Bryan’s Take:

By all standards of a normal career path, Jess Yuen’s is the complete opposite. Her path to finding her own navigation started when she failed a Kindergarten entrance exam.

Who remembers Kindergarten moments anyways? Apparently Jess does … She learned how to deal with setbacks early, build resilience and turn it into an opportunity.

In our episode, she discussed pursuing engineering, working in consulting, leading people roles, and now her work as a coach with Founders. Diverse roles required a dynamic skillset. But would any of this have been possible without her learning to move around so quickly? Without “failing so early?” Probably not.

What I can say about Jess after getting to know her the past year is that she’s one of the most precise thinkers, thoughtful questioners, and effortful people that I know. I love my conversations with her, how she shows up, and how she makes those around her better.

Tune in to get a taste of the epic person that Jess is.

 

About Jess:

Jess Yuen is an Advisor and Executive Coach who specializes in supporting first-time founders and executives. She is a three-time startup executive who has experienced the ups and downs of 10x+ growth across different industries. Her career has seen her take on a variety of roles, serving as Chief People Officer, Chief of Staff to the CEO, and Head of International Growth and Strategy. Throughout those journeys, Jess was a fundamental force behind defining and cultivating distinctive, iconic cultures that enabled greater business impact. As a former management consultant at McKinsey, product manager at Yahoo, and Stanford-educated engineer, Jess is grounded in first-principles and systems-thinking for business transformation. In addition to her work, Jess enjoys corny jokes, playing violin for community theater, devouring must-read books, indulging in ice cream, and hugging her kids. 

 

In this episode of the One Away Show, Jess takes us back to a defining moment in her childhood that set her off on a different course, and even possibly influenced her career path today.

 

Read Jess’s newsletter, “The Left-Hand Column,” here: https://thelefthandcolumn.beehiiv.com/ 

 

Listen here: