Podcast Episode 83: Episode 56: Special Edition Grace Hansen

Description

In this special edition of the RockCast Podcast, we'll interview Grace Hansen and lean about her background and what she's bringing to the Spark Core Team.

Transcribed Content

This episode of Rockcast is brought to you by Rock partner Triumph Tech, a full service specialist partner. Rock partners provide crucial support for Spark Development Network and important services for the Rock community. Connect with Triumph Tech today at rockrms.com/partners. Welcome to this special edition of the Rockcast podcast. We are going to introduce you to a new member of our team today and learn a little bit more about her. I'm Emily Forman. We have Jon Edmiston, Nick Airdo, and with us today for the first time on our podcast, Grace Hansen. Welcome, Grace. Thank you. It's really nice to be here. Well, we're very excited to have you here, and I know our listening audience is going to be interested in what it is you're doing with Spark, and how you came to be here, and where they might run into you. So tell us a little bit about, first of all, how long have you been on the Spark team? This is officially week number two, so not very long. But you're still So was a success though, because we got past week one, and she still came back. That's right, that's absolutely true. I think we take it one week at a time here. Sometimes we take it one day at a time. She's already completely indoctrinated. Good point. So what was it that you were hired to do on the team, Grace? So I have a complicated title, but it's really quite simple. I am a project manager, and I think the easiest way to kind of help people understand my role is trying to keep the core team organized, try to keep the core team moving forward in delivering assignments, tasks, projects that we have pending to our customers. Whether that's an internal customer, it could be John asking us to look at something, it could be an external customer, a church. So it's really all about organization, tracking forward, and moving along with the least amount of hurdles as possible. You said that's simple, but it sounds a little complicated to me. It's complex. That's right. There are a lot of squirrelly characters on that. Woah. Especially in this team, I I must say. So it does complicate the process significantly. And you figured that out by week two. Week one. Day one? What the heck? Well, tell us a little bit about what you were doing before Rock, and how maybe that came into play with what you're doing now. So I have a background in the corporate world. I primarily have supported the aerospace industry across a number of years, and I also had a couple of breaks in between. Worked in ministry for about six years, utilizing my project management skills in that arena as well. And it took some time to be a full time mom in between that as well. So my last role was with Honeywell, and I was a project manager there. I obviously have a passion for being organized and working with people and teams, and I felt that it's been a good fit, but I was missing more of the ministry and skillset component of doing what I to do, and so there was an opportunity to come alongside the SPARC team to do that, and I feel very blessed to be here. So you have an interesting mix of not only the corporate level of the skillset that we need in this role, but also working at a church on staff. That is correct, and I think it's interesting how God works. I think if I'd had to go back in time and think about, know, did I ever think I would take my business skill set and apply it at a church setting? I would have said, I don't see how that would work. But it absolutely did. And if I ever thought specifically working within the IT world and project management, I would have said absolutely not. And it happened at CCV. My project management primarily was always on the front end of the business. So how do we kind of implement strategies? How does it impact customers? And so to kind of have that experience on the back end was a unique opportunity, which was also the stepping stone for getting my foot back in the door at Honeywell, because that's where I landed, back at the back end of the business. Very interesting. So you have a lot of great skill sets to apply here. When I think too, there's a lot of people who have a role of project manager, but you actually have a lot of, I don't know what you call it, assessments and and certifications that that go along with that. So you you're a highly trained project manager. So for instance, you have a black belt in Six Sigma. Can you tell us what is Six Sigma, and what does that black belt kind of mean? It sounds really scary, but if you really want to be intimidated, then you have to ask John about his black belt. But in the world of project management and Six Sigma, it's really all about a technique of looking and analyzing at a process. I mean, when you talk about Six Sigma, it's about tools and how you go about improving, usually a process, but it could be a product, it could be a customer experience. So there's different levels of training that go along with each stem or root, if you will. And so my training is unique in the standpoint that it's really all around and centered around processes. So if you think about how do we improve it, how do we minimize dropping the baton? How do you consistently look at what you're doing every day in the office in such a systematic way to help improve efficiency? Those are all the different aspects of Six Sigma as it relates to my my background. Yeah. And that's great because I think what you're gonna be able to do and already have done the I mean, literally already have done in two weeks is increase our capacity for project management. But I think the unique part is you're also increasing our capability because you have all this knowledge that's, , top industry knowledge in that, , it might have been easier to find somebody who could increase our capacity, just bring more of it, but you're gonna bring better of it too. And I think that's what I'm really excited about is both obviously, but the capacity and the capability of stuff that we don't know. Well, I'm super excited to be a part of the team and look forward to figuring out the best way to improve, whether that's by using a technique or just simplifying just how we look at what we're doing here every day. That's great. And I had a small dose of Six Sigma when I was at Honeywell. Only got to be Greenbelt, So although I saw someone on a resume who said that they're a Yellowbelt and Greenbelt. I didn't even know that existed. I haven't seen that. It was a a GoDaddy. And so I I had some of those tool sets working with with the engineering department, and I was when accepted the offer, I was so happy that you can help train us on that stuff, because even the little dose I got has been so valuable to my thought processes, and now having you come and not only have it yourself, but able to teach us that is gonna be amazing. Yes, I know that's a priority for you, and as I've been working through these last two weeks, and leaning heavily on Nick's expertise, and learning the technical challenges of the team, it is interesting to start to think about, well, what kinds of tools could we bring into the discussion? And it's almost you have to do it without saying we're going to do a five why, but you just kind of walk the team through the process and kind of train them to think differently as you're just doing the day to day stuff. That's awesome. Okay, I think we need a couple of perspectives on this next question. So John, I'm gonna ask you first. Oh, just for record, we didn't know each other at Honeywell, which I think is interesting. we were in the same kind of aerospace area. But you did know each other from somewhere else. So talk about, from your perspective, how Grace came to be on our team. Okay. That's good. So when we were working on Rocket CCV, there got to be a time where Rocket was just getting big, we needed to transition. And really had to probably take our our whole focus, and that's when we were transitioning off the CCV team. So in that transition, not only were we transitioning off, but we were actually rolling it out for CCV too. , we're still developing. There's tons of stuff to do to get the product to where it needed to be, but then also in place at CCV. So during that that time, they brought Grace in. She'd already been on staff, and put her over the project to help project manage it. So that's I know I knew Grace being on staff, but we never really worked together that much. Now she was project managing the CCV implementation Correct. Of Rock. Right? Yeah. So at that point, , we were working heads down to get the product done and implemented, but she was overseeing the timelines, the due dates, the tasks, help really helping us keep on task and also being a liaison to to leadership saying, okay. These things are being done and and, , because we were under a lot of stress. So we worked together in that and through that, and then even post our transition through some projects. Then I think if I'm getting the chronological order right, then you went back to Honeywell for about- a Almost a year. Almost a year. And I remember this I mean, I'll tell you this story too. I remember coming back a couple weeks after we had transitioned and, , now we're sitting in this little teeny office. And I remember once I went back to CC for a meeting with you to do some project statuses, and I came back into the office. I'm , oh, man. Someday, if we ever had a person Grace who could just help us with this project management stuff, it'd be so nice. And I remember thinking that never hap we'll never be that big. We'll never be able to, , quote, afford that level of And then what is it? Not even two years later, and we can and we need because, I mean, where we're going and where we're at right now, it's amazing. I don't know how we keep track of all these tasks, but even in two weeks, it's , I'm starting to see the output of what you're doing. It's , woah, wow, we actually have something that now? We can actually look at that and see what we're doing? Is great. So I I remember that moment, though, going, gosh, I wish we could somehow get someone a Grace. Now it Here I am. Yeah. Two weeks two years later, we're Emily and were talking and, okay. Well, how are we gonna get this thing, this task that we've done? How are gonna find someone to do that? And it was you, Emily, who said, what about Grace? And , what? Oh, yeah. And it's even more of a miracle because she didn't just come from CCV to here. She left CCV and was back at Honeywell. Right, for almost a year. The thought that we could get her then back from a Honeywell is just amazing. Back into ministry, right? Yeah. So Grace, tell us from your perspective, how did you land on this team? Definitely a God thing. I wasn't really thinking about it. I wasn't pursuing, actively pursuing kind of the next step. God has a funny way of overwhelming me with certain family dynamics. I realized I had to step back and rethink this. I was on probably journey number four of that thinking, I thought I had this figured out and everything's gone so well at Honeywell. But realizing that being completely upside down wasn't exactly where I wanted to be, not for myself, my future, my family, I'm sorry, but just time to do God's work. And as I was kind of mulling over all of that, I got an email and that email just hit me very differently. And I thought, I think that there's something here. And that started a conversation, some coffee, more conversation, couple weeks of time, and I just felt God was making it happen. Of course He was doing that. It's kind of the Rock story. It really is. God's in control. And the interesting thing through all of this is, so we're creating new angles and new positions because what we're basically looking at is a big chunk of work that has to be done that is Rock, the community, the product, all the things that go into it. And as we can, we start trying to figure out how do we carve off another piece and turn it into something that's understandable, packageable, a role, right, that has never existed before. And we keep finding ourselves doing that in all these ways. And so Grace, as we were talking with you, that was all evolving and shaping and changing in the course of a couple of weeks from maybe this, oh no, but it could be this, and this is really ideal, and I think it really did turn into exactly what it should be. But it's that kind of journey that we have around here all the time. I think those are the best kinds of journeys, right? You have to be flexible and you have to just trust God that He's in the mix of what you're doing. So what does your average workday look here? Well, when John doesn't come into my office with a crisis, let's How many days has that not happened? This week? One day. Or when John doesn't tell me that we're gonna have a podcast in the morning Whoops. As I'm walking in. That was totally my fail, not John's. But I never threw you under the bus. That was nice of you. Yes. What does a day look ? Well, we are pretty structured in terms of the things that we're trying to tackle throughout a day. So my typical day starts out with Nick. I'm obviously still learning and heavily relying on the great things that are all tapped in Nick's head. And so we go through and prioritize the things that need to happen. And, , I ask questions in between, I take direction, Nick takes direction well as well. And we get out there, have a daily huddle with our core developers, and we kind of walk around the floor and ask, okay, what are you guys working on today? Make sure if there's any escalations, that we're aware. And selfishly, I think this process really is for me right now, it's about learning the team better, learning what they're working on, helping them see that there is a process and a way to tap into John without completely overwhelming him. He's got a lot on his plate, I'm trying to figure out a way to make the team a little bit more comfortable with that process. There's a lot of task management, of course. We use Asana to navigate our day, and there's a lot of shuffling that goes on, things coming in, ring assignments where necessary, and just kind of keeping our eye on making sure that we're efficient with the time that we have and the tasks that God has placed in our bucket. Is there an average duration of the projects that you work on? I think that our channel of things that come our way, expectations, they're different. And that's one of the things that John and I are gonna talk about later today, which is each bucket has a determined time of how long it will take a developer to work on. Core projects, obviously by nature, they're new, they're big, they're complicated, they're gonna take a longer period of time, but we break those down into subtasks and we'll get better at knowing a timeline for making sure that we're meeting those big deliverables on time. We have issues that are a couple hours worth of work that we work on. So depending on the nature of the assignment, a project can take months, a project can take hours. I don't know of too many that take years around here at this point. John's probably thought of one or two. Hosting. Maybe Rockloud. Right. Just kidding. Kind of. Ouch. It's just being realistic. It's only because it gets sidelined for other things that have to take priority. Mhmm. And that's kind of what's happened. So, Grace, where might the community expect to run into you? I really see my role as a back end role. I wouldn't necessarily have direct impact with the community necessarily as I'm getting started and ramping up and learning all that we're doing. But potentially, I would say maybe podcasts, I would say communicating with churches on projects, making sure that maybe delivering on time, if they have questions or we have questions, I might have more interaction with the community that way. But to be honest, I think that that will probably evolve. Yeah, I would add that, so don't be surprised if Grace's name is now on the 86 Alpha, the 86 Beta. So you'll be working with those teams. They'll be sending feedback to you. You'll keep it organized. And so that is one element that is evolving today. Thank you, Nick. So if if our community members are part of those alpha or beta testing teams, they may run across you. And Nick, while you're talking about that, how can someone join the alpha or beta testing team? Well, the beta team, you can just go to the our rockrms.com website and under is it connect, I believe? There's a on the sidebar for a way to get connected to the these opportunities. The the alpha team is mentioned there, but the beta team specifically, you just punch in your email address and you you're on the team. The alpha team requires a little bit more, finesse in your skills, and we don't wanna frustrate you, so we kinda would interview you. That makes sense. So I think through there, there's a form or an email address that you reach us at, and that's how you would get on the alpha team. It's a really important role though because we're trying to do more and more testing during the alpha stage because of the way alpha and beta rolls out. It's better to find issues during alpha. Thanks. I always to make sure everybody knows how to get involved in certain things, especially if someone's learning about this for the first time. So Grace, tell us about your family. I have been blessed with a wonderful family. Let's see, I have two children. One is at NAU, she's a sophomore, and she's pursuing a degree in psychology. And I have a young son at home, he's actually a senior, so he's not that young. He's gonna be graduating from Mountain Ridge this year. And he's in the process of deciding what school he wants to go to, but very much interested in pursuing a physical trainer. Been married to my husband for ten years. He is a vice president at Honeywell. So yes, we did meet at Honeywell. Met a lot of people, or I guess didn't meet. You and John didn't meet there. I still wonder if our Passover crossed, we just never knew it, but I think it's possible. A lot of local people have some kind of connection there. It's a big influence in our community. So Grace, tell us about your interests and your free time. What are some things you enjoy doing? Well, I enjoy running, mainly as a way to just kind of clear my head and manage stress levels and decompressing, if you will. So I'm a big fan of Orange Theory. I kind of the structure of a nice workout divided between cardio and some weights, and knowing that I have to go to class so that it forces me to do it. So I enjoy that. And at home, I have a new hobby and it's gardening. I'm not very good at it. Actually, it evolved because my children always made fun of me that I killed everything. And so to kind of prove them wrong, I started to plan something here and there, and it's taken off. It's really more of a way to switch gears, and it's a great project for me to have on the weekends as I'm trying to not think so much about work and focus on home and family life. I have found that to be a very good thing to have in my life. So you had the orange theory before you came to Rock. That's true. Orange has a new term for me here, new Yes. Lifestyle. Yes. Here, everything's orange. Everything's orange. The wall behind us right now is bright orange. Yep. The pictures on the other wall, the white wall, are orange. Why not? White and orange. So, orange theory, do you run on the treadmill or do you run on the Yes. So, you do run on a treadmill and it's interval based training. So the idea is never to get quite comfortable with either a sprint or a base pace or an incline sort of workout. And so there's always a mix around how you do that. Sometimes it's focused more on just incline, sometimes it's more about speeds, but there's just always a constant shift. And I think that's important in anything that we do, right? You can't always be on the same pace all the time. And so that's from a physical standpoint, that's what they target. Do they have those new treadmills with the hurdles built in? For those of you that don't know, we had to share something about ourselves week one. And I had mentioned that I have the high school hurdle record at my high school. And I think John's trying to poke fun at me at the moment. No, I'm trying to highlight that. That's amazing. Have you seen a treadmill with a hurdle before. I'm shark taking that. Right? I'm , I'm gonna be on shark tank tomorrow with that idea because I think it actually would increase the entertainment value of of said treadmill. That's probably true. And it would be a great tool for hurdlers. Right. To keep him , it's raining out. You don't wanna be out there. It'd have to be a pretty long treadmill, I think, to make that work. Yeah. Otherwise, it's a trampoline. Well, and and the hurdles could start small, and it could be lifted up to your right height. Not too high. Okay. Well, you stretch yourself, and sometimes it could randomly go up or down, so you don't know quite how how high it's gonna go. Okay. My front teeth sound they're gonna get knocked out. I'm not on this. You wear a teeth, , my mouth guard. It it'll be fine. I got an extra one if you wanna borrow it. Gross. Okay. For the record That's a karate joke. I'm not I'm not funding this startup of yours. I think that's intriguing. I don't think I could do even one small hoarder hurdle. So the fact that you have a record in that is amazing. Thank you. Yeah. Grace, is there anything else the Rock community should know about you? Let's see. I think I feel you guys should know that this is a fun group of people. This is a great environment. It's way better than I imagined it would be. And I hope that we can all keep that same level of enthusiasm and energy and pass it along to you guys as well. Great. Thanks for being here with us today, I know it was kind of last minute notice and I'm totally taking the fall for that, my fault. No problem. Happy to be here. Thanks again for tuning in for another special edition Rockcast. Today's show was produced by Emily Forman. Nick was our recording engineer who turned the dials and pushed the buttons. Jim Michael handled all the audio post production mixing. Our amazing show notes, which you can find at rockrms.com/connect, were transcribed and written up by Michael Garrison. Do a church that loves the idea of using Rock but hasn't taken that leap yet? With managed hosting, churches of any size can get access to Rock's amazing technology, hassle free. With just one click, Rock's managed hosting removes the roadblocks that might stop a church from switching to Rock by making the process simple. 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