The Formula for Progress

May is the month to celebrate AAPI heritage. The theme is "Advancing Leaders" series, which began in 2021 by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC).

I want to celebrate us by sharing my formula for Progress. I named it “Formula of the 3Ps”. 

A little introduction about myself: my parents were born in China; however, I am Venezuelan, born and raised. I am also the eldest of 4 sisters. I received my B.S. in Computer Science from the “Universidad Central of Venezuela.” I moved to the US in 2002 and am a proud mom of two smart, strong, and beautiful girls. Currently, I serve as the Director of Global Operations at Blackhawk Network. 

This is the “Formula of the 3Ps”. Progress = Perseverance + Passion. My 3Ps

First P- Perseverance.

I moved to Omaha, NE in 2002, where I worked as an E-commerce Software Engineer. After a year, I found myself looking for a new job. Over a period of three months, I attended career fairs, dropped off my resume in person, and received lots of “Not now…” in response. I felt defeated and doubted myself, but my mom taught me never to stop trying and be persistent. I kept applying for jobs that would also leverage my Spanish and Cantonese knowledge. I persisted and got hired at PayPal to provide Spanish support but ended up with the Technical Support role. Perseverance is the fuel that keeps me learning/adapting; it allowed me to move from Omaha to California to pursue roles in Sales, IT Operation Management, IT Service Management, and Product Management, and growing from individual contributor to people manager.  In addition to Perseverance, having the right passion is my key to overcoming challenges and turning them into opportunities. One of them brought me to Blackhawk Network as Sr. Manager of their Global Operation Control Center.

 Second P - Passion

Passion makes it possible for me to build and access opportunities. My passion is embracing who I am and being a servant leader. I bring my passion and perseverance to work together every day. My role is to ensure service availability and faster resolution of incidents. In Operations, we have a saying about it: “never waste a good incident.” Working on Operations solves, prevents, and empowers others to succeed. This aligns with my passion, and progress is the result when this is done daily.

 Third P - Progress

Progress is the tangible result of putting Perseverance and Passion together to work. I make sure that I achieve progress every day. It allows me to have a chance to reinvent myself. Progress advanced me to my current role as Director of Global Operations at Blackhawk Network within a year. Progress is what you want to achieve to advance in your career.

 Progress = Perseverance + Passion. This is my 3Ps, my gift to you. I will leave you with a final thought. Are you putting your passion and perseverance to work together in harmony? If so, you have the Progress to advance.