To develop a reputation as a thought-leader in your industry, you must look at your life as a business and invest a significant amount of time and money in your own success. Are you willing to become your own Chief Strategy Officer? To hire coaches and a PR team? To practice your first presentation 40 times before taking the stage? Robin Farmanfarmaian is a professional speaker, serial entrepreneur and angel investor working in cutting-edge technology and medicine, and she has a deep...

Businesses that thrive long-term continue to innovate, even when they are at the top of their game. If the Kodaks of the world don’t disrupt themselves, someone else certainly will. So, the question becomes, how does an organization continue to drive growth and generate new ideas—even if there is no one in the rearview mirror? Dr. Natalie Nixon contends that the key to accelerating innovation lies in the ebb and flow between rigor and wonder. Dr. Nixon is the Founder and Principal at Figure...

Who is #BackingYou? What would you do if you could take fear off the table and fully commit to yourself? Would it give you the courage to put yourself in the driver’s seat and become an entrepreneur? To reach out and ask for peer support? To go after backing for your business through non-traditional models? Kimmie Greene is a finance expert and business mentor at Intuit and the spokeswoman for QuickBooks Self-Employed, a division of Intuit that provides freelancers and independent...

There are things you simply cannot control in your personal and professional life… But you CAN control your thoughts—and thoughts have the power to change reality. If you have been feeling like a victim of circumstance, it’s time to shift your perspective, connect with the divine and harness your miracle power. MarBeth Dunn is a mindset, success and happiness coach with 30-plus years of experience in spiritual teaching. She trains business professionals to create personal and economic...

The business world often downplays the role of hopefulness in the workplace, maintaining that hope is not a viable approach. But if you’d ever worked in an office where people felt hopeless, you know that progress is not possible without it. Libby Gill believes that hope IS a strategy, and she uses research around hope theory to give her clients the discipline and competitive advantage necessary in today’s rapidly changing world. Gill is an executive leadership coach, keynote speaker and...

87% of employees experience physical, psychological or behavioral symptoms of poor mental health, resulting in between $17 and $44 billion in lost productivity. There is an epidemic of presenteeism in our culture, a phenomenon in which employees are physically present at work, yet high levels of stress prevent them from getting much done. This stressed mindset results in choices made out of fear that take us further and further away from the things we really want. What can we do to shift our...

Change is scary. It is also an opportunity. And if we are too busy resisting change, we may end up passing on the opportunities—without even recognizing it. Frankie Picasso has come to embrace change. After a serious motorcycle accident in 2003, she recreated her life and became a certified coach. Today, Picasso is an international SocialPreneur, talk show host and champion for change. She is the founder of The Good Media Network, a platform to help nonprofits reach a wider audience and...

As female entrepreneurs and business leaders, we have a lot to overcome. But the first step is to get out of our own way. Maybe perfectionism is holding you back, or maybe you’re thinking too small. Today’s guest is on a mission to give you WINGS—Women, Innovating, Networking, Growing and Scaling—and turn your small business into an empire. Melinda Wittstock is a serial entrepreneur, award-winning journalist and content marketer. She has more than 25 years of experience as a host, journalist...

Financial results drive corporations, and this laser focus on achieving monetary goals often means a neglect in the areas of personal development and emotional intelligence. But the fact of the matter is that honing these skills does have a positive impact on the bottom line, as authentic leaders can both create a higher level of engagement among employees and inspire teams to perform at a higher level. Mary Pat Knight is a sought-after transformation strategist, business coach, and EQ...

“Then I’ve been parachuted in as the token woman who got added at the last minute by the newspaper sponsor to kind of sex up the coverage. So I’m in a desperately awkward position, trying to prove that I’m good enough to be on this mountain. And I was—but I hadn’t come on the team in a way that made that at all clear.” Cathy O’Dowd was not a fan of sport until she discovered climbing in college. Being on the mountain was a deeply personal challenge—and one that she was good at. One of just...

We’ve all sat through that mind-numbing professional development seminar, the one where a presenter clicks through an uninspiring PowerPoint presentation while you daydream about being absolutely anywhere else. Karen Hough is on a mission to transform that experience, combining the principles of improvisation with neuroscience and psychology to bring fun and meaning to corporate training. Hough is the founder and CEO of ImprovEdge, an award-winning business training company that is changing...

A lot of us are well-intentioned and don’t believe that we are biased toward others in any way. But it is naïve—delusional, even—to think that we don’t harbor unconscious bias. In fact, the issue of inclusion is an incredibly complex one, and until we recognize those complications and actively pursue change, the ‘illusion of inclusion’ will persist. Dr. Helen Turbull’s interest in diversity and inclusion was ignited after her move from Scotland to the US, where issues of race are front and...

Women in male-dominated industries like tech, finance and law enforcement may feel like it’s unacceptable to reveal any vulnerability at work. This leads to compartmentalization, having a ‘work self’ that’s different from the real person on the inside. But this simply isn’t working. Not only does this approach make us seem unapproachable, it leads to burnout and perpetuates the myth that we have to behave a certain way in order to lead. Lisa Marie Platske had a ten-year career as a Federal...

The vast majority of us have talked about writing a book. Problem is, the vast majority of us never make time to sit down and get the words on the page. Christine Kloser got immersed in publishing when her husband decided to write a book involving interviews with Major League Baseball players. She pored over Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual, learning the nuts and bolts of putting a book together to assist her husband in becoming a published author. At the same time, Kloser was involved...

Many of us were moved by the 2017 Audi Super Bowl commercial featuring a girl racing a boxcar, while the inspiring voice over touted the company’s commitment to gender equality. But as a consumer, how would you know whether the company really supports women’s empowerment? Where could you go to find out about their policies around family leave or how many women serve on the board? Veteran creative director Kristi Faulkner teamed up with journalist Amy Cross to design the Gender Fair mark, a...

There may not be anything wrong with a little healthy competition, but at the end of day, human beings are social creatures with a need to connect and build community. Natalie Franke is on a mission to transform the way creative entrepreneurs see each other, moving away from a model of rivalry and opposition to one of collaboration for the common good. Raised by a single mother, Natalie Franke started photographing weddings in high school to earn supplemental income. After graduating from...

‘Don’t grow a wishbone where your backbone ought to be.’ Rather than running from conflict, Marilyn Suttle suggests that if you are willing to listen when a customer or colleague is angry, there is a real opportunity to grow and strengthen the relationship. Suttle is a customer service and communication expert who is known for helping teams make ‘Suttle Shifts’ in thinking to achieve breakthrough success with customers. Her clients include Ford Motor, American Axle, and Visteon, among...

Very rarely does a sale simply fall into your lap. Sales is a process that requires patience, time and follow-up as you build long-term relationships with prospects. And if your company protects those relationships, you will be rewarded with a predictable pipeline moving forward. Caryn Kopp is the Chief Door Opener at Kopp Consulting, known for helping her clients secure initial meetings with high-level decision-makers at top-tier companies like Pfizer, GE, Merck, Time Warner, Target, and...

“Women want to be treated equally, not identically.” There is no shame in doing things #LikeAGirl, and Judy Hoberman’s tagline sums up that sentiment quite well. Of course, women want the same opportunities as their male counterparts, but we do things differently—and that’s an asset, not a liability. Hoberman has designed a series of workshops, seminars and coaching programs that put a positive spin on sales. With 30-plus years in the industry, she is adept at understanding the gender...

In a perfect world, we love the work we do. We find a career that affords us the opportunity to succeed, to be happy, to make a significant social impact. Today’s guest argues that this kind of serendipity is possible for every one of us, and the secret lies in clarifying your purpose and designing a business model in alignment with that purpose. Nicola Grace, the Mission Mentor, is an award-winning strategist and bestselling author. She helps entrepreneurs, professionals and visionaries...

We work very hard to make the world think we have it all together. From the outside looking in, a successful woman with a good corporate job and a solid network of friends and family seems to be living the dream. It is possible, however, to have your ducks in a row – yet still feel like something is missing. What if you could create a business of your own, doing work that inspires you? Jessica Nazarali had the perfect life. She had just gotten engaged, and she had a great job in business...

Quick, what’s the first word that comes to mind when you hear the words tax office? I’m going to take a wild guess and assume that you didn’t say fun. But there is one unique retail tax preparation firm that was founded on the idea of creating an atmosphere of fun in its franchises, and the creative marketing campaign they employ complements this idea – while establishing brand recognition that outshines the competition. Martha O’Gorman has been in the retail tax business for over 25 years....

It is true that money can’t buy happiness… But if you’ve ever felt the stress of struggling to pay the bills, you might argue that having enough cash on hand to cover baseline expenses can, in fact, buy you the freedom to pursue happiness. Makaylah Rogers has always been a little bit of a rebel. When it came time to follow the rules and choose a career path, Rogers felt trapped by the idea of going to college. She took a gap year to consider her options and ultimately decided that no...

Chances are you’ve been there, watching someone else get the promotion or the study abroad opportunity or the picture with Jay Leno that you really wanted, but didn’t have the courage to ask. Perhaps you don’t want to be seen as greedy or aggressive… But the truth is that making the big ask builds relationships and establishes trust. Today’s guest is ready to help you ‘get your ask in gear’ and make those outrageous requests. Linda Swindling is a ‘recovering’ employment attorney who spent...

You’ve been taught to dream big, empowered to believe that you can accomplish absolutely anything. And then you get to work, and they’ve got you pushing paper. It’s no surprise that companies struggle to retain Millennials who are uninspired and don’t feel as if their work matters. The CEO of Double Forte PR & Digital Marketing, Lee Caraher is a lauded communication strategist, known for her practical solutions to difficult problems. She is a recognized expert in building high-performing...