IAM609- Senior HR Professional Passionate for Human Potential

Mildred is a national speaker, best-selling author, and SHRM-certified senior HR professional. Mildred Black Hooks is the Founder of People Optimum Consulting. She began her career in HR leadership over 20 years ago as an HR leader for Target Stores.

She has led HR operations in large organizations, developed workforce training programs, facilitated strategic initiatives, and managed major organizational changes. Mildred's clients include medium and large-sized companies, Fortune 100, and Government. Healthcare, automotive, food processing, manufacturing, and other service-based industries. She approaches every engagement with a customized approach, a passion for human potential and the possibilities of what could be.

• CEO Hack: Listening to audiobooks
• CEO Nugget: Keeping my focus and my purpose
• CEO Defined: Being a servant, serving others, serving my local community

Website: www.peopleoptimum.com/mildredblackhooks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mildredblackhooks/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleoptimum/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaqfF1GwQt-DpHnO1hwJmaw

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/mildredblackhooks?_rdc=1&_rdr
https://web.facebook.com/peopleoptimum/?_rdc=1&_rdr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mildredblackhooks/

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Transcription

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview?

If so, you've come to the right place, Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of.

This is the I AM CEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:29

Hello, hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today at Mildred Hooks of People Optimum Consulting.

Mildred, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Mildred Hooks 0:39

Thank you so much, Gresham. It's a pleasure to be with you.

Gresham Harkless 0:42

Definitely, a pleasure is all ours. And what I want to do is just read a little bit more about Mildred so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Mildred is a national speaker-selling author and SHRM-certified senior HR professional, Mildred Black Hooks is the founder of People Optimum Consulting. She began her career in HR leadership over 20 years ago as an HR leader for Target stores. She led HR operations and large origin organizations developed workforce training programs, facilitated strategic initiatives, and managed major organizational changes.

Motors clients include medium to large-sized companies Fortune 100, government healthcare, automotive food processing, manufacturing, and other service-based industries as well. She approaches every engagement with a customized approach a passion for human potential and the possibilities of what could be measured.

Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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Mildred Hooks 1:32

Absolutely.

Gresham Harkless 1:33

Awesome, let's do it. So I wanted to kick everything off with I guess what I can say kind of the beginning is I just wanted to hear a little bit more about what led you to get started with your business and what brought you to your current spot now.

Mildred Hooks 1:43

Yes, thank you. Thank you so much for having me on your show again. So about 20 years ago, I was an analyst working in the large health system in Atlanta, one of the largest in the southeast United States. And I just got this vision of having a consulting practice 20-plus years ago, and I carry that vision with me, and I've always had that entrepreneurial spirit. And I am sure that what has had a lot to do with my success in my career, over the years is that I always went above and beyond, I just moved with what I saw as an opportunity and I saw every problem as an opportunity.

And so my career really catapulted because I was always willing to stretch above and beyond, you know, what was confined to a job description. And so, as I continued to advance in the field of human resources, my career path led me to a role with the large health system in Alabama. And it was, it was 2015, actually, when something really traumatic happened in my life. And I lost my vision in one of my eyes in my left eye. And I didn't know what was happening. It was, of course, a very scary time. And I learned that I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. And yes, and so with that diagnosis, of course, that was a life-altering moment for me.

And thankfully, through modern medicine, my idea of what that meant, and what it actually means in 2020 are totally different. The first set heard of this, disease was when I was a small child, and I just saw someone in a wheelchair. That was what she said about multiple sclerosis. I saw someone in a wheelchair. And so my mind went there, which was based on my limited understanding, well, Multiple Sclerosis is totally different now and medicine has come such a long way. And they were able to help restore the vision in my left eye. Going to medical treatment.

Yes. But what changed for me most of all was my mindset and my heart changed about what's important. And just, the context of life and how very short it is, and how important it is to go ahead and move with what you believe in and what you believe you're called to do. So it was it was not long after then that I launched. My company stepped out on faith and here I am today. It has been almost a year I will be celebrating a year of my first year anniversary in June of this year. And I'm very proud of the work and the progress that I have been able to experience so far. It's been really phenomenal.

Gresham Harkless 4:44

Awesome. Well, I don't know if anybody has wished you happy birthday but I will wish you happy birthday just in case anybody hasn't in advance that's super exciting that you've been able to do it, and thank you for sharing you know your entire story and what exactly got you to where we are now just because I think So many times when you know we go through different trials and tribulations, it can be very hard to kind of see the silver lining or even just take what happened and move in a positive light. So for one, I mean, I know it definitely sounds like it's helped Dodgers yourself yourself. But it definitely sounds like you've been inspiring people as well to hear that there is a way out. And there's a perspective that we can change.

Mildred Hooks 5:23

Absolutely, absolutely. Thank you.

Gresham Harkless 5:27

No problem at all. So I wanted to drill down a little bit more I know, we touched a little bit on what you're doing with people optimum consulting, could you take us through exactly how you work with clients and what exactly you provide?

Mildred Hooks 5:38

Sure. So the mission of People Optimal Consulting is to create exceptional work environments, one heart at a time. And early on in after my launch, I developed a model called the heart model. And this heart model is really designed to help organizations create cultures of influence. And I actually have a book that will be coming out later this year, in the spring, concerning a culture of influence.

So I provide training and development for leaders and teams, human resources, consulting, and really focused on organizational development. And then finally, executive coaching. All of it is designed to remove the barriers, to build up bench strength to slow down the very expensive churn of turnover, and to help organizations use their most precious resource, which is the people in the most effective way possible.

Gresham Harkless 6:41

Nice, I definitely appreciate that. And so kind of funny, because I, I often say a lot like when you peel back, you know, obviously, we have our products and services and things that we do. But I usually always say that when you peel back the onion of a business people, sometimes we forget that it's made up of people and people have different goals and aspirations. They have, you know, good times, bad times. But I think so many times we look at these entities and organizations that we forget that aspect, I appreciate you for obviously, working towards helping organizations to understand that and also understand how best to create those Win-Win situations it sounds like.

Mildred Hooks 7:13

Absolutely, I mean, especially at this particular time, in our history, we're in a very interesting place. Because it will be, I think, 18 months straight now that we have experienced record-low unemployment rates. And it is something that you hear about a lot on the news, the national news, and it is, it is definitely something that you hear about discussed as a positive. And don't get me wrong, it is. But from the standpoint of what businesses experience every day, they are experiencing a very difficult time finding talent, did you know that the ratio of people who are looking for jobs to open positions is 0.80?

Gresham Harkless 7:59

Wow.

Mildred Hooks 8:00

That's the ratio, that means that someone is going to be on the losing end of that ratio. Because there are more jobs open than there are people to fill them. And so as I tell my clients, none of us has the luxury to not be working toward having work environments that work with people and work for people and not work against them. That's what's very important right now. And in so what I what I help clients to do is assess where they are, assess their work environment currently, what are the sentiments of the employees, and we look for those opportunities, I see a lot of leaders that don't have a whole lot of experience.

I came along, you know, and I entered the workforce at a time when baby boomers were the age I am now. And, so I have the advantage of learning from them and being groomed by them. And I can tell you that people are moving into roles that don't have that same advantage don't have that same advantage. Now, I am a Generation X and I was raised by baby boomers who were raised by traditionalists my children are Generation Y and Generation Z and they are Generation Y which is also known as millennials, they are they are not as populated as my generation is.

So I should let me reverse that. Let me say that the right way. My generation is not as populated as they are. There aren't a whole lot of us because the baby boomers didn't have a whole lot of once they had us. They moved on and they were focused on careers. So baby boomers were birthed by traditionalists and so that was a baby boom. But they didn't have a lot of children, they were focused on their careers, which means that my generation works really hard. And so the generation that has come behind them is having to learn very quickly and ramp up very quickly for roles. And it's difficult.

Gresham Harkless 10:15

Yes.

Mildred Hooks 10:15

People, there's a big Exodus happening right now in the workforce. So we have a lot of new leaders who need a lot of support. My company is really designed to answer the call, to help new leaders and existing seasoned leaders to be most effective, and to create environments that people want to not only work in to stay in, stay put for a while, and learn.

Gresham Harkless 10:39

What do you think? Is it that perspective? That provides you what what I like to call your secret sauce, the thing that makes you unique and sets you apart. Is it that perspective and being able to kind of look at each of those kind of vantage points that you feel session report?

Mildred Hooks 10:54

That is definitely one of the factors that set me apart. That and just my mindset about people, I believe in human potential, hence the name of my company People Optimum Consulting, because I always look for what is the best. And what is the next level? How do we improve, I always believe there's room for improvement. So for me, having a background, that's pretty vast, I've worked in technology and healthcare, in the public. And in the private sector, a lot of service-based industries, I have worked in environments, I've had the good fortune to work in environments that really rocked, they rocked it out, they were awesome.

And I mean, even considered great places to work by all standards standards. But I hate to say I've also worked in some environments that really did not rock. And being in human resources, you have the vantage point of understanding the nuances behind why the organization is what it is, you not only understand the facade of what's on the front porch, but you also understand what's in the back room and what's in the junk drawer and what's under the bed, okay? You know that you know, the nuances and you know, the players and you understand what's involved.

And I've come to realize that there are some common threads in organizations that really rock and it boils down to how they respond to one another. And what type of intentionality do they have, about how they're going to? How they're going to be? And do they really value people as people? And are they connected to the real purpose of that organization, every organization has a purpose, just like I am CEO, it has a purpose, and you have a vision, and you said, I am going to do this, this is what I'm going to create, you know, you have your vision, and I have my vision for my company.

But does everybody who's connected to my company, my company will scale one day. And it's it's incumbent upon me that the people who become a part of my company, are connected to the purpose for which it was created, and that it aligns somehow with their own purpose, to the extent that an organization is able to connect individual purpose, to corporate purpose, to that extent, they will grow, they will thrive, and their customers will feel it, their customers will experience what it was what that company was intended to do in the best possible way.

Gresham Harkless 13:34

Appreciate that. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit. And I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So that could be like an app or book or habit that you have. But what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Mildred Hooks 13:45

I will tell you, I'm a huge fan of audiobooks. I try to take in something that's meaningful that will sharpen me and sharpen my mindset. If I'm in my car, I'm usually either listening to it, I'm always listening with purpose, let me put it that way. I don't want to make it sound like I am always 100% of the time listening to auto audiobooks, but I try to listen with purpose and be purposeful about what I take in. So that it is enhancing my ability to be you know, to present my best self to the world.

Gresham Harkless 14:22

Awesome. So I now wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. So that could be like a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It could be around HR, or it could be something you might tell a client or maybe even your younger business self.

Mildred Hooks 14:34

I want to say that it's especially as an entrepreneur, who is a CEO, I have to keep my eye on the prize. I have to keep my focus on what I know is right. My purpose.

Gresham Harkless 14:48

I definitely appreciate, that those nuggets. And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO We're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So Mildred, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Mildred Hooks 15:02

Being a CEO to me means being a servant, serving others, serving my local community, regionally, nationally, and hopefully one day globally.

Gresham Harkless 15:13

I appreciate your time even more. What I want to do is pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional, you want to let our readers and listeners know. And then of course, how best people can get a hold of you, and get in touch.

Mildred Hooks 15:23

My company has People Optimum Consulting, you can reach me at people optimum.com Or Mildred hooks that com and you can follow me on all social media platforms at Mildred blacker hooks.

Gresham Harkless 15:38

Awesome.  Thank you so much again, Mildred. We will definitely have the links and information in the show notes. I appreciate you for being one of the people for sure that I get the opportunity to interview and is doing really phenomenal thing. So I feel like I'm using my superpower by getting you to talk about your superpower. So I appreciate that.

Mildred Hooks 15:57

Yes, you are. That's a mention. I have a book coming out in the spring. It's very important that I mention this. Is that okay?

Gresham Harkless 16:02

Yeah, absolutely. Is it gonna be on your your site?

Mildred Hooks 16:06

Yes, it will. And the book is a culture of influence the five irrefutable factors at the heart of thriving organizations.

Gresham Harkless 16:12

Awesome, awesome. Awesome. We will definitely have the links and information in the show notes again, so you can get a copy of the book as well too. But thank you. Thank you so much again, Mildred. And I hope you have a phenomenal day.

Outro 16:21

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. CEO, I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community.

Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE And leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless.

Thank you for listening.

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