Inspiration for Your Journey
The question behind the question Whenever I tell someone I served in the Marine Corps, I get the same surprised look. Then come the questions. Eventually, they get around to what they really want to know: what was it like being a woman in that world? There are roughly 175,000 Marines, and when I served, … Learn More
I had an ah-ha moment last week, and I can’t take credit for it. It came from Shan Escobar, Director of Talent Development at CoVolt Power. She was one of our panelists at Time to Lead. The panel was focused on career development, and Shan said something that flipped the script on conventional wisdom: “It … Learn More
A client called me recently, still shaking. Mascara everywhere. She’d just been called into her boss’s office, where he informed her — at volume, with fist-on-desk percussion — that she wasn’t getting it, her thinking was dim, and an intern could’ve done better. Each insult came with a little crescendo, like he was building to … Learn More
“Can you help?” That’s how this whole thing started. A client – an oil and gas association – was hosting its annual conference, the intent was solid: build real relationships across the association. I was challenged to deliver a keynote not on leadership, but on the nuts and bolts of relationship building at events. This … Learn More
“Calm down, Mom.” I don’t know why my kids are always telling me to calm down. Maybe because I’m always excited by news, small or big. In this situation, I wasn’t going to calm down. My son and I moved this summer. As the NKOTB, he wasn’t sure how he’d measure up on the sports … Learn More
I’m embarking on a new journey: I’m writing my fourth book. Sure, I’m an experienced writer. But this project is different. It’s a solo act; all of my other books have had co-authors. And it’s a different time. In the age of AI, publishers are wary. Writing a book with an AI tool is relatively … Learn More
I did the hard look in the mirror thing. It wasn’t pretty. But then, neither was my life at the time. I was in my mid-20s. Professionally, I was unhappy, making great money in a sales career that used none of my real talents and fed none of my sense of purpose. I missed the … Learn More
It’s 80 degrees in Northern Michigan. Every day. The kind of stretch that makes you want to drop the doors off your Jeep and just go. On Saturday, I was behind two guys doing exactly that. Mid-aged, hats on backwards, golf clubs stacked in the back seat, Van Halen loud enough to hear through closed … Learn More
Do you know the feeling when you’re all aces? A few years ago, I had one of those days. I’d built a session I was truly proud of: a full-day senior leadership team retreat with a client I loved. It felt like my version of Abbey Road, great content, seamless transitions, the fullest expression of … Learn More
I grew up in Kalkaska, Michigan, the self-proclaimed Trout Capital of the state, population small enough that everyone knew your business better than you did. And like a lot of young girls in a lot of small towns, I had big dreams: I remember telling my parents, with total confidence, that after I met those … Learn More
I remember the first time I read Toni Morrison’s Beloved. It was late at night in my college apartment, a stack of other assigned books glaring at me from the desk, each one adding its own quiet pressure to the evening. But I couldn’t move past Morrison’s sentences: the way she set a scene, the … Learn More
I recently had the privilege of delivering my Bet on You keynote to the incredible team at Abbott, and I have to say, this audience reminded me exactly why I do what I do. Even through a Zoom screen, the engagement was electric. The chat was alive with responses, the reactions were genuine, and you could feel the energy … Learn More
