Walter Velazquez Taboada is a consultant and former operations leader at Winning by Design, where he helps executive teams navigate complex decisions and organizational change. Originally from Cuba, Walter has lived across Spain, Mexico, and China, bringing a global perspective to both work and family life.
He’s also a father of two, navigating parenting with an 8-year-old daughter and a seven-month-old son while balancing differing parenting styles, cultural perspectives, and the realities of modern technology. We discussed:
- Parenting without a playbook: Why Walter and his wife skipped the parenting books and learned by adapting in real time instead of following rigid frameworks.
- Having kids eight years apart: How becoming a dad again later in life completely changed Walter’s perspective on stress, presence, and enjoying the newborn stage.
- Letting kids find their own path: Why Walter believes children aren’t blank canvases and how he tries to guide his daughter without forcing his own ambitions onto her.
- Using FBI negotiation tactics in parenting: How Chris Voss’ “Black Swan” framework helped Walter uncover what his daughter was really feeling.
- Navigating parenting disagreements with your partner: How Walter and his wife work through different views on screen time, hygiene, and risk tolerance.
- Helping kids navigate technology and AI: Why Walter is delaying full internet access and thinking carefully about screens, AI, and digital habits.
Where to find Walter Velazquez Taboada
Where to find Adam Fishman
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Welcoming Walter Velazquez Taboada, Architect at Winning by Design
(02:32) The Disney rollercoaster story that traumatized his daughter
(04:56) Growing up across Cuba, Spain, and Mexico
(07:32) Starting a family young and figuring it out as they went
(08:33) Having kids eight years apart changes everything
(13:44) Parenting without a playbook or parenting books
(17:31) Screen time, hygiene, and parenting disagreements
(19:43) Why Walter doesn’t believe in a perfectly unified parenting front
(22:53) The crocodile soccer ball rescue mission
(27:50) Why kids mirror everything their parents do
(30:28) Letting kids find their own path in life
(35:55) Using FBI negotiation tactics to understand his daughter
(41:42) How fatherhood changed Walter’s leadership style
(46:30) Helping kids navigate screens, AI, and the digital world
(53:55) Lightning round: diaper genies, minivans, and terrifying Halloween costumes
Resources From This Episode:
Winning by Design: https://winningbydesign.com/
Never Split the Difference (Book by Chris Voss): https://a.co/d/0hv2cKv1
Diaper Genie: https://diapergenie.com/
Inside Out (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/
Alien: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (Book): https://a.co/d/0iZ25Y78
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067992/
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005) (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367594/
Wonka (2023) (Film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6166392/
Electric Screwdriver: https://a.co/d/0881w1k7
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