Episode 5: Key takeaways from Stanford GSB with Maudy Ayunda

Together, the illustrious Maudy Ayunda and I reflect on our most valuable learnings from Stanford GSB.

Maudy is an Indonesian singer-songwriter, actress, author, activist, entrepreneur, storyteller… whew, what a mouthful! She and I consider ourselves so lucky to have graduated from the GSB this June. I personally have found her to be one of the most thoughtful and wise individuals I’ve met, so I could not think of anyone better to collaborate with on this list.

Career

1. Your career is more than just a ladder. If you’re too worried about climbing to the next rung and don’t bother to look up at where you’re going, you might find yourself too far up the wrong house!
2. Your career is long and winding. Your career is a 30–40 year journey, so think broadly about how you need to grow and what questions need to be answered in order to accomplish your goals. Don’t just think linearly.
3. The wisdom of Ikigai. Being passionate and purposeful about what you do is just as important as getting paid for doing a good job.
4. Take more risks! It almost always pays off to take that risk and be bold, and the worst case scenario is not nearly as bad as you’re afraid of. Expect setbacks and welcome those opportunities to grow.
5. It’s all about the people. As Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture, shared with us in class, “at the end of the day, every business is a people business.” As Professor Peter Kelly shared with us, “working effectively with people trumps pretty much every other skill in the long term.”
6. Become the smartest in the room about something. Go deep and be a specialist in a topic (preferably one that gives you energy!), and you’ll always be unique and valuable.
7. But also be okay being the least smart. That way, you’ll be most open to absorbing new information and maintaining a healthy dose of humility.
8. Be intentional. Know your goals & objectives, know your audience, know your value, have a vision, and communicate with confidence.

Personal

1. Be vulnerable and authentic. Have the confidence to be true to yourself — self-disclosure is almost always a positive thing! Reframe your personal growth as becoming more yourself always.
2. Own your impact. Sometimes your actions don’t land the way you intend, and that’s okay — take responsibility and use it as an opportunity to grow.
3. To have influence, be influenced. Like people, and they’ll like you. Be fascinated and be fascinating. People don’t care about what you know until they know you care about them. You get the point.
4. Get used to the FOMO. Determine what’s most important to you and learn to say no to things that don’t align. Focus on non-goals as much as you focus on goals.
5. Help people! There’s no greater purpose than helping the ones you love. Invest in self-respect.
6. There is a science to fulfillment. Don’t just expect life purpose to show up at your front door, do your part in understanding it (might I suggest Emily Esfahani Smith to start?) and take your mental health as seriously as you would your physical health.
7. Have a bias to action! Action over analysis paralysis, excellence over perfection.
8. The paradox of COVID. Maudy: “We had the amazing privilege of attending the GSB during a time of incredible stress and pain for many. That stark juxtaposition really highlighted to me how the universe works in mysterious, unpredictable ways — and oftentimes just trying our best is perfectly good enough.”

More from Going Southeast:

Episode 6: Creating financial freedom with Dzung Dang

Episode 4: Revolutionizing education with Pulkit Agarwal

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