Tag Archives: novofemina

Summer Book Review #26: Smart Women Embrace Transitions

Posted on August 30, 2012 | 1 comment

A red-haired expatriate hippie with a beard and a business suit sat on the floor across from me in a Japanese restaurant in the middle of Sao Paulo, Brazil.   Think Jerry Garcia meets Howdy Doody.  Lincoln, a former Peace Corps volunteer, was regaling myself and a friend with stories of his escapades in Latin America.  I vaguely remember him talking about starting a business importing condoms.  He was concerned about the quality of those available in country.    It was unclear if his interest was driven by humanitarian or by personal reasons. Continue reading →

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Summer Book Review #25: Meeting at the Crossroads

Posted on August 23, 2012 | 4 comments

“I can’t say anything,” said a long-time friend as she shared with me her opinion of a decision facing a mutual friend of ours.    She was catching me up on the news of this friend whom she sees regularly.   Her silence was triggered by an issue related to a child.   The child’s parents disagreed on an educational decision.   You couldn’t possibly say anything?  I was stunned.  Shouldn’t she offer a perspective or talk our friend through some options?  I realize that I’m more confrontational than most…but silence?  Really? Continue reading →

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Summer Book Review #24: Smart Women Don’t Retire They Break Free

Posted on August 16, 2012 | 2 comments

‘It’s not easy to think about what I really want….for as long as I can remember it’s been achieve, achieve, achieve,’ I said to a friend of mine who joined me for lunch early in my transition.  The concept piqued her interest.  It engaged her.   She’s a financial services entrepreneur.  Her dream had been fashion design.  And yet she found finance and accounting.  A detour?  A revelation? A necessity? Continue reading →

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Summer Book Review #23: Odd Girl Out

Posted on August 9, 2012 | 3 comments

“I couldn’t get a job,” said my sister-in-law as she was relating her story to a sympathetic audience at a recent family event.   She sent out resumes.  She interviewed.  It didn’t go as she’d planned.  Road block.  Full stop. Continue reading →

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Summer Book Review #18: Dancing on the Glass Ceiling…

Posted on July 6, 2012 | 1 comment

I got a terrible feeling as I extended my hand to introduce myself.  We were meeting at a hotel restaurant for breakfast.  It was St.  Louis or Atlanta.  I can’t  remember which.   I was screening him for a senior role on my team during my tenure at a large IT outsourcing company.   I had been coached not to make instant decisions about candidates.  We chatted.    ‘Let the data make the decision,’ I kept repeating to myself.   For some reason I was glad we were in a crowded hotel lobby.   I couldn’t put my finger on this feeling I had.   Ever been there?  Continue reading →

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Transition through a techie lens

Posted on May 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

What’s your take on social media?  Earlier today I experienced social media deja vu for the first time.  Who knew?   A friend tagged a Forbes.com post on LinkedIn entitled,“The Six Enemies of Greatness (and Happiness)” by blogger Jessica Hagy.   The caption included a few little drawings.

https://i0.wp.com/blogs-images.forbes.com/jessicahagy/files/2012/02/IMAGE00021.jpg

The Six Enemies of Greatness ( and Happiness) by Jessica Hagy, Forbes.com 2/28/12

The drawings looked and felt like the illustrations that I’d been seeing all week in “The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization by Peter Senge.”   What can I say, the drawings spoke to me…. Continue reading →

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Knowing when to act…

Posted on April 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

“What if you did nothing for twenty-four hours?” said my friend Marla as I related to her an incident that had me close to coming undone.  Her calm advice couldn’t have been more foreign to me at that moment.  I was in a leadership role that I believed compelled me to act.  To address. To solve.  To direct.  What was this ‘stand down’ approach?  Could it possibly work? Continue reading →

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Transition: Crafting an approach

Posted on April 5, 2012 | 1 comment

“I wasn’t interested in leading a double life,” said AJ a former colleague of mine who co-founded Infuse, a not-for-profit entrepreneurship program for inner-city high school students in Silicon Valley.   Her dual risk arose because she works as a program manager at Infinera, a publicly traded optical networking company.   It’s easy to get inspired when speaking with AJ.   She is a bundle of energy and passion.  Aside from being enthused about her work at Infuse I’m fascinated by her dual dilemma ‘approach.’  Continue reading →

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Valentine’s Day and Transition: A Common Link

Posted on February 16, 2012 | 5 comments

It hit me yesterday as I was fielding a call from a former colleague who happens to be in transition.  She was reeling from what sounded to me as a normal twist in a job pursuit cycle.   Maybe you’ve seen this movie too.  You finally find a target company or role that is perfect for you but the cavernous void created by online recruiting puts obstacles in your way.  My friend’s plight was amplified by a heaping tablespoon of self-criticism.  Even if it wasn’t Valentine’s Day one might suggest that there were two answers for her; networking and chocolate. Continue reading →

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Transition Triumphs?

Posted on November 3, 2011 | Leave a comment

“I’ve been reading your blog and thinking ‘ugh’ all this transition stuff,” said Victoria Taylor, CEO and founder of Victoria Gourmet, lamenting that transition would be ahead of her again sometime.  Victoria’s remarks made me wonder, ‘Can we ever triumph over transition?’ Continue reading →

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