FULL INTERVIEW - How To Transform Education in America with Sherri Smith, CEO of Indigo Education
Channel: Mark Botros
Date: 2021-09-14

Sheri Smith and I have known each other since college, and we actually worked together for several years while we were coming up professionally. She's always impressed me as one of the smartest people I know.  She's done graduate work at Georgetown, she worked for Hillary Clinton for a time, and now she's the founder and CEO of The Indigo Project, an education company that does extensive assessment and consulting work in the education space both at the high school level and college level. I wanted to have Sheri on the podcast for two reasons one because she's a longtime friend and I've been wanting to catch up with her for years, and two because she has unique insight into the education system at large, and I think we all can agree that the education system needs to change, and I also think the pandemic showed the cracks and faults in the education system much more clearly. Sheri and her company have a unique approach to working within the education system to help change it from the inside out. Her method is unique, her perspective is hopeful, and her approach may be just what we need to change the education system from within. As kids and their parents are figuring out the new normal of education once again, this interview could not come at a better time.  Interestingly oldest daughter took one of the indigo assessments for herself and found it to be mostly accurate and on point. 

Now for those of you who are business leaders or you've already grown your children, you might be tempted to click away thinking this may not have anything to do with you. Quite the contrary actually. Assessments like the ones we're about to discuss have relevance to everyone not just students. If you're looking to unlock high performance from your team, this may be a compelling tool to consider regardless if you're running a small start up or a Fortune 500 company. Self awareness is everything -- it's the key to humility, interpersonal relationships, effective leadership, growth and learning, and-- top performance. For those in business, this interview will give you insight into the future of work - both the workforce and the kind of functions that is coming up now and in the next several years and decades. hope you enjoy the episode.

TIME CUTS

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
01:38 this episode is not just for kids it’s for business leaders too
03:30 defining assessments 
04:01 2020 and the education system
04:46 What is The Indigo Project 
05:19 The two problems Indigo solves - student engagement and employee engagement (The Great Resignation)
06:18 Are assessment tools actually helpful and accurate for students? 
08:32 Is there an ideal age to administer assessments?
09:24 Do you do any work with adults at all or young adults? 
09:57 What kind of data does the Indigo assessment offer? 
11:05 What are the benefits of doing something like the Indigo Assessment? 
11:54 Do you see any correlation between student performance and them having taken this assessment? 
13:29 How Sheri got into this field
14:08 The most fulfilling aspect of what Sheri does 
14:28 How Indigo would have helped Sheri when she was growing up
15:03 In 10 years, what change are you hoping to see in the education system? 
16:25 Future skills 
17:15 Mark rants on the polarization of society today
18:11 Future jobs
19:35 Speed round
20:31 The surprising thing Mark learned about Steve Jobs
21:33 How Sheri would describe herself
21:44 Sheri’s secret sauce
22:06 Sheri’s greatest lesson in life and business
22:14 Sheri’s one piece of advice to the world
22:25 Sheri meets her 100 year old self 
22:36 Sheri meets her 14 year old self 
23:02 Mark Botros: What Sheri wants most for her life
23:14 Sheri’s much-needed, inspiring final thoughts
24:05 How to connect with Sheri and Indigo 
24:51 Sherri Smith: Thank you, Mark, really appreciate it. It was great reconnecting with you. 

TAGS AND HASH-TAGS

#education, #leadership, #indigoproject,#personalityassessment, #assessments #DISC, #TTI, #students, #school, #selfawareness, #professionaldevelopment, #personaldevelopment, #futurist, #futureofwork, #futureworkforce, #futurefunctions, #criticalthinking 

To connect with Sheri:

Website: https://www.indigopathway.com/ and https://indigoeducationcompany.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheriannsmith/

To connect with Mark Botros:

https://marble.app/markbotros

Music Credit:
Fond Memories

Photo and Media Credit(s): 

Sheri Smith
Indigo Project
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Adailton Batista
Akintomide Akindele
Angela Roma
Apisit Suwannaka
Cottonbro
David Tully
Diva Plavalaguna
Edward Jenner
Fauxels
Hicham Yah
Keith Pierce
Mart Production
Michael Kuelbel
Mikael Blomkvist
new-make-spot
nesdesign0289
NO COPYRIGHT MOTION GRAPHICS
Pavel Danilyuk
Pexels
Pixabay
RODNAE Productions
ROMAN ODINTSOV
SHVETS Production
Taryn Elliott
Theo Decker
Videezy
Videevo
Viktoria Slowikowska
Vecteezy
Yan Krukov