Latest / Rittener Reflections / 15: – Doing Something “Wonderful” Again
Transcript
- Jeff (00:05) Welcome to episode 15 of Written Reflections, a forum for addressing the dynamic, complex, and essential nature of cross-border trade in our ever-changing world. This podcast is also a platform allowing me to share my reflections about life. in a world of incredible uncertainty and unpredictability. I am really excited to resume recording after having taken a brief pause to enjoy some August vacation time. Here in Northern California, it has been exceptionally cool summer, you know, compared to the last number of years. For example, I live in a home here in San Jose, California, and it's an older home and we don't have air conditioning and we've never felt the need to put air conditioning in our home. Over the last, I would say, four or five years, we have had extremely hot summers. And I used to always measure how much I wish I had AC by the number of times I wish I had it in my house. And over the last several years, I could say it was like a dozen or more. Last year I remember talking to friends saying I wonder if maybe it's time I get air conditioning but interestingly enough this summer I can't think of a single day that I wish I had AC in my home. It's been that cool Speaking of AC, you know, I did spend a little bit of time during the month of August back in North Carolina my second home And ⁓ North Carolina summers are very different. For example, it is usually very green because there's lots of rain and lots of humidity and heat. And sure enough, that is exactly how it was when I was back in North Carolina. And on my first... day in my home where my daughter lives. What happened? The AC went out. I wish I had air conditioning this time and we had to get that fixed right away. And then interestingly enough, I also had some issues with the air conditioning unit in my new Airbnb that's also in North Carolina. So this has kind of been the summer of air conditioning units, of trying to make sure where I need it I have to be happy about that. Anyway, for this episode 15, I would like to return to the topic of layoffs. Why is that? Well, so many people around the world are being impacted by corporate decisions or government decisions to reduce workforce. Going through this sort of experience can be traumatic and it can be uncomfortable. But it also has, you know, it comes with opportunity and, you know, it can be positive. for example, opening up opportunities never imagined like, you know, hosting a podcast. You know, I have spent more than 30 years working for Intel Corporation and I can't help follow the news. And if you follow the news, you know that Intel has been in the news a lot. And one of the main reasons it's been in the news is because they continue to downsize, which means more layoffs. In fact, I saw a statistic recently online from a organization that tracks companies that do layoffs. And they had a graphic that showed since 2020, Intel has laid off 45,000 employees. In fact, ⁓ one of the graphs looked at unemployment. layoffs in the tech community over the last year. So if we go back to last year in August, and they actually track companies and numbers each month until this August. And back in August of 2024, the number of layoffs in or employees that were impacted by layoffs in the tech community was 41,000. in July of this year, 2025, that number is 43,000. And then in between, if I go and I add up all the numbers on this graph, I come up with nearly 200,000 employees who have been impacted by layoffs in the tech sector. Now, this doesn't even account for the folks who are losing their jobs in the government. in many other industries around the world and in most in particular in the United States. so, know, Intel is not alone. This is something that is being experienced by many and it has significant ramification on the individual, on their family and for their You know, second, I... I told my story of being involuntarily separated in episode 11 of my podcast. I shared my own experiences of leading Intel and finding a new path forward. And from that posting, from that podcast, I received so many encouraging comments. And I've had some other postings and some other discussions. And it seems to me that this is a very, very relevant topic that so many people. ⁓ are interested in and so this is the reason I decided to go ahead and do this and so for this episode I would like you to meet three of my former Intel colleagues employees who have all been through this experience recently and together we will share our insights You know, the things that we've learned and we will offer advice that I'm hoping will provide those out there that are going through this with encouragement and hope and some positive discussion that will help you. So that's really my intention and I'm looking forward to having this discussion. Thank you. Jeff (06:21) Welcome, Brian Gonzalez, Jessica Lewis, and Richard Hogg. Thank you for joining me today. I had the privilege of working with all three of you, and I really enjoyed every interaction, every collaboration, and the friendship, I think, that came as a result of working together at Intel Corporation. Each of you has played a really important part in my career, in my life, and I hold on to so many memories. of us working together at Intel. You know, when it comes to Intel, we have a lot in common. For example, we all started working for Intel either in the last century or at the beginning of this one. We worked at Intel, all of us, for 25 plus years, some longer than others. When Jessica, you and I started at Intel, Andy Grove, the famous Andy Grove, was the CEO. ⁓ Brian and Richard, when you started at Intel, Craig Barrett was the CEO. And both of those are iconic characters in the world of semiconductors. If Andy were alive today, I think he'd have a lot to say about Intel and what's happening. We've heard from Craig, obviously, if you followed on social media. You know, during our time at Intel, we worked on different teams. We've all had different managers. ⁓ Each of us have had at least three sabbaticals Maybe more for some of us and you know at the end of our time We worked in the same group and that group was called LTG legal trade and government and I think if I recall Jessica you worked for the L legal and Richard you worked for the T trade and Brian you worked for the G government Now, although we all decided to work for Intel one day, it was Intel who decided when it was time for us to and depart. In fact, we all started on different days, but we all left Intel on the same day, November 15th, 2024. know, I decided to invite you to join me for this podcast today because... ⁓ There are so many people in our world today that are experiencing that same phenomena of being let go of their time at a company. And I think every single person has a unique experience and a unique perspective, and I know you do as well. So I'm glad you've joined me. And to talk about your experience at Intel and even beyond. So let's go ahead and ⁓ start with some introductions. And I'm going to start in alphabetical order by first name. And so I'm going to start with Brian. So let's go with you, Brian. And welcome. And why don't you just describe your role ⁓ at Intel, your time at Intel. Brian Gonzalez (09:14) Thank you, Jeff. It's really a pleasure to be here with you and with Richard and Jessica. My time at Intel, 24 glorious years. I really, really enjoyed my years at Intel. It was more than a career, it was really an adventure. I started as an account manager for Northern California. They gave me the accounts nobody wanted. Back in 2000 it was all about Yahoo and Excited Home and things that were coming so nobody was paying attention to Google. So I was the first account manager for Google when they had probably 35 to 40 people. It was a different time. I also had the opportunity to work very closely with Pixar, Industrial Light and Magic, folks that were coming now into what was then called the digital media space. So that was an exciting time for me. From there, I wanted to do something internationally, again, that I found in Intel, there were lot of possibilities always. I applied for a job in Brazil, didn't get it, eventually got a job in the Benelux. So I moved my family to the Netherlands and I was there for two and a half years. and had just a great experience, came back as a TA for one of our senior vice presidents, got to travel the world, went back to Europe, worked in Spain and Portugal, led a team there for almost four years, came back as general manager of education, traveling the world, and then eventually I landed in DC. That's where I met with you. And there I got to understand the US government, the role of policy, and from there I actually, with your help, launched a global team around AI enablement. Before it was fashionable in 2019, so it was a full career and met a lot of people along the way, wonderful people along the way. Jeff (11:04) Fascinating, Brian. I really appreciate the fact that you traveled the world. I'm sure you have so many stories of those adventures, as you say. Okay, great. Let's go on to Jessica. Welcome. Jessica Lewis (11:16) Thanks, Jeff. It's really an honor to be here with all of you. I appreciate it. So I started at Intel while I was getting my electrical engineering degree as a hardware design engineer. And I started permanently, permanently in quotes. After I graduated, I started as a CAD application engineer, helping other engineers become more efficient and effective. I was then designing websites on the side and I decided that I wanted that to be my main job at the time. So I found a position as a web developer within Intel Legal and that's when I joined. I quickly realized there was too much work for one person and formed an Intel Legal web team managing three permanent employees along with anywhere from one to five contractors or interns at a given time. And I managed that group for a couple of years and then decided I wanted a new challenge. So I got my project management professional certification through the Project Management Institute. And from there I started managing end-to-end projects and programs for legal things like bringing in matter management, legal hold management, CLE tracking, along with a variety of other projects. And then I would also be brought into projects that I wasn't specifically running, but to help with things like testing because of my engineering background. as well as training, delivery, and development and change management. And I also got to work with a lot of really wonderful people, had some amazing managers during my journey there. Jeff (12:51) I first met you, Jessica, when you were working on volunteer activities and you asked for volunteers to be pen pals with students. And that's when I first met you. And then I discovered later on that we're neighbors. We live like less than a mile from each other here in Campbell. So it's great to have you on board this podcast. ⁓ Next we'll go to you, Richard. Richard Hogg. Jessica Lewis (13:01) Yep. Hahaha. Richard Hogg (13:14) Yeah, so thanks very much, Jeff. Yeah, it's very much an honor to be here with you guys. And I was just thinking about my career at Intel. And it was pretty similar to Brian in the sense that, you know, I started in the sales and marketing organization and I ended up in the legal team. And in the process, I traveled the world. I started in Munich. I was supposed to start as an intern, but they hired me as a permanent employee as a market analyst. And I actually started traveling the world in that first role, understanding all the different markets from an analysis perspective. I was in Saudi Arabia, I was in Russia, I was in Brazil in my first couple of years at the age of 22. It was quite an incredible experience. And then to continue the journey, I moved into China as an analyst as well. and set up a team there and then transferred into corporate strategy in China before finally moving into the trade space, which has really brought everything together for me and finally moved over to the US. And I was managed by You Jeff, which was definitely the highlight of my career at Intel. Jeff (14:38) Well, thank you for that, Richard. One of my one of the highlights of my career was having you as my chief of staff during the days that we created the Government Market and Trade Organization. And I got to know you quite well during that experience, as you would as a chief of staff. And I have to say that part of my effort here as a podcast was born out of time you and I spent trying to craft messages to the team during the pandemic. So thank you for that. ⁓ Richard, let's stick with you and I'd like if you could just share with the audience just what it was like working for Intel all those years. Can you share some cultural distinctives or do you have a good story that would help people understand what it was really like to work for this iconic company? Richard Hogg (15:26) Well, it was really my only job up until I left. I'd only ever worked at Intel. So I grew up at Intel. All of my habits that I have today, all my working habits that I have today have come from Intel. All of the ways that I manage meetings, all the ways that I think about prioritization, all the ways I think about planning. all of these skills and also I'd say all the intangible skills that you have in terms of just how you manage stakeholders, just everything that I have today has come through all of the multiple projects, managers, interactions that I had at Intel across the world. And frankly, everyone around you at Intel, tended to have those kinds of qualities. And it was one of the reasons why it was such a pleasure to work at Intel. And why, you know, when you leave a company like Intel, you realize, huh, hang on, why aren't these guys taking minutes at the end of their meeting and sending those out? You know, and you realize though that not every company has the same kind of processes and the same kind of culture and the same kind of speed. Well, actually I'd say speed, maybe perhaps this would be a little bit of a neutral, I'd say neutral space because Intel speed was sometimes quick and sometimes not so quick. And some of the reasons why we could write minutes is because we had the process, because we had the mechanisms to get all of that out. Whereas I'd say at my new company that may not be, we just don't have the time. it moves much, faster. But I'd say all those habits I have have really put me in a great space to be able to navigate any kind of business environment in an effective manner. Jeff (17:27) That's great. So how about you, Jessica? What was it like for you all those years working for a company like Intel? Jessica Lewis (17:35) Yeah, like Richard, I also grew up at Intel. Brian mentioned lots of opportunities with Intel. And back in the day, there was a phrase that was used, own your own employability, which meant basically that you're responsible for your own career and development, asking for finding or making your own opportunities, which is what led me to try the different things that I mentioned previously with an Intel. And inevitably, it led me into the career of legal operations. And this is a career that didn't even exist when I was in school. I continue to take the responsibility very seriously of owning my own employability, which is why I've been continuously learning and networking since being separated from Intel. And quite frankly, it's been a lot of fun. Jeff (18:23) There's no doubt that one of the shining features or examples at Intel was that ability to make something happen. mean, there was no, there were no shackles. I mean, you had every opportunity to go and pursue what you wanted to. So I appreciated that about Intel. Brian, you must have a story or two about what it was like working at Intel. You did so much. Brian Gonzalez (18:44) You know, well, it was interesting for me in contrast to Richard and Jessica. I had been working at another company for 15 years when I joined Intel and had risen in the ranks and had done some travel. So when I came to Intel, the thing that was... kind of struck me was the seriousness that people had to things. I mean, it was serious. It was fun, but it was serious. know, there were meetings where we prepared for the meeting, but then everything was about what we would do after the meeting. You know, action required was something that I still use. We all use AR, but it was something. What is it that we're going to do afterwards? This whole results orientation. that Intel had that you could get people from different departments and instantly we had a common taxonomy on how to address the problem and also an understanding that this meeting is not the end of it, that this is likely to be the start of it. What are the deliverables? What are the outcomes? So that level of discipline I had not seen before and today and other things that I do has served me well. But also the fact that, you know, everything was going to be done in some type of collaborative ecosystem approach, which I think was native to Intel, that we would not go it alone, but that we were likely needing to lead. So to me, that was very valuable and something that I learned having been somewhere else where Intel was really practicing that. Jeff (20:16) Yeah, that's been my experiences while Brian, I worked at a company prior to Intel. And when I came to Intel, what I was really impressed with is that they handed me my badge. But with the badge came a second badge that you put on and that second badge had our values. Right, they were listed on there and so you carried those with you everywhere and to me that was so impressive that here's the values that we all agreed that we were going to hold as most important and we were all gonna live out every day in our work. So I too kind of found that very exciting. I'll stick with you Brian and just, you talked about. all the different things you did and how you took so much from your time at Intel. But can you share what made you stay at Intel for so long? Brian Gonzalez (21:05) I I saw opportunities everywhere, right? First, was never comfortable, but I was feeling that I eventually was in my sweet spot. Not because of what I knew, but because the people I knew. I had connections across the world, and I still miss that, right? If I needed, actually someone from Intel recently called me and said, we have a project in Paraguay, who do you know? Well. Jeff (21:08) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Brian Gonzalez (21:32) I just connected someone with Intel who's doing work in Paraguay and so we still know, right? So that kind of network to me was something that would stay because then I could tackle things that were very challenging that maybe had never been done, but I felt not that I had a safety net, but that I brought with me a competent team. Many, most of them not reporting to me. But that I could bring together around collaboration and we had a common language that we could use to get things done. That for me, stayed with me in something I miss. Jeff (22:10) Richard, how about you? What made Intel such a great place to work? Richard Hogg (22:15) similar opportunity work in different roles, different countries, and then the people. This was the opportunity and the people, right? So, I think I worked in four different countries depending on how you define that. And I worked in one, two, three, four, maybe seven different roles. I don't know how many managers, you know, so, and you're growing and, you know, building all of your experiences through each of those different steps. And I can't imagine doing that at my current company. It's too small. You don't have that kind of opportunity at all. So that was it. And then the people, both in terms of their capability, the cultural alignment. Actually, I'll say one, actually, third thing would be complexity. I actually enjoyed the complexity of Intel and the intellectual kind of problem solving that you had to deal with every on a day to day basis as well. It was not straightforward. Jeff (23:20) You know, our founder Bob Noyce, who passed away shortly before I arrived at Intel, but he had a famous quote. If you go into the corporate headquarter building, you can see the quote on the wall. He basically said to employees, go out and do something wonderful. And so I've always thought about that as I worked at Intel, sort of the admonition, go do something wonderful. And so maybe go to you, Jessica. Can you describe something, project or a result or something wonderful that you are proud of having worked at Intel? Jessica Lewis (23:51) You know, I've always really loved this phrase and I actually have a similar one that I think about every day and it's what is the most excellent thing I can do today? It happens to be a quote from Neil Peart, who was the drummer from my favorite band Rush. So I think about this all the time. From a results perspective, I'm most proud of having implemented Yammer, which is now called Viva Engage, which is part of Microsoft 365 back in 2018. then M365 specifically Microsoft Teams and OneDrive within Intel legal. And I did that in 2019 in particular because we were the first within the company to use it and we were role models and shared best known methods, BKMs with other business units within Intel. And this led me to being an M365 co-pilot champion to help pilot co-pilot within Intel ⁓ corporate wide. and making recommendations on whether or not we should be purchasing and using it, and then figuring out how legal could be using it specifically. And then using M365 put us in an excellent position to be able to deal with working from home and still being able to collaborate effectively as a team when the pandemic hit. So it was super important. But what I felt was really most wonderful is the way in which Intel always emphasized being involved in the community and giving back to the community, whether it was time that you gave or financially giving. In particular, I was a team lead. Jeff, you mentioned this earlier and being one of my volunteers for an email mentoring program we had called PC Pals. And I brought that program to four different schools during my time as a team lead. For many of those students, it was really important because we were the only adults that they really interacted with aside from their parents and teachers. I also hosted a lot of kids for Kid to Work Day. Intel did an amazing job with Kid to Work Day. And some of those that I hosted included four of my cousins, one of which is now 16 and determined to become an engineer because of the impact that particular day had on her. So those are a few of the wonderful things that I really enjoyed doing at Intel. Jeff (26:12) Thank you for raising that, Jessica, because, you know, Intel is known obviously as this technical giant. But also Intel was known for making a difference in the community. And there were so many volunteer programs. In fact, employees were rewarded for recording their hours, their volunteer hours. And there was a huge focus on making a difference in the community around you. So thank you for pointing that out. I think that's just something that we all can be proud of. How about Richard, how about you? Can you describe wonderful that you are proud of? Richard Hogg (26:44) I would actually say it's when I first moved to Beijing in 2004. After four years in Munich, I moved to Beijing and set up shop and I pretty much the only person in, well, I was the only person in market research in the whole of Intel China. And I then went about establishing that function. over the next ⁓ five or six years, building a team, building capabilities in terms of tools, how you analyze the market in terms of the trade of market, how big is it, what are the different characteristics of that market. It really was crowned ZARP. But it was also just so fascinating at the time being in China in 2004. fast moving, Intel was one of the biggest brands in the whole country. everybody wanted my help because it was fascinating because at that point in time in China, the function of market research didn't really exist. It was new and different. so just being able to bring just four years of experience to working at Intel in Europe and bring it to China and then be able to establish this team and this function and then be able to provide that to the marketing department, which was, and the sales team, which was growing 30, 40 % every year. It really was very, very satisfying to be able to do that at the time. Jeff (28:19) Fantastic. Yep. I remember well my first trip to China was 2004 So yes, yeah, it's different different different different than today for sure Brian. How about you? Richard Hogg (28:24) There you go. Yeah, it was. It was a great place to be. That's true. Brian Gonzalez (28:32) You Jeff, you talk about doing something wonderful and Richard and Jessica gave some good examples. I think one element of that though, before I even talk about the one that I'm thinking of, is that Intel enabled that by encouraging disciplined risk taking. I never felt that if I tried to do something wonderful that I would risk losing my job. There was a discipline, you know, there was maybe a business case, but no one really would stop you. And it wasn't because they didn't care, but because they gave you that kind of confidence to say, go do it, but do it the right way. And for us, when I was in Spain, we had the great market of Spain and the potential market of Portugal. we decided to do a project where we encouraged the government and that's where I became more astute to working with government. What if every child in public school had their own compute device, their own PC that was purpose built for education, that not only had the features but had the content needed? That's kind of a standard concept now, but in 2007, it was revolutionary. And it could also create a lot of disruption in the market. Because what would happen to our consumer market? Every child in the public sector would get a device. Well, you know what happened? It tripled our market. In Portugal, we did that. Craig Barrett came three times to Portugal to support that. And at the time, he was the chairman by then in 2007. So all of these things kind of came together because We were encouraged to go do something in a way that was disciplined, that was results oriented, that was within guidelines of legal. Look at Jessica when I say that. And really do something wonderful, not only for the company, but for the people in the country. And in Portugal to this day, they still talk about the Magellan generation. And in standardized scores in Portugal, it was the only country whose PISA scores went up. And this was it a direct result of the computers in the classroom and then at home? Possibly. But it was certainly a direct result of the engagements that the student had in their learning because they had their own device to be able to do that. And only Intel could bring the ecosystem to deliver that and then have them be produced in Portugal, right? Not export, but creating that new opportunity. So anyway, that that was a wonderful experience that to this day still. Jeff (31:15) Yeah. Right. Yeah, I mean, listening to all three of you, it's exciting to hear just a small piece of everything you did. And I imagine we could go on for hours and you have so many stories, each one of you, of the wonderful that you did. And you take all the employees at Intel doing that same thing and you can see why Intel really did change the world. You know, we've talked a lot about what we have in common. And I think I mentioned earlier that, you know, we all Brian Gonzalez (31:16) you know, touches me. Jeff (31:44) Intel on the same day, know, after 25 plus years of working and doing wonderful for this great company. And it was a day that I think each one of us will remember, I'm sure, just as much as you remember our first day. And I thought it might be just useful to take a minute to talk a little bit about your experience, you know, what happened? How did it affect you? You know, what are your thoughts, you know, having having had that happen? And so I'll I'll go ahead and start with you again, Brian. Brian Gonzalez (32:11) Jeff, it was a rough time. mean, you I knew at some point that I would leave Intel. I was a little less prepared and I thought, well, today it'll come in five years. I got time. So when I realized I would be leaving, it really became a forcing function for me to kind of reevaluate what I want to do now, what do I want to do next. So that did give me an opportunity, but it was a difficult, you know, first week. where I had to learn time management, not because I didn't have administrative support or anything like that, but because now I had all this time, but not really anything to do in a way, right? It was kind of like this kind of, I was always onto the next trip, onto the next project. Now everything became a possibility, but it was difficult. It was difficult and there's some things now that in high time, I I should have prepared better. because that is something that we all need to really understand that that moment will come. And it's not a ticker tape parade down Mission Boulevard. It's gonna be, hey, you'll be leaving now in the next round. So it's difficult situation, but it passes. You can overcome. Jeff (33:26) I appreciate that, Brian, because in my experience, I felt this sense of just something just stopped. As you said, running 100 miles an hour every day from next thing, and then all of a sudden it was stopped. And you were just, now what do I do? And so there was that first feeling of panic. What do I do next? but things do sort themselves out. thanks for sharing that. How about you, Richard? Richard Hogg (34:02) Jessica was saying how you have to own your own employability. And I think that that also applies externally as well as it does internally. Meaning that if there was one thing I learned from this process of being let go was that, wow, if I had really... owned that employability two years beforehand or even five years outside of the company, then I would have been in a much more comfortable position. The reality is that over the 24 years, I had become too comfortable in terms of all of those opportunities at Intel. And my social media, LinkedIn, was minimal. Right. My because I'd only moved to the US within five, six years. My my network within within the US was not very strong either. So I had to go build out all of that. So I guess my point is, that on that day that I left, I'd actually already had one month of preparation because I knew that I was going to be leaving and I had been working to go build out that network as much as I could. And actually on the day I left, was already moving pretty quickly. I was building out the network. was, you know, and I was firing in all cylinders and I didn't feel like anything stopped because I'd already left Intel for one month already beforehand in my head, you know, cause I was like, you know, and I was already moving pretty quickly. So a little bit different in that respect and just looking forward and seeing what I, you know, Jeff (35:30) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, let's go. Richard Hogg (35:41) What could you do to go get that job? Jeff (35:44) Good. I watched that. Yeah, I saw that. You were moving. How about you, Jessica? What's your story? Richard Hogg (35:48) Ha ha ha. Jessica Lewis (35:54) Yeah, so I knew from watching the layoffs the past couple of years previously and seeing the budget constraints that I was likely to be part of the layoffs because of my seniority and watching others similar to me being separated. So I wasn't I mean, you're you're shocked in the end, right? Regardless, but I wasn't really we had voluntary packages that were offered to us that anybody could take last summer. but having a family to support I just wasn't comfortable taking one without having another opportunity in place. And we had been told that the involuntary packages were going to be the same as the voluntary ones, so I decided to stay and started thinking about what do I want to do next, building up my network more as Richard had mentioned. And then also interviewing prior to learning that I was being separated from the company. I'm an extremely optimistic and resilient person, and I anticipated that I'd be really sad the day that I heard. And I would take that day to be sad and then move on the next day and do what I needed to do from there. And I pretty much did that. mean, I had I'd created a really long checklist of things that I needed to do prior to my last day. And I did that prior to knowing I was being separated. ⁓ But I didn't want to leave the team without the knowledge that I had. So I wanted to make sure that things were documented as much as possible. I had all the contacts that I had built up in my phone, not just in my intel information so that I didn't lose that. Build up my LinkedIn, my resume, all that kind of thing. What I didn't expect when I left was that it was truly a mourning period. Especially when you've been at the same company for a really long time or your entire career like I was. It was really sad and I was not ready for how truly sad it was. I would say that for the first few months there was typically about a day each week that was just a really down day and I would just have to take that day and feel those feelings and the next day was fine. And this happened even though I was extremely excited about what was going to come next and what my journey was going to be and the opportunities that lay ahead of me for both learning and networking. At some point those down days stopped, but it does still make me really sad to continually see the problems that Intel's having and to see more of my former colleagues and friends who have been recently impacted. Jeff (38:33) Yeah, I find that to be difficult. still wake up when I get on my computer in the morning. I still have the IMTC that I click on to see what's going on at Intel. I still kind of have that ⁓ in my mind. know, 30 plus years is a long time. So it's hard to shake it free. Let's shift a little bit. let's talk a bit about, in typical Intel fashion, we all are goal-oriented and driven by our desires to accomplish results. And so as you left Intel, describe for us what you're currently doing, what was your plan, or what's your plan for the future. And I'll start with you, Jessica, since. Richard (39:16) you Jessica Lewis (39:16) Sure. So being a planner and an extrovert, I needed to stay busy and in touch with people and constantly learning and doing new things. And that's actually the exact same way that I handled the pandemic. I had a lot of people giving me advice to take a break and take some time off, but I'm just not the type of person who can do that. I'm too afraid of missing the perfect opportunity. know, the fear of missing out FOMO. As I mentioned, I started interviewing prior to being notified of my separation. And while I have my project management professional certification and there's a gazillion program and project management positions out there, I wanted to stay specifically within the legal operations community. It's an amazing community where ⁓ I'm most interested in remaining. So I knew that's what I wanted to do. And I started keeping my eyes open for positions that sounded like they'd be interesting and I started interviewing. But I also focused a lot on the networking because it's the primary way of ⁓ growing my network more and finding out about more opportunities. And most of my interviews actually did come through my network, not just through applying and sending in my applications to various companies, but actually being able to reach out to folks or people coming to me and mentioning the opportunities. So the focus on networking, didn't just provide me with some opportunities, job opportunities, but it's been providing me with other career opportunities. So I've been attending a ton of conferences, which of course leads to more networking, and they're free conferences. I've been surprised at how many there have been, or I have been sponsored, and coming up in September, I'm actually volunteering for a conference, and that's how I'm getting there. I'm helping to teach a local clock, is a corporate legal operations consortium Academy 100 course that's coming in San Jose in October. And I even joined a legal operations book club. And along with those kinds of networking, I've been going to a lot of lunches with people and happy hours. In fact, tomorrow night I'm going to a Giants game with a vendor. And of course, this is the opportunity to be here and on your podcast with all of you. It's been really important to me during this time that I continue to be part of the Legal Ops community and continue to learn and continue to thrive. ⁓ From a personal side, I've been making sure to take care of myself. So continuing regular workouts, spending time, quality time with my family, time outside, eating right, getting enough sleep, and even most importantly having fun. It's a big part of it. Jeff (41:57) Absolutely fantastic Brian, how about you? Brian Gonzalez (41:59) Jeff, I want to also. double down a little bit on what Richard and Jessica did to kind of illustrate where I'm at now and maybe how I got there. For me also, my life started and ended, at least corporate, and even personal to a certain extent because my family was so involved in my Intel career at Intel. So I was not really ready for what would I do next outside. I had 10 things I could do inside Intel, right? But I wasn't ready, so I had to kind of take note of that and quick inventory on that. And the other thing that I did right away what Jessica said. It's not just have contacts, it's to have a network. To me that meant that I collaborated and engaged with people and I thought how would I bring value to them? Because we have a bunch of contacts, the network is different. The network is the one you activate to go do something and collaborate. The same thing we would do at Intel. So I kind of took my Intel-ness outside. And that actually led me to focus on what would I deliver and what was I passionate about? Well, with you I learned about the importance of government, right? So that would be a constant. I also, a lot of help from you, Jeff, I realized the importance of artificial intelligence skilling before it was fashionable. So I had been doing it, know, four years before chat GPT even came onto the surface. And we kind of rode that wave. So I kind of started to look at that. And then with it through my network, I connected with jobs for the future, which kind of brought all of that together. And I didn't want to do anything full time. So they made a role for me called executive in residence. So I advise and consult and help lead the strategy around AI and the future of work, which is in line with what I would have been doing at Intel next. And one of my collaborators is our friends at Intel with the Intel digital readiness and continue to work with that. But I work with other firms in the spirit of an ecosystem. So So, you know, I had to turn my inside world outside and I found that actually that's an asset that we have, those of us that have been at Intel. And we have to exercise that. But we have to be deliberate about it and don't wait too long. Stay in the flow. Jeff (44:05) Right, so it's not just Intel inside, it's Intel outside. Very good, Brian. Thank you for that. Richard, how about you? Richard (44:16) Yeah, many similar themes. you see, you can hear me okay, right? You know, when I was leaving Intel, I kind of thought about my career and what I wanted to do, right? This is a great opportunity. I mean, this was, you know, we were given a severance. We had an opportunity to go, go do something completely new and different. And so I thought through what were the different areas where I wanted to focus. Was it what I'd just been doing, which was trade? Was it something that I was doing beforehand, which was strategy? Was it a combination? so that whole process was very powerful because it increased the conviction that, you know, actually it was trade that I wanted to go after. Even though I'd only been doing it for six or seven years, it was the combination of all the other you know, areas of experience that bringing it together in trade, whether strategic trade, where it was, that built up that conviction that that was the direction I wanted to go. So once that was the first thing you had to be really clear about, what do want to do? And often if you're coming from a big company, and you've had all these different experiences, that's not that easy. But once you have that conviction, and you go after it, you know, it's Yes, it's applying for the jobs. It's the networking, but it's, I actually also did one other thing, which is I took up some consulting work, which in itself was networking as well, because through consulting, get opportunities. that was, you know, and by the way, I got, I got the consulting through the networking, right? So it was, was just. really a good opportunity and sort of built on its on top of itself and you know in the end it's a funny story I got my job probably arguably because the you know the the hiring manager reached out to someone who had known about me through you Jeff was asking for a reference who had only met two days beforehand. And it was just through the network and the quality of those experiences and that momentum that you were able to kind of finally close, close the sort of the deal, so to speak. knowing what you want, staying focused and you know, on that and building the network and going and doing things that you haven't done before, like consulting. I've never done consulting before and, ⁓ just going after it. And I was lucky that I was in a space which was high in demand due to the current US government's focus on tariffs. And so I was able to find a job pretty quickly. Jeff (47:06) Yeah, doing things you've never done before like hosting a podcast. I never imagined doing that, but it's been fun. Brian. Richard (47:10) Right, there we go. Brian Gonzalez (47:17) want to correct Richard on something. He did a lot of consulting. I would call him all the time and he helped me. He did a lot of internal consulting. So you did a lot of consulting and very effectively so I'm not surprised. Jeff (47:19) yes. Yes, he did. Richard (47:26) That's true. Yeah. Jeff (47:32) That's great. Well, you know, I invited you three to this conversation primarily because I am seeing every single day individuals being released from their work all over the world. And I... There are thousands of individuals just even in the last year that have lost their jobs. And we've been talking this entire time about Intel. If you've read the news, you know that in the last year or more, Intel has let go thousands and thousands of people. And there are a lot of people that find themselves today in the same situation that each of you have. described so effectively here. And so part of my reason for doing this podcast with all of you was to reach out to that community out there in the world that find themselves in this situation and offer, you know, some real life examples of how individuals have successfully navigated through this, which you all have done so well. You know, before we wrap up, I wanted to give you each a chance to, know, to to talk to those employees and My question to you would be what advice do you have for them? How about you, Brian, start with you. Brian Gonzalez (48:48) I think a lot has been said here, but I'll kind of emphasize the fact of take a moment to understand the journey you've been. Recognize, especially if you're coming from Intel, that there's a lot of goodness there that the world needs and you can apply. But do it with authenticity and of what you want to do next. This is your time to go do something wonderful and in doing something wonderful there's risk. So it's not assured that this one will be perfect, but it will be if that's what you want to do, don't wait around too long. hear people, I'm going to take a year off and then come back and I tell them, well, if you're serious about it, you take a year, the world will have moved a lot in a year and maybe it doesn't matter. But if you're in the technology space, I think it does matter. So I do think that my advice would be stay on it, stay optimistic, realize that it's a little bit of a process, and engage your network, not just your contacts. Jeff (49:52) All set, Brian, thank you. How about you, Jessica? Jessica Lewis (49:56) Yeah, so I think my main piece of advice would be that it kind of comes with a little story. So since I've been at Intel my whole career, back about a year ago was literally my first full round of interviews I've ever had in my entire life. I literally never done it before because I was hired initially as an intern at Intel while I was in school. So I was really incredibly nervous. as I was leaving my house for my first on-site interviews. And as I was leaving, my husband said to me, have fun. And those two little words completely reframed how I was feeling that day. And I went from being nervous to extremely excited and it kind of put in my head, wait a minute, this is exciting. I'm meeting my future manager and my future coworkers. Well, they didn't end up being my future manager and my future coworkers, but I now go into every interview with that frame of mind, even for the on-camera interviews. And in fact, I have a little pink Post-it note on my monitor that says, fun with a big smiley face drawn on it, just to remind me during those interviews. So my advice to everybody is, first of all, feel all the feelings, because you're going to have them, and recognize them. But then have fun, because it is a unique period in time, and have fun with it. Jeff (51:22) great advice Jessica, I love it. One of the things that we all, I think, can look back at our time at Intel and so many moments and times where we had fun. And it was a joy. And so I think that's great advice, taking that from Intel. So thank you for that. Well, Richard, how about you? Richard (51:40) Yeah i mean what i would say is that this is a fantastic opportunity for you to go on and do something wonderful do something different right you know. spent so much time at intel depending on you know everyone's different but you can now step back and think about what it is the. You really want to do, you've got that opportunity. Everyone is different. Even here on this podcast, everyone's got completely different kind of, kind of career goals, et cetera. For me, I had to get a job. I had to get a job quickly, right? that was just not just financially, but I just like to work. I like to be employed and all that kind of stuff. what I would say is, you know, use all those skills that you've developed at Intel. whether it's planning, whether it's the diligence and the discipline, apply those to your finding a job. Whether it's building out an Excel worksheet, whatever it might be, use them all. And what you'll find is you are very employable and it sounds a little blasé because I've just got a job, but you are. you've got the brand, you've got the skills, you've got the network, go out and go after all of those different opportunities. I would say go into every single job with having fun, like Jessica says, but also have low expectations because it's a numbers game, right? there are so it's all about a match is dating, it's dating and, and, and finally you'll find the right match and. ⁓ and you'll get there in time, but, ⁓ keep at it. you know, we all have got these great experience for mentals, all these capabilities, all this network. And, and, you know, you're going to find that right opportunity for sure. Jeff (53:38) Yeah, well said, Richard. I couldn't agree with you more. I think that for each of us, having spent so many years at a company like Intel, take with us so many skills, so many life experiences, not only to, you know, help ourselves, but to help others. Right. And I think if you think of all the things you've learned over those many how those things are so valuable to help others navigate their course in their way. So I think that's part of what we take from Intel. I had a lunch with a former colleague right after I found out I was leaving Intel and he told me that his manager who was the CFO of a large, very large profitable company today had hired some ex Intel employees. And she said to him, these are the best employees I have ever hired. Could you please go out and find some more? And so that to me was just a strong reminder that, we all bring incredible value and skills and experiences. And so I would encourage each of you to carry on in your own path, in your own way, and look out for those around you, help them, because we all need each other. I have a wonderful t-shirt I wear on the back. says life is a team sport. So with that, I'd like to just thank you, Richard. I so appreciate you. I've just so enjoyed working with you. Brian, thank you for joining. I've just always enjoyed every moment I've had to interact with you. And Jessica, my neighbor, my good friend, so appreciate you. And it's always good to see you around the community. And thank you for joining and sharing your experiences. This has been really awesome. And I appreciate each one of you. And I implore you, go off and continue. Jessica Lewis (55:03) you Jeff (55:18) doing wonderful. So thank you again and we'll talk again soon. Jessica Lewis (55:23) Thank you, Jeff. Brian Gonzalez (55:24) Thank you, Jeff. Richard (55:25) Thanks, Jeff. Jeff (55:27) You have been listening to Written Reflections. This is a forum to discuss the dynamic, ever-changing world of cross-border trade and to talk about those things in life that are real. Thank you for joining us today. We'll be talking again to you real soon. Thank you.