Speaker: Jodi Holstein
Can you introduce yourself, and tell us a little bit about you?
Jodi Holstein: Hi, I'm Jodi Holstein. I was hired by ACI to be the executive assistant to Scott and the ELT about a week ago. And I am a native of Colorado. I live about an hour from the Centennial office. I have five kids, five grandkids. I have two that are yet to be married, but have weddings in the future and, I don't think this family could grow big enough for me. So I am really excited. This season of life is fantastic for those of you approaching empty nester. It can be a lot of fun. All of the love of grandkids without any of the responsibility. It's fantastic and it's even better when none of them ask you for money. That takes to about 30, but it happens. That's a little bit about me.
What got you into your field and why were you drawn to the kind of work you do?
Jodi Holstein: I like to say that at the age of 13, I was hired as my family's chief problem solving officer. I have always been the go-to person when something's not working, right? When relationships aren't working, right? When systems aren't working, right? When somebody needs a resume, always. And I think my family tapped into a little bit of what would always be my gift and I took that and I built a career out of it. I have been in the administrative support field for over 30 years. I've got about 20 years in executive level support. And I think that I have been around long enough to see that role evolve and as it has evolved, it has incorporated some of my other skills which come very naturally. Project management, process improvement, problem solving, getting outcomes, meeting deadlines, those things are all part of who I am naturally. So this field of work is really a natural fit.
Why did you choose ACI Learning for this next step in your career journey?
Jodi Holstein: I think I can say safely that ACI chose me before I chose ACI. I was contacted by an agency and the, the agency asked me, gosh, would you be willing to talk to Ryan in two hours? My hair didn't look fantastic that day, but I went with it and I did the interview with Ryan right away. I then had a really quick interview with Philip and Steve. Just only two days later, Scott was the next day and I was hired the day I spoke with Scott and I would like to think that it wasn't out of some sense of, oh my God, we've got to hire somebody, but that they saw something in my skill set that made them say, ah, this is what we're looking for. So over the course of the last week and a half, I have done a lot of homework and I have realized that ACI is really a place that my skill set can be used from end to end. Yes, I can do the administrative things, but I'm also seeing where there could be some value to the fact that I am a holder of the PMP credential. I'm a project manager, I have a background in process improvement and change management. that I am a problem solver and that I have a history of solving those problems under budget and with the outcome that we're looking for in the time that we need it solved. And those are all elements of the kind of position that I've been hired for if the organization and the CEO is wanting to operate at a higher level, and I've had positions where the executive doesn't want to hire, doesn't want to work at a higher level. And really, we just kind of want you right here doing calendar items and never doing anything else. Yeah, I can do that. It's kind of a waste and I feel like at ACI, it's not going to be a waste. And so I get a little more excited every day about what my role will be, how I will be utilized and how I can be a part of doing some great things with what I've determined to be some really great people, and meet those deadlines, achieve those goals and be able to do it in a way where we can all celebrate at the end of the day.
Tell us a quirky fun fact about you or your life!
Jodi Holstein: I don't just have one quirky fun fact. So let me roll through these first, I spent five years after high school taking private voice lessons from a metropolitan opera star. I spent about 20 years on stage and, I haven't sang in a long time. Haven't performed in a long time. So the muscles have gotten weak but there was a day when I could compete in that arena. Another fun fact. I just got my hunter safety license. Now, what's quirky about that is I don't own a gun yet. So that's an interesting component. And the first time I ever shot a gun was at my hunter safety course. The final exam, if you will, is they give you a gun, they put the target way out there and you have to shoot 10 bullets and all 10 of my bullets hit the target and there were six kill shots. So I left feeling very confident that if the zombie apocalypse were to happen, I would make it through the first day. I wasn't confident of that before my hunter's safety course. And I love these videos because I just watched Renita who said she was a marksman. So maybe she can help me decide now that I'm ready to purchase a weapon because I have learned to use it. What's the right one for me? And then the last one? Quirky. I have a very unhealthy addiction to lipstick. I am just going to say I own all shades and I feel compelled to buy new lipstick all the time. I'll stop at the store and say, oh, I need to get this shade of lipstick and my husband will look at me and go, don't you already have that color? And I'll say no, I have Apple Berry. This is Berry orchard, duh. So unhealthy, I want to just tell you it was really traumatic over COVID to wear those masks because the heat of the mask just melts your lipstick, it soaks into your face. You take the mask off, you look like a clown. It was a bad time for me. So very happy we're not doing masks anymore. So those are a few facts about me.
Finally, is there anything else you want us to know about you or that you want to say?
Jodi Holstein: So my final thought to share is this. I have taken a lot of personality tests. I know my personality, it's strong. I like process. I like rules. I like boundaries. I like consequences. I like hard deadlines. I like very clear communication and it's interesting. There's often a misconception around that because I will always get the the question. So how do you handle it when things don't go as planned? And inside, I have to chuckle a little bit because does every, does anything ever go as planned? I don't know. My wedding didn't go as planned. My marriage didn't go as planned, raising kids, didn't go as planned. What goes as planned in my 25 year history as a project manager, I've never had a project go as planned. And that is why I am absolutely dedicated to the 80%. There is 80% that we can plan. We can process, we can anticipate and we can overcome, but we've got to do it because we're going to need that 20% for whatever life throws at us. We've got to be able to have room to bob and weave. And if we haven't done our 80% work. then when life throws us, those really nasty blows, our projects aren't going to survive. Our marriage isn't going to survive. Our kids are going to be a mess. That's just how it works. I was planning a wedding for my niece, 40x80 tent to arrive at 11 a.m. Takes six hours to put up. That tent did not arrive till 11 p.m. I'm not in control of that, but I'll tell you what, I had to bob and weave and I had the bandwidth to do it. I planned a golf tournament, charity, golf tournament, big money, big sponsors, big expectation. An hour away from our big end event, golfers are wrapping up and I get a call that I've got a 26 year old kid out on hole 18 has decided to play frisbee on the fairway drunk and has dislocated his hip. I can't plan for that. I better hope that I have used that 80%. Well, because I had to drop everything. I had to slide in under that 26 year old kid. I cradled his head in my lap for about 25 minutes waiting for the ambulance to come down the fairway, got him in the hands of professionals and then had to brush myself off. Take a deep breath, go into the golf location the, the clubhouse and make like nothing had happened. That's life. I'm an 80 percenter I want to make sure we're doing what we can do to prepare for what life's going to throw at us. And I am really excited to be able to be that person in the scope of ACI this has been a lot of fun. and I hope that you've enjoyed getting to know a little bit about me.
