When I look back on my career, I can honestly say I never wanted to lead. I started with a simple belief in the work. My goal was straightforward: I wanted to build and to solve human problems using digital anything. For a long time, I viewed leadership as a distraction from the craft itself, but I eventually realized that our mission demanded something far beyond my individual effort.
In a recent talk with my team, I outlined the exact journey of how Hooman and Beyond came to be. It is a story of moving past frustration, taking control, and building human-centered digital experiences.
Frozen in Time
Like many builders, I hit a point where our progress felt completely frozen in time. As a team member, I saw projects with the potential to actually move the needle get entirely sidelined by top management.
My frustration grew over the years. I spent my time talking about change, waiting for permission to act, and feeling blocked by a “top-down” priority list that simply didn’t align with the mission.
But then, my perspective shifted. I looked at the view from the top and realized that my leaders didn’t dislike my ideas, they were simply buried under a mountain of their own responsibilities. They didn’t just need me to suggest solutions. They needed me to own them, entirely removing the burden of “how” from their plates.
The Pivot: 100% Ownership
This realization was the pivot point for my career and the eventual birth of Hooman. I embraced 100% Ownership.
The core lesson was to stop talking and start doing. Real change doesn’t happen just because we present a slide deck; it happens when someone steps up and says, “I have this, and here is exactly how I will execute it for our mission”. Leadership is not a title; it is the active act of taking responsibility for an outcome.
Because of this mindset shift, seven distinct ideas finally moved forward to become Hooman and Beyond. These included everything from EDUBLOCKS (a modular ERP for schools) and a non-profit for education named Kislap, to the creation of an all-in-one lean and agile digital solutions team: HOOMAN.
The Hooman Mission and 2030 Vision
Taking ownership allowed us to define a clear purpose. Our mission is to help humans achieve their goals with human-centered digital experiences. We aim to help every organization seeking to Live, Learn, and Love in the 21st century by providing digital experiences that are:
- Accessible
- Affordable
- Adaptive
- Attentive
By providing more options and more choices, we are working toward our 2030 Vision: The Hooman Revolution. By 2030, we aim to become a staple name in Human-Centric Digital Transformation and fully claim our space in the industry.
Our Framework for a Human-Centric Organization
To achieve this vision, we operate on a philosophy of “Leadership by Ownership,” driven by a leader’s mindset and the “C’s to Create”.
A Leader’s Mindset:
- Mission First: Decisions must be made based on what helps the humans we work with, never internal politics.
- Bias for Action: We do not wait for permission to be great; we propose the ‘how’ and drive it home.
- Empathy: We strive to understand our leaders’ pressures so we can become the solutions they need.
The C’s to Create:
- Communication: Clearly articulating the value of our mission-driven ideas.
- Collaboration: Uniting Hoomans to build something bigger than ourselves.
- Critical Thinking: Analyzing the ‘how’ to ensure absolute success and efficiency.
Not all paths will be laid down for those who intend to lead. But I have learned firsthand that your impact grows exponentially the moment you stop waiting and start owning.
