Jeff Tan

Background

About Jeff Tan

Soaring high over the icy southern waters of the Drake Passage, a specially fitted 757 jet touched down on a naturally occurring blue-ice runway at Union Glacier, Antarctica. We were in one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. I - along with 58 other adventure runners - had to rapidly acclimatize to the sub-freezing conditions. After a few hours of briefing, we attempted a full 26.1 mile (42.2km) marathon on the glacier, a few degrees from the South Pole. During the race my face buff froze and I had to pull it down, exposing my face to the stinging air. The fresh powder from a recent storm felt like running in deep sand. Yet, the sheer beauty of Antarctica certainly helped me push through. There was brilliant white ice in every direction, and I was surrounded by the majestic Ellsworth Mountain ranges. I completed the Antarctic Ice Marathon and became the first Asian American (and 378th person in the world) to run an official marathon on all seven continents. — My North Star is to unlock people from inherited-limiting beliefs. It boils down to this - most people go about living within boundaries they believe can’t be changed. These boundaries are self-imposed. They're inherited. They may be passed onto us from our families, culture, religion, or subcultural norms. They might have originated from words planted in our young minds' eons ago by well-meaning loved ones. Fill in the blanks for the words that you still believe yourself. In the workplace our inherited-limiting beliefs may stem from our culture, our sector norms, our company expectations, and "the way it's always been done". Most of the time we don’t question them. Or prod them. Or challenge them. We don’t innovate. I believe that innovation is a mindset focused on constantly identifying and testing our ingrained beliefs and assumptions about the world. My goal is to unlock people. To help them hypothesize whether these beliefs are right for them. To put these to the test. And to hold them accountable to breaking free. My values- Always explore- Learn from everyone- “Why not?” I’ve lived and worked in London, Frankfurt, Sydney, Melbourne, New York. Today I can be found in L.A. with my wife Steph, son Hudson and black lab Charlie. Cheers Jeff