The Art of Leaving a Legacy w/ Jyotsna Gupta
Episode Details
Transcript
Join us for a conversation with Jyotsna Gupta, the VP and Chief Information Officer at Bi-State Development Agency, as she reveals how her father's strategic planting of fruit trees taught her the value of leaving a legacy. Discover how her early passion for turning waste into art and her self-taught automation skills laid the foundation for a career defined by innovation, problem-solving, and a deep commitment to customer service. Learn how she leads with empathy, navigates the complexities of AI in a regulated environment, and believes that every person has a "something extra" to offer—they just have to be brave enough to chip away the clay and reveal the pure gold beneath.
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Credits: Host: Lisa Nichols, Executive Producer: Jenny Heal, Marketing Support: Landon Burke and Joe Szynkowski, Podcast Engineer: Portside Media
Lisa Nichols
Chromosomes. Little strands of nucleic acids and proteins are the fundamental genetic instructions that tell us who we are at birth. Most people are born with forty six chromosomes, but each year in the United States, about six thousand people are born with an extra chromosome, making them a person with Down syndrome. If you've ever encountered someone with Down syndrome, you know that they are some of the kindest, most joyful people you will ever meet. They truly have something extra. My name is Lisa Nichols, and for thirty years, I have been both the CEO of Technology Partners and the mother to Ally. Aly has something extra in every sense of the word. I have been blessed to be by her side as she impacts everyone she meets. Through these two important roles as CEO and mother to Ally, I have witnessed countless life lessons that have fundamentally changed the way I look at the world. While you may not have an extra chromosome, every leader has something extra that defines who you are. Join me as I explore the something extra in leaders from all walks of life and discover how that difference in each of them has made a difference in their companies, their families, their communities, and in themselves. If you like this episode today, please go to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen and leave us a five star rating. Lisa Nichols
I'm excited to have Jyotsna Gupta on the show today. Jyotsna is a VP and the chief information officer at Bi-StateDevelopment Agency. Well, welcome to the Something Extra podcast, Jyotsna Gupta. I am so delighted that we could find this time. I know how busy you are, and so I'm just grateful that you're, willing to spend a few minutes here with me on the Something Extra podcast. Jyotsna Gupta
The pleasure is likewise. I'm really fortunate to have this opportunity to, you know, talk to you. And in a short time that we have collaborated, I've known so much about you. So it's amazing to be one of your partner, and, I'm blessed to have this opportunity. So thank you. Lisa Nichols
Well, I'm excited. You are the CIO of Bi-State Development, and I'm really excited to dig into that. But I have a few questions for you before we get into tech. Okay? I would love to talk to you a little bit about growing up. I know you that you grew up in a small town in India. I would love to know, Jyotsna, how that really shaped you, your curiosity, your, penchant for problem solving. Tell us a little bit about that small town in India. Jyotsna Gupta
So I I was born in a small town called Muradabad. In India, I where I was I grew up my early years. We were in a very modest home, and but we had so many fruit trees in our yard. And it was amazing that my dad managed to have so many trees in the yard, but, nevertheless, it was always a pleasure looking at the trees grow different fruits, and how he planned it was just amazing. It was very seasonal, and every season, we had something. And so his strategic planning gave me so much to learn from. And while growing up, I I still remember it was, I might be in middle school or high school. He planted a mango tree. And I always wondered, you know, we we don't have enough room, enough space, or we won't be here long enough to see the tree bear the fruit. And then he said well, I asked him, how long do you think we'll have mangoes? And, like, maybe twenty years, thirty years. And I'm like, I don't know if I'm gonna be here. And he said, well, it may not be here here I I may not be here around to see the fruit, but you would be, your kids would be. And if not, you guys if you guys move out, then it would be for your neighbors and for the community. So he gave me the idea of planting the seed, the right seed, and leaving what leaving behind the legacy. So looking back, when people ask me, what do you wanna do? I wanna leave something that's precious, that's treasured, and that's appreciated by, you know, the generations coming forward. So that was my whole thing. But, you know, with the modest means that we had around me, I always felt like I had to optimize. I was very conservative about the resources we had, and I had to be very innovative and creative about the things that were available to me. I was I'll tell you this. I was very inquisitive about creating art and crafts. So every time we would have a card cardboard or car you know, some packaging material thrown into trash, I would take it out. I would recreate something. I created so many greeting cards, the visiting cards, from the the waste. So I've I had an art to create something out of reusable material. So that was just in me and, you know, I I would sketch, I would paint, I would do different things, and I was very, very conservative about those things. So that the the the resources and the availability of resources helped me, optimize and be, and value those resources, basically. So, so growing up, being in a modest environment, it I valued resources day one. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. Wow. I just I love everything that you just said, because I love that that what your dad told you. That has always been one of my favorite you know I I don't know. It was an ancient proverb, really, that said that a great society is when older men plant trees that they may never sit under their shade. You know? And I just think about that. Right? And that's what Beautiful. Yeah. Yes. It's so beautiful. It's such a an act of selflessness Yes. I think. And, you know, really thinking, like you said, about the legacy Jyotsna Gupta
Yes. Lisa Nichols
That you want to leave. You wanna leave something better than you found it. Right? Jyotsna Gupta
Yes. And, you know, as you say that, you know, we sold off that house. And I speak to my some of my childhood friends even till date, and they talk about the tree giving fruit to all the neighbors and the neighborhood. I'm like, wow. That is so impressive. So it just brings back past to present and just adds so much memory to all that while growing up. Lisa Nichols
You know? It's so beautiful. I love it. And I'm sure that your kids know this story too. I'm sure that that you have shared that with them. I love it. Well, you've already talked about the creativity, and I think, what you said about turning waste into art. And, I mean, isn't that what we're doing all the time with IT too, Jyotsna? We are optimizing what we have and leveraging all the tools that we've been given, right, to to make everything more efficient. You know, I just I I just love it so much. I really do. But let's talk about your career journey, and then we'll we'll get more into Bi-State. But I know that you started in QA, quality assurance, for those who are not in IT, and you taught yourself automation scripting. What do you think gave you you taught it to yourself. So what do you think gave you the confidence to make that leap and to teach yourself something that you really didn't know anything about? Jyotsna Gupta
Yes. Well, there were times when the opportunities came to me. And to begin with, I didn't know whether I wanted to do it or not. And looking back, did I really want to do it? Did I wanna do QA? That was the opportunity that was give handed to me, and I took it. Being in there in the QA, team, I just felt like it was it wasn't the optimal use of what I could my my potential. You know? Mhmm. I could give a lot more. And there came a point when I felt like doing the repeated regression bored me out. I I I'm that may not be the right word word, but, you know, the repeated mundane steps Mhmm. Where you have more potential to give. Yes. And you have ideas and how you could make those processes more efficient. And making them more streamlined would give you more opportunity to explore other avenues and upscale yourselves. So I did find ways to automate the scripts and implementing those procedures, test scripts, into an automation one click and then give me the results after, like, twenty steps. It reduced the whole testing cycle from hours to, let's say, fifty percent. That was the time that I saved by automating our processes. And as slowly and gradually when I started doing this, the team adopted that methodology. And they were able to save so much time that they would learn and do new skills and, go for different opportunities. Or in fact, they had some personal time to spend to train themselves and, you know, invest in their per professional growth. So Mhmm. That was something that I felt like, you know, I was always one step. I wanted to give an extra step all the time. And it was the self drive that I felt that I have the potential, and I wanna do it. Mhmm. Lisa Nichols
Oh, I love that. Well, there's a lot about what you just said that I love. You just said, I felt like I had the potential. So first of all, you believed in yourself. And I think that is so important, right, to believe in yourself. The other thing that you said at the very beginning, Jyotsna, and I want, like, younger people, professionals to hear this. You said that was the opportunity that was presented to you, and you took it. You know? So I believe every step that we take, and I know you subscribe to this as well, every step we take, we we are gonna get out of it what we put into it for for for the first thing, but it prepares us for the next step. Because now you are a CIO, and I wanna get to that. But then you moved into an ERP analyst, and I know you work for some really iconic brands like Marcandy here in Saint Louis. Love the Marcandy family. You know, you worked eccentric. You know what, you know, walk us through that journey. And I think even when you started at Bi-State Development, you were an ERP analyst, I believe. Jyotsna Gupta
Yes. Lisa Nichols
So walk us through the journey from ERP analyst to CIO for Bi-State. Jyotsna Gupta
Absolutely. And before I do that, I'll take a step back as well. When I came to the country, I plan to have a family. So when I was when I had my first child, my daughter, it felt like, you know, I need to do something with her by her side. And so I joined masters at UMSL. I did my computer science, at UMSL, and it just kept my mind occupied so that I could give my hundred percent to my family. While I was growing and invested in my family, I was invested in my career as well. Right. And so that was that self drive is so important to have in in an individual that it keeps you growing. So when I got an opportunity at Bi-State, that was, you know, after, Centric Group, which is now acquired by TKC. It's called TKC now. But when I came to Bi-State Agency, I was an ERP analyst, three. And my journey started with a very rich experience of Oracle development and programmer. And I had implemented I was in the warehouse supply chain management team at Sentriq, so I had that rich experience of supply chain. When I came to Bi-State, I was given an opportunity to work in these, financial systems. And so in the ERP team, I was supporting, processes for, finance, accounting, budgeting, and I learned a lot in that. There was one of the projects that I know was stuck for three, four years, roundabout three, four years, and it just felt like it was either move it or scrap it. So when I got into that project, I just felt like I had to do something. I had to turn it around and make a impact that we can do a better job. We can deliver. So when I started the and it was very late in the project implementation that I went in with a very fresh perspective. I went over and beyond what my scope was, what my position was, and I engaged in business conversations. They're understanding their problems, their roadblocks, and what was taking them so long to get over that hurdle of, seeing across the fence and get getting them the comfort level of the new system. So having said that, we started having more closed meetings, more focused group meetings. And there came a point that we had a great progress. And with that, within six months of me taking the project, we were talking about moving into production and making it a reality. So I remember my CFO then, she's retired now. We were crossing paths in the parking lot, and she told me, Jyotsna, I did not believe that we would see this system would see a light of day. And you made it happen. And that was a compliment in itself. Yes. So from start to completion, I made sure the delivery was a super quality, and there was a customer satisfaction involved. So I think the whole perspective of engaging with the business. Mhmm. Partnering with them, if, you know, giving them the preference of listening to them and understanding their needs, it just gives a lot of meaning to everything. It it associates a purpose of why we are doing this. And are are our business partners being heard? Because many at times, I hear from different engagements that IT does not listen to us or does not understand. They are too techie. But you know what? Without business needs, we won't be here. Right? Lisa Nichols
That's right. Jyotsna Gupta
So we have to drive ourselves and align with business needs. Mhmm. And so over the period, I got promoted based on my, you know, progress, and I skipped a few levels, became a year before, IT manager, senior manager. And then there came a time when last year, my CIO turned in his, retirement, and I was just sitting on it for thinking about whether would I be whether would I be able to perform the job, or do I fit the bill? And I kept thinking it took me really long time to come to the reality that, you know, I have it in me. Mhmm. And if I don't apply, I don't want to walk out with regrets. You know? You always have to try, and you have to give yourself hundred percent to that opportunity. Mhmm. Whether or not you get it or not, that's that's besides the point. But without trying, you cannot say that, you know, you give your hundred percent. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. That's so good. Jyotsna Gupta
So, yeah, that opportunity came to me last year, and, here I am. So I've been in this role for one year and a month now. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Mhmm. Oh, well, I just oh, I just so much of what you said, is is good. I love that you just said you know, you took that time to say, is this for me or not? Can I do this? And then you said, yeah. Because I don't wanna live with regrets. You know, they say, Jyotsna, that in life, you're gonna have disappointments. There's always gonna be disappointments. There's gonna be things that happen in your life that really sometimes you have no control over, and it's disappointing. But the thing that we don't want is to live with regret. And regret is usually controllable by us. You know? It's like not spending your time in the way that you should have or so I I really love that. Well, let me ask you this because some people we have listeners from all over the world. So they may not even know about by Bi-State Development. I would love for you just to give a little snippet what is Bi-State, what is the mission, what is the culture like at Bi-State. Just give me a little bit of that, and then I've got a lot of other questions. Jyotsna Gupta
So Bi-Stateagency is, as the name suggests, Bi-State, we cater to, two states, Missouri and Illinois. We are a public transportation company. We operate, Metrobus, Metrolink. If you've ever been to Saint Louis downtown Arch, we, we manage the Arch, in partnership with NPS. If you ever have been to the Saint Louis downtown airport that's in Cahokia, we, we own that, downtown airport, riverboat. If you've ever been to the riverboat, we have riverboats, and then we also have freightway under our, belt. So anything that moves. We we move people and cargo. How about that? I love it. I love it. Lisa Nichols
I love it. Jyotsna Gupta
Yes. And we are a public entity. We are go we report to the board of commissioners from Illinois and Missouri Mhmm. If that summarizes it. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. Absolutely. That was great. Well okay. So tell me this. What, you know, what excites you? Because it truly is a very mission driven organization being in the public sector. What excites you about that? And I know that you have, some mantras around why. You know, like, starting with your why, the Simon Sinek, start with why. But what excites you about the work that you're doing? Because it is very mission driven. Jyotsna Gupta
It is very. And so, there's not even a single day where I drive to work without a purpose. You know? So our purpose is to give the best customer service, best public service in the region. Our riders are our top most priority. If you are at the bus bus stop waiting for the bus, we have to make sure the bus reaches on time. And there will be some challenges, you know, construction, road closures, reroutes. But our goal is to provide you the best public service we can in the region. And with that, we try our best from technology and infrastructure perspective Mhmm. To be there at first at your doorstep. Mhmm. So, I don't know if I added the we also, have the para transit, division that takes care of, taking the the riders from their home to the hospice care or hospitals. And, so we we do a lot of public service. Lisa Nichols
We are in important one. Jyotsna Gupta
Yes. So that is the mission. We are very customer centric driven, and that is my top priority. So with that purpose, when I walk into the office, I I want my team to see that end goal. What are what are we doing? What are we bringing to the table? We are providing quality care to our riders. And that's the mission that, you know, I I just feel like we we cannot lose that, picture out of our sight. Lisa Nichols
Agreed. And it's so important for the people on your team to map what they do every day to that bigger purpose. Right? So Right. I love that. What let me let me ask you one more question, and we're gonna take a quick break. And then I really wanna pivot into leadership. But, you know, how are you thinking about AI right now? Gen AI, Jyotsna, it's on the tip of everybody's tongue and on the top of everybody's mind. How are you thinking about AI and the potential for Bi-State? Jyotsna Gupta
Very great question. So pertinent to today's, AI driven, world. So when I became the CIO last year, the first thing that I did was we need to be responsible, and we need to make people aware because this shiny object is here to stay. Right. And it was, you know, back in those days when we had Internet. That was the new buzzword. And then over the years, we had IoT. We had all these smart device. So AI is here to stay. How you navigate through AI technology is all upon us. So we we do need to have the business driven use cases. And we being in regulate like, regulations and federal compliance, we have to have great audit notes. And so the very first thing I did was I implemented AI note taking capability. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Jyotsna Gupta
And that was amazing. That was a super hit for our safety and audit department. And being implemented in a secure environment gave us the comfort level that AI is something that we can explore. Now that's not just the only implementation. We have done, several other, implementations around different, divisions. We did, AI implementation for marketing to create campaigns. We did, we are we'd implemented Copilot. We have quite a bit of, implementations. And as we speak, we are implementing, data loss prevention software system, that is, in progress right now. So AI, you have to navigate through those challenges, but cautiously. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Jyotsna Gupta
And people don't have the comfort level of, whether it's secure or not. So you have to make sure the business is on board with your decisions, and these are the tools to make your processes more effective and more efficient. So the the time you took, eight hours to write a document is now reduced to thirty minutes. Right. And you still have to humanize it. Lisa Nichols
Absolutely. Jyotsna Gupta
But you you your baseline is created. Yes. And then you can inject yourself into the in into the framework and make it more human and like you and add your personal traits to it. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Yeah. I think I truly think, and I know that you subscribe to this too, Jyotsna. I just believe that it's gonna help us be a better version of ourselves and get work done more efficiently so that we can focus on yeah. It it's crazy. I, on Saturday, I was just catching up on a a lot of work, and I was amazed by using AI how much faster I could go. It's it's like your own personal assistant, truly. It's like where everybody in your organization can have their own assistant. Well, we do need to take a quick break, and we'll be right back with Jyotsna Gupta on the Something Extra podcast. Speaker 3
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Welcome back, everyone, to the Something Extra podcast with my friend, Jyotsna Gupta. So, Jyotsna, we have been talking about so many awesome things, but I really wanna pivot into leadership right now. What do you believe is your leadership style? Jyotsna Gupta
Well, there are several, but I feel like I am very purpose driven. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Jyotsna Gupta
And no leader can perform without their team. So having that empathy associated with the purpose is so important. Being there with your team all the time and then valuing them for what they what they're doing is, I feel, very critical aspect of being a leader. Giving them the vision and the direction, And sometimes you have to just walk them to the finish line and show them this is your end product. This is what you're working for. And giving them that purpose really gives them the sense of achievement. Wow. This is what I did, and this is what my end goal is. So showing sometimes the end goal gives a clarity and a purpose to what you're doing. It adds meaning to your day to day, processes. Lisa Nichols
Yes. I I fully agree with that. Well, you know, you, you are known. I know that you're known because I've read things about you. You are known for leading with empathy, and I think that that is so important. But let me ask you this. How important has mentorship been in your own journey? And are there mentors even today, Jyotsna, that you could point to that had a tremendous impact on you. And then I would love to hear, you know, how you are encouraging your team. I mean, do you have a formal mentor program mentorship program at Bi-State? So just walk me through that. How important has mentorship been for you? Jyotsna Gupta
That's such a great question. I love that you asked me that. I did well, at Bi-State, we have certain departments who'd have formal mentorship. IT does not. And, it was last year when I was at Washoe completing my executive leadership program, and they had assigned a mentor to me. And we had one session of mentorship. And in that one hour, I just learned so much that looking back, I wish I had done more of those. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Jyotsna Gupta
And but you know what? It's never it's never too late. Lisa Nichols
That's right. Jyotsna Gupta
Right? So then I thought about, well, it doesn't have to be somebody from outside agency. It could be somebody whom I admire within the company. Right? So I did reach out to one person completely outside our department, and within the agency. And I really admire her, the work that she has done, and I will not take names just for keeping the anonymity. But I really admire the work she has done around the agency and just how the culture shift. You know, how things change when you have a mentor and how the other person shows you a different way of looking at things. Because you're so used to looking at some things and, evaluating and assessing in one particular way that you don't you ignore or you have these blind spots. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Jyotsna Gupta
So it's it's a pleasure. It was really a pleasure to have my mentor help me navigate through some of those challenges. I would, you know, open up and discuss my personal challenges. Mhmm. You know, some difficult conversation with different employees. And I felt that, you know, I had a second opinion, and I always valued it. Speaking of that, in my last department meeting, I I had to do something, you know, with such a valuable program. And I just feel like, you know, we do such great job all around the agency. And I had to let people come out of their shells and talk about it. That is this something that you would be considering if you want to learn and grow and develop? Do you see a role model? Whether it's in the company or outside, it doesn't have to be within the department. It could be anybody whom you admire. And so there was one person who spoke up in the department meeting that, you know, I may not be, I can be a mentor, but, you know, I would like to mentor about way to live and and attaching purpose to your life rather than your professional goals. I'm like, yeah. I mean, you need to have a good you should know the art of living before you can go and excel in your work. Lisa Nichols
So true. Jyotsna Gupta
I loved it. It is so true. You have Lisa Nichols
to work on yourself, and you have to to have that foundation, I believe, before you can even lead other people. It's about leading yourself. Right, Jyotsna? Jyotsna
Absolutely. New Speaker
I really I love that. Well, how would you how would you advise a young person? Let's say there's somebody listening that is younger in their career, and they are aspiring for that top IT spot, like what you have. You're at the top of the, you know, the food chain there as as the they say in in IT. You have the CIO role. How would you advise them if they're aspiring for that? Jyotsna Gupta
Have that inner drive. Without that inner drive, you can walk the horse to the well, but you can't make a drink. Yes. You have to have that drive within you that you are hungry for knowledge. Mhmm. That's the key thing. Read about new technologies, whether it's in your area or not. Learn about what other people are doing. It doesn't have to be the same industry. Right? How did this industry manage through these challenges? It is so important to keep yourself up to date with the technology that's around the curve. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Uh-huh. Jyotsna Gupta
So just by reading it and being inquisitive and being curious takes you to that next level. Lisa Nichols
Right. And if you do have a mentor, then and and there's something you don't understand, don't be shy about asking those questions. Tell me about this. Right? So so that brings me to another question. And then I've got just a couple more things that, I wanna talk about, and then we'll talk about something extra. Is there because, you know, you're you said read, read, read, read. Is there a book or a podcast or a technical subscription, don't know, that you do that you would recommend or something that's really impacted you, like a business book or, like I said, a podcast or maybe there's a technical subscription that you, that you aspire to or that you get yourself and then you could pass along to a younger person? Jyotsna Gupta
Absolutely. So I have been listening to your podcast quite a bit. Oh, thank you. Has been really amazing. And I do listen to Dan Roberts' podcast as well, Tech Whisperers. Tech Whisperer. That's very good. In regards to book, I just completed the book of Mice and Man. Have you heard of that? Lisa Nichols
Yes. That's a classic. Jyotsna Gupta
And, you know, I was reading that book, and my daughter walked in and said, you're reading a high school book? I'm like, was it in your high school? Lisa Nichols
And she probably had it in her high school literature. Jyotsna Gupta
Exactly. So, I I just stumbled upon it, and I just got into it. It's a it's a thin read. Everybody should read it. And it just tells you the decision making process. And there are times when you have to make a take a decision, hard decisions. And it's just a beautiful thing. You know? It doesn't have to be a technology related. It can be how you navigate through the challenges in personal and in professional lives. Mhmm. So I would definitely recommend the book Of Mice and Men. Lisa Nichols
Of Mice and Men. And you may be reading with your high schooler. Jyotsna Gupta
Yes. I mean Lisa Nichols
Well, you know, Jyotsna, and I'm not gonna remember who coined this or who it's attributed to. I'll remember it after the podcast, I'm sure. But there is a quote out there, and I love it. It says you will be the same person you are today, five years from now, except for the books you read and the people you meet. Jyotsna Gupta
So true. That's so beautiful. Lisa Nichols
It's so beautiful, isn't it? Because, really, books can expand our vision even for our life. You know, this this I'm getting off topic here, but I had Horace Schultz on the podcast a few weeks ago. And Horst was the cofounder of the Ritz Carlton, which, you know, is the gold standard in hotels. The funny thing about this, Jyotsna, is he grew up in Germany, in a small town in Germany. He said there was no hotel. He never been to a hotel. Jyotsna Gupta
Wow. Lisa Nichols
But when he was eleven years old, he decided he wanted to work in the hotel industry. I'm like, worse. I said, how in the world do you never even been to a hotel? He goes, I read it in a book. When he was eleven years old, and then he goes on to cofound the gold standard in hotel hospitality. It just it just amazing. But I I do love that quote. Now I'll remember the originator after the podcast, I'm sure. But here, I wanna talk about this just a little bit, and then we're gonna talk about something extra. We kind of alluded to it in the front where you said, as a child, you loved making crafts and art out of waste. But I know that you enjoy, like, clay modeling and creating art. You know, how does that do you still do that, Jyotsna, as a hobby? Jyotsna Gupta
I will. You know, COVID, the pandemic time, it was a blessing and curse for a lot of us. Right? Yes. For me, it was a blessing that I got so much time on hand to reflect what I really wanted to do in my spare time. It's like that hidden thing in you, hidden artist in you or a child inside you that you wanna do. You wanna hike or you wanna play a game or do things. So I just rekindled my, you know, passion of art during that time. And I did a lot of clay modeling and bottle art. Actually, if had we been sitting in my office, I would have shown you some of the work that I did Wow. During that time. So, while growing up in my childhood, I did do clay modeling a little bit with paper meshing and other things. But it truly was after so many years that I picked up because I had time, and I wanted to use the most of it. And, you know, guess what? I involved my family, my children in doing it. So it became a team activity. Yeah. And so we did so much and, you know, really had a blast of time. So I have not done it since last year, I would say. But I enjoy doing once off painting or, some embroidery at times. You know? So I do wanna keep that artist alive in me. Lisa Nichols
It's so important. Right? I mean, I that right brain, left brain. Yes. You need to use both of them. Justin, I think that you're involved in the CIO summit coming up at the end of August. And we do have a session on there because there are so many IT people Mhmm. That are artists or musicians. I mean, there is a a total connection there. We'll we're gonna start out that summit with something really fun that I know that you will appreciate, but, I just I think, you know, the ability to solve problems. So Katie Canty, who is the interim CIO for Panera, is a professional violinist. Jyotsna Gupta
Okay. Lisa Nichols
And she has told me before that she will be stuck in a problem at work, and she goes and starts playing her violin, and it gets unstuck. So there is something there. Jyotsna Gupta
You know? Definitely. And this is so truly said, you know, I would be stuck in a problem, and I would be thinking about it. And the moment I walk on and start doodling or I would sketch, it just strikes me, and it comes to me right away that, you know, this is how I need to take solve this problem. This is this is the direction I wanna be in. And there and then, you just you just take the idea and you get up and run with it. Yeah. Lisa Nichols
I just love it. I love it. And I love what you said about getting your family involved. Mhmm. That's the way it doesn't have to be just a solo thing. Absolutely. If you enjoy cut if you enjoy cooking, get your family involved. Get them in the kitchen with you cutting up the vegetables. You know, You know? It's just it's there's a way to do that. Right? And, to still bring you joy and to make it more of a family affair. So I love I love that you did that. Well, I wanna ask you. This is called something extra, and this is a question that I ask every one of my guests about what is the something extra that you believe a leader needs. But I would also love to ask you, on top of that question, what do you believe is your something extra or extras? And I could surmise a few things. You know, I think your drive is definitely one of those, your persistence, your drive, creativity, probably. But are there other things that you would say that are your something extras, Jyotsna? Jyotsna Gupta
That's such a great question. And, you know, that has really I have to put effort in reflecting in my past. Because many of times, you're so busy with your work that you don't get time to reflect Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Jyotsna Gupta
On your attributes, your quality qualities, and how you got here. Yeah. So I really want to thank you for doing this because it gave me an opportunity to look back and rekindle those memories that, you know, I lived once upon a time. So I appreciate it. So, I had couple of things in my mind for, you know, the something extra until this morning while I was doing my yoga practice. It today's well, I joined a twenty eight day transformation challenge, on, subscription. And today's today's practice was intuition. And the trainer in it told me a story, which I would like to share. And it just love from you too. And it just I I connect with it so much because I see it every day. So this this is a monastery, bud Buddhist monastery, and they are relocating a huge Buddha, statue from one place to the other. And during that process, they one of the employees or one of the monks see a crack in the huge Buddha stretch statue. And it's around the time nineteen fifty seven. So there is a shiny light coming out of that crack. Mhmm. And so somebody gets curious, and they start chiseling away the clay on the statue. And to come to find out it's a huge statue of gold. And so it is I don't know how many kilos of gold, but it's a huge Buddha statue made out of gold. So the historians did some, research and found out that centuries ago, the invaders came in. And to protect the idol and the statue from the invaders, they covered it with clay. And it wasn't after centuries later that they found out that it truly is a pure gold statue. So the takeaway is, you know, we are covered with layers and layers of different things, and it could be opinions, judgment, situations that mask you from your true potential. Mhmm. You have that in you, and you just have to uncover it. You have to chisel away and find your true self. Lisa Nichols
That is beautiful. Jyotsna Gupta
I I just felt it I connected with it so much today. Lisa Nichols
Oh my goodness. Yes. You have to find your true self, and and don't be don't be afraid to show your true self. I think in today's world, Don't say you probably would agree with this, I think people long for authenticity. Jyotsna Gupta
Absolutely. And you have to be genuine. Don't be scared of taking decisions. There would be times when you would make, you know, mistakes. But those those are truly the opportunity for you to perform better. And, you know, it it's amazing the one of the the statement that the yoga trainer made was we it was a funny balancing pose. Okay? And, I wanna share this because it was just funny that, we are trying to balance on one leg doing a warrior pose, and then he says, I hope you fall. I really wish you fall because it's not the fall that matters. Mhmm. It's how you get up from the fall. How you rise from the fall makes you the true person. And so don't be scared Right. Of taking those decisions. And even if it's, you know, learn from those decisions. If it didn't go right the way you wanted it to be Mhmm. You will learn a better way to do it next time. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. That is so good. Oh my goodness. Jyotsna, I have absolutely loved this time with you. Thank you so much. It's just oh my goodness. You've given me so much to think about, and I know you're gonna help our listeners. So I just appreciate you. Jyotsna Gupta
No. The the pleasure is likewise. And, you know, I really thank you for this opportunity because, it gave me the time to do self reflection. And if we honestly do not have time to think about what we did in our childhood, I had to really think down and make notes of Right. Oh, really? What did I do? And so I I thank you for all this opportunity. And, you know, it was such a pleasure talking to you, knowing you, and, you know, it just gave me a reflection of my past. Lisa Nichols
So Oh, very good. Beautiful. I cannot wait for our listeners to learn from you. So you have an awesome rest of the day, and thank you again. Jyotsna Gupta
Thank you so much, Lisa, more to come and we'll talk later, in the summit. Speaker 4
Thank you for listening to today's show something extra with Lisa Nichols is a technology partners production, copyright technology partners, Inc two thousand and nineteen. For show notes or to reach Lisa, visit tpi dot co slash podcast. Don't forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen.