Crystal
Everything we create is based on moments of influence that come from who we are.
We all express perspectives that were shaped and are being shaped by our unique journeys.
That complex perspective you hold can’t be replicated — and using our perspectives to create is our gift to the world.
To know why I care so much about the possibilities of what’s “different”, I think it is important you know where I came from, and how I became the person I am today.
My Journey
1992 - pre-K and pre-glasses
1998 - 5th grade in Austin, Texas. First time I learned the term “token minority” when then-governor Bush signed an education bill
2003 - Holi at Barsana Dham. Even growing up, I stuck with a diverse group of friends and introduced them to my culture, and me to theirs.
2005 - Growing up in Austin was amazing
2007 - Graduating from college, a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with honors. Hook em Horns!
2009 - Working at P&G. One of five engineers on the Swiffer brand, I had a fun time before I discovered my true passion in people & culture.
2010 - One of many trips to India, exploring the provinces. Most of my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents live there.
2012 - meeting Jeremy. A person from the "other side" that saw the possibility of what's different with me.
2013 - My first ever talk at the local ATD chapter.
2013-2 - Another move. Living in Florida showed me a whole new side of America.
2013-3 - A trip to India for my maternal grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary.
2013 - 4 - Only two talks later, I decided to apply to give a TEDx talk. Toughest talk of my life!
2014 - My P&G family. After 6 years with P&G, I left to become a full-time entrepreneur.
2014 - My dad, an author, and scientist, has moved over 25 times and now lives in San Diego. I’ve seen a lot of the country visiting him throughout my life.
2015 - My second TEDx talk!
2016 - The RV life. Minimal living, high mobility -- exactly what my experience-seeking self loves!
2017 - My first book, The Millennial Myth, comes out!
2017 - Norway. Adventures continue as I spend time in nature and traveling with my partner, Jeremy.
2018 - Pepperdine University. Graduating with my masters in Organization Development!
2018 - Living in Atlanta for a second time, surrounded by my beautiful, diverse group of friends and family
2019-1- Three cultures, one wedding. Hindu here.
2018 - Living in Atlanta for a second time, surrounded by my beautiful, diverse group of friends and family.
2019 - Three cultures, one wedding. Christian at this moment.
2019 - Three cultures, one wedding. Christian at this moment.
2019 - Three cultures, one wedding. And a bit of Jewish flavor.
2019 - Continuing to look forward to impacting people in this next stage of my life!
Seeing a Better Path
My parents are immigrants from India and raised me in Austin, Texas. In a brisket-eating yet liberal community, I had no choice but to bridge my Indian heritage with Texan culture. That was the beginning of my search for what’s good about being different — what was good about my culture, what was good about me having two cultural identities, and what was good about the majority culture.
As I got older, duality continued to drive my life experiences. I scored exactly the same on the math and verbal components of the SAT. I was clearly both right brain and left brain, an ambivert on the Myers Briggs, and on and on.
It started out as my search for belonging, but it led to more than that. My experiences grew my capacity to relate to others, to communicate in a way that would bridge gaps, to constantly question where someone else is coming from. I grew up in a reality where it just wasn’t possible to assume everyone was like me. I had to embrace that different ways exist, and that not only are these equally valid, but through mutual understanding and collaboration, could generate something new and vastly better.
Aligning with my Truth
While I have always been an unconventional thinker, it took me a bit longer to embrace the notion of becoming an unconventional do-er. I graduated as a chemical engineer and started the life of a female in a historically male-dominated field at a Fortune 100 consumer products company.
After a few years in engineering, I realized all I wanted to do was work with people – to solve the more complex problems that shape happiness and fulfillment. Because of the empathy and wisdom I had cultivated, I became the go-to person for others and challenges holding back their progress.
I took on a role in the training and development field and never looked back. As I worked more with diverse talent throughout the org, I saw fundamental gaps that needed to be addressed at a much larger scale. That’s when I knew I needed to think bigger.
Out into the World
While it took me years to realize it, I had been spending my whole life collecting firsthand lessons of simple mistakes business leaders make every day that can destroy teams and productivity.
I’ve always had a strong belief that people are inherently valuable and can’t be easily compared to one another. We spend much of our lives at work, putting our unique strengths out there to produce in the world. And yet, work environments often don’t support individual potential, especially with the limitations of the Industrial Age. Here was a gap I wanted to bridge and it’s just at the right time as the Digital Age unfolds.
I’ve compiled extensive research and reflections on trends impacting people’s productivity and engagement in the future of work like Millennial/Gen Z work styles, modern learning habits, misconceptions of diversity and inclusion, and widespread shortcomings in digital technology implementations.
Through Kadakia Consulting (previously known as Invati Consulting), I’ve worked one-on-one with clients across industries. I’ve been fortunate to have opportunities to speak at seminars around the world, changing people and organizations one at a time.
Drive Change.
I’m lucky to have experienced many different culture clashes which have put me in a unique position to help others understand the possibility in what’s different. Whether what’s different is in another person, a new innovation, or even in yourself, I use my strengths to help shortcut your path to the best possibilities in your context.
Whether I’m speaking to a room of three managers or 3,000 conference attendees, I always keep my history in mind and bring it vulnerably and powerfully to spark revolution.
The sooner you help create culture that empowers the high points in your unique story, in recognition of the low points, the sooner you’ll see massive returns to your organization. That’s how we bring together different and make the most of what’s possible.