EP. 117 Everything, Everywhere, but NOT All at Once

Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw

Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Andrea Belk Olson, a Behavioral Scientist, Customer Expert and Change Enabler. Prolific writer and author of three books, the most recent one, of What to Ask: How to Learn What Customers Need but Don’t Tell You which aims to discover those unmet customer needs and turn them into innovations. Andrea discusses why and how it is possible for her to be holding down and succeeding at a dozen different ventures at any one time. She provides some previews from her book(s) as to how to use client insights to build better products and businesses. She also shares perspectives on emerging technology and how that will and will NOT change the industry.

Hear Andrea talk about:

Is there anything new REALLY when it comes to marketing?

• Let’s start with NOT being so obsessed with ourselves and our best previous ideas
• Understanding client context, critical, means shifting your mindset

‍ Standing out in a very crowded digital market

• Differentiation (Spoiler alert: Spray and pray is NOT a winning strategy)
• (Your voice needs to have true value to your audience)
• Reaching them where they are. (Requires a detailed view of micro communities).

𝌡 Technology change (AI specifically)

• There will be casualties, sure. But where and to what extent?
• Unique voices and perspectives will always continue to stand out and break through

Career choices – Everything, Everywhere, but NOT All At Once:

• Secret #1: SLEEP
• Secret #2: Pacing
• Secret #3: Satisfaction means variety. Oh, and with a heavy dose of high-risk tolerance.

Advice to her younger self:

• Chill out!! And have a lot more patience, the road ahead is long
• Being a better leader,

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Behavioral Scientist, Customer Expert & Change Enabler

Trained as a behavioral scientist, differentiation strategist and customer-centricity expert, she teaches executives the art and science of strategic differentiation through understanding customer behavior and serves as a fractional CMO for select multi-billion dollar companies.

Andrea is the author of What to Ask: How to Learn What Customers Need but Don’t Tell You and an ongoing contributor to multiple major publications including Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur Magazine, Chief Executive Magazine, and Rotman Business Magazine (University of Toronto). She is also literally a world traveler, having worked in over 12 different countries throughout her early career. Andrea also serves as an instructor for the University of Iowa Venture School, and Business Coach for the Tippie College of Business Startup Incubator.