Jennifer Sterbling

I think adaptability is what I attribute my success to. I really do think being flexible and adaptable and understanding people, seeking to understand, and listening. I'm trying to become a better listener - I think that's a lifelong goal. There are so many distractions, and I'm trying to be a good listener. Growing up as a military brat, moving every one to four years, really shaped who I am. The longest place I lived in my childhood was four years. You get to make friends quickly - I had a year to make friends, and you learn to be humble and to listen and just be honest and open with people. That ability to shift and change, and talk to everyone, and blend - that's been one key attribute in my life that's helped me. Being a military brat taught me adaptability.

The best career advice I've ever received came from my father. When I was going through my MBA while also going through a separation and raising three young children - a six-year-old, a four-year-old, and a two-year-old - all I can remember is the words of my father: 'Bite-sized pieces, Jen. Just focus on what you can accomplish today.' That wisdom from my father and my parents and the people around me has guided me throughout my career and my education. It wasn't just about getting the MBA, it was about balancing my life, and that advice to take things in bite-sized pieces and focus on what I can accomplish today has stayed with me.

I would say right now, of course, everyone's talking about AI and how that's going to change things. I think it's a great opportunity, but it's also a challenge. We have a lot of people that are adapting to technology, but how we use it is a whole other thing. It's going to be a great tool, but how we go about using it and how we go about training people to use it is really interesting. Technology's great, don't get me wrong, but it's how we go about using it. We have to learn to balance it with humanity. The challenges and opportunities really lead to the fact that we have very different learners and very different ways of learning, but also the human aspect - the art of having a conversation is being lost. We've lost the art of having a conversation. Pick up the phone and have a conversation with people. I have people that will only email conversations, and I'm like, why do we need to meet? People have lost even running a meeting - how to run a meeting with next steps and action items. The challenge that we're going to have and see, especially with the new Generation Z coming in, is that the art of conversation and human connection is disappearing.