With a BA in English and Minor in Law and Society from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Sarah has more than a decade of experience in developing higher education programs and initiatives for all students and alumni. She serves as a Member of the Cal Poly President’s Council of Advisors, Chair of the English Department Advisory Board, Founder of Friends for HOPE (Health Outreach and Prevention Education) in support of Cal Poly Mental Health initiatives, and Founding Member of the Women in Business Advisory Board. Sarah’s passion and knack for solving problems has made her a trusted advisor to multiple start-ups, the youngest President of the Public Relations Society of America Silicon Valley Chapter, and a Board of Director for the World Institute on Disability and the Tortora Brayda Institute. Sarah enjoys any opportunity to spend time with loved ones; focus on advocacy efforts for mental health as well as women, girls, and the Arts in STEAM; travel the globe; move the market; and help tilt the world in a more equitable direction.
The entire transcript is below:
Sarah Storelli Talks Technology Jobs
speaker 1
00:00:03
Welcome to Influential Visions. Here we interview futuristic leaders who share their deep industry knowledge and business experience with you, ensuring you have your finger on the pulse and your eyes wide open here is your host Nathaniel schooler.
Nathaniel Schooler
00:00:22
Well, today I am very blessed to be joined by Sarah Storelli serves as Amazon Web Services (AWS) Worldwide Public Sector Global Marketing Leader focused on creating and driving the marketing strategy for seven customer innovation and acceleration programs to advance tech for good in business and society. Prior to AWS, Sarah oversaw global marketing, strategic partnerships, ecosystem marketing, and external communications as IBM Program Director of Call for Code. She serves as a Member of the Cal Poly President’s Council of Advisors, Chair of the English Department Advisory Board, Founder of Friends for HOPE (Health Outreach and Prevention Education) in support of Cal Poly Mental Health initiatives, and Founding Member of the Women in Business Advisory Board. Board of Director for the World Institute on Disability and the Tortora Brayda Institute. So thank you Sarah, for joining me. I really appreciate it.
Sarah Storelli
00:01:32
Of course, I’m happy to be here and thanks so much for, including me.
Nathaniel Schooler
00:01:36
Yeah, it’s fantastic. And it’s a really interesting series because you know, jobs, jobs in, in technology and jobs in marketing are changing all the time right now. And a lot of people are kind of really, really sort of worried a lot about the change and whether they’re gonna be able to kind of keep up with that. And, you know, I mean, a few years ago I was on this panel and we were, we were, we were talking to all these experts from, you know, there was an IBM panel talking in, I think in 2015 talking about AI and the disruptive nature of it and how everyone’s gonna be out of work and AI’s gonna, you know, take over the world. And a lot of people are worried and I think back then the narrative was a more fear based. A lot more people were very, very worried about it. I think now they’ve seen it kind of segmented into these little kind of boxes of applications. What do you think, do you think that, that, that that’s really like a, a big worry for a lot of people still? Or do you think that, like I say, it’s kind of become a little bit softer, the narrative around it,
Sarah Storelli
00:02:40
You, I think it, I think the narrative has evolved, you know, I think at first, you know, AI was kind of this, you know, abstract concept that folks, you were really sure how to grasp their head around, but I think over time as we’ve started to see, you know, of course there’s benefits, you know, to AI and augmenting processes, but at the end of the day, I mean, having the human, you know, execute and determine and create strategy that that’s an entirely separate wheelhouse. And so I, I think the narrative absolutely has gotten softer and we have evolved, you know, really as a society to understand that great, you know, there is power in technology and of course, to automate certain processes all the while it’s very complimentary, you know, with, with pairing the human brain and psyche to really, you know, have that holistic product, you know, more or less that you then are, you know, ultimately, you know, delivering to market.
Nathaniel Schooler
00:03:33
It’s an interesting, it’s an interesting place we’re at right now with, with, with the way that we’re at. I mean, you know, I do do a little bit of reading around it and, and people seem to think we’re at the beginning of like this massive productivity revolution and, and I’m kind of, I’m kind of for that, right? Because I think we should be, we should be embracing the machine age and we’ve, we’ve, you know, we’ve been talking about the machine age for so long and how it’s gonna help everybody to really have more time with friends and family do more of what they wanna do with their lives, because machines are gonna kind of help them to do that. But in the past, we, we basically have just moved from one thing to doing something else. So do you think like people are like more conscious of, of the time that they spend and, and how they spend it these days? So it’s gonna help kind of make the benefits better when we get a bit further along the line with this
Sarah Storelli
00:04:27
100%, I think really, as a result, even of the pandemic, you know, folks have reprioritized really what is meaningful to them in their life. And so whether that is, you know, from, you know, career to family, friends, you know, serving on advisory boards, you know, really whatever makes folks tick. I think we’re now at a point in life, you know, really, and even as humanity holistically, where people are reprioritizing, they want to be getting more time back to enjoy life. You know, folks have obviously realized, you know, that that life is fragile, you know, and something beautiful that should be enjoyed and not always, you know, in front of our laptops, you know, focused on, you know, elongated processes that could obviously be augmented, you know, by tech. And so that way we can actually focus on, you know, priorities and what matters to us and, and that can be, you know, relative to personal life, of course.
Sarah Storelli
00:05:21
And then also really in a professional sense of, you know, who wants to be constantly doing data entry when that could be, you know, done for you. And of course, there’s the argument, you know, that folks would say, well, then that’s gonna, you know, eliminate a ton of jobs, but really when it comes down to it, it’s actually then even those folks, you know, who have been in some of those jobs, their role will actually change and adapt. So it’s not just, you know, oh and elimination of jobs, but it’s actually really across the spectrum of having folks get more strategic in what they’re focused on, you know, in their roles, what matters to the business, you know, even to the bottom line, you know, from, from a corporate speak perspective. And I think that’s really, you know, a wonderful thing to have tech come into compliments, you know, where we’re going as humanity and overall as a society, as well as in business.
Nathaniel Schooler
00:06:09
Yeah. I’m, I’m, I’m nodding away here for the people that are listening to this on the, on the podcast, on the audio only. So what do you think, what about what jobs in tech are gonna be kind of important for the future?
Sarah Storelli
00:06:26
You know, I would say, I mean really across the spectrum, but I, I mean, first and foremost, and I think even really what I had seen, especially when I was at IBM, you know, and I was focused in, on developers specifically and, you know, even really at that moment in time. So that was from about, you know, 2018 to 2020 or so, and actually like to 2021 until I was focused on, you know, specifically the developer, you know, persona and so developers right now, I mean, as they are continuing to, you know, gain power, I mean, ultimate decisions are being, you know, made because of developers and given their experiences and how critical their voice is, you know, at the table of influencing the business. So one, there there’s ample opportunity, not only, you know, kind of recently or within even the past few years, but it’s gaining more and more traction where I think really, you know, the power is in the hands of the, the engineers of the world in that sense all the while I think, you know, there’s still going to be those jobs as far, of course, with me having that, you know, marketing and coms and strategic partnerships background, those jobs are absolutely going to still be, you know, prevalent as well.
Sarah Storelli
00:07:35
I mean, regardless of, kind of in the spirit of, you know, augmenting jobs, you know, we’re having jobs that are complimentary with tech regardless, we still need humans, you know, who are, you know, talking human to human, you know, so as it relates to public relations and how that messaging, you know, what kind of messaging needs to be, you know, externally shared and how is that framed? And it’s really a, another level of critical thinking of how you’re showing up, which also translates, you know, into marketing of how are you showing up in market where technology itself, you know, that’s not gonna augment that, you know, kind of complexity that, you know, warrants the human mind. And so I think, you know, for marketers, there’s really immense opportunity for us. We’re always learning, you know, and evolving as, as far as, you know, where the market’s going, how we’re appealing to folks.
Sarah Storelli
00:08:23
And it really is at the end of the day, what’s that human to human connection of how to reach people. That’s not necessarily through, you know, a, you know, a bot doing that. A lot of times it is actually talking to our customers, whether that is, you know, in person online. And so I think those types of jobs that are really fundamentally based in relations, as well as, you know, from the tech site of developers, you know, to go, you know, think of new product lines or, you know, how they’re going to enhance them. Those jobs are absolutely going to continue and evolve. And I think it actually presents more opportunities as we even do get more advanced with technology. There’s gonna be a, a different level of even upskilling, you know, required and strategic thinking, you know, on the human side to then you know, of how we reposition ourselves and our roles, you know, for instance, across marketing, you know, there there’s, you know, various different, you know, verticals, whether you’re focused on, you know, field marketing program, marketing event marketing, I mean, all of those kinds of roles, they’re not just going to disappear.
Sarah Storelli
00:09:30
They’re all still fundamentally, you know, needed to go help drive a business, you know, and reach, you know, the business’ goals and objectives. So I, I would say jobs are continuing, you know, on, if anything is gonna be new ones. I think that, you know, pop up based on, like I said, tech advances as really, we continue to, you know, learn and grow, you know, as a society.
Nathaniel Schooler
00:09:57
Yeah. I mean, it’s, it’s no different than when social media arrived. All of these jobs just appeared, right. These tactical kind of roles of, of what people needed to do. But I think, yeah, I, I, I agree, like in terms of the more strategic and the more, you know, partnering with a machine in order to write co you know, write, write stuff, create, create imagery, make sure that imagery is on message is, is super important because if you trust a machine to do it, it’s, it may get it wrong. I mean, it’s, it’s a fascinating, fascinating world that we sort of live in. But do you think, do you think that with the sort of no code kind of application that, you know, applications that people can just bolt together, do you think that, you know, out of the box, like people are gonna be able to not necessarily build well, they’ll be able to build models and, and build applications without even needing to code right. In the future. So being a developer like the whole term developer may kind of change a little bit in, in, in the coming years.
Sarah Storelli
01:11:04
I, I think it, it definitely, it probably will, for sure. I think once it kind of ass that relates to, yeah. Especially if it is no code or low code, I think with that though, there will be prob a basic level of understanding of what skills are needed for that. So of course there still is a level of learning, you know, that will be involved. But once again, I think that it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out based on, you know, if, if folks, so, you know, for instance, like I’m not an engineer, but yeah. Maybe I could go, you know, you know, develop something, you know, even though I don’t have, you know, a coding background. And so I think really all of those potential like options are on the table for it. And so I think, you know, the developer itself, we will still of course need, you know, the developer to be doing some of those very complex items.
Sarah Storelli
01:11:52
But once again, partnering with, you know, a machine to do that all the while I think it actually does open up the opportunity for others really across discipline. So I think, you know, whether someone does have a liberal arts background or interests, you know, or if they are, you know, science and math versus, you know, just a, a direct engineer, you know, with that kind of background, I, I think it actually really opens up the aperture for a much more broader scope of folks really around the world to, you know, get involved and actually be acclimated to this giant tech movement. Because, you know, at the end of the day, you know, everyone will most folks, or I should say those who do have access to technology, the world is based on tech. If you think about it, everything we do. Yeah. You know, here, and especially with me speaking, you know, from an, from the United States standpoint, I mean, everything here, if you think about it, like my life runs on tech, you know, at any given moment, we now have computers in our hands, you know, where, you know, what 20 plus years ago that was, you know, such a, you know, you know, nebulous concept, you know, that folks were, you know, not sure how to react where now it’s like, wow, we, you know, none of us, we don’t leave our homes without phones, you know, really wherever we are around the world.
Sarah Storelli
01:13:07
And so even that has evolved, you know, as a society. And so I think with having, you know, with folks being able to not needing, you know, to not need to have a tech background and could then, you know, become a quote developer or, you know, a softer version of a developer, I think it presents really broader humanity with some amazing opportunities to have more folks around the table, more individuals, you know, contributing to tech and the conversation, and to really help us make it more equitable as well as accessible.
Nathaniel Schooler
01:13:43
Absolutely. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to that over the past few years and how, you know, I mean, I, I think you might know Melissa sassy, cuz she’s big into, she’s big into that movement of encouraging the rest of the world. Cuz she, she seems to think that I think it’s 48% of the world don’t have internet access is what she, she said to me last time I spoke with her about it and, and it’s quite insane really because those communities don’t, don’t actually have the benefits that, that will come with that technology like financially, you know, emotionally food, you know, food, all, all of the needs that, that they could, could have met. Right. And I mean I’m out in Croatia and a lot of people leave are leaving the country because they don’t then in society here, there isn’t this, this big tech movement. It’s not like in Croatia, it’s not like, oh, you know, let’s go and build a tech startup or let’s work for a tech startup. It’s like, well, let’s, let’s go and work in tourism because tourism’s so big here. Right. So, and then there are, there are other countries like over in Africa where, you know, internet access and, and fundamental human rights. That’s how I see it. I see it as a human. Right. Because without it, you’re kind of just, just lost aren’t you at the end of the day, it’s very tricky, you know?
Sarah Storelli
01:14:59
Agreed. Yeah. And that really kind of speaks to my point too, you know, as mentioned with having, you know, tech be more accessible, equitable, you know, around the world. And so I think that, you know, it does present us with a, a new opportunity. And even to that point, you know, up, you know, this massive tech movement, you know, of us, you know, overtaking, you know, some of these, you know, larger regions of the world, I think get also then, you know, to some degree, most forces, you know, us, those of us, you know, in corporations and even the startups to really take a step back and, you know, kind of the spirit of, you know, Melissa of really, you know, assessing how else can we help, you know, and actually, you know, get this tech where it needs to be. So it can be more accessible to folks versus having this disparity, you know, that currently exists.
Sarah Storelli
01:15:51
And so I think if we do have more roles or jobs that aren’t, you know, non-tech, I guess, you know, centric in the sense of you don’t need a, you know, a tech background to go and, you know, be part of that. I think that could be step one for us to start to see in certain regions around the world, how folks could get involved and really almost, you know, exposed to this tech movement, you know, all the while, although I think it, you know, it then also can depend on culture, you know, are there some regions of the world that, you know, still, you know, either one, they may not know about technology two, they may not want it, you know, still to be in that certain, you know, preservation of their culture, like foundational beliefs, you know, all of that. I, meanwhile then there is the other side of it, you know, of the human rights discussion of, you know, fundamentally everyone, you know, on earth should be able to have, you know, access, you know, to technology and to the internets.
Sarah Storelli
01:16:46
And then, you know, if you take it a step for even, you know, access to clean water, I mean, you know, the list goes on. And so I think that actually does become that human rights, a huge human rights issue actually, you know, as we continue to dig deeper into it and just the disparity that can exist with big tech. So while it, of course is moving the world forward, there’s also folks who are getting left behind and it really is on the responsibility of these, especially as large corporations, you know, to help with that and to break down those barriers.
Nathaniel Schooler
01:17:22
Yeah, absolutely. And to, and to educate, I mean, that’s the, that’s the biggest challenge I was, I was reading this report by the WEF about, about jobs recently and I think they said something like, they’re gonna need like 67 million more teachers is what they basically said in the com by 2025, I think it was saying, or 20, 20, 30, maybe I need to check that figure, but it’s so in order to educate these people, they’re gonna need these teachers. And I, I think that is a big, big challenge, cuz education is a, is a, is a tricky one. Right. But then people are missing the opportunity of like using, you know, all of these free courses that are out there, right? Like MIT, like ha has I forget how many million hours of courses have been MOS they’re called have been, you know, you know, a lot about education I’m sure.
Nathaniel Schooler
01:18:09
Being involved with, with, with the university. So it’s, it’s very tricky to kind of break through and say, well actually you could, in theory, you could read a hundred books or you could listen to a hundred YouTube videos or free podcasts like this one and you could immerse yourself and, and actually become an expert in this within 18 months. But I think the challenge is certainly a cultural one. I think it’s, it’s also a motivational one as well and also an addiction as well because a lot of people, people who have television, they’re addicted to watching certain programs that are in essence, distracting them from an education that they could have for free, which would then up their stand of living and enable them to become happier. Right. I was talking about this the other day, you know?
Sarah Storelli
01:19:00
Yeah. You know, it kind of go, I mean, to your point though yeah. With education it then though once again kind of goes back to well, but what if folks don’t have access, you know, to education or, you know, if there is a, you know, a shortage in teachers or online with these amazing courses, I, I have actually known a few friends who, you know, have had a liberal arts background and went and basically did teach themselves, you know, after going through those courses, you know, they didn’t take any other, you know, formal training beyond that, you know, except, you know, watching videos. And so it is, I think it does come down to that desire to learn or, you know, what what’s, again, what are folks’ priorities in their life? What are they looking to do? What’s their purpose, their mission, you know, what drives them.
Sarah Storelli
01:19:39
And so I, I think, yeah, overall education is a critical part, I think to it and, and really coming down to people’s access to knowing, because say if, you know, if we are in, you know, a specific country that may not, you know, have access to tech or be, you know, we really even privy to it, you know, I mean, they, they aren’t even aware that all of this whole other world exists, you know, that they could have those types of opportunities. So I think actually once again, like as I continue to think through it deeper, you know, in our discussion, it’s like, it actually becomes a significant human rights issue of that. But nonetheless, I think otherwise for folks who do have access to tech of of course, I mean really anyone who does, can go and teach themselves really anything these days, I mean, which then actually takes us down a different point of a conversation of, well, then, you know, what is education from the standpoint of a university, you know, which then kind of gets into those levels, like even at, you know, when I was at IBM and now even at AWS of us, you know, all, you know, in really corporate America is talking about these, you know, the importance of upskilling, you know, folks and, and really almost kind of like turning, you know, a four year education on its ear a bit to say, yeah, that’s great.
Sarah Storelli
02:20:55
Of course, you know, we, everyone is still supportive of, you know, folks who do go down the higher education route that said there is also so much opportunity if folks do wanna be going to a trade school or learn certain skills, you know, to become, you know, what, you know, a developer or really in any sense of the stage of becoming a developer, whether it’s, you know, a beginner or more advanced. And so I think there’s, there’s a lot to unpack, you know, in it of what is education and actually do folks, you know, they don’t necessarily need to even go the university route, you know, anymore because of all these different resources and assets available. And then of course, to your point from, you know, from teachers, I think that, you know, depending on which context of, you know, certain experts in the field, you know, now more or less anyone can go on and, you know, record a video themselves, you know, talking about a topic and, you know, publish it out into the world.
Sarah Storelli
02:21:49
So that’s of course, you know, been another, you know, I guess pro and con cuz then you can also get into the, the discussion of, well, you know, is that accurate information that’s also being published or, you know, to what degree is that credible, you know, from that resource. So there’s still a lot to, I think we still have such a long way to go as a society of, you know, even making sure. And that’s where some of the tech comes in as far as, you know, being able to determine, you know, what is, or is not, you know, credible and a reliable source of information. So I, I think we’ll see how the, you know, the journey continues to unfold. Nonetheless, especially over these next few years, let alone thinking, you know, 10, 20 years down the road,
Nathaniel Schooler
02:22:32
Wow. 10, 10 or 20 years is just incomprehensible for me. Like if you think back, if you think back, I was thinking back to when I had a tape, a cassette player, you know, like when I was a kid, right. And like kids now, they don’t even, like, you can explain to them, well, you had this cassette and if it went wrong, you know, you’d, you’d lose all your music. Right. Like it would just, it would eat the tape. Right. And they’re like, what? You know? And I’m like, yeah, but you know, it had 60 minutes, if you were lucky on each side and you had to like rewind it and maybe it went four times the speed and they’re like, wow. And the whole concept is, is bizarre, but in our lifetime, right? Like these things are gonna be just crazy the way things are going. I mean, it’s, it’s at that point right now where it’s, where it’s just growing so quickly with these applications. So I’ve got a question, a bit more about marketing and, and comm’s roles. Right. Cause I know you talked a bit about that at the beginning. So how will, how do you think will marketing and comm’s roles continue to play an integral role in, in business?
Sarah Storelli
02:23:35
You know, I, I think they’re gonna be at the forefront. I mean really when I think of, you know, if you really distill it down, even from like a, a business structure, I mean, it’s almost, if you think of it as like three prongs, I I’m saying this a very basic terms, but if you think of, you know, the business, you know, as one part of the triangle marketing, you know, as the other peg and then coms as the other, it really ideally is the perfect trifecta because of course, you know, the business, they have their strategy, what they’re looking to execute, nonetheless, what they can go execute, you know, all day, if they don’t have marketing behind that, you know, then, and talking out to customers directly, you know, infiltrating into the market with a very specific targeted strategy, you know, about who they’re trying to reach, you know, they, they won’t, you know, be able to reach their goals, you know, entirely.
Sarah Storelli
02:24:20
And then of course having really that third activation from a comms perspective that comes into compliment, you know, you know, interacting with press and getting those stories out in the media for even a, you know, a more broad reach to really be, you know, I would say, you know, hitting all the key audiences really across those. So I would say, you know, even as, you know, as I’ve continued to do in corporate America, whether I’ve been on the marketing side communication side, always, you know, my plans are complimentary to the business. So it’s really, you know, based on once again, strategic thinking, strategic planning and really mapping, you know, those activities to what the business is doing. So it’s not just, you know, oh, I’m gonna go do, you know, 50 marketing activations and oh, maybe a few of ’em align, you know, with the business, you know, goals and objectives, but rather it’s, you know, an entire plan that maps do the business’ goals and objectives.
Sarah Storelli
02:25:15
And then of course then, you know, working collaboratively actually with the communications slash PR team to then have them come in and compliment, you know, and help get out, you know, the word of saying what I’m taking to market for the business, having them come in to then compliment again, you know, with that and, and really reach that other vertical, you know, from a media perspective. So now more than ever, I think it it’s, it’s immensely critical, I think, because the way that technology is moving so fast and especially AWS we’re, you know, constantly innovating, you know, as, as our, you know, various companies really across the spectrum. And so I think given that kind of pace, it it’s critical, you know, to be able to have, you know, marketing team in the room, the communications team in the room to even help, you know, collaborate with the business on their strategy and shape that, given all the different, various levels of, and areas of, of expertise that really what it takes to go make, you know, a program or a business or a product launch successful.
Nathaniel Schooler
02:26:21
Yeah. Very much so, very much so it’s, it’s, it’s such a big, big subject. Right. And, and when you dig into it, it, it, it is actually very, very interesting. I’ve been studying marketing for 12, maybe 12 years now. And I, and I’m, I’m still learning about it all the time. So when I listen back to this, when I listen back to the audio, I’m sure I’ll learn something valuable, you know, from, from what you, you just said, because I that’s how I learn. You see? And I think that’s really important is understanding the learning styles as well in, in terms of the way people are kind of trying to move forward in their careers. And, and I think the better we get at analyzing people, their drivers, the motivations and, and, and these sorts of things, I think we’re gonna get much better in kind of encouraging them to take new courses or perhaps learn some new kind of micro skills or refine areas of, of their own self development to help the business as a whole. Right. And I’ve been doing a lot of study around that as well is I’m sure you have, you know,
Sarah Storelli
02:27:24
Yeah. I, I would, I mean, and that’s another critical component. I, I would say really, you know, at, at any company or, you know, and, and surely what I have, you know, looked at throughout my journey, you know, of my career is, you know, making sure that I’m, you know, at a company that, you know, does have similar, you know, views, they value, you know, mentorship, learning, providing stretch projects, opportunities, you know, to grow and Excel. And so I think, you know, the personal development side is absolutely critical and will continue to be. And I think it also is a great way for folks, you know, to be holding companies accountable because it’s not just, you know, oh, folks showing up at, you know, from a, a nine to five, you know, anymore one, you know, given we are in a, in a global world, you know, a lot of times, you know, many of us like myself, I have a global role.
Sarah Storelli
02:28:13
So, you know, can always on more or less, of course, you know, I do sleep, you know, and get my, you know, my own certain schedule, but regardless, it’s just showcasing how this is ever global and how, you know, folks need to be having opportunities in order to advance, you know, their learnings, or once again, based on someone’s priority, you know, if they wanna go be in the C-suite or if they wanna, you know, stay in, you know, management or, you know, be a single contributor, whichever they wanna do, you know, it’s important to really tap in, do people’s skills and understand what they want, you know, and where they’re looking to go. Otherwise it’s actually doing a disservice, you know, not only to the individual, but even to the, you know, company, if they’re not able to extract, you know, really all of that value out of that individual and vice versa.
Nathaniel Schooler
02:29:01
Absolutely. And having a, having a vision for, for where you want to be is, is absolutely crucial. I mean, not everybody has talked about that in, in, in these, no, actually I’m gonna, I’m, I’ll take that back. I think quite a number of people so far. I mean, this is, I believe this is episode six out of the series of 10. Right. So I’m pretty sure. Yeah. Maybe everybody has actually mentioned vision and, and what they want their life to look like, cuz I’m big into that. Right. I’m big into like creating the life that you, that you wanna lead and you know, actually sitting down and saying, well, you know, I’m not just gonna create a vision board. I’m actually gonna like write down, you know, what my, my perfect day looks like, and I’m gonna, and I’m gonna take the time to, to write that down and really think about it and, and, and how that makes me feel and what I’m doing on that day. And if it was a Groundhog day and you woke up and that day was every day of your life, would like, would you be happy with it? Right. That’s how I look at it, you know, myself.
Sarah Storelli
03:30:01
Right. You know, I, yeah, I’m a big proponent of that as well. I mean, I definitely go by the mantra of, you know, nobody can live your life or your career for you except you. And so I think, you know, we all are, you know, able to, you know, meet different folks along the way, of course, you know, as mentors or, you know, managers, whichever the case. But at the end of the day, I think, you know, the, I think folks do need to realize like the power really does lie within yourself, you know, to go make a difference and to go, you know, peruse whatever life you want. I mean, every single person is deserving of that, you know, to be able to live the life that they want. And so I think, you know, by having those kinds of, you know, tangible goals or even if it is, you know, kind of further down the road of thinking, okay, yeah, here’s kind of like an ideal scene of what I’d wanna see in my life, you know, 20 years from now or where do I want to be?
Sarah Storelli
03:30:49
You know, and I do think though, sometimes folks can’t actually get caught up, you know, on too much of the process of getting there. Or I always, even what I’m mentoring individuals, I like to say that, you know, there’s a million different ways to get there and, you know, I think life, everyone, you know, kind of thinks we, we all think we know what we’re doing, you know, at various times, but then life happens, you know, and, and gets in the way and, and may, you know, push us off on a different path, but that’s really actually the path we’re meant to be on. And so I think I’m when I even think, you know, to my goals, it’s very much of, okay, great. Like I’m not gonna, you know, compromise on those end goals, but I’m absolutely willing, you know, to, you know, compromise in the sense of, I could probably take a million different pathways to get there.
Sarah Storelli
03:31:37
And that I think really is the beauty of life and of, you know, kind of figuring it out as we all go of, you know, which way, you know, could make sense, you know, for us taking into account, just the complexities that we’re dealing with, you know, as holistically as a society in this day and age, you know, in, in, in personal lives, professional lives, you know, technology and even, you know, the internet really of how much that has changed the way that folks communicate and function and always being on. And so I think we’re all getting pulled in a million different directions, but at the end of the day, there’s a million different ways to get to your end goal. And so by all means I would, you know, encourage folks to not get so caught up in that process. I mean, for example, you know, I’m a Cal poly San Elizabeth Bo alum.
Sarah Storelli
03:32:22
And, and so I had, you know, the, the exciting, humbling opportunity to serve as student body president there when I, you know, was a senior in college and represent, you know, the entire student body, which was about 20,000 students, you know, not only locally at Cal poly, but then of course in our community, San Louis Obispo and even at the, the state level of California. And so, you know, if I even think back to that that was from 2010 to 2011. So, you know, just a little bit more than, you know, 10 years ago. And if someone would’ve told me back then like, Hey Sarah, you’re gonna go be in tech and, you know, be doing X, Y, Z. I would’ve been like, wow, okay. Like, you know, at first I had no intention really ever of, of going into tech at first, I wanted to be a doctor in college, then I was thinking about doing law school.
Sarah Storelli
03:33:04
And so it’s just interesting, I think how life evolves over time and how this really has been such a great even, you know, niche and area for me to focus and really make so much impact, you know, from, you know, focusing on public sector issues from the private sector side, which is just one of my really deep passions and purpose. And so it’s, it’s great where I think, wow, if I would’ve been so, you know, tied to thinking, oh, I wanna go be a doctor. You know, I wouldn’t have had this journey, you know, and being really of what drives me and makes me tick and is able, you know, to have me give back really in meaningful ways. And so I think, you know, for their listeners, I would say, you know, be open to the journey as well and kind of let it take you where it will.
Sarah Storelli
03:33:46
Cause I think, you know, as much as people, I, sometimes I wouldn’t like it when people are like, oh, it always works out, but you know what? Life always does work out, you know, how it’s actually supposed to. And so I think once again, that’s really the beauty of life and the journey is actually enjoying every minute and every twist and turn and, you know, unexpected surprise. And I think if, you know, we frame it in that kind of context, it really is, you know, a positive spin versus, you know, maybe thinking, oh, wow, that didn’t work out. So, you know, oh, that’s something really negative, but instead it’s like, oh wow, what a great opportunity, you know, to now push me on an another interesting life path that could, you know, really actually be my life purpose in calling.
Nathaniel Schooler
03:34:29
I’ve just been nodding away to people on, on audio with this, because like, I totally agree with that. Like it thing is if you get caught up with all of these steps that, that are, that are potentially necessary for you to get to your end goal, you’re gonna miss the opportunity to grow in, in other areas like you just said, right. And we don’t know what’s gonna happen with technology. We, we have no idea what these jobs are gonna be like in 10 years or even three years, right. Or one year, right. Jobs, jobs are changing so quickly right now with the augmented reality, virtual reality, you know, AI, blockchain, all of these things are, are, are creating opportunity, right? Like even gaming like gaming, I’ve got a friend runs a gaming podcast he’s in Burbank, actually in Burbank, California, super cool ex Netflix marketing guy.
Nathaniel Schooler
03:35:18
He built the first, let me see the first 50,000 Netflix subscribers. So that would not exist without him building those because that was how they got the funding. Right. So if he didn’t build those, there would’ve been no funding and you wouldn’t have Netflix as it, as it looks today. Right? Yeah. Blockbuster may have done it themselves, you know, and, but literally he runs this, this gaming podcast and, and it’s transforming entire communities, right. Because you get a few superstars who are doing really, really well, they build tournaments and then the money goes all the way down through, into that community. And I’m passionate about that sort of stuff. Really. I am as, as you are, you know, so I’ve got one last question for you here. So what companies will be most successful based on how they structure the roles.
Sarah Storelli
03:36:11
Yeah. You know, I think so. I think it’s, it is gonna come down to the companies who understand really the benefits of the little tripod, you know, that I mentioned of, of the triangle and having, you know, really the business plus marketing plus coms really aligned and, and buttoned up and valued of that equal voice around the table of leveraging folks expertise and, you know, the actual craft and function itself, you know, of these different practices, you know, of marketing and coms. And so I think that really could be across the gamut, you know, of startups, to corporations, as well as those who once again also, you know, put the employee first there value whichever, you know, goals that employee does have even for their personal professional growth, that’s gonna be critical.
Sarah Storelli
03:37:30
So from, yeah, an employee experience standpoint that is going to be critical, you know, for companies to retain talent, attract talent, like working from home, just all those different benefits of what people are looking for, you know, in their day to day life of what is that vision of their perfect day, their perfect life, you know, knowing of course there are things here and there that, you know, will, we’ll all need to compromise on, but overarchingly, you know, I mean the powers in the hands of the employee employee versus the employer. And so I think companies that realize that and value their employees, they will also, you know, be ones to succeed. And then of course, you know, ones that are providing opportunities of roles, re irrespective of background, you know, focus.
Sarah Storelli
03:38:13
So whether it’s, you know, liberal arts to tech, architecture, science, and math, you know, even, you know, education in the, in the form of being teachers, et cetera, all of that, I think the companies who get that is tho they’re gonna go make, you know, the most, you know, impact as well, really to have all that kind of talent and expertise and those mental models of individuals, you know, at their company strategically thinking through. And then of course having tech there to help augment certain processes. I think they’re really gonna be the ones who surface to the top.
Nathaniel Schooler
03:38:47
Fantastic. Fantastic. Well, I, I, I can’t thank you enough for your time. It’s, it’s been, it’s been really enjoyable. I’ve learned so much. I think we could talk for hours and I could listen for hours because you’ve got so much information going on in there. That’s, it’s fresh and it’s new, it’s got a whole new angle to it and I just find it fascinating. So yeah. Thank you so much. And it’s been, it’s been great.
Sarah Storelli
03:39:11
Yeah. So thank you so much for having me. It’s been, you know, wonderful to converse, you know, back and forth. You’re before I know we could surely talk, you know, for hours on end or, or days. Cause there’s so much to unpack on every topic.
Nathaniel Schooler
03:39:24
Masses, masses, let me just push the, push the out joy.
speaker 1
03:39:30
Thanks very much for listening to influential visions. Please make sure you share this episode with your friends and business connections. And don’t forget to drop us a review wherever you listen. Thanks.