Entering The Inspiration Zone

Advancing women into leadership platforms is critical to evolving the workplace. When women are given the chance to lead, they bring new perspectives and ideas to the table that can help businesses grow and evolve. Lisa Prior believes that the key to being a successful leader is understanding your values and having the courage to stand by them.

Lisa, who is currently the President of The Boston Club, speaks with Juliette about the organization's commitment to elevating women in leadership roles and establishing an inclusive atmosphere for all members. Listen to her narrate her journey in leadership at a young age and how she has continued to learn and grow throughout her career, including what she hopes to achieve with The Boston Club's vision. Find out how Lisa used Juliette's book, The Guide to Strategic Networking: Dream. Plan. Create. Achieve. as a success framework and how she beautifully executed it.

Highlights

08:38 I’ve been doing this work a very long time. These early experiences shaped who I am, what I cared about and of course, looking back now, I can see how they shaped my working career choices.

12:45 I can’t really pinpoint all the meaningful moments but in the two decades of Prior

Consulting, I’ve really come to appreciate the importance and power of women’s economic empowerment as a path to empathy, equity, and understanding justice.

16:19 We can’t look at where we’re going forward without sort of understanding how the nature of work has changed so much.

19:52 Understanding, being clear-eyed about your values, having those values serve as a north star, to me, that is the art of evolution for yourself as well as for your business.

23:27 It’s important that leaders step up and make sure they’re living the values of being

inclusive and how they lead.

Contact

Juliette Mayers

LinkedIn

Website

Juliette's Books

Inspiration Zone Newsletter Sign-Up

Lisa Prior

LinkedIn

Eastern Bank

This episode is brought to you by Eastern Bank, the largest commercial bank headquartered in MA.

Website

Talent is the lifeblood of any organization. No matter how good your brand name is, you won’t be successful without  a talented team. Stephanie Browne joins Juliette to discuss why organizations need to earn the right to have top talent.

Find out more about why it’s not enough just to have a good brand name. You need to create an environment where talented people want to work. Listen as Stephanie and Juliette discuss what organizations can do to cultivate ,attract, and keep top talent!

Highlights

02:44 I spent over four years working on trying to be the best me and these last twenty seven years, I've been blessed to have a lot of roles that led me to where I am today.

08:26 All of those skills I did outside of my corporate job at the same time keeping my corporate job. That was what really helped me navigate its leadership and the executive suite because of all that learning.

10:18 There was nobody there telling me I was doing it wrong or doing it right. I had to learn it on my own and I was able to take risks that I wasn’t really willing to take.

14:36 We also know that diversity brings innovation. What kind of innovation do you need to be thinking about as a company is the first thing you need to think about. You must have a strategy.

22:39 I really do believe that organizations need to earn the right to have the best talent. It’s not enough just to have a good brand name. It’s not enough just to, you know, I call talk the talk. You gotta walk the walk.

Contacts

Juliette Mayers

LinkedIn

Website

Juliette's Books

Inspiration Zone Newsletter Sign-Up

Stephanie Browne

Website

Eastern Bank

This episode is brought to you by Eastern Bank, the largest commercial bank headquartered in MA.

Website

How do you develop empathy for the lived experiences of others? It can be difficult, but it's necessary if we want to build a more inclusive society, embrace diversity and develop relationships. Juliette sits down with Bob Rivers, the Chair and CEO of Eastern Bank to talk about his journey and personal story that is truly empowering.

Find out how to better understand people as Bob further shares his process in order to develop meaningful relationships and cultivate relationships with different communities and networks. Moreover, get to know how humility plays a huge role in the process.

Highlights:

08:55 People, I think, could see that I was not only deeply sincere about addressing these issues, but also very aware that I wasn’t well educated, knowledgeable, didn’t often know the language or the right words to use or ways to express things. Because of those relationships, people took me aside and would correct things to help me be better.”

13:29 It’s one thing to be introduced to someone; it’s another thing to operate in a way you’re building trust and really being there for that person or those people when they need you.

14:31 If you can’t find anyone, it’s all a matter of just reaching out and getting involved and really looking.

17:29 I like the discomfort 'cause I knew it would cause me to get better and get more comfortable and the only way to do that is repetition.

22:41 You have to find ways to break out into completely different communities and networks and you have to be strategic about it.

Contact

Julliette Mayers

LinkedIn

Website 

Bob Rivers

LinkedIn

Rise Together Real Estate Development Group

Website

Juliette is joined by Pam Reeve, Chair of the Board, American Tower. Pamela has built her career around the advancement of women and support for technology innovation. In roles starting and running businesses, serving at the helm of public company boards of directors, and leading non-profit organizations and boards, Reeve has left her mark on the region’s business landscape while mentoring and in other ways supporting its people.

A champion for women’s leadership, Reeve serves as the Chair of The Commonwealth Institute, working with women CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to help them grow their businesses and their careers. In this position, her active involvement in Board-Ready Bootcamps, and through her work with the Boston Women’s Leadership Network Last Mile Initiative and Women Corporate Directors, she has demonstrated a commitment to increasing the number of qualified women serving on boards of directors

Pamela shares her story of creating her own path. Pamela talks about the importance of diversity and inclusion, and how she found the confidence to forge her own way. This episode is packed with actionable advice and inspiring stories, so be sure to tune in!

Highlights:

03:54 - When I look back on the journey, I think it's more about how I wanted to be, what I valued, relationships that meant a lot to me and a lot of connecting dots that otherwise might seem not connected.

07:25 - I think that you have to look around on what might be available to help you out and maybe do move if you can.

13:18 - I think we all carry in us our history, our upbringing and our history, and then we hope to enrich that or go away from it.

18:40 - Have more faith in yourself, use your voice and use your intention. Don't deny yourself and don't prevent yourself from at least trying on something that you’re interested in.

Connect with Juliette

LinkedIn

Website 

Juliette's Books

Inspiration Zone Newsletter Sign-Up

Connect with Pamela

Website

This episode is sponsored by Associated Industries of Massachusetts(AIM). AIM is the largest business association in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. To learn more about AIM, visit www.aimnet.org.

Juliette is joined by David Meerman Scott, and they focus on discussing the New Rules of Marketing and PR based on David’s best-selling book. Find out how the principles they talk about are applicable to other professionals or just everyday people, not only marketers. 

Listen as they talk more about effective, modern marketing and PR best practices, as well as what you can do to communicate with and reach out to customers and buyers directly in order to maximize marketing and PR. 

Highlights

05:54 - So many organizations are only focused on talking about their own products and services rather than understanding the needs of existing and potential customers. 

07:53 - Understand deeply the people you’re trying to reach. 

09:12 - Today, we don’t have to spend money on advertising. We can reach people directly by creating interesting information and publishing it ourselves. 

10:34 -  You can choose to become a change agent in your organization, you can stand up to the bosses and say, “Hey, this is wrong. We’re gonna do this in a different way. This is not right. This is not appropriate.” 

14:01 - You can quietly achieve results by doing something different and doing it in a way that you’re not gonna completely screw up what is already going on in the organization. 

Contact

LinkedIn

Website 

This episode is sponsored by Associated Industries of Massachusetts(AIM). AIM is the largest business association in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. To learn more about AIM, visit www.aimnet.org.

Juliette is joined by Donna Latson Gittens, Founder and CEO of MORE Advertising. Her company has designed more than 300 campaigns to influence attitudes and change behaviors on topics such as smoking, substance abuse, HIV prevention and diversity in the workplace. Gittens launched the company following a ground-breaking, 20-year career as a corporate executive at WCVB-TV (Boston’s ABC affiliate).

Donna talks about how branding has been helpful for her in her career. She also shares her journey on how she became successful in her career. Tune in to this episode and hear more tips and actionable things that you can do to enhance your career.

Highlights

05:13 – You have to make sure that you can multitask in your career that doesn't just focus on one thing. Make sure that you`re open to new opportunities when they present themselves.

06:36 – What do you stand for? What`s your personal narrative and how do you present it to people? I`d like to think that my brand is open, straight forward, exploratory. It's the essence of who I am.

11:20 – Number one is to know who you are. If you stand for everything, you`ll fall for anything. You have to know who you are and what you love to do.

17:50 – Be nice. I know that sounds simple but it's really important. You can`t be mean to people. You can`t gossip and be dishonest with people. 

18:24 – Never take no from a person who can't say yes.

Connect with Juliette

LinkedIn

Website 

Connect with Donna

Linkedin

Website

This episode is sponsored by DRB Facility Services. DRB provides a full range of facilities services for both corporate and government clients. To learn more about DRB Facility Services, visit www.drbfacilityservices.com.

Juliette is joined by John Regan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM). John has deep experience in both the private and public sectors. 

Prior to his tenure at AIM, he served as Chief Operations Officer for MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, overseeing real estate development and community revitalization projects including the transformation of the former Fort Devens.

John shares his story about how he achieved success in his life. He also talks about how important relationships are in his success. Tune in to this episode and learn more about how to build a strong mindset for your goals. 

Highlights

13:50 – I think the key to success is not to build a group of relationships or a group of trusted advisors and then stop, it should continue through every phase of your career.

16:28 – I truly believe that it's the private sector that has the power to create a better world and a better community and we really have to bear down on that and despite all the challenges we have to try to make that dream a reality because I think that is the only path to success.

22:12 – A really good entrepreneur is somebody with a passion for whatever the business is, whatever the product is, whatever the service is. You want to make it as great as you can make it, you want to make it as widely known as you can make it and you want to connect to as many people.

Connect with Juliette

LinkedIn

Website 

Connect with John

LinkedIn

Website

This episode is sponsored by DRB Facility Services. DRB provides a full range of facilities services for both corporate and government clients. To learn more about DRB Facility Services, visit www.drbfacilityservices.com.

Welcome to this week’s episode of Entering the Inspiration Zone, where we’re taking a pause from our regular podcast episodes to launch something special. This week, we’re excited to announce the upcoming spring release of my third book, Strategic Networking 2.0: Harness the Power of Connection and Inclusion for Business Success. To celebrate this momentous occasion, we invite you to listen to some of our most popular podcast episodes from the past year.

At Inspiration Zone, LLC, our mission is to connect people and inspire great things. Therefore, if you’ve been considering starting your own podcast or writing a book of your own, but fear has been holding you back – it’s time to take a leap and make your dreams come true!

So, if you want inspiration on taking a leap into living out your biggest dreams and ambitions, visit our website and don’t forget to register for our newsletter so that you can stay up-to-date on every phase of what is happening with the podcast, book releases, and more. We look forward to talking with you in Season 3!

Episode Highlight

03:30 - "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Contact

Juliette Mayers

LinkedIn

Website

Juliette's Books

Inspiration Zone Newsletter Sign-Up

Eastern Bank

This episode is brought to you by Eastern Bank, the largest commercial bank headquartered in MA.

Website

In this episode, Juliette talks to Lee Pelton, the President and CEO of The Boston Foundation, about his experience with double consciousness as a Black man. He shared how equity is now central to everything done by The Boston Foundation in order to close the racial wealth gap. He highlights that closing this gap would benefit everyone economically and offer security and well-being for all regardless of race or ethnicity.

Growing up in a working class Black enclave located in the middle of a predominantly White neighborhood, Lee became interested in making the invisible visible for young people, so they could see all of the opportunities and connections that would otherwise be unavailable to them. Lee believes that equity is about closing opportunity gaps between students instead of providing equal inputs as equality does, while acknowledging there are still narratives around zero-sum games which can lead to hate rooted from fear and ignorance.

Listen to hear Lee explain some examples such as Black homeowners facing appraisal levels 38% lower than their White counterparts due to historical challenges preventing people of color from creating wealth through home ownership, credit scores not taking into account rental history when assessing credit worthiness, banks experimenting with no down payments on mortgages, and cultural education around different cultures’ views on debt being necessary for lenders understanding alternative methods for evaluating creditworthiness without disadvantaging potential borrowers.

Episode Highlights

08:17 - It's really an opportunity gap and so, equity is about closing the opportunity gap. That's the difference between equality and equity is opportunity. And equality is about inputs. Equity is about outputs.

20:42 - This is part of a trend. It's not anything new that equity sits in the center of everything that we do. I should say one of our most significant projects is an effort to close a racial wealth gap.

33:13 - I often quote James Baldwin who said that not everything that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed until it's faced, and that's truth telling. And so, none of the issues that we have discussed today happened by accident. I would encourage us, ourselves and others, to understand how we got here. There's a history here that we need to understand, and understanding it will help us resolve those issues.

Contact

Connect with Juliette

LinkedIn

Website

Juliette's Books

Inspiration Zone Newsletter Sign-Up

Connect with Lee

LinkedIn

Email

Eastern Bank

This episode is brought to you by Eastern Bank, the largest commercial bank headquartered in MA.

Website

In this episode, Juliette talks to Martha R.A. Fields, who is the Founder and CEO of OKI ME, LLC & Fields Associates. She is an internationally renowned consultant and author of eight books. She talks about her upbringing in Okinawa and how it has influenced her life's work. Her focus is on helping people worldwide find their purpose, work, and well-being success.

Martha talks about her experience growing up in Okinawa and how it has informed her work around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and where she learned about different cultures while growing up on an Air Force base. They discuss the importance of work-life balance and finding one's purpose in life.

Listen to Martha outline four questions that can help someone find their "ikigai" or reason for being. Learn about the importance of revisiting one's dreams, as they change over time. Discover the eight principles of healthy aging and how they can be applied to American society and find out where the locations of the "Blue Zones" are in the world.

Episode Highlights

11:37 - I feel that one of the things that makes people successful, and having that purpose, work, and well-being success, is to be able to take a failure and really learn from it. What did you learn as a result of that?

17:03 - You have to ask yourself, "What do I love to do? What am I good at doing? What does the world need that I love to do that I'm good at doing?" And then the final question that you have to ask–and when I heard what this final question was, I started laughing–but finally, how am I going to get paid to do that?

26:53 - Find what your purpose is, what your "ikigai," then dream your dream daily. Just live your dreams. Stop just dreaming.

8 Healthy Longevity Principles  

You Are What You Eat and Drink

1. Eat 80% Between Famine & Feast (Hara Hachi Bu)
2. Go Fish, Green, Bean & Lean

Destress from Stress 

1. Imbibe & Unwind with Wine at 5
2. Shake off Stress
3. Get in the Groove & Move

LB2: Love Be Loved,& Belong 

    6. Family & Friends First

    7. Choose the Community & Company You Keep

Let YOUR Little Light Shine Higher 

    8. Find YOUR IKIGAI (Reason for Being!) Then, Live YOUR Dreams Daily

 Contact

Connect with Juliette

LinkedIn

Website

Juliette's Books

Inspiration Zone Newsletter Sign-Up

Connect with Martha

LinkedIn

Website

The Okinawa in Me Book

Eastern Bank

This episode is brought to you by Eastern Bank, the largest commercial bank headquartered in MA.

Website