The Game Changer

THE DISCOMFORT ZONE: How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations Into Breakthroughs  by Dr. Marcia Reynolds

Leaders, managers, and coaches are charged with getting people to stretch their limits but are often unsuccessful. Top leadership coach Marcia Reynolds says the problem is that when incorrectly handled, difficult conversations create more resistance than growth. Reynolds offers a model and methods for discovering what to say so people change their own minds. As a result, leaders equip people to find their own solutions, see situations more strategically, and grow beyond their limitations.

Reynolds explains how to pick the right time and place to enter the discomfort zone and how to create a “safety bubble” so that people will trust your intentions.

Marcia Reynolds, PsyD, organizational psychologist and certified master coach, is president of Covisioning, a training and coaching firm helping companies worldwide unleash the brilliance in their people. Her clients include American Express, GlaxoSmithKlein, Ernst & Young, and many others around the world. She is a past president of the International Coach Federation.

 In her spare time, Marcia accumulates degrees. Her doctoral degree is in organizational psychology with a research focus on high-achievers in today’s corporations. She holds two masters degrees in education and communications.

Marcia's website is http://outsmartyourbrain.com/

To order her book click HERE

But Are You Making Any Money? by The Party Goddess-Marley Majcher

This on demand audio series is a part of the Executive Girlfriends Group Vignette Series. Chicke Fitzgerald interviews Marley Majcher. The original live interview was 9/26/14.

Marley Majcher was predestined to be an entrepreneur. Marley started selling Shrinky Dinks door-to-door at the age of 4, created a doll "repair" (word repair used very loosely) business, sold plums out of the backyard and by 7 was washing the neighbors' cars.

Her keen eye for chic trends and clever business techniques has made her a coveted speaker across the United States and around the globe, on subjects such as small business, entrepreneurship, all aspects of entertaining and her celebrated coaching programs. Majcher challenges entrepreneurs to not only think outside the box but to forget a box even exists.

Marley Majcher is the CEO of The Party Goddess!, a nationally acclaimed full-service event planning and catering company, and author of But Are You Making Any Money?, a witty and lauded business guide for entrepreneurs. Majcher has championed her unique approach to events and inspired many to create lasting memories through her featured articles and interviews in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Us Weekly, People, Women’s Day, BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur Magazine as well as multiple radio interviews including Martha Stewart’s Sirius Radio show.

Marley's website is http://theprofitgoddess.com/     To order the book click HERE

For more information about the Executive Girlfriends' Group see: http://www.executivegirlfriendsgroup.com

Using Your Brain to Win in Today's Hyper-Paced World by Holly Green

This on demand audio series is a part of the Executive Girlfriends Group Vignette Series. Chicke Fitzgerald interviews Holly Green. The original live interview was 9/19/14.

The human brain is an amazing tool. Yet, many of its ways of working do not serve business leaders well. The brain can process large amounts of information. It has a real talent for forming patterns and connections. And it loves to answer questions and solve problems. But it also has a tendency to see what it expects to see, overlook data that contradicts its prevailing view of the world, and have greater confidence in its decision-making abilities than it should. In order to become more effective leaders, we need a much deeper understanding of how our brain works and how it often gets in the way of winning.

As CEO and Managing Director of THE HUMAN FACTOR, Inc., Holly helps business leaders and their companies achieve excellence by creating clarity on what winning looks like and determining how to get there.  Her unique approach to strategic agility, alignment and engagement - based on the approach Pause, Think, Focus, Run - provides the tools, techniques, and skills companies need to reach their destinations and achieve their goals.

To order her book click HERE            Holly's website is http://thehumanfactor.biz/

For more information about the Executive Girlfriends' Group see: http://www.executivegirlfriendsgroup.com

I'd Rather Be In Charge: A Legendary Business Leader's Roadmap for Achieving Pride Power and Joy at Work by Charlotte Beers

This on demand audio series is a part of the Executive Girlfriends Group Vignette Series. Chicke Fitzgerald interviews Charlotte Beers. The original live interview was 9/12/14.

Throughout her illustrious career, Charlotte Beers has been a CEO, a Chairman, an Undersecretary of State, and the first woman to appear on the cover of Fortune Magazine. Based on wisdom Charlotte has gained on her journey from a brand management position at Uncle Ben's Rice, to Chairman of two worldwide advertising agencies, to Undersecretary of State, I’d Rather Be in Charge offers sophisticated guidance from an inside source who has been in the trenches. Part personal history, part pragmatic guide, her book gives women the tools they need to gain a level of self-belief that will help them succeed in the modern workplace.

Charlotte began her career at J. Walter Thompson Advertising, becoming the first female Senior Vice President in the firm's history. From there, Charlotte was called to bring her skills as a turnaround agent to Tatham-Laird & Kudner as CEO. Her success there led her to become Chairman/CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide. From 2001 to 2003, she served as Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy & Public Affairs, taking on the task of bringing Brand America to the world.

Charlotte's website is  http://charlottebeers.com/

To order her book click HERE

For more information about the Executive Girlfriends' Group see: http://www.executivegirlfriendsgroup.com

Catherine Carr- Living Without Borders" for Médecins Sans Frontières’(MSF)

Catherine Carr compares being stuck in her work and life like constantly washing dishes. Dull, unchallenging and stagnant. That is, until she decided she was through being stuck and ready to dream big. Catherine’s metaphoric dishwashing days were over.

She went on the Doctors Without Borders website and, to her great surprise, found a job that fit her skills. It hadn’t even occurred to Catherine that there would be “normal jobs” like finance, operations and human resources within Doctors Without Borders. But just a few weeks later, she was hired as an HR finance coordinator and was off to Kenya to support the organization’s mission of international medical and humanitarian aid.

Amid the Parisian upheavals of May 1968, a group of young doctors decided to go and help victims of wars and major disasters. This new brand of humanitarianism would reinvent the concept of emergency aid.

"It’s simple really: go where the patients are. It seems obvious, but at the time it was a revolutionary concept because borders got in the way. It’s no coincidence that we called it ‘Médecins Sans Frontières’." MSF is known internationally in English as Doctors Without Borders. Bernard Kouchnermsk- Founder

MSF website is http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

To donate to MSF go to http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/support-us/donation-faq

This on demand audio series is a part of the Executive Girlfriends Group Vignette Series. Chicke Fitzgerald interviews Christine Bader. The original live interview was 05/09/14.

There is an invisible army of people deep inside the world’s biggest and best-known companies, pushing for safer and more responsible practices. They are trying to prevent the next Rana Plaza factory collapse, the next Deepwater Horizon explosion, the next Foxconn labor abuses. Obviously, they don’t always succeed.

Christine Bader was one of those people. She loved BP and then-CEO John Browne’s lofty rhetoric on climate change and human rights.

Bader’s story of working deep inside the belly of the beast is unique in its details, but not in its themes: of feeling like an outsider both inside the company (accused of being a closet activist) and out (assumed to be a corporate shill); of getting mixed messages from senior management; of being frustrated with corporate life but committed to pushing for change from within.

Christine Bader is also a Visiting Scholar and Lecturer at Columbia University, where she co-teaches a course on Human Rights and Business, and a Human Rights Advisor to BSR.

Christine's website is http://christinebader.com/

To order her book click HERE

For more information about the Executive Girlfriends' Group see: http://www.executivegirlfriendsgroup.com

This on demand audio series is a part of the Executive Girlfriends Group Vignette Series. Chicke Fitzgerald interviews Lisa Earle McLeod. The original live interview was 4/25/14.

Drawing on two decades of consulting with leading sales organizations, sales leadership expert Lisa Earle McLeod reveals how a Noble Sales Purpose (NSP) can drive a team to outstanding sales numbers. Using hard data and compelling field stories, Selling with Purpose explains why salespeople who understand earnestly how they make a difference to customers outperform their more quota-driven counterparts.  In an era where most organizations believe that money is the only way to motivate salespeople, Selling With Purpose offers a sustainable and exciting alternative.

Lisa began her career with Procter & Gamble, where she established herself as a sales leader and highly-skilled sales coach. She established her own firm in 1993. She’s spent over 10,000 hours coaching sales people and leaders and has conducted over 500 workshops and keynotes. McLeod is the Sales Leadership expert for Forbes.com and the author of 4 bestselling books in three different genres: business, personal development, and humor.

Lisa and her husband Bob live in Atlanta. They are the parents of two fabulous daughters.

Lisa's website is http://www.mcleodandmore.com/

To order her book go to HERE

For more information about the Executive Girlfriends' Group see: http://www.executivegirlfriendsgroup.com

This on demand audio series is a part of the Executive Girlfriends Group Vignette Series. Chicke Fitzgerald interviews Michele Howe. The original live interview was 4/11/14.

What is it that keeps you afloat? What do you rely on to hold you steady when everything threatens to pull you under? In Burden Lifters: Every Woman's Daily Guide to a Healthy, Happy Life, author Michele Howe offers women of all walks of life a generous supply of buoyant, faith-full, healthy-living guidance for everyday life. Utilizing real examples of other women who have triumphed over hardship, hurts, and disappointment, Burden Lifters engages women’s hearts and minds while teaching them to rely on the truth of God’s Word.

Michele Howe is a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, FaithfulReader.com, Retailers + Resources, Foreword Magazine, TeenReads.com, KidReads.com, among many others national and international publications. She has published over 1600 reviews/articles and has been featured on numerous radio shows across the country speaking on topics such as parenting and a diverse range of women’s health issues.

Her work has been published in MORE, FIRST for Women, Good Housekeeping, SheKnows.com, BettyConfidential, HelloWorld, Christianity Today, Discipleship Journal, Midwest Living, Parentlife, Fullfill, Christian Single, Single Parent Family, Focus on the Family, PRISM, and Connections. Michele is the author of thirteen books for women.

Michele's website is http://michelehowe.wordpress.com/

To order Michele's book click HERE

For more information about the Executive Girlfriends' Group see: http://www.executivegirlfriendsgroup.com

This on demand audio series is a part of the Executive Girlfriends Group Vignette Series. Chicke Fitzgerald interviews Erin McHugh. The original live interview was 4/04/14

During an afternoon of coffee and conversation, a friend of Erin McHugh’s pointed out that she frequently invoked quotations and memories from her mother. Then Erin started noticing how many other people did the same. It also became clear how humorous, moving, and unusual these gems were—so she decided to do something about it.

In Like My Mother Always Said, McHugh, author of the successful Abrams Image feel-good title One Good Deed, collects the wonderful and laugh-worthy words that our moms tell us in their attempts to be helpful and instructive. (Whether they succeed or not is another thing entirely!)

Erin McHugh is a former publishing executive and award-winning author of more than twenty books of popular nonfiction, including trivia, gay history, children's books, and much more. She lives in New York City and South Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Got any “momisms” you’d like to add? Erin would love to hear from you. You can send your submission directly to [email protected].

Erin's website is http://onegooddeedbook.com/about/

To purchase Erin's book click HERE

You may read more about Erin on Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erin-mchugh/

For more information about the Executive Girlfriends' Group see: http://www.executivegirlfriendsgroup.com

This on demand audio series is a part of the Executive Girlfriends Group Vignette Series. Chicke Fitzgerald interviews Dr. Mollie Marti. The original live interview was 3/28/14.

In this thoughtful and inspiring portrait of a man devoted to serving others, Marti shares how she lost her way when she left her mentor’s side — and how the ageless wisdom of his spiritual and professional teachings gave her a second chance to maneuver the busyness of life.

In returning to his guidance on how to live after her life imploded from a cardiac virus, she walks a path of self discovery that brings healing. Walking this path with Marti and her mentor will infuse your life with new meaning…and very well may forever change how you live.

An emotionally rich recount of Judge Rosenn’s unique philosophy, Walking with Justice is a spiritually nourishing testament to living intentionally.

Mollie Marti is a wife, mom, resilience researcher, educator, psychologist, lawyer, author, and speaker passionate about living full out and sharing the journey in community with others.

Join her for weekly musings on this grand experiment at www.DrMollie.com

To read more about Dr. Mollie go to http://www.walkingwithjustice.com/author/

To purchase her book click HERE

For more information about the Executive Girlfriends' Group see: http://www.executivegirlfriendsgroup.com