Mark speaks with Daphne E. Jones , author of Win When They Say You Won't: Break Through Barriers and Keep Leveling Up Your Success. Together we explore what it’s like to grow up as a black woman and forge oneself into a career leader. Daphne details her experience as a young black girl in Illinois forging mental toughness and determination to form her own reality.

Today, Commander Divine speaks with Daphne E. Jones, author of Win When They Say You Won't: Break Through Barriers and Keep Leveling Up Your Success. In the episode, Daphne details her experience as a young black girl in Illinois forging mental toughness and determination to form her own reality. Today, Daphne E. Jones has 30+ years of experience in general management and executive level roles at IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Hospira, and General Electric.

Key Takeaways:

“That’s your belief, not mine.” Daphne was told by her career counselor that black girls don’t successfully make it in college and that she should instead go to secretary school. She followed his advice, but today she’s a corporate board member and has held leadership positions at several Fortune 500 companies.

Daphne’s 4-step process for change. EDIT stands for Envision, Design, Iterate, and Transform. Through her experience at IBM for several years, Daphne details her process for creation & iteration in life and business for ultimate success & improvement.

The will of a mother’s mind. Daphne shares how her mother’s mental training through childhood was the driving force for her to believe in herself and defy all the odds in her career as a black woman. We are all worthy of a mentor. For many, like Daphne, reaching out for support and seeking a mentor can seem intimidating. But when you ask yourself if you would give someone else support… don’t you think other people would be happy to give you theirs?