EP255: Laura Kriska - How Inclusion Can Help You Build A Bookkeeping Business You Love

Laura Kriska: The way to see invisible data is first to know and understand that these cultural norms are present all the time, everywhere. And when you are unfamiliar with a certain culture, those invisible norms go unnoticed. You're listening to The Successful Bookkeeper with your host, Michael Palmer. Listen each week as inspiring guests share their secrets of success to help you increase your confidence, work smarter, and build a business you love. This episode of The Successful Bookkeeper is brought to you by purebookkeeping.com, the proven system to grow your bookkeeping business. Welcome back to Welcome to the Successful Bookkeeper Podcast. I'm your host, Michael Palmer, and today's show is going to be a fantastic one. Our guest is a cross-cultural workplace consultant and author of The Business of We, the proven 3-step process for closing the gap between us and them in your workplace. Laura Kriska is on the podcast, and just to let you know, we had some technical issues at the beginning, which is why we jumped straight into the interview. I start off with asking Laura about her unique career journey, and here's her answer. Enjoy the conversation.

Ad Read: My work started in Japan. It's a little surprising to people when they see me. I am a middle-aged white woman, and when I was a young white woman, I went to work in the Tokyo headquarters of Honda Motor Company. Jitsu wa watashi wa Nihon ni umaremashita, which is to say, I was born in Japan. And I grew up in the United States, but I was really interested in Japan, and so at age 22, my first real professional job, I was the only American woman working with several thousand Japanese colleagues. And so I very much was the them in the us versus them dynamic. And I started to understand how much relationships with people who are different from yourself how critical that is for a successful workplace. I learned that through my own experiences, and then I started helping other people in my job as a cross-cultural consultant. I've spent more than 25 years facilitating this relationship building among people from very different backgrounds. Amazing. I mean, just that experience in itself must have been an incredible obstacle for you to overcome. I mean, the cultural differences alone, the gender differences, you know, and shaping your, your beliefs and your future. What were some of the greatest challenges that you faced early on in that experience?

That's such a great question, Michael. So When I went to