Growth Mindset Leadership Style Passion

Iron Man

Andrew Chau

04.14.22

Andrew Chau has a unique approach when it comes to strategic thinking. Hear how he draws inspiration from American History and the Marvel Universe to help him think about the big picture.

Summary:

Andrew Chau has a unique approach when it comes to strategic thinking. Hear how he draws inspiration from American History and the Marvel Universe to help him think about the big picture.

Thuy

How do you do your best strategic thinking? Are there any tools or methods that you find especially helpful?

Andrew Chau

Yeah, I listened to a lot of podcasts and I get inspired. So, find people who are kind of your thought. You know I mentioned that you have kind of like a wheelhouse, like a spectrum that you’re on. I generally try to find people that are very aligned with my kind of spectrum, and then I find people that are kind of not. So, in mine, to give an example, so, I’m—you have to know yourself—so I am like an ENF J, Myers-Briggs, I’m a Enneagram Three, I’m a Berkman Blue-green, I’m Disc and…

Thuy

You’ve taken all of them.

Andrew Chau

Yeah, I don’t believe they’re one size fits all. A lot of people are like, “Oh, these tests don’t categorize you,” but I’m like, I don’t think it’s about tests, it’s about what the tests give you, and so, do you think you are that? And how do you adjust? It’s the introspection that is the exercise, not the test, not the label.

So, when you know that, all right, and now I know my wheelhouse, I’m more like, I identify more like with Tony Stark, or the fictional character, or Alexander Hamilton, from the musical. I have a little bit more of a brash bombastic energy, I’m a little bit more bolder, I’m nonstop, I’m a little bit like I have a chip on my shoulder.

So, those are kind of my archetype features. So, I look for thinkers that are similar to that. But then knowing that, who, and fictional character is their foil. In Hamilton, it’s Aaron Burr, and Tony Stark, it’s Captain America. So, then I look for archetypes that are thinkers, that are more closer to like Captain America, that are more closer to Aaron Burr. And I find people in real life that think that way. And so, I find those as my peers.

So, I really, really, really love, you know, in high school, I was in what you call junior statesmen of America, which is like the Bay Club. I did mock trial, so I really love the intellectual sparring. So, you can tell I’m a little heady. So, I think it just helps when you do that, because I think when you talk about leadership strategy, when you talk about predicting the future, or making decisions that is based on future environment, outcomes. I generally have been on the right side of a lot of it, and it’s because I tend to have a very, very broad view of anything, that’s a very big picture.