Business Leadership
The Face of Innocence
Me–at 21. College graduation photo. An unlined face, yet to experience the challenges– jobs, career, relationships, health. Most people faced much bigger challenges, and I was grateful. I was a college “activist,” and I thought we had solved the inequities of race and gender. Now, just in time, comes Ken Burns’ latest masterpiece documentary on…
Read MoreHistory Has Its Eyes On You
It’s your voice. I’m all about using your voice. It’s your power. Now’s the time. The election is a little more than one week away. The contrast is stark. My mail-in ballot is mailed in. As I watch the polls, my guts twist. My playlist includes the Hamilton soundtrack. These words say it for me.…
Read MoreShow Me the Movie
When you author a book, the reader expects to do the work: make the connections, visualize pictures in their minds, read the last page first… With a speech, the listener expects you, the speaker, to do the work: make the connections to their lives and draw them the picture–show them the movie. A speaker gives…
Read MoreTime to Procrastinate With Joy
Dog days of summer? Kinda wonderful. The sultry weather definition in the Farmer’s Almanac is only the first one. The second definition is “a period of inactivity or sluggishness; a period of stagnation.” What if we choose to go with that? What if we put off frantic activity until September? Or later? When we were…
Read MoreHappy 40 Years, MimiSpeaks!
1984. 40 years ago in August, I took the leap. I started my own business after five years in Human Resources. The elation of freedom always overcame the fear of no steady paycheck. Look at how happy I was, and how happy I still am. Every moment. For 40 years. My nephew, Matt, suggested, “40…
Read MoreHonoring My Dad’s Zest for Life
Here are Dad and me on the beach in Chicago at Lake Michigan. My maternal grandma is visible smiling next to me. My dear dad loved being a dad. And his birthday is tomorrow. Here’s my blog from 13 years ago when he passed: May 31, 2011 My dad passed away a month ago. This…
Read MoreMy Mama Told Me, “We. Don’t. Quit.”
Ever notice you barrel through the meat of an assignment, but when it comes to putting on the finishing touches – BAM! Life gets in the way. To achieve most things in life, you must have commitment and discipline. Commitment is the will to see your objective realistically and dedicate your time and energy to…
Read MoreIt’s Not About You
A speech is not your article you read aloud. Your article or book has your name on the cover. It’s all about you and the reader knows it. They spent money to buy it with your name on the cover. The reader expects it to be all about you. They can stop reading it whenever…
Read MoreYou Think Too Much
I just returned from a 2-week trip to Australia. My very first stop was the iconic Sydney Opera House. What stays with me, besides the beauty, was the human drama that occurred over the fourteen years of its construction. It’s described in the Official Souvenir Guide as “a conflict of architect versus engineer”–creative vs. technical,…
Read MoreMomentum 2024: Time to Reinvigorate
Are we back in business? Sort of. Hybrid? Some in person; some in the zoomiverse. It feels like halftime to me. And nobody gives up at halftime. They seek momentum. The dictionary definition of “momentum” is a driving force or impetus. The concept is that a moving body that keeps moving tends to maintain velocity…
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