Conversations

Recently, I was requested by INSPIRERY to do an interview about my career and my story. It was a fun experience.  Check it out!  Here's a snippet:

"Born in Fresno, California in August of 1977, Bronson Quon was the youngest of two sons belonging to the Quon family.  When he was 7 years of age, the Quon family relocated to Visalia to support the family grocery business.  From an early age, Bronson started taking Shotokan karate lessons along with his brother and earned his black belt when he was 14.  An avid sports fan, Bronson also played track and football in high school.  It was through his experience in sports where he learned teamwork, commitment, and focus.  After graduating from high school, Bronson studied business administration with an emphasis in Accounting at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.  He was fortunate to have experienced internships at two Fortune 500 companies prior to kickstarting his career in public accounting in southern California.  The exposure to a mix of public and private businesses in various industries, as well as earning his CPA license in the state of California, helped provide a well-rounded background and eventually, Bronson went into the private industry where he has served in various financial management positions in electronic payments, real estate property tax and software-as-a-service (SAAS) in the auto industry.  The collection of industries, employers, and experiences in the business world have helped shape Bronson who he is today.  Along the way, there were both good and bad decisions, successes and failures, mistakes and emotions.  During this time, Bronson married the love of his life and has two beautiful daughters.  If there is anything Bronson has learned, it’s that family is everything.  Happy wife equals happy life, so no matter how difficult or challenging work is, the one constant in one’s life will be family.  If family is disturbed, the entire work/life balance will be disrupted."

Other interviews in the past include:

EPN

IdeaMensch

Voices of Marketing

How Good was KD?

This past Wednesday night, the Golden State Warriors took Game 1 of the Finals by sticking it to the Cleveland Cavaliers.  When King James was asked what stood out about the Warriors in Game 1, his response was "KD".  My gosh, how good was KD in Game 1?  A stat line read 38 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds when it was all said and done.  Now, there have for sure been better performances in NBA history in the Finals.  But we all know, for those who watched, that KD was on fire.  He relished the moment and made mincemeat of any opposing player.  He drove and dunked.  He fired from 3 point range.  He completed an alley oop.  He took a charge from Lebron.  He ignored Rihanna yelling "brick".  He was everywhere and he helped the Warriors take advantage of home court.  KD has a lot to prove given his offseason transition from OKC.  Whether you agreed with his move or not, winning seems to solve a lot of problems, like shutting the haters up.  The Warriors likely would have been in the same position they're in now without KD, but I have to admit that they're a lot stronger and confident with him in the lineup.  If I was Lebron, I'd be a bit shaken from Game 1, especially with a potential 5th Final's defeat looming.  There's only been 1 game so let's not count out the Cavaliers just yet.  If history is an indicator of future performance, there's a lot of basketball left to play.  And it's going to be fun!

Ownership and Employee Empowerment

I read a recent article about rethinking how you manage that really piqued my interest.  When there are issues to be resolved and decisions to be made in the workplace, it takes a certain level of effort to get the job done.  I’ve been on both sides of the equation here — as an employee who has reported to a superior and as a manager with direct reports.  And because of this, I know that there can be different solutions taken that arrive at the same answer.  However, some solutions may be more or less efficient or effective than others.  Knowing how to effectively communicate, either employee to boss or vice versa, is important here.  The key to resolution is ownership — if one feels they are vested in the project or the issue at hand, they’ll take on responsibility and see the task to completion.  On the flip side, if there are always questions but no proposed solutions, or if one’s solutions are always discounted, there can be no real ownership.   It’s all about the appropriate level of employee empowerment!

How Would You Answer Them?

A recent article about Apple’s interview questions was really interesting which got me thinking — as a manager, I’ve never been asked questions like this before during an interview.  I ask the typical questions about who you are, where you’ve been and what are you up to now.  I’ll usually ask a few questions to make the interviewee think, such as what is your favorite excel formula and why?  Or ask them to describe a situation that had conflict and see how they resolved it.  But it dawned on me that there is a whole other creative way to glean information from a candidate and Apple seems to have it down pat.   There are some pretty challenging questions in this article.  How would you answer them?

Following are some of them:

“A man calls in and has an older computer that is essentially a brick. What do you do?” — Apple Care At-Home Consultant candidate

“Are you smart?” — Build Engineer candidate

“Have you ever disagreed with a manager’s decision, and how did you approach the disagreement? Give a specific example and explain how you rectified this disagreement, what the final outcome was, and how that individual would describe you today.” — Software Engineer candidate

“You put a glass of water on a record turntable and begin slowly increasing the speed. What happens first — does the glass slide off, tip over, or does the water splash out?” — Mechanical Engineer candidate

“Tell me something that you have done in your life which you are particularly proud of.” — Software Engineering Manager candidate

“Are you creative? What’s something creative that you can think of?” — Software Engineer candidate

“Describe a humbling experience.” — Apple Retail Specialist candidate

“What’s more important, fixing the customer’s problem or creating a good customer experience?” — Apple At Home Advisor candidate

“Why did Apple change its name from Apple Computers Incorporated to Apple Inc.?” — Specialist candidate

“You seem pretty positive, what types of things bring you down?” — Family Room Specialist candidate

“Show me (role play) how you would show a customer you’re willing to help them by only using your voice.” — College At-Home Advisor candidate

“What brings you here today?” — Software Engineer candidate

“Given an iTunes type of app that pulls down lots of images that get stale over time, what strategy would you use to flush disused images over time?” — Software Engineer candidate

“If you’re given a jar with a mix of fair and unfair coins, and you pull one out and flip it 3 times, and get the specific sequence heads heads tails, what are the chances that you pulled out a fair or an unfair coin?” — Lead Analyst candidate

“What was your best day in the last 4 years? What was your worst?” — Engineering Project Manager candidate

Bronson Quon – Linkedin

Niners Draft Review!

The San Francisco 49ers have had an interesting yet fantastic offseason.  Just when we thought there was no way the 49ers could have four head coaches over the last four years, they go out and sign offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan from the Atlanta Falcons, shortly after signing on a new GM in former safety John Lynch.  Generally, rookie GM’s find it challenging in all aspects during their first campaign at the helm, but this year’s draft has proved otherwise.  Coming off of their worst season in NFL history where they went 2-14, the 49ers earned the #2 pick in this year’s NFL draft.  Held over the last 3 days, following is the list of final picks:

1 (3). Solomon Thomas, DL, Stanford
1 (31). Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama
3 (2). Ahkello Witherspoon, CB, Colorado
3 (40). C.J. Beathard, QB, Iowa
4 (15). Joe Williams, RB, Utah
5 (2). George Kittle, TE, Iowa
5 (34). Trent Taylor, WR, Louisiana Tech
6 (14). D.J. Jones, DT, Ole Miss
6 (18). Pita Taumoepenu, LB, Utah
7 (11). Adrian Colbert, CB, Miami

What is most interesting is the wheeling and dealing that occurred right out of the gate.  After the Cleveland Browns selected Myles Garrett at #1, the Chicago Bears traded their #3 pick for the Niners’ #2 pick, as well as for pick 67 in Round 3 and pick 111 in Round 4.  On top of that, the Niners received a 2018 third-round pick.  Interestingly, the Browns selected Mitch Trubisky, quarterback from North Carolina, leaving Solomon Thomas, DT from Stanford, as the #3 pick for the Niners!  Solomon Thomas was who they wanted to begin with, so the Niners started off the draft with a bang and a steal!

Shortly thereafter, the Niners traded their 34th pick (Round 2) and their 111th pick that they just acquired, to Seattle, in order to draft arguably the best LB in the draft in Alabama’s Reuben Foster.  When the smoke had cleared, the Niners had just drafted two of the top 3 players on their board.  Remarkable!

Can’t wait for the season to start – go Niners!

Specializing in the Impossible

"Hope Arises" was the name and topic of this past Sunday's sermon at Shepherd Church in Porter Ranch, as we celebrated Easter, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior, who sacrificed his life so that are sins could be forgiven.

Many things seem impossible in the midst of chaos and in many respects, they really are.  Whether one is dealing with a broken marriage, infidelity, financial or legal troubles, disease or sickness, there is one thing that has withstood the test of time -- and that is hope.  While every man dies because of father time, those who believe that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead will live eternal life.  How do we know this?  Because, the resurrection proves this, and it says so in the bible.

This tells us that with God, "all things are possible".  Pastor Dudley tells us that God specializes in the impossible.  All he asks us is to Confess and Repent, Believe in Him and through baptism, we may live a new life.   Our past will be forgiven and our future will be secured.  Isn't that something -- that is hope and salvation in its purest form.

Happy Easter to all...

See Bronson Quon and more!

SF Giants Set to Start the 2017 Season!

With the 2017 MLB season about to kickstart on April 2, there is a lot of excitement about the San Francisco Giants this year.  The Giants, who one three World Series titles in the last 6 years (2010, 2012 and 2014), are striving to overcome the even year and win an odd year for the first time in San Francisco history.  The Giants lost to the eventual World Series champs, the Chicago Cubs, in last year's playoffs.

Following is the projected lineup this year:

Denart Span (OF)

Brandon Belt (1B)

Buster Posey (C)

Hunter Pence (OF)

Brandon Crawford (SS)

Eduardo Nunez (3B)

Joe Panik (2B)

Jarrett Parker (OF)

PROJECTED ROTATION:

Madison Bumgarner

Johnny Cueto

Jeff Samardzija

Matt Moore

Matt Cain

Go Giants!!!  The Giants should be better than last year as they signed a formidable closer (Mark Melancon), which was the biggest weakness on the Giants.  Too many games did they lose in the final few innings and now that they've fortified the pen, they should be in good shape.  The only glaring weakness on the Giants is their outfield.  If they can avoid injuries to key starters, they'll be average at best.  But never count out any team that has manager Bruce Bochy at the helm.