Happy Holidays From WPO Chicago!

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Ho Ho Ho Happy Holidays!

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Oh what fun it is to celebrate the holidays (and successes) with WPO Chicago I chapter members!  Yes, we are serious and focused about growing our businesses, but we also know how to have a blast.  

Happy Holidays from Chicago I chapter members! 

The Holidays Are a Time to Eat Healthy!

Yes, you read that right:  the holidays are a time to eat right.  Fueling with healthier choices enables us to enjoy the celebrations more, and bounce back more easily.  Allows us to run our businesses more efficiently then, too. 

Here’s how to keep the holiday cheer alive while making balanced meal choices.  

Top Female Founders 2022 According to Inc. Magazine

Here are 100 reasons women business owners rock.

One of our WPO Chicago members, Valarie King-Bailey (shown above) is featured in the list!  Congrats!

Photo credit:  OnShore Technology Group

Women Who Want to Lead

For the past 25 years, Nina Vaca has been running Pinnacle Group, an IT and staffing firm in Dallas. While she's seen the industry evolve from the birth of the internet to the introduction of the metaverse, she still hasn't seen a clear path for women who want to lead. 

Today Vaca runs PG on the foundation that people are the asset, and providing service to them is the goal. She applies this mindset to both her clients and her employees -- and anyone who wants to learn how to create a successful business. "My purpose is to improve lives through entrepreneurship, and Pinnacle's is to connect them with opportunity," she said. 

Learn more here.

Are You Quiet Firing?

As companies face tightening budgets, many may be considering trimming their workforce. But of course, outright layoffs are expensive and risky. That’s why some have turned to a subtler strategy: quiet firing, or intentionally creating a hostile work environment that encourages people to leave “voluntarily.” 

The HBR authors’ new research sheds light on how employees can tell if they’re being quietly fired, including changes to work responsibilities, compensation, and communication, and offers ten tactical steps workers can take before throwing in the towel.

Happy Halloween From WPO Chicago!

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Do What You Are Afraid to Do

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Courage is doing what you are afraid to do.  There can be no courage unless you are scared." – Eddie Richenbacher

Just Like That: Our WPO CEO Is On the Front Cover of Enterprising Women Magazine

We salute our Women Presidents Organization CEO Camille Burns, and WPO Zenith member, Asma Ishaq, CEO of Modere North America, on their induction into the Enterprising Women Magazine Hall of Fame!

https://libraryenterprisingwomen.com/fall2022/

Congratulations!  We are so proud of you both!  And kudos to Enterprising Women Magazine for the great feature.

2022 Women of Color Achievement Awards (Houston)

The 100 Black Men of Metropolitan Houston Chapter, in partnership with the Women Presidents Organization (WPO), are proud to announce the honorees of the 2022 Women of Color Achievement Awards. 

A total of fourteen women were recognized for outstanding professional achievement and demonstrating exemplary community service. 

Sponsored by JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking, the event took place on October 6, 2022, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the Texas Southern University-Jesse H Jones School of Business, 3800 Sampson St, Houston, TX 77004.

Congratulations to all honorees, especially our very own Ramal Taylor, former WPO Chicago member who recently moved to Houston.

Read the news and see the full list here.  More can be found via LinkedIn.

Screenshot source:  LinkedIn post

Turning Empathy Into Compassion

As Arthur Brooks for The Atlantic says, "In contemporary culture, empathy seems like a fairly unalloyed virtue. As virtues go, however, empathy is overrated. Used excessively and on its own, it can bring harm to empathizers and empathizees alike. Instead of striving to be more empathetic, we should all try to build on empathy to cultivate its superior cousin: compassion."

Empathy is not feeling sorry for someone in physical or emotional pain—that’s sympathy. Rather, it is mentally putting yourself in the suffering person’s shoes to feel their pain. It’s the difference between “Get well soon” and “I can imagine how much discomfort you must be feeling right now.”

As business owners who lead, learning to turn empathy into compassion is a virtue in and of itself.  Read the full article here.

Leading By Example Can Still Be Powerful

Leading by example, as in the case of Queen Elizabeth II who was no shrinking violet, can still be powerful, "and every time women or nontraditional people do something that's that important and visible, it changes our sense of who gets those jobs," says Kim Campbell, a former prime minister of Canada and the first and only woman to ever lead that country.

Queen Elizabeth II, who died 9/8/22 at age 96, was the longest-reigning woman in history and a role model for many female leaders. Her work and approach to the role has already influenced many women in politics (and in business), and some of the politicians shared how she has inspired their work throughout the years.

How Chicago-based Bluedog Design Made It to the Top, Twice

Crain's Chicago Business reports, "For the second consecutive year, Bluedog Design, a marketing and growth consultancy in Fulton Market, was ranked the top place to work by Crain's."

How did Bluedog do it?  What can we all learn from the founder and CEO of Bluedog, Michelle Hayward?

Well she certainly cuts to the chase when she addresses the reporter's first question:

If you had to name one thing as the reason you're a best place to work, what would it be?

Curious?  So was I.  So glad I read the entire interview.

(Screenshot photo courtesy of Crain's Chicago Business feature article 9/14/22.)

The Ultimate Success: 19th Annual WPO Chicago Summit on 9/8/22!

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Thank you to Susan Walters-Flood, COO of The Planting Hope Company for presenting, "Grow and Scale Your Business Despite Economic Challenges," at our 19th Annual WPO Chicago Summit hosted by Foley & Lardner on Thursday, September 8, 2022.

We appreciate Susan sharing her insights on how to scale a business, take it public, and maintain a company culture.

Special thanks to Foley & Lardner, Ellen Wheeler and Lauren Loew, for their amazing assistance on this program.  We could not have done it without their help and their assistant's help.  It takes a village to put a successful program on.

Lead With Purpose

How do you lead with purpose? This is a beautiful interview with Elisa Choi, MD, an internist and infectious-disease sub-specialist, who always had an affinity for biological and life sciences.   She is the daughter of immigrant parents and a first-generation U.S.-born citizen.

Dr. Choi says:

"One way I lead with purpose is—I try very hard when I'm in a leadership role to listen as much as, and actually more than, I talk. That has taken a lot of work and I won't claim to be perfect at it. But, I do feel that is one way I try to lead with purpose because, ultimately, the best leaders care less about the title and position, and care more about being able to support and represent the people for whom they hold a leadership role." 

She goes on to say, "You can't support people unless you really understand where they're at and what they're experiencing and going through. Part of leading with purpose, in addition to trying to be as active and supportive a listener as possible, is to take a look around at the table—whether it’s the table one is sitting at, or the figurative table of one’s professional network or thinking about who has preceded me—and identify who hasn’t yet had the chance to have a voice at that table, and determine what I can do to then make sure that people who haven’t yet been represented will be in the future."

Read the full interview – you will appreciate a very sound perspective from Dr. Choi on how we can lead with purpose and achieve equity in our world.  

19th Annual WPO Chicago Summit 9/8/22: Grow and Scale Your Business

Growing As a Leader: Sandy Marsico, founder and CEO of Sandstorm

Long time WPO Chicago member Sandy Marsico, founder and CEO of Sandstorm, says:

"Ten years ago I became a member of the Women Presidents Organization to help scale my agency. Not only has Sandstorm Design gone through explosive growth, but I have personally grown as a leader thanks to Laurel Delaney and this group! 

Just this week, fellow WPO board member, Ida Abdalkhani and I interviewed each other on the impact WPO has made on our business and our life. 

The team at PNC made the entire day so much fun! And to be on camera with such a great friend made it even more memorable!" 

Learn more here.

Chapter Chairs Are the Heart and Soul of WPO

From the CEO of the Women Presidents Organization, Camille Burns:

"I always say the chapter chairs are the heart and soul of WPO. I cannot express how wonderful it was for my heart and soul to be in Denver with them at our annual chapter chair training. WPO chairs traveled from all over the US, Canada, South Africa, UK, Mexico, Turkey, Peru and Spain for 3 days of learning, sharing expertise and facilitating greatness in each other. 

I am so proud of the work these incredible women do to create a safe space for women business owners to grow and thrive. I have had countless women over the years tell me that WPO changed their life. It is with the utmost gratitude that I acknowledge our chairs for all of the lives and businesses they have changed and will continue to change."

Read her LinkedIn post here.

Policies Your Workers Value

While the Great Resignation has led employers to offer increasingly generous benefits, it can still be hard to know what policies your workers will value the most. 

Some of the creative benefits offered by companies on Inc.'s 2022 list of Best Workplaces include, but are not limited to:

• Access to parenting coaches
• Work-life balance specialists
• Handyman services

So what perks do workers want that they don't have today?  You will not believe.  Read on to learn more.

Great Leaders Are Self Aware

According to Lindsay McGregor, leaders need to inspire their employees not just to execute their jobs well, but to also find purpose within their roles. 

Great leaders are self-aware and able to objectively assess whether they’re setting a good example for the rest of the team to follow. By first modeling the behavior they want to see in their team members, leaders will be that much closer to having a fully engaged team in good times and in bad.

Here are some ways leaders can better connect with their teams, encourage collaborative leadership, and inspire team members to do their very best work.

Building An Inquiry Driven Culture

Pia Lauritzen for strategy+business says that having worked as an advisor to executives for 18 years, she has never come across another theory, method, or tool that in two minutes helps leaders make up their mind about what’s important, take other people’s situations into account, and think of their input in light of their company’s or team’s common goal. 

So, what is it about asking questions that makes leaders spontaneously do so quickly what no carefully designed manual or process manages to do? Go with Pia's train of thought and take a look at the ideas that make up the magical question triangle – and in the process learn about building an inquiry-driven culture.

Six reasons successful leaders love questions.

Luci Creative is Exclusive Design Partner for the New Adams Presidential Center

We love sharing positive news about our WPO Chicago members. This one is about AJ Goehle, President of Luci Creative and her amazing team.

Luci Creative, the award-winning experiential design studio, is delighted to announce its selection as the exclusive exhibition design partner for the new Adams Presidential Center to be built in Quincy, Massachusetts. Luci Creative has distinguished itself as a developer of award-winning interactive, state-of-the-art, and dynamic exhibitions and spaces that allow visitors to connect to an organization's purpose.   

Read all about it.

Screenshot source:  Luci Creative

Do You Have Consistency of Interest and Perseverance of Effort?

Inspired by the research of psychology professor Angela Duckworth, grit is widely considered an important predictor of success and performance. It has two main components as defined by Duckworth and Quinn in 2009: “consistency of interest” and “perseverance of effort.”

It’s not just about being “resilient in the face of failure, but also about having deep commitments that you remain loyal to over many years,” says Duckworth.

The idea that grit is fundamental to long-term success sounds sensible enough. Keep doing what you’re doing, stay on task, be passionate, don’t give up and you will ultimately be rewarded.

Read on though to see how you can change your life from time to time to achieve a greater chance of success.

Explosive Growth By WPO Chicago Member Shital Daftari

The cover spotlight of Enterprising Women (EW) magazine's Summer 2022 edition features our very own WPO Chicago member Shital Daftari, founder of SNT Biotech.  Congrats Shital. We are very proud of you!

Learn more here and while you are at it, sign up for EW's upcoming conference.  An event you won't want to miss. 

Friction Sharpens Creative Ideas

Barry Fiske, for Fast Company, says that big companies have a big creative advantage over smaller companies because the very natures of creative invention, experience design, and product development have changed. Below, he recently explored this topic with several of his colleagues, and here are the advantages that he discussed.

My personal favorite is:

1. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

One thing we talked about is how in big companies, you often get to collaborate with global team members who may bring a very different perspective from your local team. And when you’re working with people from Amsterdam and London and Boston and Bangalore, these varied perspectives can certainly create friction. And friction sharpens creative ideas.

Creating Equity and Sustainability Starts with Deep Work

Lou Elliott-Cysewski, co-founder and CEO of Coolperx, the first climate-neutral brand merchandise company in the world says:

I am not just a founder of a company working to create equity and sustainability in corporate procurement. I am also someone who grew up in a low-income household with a single biracial mom, and I experienced firsthand a harmful level of competition among people in need.

Further:

Legitimate empowerment starts with deep work—the kind that doesn't come with hashtags. Ensure your organization has the courage to do the work and bring truly viable solutions to your community.

Take a Break to Strategize

When Destiny Snow first started her online business SnowGlam Collection with $600 at fifteen years old, she found little success. She was anticipating that her friends and family will rush to buy what she was selling. However, that wasn’t the case. And the lack of support discouraged her at a time.

Two years later she is still running her online company and generating more than a $1 million in revenue.

How did things change?  Instead of giving up, she took a break to strategize. This she did by watching several videos of entrepreneurs and reading business articles.  Had she found WPO, she would have grown faster but nevertheless, she made it to a million.

Read on to discover how she won the hearts and mind of total strangers to grow her business.

Pay Your Employees to Quit?

Sounds counter intuitive to pay your employees to quit yet these founders did just that in a tight labor market.  See what they created but fair warning, it's not cheap.

Peer Coaching At Your Business

Do you have peer coaching offered at your business to help employees build friendships?  The reason I ask is because even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations faced a difficult challenge they were unequipped to solve: increasing isolation and loneliness among their staff.

Amid the current challenges, there are steps organizations can take to facilitate and encourage the formation of work relationships. One of the key methods for empowerment is peer coaching, a process in which two colleagues help each other reflect on experiences, offer support, build skills, and match their work to their sense of purpose.

It has been reported that the loss of work friendships is likely one reason so many people are choosing to leave their jobs.

To build the kinds of relationships that strengthen an organization—especially in an era of remote and hybrid work—businesses must be proactive.  As the authors of the article for strategy+business says, "By giving employees the tools to develop relationships on their own, businesses can reap tremendous benefits—and build a stronger long-term future."

Own Your Power

Want to fully honor your ambitions and reach your business goals?  The author states:

As women entrepreneurs, don't we at least want to be successful? Don't we also want to achieve our goals? Having some power sounds good, too. Isn't that why we became entrepreneurs — to have success, be empowered and achieve our goals — just like our male counterparts?

Here's some powerful advice for new women entrepreneurs desire to become multimillion dollar business owners.

How Leaders Can Navigate Difficult Situations

In business, leaders are facing a perfect storm.  Talent wars, actual war, the pandemic’s disruption to business, and inflation are just some of the issues troubling businesses today.

So who can help executives navigate these difficult situations? The author, Brad Broken, says:

I’ve come to the conclusion that having a second-in-command on a team, no matter the team’s size, was a defining feature of a mission’s success.

Read on.

50-Fastest: Congratulations SNT Biotech Founder Shital Daftari!

Congratulations to all the winners of the 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies of 2022 from the Women Presidents Organization (JP Morgan Chase & Co.).

In particular we like to congratulate our WPO Chicago Chapter I member, Shital Daftari, founder and President of SNT Biotech (DBA Saris and Things) for her No. 6 position in the list out of 50.

Shital is an inspiration to us all with her drive, smarts, fast-growth mindset, and willingness to be a great leader.

From all your WPO sisters in Chicago, we salute you and wish you continued success.

We All Want Our Lives Back

A worthy goal! And there are so many ways to pursue it.

Rather than pushing to develop and deploy new technologies and approaches, many people are still focused on questioning the wearing of masks, a debate that intensified recently as a federal judge struck down the Biden administration’s mask mandate, freeing airplane, train, bus, and other public transportation passengers to travel unmasked.

Read on to determine whether we are putting our lives at risk and how to protect yourself and your people going forward.

25th Annual WPO Conference May 4-6, 2022 in Montreal

We are celebrating the Women Presidents Organization’s Silver Anniversary by honoring the values that make the women entrepreneurs in our network unique: curiosity, tenacity, and community.

Experience the understanding, support, and counsel of entrepreneurial equals and benefit from their collective wisdom as well as the wisdom of renowned speakers and thought leaders.

The WPO Annual Conference is the premier gathering of women entrepreneurs who lead multi-million-dollar businesses. Over three days, attendees build relationships, foster connections and learn new ways to grow and thrive both as an individual and as a leader.

Join us May 4-6 in Montreal, Québec at Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth.

Start Early with Retirement Plans

A lot goes into preparing for retirement, developing estate plans and keeping them current. So, start early and get the help you need from experienced professionals. The more thorough your planning (e.g., exit strategy for your business), the more control you’ll have over your future.  

Here are 4 key issues to consider.

When You Sell, Do You Use the Word "We?"

"We do this."  "We do that."  "We can do that, too."  Guilty.  Yes, I do it, too, to ensure it's not all about "me."  But get over it. How many times should you use the word we?  According to this article, none.

Customers don't care about "we" or "you."  They care about themselves and what you can do for them.

The key in mastering sales is switching statements about you and how great you are and what you do, to statements about them, and how great they are, and how they will produce more and profit more from ownership of your product or service. 

Start eliminating "we" and "I' and go for:  "How they will win." "What's in it for them."  "Why they will soar in their business by XYZ."

Treating the Bullies At Work

Linda Rodriguez McRobbie, contributor for strategy+business, says that trying to get a sense of the prevalence of bullying in the workplace—the adult version of the playground—is difficult.

But researchers agree that bullying is an understudied and widespread problem; the data we do have seems to show that bullying, in the US at least, is on the rise: according to a January 2021 survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI), 30% of US workers reported being bullied, up from 19% in 2017.

Read on to learn how the pandemic has encouraged some bad behaviors that leaders need to look out for in the new hybrid world of work.

Why the Future of Work is Hybrid

Surveys show that almost two-thirds of all U.S. workers worked remotely during the pandemic. Moreover, two-thirds to three-quarters of surveyed employers intend to have a mainly-hybrid schedule after the pandemic.

It's time to adapt our work culture to the "excellence of anywhere" strategy.  This reframes the conversation to help everyone focus on pulling together to achieve shared business objectives and prioritizing deliverables.

Read on to discover more.

Teaming Is Hard Post-Covid

As more companies release formal policies around hybrid and remote work, leaders are telling us that remote work has made working together, or teaming, difficult and has frayed the culture of their organizations.

The question becomes:  What is a team?

Teams don’t exist simply because someone puts some names in boxes on an org chart and assigns a leader.

Read on to learn how to collaborate, where you can avoid the worst of both worlds: a bloated team-in-name-only with vague and unclear expectations.

Don't Underestimate the Complexity of Scale

The level of complexity for operations at scale is what people unknowingly and arrogantly overlook.

Do not mistakenly assume that understanding the end product equals understanding how to produce that product at scale. For example, brewing a cup at home requires some tools: a machine (or a filter), some ground beans, and some water. But, it is far more complex than that at scale. 

If you are going to build a business, solving a problem that can be scaled is vital for success.

How Women of Color Can Drive New Power in Corporate America

Deepa Purushothaman was one of the youngest people and the first Indian American woman to make partner in Deloitte’s history.

In her new book, The First, the Few, the Only: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America (Harper Business, 2022), she explores her own experience as a “first,” shares stories from a host of women of color about their work experiences, and provides insight and guidance on how leaders can drive equity in their organizations.

Read the interview Deborah Milstein, associate editor at MIT Sloan Management Review conducts with Deepa Purushothaman about her book and her work.

From Burnout to Boundary Violations

Studies link burnout to boundary violations, such as work consistently intruding on personal time.

In addition to lost productivity and poor performance, it is also contributing to the record number of employees leaving their jobs in what has become known as the “great resignation.” By contrast, when employees believe their voices are heard and their boundaries respected, they become more engaged with their organization.

Have you taken steps to identify, set, and maintain healthy boundaries at work, for your employees and your managers to build trust, improve resilience, and contribute to a higher-performing environment for everyone?

The WPO's "50 Fastest"

The WPO’s “50 Fastest” creates an opportunity for women to be recognized among peer entrepreneurs at the top of their game. 

The Women Presidents Organization and JPMorgan Chase will be sharing the 15th annual “50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies” ranking.

Founded in 1997, the WPO is the premier peer advisory organization connecting women who own multi-million-dollar companies, with more than 2,000 members across 11 countries.

WPO CEO Camille Burns says, "Recognition plays an important role in helping to improve the environment for today’s women entrepreneurs and level the playing field for future leaders. The 50 Fastest ranking showcases and celebrates women who are leading some of the fastest-growing businesses around the globe, and provides significant brand exposure."

Read the full Forbes interview here.  Applications to apply are due by February 25, 2022.

EAM = Emotionally Aware Manager

The new position that will be necessary at every firm during and post-COVID?  According to Dorie Clark, Emotionally Aware Manager (EAM).

Accountability Matters

All leaders say they want accountability, but actually getting it embedded in the culture isn't as easy as it looks.

In his HBR article entitled “The Best Teams Hold Themselves Accountable,” Joseph Grenny suggests that the worst teams have no accountability, mediocre teams rely on the boss for accountability, and the best teams hold themselves accountable.

What happens to teams without accountability?  Find out.

Giving Feedback As a Leader

Giving negative feedback is a critical component of effective leadership — but while the benefits of receiving constructive criticism are clear, it’s less obvious how giving such feedback impacts leaders. While some leaders enjoy giving negative feedback (I'm not one), one survey found that 44% of managers find it stressful or difficult. 

Here are several strategies for organizations to better support both high- and low-empathy leaders, including encouraging more-empathetic leaders to take breaks after giving negative feedback and training less-empathetic leaders on techniques for delivering feedback more compassionately.

Summing Up 30 Years of Insights Studying Corporate Culture

Harvard Business School professor emeritus James Heskett, now 88, is still making the business case for corporate culture.  He's summeds up the insights he’s gleaned in more than 30 years of studying corporate culture in his new book, Win From Within:  Build Organizational Culture for Competitive Advantage.

“Strategy is hard; culture is soft,” Heskett writes, beginning a list of common misconceptions. “The impact of a strategy on growth and profit can be measured, but that of a culture cannot. If you get the core values shared by everyone right, the rest will take care of itself. A strong culture helps assure good performance. To change an organization’s culture requires a long time. All of these assertions have been passed around in management circles over the years. And all of them are essentially wrong.”

Heskett’s thesis:  most leaders don’t devote nearly enough time to managing the culture of their companies, and the time that they do spend on it is often wasted.

Is that you?  

Follow Heskett's lead and "live the culture."  Because meaningful change, like many things, begins at the top.

Asynchronous Work and What It Means

Companies are waking up to the current problems with distributed work and see the need for more flexible solutions.  A veteran Googler, Kenzo Fong, who founded messaging app Rock maintains that operating asynchronously lets work get done on time. People are less stressed and it allows for a wider talent pool, too.

Fong says that asynchronous, in short, is when work happens for different people on their own time.

Work gets done on time, people are less stressed, and it allows for a wider talent pool. With an asynchronous work style, companies can hire literally from anywhere in any time zone and are not limited by geography.

Read:  The future of work is asynchronous to rethink how we work.