Maddy Viswanath

I attribute my success to the courage instilled in me by my grandma and my mom. My grandma was a widow with 7 kids to raise, and she worked until 85 years old - not because she wanted a paycheck, but because she had a lot to contribute still, till the very end. My mom was raised by grandparents, had her siblings fostered to Rome, didn't know the language, got married into a family too young, and didn't have education. But all she did was give us everything - the courage that I have right now. She's very charismatic, she can talk to anyone, she can tell you how you can do things better, and I think that kind of stuck with me. My grandma and my mom instilling that courage, and I always had this drive of how do I improve the process, how do I leave the place better than I found it. It all kind of transitioned into a bigger picture, midlife crisis - how do I get my eulogy written before I die, and how I make a difference? If you have the will to make a vision, and the intentional choices to make and take action, success becomes not only possible, but inevitable.

One of the best pieces of career advice I received was from my manager early in my career. I'm very bold and can say things I want to say - no filters. In my early career, that was a challenge for me - being able to say only the things that need to be said, not everything. Overthinking and over-speaking was all part of it. My manager at that time actually gave me a filter - an actual coffee filter - and that stuck with me in my head. Every time I speak, it's an actual reminder - am I saying it enough, if I'm overdoing it, how am I doing? It helped me with self-awareness. Getting that feedback and having that physical reminder helped me shape my profession in a huge way.

The best advice I want to give is investing in yourself. When my husband wanted to do an MBA, it was $120,000 - we worked, we paid it off. But then when I had to invest like $300 on a training course, I thought twice about it. I was hesitating. I would do that for my kids - if they want something like a swimming class or anything, I always put others' needs first, ahead of me. But that one year, when I said, you know what, I'm gonna invest in myself - in my communication, hiring coaches, and getting into leadership development - it made me better equipped for the future. The future is only for people who are investing in themselves, in learning. Another example is the Rubik's Cube - I couldn't solve it for 41 years. My son was the inspiration, and 3 weeks in, 15 minutes a day, practicing and learning, I was able to solve it. If you have the will to make a vision, and the intentional choices to make and take action, success becomes not only possible, but inevitable.

I think it's how do we evolve with AI and your digital presence, and what does hard work mean anymore? My parents - when I missed them in my birthdays, no vacation, my dad was gone before I woke up, and not home until I go to bed - that was hard work. But now with AI, people are able to create the life that they want. How are we going to shape that? What values are we going to instill in our kids? What does learning and hard work mean to them? I have a 15-year-old who's going to go into college, so the bigger picture is: what actions can we take today to shape a better future for our kids, work culture, and the environment?

The three things my grandma taught me, and my mom, are most important to me. My grandma was a widow with 7 kids to raise, and she worked until 85 years old - not because she wanted a paycheck, but because she had a lot to contribute still, till the very end. My mom was raised by grandparents, had her siblings fostered to Rome, didn't know the language, got married into a family too young, and didn't have education. But all she did was give us everything - the courage that I have right now. She's very charismatic, she can talk to anyone, she can tell you how you can do things better, and I think that kind of stuck with me. My grandma and my mom instilling that courage, and I always had this drive: how do I improve the process, how do I leave the place better than I found it? It all kind of transitioned into a bigger picture, midlife crisis - how do I get my eulogy written before I die, and how do I make a difference?