About Jason Walker
He lives in Austin, Texas. Moved to Texas 12 years ago from San Francisco. He has spent his entire career working in leadership positions in Human Resources in high-tech companies. He has a master’s degree in IO Psychology from the University of San Francisco.
You can find me online at: jason@thrivehrconsulting.com
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Why did you become an entrepreneur?
We started our company 18 months ago, during the throws of the pandemic. We felt like we had some good concepts and expertise that would help companies and employees get through this new world of work we are all facing.
How do you deal with fear?
There is always fear when you do something new or different. It is very easy to do the same thing all the time. I have always been more fearful of not doing something different and getting out of my comfort zone. I always wonder what will I miss if I don’t try, even though I may be fearful I always try to imagine what the other side of my decisions might look like. I think fear keeps us from doing big things and experiencing all that life has to offer. Fear is an inhibitor.
How do you deal with rejection?
LOL, I have had so much rejection in my life that I would be living in a dark closet if I did not learn to deal with rejection. You have to push through and be resilient. There is no better life skill to have than resilience. When you get knocked down you have to pick yourself up quickly and move forward. There will always be people that don’t like you, or your ideas or your company or the shirt you’re wearing. Never let a person’s opinion of you cloud your judgment on what you believe. Just because someone has a view or says no to you does not mean the next person will have the same view. Just keep pushing through.
What’s the name of your company? What exactly does your company do, how do you help people?
Our Company is Thrive HR Consulting, we are a full-service HR Consultancy firm. We are working with companies to help them hire for their organizations, manage mergers and acquisitions, talent development, assist with creating hybrid remote workforces post-pandemic and help companies with compensation needs.
Name one of the biggest challenges you have faced and how did you overcome it?
I have both dyslexia and math dyscalculia, which was undiagnosed for most of my life. I went through times of feeling extremely bad about myself when I struggled in school trying to understand things that seemed to come so easy for others. I was often told by teachers that I was stupid and dumb and I was made fun of by my fellow students for most of the time I was in K-12. Once I learned that I had disabilities I was finally able to figure out how to handle them and try to overcome them.
What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your career?
That there are always going to be obstacles to your success, and you are going to make mistakes. You need to not get frustrated by the obstacles and you need to focus more on how you rebound from your mistakes rather than what the mistake was. Also always protect your personal brand. Never do anything that tarnishes that. If you have a strong brand that will last you a very long time!
Who are your biggest influences and people you admire and why?
I admire our men and women in the military and for their courage to stand up and defend our country. We owe everyone that has served or does serve our gratitude for the sacrifices they have made.
Name a person who helped you along the way?
A person I owe a great deal to is the current Chief Human Resources Officer at Yeti, Hollie Castro. She hired me to work for her at BMC Software and gave me amazing experiences and was a fantastic mentor for me. Hollie always had a very special gift for mentorship and making everyone that worked for her feel amazing about their contributions. She did more for me than anybody in my professional life and I just can’t ever thank her enough.
What do you see as your greatest success in life, so far?
My greatest success in life is being a loving husband and father. I have a wonderful relationship with my kids and my wife is my best friend. For me, that is the most important than anything else I can be successful at. At the end of the day, you get a performance review at work and at home. I want to have a great performance review at home because that is what really matters.
What book would you recommend and why?
One of my favorite books is the 5th Discipline by Peter Senge. I think that the systems thinking approach by Senge is even more important today than ever We need to triangulate. You need to get different people, from different points of view, who are seeing different parts of the system to come together and collectively start to see something that individually none of them see.
My second one is a new book by my colleague Steve Cadigan called Workquake. It is an important book to read as it talks about embracing the aftershocks of Covid-19 to create a better model of working.
What’s a personal self-talk, mantra, affirmation, or self-belief that contributes to your success?
I like to look at life with a sense of humor. For me finding the humor every day in what I do is important. Even when you are frustrated or at your lowest finding something to laugh about and have fun about is important. I think having fun and always saying to yourself this to shall pass.
