Empathy and Leadership: Lessons from the Table with Mona Bavar

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:00:56

Well, hello everybody and welcome to another episode of the Unstoppable Leadership Spotlight podcast.

I'm Jaclyn Strominger, your host and on this podcast we hear from amazing leaders professionals about their game changing experiences and insights on leadership. We are all about helping you grow and be unstoppable in your leadership. And today I have an amazing guest. It is Mona Bavar.

She is a multi passionate entrepreneur, a thought leader who seamlessly blends creativity, connection and innovation across her ventures. She is the founder of Delish. Do I have that right?

Mona Bavar: 00:01:39

Yes.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:01:39

And she curates exceptional gift giving experiences that celebrate meaningful stories and fosters connections, turning ordinary moments into lasting memories. I absolutely love that. And she also has Blue Apple's AI, her AI consultancy.

She empowers entrepreneurs and small businesses to harness AI in a way that is authentic, efficient and deeply human, which is really awesome. So welcome to the podcast. Mona, I. So I am really kind of curious here.

Like first of all, who different like this is like left brain, right brain in a lot of ways.

Like, you know, so tell us a little bit about your foray in your business with Delish, because I think that sounds really amazing and I'm, I've got to ask you also about the AI.

Mona Bavar: 00:02:34

First of all, thank you Jaclyn for having me on. I love, I love, love the way you introduce me. If only we could all see ourselves the way other people see us.

So yes, I founded Delish, which is a gifting company around food, art and design. And it's Delish curated in Milan, which is Milan, Italy.

Because I, I've been living between the States and Italy for some time now, almost 20 years, and I've always been in the food and design industries. And so Delish was born out of this storytelling that happens around the table.

So as a child growing up as immigrants, our safe haven and what kept us grounded and rooted to our origin was always the table, through the food and through the stories that our parents would share. So somehow, subconsciously, I brought that over into my business without even knowing. I always loved food and I still love food.

And Italy is a perfect place for that. And I always found that I connected with people in these intimate settings. And intimate doesn't necessarily mean one to one.

It's more around this table setting where you're eating and you're drinking and you're sharing stories and it's not about your religion or your background or the color of your skin. It's about the food and your culture that you communicate through the food.

So you say, oh my gosh, you have pasta sauce that is made with tomato sauce and, and, well, with tomatoes and ground beef. And we add this spice to it and we say, oh, you know what?

In, in Iran, where I'm originally from, we have this rice dish that has ground beef with pasta sauce and you add tomatoes and potatoes to it. And so you understand that there's so much commonality. And so what I wanted to do was take this.

And there's so many artisans and producers that are prod. That are making products, whether it's food products or design objects that enhance the tasting experience.

Because whether we like it or whether we know it or not, the table, when we sit at the table, it's a multi sensory experience.

Even if you're sitting down for a simple dinner with the few people in your family or by yourself, even you're tasting, you're seeing visually, you're hearing the sound of you chewing or voices or music or whatever you have.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:05:07

Hopefully they're chewing with their mouth closed.

Mona Bavar: 00:05:09

Exactly. No, that's not that. No, no, no, I totally agree. So you're experiencing that. And so I wanted to put that in a gift box and share it with people.

And I think there are so many tastes that we haven't been exposed to that I myself discover with over the thousands of producers that there are in Italy, I'm always discovering someone new that has created something, whether it's a marmalade or it's a, a salty dish or whatever it may be. And we couple it together to give this story in a box is what I like to call it. And you share that with yourself or with whoever you love.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:05:49

You know, I love that the story in the box.

And there's a couple things that just came to my mind as, as you were, as you're describing this and you're talking about being grounded and what food does. And I'm curious, like how, how would you take that experience and put it towards leadership?

Mona Bavar: 00:06:07

The beautiful question, because whether we know it or not, when we host someone or when we share what we love, whether that's food, whether that's an art piece, whatever it may be, we are leading. Because what is leadership anyway?

Leadership is guiding someone in a direction that inspires them, that helps them become a better version of themselves or helps them tap into the archetypes that maybe we're not aware of. So you can do. Our mothers have done it through the, through the meals that they've served us. When we go to restaurants, we experience it.

And the food aspect, when we go to an exhibition, I'm looking at the beautiful art piece behind you, and you said, my daughter did it for me because I was inspired by something that we saw together. So you led her in this direction for her to. To announce that archetype, that creative archetype or that visionary archetype that's within her.

So I think as leaders, no matter what our medium is or whatever it is we're sharing with someone, somehow we are leading them.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:07:17

Right? That's so true. And it's. And I. And I think about, you know, it if we, as a leader, can also help people, like, bring out the different creativity.

And creativity does not necessarily have to mean doing artwork. It's, you know, creative thinking and the thought process. It's amazing what we can come out with. Right?

Mona Bavar: 00:07:38

Absolutely. Absolutely. And I totally agree with that. You know, you would be surprised.

I would say an accountant that sits behind a computer and is constantly working with numbers is also creating something. Right. So we are all creators.

Creation, like you said, does not necessarily mean an artwork or a poem that you've written or a sculpture that you've put. You've sculpted. It's so much more. Every moment we're creating something, and creation stems from inspiration. So I think it's.

And we just choose a way to. To communicate that.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:08:16

And what you just said, I think, is really powerful creation and inspiration. It's. I think, as leaders, you know, that is something that we can do as, you know, in a leadership role.

The more you can help inspire somebody to be able to bring out that creativity is actually what, obviously, I think what a great leader can do.

Mona Bavar: 00:08:37

Absolutely, Absolutely.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:08:39

So. So tell me. So I love this. Like, this, you know, like, to me, getting a box with, like, great stuff in it is really fun.

Mona Bavar: 00:08:54

Absolutely.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:08:54

Yes.

Mona Bavar: 00:08:55

Yes. And that's the. That whole. As a child, you couldn't wait to open that box.

And even today, I mean, we get an Amazon box with that little swish, smiley swoosh in it, and we know that all inside we've ordered our vitamins, but we're still excited to open this box and say, oh, look at my vitamins have arrived. So it's that. That anticipation of being pleasantly surprised.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:09:18

Right? Okay, I just have to interrupt you because I have to tell you this. What came to my head on that one, for me, the Amazon box comes.

I'm like, oh, what did we spend the do get your box. I need that box.

Mona Bavar: 00:09:33

Right?

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:09:33

Because I want stuff in it. I want the stuff that would make me happy. I see that smile. I'm like, dude, yeah.

Mona Bavar: 00:09:41

So your Smush is kind of upside down. I get it. I get.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:09:46

Yeah, it is. But it is true. Like, you know, getting that in the box. And I. And. And I think it's another thing, too, which I think is very interesting.

What you're doing is you're bringing out, you know, you're combining cultures and food and bringing people together. And that's another thing about leadership and the way that people can do that together. To bring different personalities.

Mona Bavar: 00:10:09

Yes, yes. And it's about the bridging of cultures.

to the United states, it was: 1979

And what kept us, let's say, safe was knowing when we came home that there was this table that my mother had prepared, the smells that were familiar from. From Iran, and the stories that our father or mother would share. And so as siblings, we learned that the table was a place to communicate.

It was a place to be completely free to express your emotions, to understand.

So if we went outside and someone called us names because we were from Iran, it wasn't that it was out of malice, necessarily, because we were children. It was out of ignorance. Let's say that you didn't know the culture. You didn't know the history, the traditions, the smells, the tastes, Right?

So this. When I went away to university, I went to Milan, Italy, and I remember it was an international program to do my mba.

And I would always invite people to my home, and I would cook Persian food, and I would serve Persian food. And I was always so excited. And everyone started to bring something. So my Serbian friend would bring something.

The Greeks would bring something, the Chinese. So then we started to. This table grew and grew and grew. And we all started to share our dishes, then our stories, then our. Where we come from.

And so all of a sudden, there was no difference. It was just these cultures that were all coming together.

And we realized how similar we all are, that when you remove all those, all what the outside world, the propaganda feeds us, what's happening today in our world, in the United States, you realize that we're all the same, essentially.

And it's all that has been generations and generations that have handed down, whether it's the tomato that's been handed down and used in a different way, or whether it's eating with a knife and a fork that's been served in different, you know, so it's so much similarities that we now should shift and start looking at the similarities rather than the differences.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:12:33

Yeah, I love that. So just bringing it back to, you know, from the leadership perspective, how do you think that would relate to the boardroom or to a company?

Mona Bavar: 00:12:47

The first and foremost important thing I think that leaders need to do is know themselves. So whether you're a CEO, you're an entrepreneur, you're a thought leader, whatever you are, and we all are so many different archetypes.

We have to start by knowing who we are. And that starts with going deep. And you and I are sitting here in front of each other. I'm a 53 year old woman.

I have spent the majority of my life trying to understand who I am. And by that I don't mean I've done. I don't want to get woo woo and talk about spirituality and all that stuff.

It's about saying, you know what, what I was taught as a child or how I was nurtured, that archetype of a caretaker no longer resonates with me. I have it. But I want to now tap into the archetype of the creator or the archetype of the visionary.

So when you're in the boardroom and you are in a position of power, you have to know that you are what power means and who you are. So it's not about necessarily saying, listen, I delivered these numbers. Yes, that's wonderful that you delivered the numbers.

You exceeded what the forecasts were. But how do, how are you? Are you able to say, you know what?

Me, Mona Bavar, as the, the driven entrepreneur, I succeeded and I, I sold a company and I started a new one and I did all that. But you know what? I did it with empathy because I think that's the most important thing. I did it with inner confidence.

And that inner confidence means security in who you are, in how you communicate your story. For so long, Jaclyn, I was ashamed of my heritage. I was, I avoided talking about it.

Today I'm sitting here with you and your thousands or millions or however number of listeners you have, and I'm saying, you know what? I'm an Iranian woman and I'm proud of it. But it took me years to get to this position because I.

Why, When I was a child, I was ridiculed for it, I was made fun of for it, or I was bullied for it. So when I step into that boardroom per se, I have to say, you know what?

Let me be empathetic to the people that I'm sharing with, yes, I'm sharing numbers, I'm sharing results, but, you know, there is a human side to it. And it's that human side that inspires that then says, you know what, next year let's do double the numbers.

But not out of force and out of the fact that we have to, because we have to be better and meet the shareholder demands and so on and so forth, but because we are passionate. And I that use that word with a lot of hesitation because I think it's misused a lot. But we're doing it out of heart.

We're doing it out of something that we believe in.

And I know that if you're like a Coca Cola and you say, you know what, we got shareholders, we got all these numbers that we need to meet, put aside that. Then tell me why are so many companies choosing to invest in retreats, in team building, in wellness, in mental health?

Because you understand that it's necessary. It's necessary to bring that human aspect to a successful leadership role. And however that may show up for any of us, you know, I love.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:16:10

What you just said, and I think it's so important. I think that having the human side, you know, the human side, it's the this, that side inspires us.

And we need to know the stories and we need to be connected with the people that are in our fold.

You know, as a leader, whether if you're Coca Cola or you are the small mom and pop store, the solo, you know, owning one store, you need to know the people that are working with you. And I say, not for like I, I use that thing, it's with you, not for you.

Because the four part makes it where you're up here, but they need to be part of it. And so you have to think of everything. I always think of everything as a team.

So if you know the people that are working with you and you know a bit about their stories and you have.

And you bring the human side into the companies and you bring the human side even into the outside of the product, it's going to make a deeper connection and people are going to want that product. And I'm just going to think about Coca Cola.

When you think about the heartfelt, you know, at the holiday times, it's like, you know, there are certain, you know, Coca Cola commercials that you can think of that make you think of, like, you know, that warm and fuzzies inside. It's not about the Coke, really.

It's like, yeah, the Coke is there, but it's about that warm and fuzzy feeling that you're getting and then you associate it with that, but you're, you're getting people's stories. So it makes it human.

Mona Bavar: 00:17:42

Exactly. Exactly. Absolutely. That's, that's you. You. What did they say? You nibbed it in the bud.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:17:48

Yeah. So it, yeah. So I, I want to just bring this into your agency because you've got this, this great, you know, box. Right.

So talk to me about the agency in AI because I, I'm, you know, as we were sharing beforehand, AI can, you know, graphically or you know, with images. It doesn't understand hands at all. And we've got some weird, we've all seen those weird pictures of hands doing some weird things.

So, so tell me a little bit about the agency and, and how, how does that also bring into, you know, those meaningful stories?

Mona Bavar: 00:18:26

Thanks for asking that because it's very special to me. So I never was a techie, never ever. But somehow AI for me seemed like first it started as a necessity because of Delish the gifting company. I.

Our resources were low so we were bootstrapping as much as we could and I couldn't afford it anymore. So I said, you know what, let me start to create my own content. And as an E commerce, it's king. Right?

You have to rank in order for you to be organically searchable and all that stuff. And so I started to create blogs.

I started, I always loved to write, but I knew, noticed that it helped me at least get the outline or at least do the research for the keywords for SEO optimization.

So I started to do a lot of this work on my own and I realized that there is a way for especially solopreneurs or small businesses, small to mid sized businesses, to successfully implement AI. And what do I mean by that? It's that human touch. So BlueApples AI is about the human touch with the AI innovation.

So you have to know what your brand story is, you have to know your brand tone, you have to know the style in order for you to not sound generic. So that's where here you have to do the work.

Again we go back to as a leader, as a, as whoever you are an entrepreneur, CEO, you have to know what your brand is all about, who is the target audience. This is work that you have to do on your own in order. And you hire agencies for that.

And that's why we said, okay, we have that competitive advantage. We know how to work with AI and we know how to maintain the human voice. Because I know When I'm writing my own content, I know what I'm looking for.

So when I started to train someone to do this work for me, I said, listen, this is how it has to sound because I already had done the work before AI so if you don't know it, you're going to sound like everybody else and you're going to get lost in this, I mean, infinite pool of content that's being created right now.

And it's just going to keep growing because everyone's like, okay, I just sit in front of chat GBT and I'll put in this magical prompt, which doesn't exist by the way, because you have to think about prompt engineering as recipe for bakery, not even for food because it's a science. There's a reason they put engineer after it. So if you don't know exactly how to play with this, you're going to sound like everyone else.

You're going to do the keyword research that's going to be all the keywords that your competitors are looking for. So forget about ever ranking. And as a matter of fact, when I first started to do this, I realized that we were going down on the contrary.

Oh, so I realize, listen, you still have to have some of it that's organic. You have to make sure your research is SEO based. So you have to have some kind of knowledge of SEO.

You're writing, you have to know how to write, you have to know your brand voice for the audience to connect. Otherwise, when you go in and you read those AI words like the, the I delved into it and I'm thrilled to announce that you sound like everybody else.

So why do I need to do that?

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:21:46

Right?

Mona Bavar: 00:21:47

And that's where the human aspect is so important. And I, we sit down with clients and we talk to them, we understand what their brand voice is, we understand their why.

In order for us to be able to tell their story, the only thing that AI does is help us expedite a process before would have taken a little bit longer or to give us the outline so then we can go on and write it. So here AI is still not there, unfortunately.

And you can watch Instagram and everyone's like, you know what, let me help you write with this magical prompt. And you, all you have to do is, and no, it's not, it's, you.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:22:26

Know, it's so funny because I, because, because I love AI. Like, I love using it because I will like I, it's how I write my blog or my LinkedIn newsletter.

But what I, what I love to do is as you're just talking about, it's like I write this whole massive paragraph. Like all the stuff that's in my brain that like is my voice and how.

And then I just ask him like, I'm always like, okay, now I just need to like do a little expanding and clean it up a little bit, but keep my voice like. And it's amazing what comes out because it's like it gives me things that. It's exactly what I wanted to say.

But it, it's, but it's taking all that human stuff that I put in and all the emotion that I put into it and it spits it out. But it's not, it's not, it doesn't become generic because I, you, you see people doing that and it's so, it's.

I'm so glad that you talk about bringing up the human element into it because so many people do just like give me a creative story on.

Mona Bavar: 00:23:24

Exactly. And it doesn't work. And we think we. Oh, here we go. And most people don't even read it.

I have to tell you, they just copy and paste it into their blog and they think they're like. We had a client that she chose not to work with us when we were proposing for her for her E commerce product descriptions.

And I remember we gave her a quote and she said this is too expensive. You're using AI anyway.

And I had to explain, listen, don't think that just using AI you're going to be able to do it if you don't know what you have to, how to write a product description for it to convert for you to use the right keywords for all the benefit. Everything that you need for a product description, you're not going to sell. And as a matter of fact she then went ahead and did.

You could see that either she's hired someone else or she's doing it on her own. Because when I went on her website for her beauty products I was like, listen, I'm so sorry for you that you chose to go this route and I respect it.

You do you. But you have to know that there AI doesn't mean everything is clean. Because now today everybody's an entrepreneur and they think it's so easy.

It's not. You still have to do the work. Because the journey of an entrepreneur is also a journey of self discovery. Right. And that's where leadership comes in.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:24:44

Yeah.

Mona Bavar: 00:24:45

You go through this process of who am I, what am I doing, what is my why? And all of us, if we really, really.

And that's what I think one of our competitive, me personally advantages that why there's always a reason that happened years ago in our lives, like me at the table and how it became a safe haven. And I brought that into my life, which funny enough, also my siblings, they're both entrepreneurs and they also.

It's about creating this community around this setting, whatever that setting may be.

So if we really go deep, and that's the brand stories that people want to read, that's the brand stories that if you go on a podcast, you want people to share because it inspires. And so you're leading someone into this world of where they then will take the, the, the, the torch and lead someone else.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:25:43

You know, what you're sharing is I, I love it. And with what I think is really important. And listeners, as you're hearing this, I want to just share an insight really that I think is incredibly.

It's, it's a, it's a game changer. And if you're not doing it, you need to take the time right now, like to stop and do this.

And that is, you know, what Mona just said is taking the stories and the things that are, and the values and the, that made us who we are. So as a leader, what has made you you. You know, for you, it's like that.

Sending around the table, the stories and bringing people together and bringing that to fruition. That's part of your why, like, it's, it's deep rooted in you.

If you haven't spent the time to figure out what that is, take the time right now to figure out what is that? Why.

What are those things that you want to bring in either into your business, into the people that are, that are in your fold, because that's what's going to make the difference in your company. Because you're going to be deeper connected and the people, it's going to create a deeper connection.

And when you know that why and you create that community in that right setting, people are going to want to be in your fold, they're going to want to join your company, but you got to get the right people. And knowing the right people is based on where you came from and what comes to your heart.

Mona Bavar: 00:27:04

That's beautiful. I love, love the way you put that. I mean, exactly. That's the, the step that then becomes full circle. Yeah, just like the circles behind you.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:27:14

Right, right. That's it. Right. It's, you know, and I think that's, you know, when I talk to a lot of People. And that's why I, I really love what you're doing.

Even with you, with both of your companies, because like I'm thinking about the delish is like, oh, what a great corporate gift giving box, right? Like how like bringing that out, like, oh, we got, that's going to be really great.

But also, you know, with your agency and bringing in that human connection into AI because sometimes we all don't. We know, you know, so many of us or so many people and so many, as you shared, so many entrepreneurs think, they think they can do it. Yes, we can.

But so many times we need to have somebody else bring our voice and bring what we want into it because then we can step away from it because we're not so close to it. And we can actually, then we, we can't sometimes see what we need to see because we're too close.

Mona Bavar: 00:28:13

Exactly, exactly. And that's why a lot of people, entrepreneurs will have mentors or business coaches because you have to see the full picture. And so I think that's.

And with Blue Apples we created these guides.

And one of the guides that I'm so proud of because as a, as growing up, I always love psychology and I always love the, this, this, this esoteric world of going deep and understanding yourself and the different aspects of yourself.

So when I was exposed to psychology, the, the Jungian archetypes really played a huge role in me understanding first myself and then help people under, helping people understand themselves, especially as entrepreneurs. So then last year I did this beta on myself with AI.

I tried to tap into all the different archetypes using the tarot deck, but the tarot, because Carl Jung used the tarot, the major arcana, to understand the different archetypes that we have within us and which one is the true archetype. And so I did this with myself and prompt engineering and it was so successful.

I mean, I can't even explain to you, Jaclyn, how beautiful that journey was for me.

From January To December of: 2024

And so this, for: 2025

Am I really the visionary and so these different aspects, like this month, February, is the high priestess, which is intuition. So the intuitive leader. So we. You go through these exercises with prompts and. And you see just how beautifully the pieces come together.

And these are the parts of AI that when people say AI for good, we can actually use it in ways that enhance us as human beings, that help us explore aspects of ourselves that then make us really, really effective and inspiring leaders. That whether it's in the boardroom or in a home, that we are. We are the caretaker archetype.

We are showing up as fully ourselves and aware of each one of them. Because a lot of times we shy away from many archetypes that we possess. And so. So I invite people to check out that guide.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:31:17

Is it. Is it free available, or is it.

Mona Bavar: 00:31:20

It's online. And there's just. I mean, I personally don't think it's expensive. And purposely we've done that so that I think it's like $87, but it's 12 months.

It's 100 and some pages every month you go through this process. So I invite people to download it, use it, and see just how. How amazing it is.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:31:42

Wow, that's fantastic. All right, well, Mona, I could talk to you all day.

Mona Bavar: 00:31:47

Me too, Jaclyn. So we already decided we're going to exchange information.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:31:51

Yeah, we're going to exchange it. Right? So tell me, tell everybody how they can get and get connected with you.

Where is the best way to find you and get all your great information and even. And to get this great guide.

Mona Bavar: 00:32:03

If you're interested in gifting the gifting side or just checking out Delish, it's D L I S h dot us and there you can reach out to us via email or send us on the contact page. We're always there to respond. And you can check out our gift boxes.

And we also do corporate gifting, so bespoke gifting, whether it's weddings or corporate. And then for the AI side, I invite you guys to visit Blueapples with an S. AI and set up a call.

We have these discovery calls that you can understand if it works for you, if AI Is for you. And we have on our resources page different guides that you're more than welcome to purchase and use.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:32:51

Perfect. Well, that is absolutely fantastic. So I so appreciate you being a guest. This is the Unstoppable Leadership Spotlight podcast.

I'm your host, Jaclyn Strominger. If you have loved this episode, please share it with your friends, families, colleagues, and please make sure you do hit the subscribe button.

And if you would like to be a guest on the podcast, please make sure you go to my website, leapt your success.com and apply to be a guest. And thank you so much for listening. Again. Thank you Mona for being a guest.

Mona Bavar: 00:33:19

Thank you for having me. Jaclyn was wonderful.

Jaclyn Strominger: 00:33:21

My pleasure.