Leap Academy with Ilana Golan - Client Spotlight: Garry's Story of Overcoming Limits To Become President & CEO

Episode Date: September 1, 2023

Having the right mindset is critical for success. We can't avoid obstacles and challenges, but how we handle them makes all the difference. In this episode Ilana speaks with Garry Crossland, President & CEO of GM Quartz about how he set an intention to run a company and used the power of mindset to help him stay the course despite setbacks. Watch This Episode on YouTube - https://youtu.be/zcz5FdufAKY Ready to take the first step to fast-tracking your career? Get access to my free training here: https://training.leapacademy.com/register If you're like Garry feeling stuck, frustrated and want to strategize with someone who gets it, schedule a complimentary call with my team:https://www.leapacademy.com/yt-schedule About Ilana Golan & Leap Academy:Website - https://www.leapacademy.com/Follow Ilana on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilanagolan/YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@ilanagolan-leap-academy

I want to run a company. It's something that I had thought about for many years, but didn't seriously put the effort into. And going through the program, everything just clicked. It came into play. And I don't like coincidence, but the things just fall into place when the work is there, right? Got to the end of the program. I was doing, I think I was scheduled for my final coaching session with Sue and I found this opportunity and this just clicked over the last three weeks. Amazing. I met with the board and then followed that up with a meeting with the senior management team. And we had a deal within a week and a half. The feeling's amazing. It's been a complete shift. I mentioned it on one of our calls recently, just the feeling that I've had in the last month. I can feel the shift. And again, it's not magic. It's not woo-woo. It's real life. Do the work, put in the effort, and results follow. Welcome to The Leap Show. In The Leap Show, we're here to bring experts from around the globe who share inspiring stories, concrete tips, and insight on what helped them

become the best version of themselves and who they are today and create the incredible life that they wanted. Subscribe and follow us. Share this with friends who are also driven and aiming for more because you'll hear stories and tips that you'll hear nowhere else. Hi, I'm Ilana Golan, CEO of Leap Academy, which helps driven professionals reinvent, leap their careers to the next level. Now let's get started. I am so, so, so excited to talk to you today, to have others hear your story. You're an incredible, you just landed president, CEO, GM for its amazing, amazing, amazing role. Congratulations. Thank you, Alana. You're already an achiever. You're already a

leader. You're already at the helm, but you decided you wanted more. Tell us a little more. Been in the Bay Area for the last 22 years, specifically in semiconductor tests. And that was preceded by some time on active duty in the army and got my degree at West Point. But the focus has been on my career for the last 22 years. I've spent that 22 years specifically in semiconductor tests, and I've had the opportunity to work with startups. Some have worked out great and gone on to become the industry leader and some we've struggled with. And so that's where I was this year. Following the pandemic, following a rough couple years in the business, the conditions just were clear to me that it was time for me to make a move. And so I started in the spring and, you know, the frustrating aspect of sending things around

on LinkedIn and the limited network that I was able to access at the time. And as I was going through that process, I came across one of your videos and, you know, the story resonated, something in your story just clicked with me. And, you know, everything felt right from that first conversation that we had. And it was off and running from there in June. And I love that, Gary, because you made that fast decision. You joined us. You were always energetic. You were always positive. The way you show up to this is the way you show up in life. And that was amazing to see because the minute we see somebody that will take action, show up, they're just going to zoom through

because they bring that vibe of leadership, integrity, all of that wisdom. And that just snowballs into big things, Right. So what shifted? Well, it was interesting coming through the LEAP program about halfway through the program, I had a injury from an accident and it sent me sideways. So I completely separated and dislocated my shoulder, which is, you know, pretty painful and frustrating and on my dominant arm, you know, made life challenging. And during that time, I had a difficult personal time. Sue was an immense help to me during those times because I just got off track. You know, I jumped into the program and things were going great. And then at about the four week mark, I had the injury and things got a

little bumpy for me and it was hard to get motivated. And when you're not sleeping, life gets pretty difficult. Right. And then I was able to refocus from that point as, you know, the recovery took place and got back on track, got through the program and saw the value as I was coming through the program, increased my participation week after week as I saw the value and started networking with other members of LEAP so that I could learn about little things that I found interesting. And around the time of the injury, I had gotten an open inquiry just for a CEO job. So I had screened for it and it didn't go anywhere. But that thought came back into the work that I was doing in the modules. And my mindset shifted from, I'm not just looking for

a good job to carry me into the C-suite. I want to run a company. It's something that I had thought about for many years, but didn't seriously put the effort into. And going through the program, everything just clicked. It came into play. And I don't like coincidence, but the things just fall into place when the work is there. Right. You, you posted on LinkedIn recently that luck isn't what make it makes it work. Right. There's, there's a definition of luck that I like out there where preparedness meets opportunity. I love that. That's real luck. Right. So that's the feeling I've been having. And so as I stepped through that, got to the end of the program I was doing, I think I was scheduled for my final coaching session with Sue

and I found this opportunity and this just clicked over the last three weeks. Amazing. I met with the board and then followed that up with a meeting with the senior management team. And we had a deal within a week and a half. And a lot of people will get to slumps. Life gets in the way. You're also in a, you know, in a role that it's not as inspiring as the new one, right? Like there's a lot of things that will create that, you know, spiral, especially if there's also an injury. The difference is that some people will take it as an excuse to give up. And some people will, you know, find their footing. And sometimes that takes time, but then continue to persevere. And I think that's where it becomes so inspiring to see how you show up. Thank you. That's amazing. So that's, you know know something I had said to myself in my recovery

you know getting my arm healthy again and getting back to you know usability trying to get my mindset right for that working with my daughter and her athletics on her mindset and then working with you and Sue on mindset and it all just comes together right when you get that kind of momentum from various aspects of your life the lift is is real. It's real. And when that happens, just things fall into place and more opportunities open up and you show up better and more people. I mean, it's just amazing to see how that works, right? Because you're right. Like is not a strategy, but we can create our own luck. You decided not to go to victim mentality. You decided to show up as a leader. And the truth is, that is why you can lead a company, right?

Like slumps going to happen. Ups and downs will happen. The difference is between the people that will take those slumps and victimize versus the people that, you know, can continue running a company, continue running their life and leap even further. That's rare. We grow the most in the hard times, right? Amazing. So where is it now? Like you're going to start this amazing role. Like you get to run a company. Tell us a little more. How does it feel?

The feeling's amazing. It's been a complete shift. I mentioned it on one of our calls recently, just the feeling that I've had in the last month. I can feel the shift, right? And again, it's not magic. It's not woo-woo. It's real life, right? Do the work, put in the effort, and results follow. And so it's something that I had quietly been working for and not focusing on. And then you put the focus in the right place and it becomes a reality. And the timing of it is great for me. Everything is working out advantageously. It's a great example to my daughter who is struggling in middle school and trying to get a handle around how she's going to be successful in junior high. But, you know, it's all these things that make this worth it, right?

This is the reason to create the legacy. This is why you do the hard work. Investing in yourself is the fastest payoff, right? You can dream about winning the lottery. You can have dreams about making great investments in the stock market. But what comes down to it, if you want to make a quick change and get your direction set and start your legacy, bet on yourself. I bet on myself and it changed my life. And I hope to gift it as many people as I can and to

see amazing people like you that now can inspire more generations and make bigger things. And it's amazing to see. Thank you for listening and hope you enjoyed this show. Don't forget to subscribe, follow, share this with friends. I'll see you in the next Leap Show.