Meet Kari Cook

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kari Cook.

Kari, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” That question always rattled my brain. I used to be one of the most indecisive people when it came to making important life decisions, mostly because I thought about every possible life path and about what my life would be like if I took that path. All I knew in high school was that I wanted to go to college. I dreamed about it since I was 10. That dream led me from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Waco, Texas to study either Nursing or Business at Baylor University. I was outgoing and I wanted to help people. My parents made me take copious amounts of personality tests to figure out what to major in and I ended up deciding that science wasn’t my jam. Business was the way to go. Long story short, I decided to go after a BBA in Marketing and Supply Chain Management. Around sophomore year, the phrase “get an internship” spilled out of my professors’ mouths like a waterfall. No, scratch that, like a tsunami. All of a sudden this ENORMOUS amount of pressure to find a respectable internship drove me to write and rewrite resumes that would make my inexperienced sophomore self sound like I deserved a business role when all I had done was work at shoe stores and restaurants. I vividly remember walking into the career counseling office where I assumed someone would tell me what kind of internship to get. What happened was the opposite, of course. The counselor told me I was very behind with applications and “he didn’t know if I could get an internship as a sophomore” because it was “too close to the end of spring semester.” It was that day that I had a huge revelation that would change my life: people may not help you if they doubt you, or if you have no experience to prove that you deserve the help. The fact of the matter is, you have to CREATE experience FOR YOURSELF in order to get that help. So, I found myself a really small marketing gig working for a real estate company in Waco. Wow, it was not what I expected at all. To put it plain and simple, it was not my favorite. However, I knew I had to start from ground zero in order to make it to where I wanted to be, and gain the respect and help of others. I’m so glad I stuck with it because now I have a better understanding of what I like and don’t like, as well as what people in that industry do (which will be valuable later on in life when I might have to work with someone in real estate). I’m also glad I stuck with it because I was able to land a supply chain internship with Dell the next summer because I had previous internship experience. And because of my internship with Dell, I realized that I wanted to work in management consulting. This is how I ended up at Accenture. So now, here I am, the first girl in my immediate family to graduate from college, with two degrees, living in Dallas, and working for the company or my present dreams. I’m thankful I wasn’t given a lot of help getting what internships/jobs I wanted because it drove me to develop the skill of manifesting my dreams by just working hard, forgetting glass ceilings, and making things happen.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has DEFINITELY not been a smooth road. I’m fortunate enough to say it hasn’t been the bumpiest one either… but, whenever I experience an obstacle and start wallowing in self-pity, the saying, “Smooth seas never made a skilled sailor.” slaps some sense into me.

It didn’t come as a surprise that I needed to pay for a higher education, my parents told me from a young age that they would help me as much as they could but that the rest would be something I was responsible for. So, I was terrified when choosing a college at first. I looked at some state schools and city colleges that would be easier on my future adult self’s wallet, but I wasn’t excited. I knew that I had to be excited about such a big investment. Yes, I chose a private university in Texas and my parents ended up helping me out more than I had originally planned for, but now I’m paying the price. Literally. And that decision was a road block at first, but I knew that my dream was to graduate from college (one I really would enjoy) because a degree was the tool I needed to be able to serve others with my God-given talents. So, I jumped that hurdle and never looked back. Now I’m paying those bills with absolutely no regret.

I would say that my second obstacle was being diagnosed with clinical depression/ anxiety. This happened around the beginning of my junior year of college. I remember being attached to my bed at the hip, and not ever wanting to get up. I’m very independent-minded so it was extremely difficult for me to admit that I needed help, especially because I had felt so happy and “normal” my entire life. Depression and anxiety tried to stop me from being social which is what fuels my life. Depression and anxiety tried to stop me from going to career fairs which is what allowed me to find my jobs/internships. Depression and anxiety tried to rob my belief that my dreams could be my reality. I still struggle with these things from time to time, but I realized that you have to choose to look at what doors your struggles are opening. My favorite example is Ray Charles. The guy was blind, but it opened the door for him to be not just an amazing musician, but an amazing BLIND musician (which sounded impossible before his time).

Tell us about Kari Cook – what should we know?
I work for Accenture which is a global management consulting and professional services firm that provides strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations services. I work on the management consulting side where we focus on helping people figure out what they can do to solve their biggest business problems and help them transform to their “new.” I’ve always been energized by “impossible” problems, so this is the perfect job for me. It allows me to develop creative solutions and constantly learn new skills from incredibly talented people. I also have the ability to walk the floors of many different successful companies in many different industries, which will give me a great understanding of how different types of businesses work as well as how their people work together. Since I want to be an executive one day, this is all incredibly valuable.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I actually have a little brand statement I like to use when answering this question. It’s cheesy, but here we go:

I GET people to where they want to be. Here’s where the acronym comes in: I’m Genuine, Efficient, and Transformative.

I encourage myself to have a GENUINE interest in other people which allows me to empathize with them and use my talents to help solve their biggest problems in a relevant and useful way.

I work EFFICIENTLY. I work smarter not harder, setting goals and coming up with relevant metrics to make sure I achieved my goals successfully.

I use my creativity and influence to foster a TRANSFORMATIVE environment with friends, family, clients, and teams. I like to set my ideas/actions apart by making whatever I do “new.” and I help others do the same.

Additionally, I think caring about others rather than yourself and finding motivation that isn’t just monetary are two very important rules that successful people live by. I try to live by these as well.

So, there’s my story. There are so many more impactful stories in the world, but each story is meant to be shared – because different people need to hear different stories. I feel HONORED to get the chance to share mine and be transparent about who I am, because odds are, someone out there needs to read this story. This one’s for you: Get up, get out there, and manifest your freakin’ dreams. Just do it.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 15129232841

Image Credit:
Mike Chuang

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