Vince Chan
speaker
6,989 appearances
347 recordings
1 series
first heard Nov 2024
last heard Jun 2025
Vince Chan’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsNo recordings in the last 12 months.Older appearances are listed below; set an alert to hear about the next one.
Appearances
I'm a fan of tennis, so I'm thinking of if you've got two star players, like co-ceos, who's your part? At some point, something happened. At the same time, it's kind of like a marriage. And you know, any loving couples, they may at some point go to a consultant or something. Who's the empire?
I like to think of it as a tennis match when two leaders of equal caliber face off, akin to players matched in skill. But I'll be the first to admit real-life leadership dynamics are far more complex and full of ambiguities than a straightforward tennis match. Perhaps based on my own time in the thick of these leadership dynamics, let me share a few insights.
First off, think of tennis as the ultimate showdown where players fight for their glory, fame, rankings, and of course, the prize money. It's the essence of competition, a zero-sum game where one's win is another's loss. But when we talk about shared leadership, the dynamics shift. It's not about winning or losing against each other. It's about playing a positive sum game.
Here, the strategy is coopetition, blending collaboration with competition. not just claim a larger slice of the pie, but to make the pie bigger for everyone involved, both for the individuals and the business. Now, let's talk umpires. In tennis, the umpire's decision is immediate and final, helped by technology with clear rules and transparent procedures.
Everything happens live with instant feedback on questionable actions. And then the game moves on. Business, however, doesn't have the luxury of an on-the-spot empire. Even with governance structures, shareholding frameworks and policies in place, those in oversight capacities, such as directors and investors, cannot always see, witness and judge events as they unfold.
This delay introduces different risks, such as gaps in time, reality, expectations and information. making the business landscape much more complex than any sports arena. Let's talk about the whole people dynamics and structure thing. A concept foreign to the tennis court where the only crowd management needed is ensuring the audience stays quiet.
However, in a world of business, voices and noises are ever-present. Mary's got this cool idea about making everyone a mini CEO, which sounds super empowering, but then that's the possibility of everyone doing their own thing, creating little islands or silos within the company.
the adoption of remote work these people dynamics and political undercurrents present challenges that are harder to identify and address because of lack of physical presence and direct observation as a business skills these dynamics multiply here's a thought what if
We bring in some specific roles to help balance things out, like executive coaches as independent advisors for co-CEOs to keep them grounded, or a chief of staff to connect the dots between different parts of the company. and executive chairman acting as a more engaged umpire, ready to make proactive decisions and address issues more frequently.
Each role has its ups and downs, but when strategically positioned and holistically aligned, they could create a kind of self-reinforcing harmony in a power structure so that the co-CEOs can navigate the complexity of people dynamics more effectively. Just like Mary mentioned, she likes putting together her own playbook to fit her career and the business.
I've still got a bundle of questions and plenty to say about the whole leadership dance. But I'm all ears for what Mary's got cooking in her next chapter. And who knows, maybe next round, we'll get Mary and Carson to hop on the podcast with us. All right, gearing up for the homestretch here, let's dive into our interview's final question.
The very last question that I ask every single guest coming to my podcast is about their book recommendation.
You're like me, not just about interest in nonfiction, but about how to see the world, money, finance, which we study a lot anyway, but things that would not only enrich us as a human being, but something that would help us to stay resilient given all the craziness going on in the world is the compass that we all want to hold on to. Thank you so much, Merrick. We have so much to talk about.
Not enough. We will continue. Thank you so much, Merrick.
Thank you so much for joining us today. If you like what you heard, Don't forget, subscribe to our show, leave us top-rated reviews, check out our website, and follow me on social media. I'm Vince Chen, your ambitious human host. Until next time, take care.
Hi, everyone. Welcome to our show, Chief Change Officer. I'm Vince Chan, your ambitious human host. Our show is a modernist community for change progressives in organizational and human transformation from around the world. In this episode, I'm thrilled to welcome Mary Hsieh, the co-CEO of Mediafly, a leading revenue enablement company that raised $80 million in capital to turbocharge its growth.
Mary's story is downright inspiring. Mary, a proud LGBT community member and women's empowerment advocate, has taken a path less troubled. Imagine going from a classical musician with a PhD to an entry-level sales job, from playing music to playing a key role in sales, then rising to become a CEO after working as a forester analyst.
If I had to capture Mary's journey in just two words, it would be beyond boundaries. We are our worst enemies, scared of failure or what others might think. But in Mary's case, instead of being paralyzed by the weight of her background as a well-educated musician, a mantle that could have been seen as baggage in her new arena. She chose to reinvent herself. This wasn't about giving up.
It was about moving forward, unburdened. is a powerful reminder of the resilience it takes to truly embrace change and chase success on one's own terms. I'd come to know Mary before I even met her in person. A common friend, so to speak, is her partner, Waverly Deutsch, who was my former professor of entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth.
After I heard all the wonderful things about Mary's business success in the sales space, I finally got to sit down with her over dinner when both of them came to Hong Kong before COVID. Other than good food and wine, fun conversation, I was impressed by all the changes she has led, building herself up with so much resilience and intelligence.
Showing 921–940 of 6,989 · page 47 of 350
← Previous
Next →