonnie Boles:
So by the time the hospital opened and they actually had patients and staff, they had worked out those problems with the robots. Not so much for a hotel in Nagasaki, Japan. The Han Na Hotel, which translation means strange hotel. They had robots checking guests in, taking their information. They even had robots that were concierges that would respond to the guest requests, that would deliver things to the rooms, help get the luggage to the rooms. But what they found was those concierge robots mistook snoring for a cry for help or a security problem, and they banged on the door in the middle of the night, waking guests up because of the snoring. And so this pilot, this was not piloted. If they piloted these robots, they may have avoided that problem by realizing the robots needed to be reprogrammed. Not to think that snoring was a call for help. So those robots got the pink slip. So the second principle is start with the pilot. The third principle is find your influencers and champions. And remember, I told you that I must confess that I was a laggard AI when we went from paper to the electronic medical record. Years ago, I was not very happy with that and did not want to participate. This was not me on the left. I was not a happy camper. I am the doctor on the right that wanted to throw the whole kit and caboodle out the window. In fact, the person that was trying to help me and train me told me that if she heard one more cuss word come out of my mouth, she was going to call my mother.

Bonnie Boles:
So much. To my complete surprise and amazement, I was asked to be the physician champion for the transition from paper to the electronic health record. And you can imagine that I said, you have got to be kidding me, I hate this. But thinking back to the innovation adoption curve, the goal is to take some of those laggards and make them your champions. If you can get those to be your influencers and combine them with your early adopters and innovators, you’re going to win over that majority much more easily. And more importantly, you’re going to pull those laggards along. So there is hope for laggards. I am living proof that there is hope for laggards. So your call to action, when faced with this new technology that we’re all being bombarded with, is breathe. Slow down to go fast. Beta pilot. Don’t plunge. Build. Find your influencers, your champions. And those are the people that will help you take that pilot to the next level for a successful implementation, and then for successful scaling of whatever new technology that you’re looking to implement. And whatever you do, don’t stay at a hotel with robots that are concierges until you find the answer to the question whether they think snoring should be extinguished. And watch yourself on adult hungry, Hungry Hippos, because those are a recipe for knee injuries. Thank you.

Diane Diaz:
Oh my gosh Bonnie, that was fan tastic. And I noted I will not be playing hungry Adult Hungry Hungry Hippo because I don’t need a knee injury. That was so good. How did that feel for you?

Bonnie Boles:
I feel great.

Diane Diaz:
Good, good. And, uh, I know you said at the beginning that you were a little bit nervous, but that did not come through at all. How did it did it feel nervous, or did you feel confident or how did. What are your thoughts?

Bonnie Boles:
Um, I think once I get past the first few sentences, then I don’t feel nervous. But there’s a little bit of a brain block with the first few sentences like, wait, what was I? Why? How did I want to open? I practiced this, I know this, but once that hurdle is overcome, then the rest of it was I felt less nervous.

Diane Diaz:
Yes, I.

Bonnie Boles:
Think, I think.

Diane Diaz:
Yeah. Go ahead.

Bonnie Boles:
I think I talk really fast also. So I was really trying not to talk so fast. I got great advice from my team. I practiced with my team and they said, hey, look at your look at your first principal. I said, what do you mean? They said, breathe. You’re not breathing. So that was great advice.

Diane Diaz:
That is such good advice. Well, you definitely implemented it because I didn’t. I felt like you had exactly the right pacing. So I know most of us, it’s a really good point because most of us have a tendency to speak really quickly. I think because we are a little bit nervous and then we just rush through it. But you really pause in the right places and you took your time and let the stories unfold, and you did a great job. It looks like you have some fans watching. So wonderful, wonderful doctor B, fantastic job from Ty N Davis. So I don’t know if any of these names are familiar. Yeah. So, uh, Mau Mau is on. She said fantastic presentation. Carol’s on. She said. That was awesome, Bonnie. So well done. So we’ll get to some more questions for you in just a minute. So sit tight. Now we’re going to welcome to the stage Denise Cardenas Lopez, go ahead and take it away Denise.

Denise Cárdenas López:
Thank you Diane. It is great to be here and sharing for the first time part of my talk. So I want to start today by introducing you to three figures. You might not recognize them from their silhouettes or even their names Tabatha, Tabatha Babbitt, Mary Anderson, and Josephine Cochran. They didn’t wait for permission to innovate. They didn’t wait for the perfect conditions they observed. They acted. They changed the world in their own way. We will come back to them later, but they represent what I’m about to share. They saw problems differently. And this is how we solve big challenges. Not with the perfect plan, but with someone who dares to see the problem differently. Someone who asks what if this could be better? And that question and that curiosity is where innovation begins. It is a question every one of us can ask. And when I think about the courage to challenge the status quo, I am reminded that even today, many of us working in energy and nuclear are still misunderstood. And it is still amazes me how different the perception is from the reality. So when people hear that I work in nuclear, the reactions are priceless. Some friends think that I am a mad scientist. Is sparks flying everywhere in a secret love? My kids, they imagine I am a superhero, scientist and engineer, saving the world one atom at a time. And some people they imagine. I spend my days next to a giant red button mark. Do not press or perhaps glowing in the dark at night.

Denise Cárdenas López:
But the truth is, just like these pioneering women, that the work that we do is far more powerful and much more human. We solve problems that matter. We work with complexity and we are building the future. And I have seen that up close. Over the last 20 years, I have led teams through major engineering programs working on highly regulated industry, not just building capability, but building people. Today, I serve as Vice President for a strategic capability and integrated delivery at momentum, which means I help shape how we grow talent, how we connect technical expertise and deliver with purpose across our international programs. So what I’m sharing today, although, will be a simple Concept. It is built on lessons that come from leading in with complexity. And of course, the challenges that we face are in small. So across the world we are struggling to solve what is not known as the energy trilemma, which is how do we deliver energy that is secured, that is sustainable and that is equitable all at once. So energy security means know that we have the lights on even when the demand on energy is high, or at times that are uncertain. Sustainability means using resources wisely and protecting the planet for future generations, and equity means making sure everyone, not just the wealthiest or most developed, can access clean, reliable energy. So balancing all those three is not just a technical challenge is a leadership challenge. And this is why this concept of the power trio comes in and in all the challenges I have worked on, one thing has become crystal clear as that within the energy industry engineering industry, we do not lack ambition, but we often lack is an integrated approach and that is the shift that we need to make.

Denise Cárdenas López:
So in 2020, as I work major projects and I led teams through very complex, complex change and including the pandemic pandemic, I felt the need to create a model that could help us think and grow and lead differently. And that is how the SSIS model or the power trio of growth and economic impact was born and is built on three essential lenses sustainability, innovation and UN skills. So in ways that they are collaborative and so that we integrate value that lasts. I will take you today through the first pillar and maybe a high level on the second pillar as well. So sustainability is just not only about the climate targets and carbon reduction, which is really important. It is that I add a different or an additional lens. One is building sustainable careers where people can grow, where they can thrive and feel that their work matters. It is about sustainable organizations. So one that ones that give more, that they take and that contribute to their communities and the broader economy. And yes, it is about a sustainable planet where our innovation support that environmental restoration and not just efficiency. So one of the moments that really cemented for me the importance of what I now call the Power trio, was a project that I led to secure a nuclear site license for our waste processing facility, and for those outside the nuclear sector.

Denise Cárdenas López:
Asi license is a government approval, a legal approval that allows a nuclear facility to operate and is really complex, multiple stakeholders. But it is about trust to bring all these people together and the challenges that that come with that. It is about national security and the long term impact. And this was the first time in over 15 years that a license had been granted for an operational nuclear site in the UK. So through that experience, I really saw how powerful this power trio is, embedding sustainability not only to manage that risk, but really connect with the work with the community. That was extremely important. All the stakeholders but the community and the people, it was really at the center of it. Then we applied innovation and navigating that challenging regulation, and we also invested in the skills, created local jobs, build internal capability and preparing people to operate this new site. So we deliver great measure, like a great value, measurable value to the UK taxpayer. We secure long term national capability, and we enable the business also to grow with confidence. And this idea of the long term integrated impact is really important. So we have a global responsibility. And as Damilola Ogunyemi, CEO of Sustainable Energy for all, remind us, developed countries must do more to support emerging economies on the path to a greener future.

Denise Cárdenas López:
And that is exactly where this model or or this model of growth and economic impact matters. Because when we lead through that lens, we deliver that value that is shared, that is a skill and can be lasting. The second pillar, I won’t go in in deep, but it is innovation. And innovation is not always about the breakthrough inventions or the newest tools. It’s about the courage to see things differently, to be curious. And it starts with observation. It goes through creation, looking for better processes, new ways of working and and succeeds through collaboration. But more than the technology is about the mindset as well. And that is how we accelerate progress. I wanted to share with you just a little bit about a little bit about the technology I. These are here the next generation nuclear technologies that they are designed to be smaller, safer and more flexible so we can bring clean energy to more places faster. And the teams that I lead are actively involved in these advancements. There is I also have doctor. I can’t see her name right now and it escapes me. But our biggest challenge, she’s a former secretary in working with Doe in the US. And she reminds us that right now, our biggest single source of clean electricity in this country is nuclear. And this is not the case only in the US, but in countries like the UK. So this is model coming back to this model. There are three parts or three legs of this framework.

Denise Cárdenas López:
And if one leg is missing, the whole structure becomes unstable. But if we think about them together, we can create some something that Stan can stand the test of time. So now I want to. I want you to imagine the future where every home has access to clean, affordable energy no matter where you live or what you wear. Your postcode is how we say in the UK. Imagine a workforce where young people, especially girls, see engineering and science not as a distant career but as a place where they belong and they can thrive and imagine decisions made today by governments, by business and leaders that don’t just solve short term problems, but look at a safer planet and fair planet for the next generation. So there is two simple actions I love for you, our audience, to take first in the next 48 hours. Have a conversation with someone, a colleague, a friend, your child about the kind of legacy you want to leave, and I want you to name it and own it. And the second action is to take one challenge you are facing. Big or small, and apply this power through your lens to it. It can be in your home or can be in your work. Where is the sustainability gap? Where might there be an innovation blind spot? And is there a skills opportunity for you or for someone around you? And sometimes the shift to start with just asking better questions. So now I want to go back where we started.

Denise Cárdenas López:
Do we know these women? So Tabatha Babbitt, some men wasting effort. She saw the two To my two men. So only going in one direction. So invented. She invented a circular saw. Mary Anderson watched drivers struggle in the rain. So she created the windshield wiper and Josephine Cochran. So dishes being chipped and built the dishwasher. So they simply saw something that wasn’t working and believed it could be better. And now we face that same kind of challenge because we need energy that is clean, reliable and fair, and people are right to ask questions. Nuclear can feel distant and sometimes even scary. But the truth is, we need a stable, low carbon energy source that works and nuclear can give us that backbone. And while I speak from nuclear in this talk, because I work in this sector and we needed this lens of the power trio can be applied anywhere. So sustainability, innovation and skills are not just for engineers. So for scientists they are how we move forward in any sector, any system, any challenge. Because in a world that is fast moving, interconnected, uncertain us today, these aren’t just good ideas. They are how we need to to lead, how we build, and how we shape what is next together. So thank you very much for listening. And if the message resonated with you, and if you are leading change or you want to know more about nuclear or simply questioning how you can do things better, I will love to connect. Thank you.

Diane Diaz:
Oh, Denise, that was so good, I was riveted. I love all the facts that you included. They support what you were talking about and then the stories were good as well. How did it feel for you?

Denise Cárdenas López:
Thank you. It feel good, I try to adopt it at the last minute just to share more relevant or give a little bit of more information to our audience. As the talk was intended for women in nuclear, the examples can be personal but are also more technical. So yes, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to share with you.

Diane Diaz:
Yeah, good. Well, you did great and both of you did amazingly. Um, so let’s go into our our roundtable discussion and I want to pose some questions to you now. We’ll start with you, Denise. You just mentioned that you would adapted your talk for a more, let’s say, generic audience versus specifically towards women and nuclear. And that’s the beauty of this signature talk framework that we use to create your talk. So, um, how did it feel you and I actually worked together? Uh, I don’t even remember how long ago it was now, but. So we worked together in a VIP day. On your talk. And you did create it with a specific audience in mind, which was women in nuclear and I believe. Have you given this talk? I think you have. Yes.

Denise Cárdenas López:
No, I will do it in July. We initially so going through the VIP was fantastic. And we originally, if you remember, because it was a while ago we create I wanted to create a talk for women in senior leadership because of the lack of diversity in decision making. And as we talk, I talk about this framework that I had created and what we what you convinced me and what we decided really, is that any other talks and the work that I do is at the intersectionality of sustainability and innovation and skills and that any other talk could really fall from that framework. And I’m very pleased because I was encouraged by you to apply to speak, and I got accepted to deliberate.

Diane Diaz:
And so for everybody watching, that is the power of applying. You will never know if you don’t just do it. And so when you especially when you work with us at speaking your brand, we are always going to push you to apply for those things, even if you don’t think you’ll get it. Because this is what can happen is you actually find out, oh, we actually do want you to come speak to us. So that’s fantastic. Um, now, Bonnie, I know that you have spoken. I believe now you worked with Carol. Of course, uh, on that talk. But I think you gave that talk internally. Did you? Yes. And tell me, how did that go?

Bonnie Boles:
Uh, it went well. I got great feedback, and it was to a large group of nurses, and I think it was I’ve given a lot of talks over my career at Tanner, and I think it was one of the top 2 or 3 talks just felt more natural, and the framework really helped a lot. And it was fun to tell more personal stories and be a little more vulnerable. And I think it kept everyone’s attention better.

Diane Diaz:
Yes, I love that. I’m glad you mentioned that, because my my next question was going to be about these stories, because I know that it can feel, especially when we’re giving talks internally to a team for a company that we work for, but also for speaking at a conference. It can feel weird to incorporate personal stories into something that’s more a professional setting. But. So, Bonnie, when you worked with Carol, I know she she, of course, you know, made sure and encouraged you to include personal stories. Did it feel strange at first? Did you? Were you unsure about it? What was. What were you thinking?

Bonnie Boles:
Yeah. Great question. It did feel strange at first. And, um, but, you know, the the VIP day was, as you all pointed out, the time flew by and it was just fascinating to just have a conversation with Carol and then have her come up with a framework for a talk. To the point that I said, oh, wow. Could you just please give my talk? So, um, yes, it feels a little strange at first, but then as I saw my classmates doing it and I realized how relevant it was to the topic I was talking about, then it just felt natural. And then the more we’ve practiced, and the more tips and tricks you all have given us, it just got easier. And now it feels like, how could you not? Because it really captures the audience’s attention. You can see when they’re on their cell phones and they’re not really paying attention. And when you’re telling those stories, that is typically not the case. They’re riveted by those personal stories.

Diane Diaz:
Absolutely, absolutely. Denise, did you find the same is the sort of like, well, I don’t know about including personal stories in a talk for a conference. That’s kind of weird. What were your thoughts around doing that?

Denise Cárdenas López:
Yes, I think that is. It is something that it has been a challenge for me and but I have absolutely loved it. And that’s one of the reasons that I wanted to come into the Leader Academy was to connect more with the teams. And now I we have a suite of the beauty of the process is that you have an opportunity to think about those stories and how you can really apply them through different talks. And I had an opportunity as well through us, through the process to do a talk that was more personal and that was really beautiful.

Diane Diaz:
Yes, I.

Denise Cárdenas López:
Remember that was.

Diane Diaz:
Well, now that you mentioned that if you maybe just tell us a little bit about because I remember when that came up and that was actually to a very large group, but it was a very, very personal story. So tell us a little bit about that.

Denise Cárdenas López:
Yes. So I wrote a LinkedIn post on Women’s Day and it was very personal. It was about my story. Growing up with my mom and my mom’s story of resilience and how she has so she didn’t have anything on how she really was a role model building her own path. She was a role model for me and how she shaped my leadership. But really where I focus on was on highlighting and celebrating celebrating those unsung heroes in our lives. And that was in front of us for our division, which is around 7000 people. And I had live around 1000 people, but people can watch it then after. But I had great feedback and it felt really powerful. It was the first time that I shared something so personal to a big audience.

Diane Diaz:
Yes, and I remember when that came. Oh, yes. Of course. I remember when that came up, because you had made that post and then you were in the Thought Leader Academy, and then you reached out and you said, hey, I have this opportunity. And so Carol and I both sort of encouraged you around this, you know, idea of sharing that more personal message. And then you crafted something which was phenomenal because, of course, you know, you already sort of understood how to put something together from going through the Thought Leader Academy. And it was so fantastic. So and these are the types of things that once you once you have this, this signature talk framework that you can use, you can it’s so much easier to create something on the fly like that when you maybe you don’t have a lot of time, but you need to put something together that’s very impactful and very connecting. And then you can use the framework and structure something and then really flesh it out and make it make it impactful, you know, and make it work for whatever the setting is.

Diane Diaz:
And as you both know, you can take your talk and adjust it for different audiences, make it work for different time constraints. So the talks you all gave today are really, I would say, 30 to 40 minute talks, but then you paired them down and structured them for this smaller time frame, which is like around ten minutes. But that’s easier to do because you’ve got it in a structure using that signature talk framework. And it worked beautifully because you both did a fantastic job. So kudos to you. Um, so tell tell me a little bit about your experience with the Thought Leader Academy. How I know, I know, sometimes we’ll get clients who especially, um, from corporate settings where they might say, oh, you know, I just want to work on my talk and I’m not sure about a group program or, you know, I really just I’m not good working in a group setting. Or what are your thoughts on the experience with the other women in the group getting feedback also from them? How did that feel? I’ll start with you, Bonnie.

Bonnie Boles:
Sure. Yeah, another great question. Um, getting feedback from a group of women that you have, um, shared stories with. It was easy. Really? Um, it’s not like getting feedback from, you know, your audience or your your peers at work. It’s a group of women that don’t really know you. So you’re a blank slate, and you can talk about your trials and tribulations of former talks and how things went well and didn’t go well. And it’s, uh, non-biased kind of response. And it’s easier to take feedback, I think, in that setting than it is from peers or colleagues that that know you well. It just makes you more nervous. I think it took that layer away. So it’s you’re less nervous. You just put it out there. Take the feedback. I know, and one of the practice sessions, I really got frustrated. And just hearing the encouragement and the, you know, just wait, start over. It’s okay. Uh, was super helpful. So it was a great experience.

Diane Diaz:
Oh, good. I’m so glad to hear that because, you know, it is a it’s a, you know, everybody in there is learning. Right. And so yes, mistakes happen. Or maybe you’re not comfortable with some topic or you’re not quite sure how to address it. And someone in the group has some other experience that you can benefit from having their feedback or hearing their story. And then you pick up those little nuggets and then incorporate them into what you’re doing. And it can be it’s it’s a safe space. And, Denise, what are your thoughts on that? How did it feel for you to have feedback from the other women?

Denise Cárdenas López:
I love to be in the group, and I think the space that you and Carol have put together with amazing women doing this together is really inspiring. And having that container, a safe container, and I think courageous is courage is contagious. And that’s how I feel because we will end every story that was shared. It just gave us more confidence. And I could see we had incredible storytellers as well in the group. But it was incredible and it was very inspiring for me.

Diane Diaz:
Good, good. I’m so glad to hear that. I love these groups, and I think probably for me, and also I can probably speak for Carol on this. Watching the dynamic form between the women in the group is one of the most joyful things that we see, because it’s just highlights the supportive nature of groups like this and working together and sort of, you know, although you work in the VIP day with us individually, you’re sort of crowdsourcing the experience together and sharing with one another, and that is just one of the most beautiful things that we see how everybody grows together and makes it a safe space for each other. And so it is just as exciting and joyful for Carol and me as it is probably for you all to be in it. So we love it. Um, well, I will ask you then, um, what is next for each of you on the speaking scene? Denise, I know you have something coming up. Exciting.

Denise Cárdenas López:
Yes. So I have the make the talk in July. But for me, I want to be able to expand my thought leadership. I have been focusing on writing before, so I want to really exercise this muscle and participate in and take up the stage in the nuclear industry, but beyond the nuclear and engineering sectors, and continue to develop the power trio framework and continue to have conversations at a board level and help shape decisions that shape the future and participate in talks. So I have been given a challenge by you to get out of my comfort zone, and I’m looking forward to that journey.

Diane Diaz:
Yes we will. I’m glad to hear that. So Carol and I are notorious for if we even hear of one little inkling of, oh, I think I might, we’re like, okay, here’s your homework and we’ll give you a challenge to do something. So And if you ever express, if anybody ever expresses an interest in something to us, we will give you homework that you then have to go do so. So I’m glad to hear that you’re interested to do that. And I really think that for both of you, you know, your messages are you know, you crafted them specific to an audience, but you can see that they they have universal appeal in the the underlying message within each talk. And so you can definitely each of you go out and talk beyond sort of the scope of what it is that you do in your jobs. And so I love to see. I’d love to see each of you doing that. Bonnie, what is next for you for speaking?

Bonnie Boles:
Uh, next week I’ll be participating in a webinar with one of our innovation vendors. So I’m excited about that. And then we’re already planning next year. Uh, we’re going to host an innovation summit here at Tanner health. So I hope to have a great talk on healthcare innovation, uh, that I can deliver at that. And that’ll be a regional meeting. So that’s something that That’s exciting.

Diane Diaz:
And will that be just for Tanner or outside? Outside of Tanner?

Bonnie Boles:
Outside in the region and some. Yeah, it’ll be a regional. Yes.

Diane Diaz:
That’s exciting. Well, you’ll have to keep us posted on that. Um, and I would just suggest to both of you, because I think you’re both capable of doing this. Just consider maybe a Ted talk is in your future, because I could see you both doing that. I know, um, that might strike fear into your heart, but please don’t let it. I. I would encourage you both to, just, as Denise mentioned, sort of step outside your comfort zone and, you know, look for opportunities to speak because you’re both great speakers. Yes, you are both speakers. Right. And so we know we’ve talked about that in Thought Leader Academy. We make you put it in your LinkedIn bio. If you have ever spoken at all, you are a speaker. But I would love to see both of you pitch to things that might be outside your comfort zone, because I do think your voices are important, your perspectives are important, and I know the audiences love to hear from you. So, um, keep us posted on what you’re doing. And then for those of you who are watching and listening to this, be sure to connect with both Denise and Bonnie and our other grads that you saw yesterday on LinkedIn. Follow what they’re doing. Give them props, you know. Just just see what they’re doing and see what they’re up to. Now, if you’d like to to join us in the Thought Leader Academy and work on your signature talk or any talk that you have coming up, just like our two graduates today did. You can go to speaking your brand. Dot com slash academy for more details and to apply. Now again that is speaking your brand. And until next time thanks for watching.

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