Empowered Workforce Culture

Today’s world is dominated by disruption and uncertainty. If there’s one entity that brings balance to the unwavering equation, it is the ability to cultivate human potential that defines organizational prosperity. Technological innovation may become the face of newspaper headlines, but it is the empowered people of an organization who breathe life into a successful one.

At the same time, comprehending individuals’ talent and understanding the key factors in their ambitions remains a key challenge. The principles are easy to lay on a much narrower and smaller scale but are profoundly arduous to implement across large-scale enterprises. However, there are few personalities that understand and carry the ability to spark this understanding and steward its flames into a collective force that transforms companies.

In professional career—John Masud Parvez, Chief Information Officer (CIO), Director of Technology and in entrepreneurship, Founder of VSHR Pro Academy is one such example of an incredible cultivator of talent who has dedicated his last decade to driving digital and business transformation.

He attributes his success to ‘skill stacking” – a novel way he picked during his early professional year, continuously augmenting his skills across diverse areas to gain a holistic perspective. As a result, over the years, he has assisted various companies ranging from $500 million to $50 billion in valuation to stay relevant with the technology and propel exponential growth.

In addition to being a technology maestro, John is a passionate researcher and coach with a focus on customer experience, human resources, and education. He has had the privilege to train over 40,000 professionals to date through both online and offline channels.

As an author of an upcoming book ‘100x Business Workforce,’ John has carved out 5000+ hours towards unlocking the symbolic relationship between people, culture, and exponential growth.

The following interview with the esteemed personality brings forth his secret ingredient of becoming a reputable name in the industry and his novel ways of empowering organizations to actualize their highest potential. It also paves the way to the core understanding of fostering, understanding, engaging, and empowering – all that is needed to help bring the vision to life.

Below are the interview highlights.

Can you provide a brief overview of your journey to becoming a CIO and Director of Technology, with a focus on your experience in business transformation?

To grow my role as a Chief Information Officer (CIO) with a dedicated focus on business transformation, I attribute much of my success to a fundamental strategy: skill stacking.

My journey commenced as a Software Engineer, and after that, I progressively augmented my skill repertoire with expertise in quality management, business analysis, and project management, culminating in my transition to a Project Manager role.

It was during this evolution that I gained profound insights into the rationale behind the implementation of multimillion-dollar technology projects within organizations. I discerned that the overarching vision and objectives driving these endeavors were geared towards propelling the company to the next echelon of success while delivering enhanced value to shareholders.

Since then, my endeavors have been centered on honing my skills in comprehending the business’s projects, objectives, and vision, subsequently aligning them with tailored solutions. This iterative process has been replicated across diverse business landscapes, spanning enterprises with valuations ranging from $500 million to $50 billion. Through these experiences, I have cultivated a distinctive expertise in driving business transformation for major companies.

As a business transformation expert, what key strategies do you believe are essential for successful transformations in today’s dynamic business environment?

The strategy that I follow is based on a framework I have developed called ’10x Business Growth Framework’. So how does it work? First, I will look at the different stages of the business. Business comes with finance, profit, revenue, EBITDA, etc., so let’s articulate those stages in that business term.

There are a total of 5 levels of business, which are the most common. Those five levels start from 0 USD revenue to 100+ Billion USD Revenue. So now we will look up each stage of the business, which is defined by yearly revenue, and what key factor we need to bring ourselves to 10/10 to take our business to the next stage.

In the above table, I showed a table which is called 10x business growth framework. This framework clearly shows what we need to focus on to grow our business in different stages.

To grow the business from 1 million USD in revenue to 10 Million USD in revenue we will need to focus on product, expertise, technology, and media. In this stage, expertise means the skillset of the team; in this stage, the key leverage to grow the revenue is expertise, technology, and media. We often need a significant amount of resources to get a good hand on technology, but we can easily focus on what skill for the workforce we need to grow the business revenue.

However, product development and product innovation are the number 1 priority at this stage because the product will be exchanged with the customer to generate revenue. Contentious product development and product innovation are key at this stage, and we can only successfully make that happen by leveraging the skillset/expertise of the team.

To grow the business revenue from 10 million USD to 100 USD, the key focus is people and expertise. Because here, people are the key differentiator. Our company will need the right talent and equip them with the right skill set. By doing that, we will have the right hand with the right leverage, which is the skillset/experience that will ensure fast revenue growth.

Growing the business revenue from 100 million USD to 1 billion USD, the key focus is the same, but we need to 10 times increase the activities compared to the previous stage. Besides that, in this stage, we will need to include two more levers. They are capital, which means other people’s money and code. Here, code means we will need to build a platform that will distribute our solutions to any location at any point in time. Or code could be a product itself as well. Think about Windows software, amazon, etc.

To take the business from 1 billion USD to 100 Billion USD, the key factors are the same, but we need to increase the activities tenfold compared to the previous stage. What does it mean? It Means we 10x our people’s talent, 10x our expertise, 10x utilization of code, and raise 10x amount of capital.

How has your presence on LinkedIn contributed to your professional journey and the visibility of your key messages?

I joined LinkedIn years ago, but frankly, I did not use this platform much. However, I was always open to connecting with new people. Being well-known in the industry due to my work and keynote speeches, many people reached out to me on LinkedIn. Then, I asked myself, “So many people are connected to me, but what are these connections for?” This prompted me to consider how I could provide value to them. I began sharing insights, tools, strategies, and lessons learned so others could avoid mistakes and leverage successful strategies. As a result, I am currently recognized as LinkedIn’s top voice in three major business areas: Top Business Transformation Voice, Top Digital Transformation Voice, and Top HR Transformation Voice.

In addition to your role as a CIO, you’re also a management and business coach. How do you balance these roles, and what principles do you emphasize in your coaching sessions?

I grew up observing legendary figures in the tech industry at the height of their careers. Among them are Steve Jobs, who built Apple, and Steve Bezos, who founded Amazon. I regularly listened to their insights, and from their teachings, I gleaned a valuable lesson: “You must turn your job into a career, work with your passion, and discover your calling. By combining these elements, you will achieve ultimate fulfillment in life.”

Following this advice years ago, I transitioned my tech career into one focused on digital transformation, ultimately becoming a Chief Information Officer (CIO). Identifying my passion for researching human resources, I honed my expertise in workforce transformation. Seeking my calling, I found purpose in guiding others to achieve their goals. To date, I have trained approximately 40,000 professionals through online and offline channels. However, my personal mission is to train 1 million professionals by 2035. Currently, I have achieved only 4% of this goal, but with 11 years remaining, I am optimistic about reaching it.

This convergence of passion, career, and calling constitutes my fulfillment in life. These elements are interconnected with my expertise in business transformation, a field that continually excites me and where I never feel as though time is running out.

Can you share a memorable coaching success story where you saw significant positive impacts on an individual or organization?

There are many stories that stand out, but for this question, I’ll share one that revolves around business and team performance. A few years ago, a major media giant in the Middle East envisioned building an online media platform akin to a combination of Facebook and YouTube. To realize this vision, they engaged a tech company in Asia and assembled a dedicated team comprising approximately 150 tech professionals. Over the initial 1-2 years, the media giant invested around 5 million USD in developing the platform. This endeavor involved two key entities: the platform owner company based in the Middle East and the tech company headquartered in Asia.

However, after 1-2 years, the project had made little progress toward achieving the quality required for the initial platform release. Subsequently, I was appointed as the Chief Project Officer to address this challenge. In this role, my primary objective was to elevate the platform’s quality to readiness for phase 1 release.

To achieve this goal, I embarked on coaching and strategizing sessions with all stakeholders, including tech leads, architects, business managers, COOs, and PMOs from both Asian and Middle Eastern companies. My approach involved first identifying the challenges faced by the team leads on both sides and then coaching them in key areas such as leadership, product strategy, stakeholder management, steering committee meetings, addressing cultural gaps, fostering leadership spirit, enhancing presentation skills, developing quality and release strategies, building trust, and refining influencing abilities, among others.

The initial eight weeks presented significant challenges, as the tech team had already logged thousands of issues and were hesitant to share them with the project owner team. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, I incorporated my leadership role into the coaching process. Beyond offering advice, I actively engaged in role-playing exercises and participated in key meetings, including steering committee gatherings, by meticulously preparing and conducting dry runs.

My efforts bore fruit, as the possibility of meeting the release one deadline began to materialize, culminating in the successful launch of the product. This achievement stands as one of the greatest successes between the two companies. Years later, the project remains live, and till now, I often revisit the platform, reminiscing about the remarkable and challenging days we overcame. Such accomplishments serve as a testament to the fulfillment derived from achieving what may initially seem like a “Mission Impossible.”

As the CEO of VSHR Pro Academy, what inspired you to focus on workforce transformation in Vietnam, and what impact have you observed in the region?

Frankly, I never envisioned myself as the CEO of VSHR Pro Academy, offering workforce transformation solutions for companies. Allow me to share a brief version of how this journey unfolded.

It all began with my passion for research. In 2013, I made the decision to discontinue my PhD pursuit and delve into research on Customer Experience in healthcare, Human Resources, and Education. My curiosity stemmed from encountering various challenges and obstacles within these domains. Over the course of 5+ years, I dedicated myself to conducting research in these areas. Encouraged by my mentor, I took a pivotal step and established an NPO in Vietnam called Vietnam Social Health Revolution, focusing on addressing Customer Experience issues in healthcare.

While serving as a CIO in my professional career, I devoted all my spare time to this passion project. However, I soon realized that the primary obstacle hindering the achievement of our NPO’s goals was the lack of adequate human resources. Despite consulting with numerous HR contacts, a viable solution remained elusive. It was during an extensive discussion with my mentor that two conclusions emerged:

I needed to resign from my directorial role at the NPO to allocate more time to the endeavor.

Leveraging my CIO expertise and previous research in Human Resources, I set out to develop various HR modules, frameworks, methodologies, and tools tailored to address the challenges faced by the Vietnam Social Health Revolution.

Utilizing my proficiency in design thinking, I meticulously crafted and implemented these solutions. Within 1-2 years, VSHR experienced remarkable growth, expanding its team to over 200 members and operating across six cities in Vietnam. Our accomplishments garnered attention from top newspapers and national TV channels, leading to a pivotal meeting with my mentor.

During our coffee rendezvous, I recounted how our HR frameworks and methodologies had fueled VSHR’s success. Recognizing the transformative potential of these solutions, my mentor proposed a bold idea: to extend these HR solutions to companies. Eager to put this plan into action, he offered to be our first client, allowing us to implement these strategies within his company.

And so, the inception of VSHR Pro Academy took place. Since then, we have emerged as the premier workforce transformation solution provider in Vietnam, boasting a team of over 250 members and serving over 80 companies across Vietnam and Singapore. Inspired by our success, our team is driven to expand our footprint to other countries across Asia, Europe, and Australia.

That was the story version of the story, but if you want to know more details about how then you can watch the story here.

With a diverse portfolio, including founding and leading the VSHR Group, what motivates you as an entrepreneur, and how do you identify and pursue new business opportunities

What motivates me as an entrepreneur is identifying and solving problems to provide better outcomes for people. When it comes to identifying and pursuing new business opportunities, my passion for research remains integral. At VSHR Group, our approach involves conducting research into various business and social problems. Based on our findings, we establish projects, programs, companies, or NPOs to address these issues. Each of these avenues has its own advantages and disadvantages, and my focus lies in leveraging the strengths of each.

Yes, indeed, this approach differs significantly from that of many entrepreneurs. Currently, I am coaching various professionals who harbor an interest in entrepreneurship alongside their existing jobs or aspire to transition into full-time entrepreneurship in the future. If you align with this ambition, then I have a gift for you. To facilitate your ambition, I have developed a scorecard designed to assess your readiness and pinpoint areas for improvement. You can access the scorecard here, and it will take only a few minutes and no fees.

How has your experience of training over 40,000 individuals influenced your approach to communication and knowledge sharing?

Training over 40,000 individuals has profoundly shaped my approach to communication and knowledge sharing. Through this extensive experience, I’ve learned the importance of clarity, empathy, and adaptability in effectively conveying information and facilitating learning.

Firstly, clarity is paramount. I’ve realized that complex concepts are best communicated when broken down into clear, digestible chunks. Using simple language, concise explanations, and relevant examples, I ensure that learners grasp the material easily.

Empathy is another crucial aspect. Understanding the diverse backgrounds, learning styles, and challenges of individuals enables me to tailor my communication to resonate with each participant. By acknowledging their perspectives and addressing their concerns, I create a supportive learning environment where everyone feels valued and understood.

Moreover, adaptability is key. Every group of learners is unique, and what works for one may not work for another. Therefore, I remain flexible in my approach, ready to adjust the pace, content, or delivery method as needed to meet the specific needs of the audience.

Overall, my experience of training thousands of individuals has taught me that effective communication and knowledge sharing is not just about imparting information but also about fostering understanding, engagement, and empowerment. By prioritizing clarity, empathy, and adaptability, I strive to make learning a rewarding and transformative experience for all participants.

Congratulations on your upcoming book! What motivated you to write about workforce transformation, and what unique perspectives or insights can readers expect from “100x Business Workforce”?

Thank you for your congratulations! The motivation behind writing “100x Business Workforce” stems from my passion for driving meaningful change in organizations through workforce transformation. Over the years, I’ve witnessed firsthand the critical role that a skilled and empowered workforce plays in driving business success. However, I’ve also observed the challenges that many HR professionals face in navigating the complexities of workforce transformation.

Since 2019, I have dedicated approximately five years and 5000 hours to writing this book, undergoing around ten editorial reviews before its first edition was published. I invested considerable effort in this because I aimed to create a comprehensive resource for HR professionals and leaders seeking to transform their company’s workforce to unlock its 100x business potential.

In “100x Business Workforce,” I aim to provide HR professionals with a comprehensive toolbox filled with practical strategies, innovative approaches, and actionable insights to empower them in transforming their workforce for exponential growth. Drawing from my extensive experience in the field and insights gained from working with diverse organizations, I offer unique perspectives on various aspects of workforce transformation, including talent acquisition, employee development, performance management, and organizational culture.

Personally, I find books more enriching when they offer not only concepts but also actionable steps. Therefore, I made it a priority to include practical guidance alongside theoretical frameworks throughout this book.

So, this is a book not just reading and getting concepts, but this is a book where:

You will get transformative concepts,
You will get the approach to measure different workforce aspects
You will get tools to measure that aspect for your company’s workforce,
You will get a benchmark of the industry from research data,
You will get to collaboratively define what actions you will need to take to transform your workforce to achieve 10x business growth.

In this book, ‘100x Business Workforce,’ I’ve included a helpful memory hack to ensure you remember and apply the concepts presented. Throughout different chapters, you’ll encounter quotes that serve as keys to unlocking mental models when using them in your work.

Additionally, this book offers downloadable templates and scorecards for each step discussed. These resources are available for you to utilize in your transformation efforts at no additional cost.

Ultimately, my goal is to inspire and empower HR professionals to become catalysts for positive change, leading their organizations to greater levels of success in the ever-evolving business landscape.

Expecting to publish the book in the 3rd quarter of 2024. If you are interested in having a copy of the book, let’s join the priority list for the book here.

As we conclude, what advice would you offer to emerging professionals aspiring to make a significant impact in the fields of business and workforce transformation?

As we conclude, I’d like to offer some advice to emerging professionals who aspire to make a significant impact in the fields of business and workforce transformation:

Embrace lifelong learning: The landscape of business and workforce transformation is constantly evolving. Stay curious, seek out new knowledge, and continuously invest in your professional development to stay ahead of the curve.

Take the lever or the progress too slow: Identify what you will need to learn and in what stage. Read books and attend conferences to listen to the experts. Which book to start with? You can begin with ‘100x business workforce’ by joining the priority list for the book here.

Cultivate leadership skills: Effective leadership is essential for driving successful transformation initiatives. Develop strong communication, collaboration, and decision-making skills, and strive to inspire and motivate others to embrace change. You can assess your leadership skillset and get my advice by taking this scorecard here

Stay focused on the big picture: Keep the overarching goals and objectives of the transformation in mind and ensure that your efforts are aligned with driving meaningful impact and value for the organization and its stakeholders.

By embodying these principles and committing to continuous growth and improvement, emerging professionals can position themselves as influential leaders and catalysts for positive change in the fields of business and workforce transformation.