Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to the Cut the Tie podcast. Hello, I am your host, thomas Helfrich. I'm on a mission to help you cut the tie to whatever it is holding you back from success. As I always say, you better define that success yourself, otherwise you don't know what you need to do to get there or what tie to cut, for that matter. And today I'm joined by Corrine. Iscio Corrine, how are you?

Speaker 2: 0:21

I'm fabulous, thank you.

Speaker 1: 0:26

And Corrine, do you want to take a moment?

Speaker 2: 0:27

to introduce yourself and what it is you do. Certainly, my name is Corrine and I'm the founder of a company called my Working Soul, and here at my Working Soul, we believe that talent is built, not found. We specialize in hiring, but we architect that from the founder, who is employee number one. So if you're in a space where you need to build trust, especially rapidly in a work setting, we're the people to go to.

Speaker 1: 0:55

Interesting. All right, it's a competitive space, as many places are from this type of consultative type of business. What's your differentiator? Why do companies pick you of consultative?

Speaker 2: 1:06

type of business. What's your differentiator? Why do companies pick you? Yes, so in terms of it being competitive, I wouldn't characterize it that way. When you have a creator mindset and we definitely have a creator mindset there's not really such a thing as competition. There's opportunities to collaborate. There's a saying by the former CEO of IBM the soft stuff is the hard stuff, and there's more than one approach to do something, and everyone everyone that's a human has different ways of trusting as well. So, first and foremost, I would say, like we're not. I wouldn't characterize it as a competitive environment. I think that a lot of people are trying to solve for this problem that we're solving for, which is humans, especially in the age of AI. So I guess you could say that one of our distinctions is our emphasis on humanity, especially in a time period where we're confronting such rapid technological innovation.

Speaker 1: 2:04

Yeah, I think it's fair. I mean it's fair so it's competitive for solving a problem. How you guys do it is not competitive, so you're different in the idea that, how you're approaching it. Is that a fair statement?

Speaker 2: 2:16

Yes, it's finding an architecture for the soft stuff, which is humans.

Speaker 1: 2:22

We are. You know, every time I don't work out, I remember how soft I actually am. It's like squishy the journey to you know, kind of that you're going to be on or you've been on here. It starts with this idea of success. Can you define success on your own terms?

Speaker 2: 2:38

Yes, success represents two of my top values, which is truth and freedom.

Speaker 1: 2:47

Success represents two of my top values, which is truth and freedom. Dive into that just a bit more. So what is it about truth and freedom? In the context of success. Give me an example too.

Speaker 2: 2:56

There's many people who hear that word success and they think about the wealth, material riches. Think about the wealth material riches, possibly recognition. Personally, I think about impact, and truth and freedom are both subjective qualities, so I'm constantly renegotiating with what those definitions are every day. It's that process and that experience of finding the truth and having the freedom to decide how you reach that truth. That's what success is to me.

Speaker 1: 3:32

In your own journey. Talk about how you've gotten to where you are and then what the metaphoric tie that you've had to cut to achieve that success that success.

Speaker 2: 3:50

Yes, the biggest leap of faith that I've taken has been finding a way to consciously migrate my former identity as a high performer corporate leader to someone who is redefining what it means to work with humans as a founder.

Speaker 2: 4:05

It's when people talk about performance, especially from an HR context, which is what I was used to when I inhabited that world performance was something so achievable for me. I was really really terrific at what I call shape-shifting, which is necessary when you're working with different types of humans, is adapting to what they need or rather what they want. And as a founder, it's such a different mentality and perspective of asking what does the world need? And there might be some circumlocutions that you might have to take in terms of understanding how to message a truth to someone, but when you experience this type of freedom in being able to really say the truth about what's happening in the world of work, I mean it's a game changer and that's what leads to success. So I've been so fortunate to keep doing this ever since I made that leap of faith and stop shape-shifting and instead really embracing the full transformation of, let's say, the truth about how work is not working for most human beings.

Speaker 1: 5:23

Yeah, how did you get started, like what was the moment that launched you into entrepreneurship?

Speaker 2: 5:31

Both of my parents for sure. Both of my parents are enterprising individuals. They come from very wonderful backgrounds, different cultures. My mother is Filipino, my father is Japanese and German, but also they are both Americans. So from both of my parents I felt so blessed to be born in the United States, to be an American. I recognize the privilege and the freedom in being able to build a company, especially for someone who looks, sounds and talks like me, appreciation and sense of gratitude for the United States as a country that enables this way of thinking, because part of what my Working Soul does is we work with many global teams, international teams, particularly European, and in building so many great relationships with people who are not from the same place as me, I recognize what a blessing it is to be able to lead and also the ability to believe that anything is possible. That's such an American ideal and I'm very proud of that. So that's really where it comes from is being patriotic and really appreciating and loving my family.

Speaker 1: 6:52

Do you have a good story of one of your clients and the impact it had on them, your services and your philosophy?

Speaker 2: 6:59

Yes, absolutely so. Recently I was working with a chief information security officer that was working in the hospitality industry and in that type of role it's similar to a role like HR, for example, where as soon as you begin, you need to build trust immediately. You're not necessarily a revenue generating role in a traditional sense. You're highlighting risk. Both of those times, nobody is that thrilled to see you, because you're not going to be talking about generating money. You're going to be talking about potential risk and avoiding risk, and the best case scenario is that you eliminate a risk. So I was working with this gentleman let's call him Todd and he was working across a matrix organization with 60 direct reports, many of which were not coming from the same cultural background, and there was a substantial portion of the team that was not American. So how do you build trust rapidly so you can actually create change and avoid something like a reorg? Change and avoid something like a reorg, because work isn't working and the place that my Working Soul starts is with that leader and with their personal brand and using their personal brand as a tool to number one, understand who they are as a leader, and that's easier said than done.

Speaker 2: 8:32

Understanding what your identity is.

Speaker 2: 8:33

It changes every day, but it particularly changes when you're entering a new organization and using that identity to scale trust across an organization, identifying LinkedIn as a tool in which you can communicate across boundaries, and especially across cultural borders.

Speaker 2: 8:57

Across boundaries, and especially across cultural borders, and progressively taking that trust that you create in telling your story and also taking that trust from building relationships with others, asking keen and insightful questions and using that to move into the hiring moment.

Speaker 2: 9:12

And that's where my Working Soul hacks the hiring moment and uses that hiring moment as a developmental opportunity, not just for the leader that's hiring but for the entire team that they're leading, because it creates an inflection point in which you get to say who am I as a leader, what does the team need and how do we not just identify that talent that's going to make the big difference, but win and retain it? And it's an alignment moment for everyone else that's on the team that might not be fully there, because they are seeing an example of what it means to be successful and what the team needs. So it's that process of constantly aligning to be successful in what the team needs. So it's that process of constantly aligning and, as I said earlier, the soft stuff is the hard stuff. So it's easier said than done and it's that consistency with the partner that's what my Working Soul gave to Todd, really meaningful for a large organization that's global and again facing unprecedented risk, especially from the cyber direction.

Speaker 1: 10:19

Yeah, what do you draw inspiration?

Speaker 2: 10:24

There's something like this is one. I don't know if you can see rubber sole behind me, but the Beatles are one of my favorite artists. I could wax poetic about why, but more broadly, it's music, art, culture, way of life, learning about other people. Um, that, that's really what motivates me and where I draw a lot of inspiration from, because ultimately, as human beings, we're meant to create community and share with one another, and art and culture is definitely one of my favorite venues to do that. Ultimately, as human beings, we're meant to create community and share with one another, and art and culture is definitely one of my favorite venues to do that.

Speaker 1: 11:00

If you could go back in your timeline at any point, when would you go back? What would you do differently?

Speaker 2: 11:10

That's so interesting, because I personally don't always believe in time travel. I do believe in God, however. I am a Christian, so I don't necessarily have that same sense of regret that others might feel. I truly, truly believe that God puts things and people and entities into my path for a reason, and everything is a learning opportunity there's. I can't think of a single thing in my life that I didn't learn something from. So I would just say, you know, I don't regret anything. You know, if I could possibly say, like well, what could I have, you know, maybe thought of differently, that would have changed my path, I mean, I can't really think of anything. But an outstanding lesson that I have learned, however, is that information is one thing, experience is another. Perspective makes the difference. So that's something that's a that. That's a learning that I have won throughout my journey.

Speaker 1: 12:17

Yeah, that's great. I mean it's fantastic If you were to recommend a book what's the most must read book that entrepreneurs should read?

Speaker 2: 12:29

The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D Wattles.

Speaker 1: 12:32

The Science of Getting Rich. What was the one thing you took?

Speaker 2: 12:37

I'm still taking away so much from it. I'm reading a mastermind on LinkedIn on this book right now. This is now my eighth time reading it and the biggest takeaway is that there's so much abundance in the universe. That quote I said earlier about being of the creative mindset and not the competitive mindset that is also from the Science of Getting Rich. It's a very slim book it's only 100 pages and yet the insights that one can take from it are amazing.

Speaker 2: 13:11

And if you are someone who would classify yourself as risk averse, if you're someone who maybe is first to do something like, maybe you're the first in your family to go to college or you're the first generation that's here in this country, it's a really amazing book to read because there's unconscious programming that I have personally from different interactions, like different things I had heard, and it took me reading this book to find new software to navigate the rest of my life with. So I would highly recommend it. And the other reason is that I don't know a single person that would tell me that they don't have time to get rich. I don't know what would be more important than that.

Speaker 1: 13:59

People who say that usually are rich already in some way or another. What's the worst business advice you've ever received?

Speaker 2: 14:08

The worst. Oh, hmm, really great question that I wasn't ready yet.

Speaker 1: 14:23

Is anyone ever ready? It's like having kids, like you're never actually ready for that ever. It just happens next year you figure it out, but someone told you weren't ready when you started this business, or what was the context of that statement?

Speaker 2: 14:57

That's a great point.

Speaker 1: 14:58

I can't say for certain that anyone ever said to me you're not ready. I don't think anyone actually ever said that to me, but that was how I was hearing the feedback that I was getting for so long and ultimately, I guess the only person who was saying that to me was myself. That's often one of those ties that come up as your inner dialogue that you have to quit listening to, but something drives that right. There's a lot. We can unpack that, probably over a few therapy sessions, to be fair, but it's a good one to understand that if it came from yourself, you know it's like what other narratives are out there. So one of the other questions I asked is you know what?

Speaker 2: 15:26

is the kind of current tie that you are afraid to cut today. It's another form of identity and there's a form of irony in it, because I'm always thinking about identity with the companies and the leaders and the founders that I work with. And yet part of the reason why I know that it's so important and I am energized by this work is because I've had to work very hard at my own identity. Again, I've notoriously been quite good at shape-shifting and I'm really good at that, and there's a reason why. It's because that's what my role in corporate America called for. And yet being a founder is about really showcasing what your truth is and having the freedom to do that because you are your own boss. Really embracing that has been truly wonderful for me, because the first thing I did as a founder was scramble to find a boss and it's been wonderful to recognize that I truly am that for myself now. So having that freedom and knowing that truth for myself that I lead myself, that's the tie that I need to embrace more often.

Speaker 1: 16:42

And it's one the self-identity of what you think people think you should be, or what they think of you, versus what you know you need to be and be perceived and not care. It's like it's in what you believe in yourself. It's all wrapped up in that and and I and I think that's a hard time for almost everyone to cut and move and continue to monitor so good for you for recognizing it and doing something about it. That's great. If there was a question I should have asked you today and I didn't what would that question have been?

Speaker 2: 17:17

How can?

Speaker 1: 17:18

one cut a tie and still remain connected.

Speaker 2: 17:22

How would you answer that? Oh yes, language of cutting ties and think instead about how to embrace from a distance and how to respect from a distance? I would venture to say that you know, if you said something to me, like maybe five years ago, about needing to cut things or like remove, that probably would have been very difficult and emotional for me to do. In reality, many of these things that have happened in my life that could be perceived as cutting ties were actually it involved truly embracing that situation or that person, which is a paradox. Sometimes it's not always a pair of scissors, sometimes the knot just loosens, and that's a dynamic process that usually involves more than one person.

Speaker 1: 18:22

I like this. Sometimes you got to quit pulling on the knot and just let it work itself out or let somebody else untie it.

Speaker 2: 18:29

I get that.

Speaker 1: 18:34

I'm not changing my brand now. We're still going to cut the tie. I like that.

Speaker 2: 18:36

I'm not changing my brand now we're still going to cut the tie. I like it, I'm into it.

Speaker 1: 18:40

Karina who should, by the way, thank you for spending time with me today Take a moment Tell me who should get ahold of you and how you want them to do that.

Speaker 2: 18:48

Leaders, founders, people that need to build trust rapidly and want to find an innovative and modern way to speak to human beings, and LinkedIn is a great way. Myworkandsoulcom and I do take text messages 858-345-6103.

Speaker 1: 19:13

I used to do that. I used to get my number out, then I got some random, random stuff. So I applaud you for taking that. One Down the road was like oh, I wish I wouldn't have done that. Let me show it. Go LinkedIncom, slash n slash my working soul. Go check that out. That's her personal profile. Thank you so much for joining me today. I appreciate it. Thank, that's her personal profile.

Speaker 2: 19:32

Thank you so much for joining me today.

Speaker 1: 19:33

I appreciate it. Thank you For those who've made it here. I appreciate you for listening, and if this was the first time here, I hope it's the first of many. And if you've been here before, you know what I always say go cut a tie to whatever's holding you back. But you got to define your success first, Otherwise you don't really know what is holding you back from what it is you want. Thank,