From Passion to Purpose: Transforming Research into Workforce & HR Innovation
Summary
TLDRThe 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
- π Passion is essential for success in both career and personal pursuits, as inspired by Steve Jobs and J. Biz.
- π― The shift from viewing work as just a job to turning it into a meaningful career can be life-changing.
- π Research became a key passion after publishing multiple papers on software engineering, which fueled the decision to pursue further academic goals like a PhD.
- π€ Balancing passion and career is crucial. The speaker realized that leaving a job for a PhD could derail their CIO career goals.
- π‘ Sometimes, obstacles require innovative thinking, like looking beyond initial challenges to discover new opportunities for growth.
- π 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.
- π± Founding a nonprofit helped address healthcare service issues, though managing the organization presented new challenges, especially with human resources.
- πΌ Applying expertise in HR and combining it with passion for research helped overcome the nonprofitβs struggles, ultimately leading to success and media recognition.
- π 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.
- π’ 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
π 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.
π 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.
π€ 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.
π 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Passion
π‘Career
π‘Research
π‘Entrepreneurship
π‘Influence
π‘Mistake
π‘Nonprofit
π‘Human Resource (HR)
π‘Productivity
π‘VSR Pro Academy
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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