TL; DR
Nishika de Rosairo is an expert in human potential and has helped many brands to grow by unlocking the talents of their employees. For this San Francisco-based entrepreneur, it’s all about people, not numbers, and in an increasingly reputation-conscious society, it’s advice that all brands should heed.
I sat down with the humanQ founder to discuss the current state of reputation, employee satisfaction, and personal growth. She provided insights such as:
- Be Authentic: Don’t jump on the bandwagon just because everyone is declaring their support for a particular cause. Be authentic and honest, consumers will appreciate it. And if you’re going to support a cause, make sure you follow it through and commit.
- Focus on Job Satisfaction: Your employees are not automatons. They have needs and goals, and they can also get angry, depressed, and discontented. Keep them happy and make them want to go to work each day and they will reward you with their effort and support.
- Be Prepared to Make Sacrifices: If you’re not happy where you are, you need to change. But change isn’t something that lands in your lap with minimal effort. You need to go in search of it; you need to put in the time and effort and be prepared to make sacrifices. The greatest personal growth requires an element of risk, as well as a lot of hard work.
- Stay Ready: Growth never ends, and if you want to keep improving, you need to ensure that you’re ready for every step. Always give it your all. De Rosairo likens it to a musician constantly tuning their instrument. It doesn’t matter how much practice they’ve had and how good they are, they know that if they want to succeed and improve, they must remain at their best.
Nishika de Rosairo also talked about the dire state of the world, and how businesses can navigate the difficulties of supply chain issues, rising costs, and wary consumers.
Watch the full video on YouTube or read the accompanying guide for more details.
Unlocking The Human Potential In Your Business
Nishika de Rosairo is the founder and CEO of humanQ, a company devoted to unlocking the human potential of major brands. She is an expert in employee growth, teaching brands how to create the sort of relationships that can build their brands in an organic and lasting way.
In the latest episode of This Week With Sabir, De Rosairo discussed her journey and provided some valuable insights for business owners, personal brand builders, and anyone who values their time and place in the world.
You can watch the full video on this blog. If you want to learn more about unlocking your potential and that of your company, you should also check out the following guide, which expands upon many of the insights that De Rosairo provided.
Always Be Authentic
Whether you’re launching a small business, managing a big company, or growing a personal brand, authenticity is key.
Brands are expected to have a social conscience. They can’t simply hide in the shadows and assume neutrality. Whether it’s Black Lives Matter, the fight for transgender rights, or any of the other movements that have gathered steam in the last few years, brands are encouraged to speak out.
However, that doesn’t mean you can simply throw your hat into the ring and expect all of the plaudits.
During the Black Lives Matter protests, there were stories of influencers joining the crowd, snapping pictures, and then instantly leaving. They were there for publicity, and many of them got called out for being disingenuous.
It’s the same story with many big brands.
You don’t have to back all of these movements just because they are at the top of the news cycle, but you should if they actually mean something to you or if they are relevant to what you do.
If it matters to you, say it and do it, and don’t do it just when it’s hot. If it doesn’t matter to you, don’t get involved.
Be real, true, authentic. Customers know when brands are being genuine and they don’t appreciate it when they are being lied to.
There are many ways that you can give back, including profit donations, giveaways, and social takeovers. There is no shame in advertising your efforts and improving your revenue as a result. That’s what it’s all about and customers know that and respect it. But as soon as you try to cheapen it and are insincere, you will lose their respect.
Relevancy and reputation should also be considered here.
If you’re an eco-friendly clothing brand, it makes sense for you to invest in fairtrade manufacturing and speak out against fast fashion, child labor, and other issues that plague the world of fashion. You can also have your say on globally relevant matters such as the war in Ukraine and Black Lives Matter.
However, it wouldn’t make sense for you to back a campaign to provide cheaper clothing. Sure, everyone can benefit from cheaper clothing and there are ways to do it while still being eco-friendly, but it’ll be near-impossible to get that message out without people mocking your prices and methods.
In recent weeks, a company that was once lambasted for saying that its clothes were only for “slim” and “fit” people got a lot of flak on social media when it tried to promote plus-sized models.
Most people can agree that we need to see more plus-sized models in the world, and clothing brands can get behind that, but it looks a little hypocritical coming from a brand with such a contrasting reputation.
Keeping Job Satisfaction High
As noted in an article published on humanQ, work is no longer a place, it’s a mindset.
In an increasingly digital world that has been left behind by the pandemic and the rising cost of living, employees are often left behind.
Companies often get so wrapped up in their supply chain issues and fears for the future (will consumers keep buying? Will increasing global tensions cause prices to rocket?) that they forget about the people at the heart of their business.
Without employees, a business is nothing, and if those employees are struggling with their mental health, happiness, and place in the world, it will hurt the business more than any pandemic.
If you’re struggling as a company, imagine how much those employees are struggling. They have smaller bank balances and just as many demands. As an employer, you have a responsibility of care and must ensure that their basic needs are met.
Not only will it keep those employees happy and ensure they deliver the level of work that you need and expect, but it also means that they won’t leave as soon as things get difficult.
After the chaos of the last couple of years, divorce rates are up, suicide levels are up, and people are more reluctant to hang around at jobs they hate and continue working for employers that don’t care about them.
If you want to avoid a mass exodus and ensure that your best employees stick around, you must take care of them and create a workplace that they won’t dread going to every day.
If you have your own struggles as an entrepreneur, I recommend checking out this video and guide on overcoming mental health struggles with Purdeep Sangha. You should also check out the following blogs on humanQ:
- The Secret to Creating a Company of Problem Solvers
- What Tik Tok Can Teach Us About Working Better Together
- TechCrunch Articles about Nishika de Rosairo
How To Survive In A Dire Economy
Businesses are struggling and employees are being sacked, but as bad as it is to let people go, it’s essential if those businesses are going to stay alive.
When this happens, morale drops as the remaining employees worry about their futures.
In such cases, Nishika de Rosairo recommends keeping those employees on board and guiding them through the process. Let them know what is happening, where you are taking things, and what you are hoping to do.
They need that security, and while it’s not always convenient to provide it, it’ll ensure they don’t spend weeks or months fretting about their livelihood.
Tell them that tough decisions have been made but you are working hard.
Don’t recoil. Don’t hide away and keep them in suspense.
Not too long ago, there was a story of a CEO who fired 900 employees through a Zoom call. He probably didn’t care about them and their lives, and he also didn’t think about the employees that remained. He only cared about sacking those employees in the most efficient way possible, but that efficiency cost him the respect of his employees and the reputation of his company.
Do you think the remaining employees are going to give their all for a company that heartlessly sacked their friends and co-workers?
Probably not.
Personal Insights For Entrepreneurs And Professionals
In addition to her advice for business owners, Nishika de Rosairo also spoke about the troubles that entrepreneurs face and the ways they can improve their lives and situations.
Here are a few points that she mentioned:
You Must Be Willing To Make Sacrifices
You often need to make a sacrifice to get the job or the life that you want.
Living a great life and having a great career takes a lot of effort and work. It’s not something that just lands in your lap, and yet many of us fall into the trap of doing the same things every day and then expecting everything to change.
We tell ourselves that it’ll be just one more year before we save enough money to change our job, or just another half-decade before we’re ready to make a big decision.
Maybe you’ve convinced yourself that you need X amount in your savings or that you need to own your own house or feel more confident.
You keep making those excuses, and then one day you wake up, 20 years have passed, and you’re exactly where you were to begin with.
It’s all about making a sacrifice and taking a risk.
It might mean taking a pay cut now so that you’ll earn more in the future and be happier with your career. It might mean pushing yourself to work harder and for longer.
Whatever it is, the answer won’t come to you—you need to find it.
Nishika de Rosairo also notes that you can’t blame your employer for your unhappiness, and to an extent, you can’t blame them for your pay either. You have the option to leave or try something new. It might not be comfortable for you to do so, but if you put the work in and take a chance, you can swap the job you hate for the one you love.
Move Somewhere Else
If you read the above and are thinking to yourself, “I can’t take a pay cut. I have rent to pay”, then your living situation could be the thing that’s holding you back.
In major cities across the developed world, successful, educated, and ambitious people often work themselves to death just to pay for their rent.
They move to big cities like New York, San Francisco, and London to live closer to their place of work, and then they become trapped in that job because it’s the only one that can pay their rent.
It’s a Catch-22. You’re only living there because of your job, and at the same time, that job is the only reason you can afford the rent.
But you can move elsewhere. Sure, the US has some of the most expensive cities in the world, but you don’t need a visa to move from New York to Indiana, and there’s nothing stopping you from doing so.
If your current situation has you trapped, move somewhere cheaper where your savings will go further and you have time to build a new career and a new life.
This is 2022. You don’t need to live in New York or Los Angeles to make something of yourself. You can be rich, successful, and happy anywhere in the United States.
Change Now And Not Later
It is never too late to make a big change in your life and you always have more time.
As an example, I recently spoke with a friend of mine who just turned 60. I have known him for over 20 years, and when he was in his mid-30s, he was contemplating taking his career in a new direction.
He had the money and the desire, but ultimately, he refused to take the leap. It meant he would have to study for 4 to 5 years, and he thought he was too old.
In his mid-40s, he looked back on that decision and regretted it, thinking that he was an idiot. After all, by that point, his studies would have been over and he would have been in his dream job for 5 years.
He still had a chance to switch, but again, he assumed he was too old.
On his 60th birthday, he had the same realization, “If I had started when I was 45, just think where I would be now”.
Not wanting to make the mistake again, he finally decided to make the switch.
Maybe it’ll work out for him. Maybe it won’t. But at least he won’t look back on the decision when he turns 70 and realize he made the same mistake again.
You’re never too old to do something that will make you happy, even if that thing requires you to learn something new and start from square one.
By the same token, if you have youth on your side, take advantage of it.
Don’t tell yourself that you’ll start next year or in a couple of years. Do it now.
The next time you delay something for the sake of instant gratification, boredom, or procrastination, think about how angry you’ll be with yourself when you turn 70 and look back on your life.
The Best Advice For Unlocking Human Potential
Growth never ends.
That was Nishika de Rosairo’s response when I asked for her most valuable advice, one that could generate over $100,000 in revenue for business owners and entrepreneurs.
She said that regardless of who you are, what you do, and what type of company you run, you should always be looking ahead and preparing for growth.
Just like a musician at the very top of their game, you need to tune yourself on a regular basis to ensure that you can play at your optimal level. You can’t simply rest on your laurels and then wait for the money and success to flow.
Your instrument needs to be ready, your mind needs to be set, and you must be prepared to work hard.
This is true personally and professionally and it applies whether you’re an employee, employer, or freelancer. Keep pushing, keep working, and be prepared to take risks.
Nishika de Rosairo also highlighted the importance of working with a mentor, which is something that I discussed at great length in a recent podcast with Dave Liu. Check it out if you want to learn more about mentorship and other helpful advice, and don’t forget to visit humanQ to learn more about De Rosairo’s work.
About Nishika De Rosairo
Nishika de Rosairo is the Founder and CEO of HumanQ (HQ), a San Francisco-based technology company focused on unlocking human potential at scale. HQ is the global pioneer of Group Coaching, having worked with 55+ countries and delivered to top industry players such as Accenture, Chobani, Microsoft, Salesforce, Spark New Zealand, Stanford University, and Gojek, among others.
After witnessing firsthand the challenges that organizations confront in delivering meaningful development opportunities, Nishika created a structured marketplace for employee growth and connection, leveraging a global network of experienced coaches. She is challenging traditional models of coaching that only focus on leaders and in one-to-one settings, by working with all levels of employees, where the power of the group provides an accelerated opportunity to build mindsets, increase innovation, break silos, and increase engagement and retention. Through live video group coaching, HQ’s model focuses on aligning development to the top strategic priorities of the organization, with the goal of upleveling human behaviors and action, for accelerated business results.
Written up by Forbes and Inc.com, Nishika has spent 15 years focused on two things – people and impact in organizations ranging from Deloitte Consulting, Apple, Salesforce, Cisco, Levi, Chevron, and several other giants to the startups of Silicon Valley, making Nishika a veteran in the human capital space sitting on several boards and frequently giving keynotes on various business and entrepreneurship topics. She is a serial entrepreneur and is also an artist, and has broad international experience having lived extensively on four continents and traveled to 65+ countries.