Draft:Van


Van Lai-DuMone is a Vietnamese-American entrepreneur, author, and leadership development expert. She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of worksmart Advantage, a company focused on leadership training, organizational development, and workplace innovation. Her work centers on creative leadership and creative problem solving. She is the author of What If Pigs Can Fly? A Practical Guide to Follow Your Curiosities to Achieve Impractical Possibilities.[1]

Early Life and Background

Van Lai-DuMone was raised in California. Her work is influenced by her family’s immigrant experience as refugees in 1975. Her mother was among the first 20 licensed Vietnamese manicurists in the United States, a milestone that contributed to the growth of the Vietnamese-American nail salon industry. Lai-DuMone has cited this story as a foundational influence on her perspective on curiosity, resilience, and pursuing unconventional opportunities.

Career

worksmart Advantage

Lai-DuMone is the founder and CEO of worksmart Advantage, a leadership development and training organization. The company provides programs designed to help organizations improve employee engagement, leadership effectiveness, and workplace culture. Its offerings include leadership development programs, innovation training, and workshops that incorporate creative methodologies.

Her work emphasizes building psychological safety, fostering curiosity, and equipping teams with tools for creative problem solving and innovation.

Leadership and Training Work

Lai-DuMone specializes in creative leadership and creative problem solving, integrating artistic and experiential methods into leadership development. She is a certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator and licensed trainer, using hands-on, interactive approaches to help teams unlock insights, improve communication, and drive innovation. She has worked with corporate leaders, founders, and executive teams to develop leadership capabilities and communication strategies. Her approach combines structured frameworks with creative exercises to support team engagement and organizational transformation.

Keynote Speaking & TEDx

Lai-DuMone is a keynote speaker on topics including creative leadership, curiosity, innovation, and team development. Her keynote presentations often incorporate interactive elements and creative exercises designed to engage participants and encourage new ways of thinking.[2]

She has delivered talks and facilitated sessions for corporate audiences, leadership teams, and professional conferences, focusing on helping individuals and organizations unlock creativity, navigate change, and build collaborative, high-performing cultures.[3]

She is the speaker of the TEDx talk “What If? The Life-Changing Power of Curiosity and Courage,” in which she explores how curiosity and courage can lead to personal and professional transformation.[4]

Author

Lai-DuMone is the author of What If Pigs Can Fly? A Practical Guide to Follow Your Curiosities to Achieve Impractical Possibilities. The book explores the role of curiosity in personal and professional growth and presents frameworks and exercises designed to help individuals pursue unconventional ideas and opportunities.[5]

Thought Leadership

Lai-DuMone’s thought leadership focuses on the intersection of creativity and leadership. She advocates for the use of curiosity-driven approaches to problem solving and emphasizes the importance of psychological safety in fostering innovation. Her work highlights how creative thinking techniques can be applied in organizational settings to drive engagement, adaptability, and long-term success.

References

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