Your Working Life

BREAKING THROUGH

Communicating to Open Minds, Move Hearts, and Change the World

"The world was depending on us. But vaccine skepticism, suspicion around Big Pharma's motives, economic insecurity, political polarization, civil unrest, and just plain fear were challenges we had to recognize and respect. We had to address those challenges in a way that didn't alienate people but, instead, brought them into the conversation. Was I up to the task? I'd have to be," declares Sally Susman, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Pfizer. In 2020, she found herself at the helm of one of the most urgent, high-stakes public dialogues of our times. Based on her flash of insight, she and her team found ways to break through the noise and fear and persuade millions to change their assumptions about Big Pharma, make complex science accessible, and build confidence in the lifesaving technology.

In BREAKING THROUGH, Susman shares hard-earned lessons not only from the pandemic but from her life and distinguished career, from growing up in St. Louis, to the steps of Capitol Hill, to the corridors of corporate America, including senior positions at American Express and Estée Lauder. The vivid stories, from her own and other high-profile successes and missteps, provide a masterclass for communicating with authority and authenticity. As she explains:

· Communications is not a soft skill. It's a rock-hard competency. A communications skill set is as crucial as sales, manufacturing, technology - or any other discipline - to business success.

· Brilliant communications begin with a clear intention. What do you want to convey? Why are you talking? How do you want the listener to feel? Answering these questions and sharpening your focus is essential to delivering your message with clarity and impact.

· Being a powerful communicator is the first step to being a great leader. Having worked with nine chief executive officers across three companies, Susman has seen that only exceptional communicators can inspire people, create momentum, and drive meaningful change.

· It's harder today to break through the static and noise. However, anyone can be an outstanding communicator, Susman declares. Her ten simple principles provide the tools to break through the cacophony to feel both heard and understood.

· Seeking Harmony is more important than ever. In our highly divided, often acrimonious world, we don't all see things the same way. Rather than argue, she says, let's commit to disagree agreeably, to co-exist with varying views, and to demonstrate respect.

In BREAKING THROUGH, Susman demonstrates that, at every level, communications and leadership are no longer merely entwined, but inseparable. Her guidance is for anyone who needs to be heard and understood above the noise and confusion of the modern world.

Sally Susman is Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Pfizer. She is also Vice Chair of the Pfizer Foundation. Sally leads engagement with all of Pfizer's external stakeholders, overseeing communications, corporate responsibility, global policy, government relations, investor relations, and patient advocacy. Before joining Pfizer in 2007, she held several senior communications and government relations roles at Estée Lauder Companies and the American Express Company.

Megan Carle spent 30 years rising steadily through the ranks at Nike, finishing her career there as Vice President/General Manager of Basketball for North America, where she drove businesses featuring superstars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. She was elevated multiple times to roles no woman had ever held, including stints leading international teams in London and Amsterdam. She founded Carle Consulting LLC, where she gives workshops on handling workplace bullying and creating an inclusive culture of connection and trust. You can learn more at www.megancarle.com

Megan Carle worked at Nike for over 30 years, rising up the ranks to eventually become head of North American Basketball. But she left shortly after attaining her dream job due to a toxic workplace culture that allowed and left unpunished workplace bullying.

Carle isn't alone, and Nike isn't an outlier among employers. Workplace bullying is called "the undiscussable" business topic, despite affecting 80 million Americans a year—that's 1/2 of the U.S. workforce. This behavior costs employers in terms of lost productivity and lost talent, but many companies don't recognize the markers that indicate this unhealthy workplace culture exists. In our era of "quiet quitting" and the "great resignation," it's clearly critical for employees and businesses to shine a light on workplace bullying.

In her book WALK AWAY TO WIN: A Playbook to Combat Workplace Bullying (McGraw Hill; on sale May 16, 2023; hardcover; $26.00), Carle tells her own story, and those of other real men and women she interviewed for the book. But more importantly, she pulls back the curtain to offer a clear description of what workplace bullying is, what it might look like, what targets can and should do to try to combat their bullies, and how colleagues and mentors can help when they see someone at work being treated in this terrible fashion.

IG: @meganmcarle

LinkedIn: @megan-carle

Twitter: @MeganMCarle

Lisa Bragg is the award-winning entrepreneur behind MediaFace, one of Canada's first content companies and the soon-to-be-published author of Bragging Rights: How to Talk About Your Work Using Purposeful Self-Promotion.

Lisa is on a mission to help people talk about their successes. Put your head down, do good work and eventually, someone will notice you is the lesson many of us learned to get ahead, but in reality, it's a lesson in staying stuck while opportunities slip away. Lisa's also conducted the most extensive research study into bragging and self-promotion and would be thrilled to share the research, stories and tips with your audience.

Select consulting clients include BMO, Raymond James, Sun Life, RBC, CAA, Ontario Government (VOR), UHN, Children's Aid Societies, Learning Disabilities Association Ontario, everywoman (UK organization), Dentons, and Canadian Defence Lawyers.

Lisa is also the host of the podcast Bold(h)er: Stories of and for Women Who Stand Out, for BMO for Women.

Lesley Jane Seymour is a media entrepreneur and founder of CoveyClub, a new club for lifelong learners launched in February 2017 (Covey is a small flock of birds). CoveyClub allows women 40+ to bond over issues of interest and concern through virtual salons (Coffee & Conversation Zoom calls) or topics in the CoveyClub blog which is written and produced by the best journalists around the world. CoveyClub also offers a weekly podcast called Reinvent Yourself with Lesley Jane Seymour with women who have done it, tight one-on-one networking groups called Covey Pods, a private social app (CoveyConnect) and special weekly coaching sessions called Positive Mornings. Seymour is a certified Tiny Habits coach.

In January 2008, Seymour was named Editor-In-Chief of More Magazine, the leading lifestyle magazine for women over forty with a readership of 1.5 million and Editor-in-Chief and Social Media director of More.com. In July of 2015, Seymour created history by having the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, guest edit an entire issue—leading to 8.5 billion media impressions worldwide. In 2008, Seymour led More to its first National Magazine Award nomination. In 2012, Seymour was named Executive Director of Meredith's Beauty Center of Excellence; in 2009 she was named number four on the 2009 Most Powerful Fashion Editors List by Forbes magazine.

Before taking over More, Seymour served as the Editor-in-Chief for Marie Claire magazine, Redbook magazine, and teen book YM. She was Beauty Director of Glamour, and senior editor at Vogue. She is the author of two books: On the Edge, 100 Years of Vogue and I Wish My Parents Understood. In 2013 she was named Chair of the Editorial Advisory Board for Duke Magazine and a Global Ambassador for Vital Voices. She is a trustee at Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Do you head to work every day feeling as if you're living a lie, in fear of raising your authentic voice because you worry about how others will perceive you? If you're stifling your hopes and dreams in your career—and feel yourself shrinking—you may be ready to embrace your Wild Hair! Tracy J. Edmonds struck out bravely into that uncharted territory in her role as Chief Diversity Officer at a Fortune 500 Company. Once she made the leap and literally let loose her "wild hair," she never looked back. Tracy defines a Wild Hair moment as the point in your career when you hit a crossroad and ask, "Am I being true to myself? What do I really want in my career?" It's the moment when you choose you—your authentic self. Wild Hair will resonate with all inquisitive, ambitious, and hard-working women—especially minority women—who sit on a mountain of untapped potential. You have a unique contribution to make in this world. So, what are you waiting for? Don't ignore your authentic voice. Elevate to that next level by following this courageous woman's guide to a bold and authentic career today.

Wild Hair, A Courageous Woman's Guide to a Bold and Authentic Career

Nicole Gebhardt is the Founder and Chief Storyteller at Niche Pressworks (https://nichepressworks.com), a full-service publishing agency that works exclusively with mission-driven business leaders. She and her mighty team have helped over 200 speakers, coaches, consultants, and influencers expand their influence and grow their business through strategic book planning and publishing.

In this episode we flip the script and Nicole interviews Your Working Life host, Caroline Dowd-Higgins about her new book, Your Career Advantage: Overcome Challenges to Achieve a Rewarding Work Life

Whether you are a mid-career professional, or a C-Suite executive, you know that navigating a career journey can be overwhelming with the challenges you face, and the blind spots you never see. Often living your best life becomes an afterthought. Discover the secrets to having a successful career while you enjoy a fulfilling life. With relatable examples, and actionable Pro Tips, Your Career Advantage reveals how to:

· Advance your career and own your power

· Deal with a difficult boss, or colleague

· Implement practical solutions for overwhelm, exhaustion, and burn-out

· Kick Imposter Syndrome in the ass and own your self-confidence for good

With savvy insights and actionable tactics, Caroline Dowd-Higgins helps you break through the disruption and elevate your influence. It's like having her as your personal executive coach to guide you through relatable career scenarios to help you make the maximum impact. Your Career Advantage delivers innovative ideas, inspiration, and techniques that work in a smart and entertaining playbook.

https://carolinedowdhiggins.com/

Donna Griffit, author of STICKING TO MY STORY: The Alchemy Of Storytelling For Startups, is a world-renowned Corporate Storyteller and Pitch Alchemist. She has helped over 1000 startups, corporates and investors raise over one billion dollars and accelerate their sales with a personal touch and unmatched messaging savvy, in any industry, at any phase. For more information, please visit www.DonnaGriffit.com

THE ART OF STORYTELLING FOR STARTUPS

Corporate Storyteller Donna Griffit Shares How To Deliver Winning Investor Presentations

Storytelling as an art has been practiced for thousands of years, but entrepreneurs focused on building their businesses often lose sight of telling great stories during investor presentations. In STICKING TO MY STORY: The Alchemy Of Storytelling For Startups, corporate storytelling expert Donna Griffit distills her experience from reviewing thousands of investor pitch decks into an easy-to-use guide for startup founders.

The human brain is hardwired for a structured story, says Griffit. Just as buildings need a foundation, frame, walls, windows, and paint, investor pitches require the proper structure. "When you see approximately 50 investor pitch decks a week over 14 years, you see a lot of repeat mistakes. And when you fix these decks, you see many successes," she says.

A startup investor pitch deck is merely a story and the entrepreneurs are merely acting out the story. STICKING TO MY STORY provides a high-level outline of the four 'chunks', or acts, of a Startup Pitch Deck:

· The Need The problem, or the villain of the story.

· The Solution The hero of the story; what will solve the problem and slay the villain?

· The Business Plan What will happen after the hero takes action?

· Moving Forward The aftermath; hoping that the hero is triumphant.

ALI GREENE is co-founder of Remote Works, an organizational design and consulting firm with a mission to liberate teams from the nine-to-five and teach them how to do their best work anytime, anywhere. Along with Tamara Sanderson, Ali Green has spent a combined two decades in distributed workplaces: Greene as the former director of people operations at DuckDuckGo and Sanderson as the director of strategic partnerships and corporate development at Automattic. Throughout their joint career history, they've worked in varied environments, including big tech (Google), startups (Oyster, LivingSocial), creative agencies (IDEO, Undertone), and management consulting and private equity (Oliver Wyman, Audax Group). Their new book, Remote Works: Managing for Freedom, Flexibility, and Focus (Berrett-Koehler Publishers; February 7, 2023), is the ultimate playbook for managing remote teams.

www.remoteworksbook.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

· https://www.linkedin.com/in/greeneali/

· Instagram - Seeingreene

· Hashtags #remoteworks #remoteworksbook

Remote Works: Managing for Freedom, Flexibility, and Focus – by Ali Greene & Tamara Sanderson

BETH FISHER-YOSHIDA, PH.D., CCS, is a global expert and educator in intercultural negotiation and communication. She's the program director of Columbia University's Master of Science in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, a negotiation consultant for the United Nations, and the CEO of the consulting agency Fisher Yoshida International. She works in the U.S. and worldwide, conducting workshops on leadership, culture, workplace conflict, and negotiation, and boasts a client list that includes Fortune 100 companies, nonprofits, military and security forces, governments, NGOs, and educational institutions. Her new book, New Story, New Power: A Woman's Guide to Negotiation , helps women of all ages make successful negotiations a reality. Learn more at bethfisheryoshida.com

Karen Dillon is a former editor of Harvard Business Review and coauthor of The Microstress Effect: How Little Things Pile Up and Create Big Problems — and What to Do About It. She is also coauthor of three books with Clayton Christensen, including the New York Times bestseller How Will You Measure Your Life?

She and her co-author, Rob Cross interviewed 300 people from 30 global companies, evenly split between women and men, from 2019 to 2021.

Article in Harvard Business Review: The Hidden Toll of Microstresses

Microstresses are small moments of stress that seem manageable on their own — think a vague, worrying text from your teen flashing on your phone while you're in a meeting, the appearance of a colleague who always wants to vent to you, or having to tell your team that the project you've all been grinding out extra hours on is no longer a priority. But these microstresses aren't as harmless as they seem. Because they're so small and brief, they don't trigger the normal stress response in our brains to help us cope; instead, microstress embeds itself in our minds and accrues over time. The long-term impact of this buildup is debilitating: It saps our energy, damages our physical and emotional health, and contributes to a decline in our overall well-being. But once you understand the science behind microstress and where it comes from, you can fight back. Fresh research will teach you how to recognize and manage microstress's most common forms.