TheBridge profile: Nord Samuelson
Name: Nord Samuelson
Current city: Portland, ME
Current job: President at Emburse
Past job: Chief Digital Officer at Covtiti, Managing Director at AlixPartners
Q. Job advice in three words? Make it enjoyable.
Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? Tandem Coffee, Portland Maine. Take great pride in their coffee and despite the long line that snakes down Congress Street each morning they always have time to really find out how you are. For real. Not as a throw away question.
Q. Describe how a skill you learned in a previous job helped you in your current job. At AlixPartners there was a strong emphasis on the importance of creating “followership”. One soon realizes that creating followership is not about asking others to follow, it is really about helping others lead.
Q. How are you (or your org) currently bridging the gap between innovation and regulation? Helping foundations, public-funded organizations, and tech companies who contract with the government monitor and prevent wasted spend. This includes both direct spend and the time and effort it takes to carry out administrative tasks versus focusing on the organization’s mission.
Q. What can innovators learn from policymakers? Policies set guidelines and directions in which to operate. Oftentimes, innovators can become a lot more innovative if clear guidelines are established. Understanding the power of policy can be critically important for the success of innovation.
Q. What can policymakers learn from innovators? Be cautious about letting policies be used to create complacency and brittleness in the system. Policies can often be used to protect roles and processes that should not be protected.
Q. Favorite book you recommend to TheBridge community? The Sum of Us, Heather McGhee
Q. Everyday is probably different, but can you describe a "day in the life" of your job? Each day is typically broken into four parts: planning (everything from schedule to setting priorities), preparing (meeting preparation, report / presentation preparation), advising (1:1 or small group meetings to review performance and understand forward direction), and executing (board meetings, executive meetings, sales meetings, decision making, etc.).
Q. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself in the beginning of your career? Stay more curious about everything but especially the things you are most interested in.
Q. Most underrated virtue in an employee? Radical candor
Q. Last time you were completely unplugged? In hospice with my mother.
Q. If you had to live in another city, what would it be? Melbourne, Australia
Q. Do you have a morning routine? Coffee, meditation, endurance exercise, more coffee, scheduling / planning
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