From Unlikely Beginnings to Industry Trailblazer through Human Centered Leadership with Liza Streiff

00:00:00
Adrienne Garland: Leadership isn't just changing. It's evolving in ways we're only just beginning to imagine. And women, we're not playing this game anymore. We're the ones reshaping the entire field, building models, movements, and businesses that serve more than just a few. On the She Leads Podcast, you'll hear real conversations with women who've broken through all kinds of barriers, revenue, identity, borders, and expectations. There's no sugar coating here, just the truth told by those who are living it. I'm Adrienne Garland, entrepreneur, strategist, educator, and creator of live experiences, gathering women leaders together for over a decade. And this is the She Leads Podcast.

Liza is a dynamic leader and high performance coach known for her ability to create transformative learning experiences that drive success for the largest firms on Wall Street. She's the youngest and first female CEO of Knopman Marks and she steered the company to brand new heights, quadrupling its size and solidifying the position as the industry's gold standard in high stakes exam training. Her innovative leadership has been recognized with the female executive of the year title at the 2023 Stevie Awards for women in business. I cannot wait to speak with you, Liza.

00:00:46
Liza Streiff: Hi. I'm so excited to be here and chat with you today.

00:00:49
Adrienne Garland: Well, I am so excited to be able to feature you and to also showcase everything that you've done to the She Leads Podcast audience. As we were speaking about a little bit before we hopped on here, our focus lately has really been about highlighting women entrepreneurs that are in or that are growing for businesses past that million mark. And the reason that we're doing it is not because we love a million dollars, although I know we do. It's really because first of all, we want to showcase that, you know, there are real women out there that have grown their business past a million dollars or they're getting toward it. And then what are we thinking about after we have hit that elusive million mark? What are the things that we're thinking about next? So, before we sort of get into that conversation, I would love for you to share with the audience your story of becoming the CEO of Knopman Marks.

00:01:45
Liza Streiff: Sure. Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to talk today. So, my story at Knopman Marks, wow. I was the third employee. So, I was fresh out of college. I am one of those rare people who still have the same job I had after college. I did not think I would be there for more than a year, but I fell in love with entrepreneurship. I didn't even know that that's what I wanted to do. I was just looking for a paycheck and a place to learn a lot. And I had been familiar through my family with, you know, working at small companies and so was comfortable in that environment. Didn't feel that I needed some big corporation first thing out of college. So I met the founder, was super inspired by what he was doing. I growing up had struggled with with learning disabilities and hated test taking. Hated it.

00:02:40
Liza Streiff: So I had a big turnaround in college where I really figured out how to navigate school, how to perform, how to be a high performer, how to perform on tests. And so I was really fascinated by the whole topic in general, studying, trying to understand how did that even happen? How did I go from being super anxious on tests to really killing it? And when I chatted with our founder, I just loved his ambition. I loved his passion for the students we were serving. I love that out the gate, he saw what we were doing as more than just helping someone pass the test.

00:03:13
Liza Streiff: He really believed we're helping somebody start their career or we are helping somebody feed their family because if they can't pass the test, they don't keep the job and they don't get the promotion. So, I was just kind of into it right away. But I I loved his his big picture thinking, his ideas, you know, for things we could do. And here I was, fresh out of college with all these skills to put to use. So, it was a perfect perfect match there. Like I said, I thought I would stay a year. I really just loved it. Every day I got to create things. I got to test things. I got to build things that were impacting real people, were being used in a classroom or were being used ultimately through the online experience that we built. And I think for any entrepreneur out there, you know, it starts to become very much like a baby, right? It's your it's your thing you're building. So, the more I got in, the deeper I got, the harder it was for me to to walk away.

00:04:00
Liza Streiff: And and the bigger our impact grew. So, when I first started out, you know, it was the three of us and we had a handful of clients. weren't online. We were just in the classroom in person. We didn't even have our our class our slides on on PowerPoint at that point, right? It was flip charts in the classroom.

So, over the years, I've really seen not just our business grow and evolve, but the training landscape, the educational space really transform and evolve. Obviously, online learning, you know, now we're we're blended. We flipped the classrooms. We have lots of live experiences mixed with that online learning and now of course in the age of AI there's all sorts of things happening. but so it's really been fun to just be in the driver seat of curating the experience for a student. And after a few years when we started to grow my role started to evolve. you know, hiring people and having more official roles at the company and all that. as a small team you barely even have titles and structure and anything. And then right before COVID in 2019, our founder retired and our and he had became partners with Brian Marx who's my partner now. And as our founder retired, Brian asked me to be the CEO. I think it wasn't something I was really looking for. I had just loved building this thing, but it seemed like the next step.

00:05:37
Liza Streiff: And it it happened right before co. So as I stepped into this role everything changed obviously for the world but obviously for our business for learning at the time and we navigated hundreds of training programs through this big change. and it ended up being amazing for our business because we really did flip the classroom. We now don't do inperson live training. It opened up massive scale for us as a business. We have way more n national reach now in the programming that we do and it really forced all of us to rethink how we do everything which I love. I love the big challenge and through that period we we really just kept growing. So when I talk about my career It's very non-traditional. You know, I wasn't starting in a certain role and then getting the next role and then getting the next role and then getting the next role at a really big company. I was just building the thing and the roles would just come naturally from what it is that we were doing. And you know, I could talk about it at length, but that's that's the high level.

00:06:33
Adrienne Garland: It's amazing. So, I I thank you so much for sharing that. And I I wanted to sort of rewind back to a couple of different things. I think first there's something there with you being able to figure out the whole test taking thing and how that flipped for you in college. I I'm I would maybe it's a different podcast, but I I would almost love to hear about that more because I think so many people can relate to that and you know the the whole idea of test taking to you know test your knowledge is also a very interesting type of way right to to sort of check if someone's retaining knowledge or not. And then I just wanted to let the audience know so the financial training firm that you are CEO of that you you actually train people to get certified for Wall Street. So different tests like the Series 7, Series 63, anything. It's it's sort of you must have you must hold this certification in order to to license in order to help anybody from a fiduciary point of view.

00:07:37
Liza Streiff: Yep.

00:07:38
Adrienne Garland: Perfect. So I just wanted to to sort of so that people Yeah. So that when people hear financial training that that it's not just you know personal finance or you know getting to to know your numbers even for a company that it is that it is moving toward an actual license and certification which is so incredible.

Liza Streiff: Exactly. It's when people first hear the name of the company, they assume exactly what you said. Oh, you train me in personal finances. No, we actually train financial professionals to pass the exams they need to take to do their jobs.

00:08:24
Liza Streiff: And there these tests are no joke. They are intense. They and they, like you said, they can make or break your career as you're getting started. So, it's it's high stakes and it's also very important for the companies that are bringing on these financial professionals to, you know, set them up for success because without these financial professionals, these bigger financial companies don't have a workforce.

Yep. Exactly. And we are really intimately involved with the training managers, the program managers who are recruiting, onboarding, building out the program for all of these different hires throughout the industry. So whether it's hires in the analyst and associate programs coming into Wall Street or it's hires coming into a branch office you might visit across the country. They all have such a diligent focus on who are the people, how are we preparing them, how are we of course getting them licensed and you know the scale is massive. So it it really is complex and our role as partners is to make it easier but deliver results because you nobody has time to waste and if you fail it it it's not only hard for the student.

00:09:32
Liza Streiff: but it sets the team back it can set the you know the budget back right? So there's there's a lot that goes into it so it really is high stakes and that makes our job just really important that we do it well.

00:09:47
Adrienne Garland: yeah and what I also find fascinating is here you are you know a college graduate and this founder trusts you with making changes with, you know, improving things. To me, that just speaks so highly of who the founder was. Can you talk just a little bit about him and why do you think he trusted you in in the way that he did?

00:10:14
Liza Streiff: Sure. So, as you can see, for those just listening, I'm lighting up thinking about this.

You know, I think I I just respect founders so much. I really do. It just takes so much courage to found something. I think anybody out there listening who is a founder, hats off to you. It is it really does take so much courage. And so I think he he had so much drive and I think he just saw that in me, right? There was that like for like, you know, he saw here's this young kid. I graduated college early.

00:10:48
Liza Streiff: you know? The whole turnaround really accelerated my learning and performance in a big way. And so here I was this 21-year-old with just so much ambition, so much drive. And I think he recognized that spirit and that energy and was willing to give me a shot. And you know, just a shot, that's it. He's not an easy by any means somebody who is going to easily hand over trust. But over time, he saw, you know, okay, trust her with this. Knock it out of the park. Trust with a little bit more, you know, and it wasn't day one that he was expecting me to come in and.

00:11:42
Liza Streiff: do all the things that I did, but I was so invested in it and excited and worked really hard. So, you know, the trust came over time.

00:11:53
Adrienne Garland: That's amazing. And and then also just seeing him through sort of the latter stages of his business and him retiring and then you being able to have the opportunity to come in as CEO, how did you sort of prepare yourself for that transition? Because it's very difficult going from even even founder, right? Like even you found this company into the role out of almost like the technician part of it and into the role truly as like the visionary CEO. How did you prepare for that?

00:12:38
Liza Streiff: That's a really good question. It was daunting because there was no way I was going to fill his shoes. He has so much gravitas and and just he he was so known and so trusted with our clients in this industry for such a long time that I think the thought of filling his shoes was really too much. So I had to pivot from that and think more about what do I bring? What do I naturally bring and what have I always brought to this company? which is what led to me being the the choice in the first place. And I think that, you know, my opinion on promotions oftentimes is you get the title for the job you're already doing. And you know, versus, you know, I'm going to reach. It's let me reach before I have the title. So when I really started to acknowledge I've been doing this for quite some time now. I had been you know, doing the the planning, the the envisioning, the leading of of the team, all sorts of things for a while. It helped me to really embrace I can do this. I can do this in my way, but it's got to be done in a way that.

00:13:46
Liza Streiff: is true to the essence of what we've always been, right? So, how can I now take on this next chapter in a way that's not a hard turn? In a way that doesn't diminish the origin of what it is that we built? And I think that I could do that because I genuinely loved his vision and his passion from day one. And even though the vision has now gotten bigger and expanded, it's still the same in many ways, right? I still see that student that we're serving. and whatever the mechanism is, whatever the product ends up being, it's still about we're helping them succeed in their career. We're helping them grow. We're helping them feed their family in whatever capacity that that looks like. That essence of that passion is still.

00:14:48
Liza Streiff: I think exactly what he had and so it's kind of a natural next chapter.

00:14:55
Adrienne Garland: I love that. Where so what is sort of the evolution of the industry? So of course there's always going to be licensing there. There has to be but are there other things especially like you mentioned before with AI and just the direction that so you know much financial planning is going is is there what's sort of next for the financial licensing industry if you will and maybe even regulations?

00:15:38
Liza Streiff: that is a big question. I think there's a lot of speculation. I think education is always going to have a really important place regardless of AI. I believe that we will leverage AI as as a tool.

00:15:53
Liza Streiff: but we need people at the end of the day to ensure that people are educated in the right way and there's a person you can ask questions to or a person who's overseeing the intricacies of an experience. And I don't think all of that just goes away with AI. I think that it's going to rapidly change our landscape, but at least for the foreseeable future, I'm just excited about the tools we get to use. and the more that we can create personalization for our students.

00:16:35
Adrienne Garland: I love that. Yeah, I totally agree with you and I I think I mentioned I mentioned it on the podcast a lot, but I I teach entrepreneurship at NYU and we're always talking about how, you know, we specifically talk about event management, hospitality, and tourism. And so we're always talking about AI's role and you know the fact that it can create a lot of efficiency but in this industry you know at the end of the day it's all about relationships. And so at least for what we can see it doesn't seem like people and that type of intimacy is going to be replaced by technology at least yet. And that's seems very much like you know what you're saying as well and I totally agree with you. You know there is definitely an element of like that human beings have got to play in instructing others. There's just something that happens when you are you know like this virtual or face to face that transcends what AI is capable of right now. So I love.

00:17:48
Liza Streiff: nothing more powerful than human connection. So do I believe going to look the same? No. Is it going to evolve? Absolutely. Yeah. But I don't think that the need and the impact that human connection has, especially in the educational experience, is going to disappear overnight. It's going to change, but it's still always going to be essential.

00:18:27
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00:20:12
Adrienne Garland: I love it. So for you now you're the CEO of this incredible company that that helps people, you know, learn. It helps them them to start their career, accelerate their career. How are you thinking about your career? Right? So, so many women, they either start businesses or they they come into leadership roles within a corporation and they, you know, they they've sort of made it right. It's very difficult for women, which makes no sense. Let's just put that aside for a second. But, you know, women accelerate into these leadership roles. They start businesses. They get past the million dollar mark. And yeah, there's still definitely work to do, but there are so many other women that that never get to that position despite being brilliant, despite working hard, all of that. There are so many barriers that are just in our way. And we really aren't making any progress, which is so disheartening. But there there are definitely women that are achieving these positions and then they're getting there and they're saying, "Okay, great. I made it." Like, you know, goal achieved. What's next? And and so like how do you maybe it's even advice like how do you start thinking about I don't if the word is legacy, but maybe it's legacy, maybe it's impact, maybe it is sort of, you know, reaching back and pulling someone up. How do you start to think about that? If you've even started to think about that yet, you're brand new in this role. So.

00:21:21
Liza Streiff: no, I think about that all the time. I I really do. I'm I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now if I didn't time travel. I spend a lot of time in the future. That's something that I know you spoke with Lindsay Kaplan recently. That's something we definitely see eye to eye on. It's it's about vision and spending time in that future. Growing up, there is no world in which me having this role made any logical sense. But I had an appetite and I had a vision for a bigger future than I had growing up than I had when I was 21. Right? I always saw and and as I told you, I started at this company. There were three people in a very very small windowless office. There was no real reason why I would believe it would be anything more than that. But I always had vision. So when you're asking about this next phase, I think you at least my advice would be spend time in that future always. because I'm living in the present the vision that I imagined for myself few years ago and it's always been like that.

00:22:25
Liza Streiff: I just recently made a move up to Maine. So I lived with my husband and three kids up in Maine which is crazy but because I'm always from New York the New York and New Jersey area. But a few years ago we just had this I had this in my mind that this isn't the forever place for us where we were and started slowly but surely making a way for how that could be possible and what that could look like and here we are now living here right?

So my company now I became CEO 2019 we were about I want to say 8 million revenue at the time. we hit 10 million couple years after that it's been four years since we hit so about 20 21 on 2022. It's been four years since we hit 10 million this year. We're going to hit 20.

00:23:20
Liza Streiff: Live in that future. So, I'm right now living in the future of where are we going to be five years from now? And it's great. It's beautiful. And so, I think the the challenge of a leader is bringing people along to that future before it exists because it's 100% possible. 100%.

And so now I, you know, there's a couple things I think on a personal or outside of the the business that I'm running today. My husband and I have started this company called the Betty Kieran Foundation. And she Betty Kieran was my godmother. She just passed away this last year, but really for the last couple years had declined greatly, had dementia. And she was that person who for me growing up was just that pivotal person, right? That person who saw you, that person who believed in you, that person who when co in that college turnaround time I mentioned.

00:24:19
Liza Streiff: you know, where there all sorts of trials, all sorts of adversity, no money for college, loans, jobs, all of it, she would just write that check. $100 you wouldn't expect, get it in the mail, right? Those little things, but it it sustained you, right? It made the difference. So anyways, the the foundation is in her honor. It's to give small scholar ships and grants that will send she was a nurse. So sending more women to get their nursing degrees, pay for help them pay for college, small grants for families in crisis and women in need and just crisis situations. And not 10,000 20,000 at a time, right? But 2500 at a time, a thousand at a time, 5,000 at a time, right? How can we use these small grants to fill real gaps for people and women in particular.

00:25:21
Liza Streiff: that make all the difference. Yeah. So that's one big one that I'm excited about really just to honor her legacy is the most important.

Yeah.

And and then through the business it's you know now we've spent I've spent almost 20 years doing this. My founder started way before that. So a a company that has been in this field for over three dec decades helping people pass these tests. Well, we've learned a lot. We've learned a lot in the process about what helps us perform, what blocks us, how do we recover from failure, and we've seen so many professionals navigate through these career transitions. Hundreds of thousands of professionals navigating through whether it's early days of onboarding or promotions and navigating these transitions. And we've learned a lot. And so, our next chapter and what I hope to be my legacy beyond helping people prepare for their test is giving them tools to succeed in their career. So, we're launching a whole new line of leadership development and professional development.

00:26:24
Liza Streiff: but focused squarely at those early career professionals. So, you're a Gen Z, you're starting out, you're in a a world that is constantly changing, so high pressure, so intense. You know, people are telling you you're replaceable because of AI, all of these things. And you're also a very different generation who has different needs and different skill gaps and and different expectations for you and a and a lot of stigma also coming at you for what people see you as.

Yeah.

00:27:16
Liza Streiff: which they're really tired of, right? Which I understand. Which and we're basically looking at this as educate ators and saying, well, that's our job is to is to create a bridge, right? So, our job as educators is to always meet the student where they are and bring them to where they need to go. And so, I'm really really excited about the work that I get to do now because it's all about curating this whole new era really of professional development that's going to really accelerate the growth of young professionals, which.

00:28:04
Liza Streiff: coming from everything that I've shared with you today is my passion, right? It's like that's what I've been doing in a in a different way, but I want to help more people really launch in a really strong way and help businesses develop their talent for the needs and the real world demands of today and the future.

00:28:20
Adrienne Garland: today. Yeah, that is so beautiful, Liza. And this resonates with me so much because as all the students that you know come through the doors and in my class they really are struggling with you know what do what do I do and there's there's this sense that they want stability and they also want to be able to make an impact like from the beginning. And I I think you've really hit something important because you know when I was starting out in my career you you had such a great situation. I I was starting out in in corporate, big corporate, and the young people really were looked at as like not knowing anything at all, not bringing anything to the table, having to be trained in the ways of corporate America. And that wasn't always a good thing, right? And and despite the fact that we did have fresh ideas and that, you know, maybe we saw ways to either be more efficient or to treat people more like human beings. It wasn't it wasn't valued. Those things were not valued. I do think that corporate now does value younger people and they want to learn as much from them as as you know the young people want to learn from the old-timers if you will. So the fact that you are thinking about you know how do you do that applying everything that you've seen and learned through all these trials and tribulations I think is such a beautiful thing and it almost does it changes the perspective it it it almost sort of I don't know what the word is I'm just thinking gives like it gives respect to the younger generation and they deserve it because they are actually.

00:29:43
Adrienne Garland: awesome so whatever is said about them I don't observe yeah. there are certain kids or young people sometimes where you're like, "Oh my gosh, you definitely fit the stereotype." But I would say more often than not, they don't. And they blow me away with how amazing and thoughtful they are.

00:30:03
Liza Streiff: I agree. And can't that be said about any generation, too? There's always there always have been. And and I think the generations above have also always been very critical of the younger generations. And and and look, there are real gaps and there are real challenges that we do see and that we do know. from their research but okay so let's solve for them let's bridge them right? One of the things that I think about almost every day is that 72% this is this is one of the things I actually think.

00:30:46
Liza Streiff: we can narrow in on for why this matters and why education can be so critical here is that 72% of Gen Z says they feel quote unquote lost in unstructured environments. so think about that for a second right? they are doing well in school. Give me the checklist. Give me the to-do list. Give me the plan. I will get it done. Give me the coursework. Okay. But then you go into the working world. The working world is the definition of unstructured setting, right? There's no road map. It's going to be and then welcome to 2025 and beyond, right? It's completely always changing rapidly. It's it's not going to be as clear-cut. and and and that's where this overwhelm comes from and they're feeling lost in this ambiguity and all that. So what my goal with what we are doing.

00:31:36
Liza Streiff: is to give them that structure is to give them that clear road map that is timeless that it's timeless like it doesn't matter if it's 2025 or 2035. initiate that's always going to be important. Yeah. Initiate right? like so we're training them to be proactive. We're training them to be proactive, creative problem solvers. Don't come waiting for the work to be, you know, done. That's what work is. It's solving problems. So, come ready to solve the problem. Come ready to dive in without somebody giving you permission or direction on everything, right? So.

00:32:32
Liza Streiff: that's one of the key principles is about proactivity. But there's a whole host of them that we know as working professionals who have been through all sorts of situations that there just timeless, tried and true things that we just expect and we've probably learned either on the job or through upbringing or whatnot that we can crystallize and just train on and give them the clearcut structure of this is what you do, this is what it looks like, this is what good looks like and help them feel ready, help them feel confident. And it's a win for everyone, right? It's a win for them. It's a win for the manager. It's a win for the firm.

00:33:30
Liza Streiff: So then you add AI to the mix and everything everything just gets better, too.

00:33:37
Adrienne Garland: I love this. This you're blowing my mind. I absolutely love this. I'm so on board with this. How can I help?

00:33:55
Adrienne Garland: It's It's so true. You know, one of the things that I say all the time is that like in, you know, as we're coming up through school, we're not we're not taught even entrepreneurial skills, right? And and not that you must start a business, but those skills are are exactly what you were just talking about. Identifying the problem, where's the opportunity? Where are the gaps? How can I experiment around a little bit without, you know, disrupting everything to see like does this work? How how can I put together a pitch for my idea that show like where the benefits are, why, you know, why this is important? And you're so right, like we we're we're sort of taught in in a lot of ways like here's the material, test it, regurgitate it back, move on to the next thing. And it is a real problem. There's not and and it's not that these young people, students, whoever, even older people, it's not that they don't have the capability. They just like you're saying, they don't have the road map. They don't have the structure. I was just, you know, I was telling you before that I was in Mexico City with Rice University.

00:34:57
Adrienne Garland: this past week and what an amazing just program Rice University, every single MBA student needs to as part of their curriculum, they have to go on a global field experience. So, they work on a project. This is so cool. I know they work on a project with a company in a foreign country and it's a specific aspect whether it's you know growth or operations or finance or whatever and it's a six-week course and it culminates in going to the country for the week meeting with the clients in person and then the team providing a recommendation and like that's super cool and and just so amazing. But what happens is these people are put together in teams and so they have to navigate all of this different stuff and then have to navigate being in a team with one another in this highly uh like uncertain everchanging environment in a humongously condensed period of time right? it you can imagine some of the drama that unfolds and these people are.

00:35:54
Adrienne Garland: a good reality TV show. it is such right? and some of some of the the MBA students are you know they range in age they're from very young to you know 60 plus so there's also all of the generational stuff in there as well. But I was to lunch with a a group the other day and one of the women who who she she came out of the services which is as you were talking I I I thought to myself gosh this is so applicable for people that are coming out of the military because they're they are are told what to do right? and then they execute and so they have trouble figuring out okay like like how do I make this for myself cuz I don't understand the difference in the environment. And this young woman who came out of the military said I know that as a team member like I'm not doing my best because I will do whatever you tell me to do. Like I will execute to the 10, you know, the nth degree and it'll be perfect. But if you don't tell me what to do, I I'm stuck.

00:36:11
Liza Streiff: Yes. That's and and You hear that? I hear that from so many people starting out and I hear that from managers. I hear that from managers and teams who are so they are busy themselves. They are strained, right? They've got all the pressures in the world and they need people below them who are bringing them solutions, who are adapting, but they are instead saying, "Tell me what to do.". Yeah. Yeah, the manager does. Now the manager has more work. Now they have two jobs, right? They need to tell you what to do for your job every step of the way and they need to do their job. And of course, yes, there's management and there's coaching and there's guidance, but we need more more people who are willing to solve the problem themselves, who are willing to say, I might get it wrong, but I'm going to try and I'm going to come up with ideas and and then we'll iterate. And I agree with you. It's so much of that entrepreneurialism that is necessary right now because if you think about the way that businesses were, and I'm saying were because everything is changing now, right? Things were known and things were about replicating what was known and optimizing and optimizing and just repeating those tasks and those jobs. Well, in an age of disruption, what business leaders need now is not people who are going to sit there in assembly line and do the same thing that they did a decade ago. You need an army of entrepreneurs who are ready to solve new challenges and new problems and think outside the box and be creative and not just who can be creative but who can connect going back to that human connection who can work well with others who can be a real teammate who can be a real leader from day one.

00:37:34
Liza Streiff: So that's when you talk about legacy when you talk about what's next right? I love building a company. I love driving results. You know, all of that is great, but I'm still pretty young and I think and I've got some time left. I would love this next decade to be about let's change the world together, right? Let's empower the next generation of professionals. That's it, right? I think sure it'll be successful commercially, but in terms of legacy, I would love to look back and know how we really impacted this generation coming up. Because that's what I feel is the honor and the duty the responsibility of any leader is not to stand back and say well they should do it different. That's our job let's help them do it different so that's what I'm going to be focusing on and I will take you up on any help you want to offer gonna be fun.

00:38:23
Adrienne Garland: I am dying to just say hallelujah like preach because because this is everything. And that makes my heart so happy. It's almost like this is corporate 2.0 cuz corporate 1.0 was exactly what you're saying. Command and control. Do do the widgets. Put them together. Do what I tell you to do. And we are in a new era and we need to train for that. And I am 100% on board. And it makes me you you've gotten me very excited about the possibilities because I definitely personally have a negative view of corporate because of the command and control and no room for creativity. So hopefully companies are moving into this and embracing this and I just absolutely am so on board and I see your vision and I'm right there with you. It's that's such a beautiful thing and you know maybe if there's anything that I can do to kind of like you know attach on to that vision is is just doing more of of what I'm doing and teaching about entrepreneurial thinking growth mindset.

00:39:27
Liza Streiff: 100%. Understanding the problem beneath the problem because oh that that that is fun stuff for you are going to be busy. I think you are going to be in big demand. I'm telling you because that is what I hear every day in client conversations across this industry. That's what they want. That's what they want to see in their young professionals. So, you've got the medicine that they need.

00:39:56
Adrienne Garland: I love it. I want to ask one final question just out of curiosity. So, your your company is training people to to pass these financial exams. Can you talk about the mix of men versus women that are are in this industry and that you're seeing come through and I sort of have an idea what you're going to say. So, is there any way to sort of increase the percentage of women that are coming through?

00:40:22
Liza Streiff: Well, you might be surprised to hear that we actually see pretty regularly pretty even distribution.

Adrienne Garland: I love this.

Liza Streiff: in the people coming through. I think that that has ebed and flowed. over the last few years. Some years, you know, way more, some years, this last year, I would say we did see some shifts back maybe a little bit in in less women across the board. We don't have hard data on it because we don't track and we don't ask in certain onboarding questionnaires. So, we don't track this, but just from what we know and what we see and observe, you can see when you're sitting in a room of 100 people, you know, but what I would say to the question though, it's not about, from what I've observed, it's not about how do you get more women in the door. I think they can do that and they've done that and they do that really well. It's how can you or could you get more women to stay? That's where there's a drop. That's where there's a real challenge is how do you get women sooner to more promotions and help them stay in the game longer. That's that's where we see the challenge in the industry.

00:41:35
Liza Streiff: They're they're doing a great job getting them through the door. I got to say, hats off to any of my program managers or recruiters out there listening to me. There are tons of women across the board coming into Wall Street these days. It's just it's the retention that continues to be a real challenge. So, we're working on it.

00:41:59
Adrienne Garland: Good challenge. Good ch This is This is good. I might throw this to my class like, okay, let's let's have some let's have a brainstorming design thinking session about this problem. Thank you so much, Liza. When we spoke initially after Lindsay introduced us, I I I wrote to you. I said I could have talked to you forever. I feel the exact same way. I feel like we just started our conversation again. So, I'd love to have you back on the podcast, especially with everything that you're thinking about and working on next. I really want to keep tabs on that and I just I thank you so much. If people want to connect with you, learn more from you, you know, have you speak and inspire, where can they find you?

00:42:47
Liza Streiff: Great. Well, thank you. The feeling is definitely mutual. I love talking to you and I will definitely take you up on any offers to help. So, love that. So, people can find us at knopman.com. It's K-N-O-P-M-A-N.com. We have a landing page there now under performance training where we're launching now the initial phases of all the programming and the courseware. I do keynotes all of that it's listed on that page but lots more to come in that space. Of course connect with me on LinkedIn, Liza Streiff. And yeah keep an eye out there's there's a lot coming out this next year so keep tabs for sure.

00:43:30
Adrienne Garland: I love it. Well, thank you so much and go forth and inspire. Thank you and thank you so much for having me. If this conversation moved you, inspired you, or made you think differently, please take a moment to leave a five-star rating and review. It's not just about boosting the show. It's about amplifying the voices of women entrepreneurs who are leading with vision, building with purpose, and shaping what's next. We need more of these conversations in the world right now. Don't you think? And if someone came to mind while you were listening, someone who matters to you, send this episode to them. If there's something on your mind about leadership, legacy, or what's next, I want to hear it. Head to sheleadsia.com/voice and leave a voice memo or note. Your insight might just help shape a future episode. Make sure to follow the show and come back next week for more conversations you won't hear anywhere else. Thank you so much for listening. This is the She Leads Podcast network.