Being a good leader is not an easy task. Each of us has the basic abilities to lead. What we need to learn and develop is how to use those talents for the benefit of our businesses, those who work for and/or with us and of course ourselves. Organizations exist for a number of reasons; to make money, be productive, govern or enforce. All of these reasons have many things in common but the main factor is that they all require someone to lead. The leader must provide the vision, mission, values and strategies in order to define the core ideology and create the organizational boundaries. A good leader will also surround themselves with good support people and competent managerial leadership who also believe in their vision.

Providing a clear vision and mission for a business gives the employees a cause and gives the organization a purpose. Individuals want to contribute to something meaningful. People work hard for something they believe in and when they know that what they do makes a difference. It is up to the corporate leadership to ensure that the employees know that they are appreciated and that there is value in what they do, no matter how minor their contribution may seem in relation to the whole.

Values are very important, especially when there are so many uncertainties, as there are in the world today. The values drive and legitimize behavior, for the individuals as well as for the organization as a whole. Values flow down so it is important that the leaders of a business are clear as to their own values. They need to lead by example related to values and work ethic. It should be clear where they stand on the various issues related to the business and they should not be afraid to get their hands dirty when it comes to actually getting the job done. All leaders at some point were employees and they refined their leadership abilities due to the examples others set.

A good leader will also facilitate the creation of a strategy to accomplish the work of the mission and to achieve the goal of the vision. A good strategy will provide the guidelines or the road map that will assist in achieving the desired end results. A good leader will not micro manage to the extent of telling people how to do something, but will rather outline the basic strategy. George S. Patton once said “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

As a leader, as part of the basic strategy, you must also know how to fail quickly. Don’t be afraid to abandon a failing strategy as it will not help you to achieve your goals. You must also be able to learn from your successes. Use what works and get rid of what doesn’t.

The leadership trait that ties all of the above together is communication. If a leader is unable to communicate then the ideas, vision, mission, etc. will get no further along than their own minds. They must be able to express themselves effectively and in a way that makes people want to listen and be a part of their vision. Jack Welch once defined a leader as “someone who stood out visibly and said ‘this is where we are going, what we are doing and how we’ll get there.’” Great leaders are also great communicators but great communicators are not always great leaders.

What is coaching?
It is a one-on-one development process formally contracted between a coach and a management-level client to help achieve goals related to professional development and/or business performance. Coaching typically focuses on helping the client become more self-aware through the use of action learning methods. Organizations tend to make the investment in the resources required for coaching for executives who are highly valued and who are viewed as having a future potential. Typical coaching programs involve regular weekly or bi-weekly coaching sessions with a coach for a period of six months to a year or more.

When is Coaching Appropriate?
There are lots of ways to learn. Our early educational lives were typically dominated by “instruction” in one form or another. As we grew into adulthood, trial and error becomes perhaps the most common learning method. We also learn by reading about what others have done, watching what others do, or occasionally by going to formal classes. Personal coaching is also a learning alternative, especially when an executive faces a change in the nature or scope of work, or a new assignment with a high level of complexity and ambiguity.

Coaching tends to be most appropriate when:

* Performance makes an important difference to the employer. Almost by definition, the contributions expected of senior executives fall into this category. Managers at other levels who are in especially significant roles also are responsible for making an important contribution, so they too can be appropriate coaching clients.
* The relevant learning issues are in the “soft skills” area. These skills include the ability to build relationships with others and to work in teams.
* There are no right answers. You need to develop your own solutions to certain of the puzzles of executive life, and it’s hard to do it on your own. If there were right answers hidden away somewhere, the task would be a lot easier.
* The learning needs to happen according to your schedule, and quickly. People who are moved into important positions with little advance notice can be supported with a coach.

How does a coach help?

What actually happens in the coaching relationship that allows you to get better at interpersonal skills, communicating, delegating, time management, emotional self-management, or other soft skills? How does someone focus on and improve these kinds of skills?

First, let’s agree that these skills are not of the kind that can be learned in a classroom setting. Rather, they are learned by direct interaction with others while working. Sometimes this is called “action learning.” This is the way adults learn best, and this is the model that best applies to interpersonal skills. With the coach’s help, a feedback loop is created based on trying out new behaviors, followed by feedback and reflection, and then trying again to be as effective at whatever is happening.

What the coach and the coaching process contribute to the learning:

1. Self-discipline. Because of the regularity of appointments and the involvement of other people, it’s a lot easier to stay on track. Organizational life is full of distractions, even emergencies. Having a coach is a way to increase the priority on this change effort.
2. Valid data. Change and learning require good data, and the coach can help bring that about. Information is needed on what you bring to the job, what actions are being effective, what is needed in order to succeed. A coach may offer his or her personal views of your actions and/or may do some “testing” using standardized inventories. The coach can interview others in the organization to get their views confidentially. The coach can help interpret 360º surveys, attitude surveys, or performance reviews. Perhaps most importantly, the coach can help you make sense of all this data.
3. New ideas. The coach may or may not have ever held a job such as yours. But he or she has talked to a lot of people like you, and knows something about how they have succeeded. The coach brings new perspective to your thinking, helps you get out of mental ruts and dead ends. Not all the ideas are brilliant, or will work for you. Nonetheless, there’s a pool of suggestions waiting for you to check out.
4. Support. It’s not easy to do things differently. Making changes means taking risks, persevering in the face of resistance, and possibly feeling a little strange or silly at times. Changes require a “safe” environment in which to takes these risks. The coach is there to provide encouragement, help, and someone to talk to while all this is happening.
5. The learning process. Sometimes the greatest value coming out of a coaching relationship isn’t just your changed behavior or the changed perceptions of others in the organization. Sometimes it is the client’s insight into how to learn. The coach’s expertise is exactly in this domain, and some of it should rub off on you over the course of your relationship.

A coaching assignment is triggered by an opportunity or a glitch or a transition of one kind or another. There will be many more opportunities, glitches, and transitions in life, but a coach won’t be there for most of them. If the client takes away good insights into how to handle the learning/change process, and a sense as to how to use these insights in future situations, then he or she is a real winner.

One day, a friend of mine painstakingly picked a “thank you” gift for one of his clients. This client had given him a tremendous amount of new business and he wanted to show his appreciation. My friend chose an expensive, wonderful present. When his client opened the box and looked at it, the response was, “Well, it¹s the thought that counts.” As you can imagine, it made my friend feel like he did something wrong instead of good.

In some professions, we often need to communicate with precision and extreme accuracy. However, regardless of the data or research we work with, we must remember that what really counts is how we communicate with people.

Many times we think that we¹re saying or doing the right thing. However, in the minds of others, we might be communicating something inappropriate. It¹s our responsibility to make our words and actions positive and productive at work.

My company completed research revealing that interpersonal communications at work is the number one issue that needs to be constantly monitored and improved. We¹re still making headway in industries where the “old boys network” still needs to be dealt with. Therefore, we need to be both a professional and an interpersonal communications pro as well.

To avoid the pitfalls of interpersonal communications, we¹ll look at three concepts:

* Recognizing that little mistakes can create major negative consequences
* Learning to recognize other people¹s time frame
* Avoiding assumptions that leads to conflicts

PREVENTING LITTLE MISTAKES FROM BECOMING BIG PROBLEMS

A woman, whom we¹ll call Mary, was designing a new circuit board, when she was given a negative comment from her manager. The manager said, “Your work seems to be getting sloppy.” With no further explanation, the manager went on to avoid Mary whenever possible. Although Mary had worked at the company for three years, this comment and the manager¹s coldness caused her great distress and lead to her going to work for another business. Ten years later, Mary met her former manager at an electronics design conference. Mary finally decided to tell the manager how her comment had affected her.

The manager explained that at the time, she was having a very difficult time with her personal life, and found herself using people at work as scapegoats. Mary mentioned that at her first job out of college, she had another supervisor who did something similar, and it kept getting worse as the earlier manager became more and more unbearable. Mary said that she thought, “Here we go again, I¹m getting out of here” when her manager was behaving in a similar way as her supervisor at the first job. Afterward, Mary and the manager recognized that they both were at fault.

There are two important lessons we can take from this story. First, the manager used inappropriate words to correct. More importantly, because she avoided Mary, the manager did not notice her low morale and desire to get out. Second, Mary waited too long, ten years, to voice her thoughts on the comment. In the end, we find that there were issues in the background that should have been brought forward.

Of course, both people lost in the long run. The manager had the extra work and cost to replace Mary. Mary lost because the designs she had been working on would have been completed with her being credited as the creator.

Almost any of us could take the above story and relate it to our lives. The key is to remember that what appears to be an insignificant incident can have major consequences. Now is the time to think of something you said, or something said to you, that needs to be corrected before it gets worse.

SETTING YOURSELF OTHER PEOPLE¹S CLOCKS

Whose clock really counts? Most of us have co-workers who don’t respond to us in a timely fashion. Our thoughts might be, “I¹ve got a job to get done and nobody is meeting my schedule.” Or, “Forget it, I¹ll just finish this assignment without anyone¹s help.” So how can we move work forward without “pushing” others too hard or ignoring them?

When a co-worker doesn’t get back to us, it¹s critical that we do not badger that person with threats. Comments such as, “I think it¹s time we finish this, or I¹ll let our boss know you dropped the ball” or, “Never mind, forget what I asked you to do.” These types of negative comments can be avoided when an earlier conversation includes a couple of specific questions, such as, “Can you meet the schedule as outlined?” or, “When will you get back to me with the answers to these three questions?” While attempting to move things forward, we can avoid friction by listening to what other people can or cannot do.

Another communications stumbling block comes from rushing through meetings or sending unclear written correspondence. It tells others that you¹re not interested in investing the necessary effort to work with them. However, it takes very little to develop a personal approach. Here are three ways to do it:

* Ask the person how he or she wants issues handled. Some people prefer that everything be done in writing, while others would rather have a meeting to review the details of an assignment. While you might have generally good communication habits, never lose sight that there may be specific ways to deal with different people.

* Keep monitoring working relationships. Often we only give our full attention during a crisis and forget about it after it¹s over. However, when major problems arise, make sure you follow up and be sure they were resolved. There¹s even more that you can do afterwards: thank the person for his or her patience, ask if everything is still going well, and let the person know that no problem is too small to be addressed.

* Put in place a prevention plan. Often communication at work breaks down because mistakes are repeated. While we might do our best to fix the problem each time, the other person may lose patience. If you¹re going to be late, or need the other person to complete the work sooner than agreed, then call that person in advance, let him or her know of the change, and offer to help your assistance.

ASSUME = LOSE

Even people we know “like the back of our hand” will change over time. Too often, assumptions are made about how long-time associates will respond to us. Realize that anything that is living needs constant nourishment, regardless of how old it is. It¹s a common mistake to stop nurturing working relationships after they have matured.

Even your best colleagues need to be constantly informed and know what procedures or policies might have changed. In some cases, your longtime co-workers need to be “extra” informed. Let¹s say your department has completely changed the approval process for research work. As soon as the information becomes available, contact some associates and discuss the changes and how best to react to them.

When we discover the potential interpersonal communication pitfalls, then we have the power to prevent them. It requires us to keep our egos in check and give others the respect they deserve and desire. And as time goes by, you¹ll find fewer and fewer traps in your path.

• Classically you must use a simple formula to develop winning creative:

• A
  • Attention. Grab the attention of the target so that they know you are there and have something important to tell them.
• I
  • Interest. Your message must be specifically targeted to the suspect in order for there to be interest on the part of the target to go any further with you.
• D
  • Desire. Your message must be strong enough or interesting enough to create an answer to the specific customer need that you defined above is why your in business. You stimulate interest and created desire for the target to need your product or service.
• A
  • Action. A->I->D has stimulated the target to action. You have defined what that action is to either buy something from you or to simply let you know that they are interested in your company, product or service.

• Use the mechanism of the “Creative Brief” to translate your plan into a device that can be used by you to communicate with your creative people about how to get your marketing message into a graphical form for media use.
• Never tell a “creative” that you don’t like the execution. Instead use the following elements to objectively evaluate the message creative.

1. Key fact about the product or service that needs to be told.

2. What problem must the creative solve
3. What is the objective of the advertising/promotion
4. What is the single most important benefit, promise that consumer should believe in
5. What facts support this promise 6. Who are we talking to
7. What negatives might they sight about the client, product, etc
8. Who are we competing with
9. What are our advantages or disadvantages
10. What action do we want the consumer to take
11. What tone and manner should this communication have
12. How will success of this program be evaluated
13. Mandatory issues or taboos
Media alternatives (define the media plan to be used to get your message to your target):

• Is your product or service a “mass product” that will be targeted to mass media or is it very solution specific and ought to be targeted to “highly segmented” markets?
• Is it hybrid?
• Seasonality: product or direct marketing.
  • Direct marketing Seasonality
    • First quarter is the best time (Jan-Mar)
    • Next best time is September
    • TV direct marketing is good in the summer. When reruns are on, people watch the commercials.
• Target
  • Demographics
    • Age, gender, income, education, occupation
  • Psychographics
    • Lifestyle, behavior, wannabe behavior

How well you and your business come through the crisis will depend in large part on what you do before disaster strikes. Thorough planning is the key. Does your business have the following safeguards in place?

* Business Continuity Insurance. Talk to your insurance broker about insurance coverage in the event you cannot continue to run your business because of circumstances beyond your control. If you have a policy, what events and contingencies does it cover? If you do not have this coverage, discuss what is available for your type of business and what coverage costs. Make sure you know what steps you have to take to file a claim and keep a duplicate of the information at another location.
* IT Disaster Recovery Plans. From a one-person consulting practice to a small manufacturing business with a score of employees, virtually every business depends on computer systems to run its operations and maintain mission-critical information. Your disaster recovery plan should be scaled to fit the size of your enterprise. Options range from keeping backup files in a secure location to contracting with a company that provides off-site disaster recovery services.
* Information in the Event of an Emergency: In any emergency, sources of current, reliable information are vital. Compile lists of key contacts and information sources (e.g., local police precinct, government emergency numbers) and keep the information readily available to you and key members of your staff. A battery-operated radio will be a valuable item in your emergency kit.
* Emergency Supplies: Flashlights and batteries, water, nonperishable foods, blankets – these items should be considered for your emergency kit, depending on the nature of your business and size of your workforce.

As just described, there are many steps you can take in advance to help protect your business and staff in an emergency. How you conduct yourself during a crisis is also extremely important.

* Appear calm. Your demeanor and behavior will signal to your staff whether or not you are in control. If you are caught off guard by the event, take a few minutes by yourself to compose yourself and decide on your next steps.
* Gather the best information you can about the situation: When facts are not available, rumors and misinformation fill the vacuum. Depending on the situation, it may not be easy to get a complete picture of what is going on. Do the best you can and try to establish lines of communication to get updates. For events outside your control, you will be able to draw on the plans and information you have compiled as part of your business continuation and disaster recovery efforts. Contact information for public safety organizations, transportation, etc. should be readily available.
* Show empathy for your employees: While you will strive to avoid panic and hasty action, you must also let your employees know that you understand and respect their concerns and that you are going to respond to them with information and action.
* Provide strong direction and focus: Tell people what is expected of them. If the business is having financial problems, people will be concerned about layoffs; they may start to look for other jobs. You need to think through a retention program; communicate frequently about plans to improve business.
* Be visible: Walk around the office or manufacturing area. Combine formal communications (meetings, weekly emails) with informal interactions that give you an opportunity to project that you are concerned about the staff and managing the situation.

It takes many different talents and skills to run a successful business and be a strong leader for your staff. You will undoubtedly be tested time and again by changes in your business environment and external events that disrupt daily operations. Following the guidelines outlined here will help you rise to the challenge.

Nationwide, HR departments have started to address the problem by ensuring companies’ meet the needs of people who historically have been viewed as different. Homemaking has been restructured, and sometimes replaced, for a seat in the boardroom. However, packed in the briefcase is the daunting challenge of change.

Carol Heady grew up in corporate America and was often disappointed by the lack of support and direction available to women. The impact of September 11th caused her to reevaluate her career path. On December 7, 2001 she founded HRD Solutions, a consulting practice specializing in training, employment and management development programs, organizational development and professional development coaching. No longer restricted by limiting policies and procedures, Heady helps professional women enhance their leadership strengths and achieve their personal and professional goals.

The Challenge

According to Heady the three greatest challenges to women on the path to leadership are:

* Getting a seat at the table. Women are the new immigrants of corporate America whose voices often ring mute when it comes to participating in senior management decisions.
* Stereotyping – Women have historically been discouraged from entering male dominated fields such as financial services, engineering, and technology. These attitudes are so inherent that a recent Toyota commercial featured a adolescent girl who says “I’ll being walking down the aisle soon.” while a young boy declares “I’ll be going to college soon.”
* Opportunity – A lack of opportunity for line positions with P & L responsibility. “Women need to actually voice or communicate interest in these P & L assignments,” Heady said.

OTHER ARTICLES

* Interview with Laura Allen
* Communication Pitfalls — Watch Out!

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Overcoming Perceptions

According to Heady the three greatest challenges to women on the path to leadership are:

Heady encourages women to take responsibility for their goals by implementing strategies such as taking on assignments that stretch their role and experience to create an opportunity. For example an HR Generalist interested in advancing to a HR Director could learn compensation and benefits by volunteering for assignments that provided opportunities in those areas.
Women can show they understand the business through sharpening their communication skills. “Perceive yourself as a business partner and demonstrate you understand the big picture” Heady suggests, “Articulate your ideas and opinions effectively.”

Leadership Competencies

Men and women’s approach to leadership can differ as much as an object viewed through the lens of a kaleidoscope. The core competencies remain the same while the implementation takes on a different shape. Women have a greater tendency towards being collaborative while their male counterparts tend to focus on the competitive aspects of a project.

Heady contends, “Effective leadership is effective leadership whether a man or woman is doing it.” There are six essential dimensions of leadership that need to be learned and developed by anyone interested in becoming a successful leader. They are:

* Visioning –The ability to develop and communicate a long term vision or outcome is essential for successful leadership.
* Interpersonal communications – Successful leaders have effective communications skills around delivering good and bad news and have the ability to build collaborative relationships. Understanding your own leadership style can favorably impact your interpersonal communication style.
* Technical competence – Develop the technical or functional expertise or experience required for your industry or position. For example project managers must possess strengths in problem solving.
* Team Effectiveness – The ability to create and lead high performance teams. Specific competencies include establishing goals, delegating authority, coaching and developing others.
* Character – Leaders are role models and therefore influence team behavior. Sought after traits are include honesty, integrity and trustworthiness.
* Self-awareness – The most critical and empowering dimension of leadership is being aware of preferred leadership styles. An honest assessment of one’s strengths and limitations is critical for successful leadership. Women can gain self-awareness through both professional and informal assessment of strengths and weakness. Awareness can lead to leveraging strengths and compensating for weaknesses.

Heady cautions women to be authentic and true to one’s self. Self-awareness can help ensure a good fit by exploring that the company’s demands are in alignment with personal needs and expectations.

First, the reader wants to know what it is that your company does. Does it produce a product and/or provide a service?

Businesses tend to be divided into those that focus on delivering a service and those that are focused on a product. Understanding in which camp your business falls can assist you with figuring out how to orient your business.

An example of a product-oriented business is Sharon’s company that has developed a delicious new organic chocolate chip cookie.

On the other hand, Rhonda has a company that helps small businesses tackle their computer problems. Her company provides a service and is not focused on selling or developing a product.

So take a moment to think about your business idea and jot down whether you are more of a “product” or a “service” business.

Now it’s time for you to start describing your product or service. What is it? What does it look like? Why might a customer want to buy it? What purpose or need does it fill?

Going back to Sharon’s company, she might determine that her delicious new organic chocolate chip cookie will be sold in snack packs that contain 2 cookies and easily fits into lunches. After baking cookies in varying sizes, she determines that they will be 6” in diameter as they are less likely to break or crumble at that size. She also thinks that psychologically, the size will be big and small enough to be a “small indulgence”. She thinks her product will fill the needs of a customer who seeks products that are more environmentally sound and potentially more healthy, with fewer additives.

Sharon might want to describe any cookie varieties (with or without nuts, for example), the sizes, and packaging options.

Many entrepreneurs become entranced with either their product or their service. Remember, that just because your business is more product oriented, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t address the service side of things… It’s important to have a strong sense of each and how they complement and interact with each other.

Perhaps Sharon will offer a toll-free line for retailers that sell her cookies. Or maybe she thinks that it’s important to offer a money-back guarantee for purchasers, to encourage them to try the cookie.

Why is this a good idea? Because many companies find themselves strengthened when they offer superior products as well as service.

To investigate this issue, let’s look at the restaurant industry… I think looking at the Soup Nazi episode from the TV show Seinfeld is particularly helpful. The “Soup Nazi” ran a small storefront and made soup that apparently was so delicious, that adults were willing to wait on a long line and get yelled at when buying the soup. Definitely a more product focused business. In this case, the Soup Nazi was able to build up his business due to a superior product. By the end of the episode, one of the characters, Elaine, discovered a stash of the Soup Nazi’s recipes in an antique cabinet.

With the Soup Nazi’s recipes, Elaine had the tools to open up her own store that will sell food that is as equally as delicious as the Soup Nazi. What might set her apart? The service… What if her product was just as good but she was nice to customers? The Soup Nazi might lose many customers.

Remember one of your favorite dining experiences… It probably was the right combination of excellent food, good ambiance and great service. In fact, it was so good, that you recall it now with pleasure. Within your own business, you should aim for the right balance of product and service as well.
So, in an effort to strike the right balance for your business, if you have already described your main “product”, take some time to describe the “service” of your business. Or, if you described your company’s “service”, now describe its “product”. For example, Rhonda might only use premium computer parts in her computer service company.

To help you do this, analyze companies that you enjoy to consistently work with and purchase from. List three companies that you think are good. Underneath each name, list 5 reasons why they make you a satisfied customer. Try to get specific. For example, I really like it when I go to Jay’s Fruits and the cashier says “good morning”. Or, I really like it that when I’m purchasing a MP3 player from Andrea’s Audio, the saleswoman took 10 minutes to explain to me my choices.”

After looking at these other businesses, think about how you might incorporate the same spirit into your own business.

As I pondered the subject and considered how I could possibly bring any new wisdom to the field, I thought back to Therese Braddick, my manager when I worked for a non-profit that enhanced the parks and playgrounds of New York City. Therese was the best boss I ever worked for. She was friendly, hard-working and organized. She had an ambitious plan for how the different departments would work together to achieve the larger goals and purpose of the organization. She held frequent meetings with the staff, set realistic deadlines, and then checked in on whether we needed help meeting them. She confronted employees who were not contributing before it got out of hand, but she also rewarded us when we reached milestones. I remember coming back to my desk during a particularly grueling budget period to find a large chocolate chip cookie (my absolute favorite!) from her on top of my papers. It was a small token, but that along with reimbursements for classes I was taking and opportunities to use flex time when I needed it kept me motivated and working hard. Under her leadership, I stretched my own skill set and achieved things I never thought I could.

As I remembered this positive work experience, I fast-forwarded to my life today and pondered leadership’s role in my life now. A few incidents came to mind: a client who recently shared some of my coaching advice in her e-zine that reaches subscribers as far away as Australia; a colleague who recently complimented me about my talent at getting the word out about what we are doing; and tonight, my daughter (age 6) announced “You’re always in a good mood, Mom” and “You love to have fun with us!” Could I perhaps be exhibiting some leadership qualities myself? I know that I have worked hard over the last few years to set up my work and home life so that it compliments my strengths and personal values. As a Coach, I am selling my own success as a possibility to my clients. I’m sure I have a long way to go to reach Therese’s leadership heights, but it is nice to see those around me are repeating my words, promoting my strengths, and enjoying my attitude. I guess I did have something to say on the subject after all!

Wendy’s book gives inside information about today’s sexy jobs such as fashion, advertising, music, film and a lot more. Wendy interviewed top professionals from each field who shared their experiences from the bottom up of their careers. It is an excellent way to help those in a career search to learn each field’s jargon, responsibilities, and skills needed to succeed.

Wendy Straker grew up in New York City, and went to college at the University of Wisconsin; she was a Creative Writing English major with a minor in Women’s studies. After graduating, she worked in advertising and also started writing for magazines. Her work has appeared in Ellegirl, The New York Press, Crunch and Cosmogirl. Based on her own thoughts and conversations with other recent college graduates, she realized that a reference book like hers did not exist, so Wendy started developing the idea for “Sexy Jobs in the City”.

When I asked Wendy if she had any advisors, she replied that all women she interviewed to write the book were somehow her mentors. They were very kind and took their time to share their experiences with her and she concludes, “The message is that women like to help women, and you do realize that it is a less scary environment.”

Besides writing about the inside look of the sexy jobs, Wendy came up with the idea to create a parallel between searching for a job and for a date, and she explains that after graduating, at the same time that she was looking for a job and going to interviews, she was single and was going on blind dates at night. She points out that in both situations you want to show your best side. After an interview or the first date, you still don’t know if it is the right match, and if they are going to call you. “It is the same energy from the dating world that you put towards your job.”

According to Wendy, writing the book is just one step in the life of a writer, who needs to wear many hats and work as a salesperson, a marketer, and a publicist. She is constantly visiting colleges and working as a spokesperson for her book. Although she realized the hard way that some things are out of control – she had a launch party and TV interviews at the end of October, but the book did not come out until the end of December – it has been an overall great experience. Wendy loves to be able to touch people’s lives, and she says that the best part about being a writer is that “It is so exciting and so much fun being able to evoke emotion”.

For a person who wants to start a business and/or pursue a career as a freelance writer, Wendy offers the following advice: “Before you do it, keep in mind that although it is the most rewarding thing, it is also much harder than working in the corporate world”, but she adds that doing what you love is gratifying and work becomes more interesting and fun. Wendy is already planning three more books, and she is preparing one book’s proposal.

To learn more about Wendy Straker and to purchase her book “Sexy Jobs in the City”, visit her website at www.wendystraker.com.

Laura Allen got her bachelor’s degree at Eugene Lang College and her masters in Media Studies from The New School. In 1993 she took computer classes and it made all the difference in her career, as it brought to light her interest in technology. In September 2001 Laura started freelancing as a marketer and a consultant. On Valentine’s Day, February 14th 2002, Laura and James (Jim) Convery founded 15SecondPitch.

Laura and Jim were at a technology-networking event in Los Angeles, California, when they first came up with the 15SecondPitch idea. They realized how hard it was for IT professionals to communicate what they did for a living to a non-technical person, and thought of an easier way to do it. According to Laura, the main idea of having a 15-second pitch is being able to “lock the other person in since the very beginning, so that he or she wants to learn more”. Laura and Jim are a couple and co-founders of 15SecondPitch. They live and work together, but they have distinct roles. Jim is responsible for the technology part of the business, while Laura markets it. They share the same vision for the company, which helps them stay focused.

Initially Laura and Jim created the website for people to order business cards with the 15SecondPitch and a photo, but soon they realized that people needed help with their marketing pitch. Laura created workshops in which the participants have a chance to learn about each other and brainstorm creative ideas to help them write their pitch. I attended the “For Women Only” workshop and it is really powerful!

Laura says that it was a challenge at first to give the workshops, as she had not done it before. Her friend David Polinchock, owner of Brand Experience Lab, suggested that Laura test out her workshop, give it for free and see the attendees’ reaction. Laura recalls that the workshops were full, and well-known experts in networking and highly regarded people who went to the event saw its real value. The experience helped Laura build up her confidence and start giving the workshop twice a month.

From the feedback she received, Laura launched workshops on networking strategies and on requesting a salary increase. Laura was surprised to find out that many women do not go to networking events, and if they do, they stand in a corner not talking to anyone. She helps them by encouraging and giving them enough confidence with their pitch to start a conversation, and she also helps them learn the networking events they should be attending.

Moreover, Laura notes that most women tend not to ask for a salary increase, even though they believe they deserve one and that their efforts should be recognized. Laura works with her clients and helps them to prepare a presentation of their accomplishments and ask for a raise, and the results have been incredibly effective. One-on-one consultations are also available to further help her clients with their personal and professional strategies to advancement. “I like working with individuals and I really love to solve problems,” she remarks.

The product most recently added to the company’s services is the 30-day Marketing Action Plan that allows companies to see immediate results. In the future, Laura and Jim are planning to franchise 15SecondPitch, as people from different cities have been requesting it. They are also considering offering the workshop by phone and online, and Jim is working on the technological aspect of it to make it work.

Even though Laura seems to have her hands full with her clients and marketing the business, she finds time to contribute her expertise to non-profit organizations. One of them is the Streetwise Partners, which helps young adults from 18 to 26 years old develop strategies to get a job in corporate America. She teaches the students how to come up with their 15-second pitch.

Laura mentions that while owning a business is a full time job, it does not always bring a regular paycheck. Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to have at least one year of funding in the bank, so that you can continue marketing the idea until it becomes successful.

Laura is a member of several organizations such as NAFE and NAWBO, and she acknowledges the importance of keeping herself educated. She advises entrepreneurs to read books on marketing, sales, publicity, and most importantly to “hang out with smart successful people from different fields, who have successfully done what you want to do.”

Overall, Laura highlights the importance of having a business and a marketing plan, as well as a PR strategy. “Do not think you need to do everything because you do not. Find somebody that you trust to do the things outside your area of expertise and pay them accordingly.”

To find out more about Laura Allen, Jim Convery and 15SecondPitch’s products and services, visit their website www.15secondpitch.com.