Dea Lucas, MBA

I attribute my success to understanding that feedback is just feedback, with no inherently negative or positive connotation. It's really about how you identify it in your own conscious mind. If you can identify feedback and put it in a positive stream, taking the nuggets you need from it and turning it into a lesson to learn from, then almost every experience becomes a positive experience because they're all just learnings. This perspective, which I gained through my NLP certification, has helped me navigate my career by reframing challenges as opportunities for growth. I also believe in the Hawaiian concept of imua, which means to keep moving forward. It's not about ignoring the past, but about taking information from past experiences, integrating it into the present, and continuing to move forward without dwelling on what's behind you.

The most valuable insight I've gained, particularly through getting my NLP certification, is understanding how we think, process, and form beliefs about ourselves, people, and our surroundings. One thing that really stands out in terms of career and life is that feedback is just that, just feedback. It has no negative or positive connotation per se. It's really how you identify it in your own conscious mind. If you are able to identify it and put it in a positive stream, just take the nuggets that you need from it, and then turn it into something like a lesson to learn from, then almost every experience that you have is a positive experience, because they're all just learnings. This perspective has transformed how I approach challenges and setbacks throughout my career.

I would say to really become inquisitive and stay curious, because things keep changing in this industry. It's critical to become adept in how to utilize AI in the most beneficial way that you possibly can, because that's the wave of the future. The landscape is constantly evolving, and the ability to adapt and leverage new technologies will be essential for success. Don't let the complexity intimidate you. Instead, embrace the learning opportunities and stay open to new tools and approaches that can help you solve problems and serve customers better.

Right now, the challenges are present to whatever the global landscape is, and that's affecting everyone, not just us. It's been a difficult landscape, especially with navigating tariffs over the past couple of years. But I think knowing that this is the landscape for everyone, the question becomes: what do I need to do to make the most impact with customers during this time? I believe that at this stage of the game, it's about building relationship, rapport, and trust. With the global landscape being somewhat tense right now, what we can do to make it positive, or even to take a step in the right direction, is to build rapport, build strong relationships, and establish trust. That's where the real opportunity lies in these challenging times.

The values most important to me are honesty, integrity, openness, and persevering. In Hawaiian, we use a phrase called imua, and that's really my personal mantra. Imua means to keep moving forward. It's not to say that you aren't acknowledging the things that have taken place, and that you're not present, but it's not necessary to dwell in the past. You can take the information from that time, integrate it into your present, but continue to move forward. This philosophy of forward momentum while maintaining integrity and openness guides both my professional and personal life.