From Passion to Purpose: Transforming Research into Workforce & HR Innovation

Summary

The speaker recounts their journey influenced by Steve Jobs and J Bezos, leading to a career in software engineering and a passion for research. Initially, they pursued a PhD but realized it conflicted with their career goals. They then founded a nonprofit to improve healthcare service models, facing challenges in team management. After integrating HR solutions from their research, the nonprofit flourished. The speaker's mentor encouraged them to apply these solutions to companies, leading to the creation of VSR Pro Academy, which aims to solve HR issues and help individuals find their career paths and passions.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Passion is essential for success in both career and personal pursuits, as inspired by Steve Jobs and J. Biz.
• 🎯 The shift from viewing work as just a job to turning it into a meaningful career can be life-changing.
• 📝 Research became a key passion after publishing multiple papers on software engineering, which fueled the decision to pursue further academic goals like a PhD.
• 🤔 Balancing passion and career is crucial. The speaker realized that leaving a job for a PhD could derail their CIO career goals.
• 💡 Sometimes, obstacles require innovative thinking, like looking beyond initial challenges to discover new opportunities for growth.
• 🔍 The speaker's research shifted to societal issues, focusing on challenges faced by graduates in Vietnam, such as dissatisfaction with local management and work culture.
• 🌱 Founding a nonprofit helped address healthcare service issues, though managing the organization presented new challenges, especially with human resources.
• 💼 Applying expertise in HR and combining it with passion for research helped overcome the nonprofit’s struggles, ultimately leading to success and media recognition.
• 📈 The development and testing of new HR models in the nonprofit resulted in significant productivity improvements, with 200 volunteers completing 285,000 tasks across six cities.
• 🏢 This nonprofit success paved the way for founding VSR Pro Academy, which focuses on helping companies solve HR problems and guiding individuals to build careers, passions, and life missions.

Q & A

Who are the two influential figures mentioned in the script that had a significant impact on the speaker's career?

The two influential figures mentioned are Steve Jobs and J Biz. Steve Jobs emphasized the importance of passion in whatever one does in life, while J Biz's advice on turning a job into a career was particularly impactful for the speaker during the early stages of his career in information technology and software engineering.

What realization did the speaker have about their career and passion after listening to J Biz?

The speaker realized that they needed to stop thinking about the job they were doing and instead focus on what their career should be. They decided that their career should be in software engineering, with aspirations to reach roles such as Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Director of IT.

What was the speaker's initial reaction to the idea of finding a passion according to Bezos' advice?

Initially, the speaker was inspired by Bezos' advice that passion is something that will pick you up, and one needs to look for it. This led the speaker to reflect on their own passions and eventually realize their passion for research and publication in the field of software engineering.

Why did the speaker decide to pursue a PhD, and what was the turning point that made them reconsider this decision?

The speaker decided to pursue a PhD after recognizing their passion for research and being encouraged by a friend to take their passion to the next level. The turning point came when they realized that quitting their job to pursue a PhD full-time would likely mean giving up on their CIO career aspirations, as the path post-PhD would likely lead to academia rather than the corporate world.

What was the speaker's first significant realization about their life and career path?

The speaker's first significant realization was that they often made decisions without seeing the big picture, which led them to make a mistake by quitting their job to pursue a PhD. They learned that when mistakes are identified, they should be corrected immediately.

How did the speaker's experience with the nonprofit organization VSR start, and what was the initial challenge they faced?

The speaker started the nonprofit organization VSR to solve healthcare service model issues and to improve the experience for medical students and hospitals. The initial challenge was the high turnover rate of members and the organization not meeting its potential, which the speaker attributed to human resource issues.

What advice did the speaker receive from HR experts regarding the challenges faced by the VSR nonprofit, and why was it not effective?

The HR experts suggested using the carrot and stick approach to motivate the team, but the speaker found this ineffective for a nonprofit where most of the motivation comes from spiritual rewards rather than monetary ones.

How did the speaker turn around the VSR nonprofit's situation, and what was the outcome?

The speaker decided to apply their expertise in CIO and research on human resources and workforce to build models, frameworks, tools, and methods tailored for the nonprofit. This led to a remarkable change, with the organization growing to 200 members, increasing its impact, and attracting media attention.

What is the mission of VSR Pro Academy, and how does it help companies and individuals?

VSR Pro Academy helps companies by solving their HR problems to make them more productive, effective, and profitable. For individuals, it helps them find their career path, build their passion into impactful work, and discover their calling to ensure they have a sense of mission and drive in their daily work.

What was the final piece of advice given by the mentor that led the speaker to create VSR Pro Academy?

The mentor suggested that since the speaker had a level 10 skill set backed by research and testing in their own nonprofit for HR solutions, they should bring this expertise to companies to solve their problems and help them thrive.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Passion and Career Insights from Steve Jobs and J Biz

The speaker shares their inspiration from Steve Jobs and J Biz, emphasizing the importance of passion in one's career. They recount their journey from being influenced by these figures to realizing the need to shift focus from a job to a career. The speaker's aspirations in software engineering and the pursuit of a CIO role are highlighted, along with the realization that passion should be pursued alongside career growth. The narrative includes a moment of introspection where the speaker decides to pursue a PhD in software engineering, only to later recognize the potential misalignment with their career goals. This leads to a critical decision to drop out of the PhD program and refocus on their career, while also learning the importance of correcting mistakes promptly.

05:00

🔍 Exploring Passion and Research in Software Engineering

The speaker delves into their passion for research and software engineering, detailing their publication of several papers post-graduation. They discuss the influence of Bezos' advice on finding one's passion and how it led them to continue researching and publishing in their field. The narrative takes a turn when the speaker, after a conversation with a friend, decides to pursue a PhD to deepen their expertise. However, they eventually encounter a dilemma where the pursuit of a PhD might lead away from their desired career path, prompting a reevaluation of their priorities and the decision to quit the PhD program to focus on their career.

10:02

🤔 Overcoming Self-Doubt and Identifying Research Opportunities

The speaker grapples with self-doubt and the challenge of aligning their passion for research with real-world problems. They discuss various issues they've identified, such as difficulties faced by students in Vietnam post-graduation, their personal healthcare experience, and the brain drain of talents from Vietnam. Through these experiences, the speaker decides to conduct research to understand and address these issues. The narrative highlights the speaker's determination to continue their research despite challenges and their eventual realization that they can apply their expertise in information systems and HR to create solutions.

15:04

🌟 Transforming Nonprofit Work and Expanding Impact

The speaker recounts their experience founding a nonprofit organization aimed at improving healthcare services. They face significant challenges in maintaining the organization's momentum and addressing high turnover rates among members. After seeking advice from HR experts and realizing the limitations of traditional approaches in a nonprofit setting, the speaker decides to apply their research and expertise in HR and workforce management to develop new models and frameworks. This strategic shift leads to remarkable growth in the nonprofit, attracting more members and recognition, and ultimately resulting in a significant impact on healthcare services and student experiences. The speaker concludes with the creation of VSR Pro Academy, an extension of their nonprofit work aimed at helping companies solve HR problems and individuals find their passion and calling.

Keywords

💡Passion

Passion refers to a strong and barely controllable emotion or enthusiasm for something. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of finding and pursuing one's passion, as it is a driving force for personal and professional fulfillment. Steve Jobs is mentioned as an influence who talked about the significance of passion in life. The speaker's realization that their passion lies in research and publication is a key turning point in their career journey.

💡Career

A career is a profession undertaken for a significant period of a person's life and with opportunities for progress. The video discusses the speaker's early influences, such as J Biz, who emphasized the importance of turning a job into a career. The speaker's career in software engineering and aspirations to become a Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Director of IT are highlighted, illustrating how career goals can shape one's professional path.

💡Research

Research in this context involves the systematic investigation and study of materials and sources to establish facts and reach new conclusions. The speaker's passion for research is a central theme, as they discuss their journey from publishing papers to conducting research on various topics, including healthcare service models and human resource management. Research is portrayed as a means to solve real-world problems and drive innovation.

💡Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is the process of designing, launching, and running a new business, which typically starts as a small business, such as a startup company, offering a product, process, or service for sale. The video mentions the speaker's entrepreneurial journey, starting with being influenced by successful entrepreneurs like J Biz and culminating in the establishment of a nonprofit organization aimed at solving healthcare service issues.

💡Influence

Influence refers to the capacity to have an effect on someone or something. The video script describes how figures like Steve Jobs and J Biz influenced the speaker's thinking and actions. Their ideas about passion and career progression had a profound impact on the speaker's life choices and career trajectory.

💡Mistake

A mistake is an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment made by someone. In the narrative, the speaker acknowledges making a significant mistake by quitting their job to pursue a PhD, which deviated from their career goals. This realization led to a pivot in their professional path, emphasizing the importance of learning from and correcting mistakes.

💡Nonprofit

A nonprofit organization is a group that does not aim to make a profit from its activities. It is often dedicated to furthering a particular social cause or advocating for a shared point of view. The speaker's establishment of a nonprofit organization to improve healthcare services is a key part of their story, showcasing how they applied their research and expertise to create social impact.

💡Human Resource (HR)

Human resources (HR) refers to the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, and the department responsible for their management. The video discusses the speaker's research into HR and workforce issues, which they applied to their nonprofit and later to a for-profit venture, VSR Pro Academy. HR management is presented as a critical factor in organizational success and employee satisfaction.

💡Productivity

Productivity is the efficiency of productive activity, typically measured as the ratio of an organization's output to its input. The video highlights the speaker's efforts to improve productivity within their nonprofit and later in companies through HR solutions. The speaker measures the impact of their work by the significant increase in productivity achieved by the volunteers in their nonprofit.

💡VSR Pro Academy

VSR Pro Academy is the name of the organization founded by the speaker to help companies solve HR problems and to assist individuals in finding their career path, passion, and calling. It represents the culmination of the speaker's journey and learnings, integrating their expertise in HR, research, and nonprofit management to offer solutions to a broader audience.

Highlights

Influence of Steve Jobs' philosophy on passion in one's career.

The impact of J Biz's success on the speaker's early career in IT and software engineering.

Realization of the importance of turning a job into a career and setting career goals.

The pursuit of a career in software engineering and aspirations to become a CIO or director.

The concept of finding one's passion as emphasized by Bezos and its significance.

The speaker's discovery of their passion for research and publishing in software engineering.

The decision to pursue a PhD to deepen expertise and contribute to the field.

The dilemma of balancing passion with career progression and the risk of leaving a senior position.

The realization of a mistake in prioritizing passion over career and the decision to correct it.

The struggle to continue a passion for research while advancing in a career.

The guidance from a mentor to look beyond immediate obstacles and explore new areas of research.

The identification of the healthcare service model as a new research focus.

The establishment of a nonprofit organization to address healthcare service issues.

The challenges faced in managing the nonprofit and the high turnover rate of members.

The decision to apply expertise in CIO and HR research to improve the nonprofit's performance.

The development of new models and frameworks to enhance the nonprofit's effectiveness.

The remarkable transformation of the nonprofit with increased membership and recognition.

The launch of VSR Pro Academy to help companies solve HR problems and empower individuals.

The mission of VSR Pro Academy to help individuals find their career, passion, and calling.

Transcripts

I was been highly been influenced by a

couple of people one of them is about

Steve Jobs and he always talk about

passion anything we want to do in our

life is so much important that we need

to be passionate about it and then the

second person I was been very influenced

was J Biz because my time when I was

started my career in information

technology and software engineering

these two was really on the peak of

their themselves that time as an

entrepreneur and make this itch company

a big success and so what I was doing

that time I was thinking all right so I

need to have few things right so I

listen to bz about this one uh you was

steing about you need to have a job or

you can turn the job to a carrier and

that's something wow it's really blown

my mind I realize this one I need to

stop thinking about the job I'm doing

but what should be my carrier I realized

this one my carrier should be in

software engineering and I want to be in

the in the field and I want to be an

expert about it and the SP Ro is about

the chief of information system or CIO

or director it rro role so now I was

thinking about what should be my passion

then about it and then I realized this

one when I was looking around I need to

find a passion this is something I I

another word really marked my mind is

about from bezo you say this one is

about the passion is something going to

pick you up you need to look for it if

you don't look for it you're not going

to get that passion then I was looking

around and see what actually my passion

do I have a passion I'm looking for

different Hobbies I'm looking for

different activities I was doing I was

looking around from other people

different passions too but finally I

realized this one that I have actually

have passion and this the one is about

love doing research and normally as

everybody after getting out the school

never don't want to do any research or

Publications but actually by the time in

few years of graduation from the school

I already have several paper I published

after the research so after I graduate I

was doing different research about

software engineering how to apply

software engineering better and I was

writing article about it and Publishing

into it and I realized this is my

passion I want to keep doing this one

too so then one day I realiz I was

having a conversation with one of my

friend and I said okay you got a passion

but what is the ultimate goal of this

passion shouldn't you go for a PhD I

found out wow that could be pretty

interesting go and get a PhD so I was

thinking that if I want to go for a PhD

then what I should be doing so I spent a

lot of time uh by the time I already

have like 11 Publications um in software

engineering all of them so I realized

this one I need to do a research

proposal so I was spending a lot of Time

how to write a research proposal I was

doing it I submitting into that I want

to and then when I submitted different

universities I got four offers and then

I come to a point in 2013 that I need to

take one of them and I have to leave my

job and I have to go and get a phsd

full-time done and that's the point I

realize this one actually I'm doing a

mistake because I supposed to running

passion and my career parall cuz if I

get out of my job that time I was a

senior project manager already so if I

quit my job and go into my passion and

go and get a PhD done the CIO career

will never happen most likely because

after getting out the school with a PSD

degree most like I'll be teaching in the

school and that's not something I was

looking for in my career too so that was

my first realization that one in my life

we often do the things without seeing

the big pictures and that was a mistake

for me and the second lesson learning is

about when we find that mistake I need

to correct it immediately and that's

what I did I completely quit the PSD

study drop out of all the program and

keep focusing about my career but now

when I was focusing on my career now I

get into another problem now the problem

is how do I I continue my passion

because now

I I'm getting into problem like I'm just

going and hit the wall that now I quit

my passion but actually I love doing

research so what should be next and and

then I was talking to one of my mentor

that time and and he said this on John

you probably hit the wall why don't you

look outside the wall what is opposite

side of the wall and then I realized

this on actually opposite outside the

wall cuz I was doing all the research so

that's the thing I was seeing opposite

of the wall that is a t of other topics

about doing research so why don't I

start doing research on those topic but

now I get into another problem now I'm

thinking that wow so now the whole world

has so many problems right we have uh

environment problem we have pollutions

so many things but how do relate to my

expertise and how can I really conduct

it so self-doubt was a big part of it as

well to which I have to overcome how do

I do it then I was talking to uh One

Mentor that time and he was saying this

one

it's not about you need to go and find

the problem just see that what problem

is bothering you pick it one and keep

looking for it and then I realiz one

that my biggest power right now that I'm

going to do the research something right

now which I just want to do it I'm

curious to do it it's not really to my

jobs because I'm curious and I want to

learn more about it and I want to keep

doing the research forward so one day I

got exposed to one I got a news uh that

time and it got published it's saying

this one almost 7 5% student find it

hard after find after graduating from

the school in Vietnam and I thought that

why so I started doing research I start

interviewing different students

different different uh lecturers from

different University that time I was

working for University of rmit uh as a

senior project

manager and um and then I got exposed to

another situation I got to another

situation is about I got a signo this

problem it was a massive one I was sick

for almost 6 months so I went to a

hospital so so many hospitals and so

many clinics on their own home and then

I realiz this one this Hospital are

great they're this doctors are quite

skillful but they don't really treating

me as a customer they don't really care

about my feeling my passion experience

but when I'm working in rmit one of the

key area I'm focusing about student

experience that means customer

experience why they're not really out

about it so I decided I want to do more

research about it so I triggered I

started interviewing different people I

start interview different different

doctors about that as well too and I

found a lot of

intriging sad embarrassing or crazy

stories which keep me curious and I keep

doing the research forward to and then

one day I got exposed to another

situation so that situation is about a

group of graduate Fromm saying this one

they don't like to work in Vietnam they

they think that the manager doesn't have

the right skill set the company doesn't

have the right cultures the company

doesn't have the right way to keeping

the tal talents they don't even value

the talents as well too so and that's

why they want to leave Vietnam and they

want to go outside Vietnam and work I

say wow that is like the whole purpose

of establish of rmit in Vietnam is going

to be failed because rmit Vietnam's

commission is about creating world class

Workforce in Vietnam so they can join

the Vietnamese industry and lift up the

economy of LIF of the industry for

Vietnam as well too and now if they all

go outside the country means all those

talents are going out why and I then I

start interviewing different companies

different managers around Vietnam as

well too so I was doing all this

research from 2013 to 2016 almost for 5

years period of time and and there is a

one coffee really triggered me to go to

the next level of doing that one so that

coffee I was sitting down on a weekend

Saturday morning I was having a

conversation to one of my friend and he

asking me hey John what are you doing

what's your what is other things do you

do beside your work so I say I I love

doing research so then he said well tell

me about the research then I told him

about this different research topics I'm

working on the dep the people I know

different different understanding I

share with him then he told me that wow

that's look pretty exciting why don't do

something about it so I told him that

what I can do I I used to publish paper

but now I just doing the research

because I love doing it they say then

what he say that movement that still

struck my mind he say this one why you

don't do something to solve this problem

now rather than just publishing and

telling other people to do

it and I realized this one wow why not

maybe this is the time for me to do

something so then I picked my research

which is about about healthcare service

model that was my first research which

was most advanced at time as well too so

what I did I established a nonprofit and

you say why nonprofit back the time I

was reading a book it say this one

somebody successful should have a

nonprofit I realize this one all right I

I want to be successful so let's start a

nonprofit maybe it will resonate it will

give me the energy and passion to to

keep moving forward and be successful as

well too so I start at nonprofits I

start recruiting team members joining

the team member we start launching

different kind of initiatives about

improving the the different nonprofit

projects to to solve different Health

Service model related issues for medical

students and hospitals and also in

student as well and I was been so

passionate I was waking up every morning

I was going there every weekend Saturday

morning to the nonprofit I was so

excited to do it but after 6 months

later I realized this

one I am hitting another big wall this

nonprofit organization is not going

anywhere my turnover rate of the members

are going down so high the organization

is not going what it should go I'm so

much pushing about it I'm like every day

after coming back from Mor 8:00 p.m. to

to 12 uh um midnight I'm doing it doing

different strategy different kind of

documents making videos sharing with all

the all those people and trying to train

them coach them to go and move forward

but the organization is not meeting its

potential human resource became the

biggest problem of the

organization the workforce has the

biggest issue I was I felt pretty

hopeless about it and pretty helpless to

as well so then I realized this one I

should go and talk to some of my friends

who are HR expert so then I go to HR

experts different friends and I start

have coffee with them and start to share

with them my pinpoint as a nonprofit

founder first of all they love it uh

that I'm doing a nonprofit being a

foreigner establish the nonprofit and we

start to make some

impacts they found it very exciting but

I wanted to make it a real success I

want to make some real impact of the

nonprofits that was my intentions about

it and but after the conversation I

realize this one those hrx part U my

friends could not give me a real

solution all they talk about is a carrot

and stick process so here's the carrot

go and get that get the carrot otherwise

we can use the stick to push you forward

and I say it's not going to work in a

nonprofit because in a nonprofit like

everything like about spiritual like 90%

of everything in nonprofit is of a

spirit ritual reward and 10% probably

mon reward but a company is of it

probably 90 even 99% is about monetary

reward and probably one or 5% is coming

from the spiritual reward to that Morel

I cannot Implement in bshr that

nonprofit it will die

immediately that was like I felt like

this is quite frustrating I already lost

several core team member by the time of

the nonprofit and I found my shoulder is

very heavy and I just don't know how to

push this forward I just felt like

should I stop this nonprofits it's

become so much workload for me and it's

not going where it wants to go my

passion is I'm putting so much into it

but it's not going where it should go I

was telling my this pinpoint uh to one

of my friend and that friend told me

that okay so what else do you got what

is my idea I told him few of the idea

and then he asked me one more question

that like an expert coach and I love

that question and still marked my mind

he said this one what else are you doing

is there any other research Source can

help to you then I I told him that yeah

I'm doing one research

about human resource in the companies

and the workforce and he told me that

hey you have an expertise of the CIO and

you have done the the research about

human resource and Workforce on the

company why you don't just take this to

your expertise and that research combine

them and start to build different models

Frameworks tools

methods and start applying to your

nonprofit which is your

VSR that was like w i i felt like that's

something I can do right now cuz until

now I was just waiting to be and and and

grinding and complaining about it but

now I realize this one I can do

something moving forward so what I

decided okay I'm going to do it so I'm

going to offload a lot of work of myself

in the nonprofits and give it to the

existing team member and I moved to

start looking and start focusing about

that to building the model so the next

few months I build few of the Prototype

of this different model and start

applying in the in vsj nonprofit and

start to test and start improve this

model and reapply as well to I start

training them in the nonprofit and in

six month I realized this one there was

a remarkable change of the nonprofit the

nonprofit grown to like 200 members in

nonprofit there's a lot of attracted

that um a talent student volunteer want

to join the VSR a lot of companies know

about the the nonprofit impacts and what

nonprofits is doing to to empowering and

upskilling the those different doctors

um students and nurses or even the

pharmacist as well too and they know

that the people who working in that

nonprofit has a lot more empowerment and

skill so they can bring the value to the

company so they start hiring those

different team members of the nonprofit

as well too and the impact of

productivity was excellent so that time

we start measuring the productivity

level in one year a group of volunteers

of 200 volunteers completed almost

285,000

microtask in one year and not in one

city but in six City around

Vietnam so our our impacts start to be

more visible to that time that nonprofit

so the nonprofits um went around um to

different um National TV channels

National TV news there as well to they

they came in and say hey it does a great

work great nonprofit We want to promote

it as well too so that's great so now

one day morning that Mentor who just

told me that you should start doing that

the friend Mentor that you should start

doing this combining and start building

the model he just told me that hey I

just saw you in the TV in the vtv in the

news last night what's going on let's

catch up and I want to hear about you so

then I come in I I I talked to him in a

coffee and I told him what was

remarkable last 6 8 months it was a lot

of hard work but what we are right now

is remarkably different and a lot more

impactful and I'm so happy about it and

then he told me that which is another

helped me to think about to the next

level of myself he just told me that oh

you have a level 10 skill set backed by

research and your test in your own

nonprofits for those HR Solutions for

the problems why don't you bring to to

the companies and solve their

problem because companies really need

that because if the volunteers can work

and make such kind of impact because of

that kind of models and putting things

together in a company it can be a lot

more impactful moving

forward all right that's something I

realized on Wow probably this time is is

can help us to take this level 10

expertise what he mentioned that to help

the other companies to to take them

forward as well too and that was the

point the creation of VSR Pro academ

we're helping companies to thrive

forward by solving their HR

problems so that company can become more

productive effective and more profitable

on the way to and the same way the every

team member who joining VR uh Pro

Academy our key mission is about doing

three thing helping each of the team

members to find their carrier build

their carrier and grow in their career

number two help them to find their

passions and helping them to make their

passion a real impact and third thing is

about helping them find a calling so

that every day morning they wake up in

the bed they feel like they have a

mission to win and they have all the

carrier skill set expertise and the

passion to drive forward to have an

exciting day forward to and that's what

we do in VR Pro Academy and if you're

watching this video if you think that we

can help you in proy to solve your HR

problem check out the description of the

video there's the link our team love to

work with you and help you to solve the

HR problem to help your company more

productive effective or more profitable

the same time if you are looking to find

your passion carry on calling check the

link and in the video as well to there's

a link and drop your details our team

will get in touch with you and you

should be checking out the next video

right now here which is the DNA of the

vs Pro Academy that will help you to

understand more what we have inside I'll

see you there

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