Javi Diaz From Acclaro has become one of the most popular influencers in the localization industry. He created the role of a Global Brand Champion and in this episode, you’ll learn how to become one.
Javi is a proud millennial. He represents a new take on sales, marketing, and building relationships. Watch our casual interview and find out:
- The origins of Global Brand Champion
- A new take on the sales process
- Why are quotas your biggest enemy
- How to use LinkedIn to stand out
- Does personality matter
- How to develop your EQ
- Dealing with rejection
- Learn to… pick up girls?!
This is episode 37 of my social practice, also known as The Localization Podcast 🙂 #localization and #translation insight delivered to you by the power of video, this time with Javier Díaz Fernández-Carvajal.
⏲️ Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro & Javi’s road to localization
06:20 – How Javi became the Global Brand Champion
23:30 – Personality traits, why is EQ important
30:24 – Strategy, leadership, making content
58:45 – Fear of getting “no”, history, music and culture
Andrej Zito
Javi, Welcome to the podcast finally made happen. Welcome, welcome. Welcome.
Javi Díaz
So good to hear.
Andrej Zito
Javier Díaz. You know, when I first saw your name on LinkedIn, I didn’t know that Lincoln had the feature that you can- Did you record your name or something so that when I go there the press it says your name?
Javi Díaz
I did. I did. I did. I did? I did? I did. I think I’m one of the few people that did that there. Because you know, in Spain we have our second name is constituted by our father’s name and our mother’s name. So the earth from Tad, Veronica Mahal from mum. But that’s not the word. You’ll see. I had one of my colleagues in University. He was called Ernesto nest. And his second name was Viviana Cardenas Bernardo. So, in order for us to in order for the teacher to say his name, it took him like five minutes. I will never forget that name.
Andrej Zito
Right. So you were introduced-
Javi Díaz
Thanks for inviting me
Andrej Zito
You’re here because of Jeff Beatty, right from Mozilla. I didn’t know you existed at all You were like, I was like, What is going on? Who is this guy? And Jeff told me. If you ever had to interview someone, it has to be Hamid. Yes. So now you’re here. Thank you. Finally, we made it happen. I mean, so and yeah. And when I found you, I’m looking at this guy. And he’s like, global brand champion. Yeah, we have to talk about that dude. Because like, what the hell does it mean?
Javi Díaz
Yeah, yeah. So let me give a little bit of background around who is listening and see, you know, like I am. I’m Spanish. I’m gonna be this accent. Where am I going to be from right? I cannot. I I’ve been living out of Spain since 2008. And I still haven’t gotten rid of this accent. And other typical Spanish mistakes, like your Slovakian and I was working with Slovakians in my previous company when sorry, two companies before in Prague. And they would make a lot of fun when I when they would see the written name of Slovak in Spanish with the egg in front of the s, right. It’s Slovakia a is fine. Yeah, Estonia. So they will make a lot of fun of me. And they would say like when I was stopped, right, so I’m Spanish. I am. I was born in 82 in the glory of zero 52. So I’m a millennial, I have been advocating and always talking about millennials and how we are the generation that should be in power right now we’re starting to get empowered to be in power now. And we’ve lived through two major crisis in the last 10 years. When we first get out of university. I started my I finished law in 2007. I went to the market in 2008, the market 2008. And everything collapsed six months after. So I had the typical case of getting internships, to, to to get a first job, and moving to Germany to get a first job in Germany, being a tour guide, founding a company in Ukraine, which was crazy as well. So I’ve had a lot of strategy, the company in Ukraine, man, Yes, Yes, Yes, I can. I cannot reveal here, the reason why. But I started a company in Ukraine, back in 2013, with with a guy that I met online, and we were talking for a long time that you have to move over. It’s gonna be super fun, and we’ll do this business. And here I am six months after I was out in being an illegal legal immigrant in Ukraine, which was something to tell to my grand grand grandkids. Right.
Andrej Zito
Okay, so how did you actually get into localization? If you’re talking about your background? When was your first step into localization?
Javi Díaz
Very good question. Like, it’s thanks to my previous my boss, while working at MemSource, who was called Joseph Grabowski. And, and I was I was, as I said, as a as a millennial. I was struggling with my career six years ago. And then I started, this was summer 2014. And I started I was even in Munich, doing tour guiding in Munich being a tour guide, like you went to the Marienplatz. You see a guy with a with a shield air tour of whatever that was me. And then I had a corporate previous life that was started that got stuck. So I decided to start sending CDs out of of Prague, I’m sorry, of Munich when I was leaving, and one London Joseph coupe skis office in Prague. And he hired me and I started in the industry. So that’s that. That’s about it. That’s what happened in 2015. So five years ago.
Andrej Zito
What was your first role at MemSource?
Javi Díaz
Business development manager, Jr, Jr. Jr. Jr. And I remember that conference in Stuttgart back in November that year, when he takes me my boss takes me to the stands. They’re just like, Look, this is the competition. This is the competition. This is a you’re not a junior anymore. And I’m like, Yes, let’s do it. Literally, that was a that was the talk. And you can you can have him on your podcast one day, because he’s super funny guy. And he can tell you about that story.
Andrej Zito
Do you consider yourself to sort of like your mentor, not only when it comes to localization, but also when it comes to sales?
Javi Díaz
Definitely, I learned so much from him. I learned so much from and I, I text him every couple of months, like thank you for having given me this chance. Because if it wasn’t for the chance, I wouldn’t be here. So in Yeah, I tell him that. I have a few mentors in the industry, people that I often talk to and ask for advice in things. And, and he’s definitely one of them. And sometimes they do the opposite of the things he says but it’s okay to ask him for advice in any case.
Andrej Zito
Right. So okay, so now how does this translate to global brand champion? You talked about being a millennial, you know, so when did you start having this different perspective about sales? And maybe marketing?
Javi Díaz
Yeah, that’s a very good question. So I was gonna say that’s, that’s good that you asked, because, so the first years in MemSource, I was able to, to have the role of senior business development manager or develop business develop manager. And then I started focusing on the US market. So I had the role of us sales representative. And in when I was doing that job, I saw that my biggest strengths, were creating opportunities, business opportunities, especially creating long lasting, good friendship relationships with people that we return all the time, they would turn to be your clients. Like, you mentioned, Jeff, as Jeff, for example, right? Who, who I met through one company, and then the next one, he was my client. And he said, very good friend of mine, we talk all the time now as well, maybe constantly in touch, right. So I, I saw that I had a typical, or that on paper, I had a typical sales role. And I said, What about focusing for the next time that I can take another job, which happened in 2018? Right? What if I focus? What if I get a job focusing on the thing that I do the best, versus becoming this typical sales person, because salesperson normally has to call it two cycles or two parts of a job, right? Like the opening part, where you go out there, you meet the people, and you focus on on on doing the relationships? And then the other part, which to me? For some reason, it’s, it seems easier, I don’t know. Like, once you’re at home, and you have the opportunity, and the people are ready to do business with you. It’s easy, it’s easier to land that deal, because either way, right? So but I said, let me focus on this. So other colleagues of mine in the organization, once I have built enough relationship with all these people, and the people are ready to buy and ready to see what you’re doing. My colleagues can help them develop their quality account that way, right. So for that, I said, I need to stay away from the typical sales role. I’m a different kind of person, I’m a person that is leaving on positivity, I’m a global person, I’m I’m a, I’m a I’m a whatever. So I said, Let’s look for a role that is a that goes according to me that lives according to our industry, right? Our industry is localization and globalization. So I said, Okay, globally, it has to be global there. And then I was focused a lot. As I said, it’s a mix of You’re right. It’s a mix of marketing to mix up sales. And it’s beautiful. It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful Rome, and I’m creative, I can create, I can do things in a different way to help support the people that are behind. So I said, I’m doing things like okay, I was I was googling like, what are the typical millennial new kind of roles that I invented, like complex cetera. And then I saw I saw I saw ninja samurai, whatever the champion champion is gonna be zero, right? And then and then I was focused on the brand on brand, brand expansion brand, you know, focusing a lot on on the fact that I represent the values of a company of I work only with good people. So let’s focus let’s add let’s let’s let’s make people think that when they are looking at a brand they they because there’s so much competition in the in our market in the location industry. Everyone is a vendor or most people are vendors and it’s but people have to relate somebody to a brand. So I said okay, we have to have the brand as well. So global brand champion, and we in the brand has to has to has to go along, I mean has to be matched with my personal values of living of doing business cetera. So that’s how I came across the new role, the new the new way of doing business and, and that’s it that’s how the government champion initiative started a few years ago in my plans, I tell you, I would love to, to see a ton of lower rung champions around the world, in his industries. Because it’s a claim for anyone that is watching out there, that there’s a lot of sales podcasts that you see around, and people from our industry, which they are their leaders right now. And they talk about old fashioned ways of doing business, from my understanding, and think that you and I were both millennials, in three to 10 years, we’re going to be the leading workforce in the industry, not only no industry, but in the world. And we don’t buy, we don’t buy the same old fashioned ways that people are buying now, what the same old fashioned ways to say no, I didn’t want to say the same old fashioned ways the way the same ways people buy now. So I wanted to create something new that in the future, that reflects to what where the future of buying is going towards community friendships. Now, with the COVID connection, being connected with everybody being you know, being all the time online being they’re not, you know, helping all the time. And something that goes along that that path, right. So that’s, that’s why I created the role. That’s what I’m trying to do things in a different way. And it’s working. It’s, it’s literally working, essentially working, I have a lot of people. And this is for all of those who don’t believe this can work that I build and work in my community in talking about things that are interesting for them. That’s why I also created this initiative of life, which I can talk about later. And I spend time talking to them. And they come to me and tell me what to do. Oh, I need a vendor right now. Where does it end? It has happened in the last It’s October 13. Today. And this has happened from August to now in the last six weeks, three times. So in in these works, this works, it takes the same time. And for those who don’t believe that that methodology at least works. But no, I don’t see nobody else doing something like this. This takes exactly the same time to develop as picking up a phone book and started calling people and bugging people with emails exactly the same time.
Andrej Zito
It’s definitely more scalable, right?
Javi Díaz
You might think I’m crazy. But it’s it’s more scalable. Yeah, it’s more scalable. it’s scalable, it’s it’s affordable, like the other day I spent in this talk in, in the lock from home conference. And then I one of the questions that I got from the audience was like help. I mean, I have been lucky enough to be able to be always there to travel to be available to be in all the conferences possible in the states in Europe. And the other day, somebody asked, how do you do this when you’re a small SP or a two man show company, that you don’t have the resources to go into Silicon Valley for two weeks? I think this is amazing. There’s no better chance than then LinkedIn, internet, Instagram to do this now. It’s amazing. So I mean, yeah, start building start building community.
Andrej Zito
Just to be sure that I got this right, when you were telling us that there are two parts to sales process. And you said that the second part is, the easier one for you doesn’t mean that you’re doing the second part, or you’re actually doing the first part because from what I see, you’re focusing on the first part, which is building the relationships, getting your name out there building the brand for acclaro, and making friends, which eventually turns into business. And what I understand is that when the potential clients are ready to buy, that’s when you hand them over to other people who may be better to, let’s say, set up the processes or the operations for the client. Is that correct?
Javi Díaz
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I easier, I didn’t want to say the word easier, because if somebody is on sales and looking at us, and he’s an old fashioned salesperson, he’s gonna say, I’m gonna kill that guy. So nothing’s easy in this process. And it takes a lot of hard work, right. But if you structure the work in two parts, in which one focuses on the part that normally people are, do not, for some reason, men under it, I see people that are not that mean that most of the salespeople prefer to stay at the office at home, whatever, and work on some lead that they get on the table. So I said, I like precisely the other part, they go out there and meeting the people and making real friends. And once they’re ready to buy out, I will make sure that they have a smooth transition from from that moment when I met them in the relationship that I feel with them. So they’re ready to be taken care of by another colleague of mine who’s going to make them succeed in onboarding into my company to the company that I’m working right. So that’s it. I didn’t want to say the word say easier, sorry, but it’s always there’s always negotiate jaundice always thinks that oh, I don’t like this. What are we going to change instead? That all right, but I meant this better. Let’s rephrase this, I meant that I could do that also. And this is one of the things that I came that I talked about with my boss when I was learning the new job. And, but I would rather have somebody that’s a specialist in doing this at home that wants to continue, so I can focus on the other part. Yeah, it’s okay. And, yeah, it’s working. It’s working. It’s working. One thing the other company is working on.
Andrej Zito
Yeah, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying something is easier. Because what might be easier for you might not be easy for other people, and we should make our life easier. So it’s more about also about the fit. Like I think like your role that you created for yourself, fits your personality. That’s why it may be easier for you, our people might be struggling with it, but they might be able to help with a different part of the process. And that might be easier for you. And you might be struggling with that one. So yeah, nothing wrong with that. Okay,
Javi Díaz
Thank you. So that’s, that’s, that’s a way that’s a good way to put it this way. I agree with you.
Andrej Zito
So nobody will kill you yet. But hopefully, you will see something more controvercial later. So. You know what works for millenials, right? I’ll get this EP.
Javi Díaz
Jesus Christ. One of the one of the first books that I read like a long time ago about marketing was about controlling your marketing and examples like Jose Mourinho in football, how he’s doing in his game. I mean, I don’t know if you guys watch a lot of football used to like, and you should be into hockey and football, or soccer, what the Americans call soccer, right? So I read about a couple of examples, and Jose Mourinho the trainer was a good one. Like how controversial he was in the marketing that all that all brought in all the things. So there’s controversial marketing as well, right? There’s controversial way of selling, right.
Andrej Zito
I think I think the two of us maybe don’t even have to try to be controversial. We just have to be authentic. And it will be controversial for a lot of people. So yeah, very much. What I would I would I like when you were talking about how you had this discussion with your manager. So I want you to take us back to the first time when you were actually pitching this idea, because you said that you would like to see more global brand champions arise. So let’s start with that. How did your first conversation go? What were the things that you propose that would be of a value to the company, so that they give you a chance trying something new?
Javi Díaz
That’s a super good question, man. No, let’s not be let’s let’s okay. So in the previous company, as I brought this rolling, rolling, the previous company that I was working for called bureau works, which is a Silicon Valley, company based company, Brazilian Silicon Valley based technology solutions company, right. And when they first when I first got the job offer from Gabriel Fetterman, which I love him so much, and he’s also another of my mentors, and a good friend of mine. And, and he’s the CMO that I had there, Aaron chalene, the ankle that I never had as well, people that I really love. So they offer said, a business development director. And I signed, let’s do this, in three months into the job, which was in like, two years ago, exactly. A waste. We had this meeting talking about. Happy, you’ve been doing great. You know, I didn’t I didn’t you, you, you were my friend before. And I saw how you relate with people, etc. and how you you are able to create interesting conversations that could lead to business, right? And, but you are the you do the best thanks to how you are in the in being focused in the relationship building, creating and when the client is ready, passing it over, right? And so why don’t we look for a different title. And I say, This is amazing. Let’s do this. Let’s change the way the approach to sales. Let’s do it in a different way. And then and then that’s what was the thing that I explained before how we came up with a name. It’s literally like that. I remember one day at the Silicon Valley office like, am I gonna do this show God, research entitled to do and deliver and champion? And because yeah, that’s also boom.
Andrej Zito
So you didn’t actually have to convince anyone, right? You didn’t have to pitch anything. Just came naturally. From your boss.
Javi Díaz
Yeah, yeah. I mean, that’s they said that, but I sort of pitch I hate to say that word pitch, man, come on. No, I’m kidding. But I wrote an article on LinkedIn few months ago about the depth of the of the sales speech, how that is a dead thing. Don’t pitch people especially nowadays. Like To me, it might sound a hypocrite, but you don’t pitch people. All the information is there. People ask you, if you’re able to deliver values, they will always ask you what you do. So you for me, that’s what I wrote. You can go to my LinkedIn page set writing the few articles that I wrote in Why is the devil despite the sales pitch, it doesn’t To me it doesn’t exist anymore. But anyway, let’s not be hypocrites. And to beat it Okay, let’s I when I started in this company in apparel in May this year, I have talks in competitions with my with my boss. I love him, Matt. Hello, if you’re watching, I love you too as well give me a race. So so I had I had that I had that I had these, I had the super super glue commissioners, in our solution architect that connected us, Bill, which I have been working with before in Memphis, and I love him as well. I love everybody. You see, it’s Yeah, it’s true, bro. I have no enemies. I love people. Yeah, big time. Oh my god. Yeah. And in the end, and I was getting him like, we have a team of very good salespeople, more old fashioned ways of doing business and a person that will be going out there and spreading the word, the news would be a super good idea for a company. So I jumped on a call with Matt and I tell him Okay, so number one, I am an outbound salesperson, by the way, I really like to focus on being their frontline, first guy with a sword charging or no. And I want to continue doing this I want to continue I’ve been doing this for five years almost. And yeah, five years successfully in the industry. It’s worked so well. It helped me develop my personality, my career and being innovative because it’s a mix of sales and marketing. It’s a mix of content, it’s a it’s a job that allows you to use all the available tools, social media, you probably follow me on LinkedIn, I’m doing a lot of content I mean, content content every two three days I do a post I do a video to express ideas that are engaging. It’s working really well like the other day the guy said in smart guy they told me that they analyze the the influencers in the internet, and they said you are an influencer with the biggest engagement of all yeah, it’s like oh my God, thank you. I didn’t know they were friends. What am I gonna do? So it’s good because it allows me to do a lot of you know of of innovation in and out and use channels that at the end men people use them only to a share content from someone else in the company normally be comment on conferences to attract abuse, which nine or or not use the tools properly, right? Basically, those those few things, right. And I’m trying I’m doing I’m doing crazy stuff like like I’m doing I’m going to get stuff done. Like things that are different. I want to do different. I want to go and do. I’m here I’m doing a video I want to show to tell a story. like doing business telling stories like storytelling marketing, by the way, right. So I have a story to tell, which is the the story of the Nomad or the digital nomad that I’m traveling a lot. I’m here I’m there I can I can I can I now it’s definitely quite difficult. My biggest my biggest number of friends in the industry or in the States, all of them. Like I’m one of them, the biggest number of them are in this and I can go see them. Right? So I’m trying to create content for them to see that I’m here or at least check where I am whatever, right? Being original, like bringing up like Heidi osika. General things that are on everyone’s mind, and nobody talks about this. I know that. That’s one of the reasons why great look like as well. Right?
Andrej Zito
Yeah. So I had two questions. So I’ll start with the first one because you mentioned that during this process of adapting to the earth, your new role you develop your personality. So was hobbyists, someone else before? Like, because I would say that you are naturally extroverted like this suits you so well because of that, especially since you’re Spanish and I consider all the Spanish people to be super extroverted, super social. So how was Habibi is before the roll? Did you really actually have to adapt something? Or was it just like the roll naturally brought up something that was in you already?
Javi Díaz
Does you do you have amazing, super good questions, Bro, I like them. Do you like philosophy?
Andrej Zito
I don’t know much about it. So.
Javi Díaz
Let me bounce back to you. Okay, so so one of the I’m not a philosophy in psychology, like I, I should have been a historian and an archaeologist. That’s my real passion. So, but jokes aside like that, like, I sometimes read about a psychology, philosophy and stuff like that. And I discuss it a lot with john Henry, which is going to be your next guest in this podcast, probably you have to invite him as well. The creator of him founder of have lunch. In a very good friend of mine, we discuss a lot about psychology and one of the things that we discussed and I bring upon him all the time is the concept of the Jungian shadow, like how all the things that you have experienced in the past I mean, this is very basic, like how old are all the things that you leave in the family and your friends? At school when you were a kid, and cetera, et cetera, have developed, or you are reacting to those things to develop a personality like me, I was the fat student at school, and super good marksman. And that’s, that’s, that’s, that’s probably the hobby that you see, that’s probably a reaction to that. That’s, I was enough for me something like that. Right. So.
Andrej Zito
Okay,
Javi Díaz
So that’s, that’s, that’s, that’s I have I have I have changed, I have developed a personality as well, right. When I was in university, I was it’s never that I’ve been an introvert. No, but I wasn’t, I had, I had fears, I have limitations. I have them as well. Now, of course, everyone has them. But I had more fears of going to people and ask them kindly things that would make them feel comfortable. So they give you a nice reply. For example, I wouldn’t I wouldn’t have the guts to go. Somebody tell them? Hey, can you whatever, right. I don’t know. And those things with the time they’ve changed. I’ve seen that, you know, by by asking, in a good way you don’t have to be afraid of but no. So.
Andrej Zito
Right. Right.
Javi Díaz
So my personality has not changed by the ball. I think it’s evolved, right? evolve, like I was born one way, I’m a privilege. I’m a privileged person, I know I am a privilege and dad if you’re watching, thank you, like I am a mom. Yeah, I’m a privileged person. So yeah. It’s simple. It has evolved, it has evolved and it has evolved and and everyday’s evolving, man. everyday’s evolving. everyday, it’s like, I’m I, I have a girlfriend, but she’s not here. And I leave alone a lot of the time. So a lot of the time I’m thinking I’m thinking how to, how to improve, how to do better how to connect with more people. And you know, there’s things that you’re thinking sometimes have a title like this, and then you ask yourself, why, why, why why am I doing so? So this is an evolving thing. And it’s, it’s the creation of the government champion role way, should you call it whatever. It’s, it’s an it’s a result of the evolution and it’s evolving, and it’s evolving. And you have to be flexible in be ready for whatever comes next. So
Andrej Zito
I’m also a huge fan of self improvement. And I try to do this very systematically. I’m a very organized and systematic person, because I think that if you don’t have a system to something, you’re just basically doing things randomly when they come up. So how do you develop yourself? Do you do it systematically, like let’s say you take notes about yourself how you reacted in a certain situations? Nothing like that? You just freestyle?
Javi Díaz
I do. I do, man. You asked me the other day about Gary Vee and stuff. Like I agree with that guy. Like, I know, he could be whatever, and he can be a charlatan, and he can always be selling his company. But sometimes he says things that are interesting, right? And, and, and, and I like the like, I just, I just do things. And I was another thing. I was talking about this with john the other day. And he said, You’re an execution dude. It’s like, Yeah, I don’t write down things. I do I do wrong. I saw what I do. I see what I do wrong. And sometimes it’s, it’s, it gets stuck in the back of my mind. So I don’t do it again. I, I if I could give an advice to anyone that’s watching. Develop your emotional intelligence. And that’s, that’s, that’s the key to two people. I mean, that’s the key from my understanding to evolve into be a better person and professional.
Andrej Zito
Okay, Javi Diaz how do you develop emotional intelligence? Especially for-
Javi Díaz
Listening
Andrej Zito
-who may not have a lot of it like me?
Javi Díaz
Dude, listening, it’s so easy. Okay, so listen, listen, it’s so easy. Just listen to me. When I talk a lot. I talk a lot all the time. And I am the guy that you want to be in the party with, because I’m talking and I’m making everybody feel happy around me around me, right? But you can imagine how much I listen, I listen, I listen to people, I listen to my friends. I listen to everybody. And I get a lot of advice. I started to get a lot of insights from that a lot, a lot of insights in people feel comfortable when they’re around somebody that listens. And then that helps you I mean, using a little bit of common sense, that helps you create a response in response, right and then respond to that right. So that’s, that’s that’s basically it. No magic emotional intelligence and, and just a little bit of a thought and stuff I truly am. Really.
Andrej Zito
And kindness, right. That’s one of your motto on on LinkedIn. How did you arrive to that kindness?
Javi Díaz
You. Again. You asked me about the Gary Vee thing No, I think
Andrej Zito
No, no. This time. I didn’t say like how did you come up with it? Maybe you’ve been inspired by Gary maybe not. That’s why I’m asking like how they react to that.
Javi Díaz
I mean, it’s, I’m always I felt like I said I’m thankful to my parents because they brought me up in a in a good way that that always made me help people and people around me and stuff. Like that. So in the time, I’ve never, I never, I’ve never been, I always have this talk with my friends as well, like, I’m not a confrontational person you want to do this is where you go do it, I don’t care, it’s fine, you will fail and you come back or you will do it perfectly. It’s fine. I’m not going to confront you just tell me the results afterwards. Right. And this is how I, I do it myself as well. Right.
Andrej Zito
So that you don’t write a lot of things down, you just do doo doo. So is there something like the word strategy exists in your dictionary? Like
Javi Díaz
Ask Josef Kubovsky? So I don’t know. I don’t know. But I think there’s I mean, strategy. Why are you asking this? Because, like, I mean, this could be well, a good point to go to the next point of leadership, for example, right? strategy is something that a leader should have, right? Well, I disagree with that. I mean, a leader can be strategic, more or less strategic, like a leader should be somebody that inspires, and I mean, it’s just nailing One, two, they’re like linking one to the other. Right? So why do you really need to be so strategic to to lead and to inspire, if you do things, right, and people see that you’re kind of nice, they could follow and as a way of littering, right? of lead of leadership, right? And you don’t need to write down, I’m going to be tied today with my grandmother. And I’m going to be kind of with my client today. Or that right? I don’t know, this is my different way of thinking.
Andrej Zito
So okay, let’s, let’s just, let’s just try to nail it down to what you’re doing and what I see you doing on LinkedIn. So for example, how do you pick where you travel? Is it random, like you wake up one day, and hey, I want to go see Greece? So you go to Greece, and then just make friends there?
Javi Díaz
Well, like, is this a post? And pre COVID? answer to that, right. Like, like, as I told you, before, my pre disposition, if that is funny, is that an English word, my, my readiness to travel and to be outside doing client visits or meeting people in events or whatever is, it’s normally higher than than, than and that the average person in a company, right? I am single, I have sort of a girlfriend but I’m single. And a Yeah, that’s another topic that we will live for offline. But But I really, I always want to be there. I always want to be outside I always want to travel man, I always want to be there. So I am I am the first one that’s gonna go to I was most I can I want to travel. So normally, I’ve been doing a lot of travels to the States, like a lot. Like last year, I spent 987 days in America, the year before another three months, the year before something about the same actually, now, you should be interviewing me from from the States, because I normally go from September to November to the States, nonstop, pick up my suitcase, go there, go to LA girls, go to New York, whatever the California the time, of course, and, and be there you know, traveling around. So I do have a lot of, of readiness to travel. And I am the one that’s selling everyone I want to I want to talk I want to go I want to go into how I pick places Well, for work. Of course, if you’re in our industry, normally, you know, and I am lucky enough to be working for an American company that is pretty big. And has or has or has or had offices, we don’t know that if they’re coming back right. In the States. I had them before as well when the offices for my previous company. So I would pick California to go there. This big portion of our business is there as well. Right? Of course, the business is there. Silicon Valley. So I have a I go there see friends, and they have some of the coolest meetings you can imagine where I don’t pitch people, I just go have lunch normally. It’s nice they are and when they’re ready to see what I do they do it right. And it’s I guess, and then destinations that I picked to go in and leave well. I have I’m taking revenge of the lockdown man. I have been for months, locked down in Prague stayed at home. And I said, Oh my god, I can’t go to the States. What am I going to do? So this year, I said, Every year I do a trip to, to, to to Turkey and Greece because of history in the go see monuments and ruins and stuff like that. So this year, I said I’m saving. I can go to Turkey something in Greece and I managed to travel 100 days this year. So yeah, I use the travel as well which is personal terms to work of course, and to do content work related into, you know, in my capacity for this. I’m doing it myself by That’s, that can be a part of the Golden champions. nation. So let’s say let’s say you, there’s no COVID. And you’re in states right now, other than catching up with your existing friends, do you try to look for new friends and potential clients in some way? Or do you just go to events? Do you get introduced by people naturally? How do you expand the people that you already have as friends? You said it all, like a, a, being kind, and being a good person makes you go deeper into into it makes you go better in relationships. And you can’t imagine how friends how mentors, like I’m here, because my former client, Jeff really arrived. So this is super cool, man, like, be nice, be good. And people will invite you people will want to hang out with you. And I do it in this way. Of course, I go to an event and it’s a question on the list of attendees, oh, it would be great if I could talk to this person and then jump into somebody and you’re having a beer with your friend and the other person comes. And then you have a new relationship. And then this additional business opportunity there. That’s p COVID. Let’s talk the moment right now. Now you do the same through building community online, called, I am lucky enough because I was able to create a good circle of localization friends for a long time. But I would be super happy to start it from scratch right now from zero. And I am building community now like and I’m looking on LinkedIn, who could be a member of my community. And then I’m building and nurturing them. I’m talking to them in a friendly way. I’m not jumping into somebody sending him a message, copy paste that message. I said, Oh, am I dad big? Yeah, so so. So that’s, that’s pretty COVID how it was scalable in a way in a normal way you go to a conference, you see a list of attendees and visibility should talk to if I can, and sometimes people are not there and you meet another 25 that you wouldn’t have expected to meet. And they are bringing up the opportunity. And now by building community by, as I said, I’m lucky enough to have a little bit of the basis from the past. Right? But I am but I am I am meeting, I’ve been meeting super big number of people from Macedonia from from the initiative that I’m creating from blogging, inviting people to talk to inviting people to listen to what other leaders in the industry say. And I’m only doing I’ve only done two sessions 250 registered people for each session. And 50% I don’t know them. And now for the next one is the same. We have we have 180 people register today, still a week to go for the next working on the community and then nurturing them going after to them and tell them hey, did you send in a message? Can I talk to you? I love to talk to you about the lock life Do you like it? How how’s your life? I haven’t talked today with a with a with a with a person that could be my mentor, a person that was in the World Trade Organization today. I didn’t know him. And they approached him and very kindly. And I tried to relate to link to not to sorry to tie the notes. And then he said, Yeah, let’s talk. And he told me after an hour of talk, we are stuck again. And one day maybe he’ll come to me and say, What are you doing? Right? It’s a different approach and to me, nurturing working in the community. And it’s, as I said, it takes the same take the same time as doing it the old fashioned way. And it’s working on a yes basis versus working on a no basis.
Andrej Zito
Another thing which may not suit your style. I’m wondering if you have any measures or fucking KPIs
Javi Díaz
More!
Andrej Zito
Is your life driven by KPIs? No, but but Okay, let me let me ask this seriously. So maybe now you’re in the position where you have the results. Your boss knows you He loves you do things differently. It brings in business. But is there still any quota or anything that like how do they How did you get to the position where they’re okay, COVID ds, we pay him this amount of money. And it actually works for us as a company.
Javi Díaz
So uh quotas, that’s the biggest enemy of a salesperson. It is very. I mean, it’s, you know, industry is. I mean, I understand that you set a quota to somebody that is in a company for three years, which has brought you something and has a network that is created and stuff like that by starting new in a company and having a quota when you have nothing when our sales cycles are 16 sorry, 12 to 18 months minimum. Like it’s like damnation is like them, that damning somebody to fail, right. And I have quotas, I am working on things like, like numbers of opportunities created. We’re working long term. And here we’re working really long term like I am, I personally am focused on on long term work, like, sensitive to people now, as I said, working on the community, nurturing them giving them real, real reason why they should be around me and around our company, a real reason like, real interesting things that represent the brand that’s behind me. Right? This is a commercial initiative, but it’s not. It’s a mix of both. It’s the way I am is the way the companies, it’s a commercial initiative, I cannot be a hypocrite right? There is. And so measuring success, like how many calls have we had this month? This is a real business opportunity for 2021. And I have to be here to nurture it because it’s worth nurturing. It’s in this is the way I work in the way I set KPIs. It’s, it’s alright. I stand on my feet a little bit, man. I cannot even sit down for for an hour you see?
Andrej Zito
Yeah, well, that’s a that’s a good question. So what were you doing during the four month lockdown? prac. Besides going crazy?
Javi Díaz
Well, yeah. So I had quit my job in February 14 on Valentine’s Day, like, not the previous job that I had. So I didn’t have a job when the quarantine started. So when I was started, I didn’t have a job. So it was in, I was lucky enough to choose what I wanted to do next. Right, because I had a powerful set of a group of friends, both from the vendor and the buyer side that I could talk to, you know what I did, I went on LinkedIn. And I did a post in I think it was in early March, when all these things started. I want to do an experiment and I want to make people talk. I have I bought a domain and GoDaddy, which is also my former client as well. My guys in Seattle, they had to leave the watch. And in the end, and I open up a professional account and stuff. And I started like setting up 30 minutes meetings for people to talk to ask them questions. I had meetings with people from the vendor side from the buyer side, and I didn’t even have a job. I was nurturing, doing something that came from my heart, talk to my friends see how everybody is. I even talk to people that I didn’t know, you will reach out to me on LinkedIn. So I don’t know you. But I want to talk to you because it seems cool. What you want to ask, really man and and and then opportunity scheme is the same thing. Opportunity scheme, like I spoke with Bill who was the former president, sorry. So it’s just like you take that memsource. And he said, we’re looking for somebody like you. I spoke with owners of lsps they offered me jobs and with potential buyers that are giving me actually, to one of them a business opportunity right now. So I do this because I feel it. I like it. I like to have I like it. I like people I like to see how people are right. So Oh my friends. Hi. And so yeah, it’s been off like that. And so I started I started in May here and yeah, that’s it. That’s how it’s going, man.
Andrej Zito
Do you think that what you’re doing right now is your I don’t know, I don’t want to call it like a final destination, but like this is your dream job like this really fits you? Or is there anything else that you would eventually like to do?
Javi Díaz
Man, this is what I like to do now. You have to be as a millennial flexible, like, I am super happy. I like Mondays the most. Mondays, like every day of the week, because I can start doing stuff again. Yeah, no, it’s true, man. So I’m not I’m not bullshitting you. This is the truth, man. I feel like oh, it’s Monday, let’s do things again. Right? It’s true. And if this is what I want to do in the future, I don’t know. It’s like, it’s like, I don’t know. I we are generation I think that we are not going to to have the same, you know, to live by the same principles as our parents did, of having a job 17 years in a company like my father had marketing director, medical director in a big company in the north of Spain for I think 1517 years something like that. We look good. It’s very difficult that we have not there’s some cases of course I can be wrong My brother has but the general the majority will not have that. So if I’m working I love this industry and the people here big time. I love it. I love it. But if I gonna be here in the next 10 years, I don’t know. I don’t know who tells me that somebody is watching this this podcast now is amazing. He’s 25 and says this power you reached out to me out of the industry, and tells me you are the perfect person for this and you know, right I am here and doing what I love. And this is in a clarity report to me a lot and I want to be with these people. For a long time, but if the future is this, we don’t know, who knows what holds, right? We’re millennials. It’s very difficult to know. On the other side, the goal, you’ve said it, there’s no goal is the path. I am focused on the path on the path of helping, connecting, being kind to your employers, to your clients, to your colleagues, to everybody. That’s what I’m focused on in that path is definitely gonna bring me happiness and wealth. I’m sure I’m sure I’m sure. I hope it’s in this industry forever, because I love it. And I love a lot of people here. But as I said.
Andrej Zito
Speaking of the industry, one thing that I like about you, and this is where you again reminded me of Gary Vee, is that you post a lot of things that have nothing to do with localization. Oh, yeah. Yeah, is it just to just to just to, I don’t know, show something about yourself, about the world to people on LinkedIn, because it is true that even I want everything that I post is about localization. Like it’s not much personal. So I think that if you show that personality, it makes you stand out. Especially, you know, when I started doing this podcast, the way I started was that I was going through the social media on LinkedIn, on Twitter, I looked at hashtag localization, I was scrolling through the post, and almost nothing stood out. Everything is the same. Like you said, In the beginning, people just reposting shit. You know, this is our services, blah, blah, blah. So how this How did this came to be like, Hey, I’m Javi Diaz now I’m in Greece. Look at beautiful Greece.
Javi Díaz
Yeah, I mean, it’s i and this is something that I always speak with a mentor of mine. And not only that all the time. Yes, of course, it’s about personal branding, is how you market yourself as a professional. Right? We I have an idea if you know, of course on Tinder and super good friend of mine consultant as well. We had we showed this video the other day in Prague. When we were talking about how to use LinkedIn. What was the way of what was the proper way to use LinkedIn? Right, right. And he was like, Well, I’m gonna I’m gonna use LinkedIn in a way that is like sharing doll. Hardcore. Interesting, important information. Yeah, big time. And I told him, Well, I am going to use it like posting photos of me, right? In Greece, right? But always contextual, to work, something that is contextual to, to the work environment, or to professional career development environment, which is what the platform LinkedIn is for, right? If not, if I want to do some stupid things about me jogging, then I’ll do some, some Instagram, right? Or some stuff like that, right? So. But it’s the truth, right? It’s the marketing. It’s how you market yourself, what people when somebody comes to talk to you, what they expect to hear, although expectations are terrible, but what they expect to what to expect from you like, okay, whoa, is this ghost hunting ranch? Who is posting all these things, but it’s amazing, he gets like, a super good engagement from the people that are gonna be clients one day, or friends or whatever, right? And the same for me, but from an income perspective is what you what you project, right.
Andrej Zito
So is LinkedIn your main platform, where you try to create content?
Javi Díaz
LinkedIn, Instagram, like, Can you believe that? I would say like, I mean, some 30-40 friends, potential clients of mine in the industry, they also follow me on Instagram and engage with me, we engage on a personal level, they really and this has nothing to show off or nothing. This is because it’s what it is. Which is like that. I use LinkedIn a lot. A lot. I spend hours and hours there. I don’t I am the kind of person that would write five customized targeted messages called the way to somebody that I don’t know. And gets five replies from that person. Yeah, let’s start one day versus copy pasting. Seven, isn’t the day researching and stuff like that? It depends. It’s how you brand yourself what you present. Like, there’s people out there who leave out of doing these have copy business messages, and they sent 300 a day to people are going to reply, and at the end of the month one is going to become a client. If it works for you do it, it makes you happy to do it. I’m doing what makes me happy. And it’s different. So it’s how you market yourself how you brand yourself, right?
Andrej Zito
When you mentioned Constantine, that he does things differently, and you do things differently. Let’s talk about the personality and let’s talk about creating more global brand champions. My question is, do you think that for this role people need to be extroverted and social? Or can you see people who are introverted, but let’s say still smart, and they care about the client, be successful at something like that you do?
Javi Díaz
Like I think, I mean, you can be an introvert or an extrovert. You I mean, being extroverted normally helps. It brings a lot of more heat normally on if you’re marketing themselves on what you want to do, it’s fine, but at the end is serving. serve your people serve your clients serve your friends serving give Neverland The problem is that people take, that’s the problem. So you can be a global brand champion. Be an introvert only, but you can you have to serve. You have to serve. After sir. Right? Don’t be the first in taking the drink, go and serve drinks. That’s the thing. an introvert can do that as well. Right? Right over it can offer kind of a jinx to anybody. Right? I don’t have anything. Sir. Sir. Sir, have your friends have your people.
Andrej Zito
So let’s talk about LocLife. Is that an idea that you put together to build a community like you were saying before?
Javi Díaz
And let’s it’s it’s let’s let’s let’s go by or into detail for that. Because it’s, as I always, like, I will always, not always know Recently, there is some times and since the world is changing, and has changed the world of communications, and there’s a lot of people creating that kind of content. I have done a couple of podcasts and stuff, I do interviews and stuff like in the past, but I have never really applied for work for doing things like this. So I never wanted to do things like these are applied for to talk in conferences, etc. So, this when I entered a clairo I told them, Oh, I love to lead something like this. And they said, Well, we need somebody to lead that stuff. So we I my role is have sales have marketing, by the way, although I report to the VP of sales, of course, the VP of which also, I mean, in our organization, the VP of sales is also I mean, I think it’s the Director of Marketing also reports to the VP, I’m not so sure about that. But I think as well. And so it’s all in the same umbrella. And they said, Okay, so what are we going to do, because we want to be able to, we went to we went to we went to have talks that are online that people participate, right, like, give it to me, I have this super good idea. The location industry is over flooded by the same shit. A client and a customer, that’s only a client and a vendor, go to you and tell you, this is our case study. We save these people $75,000 in their language their website to 75 different languages out of five. You know what I like to reply to that hashtag no one gives a fuck. Right? I spent time and hours to get on the phone with leaders in the industry with Martini Oprah one of my best friends and stuff. And he asked me, What is the thing that you like the most about log work, for example. Leadership, leadership docs, man, leadership docs, thoughtful leadership, man. That’s what I like not the case typical case study this all the time over there, or how we did which is good. You need to have them as well, right? You need to have that but people are getting bored of that stuff. People want to talk about the personal level people. I mean, we’re, we are having like I’m not because I’m lucky to be traveled. But mostly people are locked in at home everywhere, not looking back going limited. So they want to talk people want to talk, people are going through trouble. People don’t have any decent How am I gonna take my career to the next level with all the world fucking crumbling around? How am I going to do this? So how are we hiring? How are we integrating gay people in our company or company? Things like that, right? So I created a space with the help of McLaren. With all the work that the team is doing to cover localization leaders in the industry, discuss different things we have done I mean, so in I’m doing this for the purpose of also I mean, I cannot be a hypocrite. It’s a commercial initiative. There’s a brand behind, but I’m doing this because I feel the need of building a community around these stocks. And that is not really nobody’s doing this. of nobody this is I don’t know if somebody might be somebody doing it in some way. I don’t know. But this is working. And once again, it’s a community that feeds itself. It’s a community that is amazing. You have a nurture it I tell you like my my my my my workouts a lot now since I cannot travel for business, doing this talk in the nursery, the committee going to the people that are there. How do you like it? Let’s have a talk. Let me introduce myself to you. You’ve been a member of my audience. Thank you. Thank you. Can I do anything for you? Oh, yes, I need a vendor. Oh, really? Wow. Talk to my Yes. It’s like this brother, how it’s nice. It’s nice. It works. You have to write bringing, I wanted to get this space. And I said for this but it but this is this is sort of the this is only the big the first step. like can you imagine when the world goes back to normal in a few years, is this initiative is nurture what I can do, I can do meetups, local meetups. I can do a on site, drop episode braces, space award ceremonies. I can I can have I can have a you know a panel panel live panel. discussions in somewhere. This is the this is it’s the future, there’s, there’s only one way to go from my understanding is the community building. And it’d be nice to those people who nurture them. I talked, I spent a lot of time also talking. And I hope my boss listens to this to competitors, like obidos, beaming. And in what how am I going to do this in this way? Like, like, you probably know, kala Kala is a very good friend of mine. He’s a competitor of mine. And he asked me for feedback in his talks, super happy to give him feedback. He’s helping, and he’s a member of my community as well, and people, everyone should be there is the power of the community men. And one thing, who is today, maybe tomorrow, your client, you don’t know, you know how this industry is right? And who is here that cannot buy it today, can buy it from you tomorrow. So that’s why I’m always kind to everybody. It’s not that I have an interest on that. But it’s because it’s one other reason for you to be kind, you should be kind to everybody, because you have to be a good person. And think of that’s another reason for you to think for the listener.
Andrej Zito
Awesome. Before we start talking about other things. I think the final question that I ask everyone, what do you think, is wrong with our industry?
Javi Díaz
Is there anything wrong? That got a note. Like, I’m so positive that it’s not the not the not the Donald Trump positive, that is lying and stuff. I’m the positive kind of thing. Like if there’s something wrong, let’s change it and do it a different way. So I don’t focus a lot in the wrong. So I asked you what is wrong about the industry? I don’t know what have other other guests said about what’s wrong in the industry?
Andrej Zito
I think many people view things from their perspective. So let’s say I don’t know, translators are not being paid enough. They’re not valued enough. I don’t remember.
Javi Díaz
You know what, you know, okay, so let me look into the camera let you do you know what I don’t like to look to say about negative things. Because at the time when people come here to talk about negative things, people come here to complain. And complaining is bad. That’s the problem. You come here to complain, that is bad. You can do whatever you want. I’m not your father, as I say, but if you come here, right, buddy, if you come here to talk, if you come here to talk about what’s wrong, is because you have complaints and people that are complaining to my understanding, as I said, you can do whatever you want, but people complaining is because they’re bored, and they’re not doing that’s all I have. That’s my two cents, right? That is in the States, right? Those are my two cents. In Europe, we have five cents, right? Not. So that’s the thing, man, I don’t know. Like I I am not focused on that. I’m like, it’s like, to me if you’re complaining means that you are I mean, if you did something wrong to you, which it could be something wrong. Yeah. But if you are too late, and you’re being not well pay, why don’t you go and read a book of sales? how to approach better and to market yourself better? Instead of coming here? Oh, I’m not getting well paid. Instead of like, Okay, so the next time I come to a client, I’ll tell him, No, I’m good at this. And that, and you should pay for this quality, because this is what you want for it is an interval cannot do this. Are you telling me that interval cannot do this? Because fear of rejection? No, you have to do this. And so don’t get me wrong. I’m here to help. And this is my take. But I hate to talk about bad things and complain, because at the end, normally, the bad things are complaining, right?
Andrej Zito
So let’s actually help people with the rejection. I mentioned it before-
Javi Díaz
Am I banned, am I banned, am I banned?
Andrej Zito
No, no, no. It’s actually something that I’m working on right now. So okay, since we said we, we will not talk about girls, I will still bring it up. So I have this weekly challenge where I have to go to a strange girl and ask her for a number.
Javi Díaz
Okay.
Andrej Zito
And most of the time, I do get a no, I did get some numbers, especially recently. But for me, it’s definitely a practice of being okay with them saying no, and not taking it personally, that something is wrong with you. And I’m pretty sure there are so many other people who have it just like me, we don’t do things because we are afraid of no and rejection. So what would be your tip? How would you help people like me? Who are afraid of doing something and doesn’t have to be only about girls in dating?
Javi Díaz
Yeah, no, because no, it’s good. Because it’s it’s also it’s also very good. Like, I have also I have this very good friend of mine, Jorge, who lives in in Dominican Republic now. And we were talking like back in the day, so a few years ago when we both started in sales career, dude, if you’re good at picking up girls or I mean if you’re a member of LGBTQ plus community. I don’t care. Let’s be honest, be open minded to this. And it’s if you’re good at picking up, you’re good at sales, which can be true or can be not true because I’ve also had these discussions about I’ve seen the worst introverted people being salespeople that mean the most introverted people being the best salespeople I couldn’t even afford I have that. So, but to avoid rejection, dual opportunity, create more and more opportunities, do it more times. And then one time you it’s like any mindset is about the fact of repeating yourself things that you will assimilate at the end. So if you start saying to yourself, I don’t care. I don’t care. Oh, shit. She said, Yes. I don’t care as well. Right? But But I don’t care. She said, Yes. Who cares? Like, it’s, I mean, don’t get me wrong, don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t mean that you don’t care about providing a good relationship, or a good service to your client. Don’t get me wrong, but it is a fact that that shouldn’t be scaring create opportunity, as I think it is. If you are afraid of rejection, and I’m also afraid of rejection, sometimes, of course, that’s why you have a drink, and then you forget about medicinals.
Andrej Zito
Do take a drink, and then start recording LocLife?
Javi Díaz
No, I’m like this all the time. Sorry, I’m doing things. And that and that. And this is another cool thing as well. Like, like, it’s, it’s that gets into your personality, both for sales or for for human relationships with the sex you are into. It’s, it comes naturally, it’s like any habit. Like john also gave me a book The other day, the power of the habit, which are the things that you start thinking that you have mastered, because you’re a super intelligent person, and it is not true. They’re just pure in mere habits that you have adopted. Right? So when you adopt the role of being of thinking positive and thinking, there’s nothing that is wrong, there is nothing that is not doable, that I’m not complaining, you leave out all those things. If you on the other side, I think you know, kind of do this, I’m going to get sick, I’m going to, then probably that’s going to happen to you. So it’s a it’s the power of the mindset, to my understanding.
Andrej Zito
What are you curious about right now?
Javi Díaz
History.
Andrej Zito
History.
Javi Díaz
History is my history archaeology. That’s what I spend times in timeless time on man. And it’s like, if you go to my books, they’re all like this. They’re all about like, like, okay, so look. You don’t judge a person by by the by the books that they’re reading. Yeah.
Andrej Zito
Alexander the Great. Yeah. Bro. Two zero. Yeah,
Javi Díaz
The crusades
Andrej Zito
How Klein’s by? Okay.
Javi Díaz
And then you go more than Okay, so then for example, yeah, this is like World War One. So more sales stuff. And then you go the prince, you know, it’s a lot of history sale, the austro Hungarian Empire, meaning you like the French Revolution, and I have some freaky things that you This is the World War One and two. Were explained to them in
Andrej Zito
Some manifesto of the Communist Party.
Javi Díaz
And this is so freaky. My life partner
Andrej Zito
It’s like an autobiography
Javi Díaz
By Yeah, that Alicia Buckner wrote because I, I love I love my music. I have a very, I say, I like to say a very well curated and developed musical tastes for good music, meaning rock and roll. blues. So number one artist ever Stevie Ray Vaughan, men forever. And then Led Zeppelin, all of this. So and we get let’s get to the point because it’s interesting. Like, having a good piece of music is an amazing door opener for your girls, for your clients for your opportunities and for everything. Or having a taste for culture, when you can talk about like one of the things that I did before, like, the last year in America when like, you’re in California, and you ask people, where does the name California come from? It really, I don’t know. So that’s a nice open, that’s an icebreaker. And that can lead to a nice dog, whatever. And then opportunity. Those are the details like for example take care of and I really focused on right like those those things that are so he’s three Opera in thinks they, they they’re nice. They’re nice.
Andrej Zito
So tell me how why history? Like, were you always interested in this? Yeah. Since you were a young?
Javi Díaz
History, art. Yeah, history and art. It’s crazy I’ve been I’ve been in I think you guys got into states like A plus A student, like in Europe is like 1 to 10. Right?
Andrej Zito
Like Europe? I don’t know.
Javi Díaz
That’s true. That’s true. So so we have from what we are marks work from 1 to 10. Right? So I always go like 8, 7, 8 and nines, right? Something like that sometimes a 10. So, yeah, but in I’ve always been I’ve been ama, ama ama ama. So it’s, it’s like arts person. I’m an arts person. And I develop a taste for history, archaeology in all of that, and that’s, that’s why that’s why I’m in Greece now. Not because of the beaches that I go to every day. But ya.
Andrej Zito
You know, what I’m curious about. Because in the beginning, you were talking about us being millennials, and how we like to change things and do things in a new way. How do you think this correlates with you having a passion for history? Like, is there something that you learn from the history that you see is happening right now in the world? Or maybe that you even apply for your job? Do you always try to Yeah. Or is it just like passion? Like something that you do just to learn something more about history? Or is there a more practical aspect to you in being in this history?
Javi Díaz
Men like, like, it shows you. I mean, he study shows you a lot about what people have done in the past and like in why we are here, and why are you Slovakian and not Czechoslovakia or Austria? And you should be Austrian, maybe perhaps, I don’t know, certain garion or something like that. It depends on the year that we look at it. Right. And, and it’s, it’s, I think, it explains a lot. It explains a lot. It explains a lot of habits that Germans have, and why don’t we don’t have those habits in Spanish people. And in a globalized world is important, right? So understand that to market your products better, right? Or for all of those that are out there, right. So it explains a lot, man like, like, like, like, really? Like, I don’t know, which sample Can I give you? I don’t know. Like? I don’t know. I can’t think of one but but yeah, it explained it helps you explain a lot of stuff.
Andrej Zito
Maybe you can talk about the German habits that you mentioned.
Javi Díaz
German habits!
Andrej Zito
What is one of those?
Javi Díaz
I live there, I live I live there so long, man. So let me let me no but no, this list?
Andrej Zito
What is something that you learn from the history that you applied for building relationships? out of that, what you by the way already shared. Technically, the culture of different countries can also help you with this relationships?
Javi Díaz
Yeah, yeah. That’s Yeah, basically that our, our, our, you know, this is the kind of fucked history fact guy, the guy that is talking to his friends drunk in a bar, and I start putting out dates, something like that, like, yeah, at 12 with the fall of whatever, you know, like, like, the name of of Bratislava, Prince Borg, and all that stuff, right? All of those things that I put on the Treaty of principle 18 Oh, whatever wasn’t 1806 or something like that. Right. Those things. Those are the things that I I really liked, right. And it’s a Presburg what is Presburg? Oh, it’s called Bratislava nowadays.
Andrej Zito
That’s what I always hated about history classes is to remember all the data and what happened and each day. I hated it man so much. It’s like, why do I need to know the exact date? Like how does it help me? I never got that.
Javi Díaz
No, no, no, I was saying that. It depends on I, I hated maths I hated math, I shaved my pants in front of a maths exam. Literally, I was like, I cannot do this. And I don’t think I’m a stupid guy. But I couldn’t write again, so And would you like and would you develop it? Right? So.
Andrej Zito
Totally. What is something that people seem to misunderstand about you? And I don’t want you to think about this as a negative question. No, no. So let’s let’s talk about like first impression. First Impression about you and what is the people what do people tend to think about you?
Javi Díaz
So first impression I always smile because I always smile and when you talk to somebody for the first time, the first and only thing that person is going to remember for the rest of his life is that big smile that you put on your face for them true for you to Big Girls for you to do business for you to live as a global brand champion for you to live as a playboy as you want but that’s the thing that’s that’s that’s the thing. That’s the thing like like the it’s true but once again I’m not saying this to fake it is because it’s like this I feel it I I enjoy it I have a rush when I am there are no when I’m with people in so that’s that’s the thing that misunderstand I don’t know I’m well I’m well intended will hurt it and and people have limits. And sometimes their limits say you’re too intense, or, or things like that, or because I am so quiet that I want to be alone left alone and you’re, maybe it’s good good for them. If they’re happy. It’s always great. I almost Can you believe I’m the kind of person that I go to my boss and tell him blah, blah, don’t tell you what to do good, tell you what to do bad. I don’t want to know what to do good. I know what to do with me what to do bad. And I sort of go like, you can go ask any of my bosses like how do you want to do that know what to do? Good. So so that’s that’s the thing, right? It’s the attitude in intensity, maybe here, I don’t know. But as I said, I’m trying to use emotional intelligence to adapt my to adapt to the person that is in front of me right to measure, okay, this is not working, it’s not working. Or this is going to be just, you know.
Andrej Zito
What are the things that you changed your mind about?
Javi Díaz
I don’t know, man. That I changed my mind.
Andrej Zito
A fundamental like, let’s say until you were 30 you were thinking this is the way the world works. This is why I am and then something happened and suddenly like that drastic change.
Javi Díaz
I changed my mind every day. No, because it’s, it’s I live by the principle of flexibility. Once again, I don’t know I I live by flexibility. And so so so I tried to think of of of some things that are good for now and some things that you know, that good for now. But how they’re going to be in the future. So in a live with no regrets as well. Like I live with no regrets. Like, really? I live with no regrets.
Andrej Zito
Oh, yeah, yes, but are there any absurd or stupid things that you do?
Javi Díaz
I live crazy all the time. Go to my Instagram and check it. I live buddy’s positively crazy. It’s crazy. Like Like, like I love I love Danny Elvis, the football player that play for barsa and all that stuff. And he was always using the hashtag crazy positive and I love that. So it’s the same thing be different. I’m different. I don’t know. I do know crazy things. But I don’t know. Like, no. Like, but I do crazy stuff with them. Yeah, call it away. But it brings happiness because he’s willing to enter I don’t do crazy things to damage to hurt nobody my colleagues, my boss, my clients, my friends, my family. Right? So.
Andrej Zito
Javi, it was a lot of fun with you. I would like you to maybe give your final words to the industry. This is where you get to share your kindness and
Javi Díaz
Final words. Man, final final words it sounds so like say your final words I’m gonna shoot you like like
Andrej Zito
You don’t know what’s going to happen.
Javi Díaz
No, no, no. No, I think if I can say something is like like stay positive man. Stay Positive be flexible. Like like help be there always try to connect the world is not going to be the same once we go out of have back to normality you’re going to have to adapt to new ways of work to new ways of doing business to new ways of using technologies new ways of translating to new ways of everything be flexible that’s all I have to say like forget all your fucking well their standards. Leave and face your demons. That’s all I have to say. You can screenshot this
Andrej Zito
We have the whole video so door.
Javi Díaz
Yeah, nice.
Andrej Zito
All right, Javi. A lot of fun with you. Thank you very much for coming to the podcast.
Javi Díaz
Cheers, man whenever I’m back whenever you want.
Andrej Zito
All right. Thank you. Cheers. Bye bye
Javi Díaz
Bye.
