 Welcome to Sister Power. Sister Power's special guest is Erica Ingo. Erica recently joined the staff of Honolulu City Council member Kimberly Pine as Communications Director while just last month she was one of the reporters who was seek out Kimberly Pine for interviews. And now she's helping former colleagues and competitors arrange those interviews. She started in radio in Hawaii Island and then moved to Honolulu working at KSK, AM and FM where she served as news director. Erica adapted to print journalism, working at Pacific Business News, then the Honolulu star advertiser as a business columnist and reporter. She was one of the inaugural writers at Crave, the weekly food section which she calls the best assignment of her newspaper career. Erica did some TV as well at KGMB TV in the 80s and most recently at KHON2. She was named Small Business Journalism of the Year for the City and County of Honolulu by the U.S. Small Business Administration in 2008. Our topic for this episode be phenomenal or be forgotten in 2020. Welcome Erica. Thank you so much for inviting me. Thank you for taking that time out of your busy schedule to visit with Think Tech and Sister Power. So let's talk about be phenomenal or be forgotten in 2020. Well first of all congratulations on your new position. Thank you very much. It's such a blessing to have that job with yeah I never imagined a political career but now that I'm in the position I don't think I would be if it weren't for Kimberly Pine. She is an inspiration to me. I think she is a woman of integrity and that's the only way I would have it you know entering the political realm working for someone I believe in and who I think is trustworthy. And she's a phenomenal woman. Yes she is. And that's our mutual friend Kimberly Pine and we have another mutual friend is of course also with Ann Marata. Yes. Marketing genius woman. So go ahead. The AM and Marata advertising marketing she's just so brilliant. She is. She is brilliant. So tell us about your day-to-day task has been a communications director. One of the things that I do is check for various publications news outlets. I look for Kim you know stories that have been done about her and I make a note of it and forward it to other members of the staff just so that they're aware. Kim was on KHON last night or she's quoted in the Star Advertiser this morning or Civil Beat. I look for those sorts of media references and just make sure everyone on staff is aware. And I keep my own file of course media tracking for all of that. And then too if anything comes across as needing to be corrected I'm in a position to work with council member Pine and you know get any information that needs to be fixed. But so far that has not been the case. Oh good. So you've been there how long now. Only since September 23rd so I'm still I'm not even a month on the job but I am loving it. Oh my goodness. No because today is October 17th. Yeah almost a month. Almost a month. And previously before that we were talking about. KHON. I was a reporter from 2 30 to 10 30 p.m. on weekdays. The schedule is a little bit brutal for someone who's usually you know asleep by 10 30. Sure. It was an adjustment. So I'm one of the reasons I like this new job is that I have normal human being hours again which is nice. Good. Well looking ahead to 2020 give us some advice or tips about how to connect faster commit smarter communicate better. That's that's a big subject. Yeah it is three point subject. So the first thing was connect better connect faster connect faster social platforms. Google news alerts. You know they're free. Sign up for your Google news alert for whatever you're interested in. A keyword. Mine happens to be council member Kimberly Pine. OK. But then say there's a chef who who's food you want to eat or whose recipes you love. You could do a Google alert about that and it you can get it as soon as it is found or once a week or you know you can customize that search. So that's one way to get things faster. Also your social platforms of course Facebook Instagram Twitter Snapchat I guess I'm not on that one personally. And then the second point was it's smarter commit smarter. Yes. Yes. OK. What that means to me what that speaks to my heart is sometimes you see something on a social media platform and it makes your blood boil. Don't reply right away. Commit smarter. Take some time to formulate your thoughts. Don't be a troll. You know that just flies off the handle and writes as you're flying off the handle and then you know you make one upset. Why not make a more thoughtful. Response to whatever it is that set you off. Maybe think it through a little bit before you commit and a paper so to speak. And I'm glad we're talking about that because social media and Facebook is such a tool where people just fly off the handle. And I think that the younger generation the millennials should understand because you've been in this business in the journalism world and the media world for how long 40 years 40 years. That's wonderful. And your wisdom can teach them your words follow you. Exactly right. Exactly right. Now we mentioned you know when I started we had a typewriter. I don't know if all of you know what that is but it was a machine that had a keyboard and the printer was right in it. You know you put the paper in and you typed and there were your words on this paper. That could get thrown away and gone forever. Piping in the ether. That is forever. Yeah. Someone will find it even if you delete it right away. If somebody can find it. You have to be very careful with your words like our grandmothers used to say remember to keep your words nice and sweet or one day those words you may have to eat. I like that. It's still true. It's true. So then we're talking about communicate better. Yes. And that taking time for more thoughtful responses is one way of communicating better. I think a very undervalued skill and it's maybe weird for me to say this because I had to have you repeat the parts of the question. But one of the main things that helps you communicate better is listening more. Because yeah. Don't just listen for the pause that you know that allows you to speak now. Listen for what's actually being said. And if you listen and you're looking at the person who's speaking with you if you have that luxury you can see their face their intention the expression and that sort of fills out the words that they're saying to you and you can take that in think about a little bit and not just knee jerk react. This is why I think it's so important that we pick up the phone sometimes just pick with the phone sometimes and hear that warm voice and really you can hear what people are thinking and how they really feel about what's going on in their daily life. Yes. Exactly right. There is a very popular meme on the Internet social media. It may be posted on YouTube. I'm not sure the source of it. But you know key and peel the comedians. Yes. The comic team. It lent. It spoke to the power of texting versus calling like you're saying. So one texts the other something about you know they're going to meet up and the other responds with yeah the intention of meeting up but the way that the text was worded offended the other one. And so they the other one who's replying thinks everything's good and you know we're going to connect later on but this one is getting very upset because they're not talking on the phone. They can't hear the warmth of voice and all of that. So person is ready for the meet up at the location and the person who had been getting upset at the tone of the text thinking it was too casual like yeah whatever whatever you know he shows up with a baseball bat with spikes in the end. So we don't want to escalate anything like that. But it just showed the power of or how easily the written word can be misconstrued versus a phone call like they yeah sure who inspired you to do what you're doing. Oh that's a really good question. I think it's a multifaceted answer. I did not think about a journalism career in high school but as a junior at Pahoa High and Elementary on the Big Island all the radio stations on the east side of Hawaii Island got an opportunity to go to one of the radio stations in Hilo and give a little high school report what's happening at your school this week. And so the student government took it on and I was head of the social committee or something like that. And so I went along and after the first two weeks everybody else was like Erica you do it. You know I have piano and lessons and everyone else found a reason to not do it. I was a little nervous being the only one but actually went around to the various student government leaders and you know whoever was relevant this particular week wrote my notes of what they told me was going on and then I would write a report and go to the radio station once a week and do my five minutes. And that was really fun but I still wasn't thinking about a journalism career. I just thought radio looked like fun. Yeah. I wanted to do that. Playing music and and all that. Went to school for a little while took a journalism class and just got an opportunity to be an intern for one of the DJs in Honolulu and I just left at the opportunity. And that was Michael W. Perry back at KKUA. Right. 690 in 1979 or 78. Yeah. And I was unpaid but it was so much fun. I'd go to the station three days a week and pull his music and commercials and help him answer phones and just the vibe. It was so exciting. And then went to intern for him. I guess there was a summer break or something and I went back to Honolulu and he said hey if you're going back to school I can use an intern but I'm at KSSK. Well it was called KGMB radio at that time. I'm at K59. I'm sure I'll do it and hey we might have a part time job. What. So yeah I went for that opportunity. It was that's how I got into radio and then I got an opportunity in the news department and that's where my passion started. I'm not really a DJ but but give me something to research and report on. I'm all over it. I love that. Oh that's wonderful. Well you know in 30 seconds or less less inclusion is the currency of the future. Yes. Tell us fresh ways in about 20 seconds to engage collaborate and innovate and we can just start with engage and then come back after break. That sounds good. I think engagement starts with listening with an open mind and learning how you can best engage with that person who's in front of you. Oh I like that. Well we'll be right back don't touch that doubt. Thanks to our think tech underwriters and grand tours the Atherton Family Foundation Carol Mon Lee and the Friends of Think Tech the Center for Microbial Oceanography Research and Education collateral analytics the Cook Foundation Dwayne Karisu the Hawaii Community Foundation the Hawaii Council of Associations of Abarbon owners Hawaii Energy the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum Hawaiian Electric Company integrated security technologies Galen Ho of BAE Systems Kamehameha Schools MW Group the Shidler Family Foundation the Sydney Stern Memorial Trust Volo Foundation Eureko J Sugimura. Thanks so much to you all. Welcome back to Sister Power. We have a special guest Erica Ingo who is the communications director for a council member Kimberly Pine and our topic for this episode be phenomenal or be forgotten in 2020. And before we went to break we were chatting about inclusion is a currency of the future and we were talking about fresh ways to engage and talk about engage. So let's talk about collaborate collaborate and innovate. Okay. So collaborate engaging I think I mentioned starts with listening. I'm collaborating then could include contributing your own ideas. And like Play-Doh right. There's an idea. Oh and they have an idea. Let's see how we can shape this Play-Doh. I'm a mom. Can you tell I'm talking about Play-Doh. You have your mother for I am and they're all grown. I don't step on Legos on the carpet anymore. Thank God. Right. But yeah here I am using Play-Doh as an illustration tool. But ideas all on the table and then you formulate them into something bigger than that was which was placed on the table in the beginning. That is kind of a visual illustration I guess of collaboration. Those are good tools because this is what's going to empower us for 2020. 2020 is a big year for everyone especially women. I feel. So what lessons has your work life taught you? Research, research, research. I don't want to single out any one website but I will tell you that in journalism we don't rely on Wikipedia. It might be kind of a good starting point but it's not your be all end all you can't have. You can't attribute factual information to Wikipedia. So you do need to consider all of the sources that you're using for this research. Know your fact and that way you will have firm ground upon which to stand when it is when you're saying whatever it is that you're going to say or speak about. That's very important as we see what has been happening over the course of few months is know your fact. Exactly right. Exactly right. I mean it's one of the cannons of journalism and it's it really should be applied to life in general. Know your fact before opening the mouth. Yeah. It would be nice if everyone felt that way wouldn't it? Yes it would be. And more note what is your definition of a fearless woman. Oh someone who has been through a lot and I think we've all been through a lot at some level. I'm a widow. I was a single mother twice. First marriage practice husband that didn't go well and then my forever love died leaving me with four young ones. But you know there are so many women who have been through so much the world of tragedy and trauma and difficulty and the fearless woman has been through things and just keeps putting one foot in front of the other. Every day is a new day. The next minute is a new minute. Anything could happen. You just keep moving forward. Oh I like that. I like it. And it's how you handle your disappointments and I think speaking up for yourself standing up for yourself whether you know people agree with you or not. Absolutely. Just having that confidence. So what do you even if you're trembling on the inside. Even if you're trembling on I like that. So you're not as they say don't let people never let them see you. See you sweat. Yes. That's right. You might be. Yeah. Like no I am not. Did you see Game of Thrones. Any of those episodes. No I there was this fearless young female character and one of the kind of buzz phrases is with the question what do we say to the God of death and Arias Stark this not today. Not today. All right. I like that. Yeah. So that I took I internalized that big time. Sure. Sure. Who do you consider your greatest mentor and why. I would have to say my dad. Dad. We he was he taught me so much about so many things. He was determined just a small example. He was determined that I would learn how to drive on a stick shift manual transmission because if I could drive that I could drive anything. And so after years of being a minivan mom what did I just get myself a stick shift. Speed I have so much fun driving it. The other thing was and this is also a very simple thing we always kept a dictionary by the dinner table because he was pretty learned was an engineer by trade. But he would come out with these words in the course of dinner conversation and I'd look at him and he'd say get the dictionary. So after a while it just became like all right I'll get the dictionary. Do your research again. Do my research and I would look up and the dictionary became one of my favorite books of all time. Yeah. Those those little things contributed to his being my biggest mentor. My mother would be another one. Same level but for different reasons. Sure. What advice would you give your younger self in this business for 40 years in journalism and in the media. What advice would you give your younger self to pass on to the next generation. You're stronger than you think you are. Don't take no for an answer. Just keep trying. Putting one foot forward in front of the other. And boy I don't know if I can say this without using a naughty word. Take no guff from anyone. We got yeah that's not a naughty word. No that's in place of. Yeah standing up for yourself. I think I would I would that's what I would tell my younger self. Okay. Things I wish I had known when I were younger. Well that makes you phenomenal going into 2020. Absolutely. Absolutely because now you know the do's and don'ts. Exactly right. Exactly. That's the beauty of wisdom. I feel so any other professional pursuits on the horizon. Well I nothing set up or in place. But I'd like to return to cookbook editing which I did for a while. Love that. And I was taking culinary continuing ed classes at KCC but the program changed a little bit so it's not the same that you could just take a class here and there. Love that. Okay. And now being there to support my my kids it's weird to call them kids when they're 31 going to be 30 and then my twins are 26. We have twins. Twin sons they're six four. Oh my they live here. Yes they they live at home with me so I don't have to ever get on a step stool to reach a tall casserole dish that's in the kitchen. Wonderful wonderful. What advice would you give women in order to keep their seat at the table? No one to listen. I'm never going to say no one to shut up but formulate carefully what you're going to say and avoid being shrill. That doesn't mean don't be loud. Be loud without being shrill. You know what I'm saying? Kind of the high pit. Rosie Perez when she gets a little bit amped up don't be that. Okay. Yeah because men don't take that seriously. Because it's more being with confidence calm and cool and collected. Yes. But stirred. Absolutely. Yes. Let them see the power. I like that because it's all about empowering and motivating educating people exactly whatever you're doing. All right what does it take to be recognized as an emerging leader? That is a really excellent question. I think Tulsi Gabbard is doing a good job of getting noticed. This is not to say anything about her politically. I'm just talking about her methodology in getting on television and coverage nationally. She is doing a good job of that. If I had to come up with an example on the national level it would be her. But for that matter, Council Member Pine has gotten some national coverage for her bill about tourism and having visitors sign Keep Hawaii, Hawaii Pledge. It's a promise to our Kiki after all to keep Hawaii nice for them as they grow and they have children. I think be strong in your convictions, be able to make a decision, tell the truth, stand by your word, acknowledge when you're wrong if you are wrong. That's being a woman and that's being a man. You can acknowledge that when you're wrong and I think saying I'm sorry. Yes, I agree with you. The acknowledging wrong thing, I'm sorry. Exactly right. Chief Susan Ballard impressed the heck out of me after the recent HPD false alarm when all of our emergency alerts went off. And for people who don't know who Susan Ballard is, she's the chief of police. She's the first woman chief of police. To my knowledge she is the first female chief of the whole police department. And she was on I guess every newscast that night saying it was us. We made a mistake. I'm sorry. And we're going to take these steps, the following steps to fix it and make sure it never happens again. I thought that was fantastic. Woman or not. But that she was, that she is a woman, I think it speaks even better of her than the other chiefs. Just saying. Just saying. It's the truth. We want to speak our truth. Exactly right. What is the key to success when communicating with the public? Truth. Absolute truth. And there are perhaps some truths that are still forming, let's say, things that can't yet be talked about, but address it saying, you know, we're not ready to talk about that right now. But when we are, we'll let you know. I think being forthright about things you can't talk about, instead of, you know, making something up that sounds disingenuous, that's not a good idea ever. So always truthful to the degree that you can speak to something, do that. If you can't talk about something yet, say that. I think journalists respect that. It frustrates them because they want to know right now. But, you know, there are reasons that sometimes information gets withheld. You have given us so many tools and ideas about being phenomenal or be forgotten in 2020. And I want to thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Erica Ingole, for taking the time to come in and speak with us and sharing your knowledge with us. On behalf of ThinkTech Hawaii and Sister Power, thank you for spending part of your day with us. Oceans of Aloha. Peace and love.