Unconventional Art

Photo by Alicia Khoury

A professor cautioned once not to write about an experience of which we are in the midst. “Step back,” he said. “Gain some time away from it and then revisit the story later.” The advice is not without reason. He claimed everything becomes too muddled to accurately write about when too close. I have often thought about the benefits to that rule. And yet, rules beg to be broken. My business partner and I are preparing our coffeehouse to open this spring; a full year and half of preparing and we are finally on the last song of this act. At the risk of creating something too muddled to enjoy I want to share with you some of the thoughts, emotions and tasks that have lent themselves to us these past several months.

Primarily I remember the first business meeting. Walking into Early Bird Diner, sitting and ordering and not knowing one another too well. I watched Julie’s face in the overly bright light of the diner, studied her mannerisms and decided this was the right decision. We each held our paper and pens, our smiles, ideas, and naïveté. We did not know what to do so we created our mission statement. We became thrilled at the ease of that step, thrilled at the prospect it promised. And it began. We met at every coffeehouse in town to discuss topics from a business book. We discussed past bosses and what characteristics to embody, what to avoid. We chatted about what we learned in our time as managers. We talked about our childhoods, told stories about our best friends. We wrote notes in our books as if notes were the answer. But they proved we were at least talking, at least dreaming and even preparing. The concept began to round itself. Our confidence grew along with it. And then we began the work that lied ahead.

We always worked late into the night after our other “real” jobs. There were always meetings happening, always and then yet again another. We felt the rush of progress, poured over tedious lists and excel sheets. The itch to go home to fall asleep and rest was both an enemy and necessity. “No, just one more cost of goods, one more inventory list, one more email about the machinery, one last idea about our paper products,” we said to one another. And on and on, etc, etc. There was sleeping, eating, working at those day jobs, and then another meeting, another day of emailing, talking back and forth, sharing exciting stories, disappointments, frustrations, and laughter. Then another day: hearing people encourage us, accepting their advice, telling one another this might be the hardest part. And then crossing that part to discover the next step is the hardest part. And then crossing that, too. It became a story about strength, the mental capacity, the work, the ever-enduring work and willpower and belief in the dream we began to talk about that night at the diner. Ending one work day and dragging to the car to leave and begin another right then, calling, meeting, talking, discussing, dozing off at Andolini’s over a pizza and a beer and deciding that was enough for a night. I think of the meetings with Christie, with Brian, with Kevin, with John, with Roger, with Cindi, and then some. We have sat in our cars on East Montague at 6:00 in the morning and counted passing vehicles. We have thrown on fancy dresses and attended more networking events, shared more laughter. We have danced on the green fields in the Charleston River Dog’s baseball stadium.

We have negotiated, we have offended, we have pacified and we have excited people. We have served at markets and events, a whirlwind of music and arts and pouring Cha Yen. There was that freezing morning in November that welcomed us percolating coffee in a church kitchen in Park Circle at 6:30. We served hot apple cider and coffee and beans for the troops. We made friends, we were called flirts, and we had too much leftover product to be profitable.

Eventually we took tangible steps toward opening our building. We signed a lease, began the yard work, painted the house. And it was just the two of us painting that house, sizing ourselves up against the matter three times our own height. “We have tackled bigger tasks,” we said. And we did it, painted the 26 ¼ feet of its height, each cinder block and its crevices on up to the trim work. And the fresh paint soaked into the masonry and I stood and held the ladder to spot Julie as she painted. And the sun beat on our necks and cars drove by and people waved to us from bikes and then a man walking by said to his young child, “That’s The Orange Spot”. And when he said that, for a brief moment I stood back from our adventure and saw something. And all at once my memory showed me the mess, the colors, the experiences across the canvas we began painting in 2011. And in that moment the outcome gained outweighed each sacrifice and lost hour of sleep. In an instant I could see what we can become; a place that might gain respect through hard work, one that welcomes everyone through its doors, a business that a young child’s father will bring him to share together over a pastry and drinks. In that moment I felt like Claude Oscar Monet as he stepped back to examine the beginnings of an impressionist masterpiece. Except I am not he, I am Laura Cannon, part owner of The Orange Spot Coffeehouse. And I want to tell you about this experience in this way because it has been good and exciting. And muddled.

Laura Cannon is a 2009 graduate from The College of Charleston with a degree in English and Creative Writing. When the opportunity to open a coffeehouse presented itself she took advantage of it in hopes of creating a space for all individuals (creative or not) to sip, work, and relax together.

National Business Women’s Month- Salute to Working Women

Have you reached a road block in your career or small business? Is it time to reach out for new ideas and new contacts? Are you balancing your work and family and stretched for time? As a working woman, the South Carolina Women’s Business Center and the Center for Women can help you be more successful.

South Carolina Women’s Business Center
Women are starting their own businesses at unprecedented rates.  Between 1997 and 2011, women owned firms in South Carolina increased 64% and that’s compared to the national average of 50%. Women have great business ideas and know what women want to buy. Women control 80% of all discretionary spending and women are inventing new products and services that better match their needs and expectations.

The South Carolina Women’s Business Center offers free one-on-one business counseling, training workshops and networking opportunities for women entrepreneurs and small business owners. Launched in January 2012 as an off shoot of the Center for Women, the South Carolina Women’s Business Center has counseled 73 women and conducted 34 training workshops attended by over 1,800 women. In its brief existence, it has helped save or start six businesses. According to Christie MacConnell, Director of the South Carolina Women’s Business Center, “I’m thrilled over the rapid success we’ve experienced and I’m excited at the prospect of connecting even more women entrepreneurs to the tools and resources that they need.”

Each month, the South Carolina Women’s Business Center holds an Entrepreneurial Readiness workshop where women can learn about the key ingredients that go into being a successful business owner and understanding the steps necessary to launch a viable business. The Entrepreneurial Readiness workshop is a great starting place for any woman who has a business idea to get a solid grounding before embarking on her new venture. Additional programs include a monthly networking session where women can learn and support each other and a development workshop on specific topics such as commercial insurance, legal structures for business and human resource policy. To learn more, visit www.scwbc.net.

The South Carolina Women’s Business Center has strong community support. Our 2012 Business Partners are Eckert Insurance, First Federal, Merrill Lynch, SC Biz News and Weightwatchers. The South Carolina Women’s Business Center is supported in part by grants from Bank of America, Wells Fargo and the US Small Business Association.

Women’s Leadership Institute
For women who work in business and industry and want to increase their chances for advancement, the Center for Women created the Women’s Leadership Institute. Monthly Saturday programs are held on topics that prepare women for stepping into greater leadership roles and higher management. Topics this year have included: Leading with Strength and Confidence, How to Use Persuasion and Create Influence, Handling Promotions with Poise, Using Polarity Thinking for Enlightened Leadership, Networking with a Purpose, Working Well with Difficult People, Getting Comfortable Negotiating What You Want, Delegating Effectively, and Communicating with Impact.

Several large, bell weather companies in our area, Alcoa, Cummins and MeadWestVaco, have seen the value of these leadership programs and the chance to let loose the talent residing in their female employees. The Women’s Leadership Institute brings programming on-site to these companies. According to the MeadWestVaco Women’s Network, “Our MeadWestVaco Women’s Network fosters both personal and professional development and helps build critical “soft” skills that are important to develop oneself and others and to inspire leadership.  The Center for Women has greatly aided us with that mission. The Center has connected us to local experts and has helped us build effective programs tailored to our needs. Using the Center has allowed us to capitalize on the tools and resources that have already been established, and ultimately has allowed us to enhance and broaden the programs we are able to bring to our members.”

The Women’s Leadership Institute is honored to be supported and sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Care for Life, Ms. Rose’s Restaurant, Fork Fine Gourmet and Skirt! Magazine. To learn more, visit www.c4women.org.

Ginger Rosenberg is the Marketing & Program Manager at the Center for Women. She can be reached at ginger@c4women.org.

6 Tips for Starting a Consulting Practice (or Launching a Job Search!)

“Take my advice, I’m not using it” has always been one of my favorite lines.  Why?  Because it describes in a comical way how I started my consulting practice as a Career Coach and Training Consultant over 20 years ago.  I didn’t have a business plan, didn’t have a website for many years, have never had an office outside of my home, didn’t have fancy marketing materials or even a cell phone!  But what I did have was a passion for helping people find jobs and performing better in their careers. I had a belief that because I knew what I loved doing and was good at, there would be a market for what I was offering…….and it turns out, I was right.

My experience should give hope to anyone thinking about taking the entrepreneurial plunge.  Who would have thought that starting an independent consulting practice and starting a job search would require many of the same considerations?  So based on my 20+ years of surprisingly successful experience as a Career and Training Consultant, here is some advice to aspiring consultants and job hunters alike!

1. Follow your bliss – What have you’ve always longed to do?  To me, there is no more important question to answer when considering becoming a consultant or job hunter:  Is there a way to do work that I am passionate about, find meaningful and will support me and my family?  A new job or consulting opportunity that is a perfect match for your passions and expertise may well be out there.  So figure out what your passions are, what you’re good at and what you have to offer the marketplace.  Most people tend to undervalue their talents, skills, and experience, so it may take an outsider to help you identify your most marketable skills and expertise and that could be a wise investment before starting either endeavor.
2. Test the marketplace – Can you really get paid for your expertise and passions?  Where is the need in the marketplace for what you uniquely offer? Find out byinvestigating the marketplace and researching organizations that may need or are looking for your skills and expertise.  Find out what’s going on right under your nose – in your neighborhood, local businesses, community, and non-profit organizations.  Just this week, one of my job search clients walked into a company a mile from his house to apply for a job in person (yes, people still do this and should!), left his resume with the receptionist and got a call back from the hiring manager that afternoon!  I encourage my clients and aspiring consultants to read local newspapers, business journals, organization websites, and talk to professional and personal contacts about current company needs, initiatives, and problems that might require their unique talents and skills.  I encourage them to meet decision makers through information interviewing or through a referral.  This is crucial in determining if there is indeed a need and market for what you are offering.
3. Watch your expenses and keep your overhead low – Many of my colleagues have made the mistake of signing expensive lease agreements for office space that their practice simply couldn’t support.  Many of my job search clients do the same: setting up elaborate home offices, or buying new computers and phones – spending money they need to live on while looking for a new job. Make a coffee shop your office!  My best guess would be about 75% of coffee shop regulars are consultants or job hunters who are meeting with potential clients, having interviews, writing resumes and cover letters. I should know, I’m one of them!
   
4. Network, network, network – Do you have to network?  The unequivocal answer is Yes – that’s if you want to be successful!  99.5% of my consulting business has come from networking and 80% of all jobs come through networking.  Networking who you know, and who knows you, is the most effective way to find a job or consulting gig.
5. Develop marketing materials – A consulting brochure, a website, or resumes and cover letters,  need to sell your expertise, skills, and your “value proposition” to potential customers and hiring managers in a high impact way.  Engaging the services of a professional web designer and resume writer can be extremely beneficial.  In fact, I just bartered my career coaching services with a web designer and I now have an attractive new website that cost me nothing more than sharing my expertise.
6. Blow your own horn – Whether you are selling your consulting services to potential customers or selling yourself to potential employers, you must have well prepared “verbal commercials” that promote who you are and what you have to offer. In coaching hundreds of clients looking for new careers, I have learned that this is one of the hardest things for people to do.  And you can and must learn to promote your “brand” as a job hunter or consultant, because your competition is doing it loud and strong!

Starting a consulting practice requires confidence, determination, and self-motivation – and so does an effective job search.  But the satisfaction and rewards are worth the effort!  I encourage aspiring consultants to contact the Center for Women and the SC Women’s Business Center for help getting started on the right track.

Jan Moorman is President of Jan Moorman & Associates, a Career Coaching and Training Consulting Firm located in Charleston, SC. She can be reached at www.janmoormanandassociates.com or 843-410-3526.

Social Media for Recruiting: Are Women Business Owners at a Disadvantage?

No matter the size of your business, recruiting the best employees is a challenge. With the increased usage of social media as a recruitment tool, women business owners may be at a bit of a disadvantage.

According to a 2011 study by the Pew Research Center, women use social media more than men. This would seem to give women business owners a bit of a leg up when it comes to using social media to recruit candidates, but that may not be the case.

The Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey 2012 showed that 93% of business owners who use social media for recruiting used the site LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the only social media site that is used by more men than women. In fact, the Pew Research study showed there were nearly twice as many men using LinkedIn as women.

Because business owners who use social media for recruiting report a 43% increase in the quality of candidates, women business owners may be missing the boat on some of the best available talent.  Of course, you can also use Facebook and Twitter for recruiting, and women use these sites much more than men.

Now is the time for women business owners to consider using social media as a recruiting tool.

Ways to Use Social Media for Recruiting

Identify Candidates

Just as business owners are learning to use social media to recruit candidates, job seekers are using their LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook pages to seek work. Some of the best candidates aren’t actively looking for a job, but you can still reach out to them. By identifying these passive candidates, you will expand your pool and increase your chance of finding the best talent.

Post Open Jobs

Posting open jobs on social media sites is another way to use social media as a recruitment tool. Some of your followers will share the job posting with their own network, and greatly increase the number of potential candidates.

Social media isn’t only effective for recruiting full-time employees. It is possible to effectively recruit a seasonal or part time employee using social media as well.  You will reach college students, stay-at-home moms and other groups who are looking for supplemental income.

 Current Employees

Ask your current employees to aid in your recruitment efforts. One way that they can do this is by posting about their job and spreading the word to their social network about any openings. Having a current employee vouch that your business is a great place to work can further increase the interest from qualified candidates.

Consider offering your employers an incentive should their networking result in a new hire.

Screen Candidates

Another way that you can use social media in the recruitment process is to screen candidates once they have been identified. A quick peek at their Facebook profile may be enough to knock some candidates out of the running.

Keep in mind that when you look at the profiles of potential candidates, there is a good chance that you will see protected class information – that is information that cannot legally be used to eliminate candidates. This includes race, gender etc.. Even if you do not use this information to make a decision there is a chance that someone will say that you did.

A Helping Hand

Social Media – Just a Tool

Social media is just one tool. It does not take the place of other methods of recruitment and it certainly does not eliminate the need for the proper screening of candidates. To be sure that you are following all applicable employment laws during the recruitment process, it is a good idea to have a helping hand.

Working with a human resources consultant can ensure that you don’t put yourself in a position to come under scrutiny. A qualified HR consultant can make the recruitment process easier and give you a better chance at retaining quality employees.

Other Tips

Get on LinkedIn

If you do not use LinkedIn, you need to start. While the other social networking sites can aid in your recruitment efforts, LinkedIn is the only one that is specifically for business use.

Need a Following

For any type of social media initiatives to be as effective, you need to continue to develop a following. The more followers, the more access you’ll have to qualified candidates.

Continually work on developing your social media presence.

Don’t Believe Everything You Read

It is no secret that many candidates embellish their resumes. The same is true for what you read on their social media profiles. Don’t believe everything that you read. Instead, you will need to verify important information.

Women in business who are not using social media as a recruitment aid may be missing out on some of the best talent. The next time you have a job opening to fill, or if you just want to develop a list of potential talent for future positions, social media is a great place to start.

Pat Eardley is a Human Resources Advisor with more than 16 years’ experience in human resources management as a recruiter, trainer, and executive. Pat has a diverse background, having industry experience in retail, telecommunications, hospitality and manufacturing. As an Advisor she supports small-business owners in managing growth, compliance, work performance and employee relations, allowing Small Business owners to focus on creating a successful business environment for them and their employees. She is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management, a SCORE Mentor and Center for Women Job Coach. Pat volunteers with local shelters and nonprofit organizations and assists with resume writing, interviewing skills, professional appearance and job placement. You can find out more about Pat and the services she offers at www.pateardley.com.

* First appeared in the Business Review section of The Post and Courier on Monday, July 31, 2012.

The World of Consulting: It’s Not for Everyone

Photo by Jack Alterman

I teach Polarity Thinking for a living. Polarities are defined as interdependent pairs that may seem competing or even contradictory, when in fact, they are mutually reinforcing to achieve a higher level of performance. I’ve been doing this full-time for the past 11 years as a sole practitioner. With Polarity Thinking, I help leaders see themselves more completely so their strengths don’t turn into weaknesses as well as help them better manage complex chronic issues in their organizations.

With numerous speaking engagements and several national clients, people frequently tell me they want to emulate my approach.  They want to be their own “boss” with the glamor and excitement of travel across the country while working at a pace they alone determine.  The plain truth is that working for yourself as a consultant is great as long as you are prepared for a deep commitment to the job while in service to others.

The first decision I chose to make was what kind of consulting organization did I want to create?   It was both exhilarating and daunting to have the power and freedom to be in charge of your own destiny.

Decision Point #1: What Type of Organization Structure? Business or Sole Practice

I am drawn to owning and managing a Sole Practice.  It is just me, myself and I vs. do I want to be responsible for others? I like the idea of being in charge of myself and no one else. When things work out, I get to experience the joy of success.  And if not, there is nowhere to look but in the mirror for improvement. I have enough experience telling me not everyone holds the same level of discipline and 24/7 commitment that came so naturally to my self-driven personality type. When I was an employee for a large consulting business earlier in my career, I found that much “shop talk” centered on billable hours, not the mission of helping our clients achieve greatness.

As with any start-up, an eye to investment, cost control and profitability is important.  I seek a level of client engagement that a lone consultant can manage, with the discipline to know when my plate is full.

So, as a self-starter with a big streak of assertiveness, taking the risky path of becoming a sole practitioner was well-calculated.  With that direction set, I moved forward with setting up my Sole Practice…

Decision Point #2:  What Type of Work Environment?

I am a Raging Extrovert!! Yes, I LOVE to be around people. Now a sole practitioner, I work from a home office. I am devoid of workmates: neither supervisors, peers nor direct-reports. No longer are people asking for my ideas or advice throughout the day.   I realize being alone is a drain of my energy. To help compensate, my office choices include bright yellow walls proudly displaying lots of career-related photos, mementos and awards. Of course, my bookshelves are stocked with the latest and best publications in my field of Leadership and Organization Development. And I cultivated a large network of like-minded sole practitioners when the need for human interaction and support arises.

The new emphasis is on Discipline: The “doctor” is always “in.” With a husband devoting himself to running upscale hotels, there has been plenty of flexibility for me to do sales calls and provide client support just about any time, any day of the week. I make myself accessible to those who put the “food on our table;” viewing them with regard rather than people taking time from my private life. From this disciplined approach I am free to schedule time during the day to go to the gym. Being a firm believer in health and fitness, it serves both my personal life and the lives of my clients.

Decision Point #3: Who are my Potential Clients?

Many consultants like to brag about their Fortune 500 clients, and they probably should.  On the other hand, a sole practitioner doesn’t have the depth, or staying power, to take on a big client; my strategy is to go “below the radar screen” and seek smaller local and regional clients.  There are better opportunities for the “little guys” to get into smaller organizations that don’t attract the attention of the “big guys.”

When pursuing new clients, I rely heavily on contacting those within industries where I have direct experience through the many years of my career such as the electric utility industry, financial institutions, local government, and chambers of commerce.

As a national speaker for the last eight years, I find that trade conference seminars and statewide leadership programs are easy ways for me to gain broad exposure to those organizations wishing to go deeper in what I can bring to their tables.

Decision Results

Having built my sole practice on these key decisions honoring my personal preferences, then sticking to a few, yet vital areas of expertise where I am considered among the best has been a recipe for career success and personal fulfillment. Who could ask for more in this life?

Margaret Seidler is a Master Trainer and Consultant based in Charleston. She is the author of Power Surge: A Conduit for Enlightened Leadership, 2008, HRD Press. www.mypowersurge.com

First appeared in the Business Review section of The Post and Courier on Monday, July 31, 2012.

Becoming Aunt Polly

Speech by Jane Perdue, CEO, The Braithwaite Innovation Group
Charleston Regional Business Journal
Influential Women in Business Luncheon
July 12, 2012

If you had asked me about my life and career ten years ago, I would have told you I was living my career dreams.

After 15 years as a vice president in Fortune 100 telecommunication companies, I had what I called my charm bracelet of success: the corner office, my own personal assistant, managing a $25 million budget, a department with 150 great people in it, a great income, and all the designer handbags I wanted.

The telecommunications industry was built on mergers and acquisitions, and my employer had been purchased a few months earlier by a scrappy little firm on its way to greatness.

As he typically did, Scott, my post-merger boss (and not his real name!), came into my office, sat down, grabbed the rake to my desktop sand garden, and began talking.

“Phil was in town last night. I had dinner with him.” Phil was the CEO of the eighty-billion dollar corporation that had acquired us.

“He wanted to know more about you and a few others on the team.”

“So what did you tell him?”

“I told him you were Aunt Polly.”

“What does that mean?”  You can only imagine what was going on in my head!

 “I told him you were a soft, round woman who everyone feels they can talk to and learn from.

You know, it’s like you’re both sitting down in rocking chairs on a porch and people pour their heart out to you. You get them all inspired and renewed.

I told him you were a big woman with big ideas and a big heart, in short, Aunt Polly.”

Scott went on to say he had described Lisa, the other woman on the senior leadership team, as a “butterfly” because she moved fast and was colorful.

I confess to not hearing much else after “butterfly” because a nuclear bomb of fury and disbelief had just gone off in my head.

I expected Scott to have told Phil about our rock solid performance metrics, 60-plus hour work weeks, or impossible assignments consistently delivered ahead of schedule and below budget, like the $450 million call center project Lisa and I had just completed.

Instead he described us by our appearance and attributes.

These kinds of comments weren’t new to me in my career. Normally I brushed them off and moved on.

I got the soft and round part of what he said, of course.

But for some reason I couldn’t figure out, the rest of Scott’s words were Velcro’d into my mind…and not in a good way.

In a business world where you’re only as good as your last set of numbers, I felt compelled to prove my abilities, to show the folks back east what I could deliver besides “rocking chair” conversations and inspiration, two results I’d never seen on any business scorecard.

Little did I know then that this discussion was going to change the direction of my career.

18 months after Aunt Polly entered my life, I was selected to participate in a prestigious national year-long leadership program for female telecommunication executives. In the program we would learn  increase our business prowess and create our vision of where we wanted our career to go.

Figuring out where I wanted my career to go was a no-brainer at the beginning of that year. I wanted to become an executive vice president at an even bigger company, maybe an international one. I wanted to handle bigger budgets, projects and departments.

But there was something about that Aunt Polly image of helping others grow that kept nipping at the corners of my consciousness as I thought about my future.

That year was a mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual roller coaster ride for me I as pondered success, power, my place in the business world, and why Scott’s assessment continued to provoke me.

I laughed. Cried. Scribbled notes in a red leather journal. Did research.

I made lists. Talked to friends and business women.  Read books and poetry, listened to music. Worked with a nutritionist, personal trainer, and executive coach.

I challenged myself, my boss and his boss.

I bought purses.

It was a sunny spring day in Boston, the last week of the leadership program. Our assignment for the afternoon was to list what we had learned during the year and what we were doing to do with that knowledge.

At the end of the day, my list wasn’t about how I was going to get that next big job assignment.

My list had three things on it:

1)   Think BIG

2)   Get power, and

3)   Be the water

Three leading yourself and others lessons that are the focal point of the second act of my life.

Lessons that led me to leave corporate America, move, start a new business, and now partner with the Center for Women to create their new Women’s Leadership Institute.

Let me share those lessons with you.

Aunt Polly Lesson #1:  Think BIG

        Throughout most of my life, parents, teachers and then bosses rewarded me for having the correct, logical answer.

        Having the single right answer does bring focus.

It helps make sense in a chaotic world where people shy away from ambiguity. (I hesitate to say shades of gray given all the publicity a certain trilogy of books has received lately.)

People box themselves in with either/or thinking – believing it’s either this way OR that way.

        Over the years, I’d adopted the prevailing mindset of defining leadership as taking charge – delegating, deciding, problem-solving, driving results – because that’s how my job performance had been evaluated and rewarded. It’s what I knew best.

        So that’s how I expected Scott to describe me and Lisa when Phil asked about us.

        Instead, Scott described me with taking care imagery – collaboration, inspiration, and helping people build resilience and flexibility.

        Later on, I asked Scott why he hadn’t talked about the call center project when describing us to the CEO.

His response was enlightening:  those results were expected, were a given, so why highlight them.

He said he talked about the ability to inspire because it was something he valued.

Wow.

        I’d been thinking small. Thinking that it’s either take care or take charge.  When the broader view is believing and knowing you can do both.

I don’t want to leave you with the impression that either/or thinking is wrong. It’s not. It has a very rightful place in solving problems that have a singular solution, things like:

• Should we promote Angela or not?
• Do we buy the new telephone system this year or wait until next?

Yet many things we face in life, love and leadership don’t lend themselves to either/or thinking.

Instead we have to think BIG – to think both/and because many times there’s more than one right answer or way…like taking care AND taking charge.

Gary Hamel, described by the Wall Street Journal as the world’s most influential business thinker, has this to say about thinking BIG:

“Organizational success in the years ahead will hinge on the ability of employees at all levels to manage seemingly irreconcilable trade-offs – between short-term earnings and long-term growth, competition and collaboration, structure and emergence, discipline and freedom, and individual and team success.”

        The world is incredibly complex and multi-faceted as we deal with people with different backgrounds, ideologies, cultures, races, religions,  professions, and of multiple generations.

This means we have to think BIG and do things like:

• Know when to speak with candor and when to use diplomacy
• Know how to achieve equilibrium between stability and stimulating change
• Celebrate similarities and differences

Being an influential leader of ourselves and others requires envisioning possibility.

Which is seeing there’s either/or AND both/and options available to us.

BIG thinking allows us to do just that.

Now on to Aunt Polly Lesson #2: Get Power

        Like love, power is one of those words rarely spoken in the workplace.

        As I looked back over my career and education, I realized no one had ever taught me about power – what it was or how to use it effectively.

        No college class curriculum or leadership workshop addressed it. Bosses didn’t bring it up in performance reviews or staff meetings.

        And, if power ever was discussed, it happened in hushed tones after meetings or in the hallway following a glaring example of power gone wrong.

Power gets a bad rap from both genders, in the press and in the media.

        It’s misunderstood or used improperly. Some say it corrupts. Others believe it to be malicious or narcissistic.

        Rosabeth Moss Kanter, author and Harvard business professor says power is America’s last dirty word.

        So, as with many things that exist in the shadows, incorrect assumptions and myths loom large. Italian philosopher Umberto Galimberti says:

        “…myths are ideas that own and govern us by means that are not logical but psychological and therefore are rooted in the depths of our soul. Myths prevent us from deeply understanding the world…we must therefore put our myths under scrutiny.”

        Scott’s description was unsettling because I truly didn’t get power then. To my way of thinking, he made me sound weak and powerless.

        Leaders didn’t sit in rocking chairs.

        Today I know differently.

Power is more than knowing your place or having power over someone or something.  It’s power with and power to.

        I want to share two definitions of power.

Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher, describes power as a person’s “present means to obtain some future apparent good.”

        Political theorist Hanna Pitkin offers another compelling definition:  “…power is a something — anything — which makes or renders somebody able to do, capable of doing something. Power is capacity, potential, ability, or wherewithal.”

Power in and of itself is neutral. It’s only in how one chooses to use power that it becomes positive or negative.

Power is readily available to us from a multitude of sources – one’s job, what information and expertise you have, your connections, your charisma and may other sources.

We just have to put aside the bad stereotypes and our fears, and decide to step into our power and use it for the collective good.

Being personally and positively powerful can move mountains and make a positive difference.

And it doesn’t matter what kind of chair you sit in.

And for now the last Aunt Polly Lesson: Be the water

I recently participated in a webinar about ebooks.

About halfway through the session, the facilitator interrupted the teaching to ask us a series of simple questions:

• Are you participating in a webinar to learn about ebooks?
• Did Joan help you get enrolled?
• Is today Tuesday?

The correct response to each question was “Yes.”

He then went on to ask:

• Are you going to sign-up for my 6-week course on ebooks that’s available to you today for only $597?

Psychology tells us that once people are used to saying “yes” that they’ll be more likely to be influenced to say yes when you ask them to do or buy something.

This is hard selling at its best, or perhaps its worst, depending on your point of view.

In the world of work, we think in terms of hard and soft skills.

Hard skills are technical or administrative abilities and knowledge related to an organization’s core business.  Things like computer protocols, financial procedures and closing a sale. These skills are typically easy to observe, quantify and measure.

The rules for hard skills typically remain the same regardless of where you work and can be learned in school and from books.

“Soft skills deal with how people relate to each other: listening, engaging in dialogue, giving feedback, cooperating as a team member, solving problems, resolving conflict, encouraging and motivating.”  Scott described me by my soft skills.

Soft skills are self-management and people skills where the rules may change depending on the company culture and people you work with. They’re usually learned by trial and error.

And while they are really the hard stuff in my view, these skills are typically under-valued.

Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher, wrote:

“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.”

“Studies of close to 500 organizations worldwide indicate that people who score highest on emotional intelligence rise to the top of corporations because among other things, these individuals possess more confidence than other people.

One of the first things I did in my second act of life was to partner with Dr. Anne Perschel, a psychologist in Boston, to study executive women in business and their relationship with power.

81% of our study participants were either members of the most senior leadership team in their organization or worked at the director level and up within their company. Some earned more than a half million dollars a year.

One area Anne and I studied was understanding what internal and/or external barriers to achieving power held these executives back.

52% told us that it was a lack of confidence that held them back.

Which was surprising and yet not surprising at the same time.

In a world where we chase perfection, the ideal seems to be the rock.

Steady. Dependable. Strong. Unchanging.

It’s easy to start thinking you don’t measure up and to let your inner critic take over, telling you you’re not smart enough, not thin enough, not good enough, and on and on.

That’s when we have think like the water rather than the rock.

Quit doubting our abilities. Stop holding ourselves back because we think we don’t measure up to some unobtainable goal. Believe that we bring value and can get the job done.

Because confidence is the best accessory a woman or a man can wear.

Scott and Aunt Polly gave me a gift. One that took me awhile to unwrap and appreciate.  One that I want to share with leaders everywhere and hope that they, too, in turn, will share with others.

Remember to think BIG, get power and be the water.

After Passion Comes the Work: Five Tools to Succeed As an Entrepreneur

Anyone who’s sought to be in business for themselves has probably heard this sage old advice: Find what you love to do and the rest (meaning cash) will follow. Of course when I was younger, all I thought I wanted to do was to make money, and the ride didn’t seem to matter if I could eventually get there in a Ferrari.

I can’t put my finger on the exact day or time or place, but I do remember at some point, very early on in the creation of our first business, I began to actually understand that sewn-on-a-pillow advice: We weren’t making a dime yet, but we were having so much fun!

When customers realized how much we loved what we were doing and how much fun we were having, they responded. And soon, while we were enjoying every bit of the ride – even though it was in a Jeep with no air-conditioning – we even started to make money.

But that was just the beginning, because what lies beyond the burning passion to birth a new business and raise it up right takes tools we don’t necessarily see sewn on pillows. Once you have the idea, the passion, the financing, the desk and the laptop, there are other tools you’ll need to bring to the table.

Here are five favorites you actually already have at your disposal. Reach for them often as you launch or grow your business:

1. A Sense of Humor: Work doesn’t have to be a four-letter word. Not everything about every business is fun, but if our approach to it is, even the difficult parts can be enjoyable. This usually amounts to taking the project seriously, but taking ourselves a little less seriously. And on days when it all seems to go wrong (we all have them) find a movie that will make you laugh out loud. Sometimes just the simplest realignment of our perspective can make the day go easier and perhaps even offer us a solution to a nagging problem.

2. Dialing into Your Community: No woman is an island, and we’re lucky to live in a community that supports and encourages new businesses.

The SC Women’s Business Center is a valuable resource for women launching businesses, and the Center for Women helps women succeed every day! Both offer loads of workshops at reasonable prices, but the greatest resource these organizations and their events offer is the opportunity to connect with others during these events. The women I’ve encountered there go far beyond networking; they are each powerful “plugins” with whom to brainstorm ideas and improve your business.

Other groups that make a difference and encourage community-based support include Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, and online communities. And by approaching each with an open mind as to what you can give of your own talents, you’ll find you come away with a whole lot more!

3. The Third Option: This one seems to elude us when we most need it, so sew it on a pillow if you must. It simply requires the ability to recognize that every dilemma we think is limited to “either this or that” always has a third option.

Example: A client knew she could bring in another $250 a week and save towards her home if she took on just one more day of work each week, but she believed doing so would not allow her time to keep the house and home office clean. She was trying to decide between two options: increased income and dusty chaos, forgetting that a third option definitely existed. Now, she enjoys the extra income, pays someone far less to come in to clean once a week, and as a bonus has helped fund another woman business owner.

4. Conviction Sometimes Means Confrontation: Unfortunately, if we have the passion and conviction to execute our business plans, sometimes confrontation is a necessary by-product.

But more unfortunate is the negative connotation with which this word has been saddled. After all, to confront something is to meet it head on, to face it. And a confrontation need not be hostile; it’s typically just a matter of how we approach a situation with opposing viewpoints.

The two most common statements we hear from women faced with confrontation begin with either, “What I wanted to say was…” or “I probably shouldn’t have said…”

Neither is effective, for obvious reasons. Shrinking in the face of confrontation can dent and damage our conviction. Likewise, getting over-emotional creates a loss of control over the situation.

Instead, take a deep breath, state your case calmly, logically, and without emotionally charged words, and persist until you get your way (without stomping your feet!).

5. Stay Open to New Ideas: This works well with the Third Option tool, but stands on its own merit, especially in today’s business climate where the “new normal” changes nearly every day. Sure, we all used to love browsing record stores and renting videos, but as these industries plainly demonstrate, those who’ve refused to stay open to new ideas have, sad to say, ceased to stay open!

This tool begins with the premise that every product and/or service can be improved upon. My favorite example involves Apple. They didn’t build the first PC, or the first mp3 player, but being open to new ideas and innovation sure let them do it better!

In the publishing business, everyone from magazines to books has had to embrace new tech that seemed at first to most publishers to just be looming competition. But by learning to package content digitally many were able to actually improve their products and increase their customer base. In fact books, despite a once shrinking market, are now the highest selling product online.

Who knows, the laptop (or business) we love today may be a dinosaur tomorrow, and we may hate that, but we’d also better be open to what we’re going to do to retool it or we’ll be left behind…

Shark Marketing Co. CEO and creator of Where Writers Win, Shari Stauch has been involved in publishing, marketing and PR for 33 years. She is the co-creator of Pool & Billiard Magazine, celebrating 30 years as the sport’s oldest monthly. She retired from the Women’s Pro Billiard Tour in 2004 after a 20-year career as a top player and marketer/co-creator of the tour (inducted into the WPBA Hall of Fame in 2007), to serve a growing community of writers using their words to promote greater issues. As president of Charleston’s Center for Women, she moderates the Center’s Women Writers Forum. Shari serves on the executive board of LILA: Lowcountry Initiative for the Literary Arts, and co-directs programming for Words & Music: A Literary Feast in New Orleans, where she continues to help emerging authors create and broaden their audiences.

First appeared in the Business Review section of The Post and Courier on Monday, June 25, 2012.

The Pros and Cons of a Home Business

OK, admit it. You’ve fantasized about what a cakewalk it would be to work from home. I mean, just imagine: Your commute time becomes about 30 seconds, you can stop and put in a load of laundry at lunchtime, work from your desk in your gym clothes, maybe even stop for a short nap if the mood strikes. What could be better?

Separating fact from fiction is an important task for anyone considering working from home. No longer the purview of envelope-stuffing moms, home offices and telecommuters are proliferating across the business landscape. According to the last U.S. Census report, about 8 percent of the American working population, or about 11.3 million people, worked primarily from home. In addition, those workers who reported working at home at least once per week accounted for 15 percent of total employment, a number that is significantly on the rise when you consider trends in both remote corporate assignments and the growth of home-based businesses.

While there is no longer a stigma attached to working from home, it’s clearly not for everyone. There are stories galore of home-based ventures that have quickly fizzled out and telecommuters who have slid from hero to slacker in the transition from corporate office to dining room table. Clearly, there are some important steps to take before you decide to mix your business environment with home and hearth. Consider these 10 steps to maximizing the probability of a successful work-at-home experience:

1. Know yourself. You have to have a huge tolerance for solitude to sustain working from home on a regular basis. If you’re primarily a social creature or an extrovert, you could find yourself going stir-crazy or talking to the walls. Think carefully about your personality style and what makes you tick before you take the leap.

2. Establish a conducive working environment. A home office should be just what the term implies — an office. While you might be able to make due with a carved-out corner of your bedroom for a short time, if you’re serious about this, you’ll need some dedicated space that is devoted to business. That includes a chair that’s comfortable enough to sit in at the phone and computer for more than 15 minutes.

3. Stick to a schedule. The most successful telecommuters and home-based free agents are those who discipline themselves to keep regular and reliable hours. This doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice the flexibility element that is part of what attracted you to working from home in the first place. But it does mean that if you kid yourself by only working part time at what needs to be a full-time commitment, it will catch up with you.

4. Eliminate distractions. This is probably one of the biggest challenges about working from home. It’s just too easy to take a break and start dinner or chat with your neighbors or take the dog for a walk. When you set up shop, make sure your friends and family understand that just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you are fair game for a cup of coffee and a leisurely conversation whenever they choose to drop by.

5. Stay connected. Although it’s a good idea to avoid the coffee klatch, it’s important to stay in touch with the professional community. Attend local business meetings that are of interest to you. Schedule lunch with colleagues and clients. In other words, keep your network active and alive. Not only will it keep you marketable, it also will keep you from feeling lonely and out of touch.

6. Use technology wisely. If you work from home, it’s vital that you have reliable and professional technology on your side. Have a dedicated phone line that is separate from the one used by your spouse and kids. Invest in a voice mail service so that your messages don’t get lost or garbled. Use a high-quality headset if you spend a lot of time on the phone. Invest in a wireless high-speed Internet connection Make sure your fax machine is in good working order. Choose software and technology services that will make your life easier.

7. Take advantage of services aimed at the small office/home office community. It’s a good idea to use a mail and shipping center vs. standing in line at the post office. And it makes sense to have a mailbox dedicated to your business at one of these facilities so that you can keep your home address private and your mail separate. Buy office supplies online and have them shipped to you. Take advantage of the myriad services provided by copying centers.

8. Rely on professionals when you need professional help. Unless you are in the accounting business, it makes sense to hire a CPA to do your business bookkeeping and tax processing. And when you need a lawyer, have a good one on your side rather than trying to muddle through with do-it-yourself forms. If there is a heavy volume of administrative or clerical work associated with what you do, consider hiring a virtual assistant to provide the support that you need.

9. Establish boundaries. Just as it’s easy to get distracted when you work out of your home, it’s also easy to get consumed. Resist the temptation to hang out in your office at all hours of the day and night. You need a life, too — one that doesn’t have anything to do with your work.

10. Periodically assess how it’s going. The decision to work at home should be one that fits with who you are and enables you to enjoy what you do. If your heart is singing and you look forward to getting started in the morning, great. But if you find yourself dreading having to hole up in that home office one more day and praying for the weekends, something is wrong in this picture. Pay attention to the quality of your experience and be willing to make a change if it’s not working out the way you planned.

Welcome home! Your business is waiting.

Barbara Poole is a Master-Certified Coach and Leadership/Team Development Consultant. She is  President of Success Builders, Inc., Partner/Co-founder of Leading Deeply, LLC, and an affiliate of the Pyramid Resource Group, Inc. Barbara can be reached at coachbarbara@bellsouth.net.

First appeared in the Business Review section of The Post and Courier Monday, May 28, 2012.

Recognizing Women in Business: Got Influence?

It’s nearly impossible to pick up a newspaper or listen to the news without hearing a story about how an executive, politician, celebrity, etc. has misused their power and influence. At the other end of the spectrum are those who believe they have zero power and influence, and opt out of even trying.

Both camps have it wrong.

Power and influence are available to everyone. Being proficient at influencing isn’t linked to having a big job title. In this day of social networking and relationships, one’s ability to feel personally empowered to make an appeal (to influence) based on logic, emotion or a sense of cooperation is essential for personal and professional success.  Influencing others is critical for securing support, persuading other people to champion your idea, or to stimulate someone’s imagination. As retired AlliedSignal CEO Lawrence Bossidy says, “The day when you could yell and scream and beat people into good performance is over. Today you have to appeal to them by helping them see how they can get from here to there, by establishing some credibility, and by giving them some reason and help to get there. Do all those things, and they’ll knock down doors.”

People with first-rate influence skills combine interpersonal, communication and assertiveness abilities. The purpose of influence is building win-win interactions between people, not controlling or manipulating them, both common misperceptions about power and influence.

To determine how effective your ability to influence is, ask yourself:

• Do I drive results even when I’m not the boss?
• Do I have the ability to shape outcomes and make things to happen?
• Do people seek out my opinion?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, polishing up your skills in the following areas will help you increase your sphere of influence.

Get clued in. Watch what’s going on in your company or around you at home or with friends. Individuals with strong influencing skills examine, ask and validate.

Have a bias for action. Be clear about what you want to achieve and have a plan for making it so. Under-promise and over-deliver on timelines for getting things accomplished.

Involve others. People who have highly developed influence skills first pull people to their ideas, and then push those ideas to the rest of the organization through other people.

Watch your intentions. Understand your motivation. Are you in it to win it for yourself, or for the greater good?

Be a broker of ideas and information. Share what you know. Connect people with ideas and each other. Create alliances and identify stakeholders who share a win-win orientation and common goals.

Don’t be a conversation or credit hog. Don’t force your ideas on people or perpetually keep yourself in the spotlight. Don’t let your ego stand in the way of positive win-win outcomes.

How successful you are in influencing others depends in large measure on your ability to use the right tactic. Jay Jamrog, senior vice president of research for Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) believes leaders must know the influence skills they have, be able to identify skill gaps and get the right development tools to close those gaps. As part of its new Women’s Leadership Institute, the Center for Women recently offered a “Power, Persuasion and Influence” workshop. Participants learned which influence styles are commonly used by both men and women, which ones women use most often and which ones they should be using more.

Ready to get some positive power and influence?

______________

Author:  Jane Perdue, Leadership and women in business expert and consultant with Braithwaite Innovation Group.  Reach Jane through her company’s website www.braithwaiteinnovationgroup.com or at jane@braithwaiteinnovationgroup.com.

First appeared in the Business Review section of The Post and Courier Monday, April 30, 2012.

Road for Businesswomen Paved with Successes

By Holly Fisher

Only 18 women lead this country’s Fortune 500 companies. Women make 77 cents for every $1 a man makes. Sometimes it’s easy to look at national statistics like that and feel discouraged. But then, when almost 400 women gather for a local conference of women in business, spirits are renewed.

On the heels of the annual Women in Business Conference and in the midst of Women’s History Month, we pause to recognize the contributions of women and realize they have been making an impact on the business community for centuries.

Several prominent women in business make their homes in Charleston – Anita Zucker, Charlotte Beers and Darla Moore to name a few. Former Bank of America and Citigroup executive Sallie Krawcheck is from South Carolina as well.

Even in the 18^th century Charleston women were carving out a place in business. Eliza Lucas Pinckney moved to Charleston as a young girl. By the age of 16 she was caring for her siblings and running the family’s three plantations after her mother died and her father had to return to the Caribbean. The country owes the proliferation of indigo to Pinckney who created strains of the indigo plant, which eventually became a significant cash crop for Charleston, second only to rice.

Those early businesswomen have paved the way for women like former chairwoman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide Charlotte Beers, who spoke at the Women in Business Conference. She encouraged women to claim their traits and not underestimate themselves. In her book, “I’d Rather Be in Charge,” Beers offers step-by-step solutions for the issues working women face each day. She leads women through a process of recognizing their own potential so they may move into positions of influence and leadership.

“You are unstoppable when you know who you are,” she told the women at the conference.

For women, looking inward and determining their best business traits may lead them on the path of entrepreneurship.

Female entrepreneurs are a diverse group, not only in their demographic and educational backgrounds but in their choice of business, explained Amy Davis, a researcher and entrepreneur educator at the School of Business at the College of Charleston. Women may launch anything from an extremely innovative high growth businesses, retail storefront or a micro-enterprise generating $25,000 a year.

And the reasons women pursue entrepreneurship are as varied as the businesses themselves. For some, they have reached a limit in the corporate world and want to strike out on their own. Others, particularly with children, desire more flexibility.

“It really does vary,” Davis said. “I can’t overstate the diversity of women entrepreneurs.”

As women step out on their own, the need for resources and support systems become even greater. Groups like the Center for Women or National Association of Women Business Owners are important for women entrepreneurs.

Davis referenced a study that found women who wanted to grow their business were more likely to belong to these types of organizations. Now whether their desire for growth led them to these organizations or their membership in such groups fueled a desire for business growth is unknown, but Davis said the statistics demonstrate those kinds of organization are a real resource for women who want to start a business and have a real impact in the business community.

To grow business legends like Zucker, Beers and Pinckney the task becomes encouraging women to become entrepreneurs, to give them the skills and sets and foster an entrepreneurial spirit even among women who working as employees rather than employers, Davis said.

“Entrepreneurial concepts often come from problems people have,” she said. “Rather than saying, ‘Isn’t that annoying,’ think about how to create a business to solve that problem.”

It’s also about encouraging girls and young women to enter those male-dominated fields of engineering and computer science and to provide role models.

“We want to encourage entrepreneurial behavior in all people,” Davis said. “Being innovative and solving problems is a great way to improve the economy, improve society.”

First appeared in the Business Review section of The Post and Courier Monday, March 26, 2012.