CEO Notes #20 - The Other Stories
As an introvert, there is one thing I was surprised to find out about myself - I like to discover other people’s stories. The real stories - the ones that explain why people started, what they risked, where they failed, and what made them continue. Everyone has their own story, and often once you hear it, it is very different from the assumptions, perceptions, or judgements you had before.
That has become the most valuable part of hosting FinTech Close-up. What started as a small idea has grown into 14 episodes and 15 stories about Latvian fintechs and the people behind them.
These conversations taught me few things:
• Be curious. To get over introversion, I often frame it for myself very simply - I have to be curious. Ask questions that are actually interesting to me. Do not stick too much to an artificial scenario. Go where curiosity leads. That usually opens much more interesting and deeper conversations than just following a prepared list of questions. The more you are willing to share and open up, the more the other person usually does the same.
• Know your domain. To talk about a matter, you have to know the matter deep enough to ask the right questions. Not to show that you know everything, but to get the right insights and extract valuable lessons from the guest. Being in the fintech space for more than 10 years and teaching fintech business education has given me a good understanding of the field. That helped make these discussions more valuable.
• Be open-minded. Even when we think we already know the facts, the person, or the situation, we should be open to hearing the other side without immediate judgement. Very often there is missing context, a different angle, or a reason why something happened. I believe we are losing the skill to debate and talk constructively without blame or offense. We do not hear each other enough. Latvian politics is a clear example, but this goes far beyond politics. We should be able to listen respectfully and still agree to disagree. I am still shaping this skill myself, but I believe it is important if we want to grow as a society.
At Baltic Fintech Days, I had a really meaningful FinTech Close-up session with Iveta and Sergejs, where we wrapped up many of the learnings from previous episodes. And one thing became very clear - I really like doing this.
But I do not know if this series will continue in the future. In a world with so much information, it is hard to compete for attention. Many people say that this should continue, but in reality I am not sure how many are ready to listen to longer and deeper stories.
Would you listen if FinTech Close-up continued? And in what format would you actually prefer it - full video, podcast, short clips, written takeaways, or live conversations?