Recently, we hosted brunch, and someone asked how, after living in Austin for only six months, were we able to throw our first annual ‘Naughty or Nice’ holiday party and have 40 curated guests show up. It comes down to masterful networking. I arrived in Austin, with two goals: To become part of the business community and to make friends. Before Austin, we’d…
Two causes: Hypothermia temperatures last month and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Effect: Nothing better to do than pour a glass of wine, and reflect the shit out of 2022. So I lit enough candles to burn the house down and disavowed the need to meet anyone's expectations over the holidays (or any time, really.) First question: Did I like Knives Out 2?…
Typically, I do heavy reflection and goal setting in Sept, during the Jewish high holidays, but at that time this year, I felt uninspired. #2020Sucks. So, instead, I chose the Winter Solstice to set my goals into rapid action. Raj (husband) and I created this Goals for Success Ritual - that went like this: 1. Think and Write your goals down at some point…
I learned an important lesson at my last CEO forum. I was having a conversation with an influential executive at one of the world’s top consulting firms who uses his voice and influence to promote women. One thing he said that kind of blew my mind was that he felt privileged to be invited into the conversations by women about increasing women in the…
Many believe executive presence or charisma is one of those mysterious aspects of leadership you’re either born with or you’re not. Some think it’s the personality that comes with being an extrovert. I don't agree with either of these viewpoints. Executive presence is how you manage your assertiveness and diplomacy in professional situations. It requires intention and practice. Like leadership itself, your DNA may…
We have a new CEO – Commander-in-Chief. Not one whom I wanted, nor one I would have hired. But I did expect him to get the job. #NotStunned #NotShocked And similar to my experiences working with any CEO for the first time, I want to get to know him. I have a pretty good idea of the leader he is today. So for my…
As we celebrate Father's Day, I thought about the people in my life who are someone else’s father, but have had an enormous impact on me. It's time to thank them. Michael Pacholok, Founder/President, Summit Assessment Solutions Mike helped me understand my own unique strengths and the impact they have on others. He showed me the value of data, and why it’s fundamental to coaching…
Jim Weber, CEO of Brooks Running, is one of the coolest and smartest leaders in Seattle. He has some amazing stories and I can’t wait for you all to hear them. I left our meeting at Brooks headquarters earlier this week feeling even more excited about the conversation Jim and I are going to have (along with two other exceptional leaders: Darrell Cavens, CEO of…
I can’t remember a time when a Dr. Seuss book wasn’t sitting in the center of my bookshelf, whether I was 8 or…38. I mean, who didn’t receive “Oh the Places You’ll Go” as a graduation gift? The sing-songy words made for a great read when I was a kid; and the nuanced meanings, even more so as an adult. His books are great…
I’ve been mind-crushing on David Niu ever since I met him. He told me the story of how, a few years back, he was feeling burned out so he quit life. He bought one-way tickets for himself, his wife and their 11 month old, and off they flew to explore the world. On their round-the-world trip, David interviewed entrepreneurs and learned all kinds of…
If you read nothing else this week, understand this: Among the high failure rate of transitioning executives, failed relationships account for a disproportionately higher percentage of all executive failure. Read it again, just in case. This was referred to in the recent release of A 10-Year Study Reveals What Great Executives Know and Do. The study tells us what great executives do that other executives…
“Well-being” rolls my mind back to the sidebar headlines on the covers of my mom’s Redbook or Better Homes and Gardens magazines circa 1979. In yellow font, they screamed “3 Easy Steps to Improving Your Well-Being.” And like most things, ‘well-being’ became so passé that it’s hip and cool, especially as it relates to employee engagement. An employee’s well-being has to do with how…
In my trimestral email, I described my theory on what inspired the great navigators, Da Gama, Magellan and Columbus, to secure a boat, rally a crew and sail off into the sunset to see if, at the very least, they’d stumble upon some sort of discoverable land before falling off the edge of the world. I asked the leaders who received the email: How…
Influence infuses everything we do in life. It’s what enables us to get further faster. An unstoppable leader will have a clearly defined purpose; they know how to leverage his or her influence. This is how a leader achieves longstanding significance. I think of it as an absolute. If you’re not influencing others, they are influencing you. A large part of my work as…
When I moved to Seattle, my first job was publicist for the Space Needle. Besides knowing random trivia like the Space Needle is as high as Elliot Bay is deep, it was around the same time that the Sonics were playing the Bulls for the national championship. We painted the player’s jerseys on the roof only to realize Shawn Kemp’s number was wrong. #Fail.…