February 22, 2025 • 38 mins
What happens when community, corporate responsibility, and career strategy intersect? In this episode of My Best Shift, Chantée Christian sits down with Andrew Beamon, an organizational development consultant and DEI expert, to explore the power of networking, exposure, and integrity in building a successful career.
From navigating corporate spaces as a Black professional to leveraging volunteerism and social impact for career growth, Andrew shares how he strategically built his career and how others can do the same. They dive into the challenges of breaking into leadership roles, the importance of authenticity, and how community accelerates personal and professional success.
Listen now and discover how to level up your career while staying true to yourself!
Meet Andrew Beamon – Corporate Changemaker, Author & Consultant. Andrew Beamon is a dedicated organizational development consultant, specializing in racial equity, corporate social responsibility, and employee engagement. He is the author of From Promises to Progress and a contributing author in the upcoming book Awareness Put Me On.
With a background in DEI and social impact initiatives, Andrew has helped organizations bridge the gap between corporate goals and meaningful change. His work extends beyond policy—he’s committed to empowering individuals to navigate and thrive in professional spaces.
Connect with Andrew via his website.
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INSPIRED ACTIONS/THOUGHTS FOR THIS EPISODE
How are you leveraging community and collaboration for career success?
In what ways can exposure and volunteerism open new doors in your professional journey?
How does integrity and authenticity shape your personal and professional growth?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chantée Christian (00:12):
hey, andrew, how you doing feeling great,
feeling great today good, good.
Thank you for joining me on mypodcast hey, it's a pleasure to
be here.
Good stuff, good stuff.
So before we get too into ourconversation, why don't you tell
the people a little bit aboutyourself?
Andrew Beamon (00:30):
Yes, andrew Beamon, from Waterbury,
connecticut.
I'm an organizationaldevelopment consultant, spend a
lot of time working inspecializing in racial equity,
employee engagement, corporatesocial responsibility and social
impact, and also an authorauthor of a book from Promises
(00:52):
to Progress that was publishedlast year, and have a consulting
firm, ab Consulting.
Chantée Christian (01:01):
Awesome, awesome.
Andrew Beamon (01:02):
So background.
Chantée Christian (01:04):
Yeah, I mean, mean you kept that real short
so you failed to mention,because by the time this airs
that you are also in anotherbook called awareness.
Put me on um, which is my ownpersonal baby, which I don't
think I've talked about yet onthis season from a perspective
(01:25):
of like what it is.
But we'll do that a little bitlater, and so I'm super excited
that that'll be your second timepublishing.
Andrew Beamon (01:33):
Yes, yeah, that's not not bad.
Two years, two years in a rowdropping books and, yeah, the
first time around.
Doing it by yourself is sodifficult, especially the first
time, and it just was such apleasure working with you and
(01:53):
the rest of the team and doingthis together.
You know kind of one I was ableto learn from everyone learn
how to do it the right way asfar as the process goes, and
just having that experience withother people.
Chantée Christian (02:11):
Yeah.
Andrew Beamon (02:12):
It's really cool.
Chantée Christian (02:13):
Doing things in community hits different
right.
And then also we have a tie toGeorgetown, which came oddly
enough.
We have a tie to Georgetown,which came oddly enough.
We have a tie to Georgetownwhich I think is really dope.
I often throw shade at otherDEI programs that are not
(02:35):
Georgetown, and then when wecame in the top 10 list of DEI
programs, I was like exactly howcould we not?
Andrew Beamon (02:45):
We should be number one.
Chantée Christian (02:47):
Well, you know, cornell got number one,
even though I feel like ourprogram was better than theirs,
because they don't have animmersive program like we do.
So, like how we had, um, theour ending program, like our
ending project, where weactually get a client and we go
(03:07):
through what it looks like tohelp them solve whatever problem
they have.
Cornell doesn't do that.
Andrew Beamon (03:13):
Okay, okay.
Chantée Christian (03:14):
Yeah, I mean, I know.
Andrew Beamon (03:15):
I have nothing but respect for Cornell's
program because I know we cameout of it in a way like some of
the stuff was born fromCornell's program.
Yeah, just in that regard youhave to have some respect for it
.
Chantée Christian (03:30):
So I always think, usually when I recommend
programs to people, I sayCornell or Georgetown, like they
are the biggest and the best,but good to know that we
enhanced what they were alreadydoing well and and that and
right, we took a lot from NTLand we really implemented a lot
of the principles of what itlooks like to be around humans
(03:53):
and in those dynamics and whatit looks like to foster spaces
with people, and what happenswhen you add a new person in,
take a person out, and how toresolve conflicts right, and so
that's where the immersive partcomes in from right From the
program.
So Sukari shout out to her, butshe, she came from NTL world
(04:17):
and so that's one of their likefounding things that they do.
So it was really dope yeah.
Andrew Beamon (04:25):
You know, what's kind of interesting about that
experience of joining thatGeorgetown DEI executive
certification program is that atthat time, when I was there in
2018, I was working for anonprofit organization and we
were going through our own DEIinitiatives that we were
(04:46):
creating and building, and whenwe were going through that
process, I wasn't reallyincluded in a lot of the work
that was being done.
Like you know, the senior execbrought in an outside firm and
they just went at it and youkind of just did their own thing
.
And as I'm watching it, I wasthinking I should be a part of
this because I'm passionateabout this.
(05:07):
These are the books that I'mreading.
This is related to a lot ofwork I was already doing in
organizational development, soit was something I wanted to be
a part of.
And I remember talking to afriend of mine.
I said, man, they left me out,they're doing all this DEI stuff
.
And they left me me out.
And he said, well, did theyknow you were interested in
doing it?
And I just had to step back andsay, actually, no, I never
(05:31):
spoke to him about.
They know you're passionateabout this.
No, they, they, they probablydidn't.
So, yeah, my next step waswhich?
Which I was challenged with is.
A friend of mine said hey, youknow, if this is something that
you really want to do, if youreally want to get into DEI,
well, first you should probablyread like 15 books on the topic
(05:53):
and like just go in and justconsume as much as possible
articles, whatever, and thenalso look for that opportunity
which I found with Georgetown inthat program and I ran a
program by him I said I don'tknow, I don't know if I'm ready
to pay this amount to go, and hesaid you better pay it.
And it was one of the bestinvestments I ever made.
(06:16):
I mean, I didn't go directlyinto DEI.
I ended up working, going toanother company and doing
corporate social responsibilityand social impact.
But it's such a big overlap.
A lot of the skills that Igained from that program, dei,
were brought to the table withmy work in corporate social
responsibility.
Chantée Christian (06:35):
Yeah, I mean, and I think that I think that
that's really important too,especially like in the climate
that we're in is to rememberthat, like, everything is DEI
right.
So I have been doing DEI sincewe used to call it
organizational change management, which I'm sure in the coming
days, months, we will be goingback to disguising it so that we
(06:59):
can do it right.
I mean, alabama just passedsome crazy policy where the
colleges can't teach DEI, right.
And so I'm like well, what dowe do now?
But I think that is reallyimportant.
Or, and I think it's reallyimportant to to state that
social responsibility that has aDEI component to it.
(07:22):
Right, like everything that wedo has a DEI component to it.
Right, like everything that wedo has a DEI component to it.
What do we call it?
That's what's palatable for thepeople, right?
But I think that is really dopethat you didn't go straight
into like I'm a DEI practitioner, and then that's what you hung
your hat on.
So I think that's really dope.
(07:43):
Yeah, I think that was one ofthe things.
So we came out of differentcohorts, but I think that's one
of the things that I struggledwith the most in the cohort was
like naming Because everybody'slike I'm a DEI practitioner.
And I was like nope, notputting it on my resume.
And it was like what is wrongwith you, why won't you do that?
(08:03):
And I was like what is wrongwith you, why won't you do that?
And I was like because I'm morethan that.
I feel like that pigeonholes us.
It's like I'm a change agentand in that there are things
that require change, requiresome attention require some
growth, you know.
Andrew Beamon (08:22):
So, no, I think that's really dope, really dope.
Yeah, totally agree, I think,about my career since I
graduated.
So my master's degree was atUniversity of Hartford and it
was organizational psychology.
This is back in 2009.
And I feel as though everythingthat I've done since that date
falls under organizationalpsychology, or you could call it
organizational behavior.
(08:43):
You know name it organizationalchange.
That umbrella encompassescorporate social responsibility,
social impact, employeeengagement, di, racial equity.
It all falls under that.
Chantée Christian (08:56):
It's just different ways of helping and
improving a culture of anorganization, and there's many
different tools to use and justbeen using different ones in
different capacities yeah, Imean because I think when I
started my mba program, that wasone of the things that I
struggle with was like Iunderstand that hr is for the
(09:20):
company right, but who's for thepeople, right.
And then the more and more andmore I started getting into OD
and organizational behavior, Iwas like, oh, this is where it
lies, it's in here.
And I feel like now I see a lotof companies with people and
(09:42):
culture and and I'm like, okay,but now what are you doing to
protect the company Like it'slike you have to have a balance,
you know so.
No, I love that.
So I'm curious since you have abackground in organizational
behavior, people, things, what'sone of the things that you love
(10:06):
most about what you do?
Andrew Beamon (10:10):
What I, what I love most.
I think of it as what I'm ableto do internally for
organizations, so like, forexample, with corporate social
responsibility.
A lot of the work I worked onwas outside, helping employees
get involved in the communitythrough employee volunteerism,
(10:34):
right Supporting and helpingnonprofit organizations through
sponsorships.
So I love what we were able todo to impact the community, but
I also love the impact that itactually has on employees.
So like seeing programs andevents where employees are
working together.
A lot of times when you thinkabout building employee morale,
(10:57):
maybe you're having a program,maybe people are going out to
happy hour or having thosedifferent events.
People are going out the hothappy hour or having those
different events.
But I like the um, thecreativity, where you're able to
bring people together indifferent ways outside of the
regular work hours, to buildthat rapport, build those
connections and communicationacross departments and then
(11:21):
ultimately, like changing thelives of employees.
Like seeing an employee havemore pride in the organization
to where they, where they seetheir values, the organization's
values, in action and then, butnot only that, be able to get
promoted because people knowthem now.
People know them now Like youknow when you, when you talk
(11:46):
about like different ways thatpeople grow in companies usually
people talk about the PIacronym like performance,
influence and exposure.
Like those are the ways thatyou could grow within a company
and I like designing andfacilitating those opportunities
for people that already areperforming well to get some
(12:07):
exposure, meet and connect withother people that they normally
wouldn't be able to do.
So that's where I get excitedwhen I see employees' lives
change through the work thatwe're doing and changing within
a company.
Chantée Christian (12:23):
I love that.
I feel like it's a hot topicright now, right when people are
thinking about what does itlook like to be promoted and
like how do I network and whatdoes that really look like.
I'm curious.
How has it worked for you?
Andrew Beamon (12:38):
The exposure that I've been able to get through
companies like my experience ofgrowing within organizations
yeah, definitely, raising myhand for many volunteer
opportunities internally.
What is interesting is when Ifirst joined the management
(12:58):
consultant firm, I went down toDC, I joined Gallup Management
Consulting and, you know, justtrying to find my way as a new
consultant, and what I found waswe had this community builders
program.
So, like everybody within thatDC office, we were able to.
(13:20):
We would donate a little bit ofmoney out from our check and
then the company would match it.
Before you know it, we havethis pool of money that we have
to distribute across DC and theyhad a volunteer group that
would help decide whichnonprofits we would support and
do some volunteering in thecommunity.
(13:41):
So it's not just throwing money,volunteering in the community.
So it's not just throwing money.
We are actually putting moneyin with organizations that we
connect with in some way andthen creating volunteer programs
, and this is all volunteerstuff.
So I think being able todisplay my talents in ways that
made other people say I want towork with him.
(14:03):
We have this real projectcoming up.
It's not a volunteer project,we have a real project coming up
and I like his ability toexecute, I like his, his ability
to lead, and then that's when Istarted being building
relationships and being broughton to more projects, yeah, so,
um, yeah, raising my hand,raising my hand and volunteering
(14:24):
to get that exposure is whathelped me.
Chantée Christian (14:29):
So, if I'm hearing you correctly, exposure
and being in spaces to be ableto say, hey, I'm available or
let me try this out has reallybeen beneficial for you, yeah.
Andrew Beamon (14:42):
Yes, yes, and it builds confidence.
You, you build your confidenceas well.
So they get to see what you doand you get in when you show it
and you're executing, you'regaining greater confidence and
it's a safe space to do it.
You know, like, if it's on a,if it's on another project and
you make some mistakes, it couldbe detrimental to the project.
(15:04):
So you might be a little bitmore unsure, a little bit
nervous about, um, doing astretch assignment, but in, in
this capacity, it's a little bitsafer.
You know there you wouldn't getas much.
Uh, you know backlash or youknow messing up messing up a
volunteer project.
So, yeah, it's a good place topractice.
Chantée Christian (15:29):
I like that, a playground.
Andrew Beamon (15:31):
Playground.
Chantée Christian (15:34):
A playground that has value, though.
Andrew Beamon (15:36):
Yeah, absolutely yeah.
Chantée Christian (15:39):
So, as a Black man in this space from
Connecticut because every time Ithink about that what have you
found to be something that youwould say is like an uphill
(16:02):
battle, and once you got up thehill, you were so happy that you
actually kept going first Iwant to share that it's a myth
that there's not a lot of blackpeople in connecticut.
Andrew Beamon (16:19):
We had from bridgeport new haven to
waterbury.
You know there's, in harford alot of black people within the
cities, all right, so once youcaveat y'all the cities you said
heard the caveat there but assoon as you step outside the
cities, yeah, you're not gonnafind.
You're not gonna find a lot ofdiversity outside the cities.
It does have that.
(16:40):
I mean.
I think connecticut is like theperfect microcosm of america.
There is there's really richparts, like you go fearfield
county, it's like really, reallyrich parts, and then you have a
lot of other parts where peopleare truly struggling, just like
america as a whole.
So it's up.
So in some ways it's a lot ofsegregation, like in communities
(17:03):
across across connecticut.
Uh, so so, with that being said, just want to shout out to all
my people here in connecticutthank you for the clarification
I have to rep connecticut.
I have to rep connecticut.
I'm a rep.
Chantée Christian (17:21):
Put on for your city.
Andrew Beamon (17:25):
So actually can you repeat the question again?
Chantée Christian (17:28):
Oh, now that is always a trick.
Ok, I think I remember, as ablack man who has experienced a
lot of things in something thatyou felt like was an uphill
(17:48):
battle, and when you got to thetop of the hill you were like
I'm glad I didn't give up.
What would that thing be?
Andrew Beamon (17:57):
Let's see More of the.
I'm trying to think about theuphill battles is really in the
experiences in corporate America.
I think, coming out of ahistorical black college, you
know you had a community ofblack people, like Black leaders
(18:21):
in all positions, right, I mean, I did go to another college my
first year before that itactually had the president and
vice president were Black men.
So you know, seeing that Ithink actually even starting
that early, I think theexperience of graduating high
(18:43):
school and going off to collegewas the first experience where I
thought I don't know if I coulddo this, because most people
from my neighborhood weren'tgoing off to college and I had a
few friends that went off toplay basketball.
They had their basketballscholarships, but other than
that I really didn't know a lotof people that were just going
to college for academics.
(19:03):
And I think when I got thereand I saw them in those
positions, I think that gave memore confidence first.
And that was during the timewhere I had to because my grades
weren't great.
You know, I had, I mean, c'sand D's.
(19:23):
It was horrible report cardsthat I had as my senior maybe
got a little better my senioryear, but I remember going up to
the school the day after Igraduated.
I walked across the stage andmy father and my uncle were as
I'm celebrating and they'relooking at me and they're saying
(19:44):
you know you're going off tocollege.
Right, you know you're goingoff to college.
I said, ok, that was the momentI decided yes, I'll try this
college thing out.
The day I graduated high schooland I walked across stage.
So we're out to dinner and hesays, well, we're going to drive
up to Eastern Connecticut Statetomorrow and we're going to go
show your report card andwhatever.
(20:05):
We're just going to get youinto the school.
So I go there, I have my SATscores with me, I have my report
card and I remember when I gotthere they looked at it and he
said, well, it looks like you'recapable of doing the work.
And he said, well, it lookslike you're capable of doing the
work.
Like, the teachers are prettygood, the grades are pretty bad.
So I went through this boot camp.
(20:26):
It was, uh, it was a boot camp,uh, six, six weeks during the
summer to really teach you howto become a student and if you
pass this you'll be admitted tothe school.
So I passed it and that was theI think that was the change
where I became a lifelonglearner, like just going to
(20:47):
experience and being a student.
A bunch of other like I don'tknow, maybe it was like 30 of us
, mostly black students thatwere in this program, mostly
Black students that were in thisprogram and brilliant, too
brilliant, and it was the momentI really was in a great
learning environment and atNorth Carolina Central,
(21:08):
absolutely Bunch of brilliantpeople in Durham North people.
That was the.
I think that was the firstmoment or experience as a Black
man going off to college.
(21:29):
Was that experience where Ithought I don't know if I could
do this and then I did it?
And after that I just continuedto feel that way.
I did it and after that I justcontinued to feel that way, like
anytime I had to fill in, whereI don't know if I belong here
or I don't know if I could do it.
I wouldn't just it wouldn'tjust be blind faith.
That would.
That would help me do it.
(21:49):
I had an actual experiencealready that I could go back to
and say, oh, I remember the timewhere I thought I couldn't do
it or I thought I didn't belong,or I didn't think I was good
enough, or I had this self-doubtand look what happened.
So that's what I'll put that asthe.
That's the first experiencewhich helped me when, when I
(22:10):
graduated and went intocorporate, I was able to think
back about okay, I had thisfeeling before oh, my goodness,
this is good.
Chantée Christian (22:18):
It's so many things Like.
I don't think that I would havegotten into college if they
took my SAT score.
Oh, my dad was so mad with me.
I don't know that I've evertold this story publicly, but
you saying that reminded me.
So I had taken the PSAT scores,like all of the prep classes
(22:39):
and all those things I was doing.
I did great.
They thought I was a genius.
I went to go take that sat.
My dad was like do you know howmany points they give you for
signing your name?
I was like.
He was like you're just so busypartying and I was like I
didn't even go to a party lastnight.
Like what, what?
do you mean, and it wasn't untilprobably like a year or two ago
(23:05):
we actually had a conversationabout it again.
Because I did, I took it againand I got a lower score.
But then I took the ACT and Imissed two and I was like then
it was like we had to find me acollege that accepted, you know,
acts versus SAT and so, but Iwas like he was like you take AP
(23:29):
Latin, I do, but the way thatthese questions are written, my
brain cannot comprehend.
Like I don't care what you'retrying to say, and one of the
things that I learned, even likeit's going to take
certifications and all thosedifferent things.
And even in my when I wasworking on my master's, if I
(23:55):
don't fully understand the waythe sentence is written, my
brain won't find an answer.
So I had to practice what doesthe, what does the question look
like?
And when they ask it, what dothey really mean?
And so I had this like.
So with the pmp, one of themost painfulest examples of my
life 2012.
Andrew Beamon (24:14):
I remember it's just one.
One point.
I remember when I sat down totake it.
I remember I went through thefirst five questions and then I
seriously was wondering if I wastaking the wrong test.
I look, maybe this isn't, thiscan't be the PMP.
I passed the second time.
I passed the second time.
Chantée Christian (24:35):
So like a full disclosure, right.
I took the CAPM first, failedit and was horrified.
I had taken a boot camp class.
I had you know a couple offlash cards here.
There I was like, all right,cool, I'm done, I'm not doing it
.
My boss at the time, whoseactual house I'm recording from
(24:57):
right now one of my really goodfriends was like no, we're going
to put this in your plan, we'reall going to do it before they
change the exam.
And I was like, are you high?
Like I couldn't pass the baby?
What made you think I could gopass the daddy?
And then I realized it was thequestions Right.
(25:18):
It wasn't that I didn, it wasthe questions right.
It wasn't that I didn't knowthe information, it was how they
had structured the questions.
And so I spent I was quiteobsessive about it, but I spent
a lot of time understanding thattheir questions had no
structure because they have somany different people writing
questions and they don't have aformat.
(25:40):
So someone from the UK could bewriting a question that you
have on your exam.
They could be writing 10 of the200 or however many questions,
right, and so the way that theywrite in general is different,
but for me it was like, ok, themore I take the practice ones,
the more I get used to seeingthe sentence structure like it
(26:01):
was just one of those things.
For me that was like I had tofigure it out, because I didn't
figure it out in college, likeit was like undergrad.
By the time I got to graduateschool I had figured a little
bit more out, but like I hadn'tfigured it out, right, yeah, and
it was my money.
It was a little, a little bitdifferent and it's the topics
(26:22):
you wanted to study.
Well, honestly, yeah, and like Ididn't know what to do when I
got to college, like my parentshad went to college later in
life, so I didn't see, I didn'thave an example of what it
looked like to graduate highschool and go to college.
Like go straight to college,right.
(26:44):
And so I saw you working fromhome, like you literally working
, and then you're doingschoolwork, then you might go to
a night class.
Like I never really understoodwhat was I supposed to do in
college other than don't fuck upLike that was that was clear.
Like do not fuck this, don'tfuck up like that was that was
clear.
Like do not fuck this up.
But outside of that, I was likeall right, I'm here, what am I
(27:04):
supposed to do?
Yeah, I go to class, I'mpassing, you know, don't no one
asked me for my GPA, but I'mpassing.
And then what?
Andrew Beamon (27:15):
I had no idea my motivation was just living on my
own.
I said, oh, all I have to do isgo to school and I'm on my own.
That was enough motivation tomake me do my work.
Chantée Christian (27:25):
That's interesting.
Yeah, that wasn't enoughmotivation for me.
I love that, though, because Ithink that, and I tell, I tell
students now that one of thebiggest things that you got to
figure out what school is foryou and it's not for everyone,
you know, and the traditionalway of going isn't, say we,
(27:50):
because I don't know whereyou're at in this age bracket
but for myself, if I had knownthat 22, 23, however, many years
ago, that there was an optionfor me to be an entrepreneur and
(28:11):
it didn't have to be someonewho was in tech or a lawyer, I
probably would have thoughtabout it different, definitely,
you know, and I'm like y'allhave, like they blow up by
sneezing on YouTube or on TikTok, right, and I'm like I barely
(28:33):
had my space, like what ishappening right now, you know,
and so I think that technologyhas just changed the game, and
when we are talking about thataccessibility and inclusion,
right, I think about how we alsoowe it to the youth to be able
(28:57):
to offer them opportunities tounderstand what it looks like to
start their own business or todo things that are not
necessarily conventional anddon't necessarily always make
sense to us and our generation.
Andrew Beamon (29:12):
Agreed, agreed.
And you make me think about, Iguess, two points, probably like
the pro and the con.
Maybe I'll start with the conwhen it comes to the, the
younger generation and blowingup on on youtube or tiktok or
any of the platforms, andgetting rich.
you know a lot of people aremaking money doing these things
(29:32):
big money yeah, but I think ofthis is like the modern day gold
rush, like back in the dayspeople were running out to
California to get rich, startmining for gold.
Yes, people got rich, but manyother people didn't.
So now everybody's rushing tobecome this influencer or
(29:57):
whatever.
Whatever they're doing a comedyand and a lot of times this
could be a trap, a trap for themchasing this dream of gold,
this gold rush, and you know,they kind of get caught up in
the trap.
But the flip side of it is thatsocial media has evened the
(30:19):
playing field in many ways, justeven the playing field.
You don't need um, but even withmusic, like you could be an
independent artist and win now,yeah, the sign with def, jam or
whoever else, and you don't needthat middleman, and but so we
watched that happen withentrepreneurs in that way,
(30:42):
especially with music stayingindependent or owning their
masters, and we root for peoplelike Nipsey, like, oh, you own
your masters.
And like, yeah, that's the wayyou should do it.
If I was in the music game,that's how I would do it.
But as people in otherprofessions like ours, we didn't
see ourselves that way.
(31:03):
We thought about like hey, I'msigning for the big major label,
I'm going to work for the largebank or whoever else, and
that's the way we're doing it.
We didn't think of ourselves asentrepreneurs too, and hold on,
we don't need the middleman.
We could actually do this workthat we're doing for ourselves
and not for a large company, anddo it that way.
(31:24):
And I think social media andthe internet has allowed us that
vehicle for not just for otherindustries but for our industry
to do it ourselves.
I think that's the mostbeautiful thing about it.
It really even playing fieldfor people, or you had to move
to New York City to win.
But now you can do it fromanywhere.
(31:44):
You can do it from Connecticutand still have a career.
I don't have to be in DC tohave a career anymore.
You can do it from any smalltown USA.
Chantée Christian (31:55):
Yeah, no, I think that is powerful and I
think it's like like when yousaid that it's like a trap it
made me think about like I thinkthat I think that we do a
disservice when we don't harnessgifts right, and so I think
(32:18):
that when we're in the searchfor the gold, we typically come
up with a dud, versus when we'reharnessing the passion that's
behind it and allowing that todrive us right.
So, like, if you like to dig,then you won't go.
(32:38):
You gonna go find something go,do it, yeah, go do it right and
so like.
When I think about the peoplethat are on social like, even
the ones that have like blown upout of nowhere, I'm like you.
The amount of effort that youhave put into this thing, that
you do is worth every dollarthat you get.
(32:58):
Now, whether if it's the thingthat I think is a jam or not,
it's neither here nor there, butI know personally, from my own
resistance for social media, howchallenging and how much effort
it is to put out that content,much effort it is to put out
(33:20):
that content.
And so my thing is alwaysthough okay, well, when it's
over, what's going to be yourfallback plan?
Have you saved enough?
Do you have everything and whatskill sets have you pulled from
that?
Right, even with like coaching,like, people still don't know
what coaching is.
I still have calls and I'm likeso tell me what your idea of
coaching is.
And people are like oh well,you know, I just I think of
(33:44):
sports and I was like yeah, metoo.
Let's keep talking about whatthat is right, and that's not a
shot at them.
It's the truth, even though wehave so much exposure to what I
like to call internet coaches.
Right, everybody wants to bemotivational and inspirational
and all that other shit likestock gurus, everybody,
(34:06):
everybody's right and then theiraccounts are in the negative.
But like the point is, like, atthis stage in the game, everyone
and anyone could have aplatform.
It's what do you decide toharness and do with it?
Yeah, and I think that's thepart that's fun to me, or?
Andrew Beamon (34:24):
exciting even.
You know, we were talkingearlier, before we started
recording, and you were sayinghow like excited you are about
this book release Awareness.
Put me on and you just excited,excited about this book release
awareness.
Put me on and you just excited,excited about this this moment.
And it made me think about that.
(34:45):
When you're talking about peoplein this gold rush and like, hey
, if you love to dig, it doesn'teven matter.
And I feel like that's what wedid with the book.
We love doing this, we lovethis process.
It doesn't matter if we havegold at the end or not, we just
(35:06):
love the process.
So I think that that's soimportant to just kind of
emphasize the point that youjust made it's the passion for
the process that matters most.
You just made it's the passionfor the process that matters
most.
And, yeah, if you're goingthrough a process that you're
not passionate about, yeah, thenyou better get the gold.
If you don't, you're extremelydisappointed.
But if you love to dig, thenyeah, have fun, have fun with it
(35:29):
, enjoy it.
Yeah, enjoy the journey.
Chantée Christian (35:31):
I think, I don't know.
It's like like, I feel likethere's such a difficult concept
for people to grasp, right,that you can do what you love
and what you're passionate aboutand get paid to do it.
Like you don't have to dosomething that you hate to do
(35:53):
just to pay your bills, you know, and so, like, when we talk
about that passion and thatdigging, it's like those are the
type of role models that I hopethat my nieces and nephews see,
right Is that you don't have todo something that you don't
(36:15):
love.
You can do things you love todo, yeah, and get paid for it.
Yeah, you don't have to beliving like a pauper, like you
have options, you know.
But I love that and I love theexcitement, right, that comes
along with doing what you loveto do, like when we I like to
(36:40):
call it the fake green room,because it's not really that
green, but when we were in there, you shared with me this huge
announcement, and part of thatto me, right, had to do with the
passion.
You're excited that you stillget to do all of the other
things that you love to do, andthat thing, right, that's the
(37:01):
digging like it's.
It's the digging now.
I love this concept agreed,agreed.
Andrew Beamon (37:10):
I don't want to play, I don't want to be too
controversial here or uh, butbut I'm gonna play devil's
advocate a little bit about the,the passion and people doing
what they love and not getting.
Or you don't have to be, youdon't have to struggle and have
your passion.
I'm okay with people doing ittemporarily if you have to do a
job that you don't love, butdon't stay stuck there.
(37:33):
You know I I that that I didn'tlove, but I was able to save
save my money in ways toposition me to be able to go try
things that I'm passionateabout.
So sometimes you might have towork for a period of time, but
the the more you can shortenthat period of time.
(37:53):
You have to work in a way, workin a field or a job that you
don't truly love.
The quicker you can shortenthat, the better.
But don't be afraid to go doother things to allow you and
pay for it.
Sometimes you have to pay forthat passion first and then go
do it.
Chantée Christian (38:12):
Yes, absolutely, absolutely.
I think.
When I say that, I mean I wouldhave never went to college,
starting off as a business major, because that wasn't what I
loved, true, true, get me agreat paying job to be able to
(38:37):
pay for this lifestyle that myparents set me up for, not
realizing that they had twoincomes and they was out here
living their whole best life atwhatever age it was that they
had, you know, 18 year old offin college, right, yeah.
And then there came a pointwhere I realized one, I wasn't
gonna pass econ, but two that.
I didn't like it.
I loved what I was doing atwork, though, which was
(39:03):
newsletters and editing thosetype of things and writing,
creating graphics, and then Irealized, oh, there's a major
for that.
And then I realized, oh,there's a major for that, right.
But because I was still afraidand moving from a scarcity
mindset I was only out ofcollege for a few months before
(39:29):
I went back for my MBA.
The same thing that I didn'tthink that I could pass an
undergrad.
Right, because in my mind, thatwas security.
Right.
Right, because in my mind, thatwas security.
Right, not realizing that, hadI done some internships or some
other things within the commmajor that I was in, I could
have gotten some security overthere, too, right.
(39:51):
And so, when I think of it fromthat perspective, right, I
spent a lot of time doing otherthings that got me ready and
prepared to be in this moment.
But when I look at my nieces andmy nephew, right, I'm like how
can they learn it quicker?
True, right to help them getinto spaces where they can make
(40:22):
a profit in doing something thatthey enjoy to do, versus the
many a days and nights that Isat at my desk was like, why am
I here?
I hate it here.
Oh, although, most of thoseplaces that I wasn't that fond
of paid for a lot of thecertifications that roll behind
my name, right, everything has acatch-22.
(40:42):
It's just how do we help themget there a little bit faster
than we got there?
Yeah, agree.
No, I love that.
So I feel like now is a perfecttime to ask you a question.
I feel like Mr Rogers.
You know, when he starts to sitdown and put on his shoes and
(41:06):
put on his jacket what would youlike to leave the people with,
because we've talked about a lotokay, couple, couple things.
Andrew Beamon (41:22):
I would like to leave everybody with one point
that greatness is seldomachieved alone.
The more you're able to connectwith partner, with others, you
(41:43):
could grow faster.
You don't have to do all thiswork in everything alone.
You know you get things done onyour own as an entrepreneur,
but when you just, for example,like writing a book on my own
Two year process, writing a bookwith a team, it's a three month
(42:07):
process.
Yes, it is greatness.
Greatness is never achieved orseldom achieved alone is one.
And then the other point, as wethink about the book, awareness
Put Me On a lot on authenticityas well, and I know other
(42:32):
authors talk about theauthenticity and the aha moments
when they just really begantrusting themselves.
But I think what makesauthenticity so important is
that when you're authentic, youcan be more confident, and when
(42:58):
you're confident in who you are,you'll have better integrity,
and integrity is everything.
So authenticity goes right intointegrity.
And last point is most of thepeople.
You know there's people in thenews today.
(43:18):
There'll be people in the newsa couple of months from now and
it's going to continue.
When you see people on top fallfrom grace, it's usually
because of lack of integrity orA moral mistake is usually not
just skills and talent thatmakes you fall from grace, not
because you messed up on aproject, it's not that it's.
(43:41):
It's a moral mistake.
That happens in times whereyou're not acting with integrity
.
So that's where authenticity isso powerful.
It can kind of prevent orreduce the chances hopefully
prevent you from making thosemajor mistakes that cause you to
(44:02):
fall from grace.
Chantée Christian (44:04):
I mean, well damn, now I feel like we need to
record for another 20 minutesbecause I'm like wait a minute,
wait a minute.
I appreciate that and I thinkthat one of the biggest things
that I'll take away from thisconversation at least doing it
in this moment is how importantcommunity is Right, and not just
(44:29):
, you know, being with people,but literally leaning on the
community Right, and I thinkthat has more of an impact than
I had originally thought.
It's specifically talking aboutawareness.
Put me on in the project.
So I thank you for joining theprojects with an S.
Andrew Beamon (44:54):
Yes, more work to do, more work to do.
Chantée Christian (44:57):
Yes.
Andrew Beamon (44:58):
Shout out.
Let me give a quick shout out.
Shout out to Dr Barbara Skinner, who runs this master's series
of distinguished leaders program, because the point that I made
around morals and reasons peoplefall from grace, that came from
her.
Yeah, I learned that from herand it stuck with me.
Chantée Christian (45:21):
Yeah, that's dope.
It's true, integrity is a, band people will test your
integrity often and you get todecide how much of your toe you
want to dip into the lack ofyour personal integrity, right,
(45:43):
yeah?
Andrew Beamon (45:43):
there's temptation out there.
It's gonna test us all listen,I'm ready.
Chantée Christian (45:49):
No, I'm just joking that is awesome yes,
thank you, thank you, thank you.
hey, andrew, how you doing feeling great,
feeling great today good, good.
Thank you for joining me on mypodcast hey, it's a pleasure to
be here.
Good stuff, good stuff.
So before we get too into ourconversation, why don't you tell
the people a little bit aboutyourself?
Andrew Beamon (00:30):
Yes, andrew Beamon, from Waterbury,
connecticut.
I'm an organizationaldevelopment consultant, spend a
lot of time working inspecializing in racial equity,
employee engagement, corporatesocial responsibility and social
impact, and also an authorauthor of a book from Promises
(00:52):
to Progress that was publishedlast year, and have a consulting
firm, ab Consulting.
Chantée Christian (01:01):
Awesome, awesome.
Andrew Beamon (01:02):
So background.
Chantée Christian (01:04):
Yeah, I mean, mean you kept that real short
so you failed to mention,because by the time this airs
that you are also in anotherbook called awareness.
Put me on um, which is my ownpersonal baby, which I don't
think I've talked about yet onthis season from a perspective
(01:25):
of like what it is.
But we'll do that a little bitlater, and so I'm super excited
that that'll be your second timepublishing.
Andrew Beamon (01:33):
Yes, yeah, that's not not bad.
Two years, two years in a rowdropping books and, yeah, the
first time around.
Doing it by yourself is sodifficult, especially the first
time, and it just was such apleasure working with you and
(01:53):
the rest of the team and doingthis together.
You know kind of one I was ableto learn from everyone learn
how to do it the right way asfar as the process goes, and
just having that experience withother people.
Chantée Christian (02:11):
Yeah.
Andrew Beamon (02:12):
It's really cool.
Chantée Christian (02:13):
Doing things in community hits different
right.
And then also we have a tie toGeorgetown, which came oddly
enough.
We have a tie to Georgetown,which came oddly enough.
We have a tie to Georgetownwhich I think is really dope.
I often throw shade at otherDEI programs that are not
(02:35):
Georgetown, and then when wecame in the top 10 list of DEI
programs, I was like exactly howcould we not?
Andrew Beamon (02:45):
We should be number one.
Chantée Christian (02:47):
Well, you know, cornell got number one,
even though I feel like ourprogram was better than theirs,
because they don't have animmersive program like we do.
So, like how we had, um, theour ending program, like our
ending project, where weactually get a client and we go
(03:07):
through what it looks like tohelp them solve whatever problem
they have.
Cornell doesn't do that.
Andrew Beamon (03:13):
Okay, okay.
Chantée Christian (03:14):
Yeah, I mean, I know.
Andrew Beamon (03:15):
I have nothing but respect for Cornell's
program because I know we cameout of it in a way like some of
the stuff was born fromCornell's program.
Yeah, just in that regard youhave to have some respect for it
.
Chantée Christian (03:30):
So I always think, usually when I recommend
programs to people, I sayCornell or Georgetown, like they
are the biggest and the best,but good to know that we
enhanced what they were alreadydoing well and and that and
right, we took a lot from NTLand we really implemented a lot
of the principles of what itlooks like to be around humans
(03:53):
and in those dynamics and whatit looks like to foster spaces
with people, and what happenswhen you add a new person in,
take a person out, and how toresolve conflicts right, and so
that's where the immersive partcomes in from right From the
program.
So Sukari shout out to her, butshe, she came from NTL world
(04:17):
and so that's one of their likefounding things that they do.
So it was really dope yeah.
Andrew Beamon (04:25):
You know, what's kind of interesting about that
experience of joining thatGeorgetown DEI executive
certification program is that atthat time, when I was there in
2018, I was working for anonprofit organization and we
were going through our own DEIinitiatives that we were
(04:46):
creating and building, and whenwe were going through that
process, I wasn't reallyincluded in a lot of the work
that was being done.
Like you know, the senior execbrought in an outside firm and
they just went at it and youkind of just did their own thing
.
And as I'm watching it, I wasthinking I should be a part of
this because I'm passionateabout this.
(05:07):
These are the books that I'mreading.
This is related to a lot ofwork I was already doing in
organizational development, soit was something I wanted to be
a part of.
And I remember talking to afriend of mine.
I said, man, they left me out,they're doing all this DEI stuff
.
And they left me me out.
And he said, well, did theyknow you were interested in
doing it?
And I just had to step back andsay, actually, no, I never
(05:31):
spoke to him about.
They know you're passionateabout this.
No, they, they, they probablydidn't.
So, yeah, my next step waswhich?
Which I was challenged with is.
A friend of mine said hey, youknow, if this is something that
you really want to do, if youreally want to get into DEI,
well, first you should probablyread like 15 books on the topic
(05:53):
and like just go in and justconsume as much as possible
articles, whatever, and thenalso look for that opportunity
which I found with Georgetown inthat program and I ran a
program by him I said I don'tknow, I don't know if I'm ready
to pay this amount to go, and hesaid you better pay it.
And it was one of the bestinvestments I ever made.
(06:16):
I mean, I didn't go directlyinto DEI.
I ended up working, going toanother company and doing
corporate social responsibilityand social impact.
But it's such a big overlap.
A lot of the skills that Igained from that program, dei,
were brought to the table withmy work in corporate social
responsibility.
Chantée Christian (06:35):
Yeah, I mean, and I think that I think that
that's really important too,especially like in the climate
that we're in is to rememberthat, like, everything is DEI
right.
So I have been doing DEI sincewe used to call it
organizational change management, which I'm sure in the coming
days, months, we will be goingback to disguising it so that we
(06:59):
can do it right.
I mean, alabama just passedsome crazy policy where the
colleges can't teach DEI, right.
And so I'm like well, what dowe do now?
But I think that is reallyimportant.
Or, and I think it's reallyimportant to to state that
social responsibility that has aDEI component to it.
(07:22):
Right, like everything that wedo has a DEI component to it.
Right, like everything that wedo has a DEI component to it.
What do we call it?
That's what's palatable for thepeople, right?
But I think that is really dopethat you didn't go straight
into like I'm a DEI practitioner, and then that's what you hung
your hat on.
So I think that's really dope.
(07:43):
Yeah, I think that was one ofthe things.
So we came out of differentcohorts, but I think that's one
of the things that I struggledwith the most in the cohort was
like naming Because everybody'slike I'm a DEI practitioner.
And I was like nope, notputting it on my resume.
And it was like what is wrongwith you, why won't you do that?
(08:03):
And I was like what is wrongwith you, why won't you do that?
And I was like because I'm morethan that.
I feel like that pigeonholes us.
It's like I'm a change agentand in that there are things
that require change, requiresome attention require some
growth, you know.
Andrew Beamon (08:22):
So, no, I think that's really dope, really dope.
Yeah, totally agree, I think,about my career since I
graduated.
So my master's degree was atUniversity of Hartford and it
was organizational psychology.
This is back in 2009.
And I feel as though everythingthat I've done since that date
falls under organizationalpsychology, or you could call it
organizational behavior.
(08:43):
You know name it organizationalchange.
That umbrella encompassescorporate social responsibility,
social impact, employeeengagement, di, racial equity.
It all falls under that.
Chantée Christian (08:56):
It's just different ways of helping and
improving a culture of anorganization, and there's many
different tools to use and justbeen using different ones in
different capacities yeah, Imean because I think when I
started my mba program, that wasone of the things that I
struggle with was like Iunderstand that hr is for the
(09:20):
company right, but who's for thepeople, right.
And then the more and more andmore I started getting into OD
and organizational behavior, Iwas like, oh, this is where it
lies, it's in here.
And I feel like now I see a lotof companies with people and
(09:42):
culture and and I'm like, okay,but now what are you doing to
protect the company Like it'slike you have to have a balance,
you know so.
No, I love that.
So I'm curious since you have abackground in organizational
behavior, people, things, what'sone of the things that you love
(10:06):
most about what you do?
Andrew Beamon (10:10):
What I, what I love most.
I think of it as what I'm ableto do internally for
organizations, so like, forexample, with corporate social
responsibility.
A lot of the work I worked onwas outside, helping employees
get involved in the communitythrough employee volunteerism,
(10:34):
right Supporting and helpingnonprofit organizations through
sponsorships.
So I love what we were able todo to impact the community, but
I also love the impact that itactually has on employees.
So like seeing programs andevents where employees are
working together.
A lot of times when you thinkabout building employee morale,
(10:57):
maybe you're having a program,maybe people are going out to
happy hour or having thosedifferent events.
People are going out the hothappy hour or having those
different events.
But I like the um, thecreativity, where you're able to
bring people together indifferent ways outside of the
regular work hours, to buildthat rapport, build those
connections and communicationacross departments and then
(11:21):
ultimately, like changing thelives of employees.
Like seeing an employee havemore pride in the organization
to where they, where they seetheir values, the organization's
values, in action and then, butnot only that, be able to get
promoted because people knowthem now.
People know them now Like youknow when you, when you talk
(11:46):
about like different ways thatpeople grow in companies usually
people talk about the PIacronym like performance,
influence and exposure.
Like those are the ways thatyou could grow within a company
and I like designing andfacilitating those opportunities
for people that already areperforming well to get some
(12:07):
exposure, meet and connect withother people that they normally
wouldn't be able to do.
So that's where I get excitedwhen I see employees' lives
change through the work thatwe're doing and changing within
a company.
Chantée Christian (12:23):
I love that.
I feel like it's a hot topicright now, right when people are
thinking about what does itlook like to be promoted and
like how do I network and whatdoes that really look like.
I'm curious.
How has it worked for you?
Andrew Beamon (12:38):
The exposure that I've been able to get through
companies like my experience ofgrowing within organizations
yeah, definitely, raising myhand for many volunteer
opportunities internally.
What is interesting is when Ifirst joined the management
(12:58):
consultant firm, I went down toDC, I joined Gallup Management
Consulting and, you know, justtrying to find my way as a new
consultant, and what I found waswe had this community builders
program.
So, like everybody within thatDC office, we were able to.
(13:20):
We would donate a little bit ofmoney out from our check and
then the company would match it.
Before you know it, we havethis pool of money that we have
to distribute across DC and theyhad a volunteer group that
would help decide whichnonprofits we would support and
do some volunteering in thecommunity.
(13:41):
So it's not just throwing money,volunteering in the community.
So it's not just throwing money.
We are actually putting moneyin with organizations that we
connect with in some way andthen creating volunteer programs
, and this is all volunteerstuff.
So I think being able todisplay my talents in ways that
made other people say I want towork with him.
(14:03):
We have this real projectcoming up.
It's not a volunteer project,we have a real project coming up
and I like his ability toexecute, I like his, his ability
to lead, and then that's when Istarted being building
relationships and being broughton to more projects, yeah, so,
um, yeah, raising my hand,raising my hand and volunteering
(14:24):
to get that exposure is whathelped me.
Chantée Christian (14:29):
So, if I'm hearing you correctly, exposure
and being in spaces to be ableto say, hey, I'm available or
let me try this out has reallybeen beneficial for you, yeah.
Andrew Beamon (14:42):
Yes, yes, and it builds confidence.
You, you build your confidenceas well.
So they get to see what you doand you get in when you show it
and you're executing, you'regaining greater confidence and
it's a safe space to do it.
You know, like, if it's on a,if it's on another project and
you make some mistakes, it couldbe detrimental to the project.
(15:04):
So you might be a little bitmore unsure, a little bit
nervous about, um, doing astretch assignment, but in, in
this capacity, it's a little bitsafer.
You know there you wouldn't getas much.
Uh, you know backlash or youknow messing up messing up a
volunteer project.
So, yeah, it's a good place topractice.
Chantée Christian (15:29):
I like that, a playground.
Andrew Beamon (15:31):
Playground.
Chantée Christian (15:34):
A playground that has value, though.
Andrew Beamon (15:36):
Yeah, absolutely yeah.
Chantée Christian (15:39):
So, as a Black man in this space from
Connecticut because every time Ithink about that what have you
found to be something that youwould say is like an uphill
(16:02):
battle, and once you got up thehill, you were so happy that you
actually kept going first Iwant to share that it's a myth
that there's not a lot of blackpeople in connecticut.
Andrew Beamon (16:19):
We had from bridgeport new haven to
waterbury.
You know there's, in harford alot of black people within the
cities, all right, so once youcaveat y'all the cities you said
heard the caveat there but assoon as you step outside the
cities, yeah, you're not gonnafind.
You're not gonna find a lot ofdiversity outside the cities.
It does have that.
(16:40):
I mean.
I think connecticut is like theperfect microcosm of america.
There is there's really richparts, like you go fearfield
county, it's like really, reallyrich parts, and then you have a
lot of other parts where peopleare truly struggling, just like
america as a whole.
So it's up.
So in some ways it's a lot ofsegregation, like in communities
(17:03):
across across connecticut.
Uh, so so, with that being said, just want to shout out to all
my people here in connecticutthank you for the clarification
I have to rep connecticut.
I have to rep connecticut.
I'm a rep.
Chantée Christian (17:21):
Put on for your city.
Andrew Beamon (17:25):
So actually can you repeat the question again?
Chantée Christian (17:28):
Oh, now that is always a trick.
Ok, I think I remember, as ablack man who has experienced a
lot of things in something thatyou felt like was an uphill
(17:48):
battle, and when you got to thetop of the hill you were like
I'm glad I didn't give up.
What would that thing be?
Andrew Beamon (17:57):
Let's see More of the.
I'm trying to think about theuphill battles is really in the
experiences in corporate America.
I think, coming out of ahistorical black college, you
know you had a community ofblack people, like Black leaders
(18:21):
in all positions, right, I mean, I did go to another college my
first year before that itactually had the president and
vice president were Black men.
So you know, seeing that Ithink actually even starting
that early, I think theexperience of graduating high
(18:43):
school and going off to collegewas the first experience where I
thought I don't know if I coulddo this, because most people
from my neighborhood weren'tgoing off to college and I had a
few friends that went off toplay basketball.
They had their basketballscholarships, but other than
that I really didn't know a lotof people that were just going
to college for academics.
(19:03):
And I think when I got thereand I saw them in those
positions, I think that gave memore confidence first.
And that was during the timewhere I had to because my grades
weren't great.
You know, I had, I mean, c'sand D's.
(19:23):
It was horrible report cardsthat I had as my senior maybe
got a little better my senioryear, but I remember going up to
the school the day after Igraduated.
I walked across the stage andmy father and my uncle were as
I'm celebrating and they'relooking at me and they're saying
(19:44):
you know you're going off tocollege.
Right, you know you're goingoff to college.
I said, ok, that was the momentI decided yes, I'll try this
college thing out.
The day I graduated high schooland I walked across stage.
So we're out to dinner and hesays, well, we're going to drive
up to Eastern Connecticut Statetomorrow and we're going to go
show your report card andwhatever.
(20:05):
We're just going to get youinto the school.
So I go there, I have my SATscores with me, I have my report
card and I remember when I gotthere they looked at it and he
said, well, it looks like you'recapable of doing the work.
And he said, well, it lookslike you're capable of doing the
work.
Like, the teachers are prettygood, the grades are pretty bad.
So I went through this boot camp.
(20:26):
It was, uh, it was a boot camp,uh, six, six weeks during the
summer to really teach you howto become a student and if you
pass this you'll be admitted tothe school.
So I passed it and that was theI think that was the change
where I became a lifelonglearner, like just going to
(20:47):
experience and being a student.
A bunch of other like I don'tknow, maybe it was like 30 of us
, mostly black students thatwere in this program, mostly
Black students that were in thisprogram and brilliant, too
brilliant, and it was the momentI really was in a great
learning environment and atNorth Carolina Central,
(21:08):
absolutely Bunch of brilliantpeople in Durham North people.
That was the.
I think that was the firstmoment or experience as a Black
man going off to college.
(21:29):
Was that experience where Ithought I don't know if I could
do this and then I did it?
And after that I just continuedto feel that way.
I did it and after that I justcontinued to feel that way, like
anytime I had to fill in, whereI don't know if I belong here
or I don't know if I could do it.
I wouldn't just it wouldn'tjust be blind faith.
That would.
That would help me do it.
(21:49):
I had an actual experiencealready that I could go back to
and say, oh, I remember the timewhere I thought I couldn't do
it or I thought I didn't belong,or I didn't think I was good
enough, or I had this self-doubtand look what happened.
So that's what I'll put that asthe.
That's the first experiencewhich helped me when, when I
(22:10):
graduated and went intocorporate, I was able to think
back about okay, I had thisfeeling before oh, my goodness,
this is good.
Chantée Christian (22:18):
It's so many things Like.
I don't think that I would havegotten into college if they
took my SAT score.
Oh, my dad was so mad with me.
I don't know that I've evertold this story publicly, but
you saying that reminded me.
So I had taken the PSAT scores,like all of the prep classes
(22:39):
and all those things I was doing.
I did great.
They thought I was a genius.
I went to go take that sat.
My dad was like do you know howmany points they give you for
signing your name?
I was like.
He was like you're just so busypartying and I was like I
didn't even go to a party lastnight.
Like what, what?
do you mean, and it wasn't untilprobably like a year or two ago
(23:05):
we actually had a conversationabout it again.
Because I did, I took it againand I got a lower score.
But then I took the ACT and Imissed two and I was like then
it was like we had to find me acollege that accepted, you know,
acts versus SAT and so, but Iwas like he was like you take AP
(23:29):
Latin, I do, but the way thatthese questions are written, my
brain cannot comprehend.
Like I don't care what you'retrying to say, and one of the
things that I learned, even likeit's going to take
certifications and all thosedifferent things.
And even in my when I wasworking on my master's, if I
(23:55):
don't fully understand the waythe sentence is written, my
brain won't find an answer.
So I had to practice what doesthe, what does the question look
like?
And when they ask it, what dothey really mean?
And so I had this like.
So with the pmp, one of themost painfulest examples of my
life 2012.
Andrew Beamon (24:14):
I remember it's just one.
One point.
I remember when I sat down totake it.
I remember I went through thefirst five questions and then I
seriously was wondering if I wastaking the wrong test.
I look, maybe this isn't, thiscan't be the PMP.
I passed the second time.
I passed the second time.
Chantée Christian (24:35):
So like a full disclosure, right.
I took the CAPM first, failedit and was horrified.
I had taken a boot camp class.
I had you know a couple offlash cards here.
There I was like, all right,cool, I'm done, I'm not doing it
.
My boss at the time, whoseactual house I'm recording from
(24:57):
right now one of my really goodfriends was like no, we're going
to put this in your plan, we'reall going to do it before they
change the exam.
And I was like, are you high?
Like I couldn't pass the baby?
What made you think I could gopass the daddy?
And then I realized it was thequestions Right.
(25:18):
It wasn't that I didn, it wasthe questions right.
It wasn't that I didn't knowthe information, it was how they
had structured the questions.
And so I spent I was quiteobsessive about it, but I spent
a lot of time understanding thattheir questions had no
structure because they have somany different people writing
questions and they don't have aformat.
(25:40):
So someone from the UK could bewriting a question that you
have on your exam.
They could be writing 10 of the200 or however many questions,
right, and so the way that theywrite in general is different,
but for me it was like, ok, themore I take the practice ones,
the more I get used to seeingthe sentence structure like it
(26:01):
was just one of those things.
For me that was like I had tofigure it out, because I didn't
figure it out in college, likeit was like undergrad.
By the time I got to graduateschool I had figured a little
bit more out, but like I hadn'tfigured it out, right, yeah, and
it was my money.
It was a little, a little bitdifferent and it's the topics
(26:22):
you wanted to study.
Well, honestly, yeah, and like Ididn't know what to do when I
got to college, like my parentshad went to college later in
life, so I didn't see, I didn'thave an example of what it
looked like to graduate highschool and go to college.
Like go straight to college,right.
(26:44):
And so I saw you working fromhome, like you literally working
, and then you're doingschoolwork, then you might go to
a night class.
Like I never really understoodwhat was I supposed to do in
college other than don't fuck upLike that was that was clear.
Like do not fuck this, don'tfuck up like that was that was
clear.
Like do not fuck this up.
But outside of that, I was likeall right, I'm here, what am I
(27:04):
supposed to do?
Yeah, I go to class, I'mpassing, you know, don't no one
asked me for my GPA, but I'mpassing.
And then what?
Andrew Beamon (27:15):
I had no idea my motivation was just living on my
own.
I said, oh, all I have to do isgo to school and I'm on my own.
That was enough motivation tomake me do my work.
Chantée Christian (27:25):
That's interesting.
Yeah, that wasn't enoughmotivation for me.
I love that, though, because Ithink that, and I tell, I tell
students now that one of thebiggest things that you got to
figure out what school is foryou and it's not for everyone,
you know, and the traditionalway of going isn't, say we,
(27:50):
because I don't know whereyou're at in this age bracket
but for myself, if I had knownthat 22, 23, however, many years
ago, that there was an optionfor me to be an entrepreneur and
(28:11):
it didn't have to be someonewho was in tech or a lawyer, I
probably would have thoughtabout it different, definitely,
you know, and I'm like y'allhave, like they blow up by
sneezing on YouTube or on TikTok, right, and I'm like I barely
(28:33):
had my space, like what ishappening right now, you know,
and so I think that technologyhas just changed the game, and
when we are talking about thataccessibility and inclusion,
right, I think about how we alsoowe it to the youth to be able
(28:57):
to offer them opportunities tounderstand what it looks like to
start their own business or todo things that are not
necessarily conventional anddon't necessarily always make
sense to us and our generation.
Andrew Beamon (29:12):
Agreed, agreed.
And you make me think about, Iguess, two points, probably like
the pro and the con.
Maybe I'll start with the conwhen it comes to the, the
younger generation and blowingup on on youtube or tiktok or
any of the platforms, andgetting rich.
you know a lot of people aremaking money doing these things
(29:32):
big money yeah, but I think ofthis is like the modern day gold
rush, like back in the dayspeople were running out to
California to get rich, startmining for gold.
Yes, people got rich, but manyother people didn't.
So now everybody's rushing tobecome this influencer or
(29:57):
whatever.
Whatever they're doing a comedyand and a lot of times this
could be a trap, a trap for themchasing this dream of gold,
this gold rush, and you know,they kind of get caught up in
the trap.
But the flip side of it is thatsocial media has evened the
(30:19):
playing field in many ways, justeven the playing field.
You don't need um, but even withmusic, like you could be an
independent artist and win now,yeah, the sign with def, jam or
whoever else, and you don't needthat middleman, and but so we
watched that happen withentrepreneurs in that way,
(30:42):
especially with music stayingindependent or owning their
masters, and we root for peoplelike Nipsey, like, oh, you own
your masters.
And like, yeah, that's the wayyou should do it.
If I was in the music game,that's how I would do it.
But as people in otherprofessions like ours, we didn't
see ourselves that way.
(31:03):
We thought about like hey, I'msigning for the big major label,
I'm going to work for the largebank or whoever else, and
that's the way we're doing it.
We didn't think of ourselves asentrepreneurs too, and hold on,
we don't need the middleman.
We could actually do this workthat we're doing for ourselves
and not for a large company, anddo it that way.
(31:24):
And I think social media andthe internet has allowed us that
vehicle for not just for otherindustries but for our industry
to do it ourselves.
I think that's the mostbeautiful thing about it.
It really even playing fieldfor people, or you had to move
to New York City to win.
But now you can do it fromanywhere.
(31:44):
You can do it from Connecticutand still have a career.
I don't have to be in DC tohave a career anymore.
You can do it from any smalltown USA.
Chantée Christian (31:55):
Yeah, no, I think that is powerful and I
think it's like like when yousaid that it's like a trap it
made me think about like I thinkthat I think that we do a
disservice when we don't harnessgifts right, and so I think
(32:18):
that when we're in the searchfor the gold, we typically come
up with a dud, versus when we'reharnessing the passion that's
behind it and allowing that todrive us right.
So, like, if you like to dig,then you won't go.
(32:38):
You gonna go find something go,do it, yeah, go do it right and
so like.
When I think about the peoplethat are on social like, even
the ones that have like blown upout of nowhere, I'm like you.
The amount of effort that youhave put into this thing, that
you do is worth every dollarthat you get.
(32:58):
Now, whether if it's the thingthat I think is a jam or not,
it's neither here nor there, butI know personally, from my own
resistance for social media, howchallenging and how much effort
it is to put out that content,much effort it is to put out
(33:20):
that content.
And so my thing is alwaysthough okay, well, when it's
over, what's going to be yourfallback plan?
Have you saved enough?
Do you have everything and whatskill sets have you pulled from
that?
Right, even with like coaching,like, people still don't know
what coaching is.
I still have calls and I'm likeso tell me what your idea of
coaching is.
And people are like oh well,you know, I just I think of
(33:44):
sports and I was like yeah, metoo.
Let's keep talking about whatthat is right, and that's not a
shot at them.
It's the truth, even though wehave so much exposure to what I
like to call internet coaches.
Right, everybody wants to bemotivational and inspirational
and all that other shit likestock gurus, everybody,
(34:06):
everybody's right and then theiraccounts are in the negative.
But like the point is, like, atthis stage in the game, everyone
and anyone could have aplatform.
It's what do you decide toharness and do with it?
Yeah, and I think that's thepart that's fun to me, or?
Andrew Beamon (34:24):
exciting even.
You know, we were talkingearlier, before we started
recording, and you were sayinghow like excited you are about
this book release Awareness.
Put me on and you just excited,excited about this book release
awareness.
Put me on and you just excited,excited about this this moment.
And it made me think about that.
(34:45):
When you're talking about peoplein this gold rush and like, hey
, if you love to dig, it doesn'teven matter.
And I feel like that's what wedid with the book.
We love doing this, we lovethis process.
It doesn't matter if we havegold at the end or not, we just
(35:06):
love the process.
So I think that that's soimportant to just kind of
emphasize the point that youjust made it's the passion for
the process that matters most.
You just made it's the passionfor the process that matters
most.
And, yeah, if you're goingthrough a process that you're
not passionate about, yeah, thenyou better get the gold.
If you don't, you're extremelydisappointed.
But if you love to dig, thenyeah, have fun, have fun with it
(35:29):
, enjoy it.
Yeah, enjoy the journey.
Chantée Christian (35:31):
I think, I don't know.
It's like like, I feel likethere's such a difficult concept
for people to grasp, right,that you can do what you love
and what you're passionate aboutand get paid to do it.
Like you don't have to dosomething that you hate to do
(35:53):
just to pay your bills, you know, and so, like, when we talk
about that passion and thatdigging, it's like those are the
type of role models that I hopethat my nieces and nephews see,
right Is that you don't have todo something that you don't
(36:15):
love.
You can do things you love todo, yeah, and get paid for it.
Yeah, you don't have to beliving like a pauper, like you
have options, you know.
But I love that and I love theexcitement, right, that comes
along with doing what you loveto do, like when we I like to
(36:40):
call it the fake green room,because it's not really that
green, but when we were in there, you shared with me this huge
announcement, and part of thatto me, right, had to do with the
passion.
You're excited that you stillget to do all of the other
things that you love to do, andthat thing, right, that's the
(37:01):
digging like it's.
It's the digging now.
I love this concept agreed,agreed.
Andrew Beamon (37:10):
I don't want to play, I don't want to be too
controversial here or uh, butbut I'm gonna play devil's
advocate a little bit about the,the passion and people doing
what they love and not getting.
Or you don't have to be, youdon't have to struggle and have
your passion.
I'm okay with people doing ittemporarily if you have to do a
job that you don't love, butdon't stay stuck there.
(37:33):
You know I I that that I didn'tlove, but I was able to save
save my money in ways toposition me to be able to go try
things that I'm passionateabout.
So sometimes you might have towork for a period of time, but
the the more you can shortenthat period of time.
(37:53):
You have to work in a way, workin a field or a job that you
don't truly love.
The quicker you can shortenthat, the better.
But don't be afraid to go doother things to allow you and
pay for it.
Sometimes you have to pay forthat passion first and then go
do it.
Chantée Christian (38:12):
Yes, absolutely, absolutely.
I think.
When I say that, I mean I wouldhave never went to college,
starting off as a business major, because that wasn't what I
loved, true, true, get me agreat paying job to be able to
(38:37):
pay for this lifestyle that myparents set me up for, not
realizing that they had twoincomes and they was out here
living their whole best life atwhatever age it was that they
had, you know, 18 year old offin college, right, yeah.
And then there came a pointwhere I realized one, I wasn't
gonna pass econ, but two that.
I didn't like it.
I loved what I was doing atwork, though, which was
(39:03):
newsletters and editing thosetype of things and writing,
creating graphics, and then Irealized, oh, there's a major
for that.
And then I realized, oh,there's a major for that, right.
But because I was still afraidand moving from a scarcity
mindset I was only out ofcollege for a few months before
(39:29):
I went back for my MBA.
The same thing that I didn'tthink that I could pass an
undergrad.
Right, because in my mind, thatwas security.
Right.
Right, because in my mind, thatwas security.
Right, not realizing that, hadI done some internships or some
other things within the commmajor that I was in, I could
have gotten some security overthere, too, right.
(39:51):
And so, when I think of it fromthat perspective, right, I
spent a lot of time doing otherthings that got me ready and
prepared to be in this moment.
But when I look at my nieces andmy nephew, right, I'm like how
can they learn it quicker?
True, right to help them getinto spaces where they can make
(40:22):
a profit in doing something thatthey enjoy to do, versus the
many a days and nights that Isat at my desk was like, why am
I here?
I hate it here.
Oh, although, most of thoseplaces that I wasn't that fond
of paid for a lot of thecertifications that roll behind
my name, right, everything has acatch-22.
(40:42):
It's just how do we help themget there a little bit faster
than we got there?
Yeah, agree.
No, I love that.
So I feel like now is a perfecttime to ask you a question.
I feel like Mr Rogers.
You know, when he starts to sitdown and put on his shoes and
(41:06):
put on his jacket what would youlike to leave the people with,
because we've talked about a lotokay, couple, couple things.
Andrew Beamon (41:22):
I would like to leave everybody with one point
that greatness is seldomachieved alone.
The more you're able to connectwith partner, with others, you
(41:43):
could grow faster.
You don't have to do all thiswork in everything alone.
You know you get things done onyour own as an entrepreneur,
but when you just, for example,like writing a book on my own
Two year process, writing a bookwith a team, it's a three month
(42:07):
process.
Yes, it is greatness.
Greatness is never achieved orseldom achieved alone is one.
And then the other point, as wethink about the book, awareness
Put Me On a lot on authenticityas well, and I know other
(42:32):
authors talk about theauthenticity and the aha moments
when they just really begantrusting themselves.
But I think what makesauthenticity so important is
that when you're authentic, youcan be more confident, and when
(42:58):
you're confident in who you are,you'll have better integrity,
and integrity is everything.
So authenticity goes right intointegrity.
And last point is most of thepeople.
You know there's people in thenews today.
(43:18):
There'll be people in the newsa couple of months from now and
it's going to continue.
When you see people on top fallfrom grace, it's usually
because of lack of integrity orA moral mistake is usually not
just skills and talent thatmakes you fall from grace, not
because you messed up on aproject, it's not that it's.
(43:41):
It's a moral mistake.
That happens in times whereyou're not acting with integrity
.
So that's where authenticity isso powerful.
It can kind of prevent orreduce the chances hopefully
prevent you from making thosemajor mistakes that cause you to
(44:02):
fall from grace.
Chantée Christian (44:04):
I mean, well damn, now I feel like we need to
record for another 20 minutesbecause I'm like wait a minute,
wait a minute.
I appreciate that and I thinkthat one of the biggest things
that I'll take away from thisconversation at least doing it
in this moment is how importantcommunity is Right, and not just
(44:29):
, you know, being with people,but literally leaning on the
community Right, and I thinkthat has more of an impact than
I had originally thought.
It's specifically talking aboutawareness.
Put me on in the project.
So I thank you for joining theprojects with an S.
Andrew Beamon (44:54):
Yes, more work to do, more work to do.
Chantée Christian (44:57):
Yes.
Andrew Beamon (44:58):
Shout out.
Let me give a quick shout out.
Shout out to Dr Barbara Skinner, who runs this master's series
of distinguished leaders program, because the point that I made
around morals and reasons peoplefall from grace, that came from
her.
Yeah, I learned that from herand it stuck with me.
Chantée Christian (45:21):
Yeah, that's dope.
It's true, integrity is a, band people will test your
integrity often and you get todecide how much of your toe you
want to dip into the lack ofyour personal integrity, right,
(45:43):
yeah?
Andrew Beamon (45:43):
there's temptation out there.
It's gonna test us all listen,I'm ready.
Chantée Christian (45:49):
No, I'm just joking that is awesome yes,
thank you, thank you, thank you.
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