There is no easy way to develop poise under pressure. I think the only way to acquire that is by “trial by fire” so to speak – to be thrown into the fire and somehow escape slightly singed and maybe wiser. Or at least that is how it happened for me.

For several years I worked for technology companies that provided market data and trading systems to financial services firms. I worked my way up from office manager, to sales assistant, to sales executive. I really felt like I had arrived when I had my own office and my own territory. (I also had my own quota and that was a bit of a wake-up call.)

Part of my job required me to give demos of market data displayed via trading system software. When I started we could use “canned” data that was very reliable because it was recorded and did just what we wanted it to. The following year, clients wanted to try to get a feeling of the speed of the data feed itself and insisted on demos with live data. Back in the day, we had to dial-in to some server, and depending on the type and quality of the phone line, the speed and reliability could be great or terrible. Continue reading →

I was excited to re-launch Talking About Transitions with Chris Eh Young as my guest. We talk about his career transition, small business strategy, and why getting laid off can be an amazing opportunity to reassess what you want to do with your career and your life.

Chris Eh Young is an event speaker, small business strategist, simplifier, and reluctant superhero. Through his company, B2CY Connection Solutions, he provides social media management, training, and consulting. His mission is to save small businesses from themselves. Chris is the guy who can take your boring, bland, cookie cutter marketing and make it work. He also helps make your phone ring, your inbox full, and your social media rock.

I recently gave a new talk titled, “Re-Launch You: Liftoff After Layoff.” So many people in the audience came up to me after to tell me how important the topic was. Chris was kind enough to sense-check my deck before I gave the talk and was the perfect person to bring on the show to discuss my new framework.

I recently wrote a post for Carol Roth’s blog. Carol Roth is a business strategist, recovering investment banker, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Entrepreneur Equation.

Without accountability to another person (or several other people), we can really start to believe our own BS – if you know what I mean. In this post I talk about joining The Alliance with Michael Port and my anxiety about being seen “naked” by a group of people I hardly knew.

I think you will enjoy Accountability and the Emperor’s New Clothes.

We are so very excited about our brand spanking new website. What do you think of it? Does it speak to you? Does it put you at ease? Does it make you want to run for the nearest exit?

We are in the process of migrating posts from our old site. If you want to check it out, you can find it here.