David Quintanilla is a lecturer of Business Law & Ethics at The University of Texas and co-owner of Cavanaugh Quintanilla PLLC. “Mr. Q” has served as a VP of Legal & Finance in the healthcare industry, CFO of his family’s business in the restaurant industry, as well as having worked within the non-profit space. He received his BA in Government at UT, his law degree from St. Mary’s University, and his Masters in Public Policy & Philosophy from the London School of Economics. Above all, Mr. Q is not only a friend of the show but an amazing person dedicated to making the world a better place. Connect with Mr. Q here: - Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-quintanilla-8b666784/ TRANSCRIPT: 0:00- 1:09 Intro 1:09 Mr. Q being Alec’s first and only Latino professor in college — what does that say about where we need to go as a country, state, community? 3:03 Mr. Q’s legal expertise in helping people create businesses and plan estates; Moving from working with the family business to discovering his passion for teaching 8:19 What’s important to know for someone trying to find what their meant to do? * Difficulty of being young & not knowing * Implications of school systems making kids specialize as early as 12 years old 15:38 Find what you’re good at & enjoy, makes you money, and what makes the world a better place — imagine a Venn diagram 16:16 The daunting decision 18 year olds are tasked with — what do I want to do with my studies and my life * 17:30 Process of elimination and looking at intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation to aid decision making 18:10 Is there a problem with the education system steering kids towards specializing and pigeon-holing themselves into a specific career path as early as age 12? * 21:32 Mr. Q’s perspective on how coming from places of privilege/ financial stability allow certain parents to tell their kids to go pursue happiness and passion 24:04 The utility and power of seeing different perspectives and being empathetic towards multiple 25:28 The world isn’t just black and white — there’s plenty of grey area. Why it’s important to ask what’s around the corner 28:29 The importance of unity as human beings despite differences in perspectives and belief systems 30:15 The toughest things Mr. Q teaches with regards to ethics and morality in his business law teachings * Loyalty vs honesty * Walking through everything * Shitty answers vs a shitty answers * “The best answer is rarely the easiest answer” 38:51 The effects of GroupThink, Conformity Bias, and Self-Confirmation Bias * Benefits to thinking for yourself 44:23 The 50s-70s responding to hippie culture by saying “no everything exists within this strict box”; Boxed in ideology and the flaws of this way of thinking * The benefits of putting ideas/ beliefs through analysis 45:40 Gone Baby Gone’s ethical dilemma: 2 tough decisions making us question where we draw the line in society on certain issues and who gets to make those choices * 50:45 The importance of recognizing that our way of life isn’t the only way of life; Dangers of saying that “my world view should be someone else’s reality” 52:00 The slippery slope of making bad choices = “Incrementalism” 53:00 Alec’s journey of walking through the perspective of pessimism/ baggage and coming back to his belief in resiliency and optimism, how putting his ideology through the gauntlet yielded more confidence in his original belief than prior * We must think of issues at an individual level AND at a macro level * Difficulty of finding best solutions at scale 58:21 What is law school really like 1:09:12 Dallas vs Austin 1:12:35 Characteristics of a good lawyer * Integrity on integrity on integrity 1:14:35 Mr. Q’s 3 biggest motivators in life Podcast info: - Podcast website: https://smartalecshow.com - RSS feed: feed:https://feeds.simplecast.com/ngBH2BfM - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/634MOIW582k2STgC06Rvl9?si=Zr4Fmx2nR6mqaeWNpFCfQQ&dl_branch=1 - Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-smart-alec-show/id1577614268 - Amazon Music & Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/96993c84-1664-4a67-921d-9b731fbdca99 Connect with Alec on Social: - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realsmartalec/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/1alecalvarez - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesmartalec/ Recorded in January 2021
David Quintanilla is a lecturer of Business Law & Ethics at The University of Texas and co-owner of Cavanaugh Quintanilla PLLC. “Mr. Q” has served as a VP of Legal & Finance in the healthcare industry, CFO of his family’s business in the restaurant industry, as well as having worked within the non-profit space. He received his BA in Government at UT, his law degree from St. Mary’s University, and his Masters in Public Policy & Philosophy from the London School of Economics. Above all, Mr. Q is not only a friend of the show but an amazing person dedicated to making the world a better place.
Connect with Mr. Q here:
TRANSCRIPT:
0:00- 1:09 Intro
1:09 Mr. Q being Alec’s first and only Latino professor in college — what does that say about where we need to go as a country, state, community?
3:03 Mr. Q’s legal expertise in helping people create businesses and plan estates; Moving from working with the family business to discovering his passion for teaching
8:19 What’s important to know for someone trying to find what their meant to do?
15:38 Find what you’re good at & enjoy, makes you money, and what makes the world a better place — imagine a Venn diagram
16:16 The daunting decision 18 year olds are tasked with — what do I want to do with my studies and my life
18:10 Is there a problem with the education system steering kids towards specializing and pigeon-holing themselves into a specific career path as early as age 12?
24:04 The utility and power of seeing different perspectives and being empathetic towards multiple
25:28 The world isn’t just black and white — there’s plenty of grey area. Why it’s important to ask what’s around the corner
28:29 The importance of unity as human beings despite differences in perspectives and belief systems
30:15 The toughest things Mr. Q teaches with regards to ethics and morality in his business law teachings
38:51 The effects of GroupThink, Conformity Bias, and Self-Confirmation Bias
44:23 The 50s-70s responding to hippie culture by saying “no everything exists within this strict box”; Boxed in ideology and the flaws of this way of thinking
45:40 Gone Baby Gone’s ethical dilemma: 2 tough decisions making us question where we draw the line in society on certain issues and who gets to make those choices
52:00 The slippery slope of making bad choices = “Incrementalism”
53:00 Alec’s journey of walking through the perspective of pessimism/ baggage and coming back to his belief in resiliency and optimism, how putting his ideology through the gauntlet yielded more confidence in his original belief than prior
58:21 What is law school really like
1:09:12 Dallas vs Austin
1:12:35 Characteristics of a good lawyer
1:14:35 Mr. Q’s 3 biggest motivators in life
Podcast info:
Connect with Alec on Social:
Recorded in January 2021