776: Forge Connections That Help You Thrive, with Neri Karra Sillaman
Coaching for Leaders
Dave Stachowiak
4.8 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 30 March 2026
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Neri Karra Sillaman: Pioneers
Neri Karra Sillaman is a refugee-turned-entrepreneur, academic, and author whose work focuses on the importance of resilience, purpose, and vision in business and in life. She is the recipient of the Thinkers50 Radar Award, an entrepreneurship expert at the University of Oxford, and the founder of Neri Karra, a global luxury leather goods brand. She is the author of Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs (Amazon, Bookshop)*.
We all know that the right connections can help in our careers, but how do we actually get more intentional about forging the connections that will be most meaningful and sustainable? In this conversation, Neri and I explore the key lessons from immigrant entrepreneurs and how their successes can help us all thrive.
Key Points
- Robins and titmice have vastly different outcomes because of their divergent abilities for flocking. Social capital is critical for success.
- Diversity brings many strengths – and it also introduces new challenges for connection. We can’t as easily rely on connections through traditional cultures or experiences.
- All of us have the ability to forge connections based on value. This is perhaps the most powerful homophily tie and accessible to everyone.
- The most successful immigrant entrepreneurs don’t rely on connections happening automatically and also don’t assume that relationships will be static.
- Focus on what unites you with others. Strengthen ties with other networks to avoid the risk of communities that are too insular.
- Be proactive and generous in sharing information and ideas to support others.
Resources Mentioned
- Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs by Neri Karra Sillaman (Amazon, Bookshop)*
Interview Notes
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Related Episodes
- Three People Who Will Help You Grow, with Andrew C.M. Cooper (episode 700)
- The Way to Build Collective Power, with Ruchika T. Malhotra (episode 759)
- Using AI to Make Networking Easier, with Ruth Gotian (episode 766)
Discover More
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We all know that the right connections can help a ton in our careers, but how do we actually get more intentional about forging the connections that are going to be most meaningful and sustainable? |
| 0:11.7 | In this episode, the key lessons from immigrant entrepreneurs and how their successes can help all of us thrive. |
| 0:20.7 | This is Coaching for Leaders, Episode 776. |
| 0:25.2 | Produced by Innovate Learning, maximizing human potential. |
| 0:33.5 | Greetings to you from Orange County, California. |
| 0:36.7 | This is Coaching for Leaders, and I'm your host, Dave Stahoviac. |
| 0:42.1 | Leaders aren't born, they're made. |
| 0:44.8 | And this weekly show helps leaders thrive at key inflection points. |
| 0:49.5 | One of the ways that we thrive in our work, in our careers, in the inflection points of leadership, |
| 0:56.0 | is having key connections and relationships in our lives, in our work that will help us to |
| 1:02.7 | grow, that will be there to support us, to pull us up when we're knocked down, and also |
| 1:07.1 | to share so many ideas and resources. Today, I'm so glad to welcome a guest expert who has spent so much work of really researching some of the best practices and how we can learn from those who have come before us and really explored some fascinating connections in how we can help connections to thrive. I'm so pleased to |
| 1:29.1 | welcome Neri Kara Silliman to the show. She is a refugee turned entrepreneur, academic, and |
| 1:34.9 | author whose work focuses on the importance of resilience, purpose, and vision in business and life. |
| 1:41.3 | She is the recipient of the Thinkers 50 Radar Award, an entrepreneurship expert |
| 1:45.9 | at the University of Oxford and the founder of Neri Kara, a global luxury leather goods brand. |
| 1:51.9 | She is the author of Pioneers, Eight Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs. |
| 1:59.3 | Neri, such a pleasure to have you on. Welcome to the show. |
| 2:02.3 | Thank you for inviting me, David. It's a pleasure to be here. I would love to go back in history |
| 2:07.5 | to start this conversation. Back to the 1930s and the early morning milk rounds in Britain, |
| 2:16.6 | of all places, because I think there's a story here |
| 2:19.4 | that illustrates the power of connection. A couple of birds that we can learn a lot from. |
... |
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