VOL. 07 | ISSUE 05 | 2020
EXPERT’S ADVICE THE GLASS CEILING EFFECT: ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON WOMEN AND LEADERSHIP
WOMEN IMPOWER DYNAMICS OF WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN THE EVER-CHANGING MODERN WORKFORCE
Editor’s Desk
Frontrunners of New Age
Leading others also consists: making others resilient, visionary and capable
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n last few months a novel virus known as the coronavirus has transformed into a pandemic and spread infecting hundreds of thousands of people around the world and impacting humankind societally. And while we have yet to see the incalculable impact that will follow the pandemic—due to state and nationwide lockdowns, the closure of countless businesses, social distancing, and/or transition to remote work for millions across the world—every one of us has begun to witness its severe impact on the global economy. Businesspersons, in specific, are one of the people that have been greatly affected economically by the COVID19 pandemic. From marketing and branding to technology, healthcare to food industry and in between, businesses has been forced to continuously adapt to the changing tides. In this edition, 10 businesswomen share their inspiring stories of how they are leading business in this era of crisis and navigating the effects of COVID-19. In its upcoming edition “The 20 Most Successful Businesswoman to Watch”, Insights Success is bringing the journeys of some of these dynamic who are recognized for successful business ideas, leadership and entrepreneurship across the world. The cover features Lori Cornmesser, a visionary businesswoman who has a proven track record in all aspects of building and driving field/channel sales with a strong focus on strategic marketing and business
planning combined with skilled sales and contract negotiation abilities. Since joining Infoblox in May 2018, Lori has advocated for channel culture, prioritized the importance of building channel relationships and hosted Infoblox’s inaugural Americas Partners Summit. In her role as Vice President of Worldwide Channel and Alliance Sales at Infoblox, Lori is responsible for advancing the agenda of partners and ensuring they are seen as a revenue engine that can help the company scale and be successful. She has built out a highly skilled team across the Americas, EMEA and APJ partner teams. She has set the foundation and strategy to become the vendor of choice with partners and continues to work with her team to deliver program assets and tools in the way partners go to market. Let’s unveil such alike, inspiring stories and interviews of many such passionate leaders in this special edition and spread a word about their contribution in making this world a better place. Also, while flipping the pages, don’t forget to go through the articles and CXOs written by our inhouse editorial team and industry experts respectively.
Rohit Chaturvedi
Cover Story
Articles 34
Expert’s Advice The Glass Ceiling Effect: Another Perspective on Women and Leadership
68 Women Impower Dynamics of Women participation in the ever-changing modern workforce
10 Lori Cornmesser A Strategic Thinker and Tactical Executor
Cont ent
ts
18 Anaida Deti An Inspirational Health Entrepreneur
30 Chaitra Vedullapalli
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Helping to Achieve Economic Prosperity
Barbara Ann Bernard A Successful Entrepreneur in a Competitive Industry
38 Cydni Tetro Redefining the Customary Way of Doing Business
26 Carolyn Hogg An Entrepreneurial Leader covering all the Tasks
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Fia Johansson Being an Aid to the Law Enforcement
60 Karin Lohitnavy
48
A Passion Driven Leader
Fiona Bruder Making Disruptive Changes through Experiential Marketing
64 Laura Brando
52
An Influencer and Powerful Mortgage Professional
Jennifer Breen Making Home Happen Through Temporary Housing Services
72 Manuela Beil-Peter A Well Organized and Pro-active Individual
56 Jennifer Ladouceur A Role Model Inspiring Passion & Innovation in Others
76 Margaret Graziano Creating High- Performance Organizational Culture to Boost Businesses
88 Sarah Peiker
80
Renowned RPO Leader for Recruiting A Talented Workforce
Nicole Enders The Next Generation Superintendent
92 Tamma Carel
84
Driving Sustainability through Passion and Professionalism
Nicole Iseppi Advocating Greater Industry Collaboration & Increase Efficiency in the Global Energy Sector
Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Managing Editor Anish Miller
Executive Editor
Assistant Editors
Rohit Chaturvedi
Jenny Fernandes Bhushan Ghate
Visualizer
Art & Design Director
Associate Designer
David King
Amol Kamble
Kushagra Gupta
Co-designer Deepanjali Jena
Senior Sales Manager
Business Development Manager
Kshitij S
Andy Mitter
Marketing Manager
Sales Executives
John Matthew
Daniel, Ethan, Vishnu Vardan
Technical Head
Business Development Executives
Jacob Smile
Anish, Joe, Alan, Omkar
Technical Specialist Aditya
Digital Marketing Manager Marry D'Souza
SME-SMO Executive Amol Wadekar
Research Analyst Frank Adams
Database Management Stella Andrew
Circulation Manager Robert Brown
Technology Consultant David Stokes
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LORI
CORNMESSER A Strategic Thinker and Tactical Executor COVERSTORY
Lori Cornmesser Vice President of Worldwide Channel & Alliance Sales
Infoblox
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good leader need not only be an expert in their industry, but must see the bigger picture, and understand their roles in the wider world. They need to believe that change is possible and worthwhile and be able to convey that message to others in a way that has meaning. This quality is best summed up in one word — vision. A leader with vision is a leader who can see the path ahead and inspires others to help them turn a dream into a reality. Lori Cornmesser is one such visionary businesswoman who has a proven track record in all aspects of building and driving ďŹ eld/channel sales with a strong focus on strategic marketing and business planning combined with skilled sales and contract negotiation abilities.
Since joining Infoblox in May 2018, Lori has advocated for channel culture, prioritized the importance of building channel relationships and hosted Infoblox's inaugural Americas Partners Summit. In her role as Vice President of Worldwide Channel and Alliance Sales at Infoblox, Lori is responsible for advancing the agenda of partners and ensuring they are seen as a revenue engine that can help the company scale and be successful. She has built out a highly skilled team across the Americas, EMEA and APJ partner
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Do what you say you're going to do. Keep it simple and surround yourself with great people that have skills and talent that you do not.
teams. She has set the foundation and strategy to become the vendor of choice with partners and continues to work with her team to deliver program assets and tools in the way partners go to market. Embracing Diversity Lori is of German and African American descent. She relates to issues of diversity and understands the importance of not only celebrating diversity, but also in spreading an understanding of diverse backgrounds and cultivating diverse work environments. Lori was born into this world biracial. Diversity chose her. Her mother refers to this as her honor and obligation. She was chosen to see the world through a different glass. Growing up in Silicon Valley – she stood alone in many conference rooms being the solo female and minority. As a result, today she served as the President of the Silicon Valley branch of the California Diversity Council and she is active in the community on these topics. In-depth Experience Lori is an accomplished Global Channel and Commercial Management Executive with 25+ years of in- depth experience in managed services, computer networking, network management/security, and the hardware industry. She has spent a career, developing deep relationships with field team leadership, supplying revenue, and protecting long-term marketplace viability and growth.
Lori believes that organizations should be customer centric and her own leadership style incorporate that philosophy of maintaining strong rapport with existing and prospective clients. Lori is known for her ability to balance strategic thinking, tactical execution and developing C-suite partnerships while amplifying company loyalty and promoting innovation in the marketplace. Among her many accolades, she has been named to the CRN Channel Chiefs list for 2016-2020 and recognized by CRN as one of the Top Women of the Channel in 20092020. She also made the coveted Power 100 list in 20142020. Lori was also named by the Diversity Journal as the Woman to Watch of 2011 and recently received Most Powerful Women in Technology Award in August 2019. While she is dedicated to her career and works extremely hard in order to contribute greatly to the growth and success of her company, as well as the growth and success of herself within her field, Lori has also served as the President of the Silicon Valley branch of the larger umbrella organization, the California Diversity Council. Endless Flexibility Infoblox solutions offer endless flexibility to meet the requirements of its customers across a broad range of verticals including but not limited to financial services, healthcare, government, retail, higher education and service providers. The solutions can be deployed on-premises, fully in the cloud (SaaS), as cloud managed and/or as a hybrid
solution, offering choice and seamless integration into their existing architectures. Balance is the Key Lori considers it is important that businesswoman put their heart into the business by being kind to people. She asks to work hard, smart, and with a sense of urgency. She advises businesswomen to work with a sense of purpose, meaning, mission, urgency, and grabbing what one want. She says that hustle means working harder, smarter, and faster than other people. She considers it is vital to our survival to have balance in our lives and taking care of ourselves. According to Lori, to have balance in work and life, these are the steps every businesswoman must take:
Me’ Time Lori says, ‘Me’ time is the most important of all the tips out there. Nothing can beat ‘Me’ time. Having even an hour during the day can help unwind and feel energized. It will recharge one to go out in the world and get stuff done like a boss.
Ÿ
Learn to prioritize & stay organized When it comes to work-life balance, there is no standard template. The idea is to set priorities right as per her needs and situation and allocate enough time to each of the important activities. However, accept that there is no perfect equilibrium. Stay organized when it comes to the daily routine activities and allocate a certain amount of time to each task. Ÿ
Healthy Eating Habits + Workout + Meditation For Lori, healthy food, workout and meditation also play crucial part in achieving balance between life and work. She asserts “Our eating habits suffer the most when we have a hectic schedule. It is very important to eat healthy food. Most of us spend all day sitting and working on our machines. When you work 10 hours a day, working out may seem impossible. On days when you do not have time, take small steps with mini-workout routine. Ditch the elevators and take stairs instead. Take 5 minutes of stretching in between meetings.” Further she says use meditation apps like calm to take a 5 mins break from the stressful packed day.
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Learn to say ‘No’ Say ‘No’ to things that do not align with personal goals. She thinks “Often, we spend too much engaging in activities or Ÿ
The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch
taking up tasks that do not contribute to our goals. It is okay to say no sometimes. And it certainly does not mean that you are lazy or running away from responsibilities. It simply means that your time is valuable and should not be spent on non-value adding activities.” Huge Contribution Infoblox is a very exciting company at a pivotal point for many organizations as they embark on their digital transformation journey. The innovation and next level approach to business allows Infoblox to remain a leader in the market. Lori serves as the global leader of Infoblox's Worldwide Partner Sales organization and is responsible for indirect sales, partner performance, channel reach, revenue attainment and partner profitability. She helps lead the Partner program, and oversees strategy, operations, marketing and enablement. All of this allows scale and reach resulting in increased revenue and fast time to market. Technology and Business Although aligning the IT and business strategy takes time and cooperation, it is an exercise worth completing. When IT is working to support business goals it leads to happier, more productive teams, smarter investments and greater return. It’s important to remember that alignment is not a one-off, box ticking activity. Alignment is something which requires regular reviews, assessments and adjustments. From Lori’s point of view, IT and technology are helping to solve problems where human power alone is not enough. But technology alone cannot create a company culture, where human interactions are valued. Because it is people who are assigned to work on this technology and to
encourage them the entrepreneurs keeps their spirit alive. Infoblox has mastered a way of creating an interesting work environment, interactive dialogues among employees, support and motivation to the employees, reward system, etc. reflects the culture of the company. Hence, entrepreneurial spirit and technology should go hand in hand. Therefore, we need evolving technology as well as intelligent humans. A Mother Behind A Leader Sharing on life changing incident, Lori says, “Being a mother is not another role I embody; it is THE role of my life. Motherhood did not change me, it made me. It has fueled my career choices, my determination and my passion for life. My children have become an extension of my welllived life. They become a new perspective, a different motivator, and a joyous way to see life from another angle.” Being a Seeker and Learner Lori considers that asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. No one got to where they are today without help along the way. She encourages businesswomen to ask for help and then remember to return the favor. Lori’s father always said to her, “if you think you are the smartest person in the room you are in the wrong room.” Lori gives advice to aspiring women entrepreneurs to never stop learning.
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Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. No one got to where they are today without help along the way.
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VOL 07 | ISSUE 05 | 2020
EXPERT’S ADVICE THE GLASS CEILING EFFECT: ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON WOMEN AND LEADERSHIP
WOMEN IMPOWER DYNAMICS OF WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN THE EVER-CHANGING MODERN WORKFORCE
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Choose E xc e l l e n t, Choose Insights
The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch
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Chaitra Vedullapalli Co- founder & CMO Meylah
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The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch
Helping to Achieve Economic Prosperity
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haitra Vedullapalli the Co- founder and CMO of Meylah is recognized as an Influential Business Leader with a passion to enable digital equity and access to achieve economic prosperity in our communities. Vedullapalli is also the Co-Founder & President of Women in Cloud , sits on many boards and drives global conversations with the United Nations and top corporations throughout the U.S.
development, client management as well as the marketing and PR coordination. She is regularly keeping track of social media handles and other PR activities. She also ideates several products for Meylah. Speaker Engage is one of her brainchild to transform the events industry to adopt cloud technologies
Give a brief overview of your background and Chaitra’s role in Meylah. Chaitra Vedullapalli is originally from India and moved to the United States 25 years ago with her husband Ram Vedullapalli. She did electrical engineering from RVCE in India and has worked with tech giants like Oracle and Microsoft before starting her own business, Meylah Corporation, partnering with her husband.
How do you diversify your solutions that appeal to your target audience? Meylah's mission is to help companies access the digital economy. A lot of our efforts are focused on working with corporations and their channels to ignite local economic development leveraging technologies, communities and programs. We work with customers to drive digital transformation with cloud & AI technologies. We leverage blue ocean business model thinking to design and develop solutions that create access to digital economy and reduce cost of doing business. During this progress, we spend a lot of time accessing what solutions actually will become sticky and develop diverse solutions to address market needs.
Chaitra is the Co- founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Meylah. As the CMO she is often responsible for business
Describe some of the vital attributes that every businesswoman should possess.
In an interview with Insights Success, the spokesperson of Meylah shares the journey of Chaitra and the company. Below are the highlights of the interview;
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“I was at Oracle when my mentor, Bronwyn Hasting, now EVP at SAP said a person who leads from the back and ensures everyone is taken care of is a True Leader. She also said you can say you are a leader when you have created leaders who have created leaders. That resonated with my philosophy of serving, influencing and partnering with people to lead change. I believe every leader comes with their own set of traits and brings in their perspective through their experiences. Hence a “great leader” is subjective. However, I believe there are certain leadership traits that make a leader stand out in the crowd: 1. Coachability: Being coachable empowers the people around you to learn and grow. Being coachable allows you to be vulnerable with people and resolve obstacles easily. 2. Feedback Resilience: Being able to take all kinds of feedback without getting triggered is crucial in leading change. I believe when you receive feedback you are getting a gift from others and they are helping to see your own blind spots that you can see.
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3. Ego Management: As you rise to the top, your ego becomes bigger and bigger. Ability for you to manage your ego and your emotions will serve you well. Kindness is the antidote for ego slaying. 4. Access Enabler: I believe that every leader priority must be to enable access for their employees, customers and partners to realize their potential. I believe in creating economic access and have dedicated my life to this cause.” Chaitra Vedullapalli What were the past experiences, achievements or lessons that shaped Chaitra’s journey? What were some of the primal challenges and roadblocks that you guys faced during the initial phase of Chaitra Vedullapalli’s journey? Although, in current times, women are given opportunities to rise, the power of influence is not showered upon women. This makes it extremely difficult for women leaders to gain economic access and power to make an
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“Invest in creating access to economic opportunities using digital technologies.” impact in society. When women do not have economic power or the ability to influence decisions they cannot truly lead their organization and create impact. Chaitra has been very vocal about roadblocks she faced as a female tech entrepreneur during the early days of Meylah. She says, “I constantly noticed in the tech industry but I was surrounded by men in channel related initiatives, in customer and investor meetings and industry events. Women were not well represented to make decisions or provide inputs to shape the narrative around equity and access. I struggled to figure out how to drive consistent growth for our business. I noticed that I was silently becoming a part of the system that did not embrace inclusion. Gender bias was real and was affecting many women business owners in the tech industry.” But Chaitra is a problem solver, and her solution to the obstacles she faced was to build Women in Cloud, a community-led, economic development initiative to accelerating societal impact through female tech entrepreneurs with the colossal goal of generating over $1B in global economic access by 2030.
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She has also been a huge believer that contributing to the community will create a larger than life impact. Chaitra brings her beliefs into the company and personally propagates it to her employees. This helps them grow personally and professionally. Collective action and collective growth is her mantra and she practices what she preaches. Where does Chaitra Vedullapalli sees herself in the near future and how will you catalyze the change? Creating an inclusive economy through the technology sector is one of the core missions. Chaitra’s passion lies around building technology solutions that create equal access for economic opportunities. When you look at her portfolio of bold ideas, it focuses on 4 core areas 1. Developing economic development solutions using modern technologies 2. Removing language bias from public and private contracting practices 3. Public policy and advocacy to create equal access to entrepreneurial opportunities 4. Closely work with United Nations and Corporations to launch campaigns and solutions to solve global goals. JULY 2020 | 33
The Glass Ceiling Effect: Another Perspective on Women and Leadership 34 | JULY 2020
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Expert’s Advice
T
he glass ceiling is a barrier so subtle that it is transparent; yet so strong that it prevents women from moving up the corporate hierarchy” ---Ann Morrison, American Author The term “Glass ceiling” can be defined as an unacknowledged upper limit in corporations and other organizations, above which it is difficult or even impossible for women to reach out to the highest ranks.“Glass ceiling” is a popular metaphor widely used for the hard-to-see informal barriers that prevents women from getting promoted or achieving further opportunities in leadership positions. The metaphor of “glass ceiling” has also been used to describe the limits and obstacles faced by racial minority groups.
“The glass ceiling is not simply a barrier for an individual, based on the person’s inability to handle a higher-level job. Rather, the glass ceiling applies to women as a group who are kept from advancing higher because they are women.”
The U.S. Department of Labor’s 1991 definition of glass ceiling is “those artificial barriers based on attitudinal or organizational bias that prevents qualified individuals from advancing upward in their organization into management-level positions.” (Report on the Glass Ceiling Initiative.)
Job isolation: Women are offered the same kinds of job roles like staff, public relations or occasionally finance specialties that rarely lead to the more powerful management positions. Over time, women are eventually excluded from jobs in the mainstream of business, the route taken by CEOs and presidents.
The Elements behind the Glass Ceiling: It is pretty obvious that women are facing a lot of hurdles to break through the glass ceiling and reach to the highest leadership position throughout the ages. Preventing both women and organizations from reaching their full potential, the invisible “Glass Ceiling” denies us all of the maximal benefits of gender diversity in leadership. Some of the most common barriers are highlighted below:
Famous American actress cum author Ann Morrison defines the concept of the Glass Ceiling as:
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Old-boy Network: There are many instances when men gets the managerial powers in an organization who manages greater numbers of people, enjoys more freedom of hiring and firing, and controls the company’s assets directly while women are deprived of such authorities and powers. It is the “Oldboys” of the organization that makes all the policy; where the women are kept virtually absent. Sex Discrimination: In a recent survey, working women were asked about the greatest obstacle they had to overcome to achieve success; “simply being a woman” was the most frequent response. In another survey by the Wall Street Journal, women leaders quoted their most serious obstacle in their business careers to be “male chauvinism, attitudes toward a female boss, slow advancement for women, and the simple fact of being a woman.” These instances are enough to prove the prevalence of sex discrimination in the workplace. Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment remains one of the biggest barriers for women in managerial roles. A corporate environment that tolerates sexual harassment intimidates and demoralizes women executives. Even after the adoption and enforcement of numerous laws against sexual harassment, women do not feel sufficiently encouraged and empowered to speak out for fear of compromising their work. Benefits of Women in Leadership: Studies found that inclusion of women in business leadership has significantly improved such factors as firm value, financial performance, economic growth, innovation and social responsiveness and philanthropy. The additional benefits of women in corporate leadership include stricter monitoring and supervision and fewer legal infractions such as fraud and embezzlement. A better balance among women in leadership positions can create a more diverse team of leaders with different perspectives and a greater ability to contribute new ideas
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and thus enhancing the profitability. The transformational leadership style often used by women tends to be a good option for contemporary organizations, as it encourages employee morale, motivation and performance. Overcoming the Barriers: Strategies Women’s progress up the corporate ladder is still limited by the “glass ceiling” despite the myriad of Government policies and programs which have been introduced to ensure that their talents and skills are recognized and accepted. Women can help themselves to overcome this career hurdle by: Acquiring appropriate business skills and know how; Taking up line‐management positions rather than management service roles; Gaining the necessary experience through “apprenticeship” and “acting positions”; Seeking career counseling; Volunteering for leadership and executive positions; And lastly, acquiring the ability to measure their operating effectiveness in the workplace. An awareness of the emergence of new barriers to their progress is also worth considering. The current socio‐economic situation is creating different “glass ceilings” in the form of the downsizing of organizations, new differentiated and self‐directed career paths, the advent of the contractual worker, and the care of aged parents. Conclusion: Since the latter half of the 20th century, women have made great paces in increasing their representation in the work force. However, a considerable gap remains in achievement of leadership positions across different fields. Renowned feminist Gloria Steinem stated it best: “Clearly no one knows what leadership has gone undiscovered in women.” It is far past time we strive to find out and finally shatter the glass ceiling.
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The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch
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ith every passing second, a substantial growth as well as disruption can be witnessed in technology sector. Though implementation of new advancements has become quite a need yet merely few leaders have able to do it. One of such impeccable leader is Cydni Tetro.
The Face of FORGEDX. Cydni Tetro is leader in innovation, digital transformation and customer experience, and is recognized as a technology leader, STEM advocate and speaker. Today as CEO of ForgeDX she is a thought-leader on technology storytelling and works with the Fortune 100 who use their platform for customer experience and transformation. She also runs the Women Tech Council a non-profit focused on the technology talent pipeline and diversity & inclusion. She is faculty for the Goldman Sachs 10k Program and Babson Executive Education. She was previously CEO and founder of venture-backed 3DplusMe, a 3D printing experience platform that partnered with Marvel, Star Wars, NFL, MLB, Hasbro, Walmart and Target to created transformative personalized customer experiences, it was acquired in 2016. Prior to that she led innovation and technology commercialization at Disney in Imagineering across Theme Parks, ESPN, ABC and Interactive. She was COO and CMO and lead innovation, product and customer experience at technology companies that were acquired by Ancestry, Proofpoint & FAST. She has been recognized Women of the Year and as top 10 Coolest Entrepreneurs. She received a Stevie Award for Entrepreneur of the Year and Innovator of the Year. Cydni sits on the board of Intermountain Healthcare, Ticket, Tribe and the Governor's Economic Forum. Cydni holds a master's degree in business administration and a bachelor's in computer science and is always looking for more ways to build relationships with people doing incredible things in technology. She states that the company's mission at ForgeDX is to inspire the world through technology storytelling. As technology continues to impact and change every industry from retail and healthcare to manufacturing, ForgeDX has the opportunity to help tell the stories and shape the impact this has on customers, employees and businesses. In healthcare, she states, this means working with technology providers to help move dialysis to the home by showcasing how healthcare workers are trained and the ways patients get information. While in fan experience, it means helping amplify the fan experience and increase safety through facial recognition software that recognizes irregular routes or activities and notifies security. Whatever the industry, innovation or story, ForgeDX's platform and technology align to the different audiences involved to help to illustrate their technology stories and make the world better.
Cy
Traits one must Posses “The value of a creative problem solver cannot be overstated,” says Cydni. She states whether you’re in leadership or an entrepreneur, every day involves mini-crises with complex tradeoffs and real time implications. It’s essential to be able to take in lots of often complex information, make tradeoffs, determine routes that are not always anticipated, and lead a team through ever changing environments. Activators are also invaluable - people who can turn ideas into action and create a balance between strategy and execution. Many people have great ideas but can never push them through, and others can drive massive projects but do not appreciate the nuance of strategy enough to make the tradeoffs necessary to stay aligned with objectives. The ability to balance customer needs, product delivery, and client relationships in a way that brings strategy and execution into harmony, while simultaneously activating teams can make a leader extremely successful in whatever venture they are a part of.
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“Know what you want and ask for it fearlessly.”
ydni Tetro Redefining the Customary Way of Doing Business
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Meet Cydni Tetro—Chief Executive Officer of ForgeDX, whose unique ideas and methodologies helped her in taking her company to successful stature. She also assisted in development and successful implementation of measures that create genderinclusive cultures where women can contribute and succeed.
Lessons worth Admiring She states that early in her career right after completing my MBA, she was working for a VP of product management in a technology company and thought she had all the answers. Once after a meeting, the VP sat her down and said, “You don't have to talk all the time.” She realized immediately that she could either ignore him, or she could take his feedback and adjust her style and interactions with people. After that interaction, she decided that she would always approach feedback openly with a desire to learn and improve. She would never have all the answers (she still knows she doesn't), but she believes that she could grow by being willing to take feedback and constantly improve. Later in her career, she had the opportunity to go to Disney and work in Imagineering on research and development. During this time, she was completely focused on how to create immersive experiences for guests that moved
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beyond transferring a message to creating a story that built to an outcome—making memories with family and friends. Instead of helping people watch a story, it was all about experience . This mindset of the power of transformative storytelling has shaped her career ever since, from founding a 3D printingentertainment line that turned people into characters in their favorite stories to her current work storytelling the future of innovation across industries and audiences. While running 3DplusMe, she was involved in raising venture capital. Most VC firms receive 1,000 or more pitches a year, and of those they usually fund around 1% or less. That means rejection is an inherent and frequent part of the process. “As you repeatedly refine your pitch to align with execution and objectives, you learn endless lessons on the combination of optimism, courage and grit. Those lessons still guide my outlook on many situations today,” says Cydni.
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“Ask fearlessly to break barriers and accelerate opportunities.”
Future through her Eyes Technology, innovation and storytelling have always been a part of her career. Her role at ForgeDX is extremely rewarding in the way it blends these passions with the opportunity to work with some of the biggest brands in retail, manufacturing, hospitality, entertainment and financial services. She is also extremely passionate about her work at the Women Tech Council helping expand the economic pipeline for women in tech by creating opportunities and visibility from high school to the boardroom. As, she lead this software company and work to unite the technology community for women, she will continue pushing forward these core parts of her DNA. Advice to Rely On Cydni states that there are two gaps in leadership that can be death sentences. First, many leaders are not teachable instead, they think they know everything, and in doing so close themselves off to important feedback and learning opportunities. The best leaders always have a mindset of learning and growth. “Adopt that from day 1 and never lose it,” suggests Cydni. Second, many leaders cannot take feedback. They assume they have everything under control and can do everything, to the point that feedback to the contrary is crippling and stunting. No one improves without support, retrospection and introspection. Make sure you always remain in a place to both receive and internalize feedback. Improvement is impossible otherwise. Beyond those two essentials, the most successful entrepreneurs are fearless. They learn to become activators, to set ideas in motion and drive bottom-line delivery. Learn to understand, monitor, mitigate and appreciate risk while fearlessly pursuing your passion.
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Being an Aid to the Law
Enforcement Having the ability to utilizing one's brain to its full capacity and the psychic gift, is more often an art. Meet Fia Johansson, also known as the Persian Medium, who—with the help of her psychic gifts—aids law enforcement, private investigators and the DA in solving cold cases. She herself is a licensed private investigator, psychic detective, producer, and best-selling author.
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The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch
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n an interview with Insights Success, Fia emphasizes on her impeccable journey and how she became a sensation in decoding the unsolved cases. She explains her first realization of her power/gift though quoting, “The first time I realized I had this gift was when it was validated by the people around me. While receiving messages or seeing images in my mind wasn’t something new to me, it wasn’t something I really understood. She has a working experience with the state, local, as well as the federal law enforcement in order to decode and solve the unsolved mysteries and disappearances, crimes and other cases. Moreover, beyond her psychic work, Fia has also co-written a book with Jack Canfield the hugely successful author, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and corporate trainer who is behind the Chicken Soup for the Soul enterprises, which has over 500 million copies in circulation. Her greatest passion in life remains the ability to help others achieve their ultimate dreams and desires, teaching people to believe that truly, anything in this life is possible. “The most energizing part of everything I do is being able to make someone overcome trauma and pain and realize their personal power. I tell everyone, no matter who they are, that their potential is infinite - and I fully believe this with every bit of my heart and soul. I always tailor my work to be able to help someone understand that they can let go of hurt, of fear, of doubt, and to take claim to a life that they have written off as impossible which I hope to bring in my new book with Jack Canfield,” says Fia. Moreover she is a businesswoman, master entrepreneur coach, keynote speaker, and author that works with celebrities, high-ranking executives and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, doctors, lawyers, foreign dignitaries, and even US government officials. As a producer of film with her company Lone Road Productions, Johansson is currently focused on “The Game Masters,” a major feature that revolves around the world of human trafficking. Fia Johansson also has two television shows in development which are being shopped to networks.
Some of Fia Johansson’s accomplishments include speaking at the United Nations as well as being featured in Forbes, the WallStreet Journal, CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox News channels. She’sreceived several Quilly Awards, including Top Female Entrepreneur, Best Writer and Thought Leader. Below are highlights of the interview conducted between Insights Success and Fia Johansson:
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Fia Johansson is a businesswoman, film producer, master entrepreneur coach, keynote speaker, and author that works with celebrities, high-ranking executives and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, doctors, lawyers, foreign dignitaries, and even US government officials. She’s also spoken at the United Nations, and been featured in Forbes, the WallStreet Journal, CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox News channels. She’s received several Quilly Awards, including Top Female Entrepreneur, Best Writer and Thought Leader. Fia Johansson is the co-author of “Success Strategies” with Jack Canfield, the hugely successful author, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and corporate trainer who is behind the Chicken Soup for the Soul enterprises, which has over 500 million copies in circulation. She’s also co-author of “Think Big” Brian Tracy, an international motivational public speaker and author of over 70 books. Both
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books have rendered Fia Johansson a part of the NY Times Best-Selling Authors list. Fia, tell us, how do you diversify your solutions that appeal to your target audience? Being able to have a thorough, deep understanding of many industries allows me to be able to provide creative and tailored packages for every client that comes my way. It is not a one size fits all, which you find many in PR or marketing tend to offer. Can you describe for us some of the vital attributes that every businesswoman should possess? To be a good leader. You always have to lead yourself first. This means, learn how to manage your emotional muscles. Managing your emotional muscles will help you tune into your intuition and identify your own weaknesses and roadblocks. Also, always listen! Listen to what is happening with people, with teams, listen to questions and listen to
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ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
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Just believe in yourself and go for it!" This is my belief in building success!
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guidance. When it comes to making changes and big decisions, try to always find the option or solution that will make the most number of people happy, not just yourself. Self-leadership is a powerful skill. What were the past experiences, achievements or lessons that shaped your journey? No matter what your title, no matter your life circumstance, your finances, I remember to stay humble and believe this has shaped much of my approach to work and helping the success of others. Always be the last person in the room that talks. Always give others credit and respect and allow them to bring their ideas and opinions to the table. Never show off to people who really work for you and want to see the greatest success in you. Always make others feel that your success is because of them, not just because of you. Your humility will allow you to better embrace others, and celebrate the successes of others. What were some of the primal challenges and roadblocks that you faced during the initial phase of her journey? I had no roadblocks. I’ve always seen my path as something I have the determination to walk. Nothing is a roadblock if you put your mind to it and tell yourself you can achieve what you want. Where do you see yourself in the near future and how will you catalyze the change? For me the sky is the limit. There is no height which I believe I can’t surpass. Success and building success for others is always the path. Can you share some sage advice for emerging women entrepreneurs? Ego will never help you grow. Get rid of it as soon as you can. If you need help, the greatest service you can do for yourself is to ask. To seek guidance and learn from others is a strength, not a weakness. Speaking of weaknesses, don’t focus on them -- in yourself or others. Identify strengths in everyone and find creative and strategic ways to fuel them! Don’t assume you know everything. If you need help: ASK. Oh, and advice for everyone everywhere to be a leader in their career or life: NEVER GIVE UP. Fia can be reached directly on www.AvidAdvice.com and you can learn more about her on her website www.persianmedium.com and her social media, including Instagram @persianmedium where she has over 1.5 million followers and over 2 million followers online.
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JENNIFER
Breen
Making Home Happen Through Temporary Housing Services
“Do not overthink it. Gather the facts and put together a business plan, and when ready, go for it,” says Jennifer Breen on advising emerging women entrepreneurs. She states “I was nervous to sign that first lease, but the moment it was done, my anxiety over starting Suite Home was over, and my excitement over establishing my brand began. Jennifer started Suite Home with an exit strategy in place, which she did not do with her first firm. She opines “If you have that exit strategy in place, it gives you a goal to work towards, even though you may divert from that original plan. Women are planners, and looking ahead is in our bones. Do not think of it as negative, and embrace having an exit strategy as a positive approach to your future.” Jennifer Breen opened Suite Home Chicago in 2005 after years of being a vendor for the temporary housing industry. She set up a company bank account and her first apartment in the popular River North neighborhood of downtown Chicago, and the company was born. Having an operations background, the set up and design of the apartments was incredibly important. She asserts “we have always strived to provide a more homelike, rather than corporate, feeling when you stay with Suite Home.” The customer response to the company’s initial apartments was phenomenal and within the first year, it was operating about 50 apartments. In the past 15 years,
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the company has continued to grow into the Chicago suburbs and into Wisconsin, operating up to 700+ apartments during its peak seasons. Suite Home Chicago also expanded and began to assist its Chicago-based clients with their domestic and global needs, and began the rebrand to “Suite Home” this past year to widen its reach. Services as per Requirement Suite Home’s clients’ needs drive its decisions on where the company establishes apartment inventory or maybe secure exclusive relationships with apartment communities. The company maintains close relationships with property management companies and prides itself in its close partnerships which allow securing inventory when needed for the clientele. Suite Home offers temporary housing in high-rises downtown, and apartment complexes throughout the suburbs and Wisconsin, and it has even been known to rent private homes or AirBnBs to accommodate its guests, and ensures a positive service. The company believes “It is that concierge, solve-it-all relationships that our clients want, and we strive to meet.” Suite Home also has strong partner relationships with vetted corporate housing companies throughout the world that
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Suite Home wants to be your most trusted resource for temporary housing, with solutions for our clientele throughout the world.
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Dynamics of
Participation in the Ever-changing Modern Workforce
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Women Impower
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one are the days when women were stereotyped to a certain set of skills and professions, restricting them from exploring the world of endless opportunities. Today, women have announced their arrival in many fields of the business world. Therefore, it seems more important than ever before to recognize female contributions in every profession. Fighting through biased work culture in favour of male dominance, women have conquered the unconquered on the account of their distinct calibre and predilections. In the times when the world female participation rate is to the dispiriting levels of around 67% and pay-off rate of about 63%, achievements by women go-getters are praiseworthy. Listening capabilities is one of the distinguishing aspects of feminine species as compared to their male counterparts. Instilling and pursuing ones thoughts is undoubtedly important for effective working. But being a better listener is something that can make a difference as studies show that the customer values and trusts the firms if they perceive that they are being listened to by the firms. With inherent caring and affectionate traits, women outclass men when it comes to understanding critical demands of the customers. Emotional Intelligence (EI) - the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of others - is an essential skill when it comes to dealing with a diverse class of consumers. Women are naturally gifted with higher EI making them better suited for pressure situations and avoiding counter-productive decisions while keeping emotions in check. Emotional Intelligence encompasses two major dimensions – awareness of one’s self and awareness of others. Both the attributes are very much significant for the survival and success of any organisation. Self-awareness involves being familiar with trigger points and behavioural traits when put to the test. This, in turn, helps to modulate impulses avoiding conclusions which are harmful for the welfare of business. In addition to self-awareness, an awareness of others is equally critical in business. Analysing and decoding non-verbal communication – that amounts to 93% of the message – eventually benefits in convincing and converting a lead into a client. Collaboration, and not the cutthroat competition, is the modern era’s principle virtue to achieve success. Many endeavours which seem to be beyond the bounds of
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possibility can be attained by combining efforts from different resources, channels and departments. Further, collaborating products with consumer experience are enormously important. It leads to crafting the best solutions for customer’s pain points and compelling value propositions that reflect their overall business objectives. Multiple studies have found that women prefer to work in teams, while men prefer to work alone. An unfaltering affinity towards collaboration primes women to garner success in different fields of business which gives them an edge over others. Increased profitability can be a motivating factor for many firms to hire more pool of female talents as many studies support the fact. Statistical research shows that Fortune 500 companies with the highest representation of women on boards financially outperform companies with the lowest representation of women on boards. Moreover, genderdiverse teams have higher sales and profits compared to male-dominated teams, and a recent Gallup study found that gender-diverse business units have higher average revenue than less diverse business units. Trust over female leaders is an attribute which needs to be reciprocated while making the choice. More American workers perceive female executives as honest and ethical than male executives. Pew’s “Women and Leadership” surveyed Americans in 2015 and found that 34% say women are better at this, while only 3% say men are better at it (64% say there’s no difference). While it’s unclear whether this means women are actually more honest, it’s a subtle reminder of how tangled some business decisions can be. Leaders are often tasked with choosing between options that aren’t black and white, ethically speaking, and the capacity to lead honestly is important to the entire company’s success and job satisfaction. Not to mention, increased job satisfaction and organizational dedication to cite positive and meaningful business culture are the added advantages feminine employees carry to the organisation. However, the journey is not all merry go round every time. Hindrances – seen, unseen – are there to check the unrelenting zeal of women aspirants to thrive in the industry. These obstructions need to be pointed out and rectified to create an environment that fuels women empowerment.
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Lack of confidence, according to many experts, is one prime reason women tend to question themselves and doubt their worthiness. In order to advance, they must coach their inner critics. Out-speak and define what women want professionally if they want to get succeeded. Too often they don’t know or rely upon others to define it for them. “Building relationships with those in positions of leadership is critical,” Susan Brady, executive vice president of Linkage Inc. says. “Put down the to-do list long enough to connect with decision makers across the organization, and help them understand who you are and what you bring to the table.”
Women are generally uneasy about asking for what they want. They must stop thinking about what they need as a self-serving request. They must develop the courage and fortitude to stand up and ask for what they want.
While proving value, women tend to overcompensate in order to demonstrate that they are adding value. Instead of doing it all alone, change the paradigm and track to encourage others to take on more responsibility, thus enabling them to scale and multiply their own impact. Not to forget, biased work culture and regional barriers are the crucial obstacles in the road of women work participation. But, today women are breaking these shackles and coming out boldly to be a part of economic processes shouldering their male counterparts. There has been obvious progress in achieving gender equality around the world over the past two decades: more girls are attending school, more women are working and are being elected to public offices, more women hold management positions, and the situation involving women’s legal as well as social rights have also improved. However, a great deal still remains to be done to achieve equal outcomes for women and men. Recognizing women’s abilities, the values they bring to the organisation, the transformation they achieve as far as work environment is concerned, and considering monetary benefits associated with the female work participation, corporate sector need to welcome their emergence with open arms. No future is far where maledominated workplaces will be a tale of extinct, we believe.
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The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch
Sarah Peiker Renowned RPO Leader for Recruiting A Talented Workforces
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he world of work is always changing and that has never been more true than today. The global events are creating a new landscape that is often stretching resources and leading businesses to exercise unexpected measures. Having qualified leaders ready to take charge has never been more important. Sarah Peiker, Senior Vice President of Recruitment Process Outsourcing NA, and Global Practice Leader at Talent Solutions, has been on the front lines for the past 20 years advising clients on their workforce strategies. She notes the ability to ask thoughtful questions and offer new and even unproven solutions is essential when it comes to leading teams through times of transition.. “Often, the most rewarding outcome is a result of venturing down unknown paths. New ideas come from asking if there is a better way to do something – not just waiting for something to break to fix it.” Sarah’s expertise and knowledge of the recruiting industry enable her to listen to her clients so together they can develop comprehensive workforce strategies to achieve their business goals. From Beginner to Proficient Leader Sarah began her career in the HR industry in operations, delivery, solutions and sales. In 2000, she joined ManpowerGroup Solutions (now Talent Solutions) where she has held many roles with increasing responsibility. Six years ago, she relocated from the United States to Europe, where she led the European
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team, and was later promoted to Global Practice Leader, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO). During her five-year tenure there she established a strong and consistently growing RPO business and built a highquality operating team that led to the expansion of the organization’s global footprint. Sarah notes that one of her proudest accomplishments was the 200% growth rate of the European/Africa RPO practice over the five years. Throughout her career, Sarah has honed her leadership skills in talent solution design, HR technology, market intelligence and workforce consulting for clients in a range of industries from manufacturing to retail to technology. She is also proud that the teams she has led have enabled Talent Solutions to be named the global leader in RPO for eight consecutive years. Listening to Clients to Serve Them Better Many clients are struggling with similar workforce challenges such as finding the qualified talent they need in competitive markets. Talent Solutions recognizes that each client has specific business goals and a unique culture that can impact the types of candidates or solutions they are looking for. Companies increasingly need not just new hires but a strategy to achieve better outcomes through their workforce. As a leader, Sarah stresses the importance of listening and asking questions to uncover the root cause of the problem others are trying to solve so you can figure out how to be most
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SARAH SARAH SARAH SARAH SARAH SARAH SARAH SARAH SARAH SARAH SARAH
PEIKER PEIKER PEIKER PEIKER PEIKER PEIKER PEIKER PEIKER PEIKER PEIKER PEIKER Sarah Peiker
Senior Vice President of Recruitment Process Outsourcing North America and Global Practice Leader
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helpful to them. “It is not always about giving someone the answer but also helping them to discover the solutions on their own so they can replicate this thought process in the future.” ManpowerGroup, Talent Solutions’ parent company, has multiple connected brands that enable Sarah’s team to develop workforce strategies that may include a combination of full-time, contingent and even gig workers across all industries. Sarah also shares with clients Talent Solutions’ capabilities to assess their company’s current workforce, provide upskilling and career development services, in addition to sourcing and hiring exceptional talent. Talent Solutions strives to be a true partner with its clients. Sarah notes that “while we do want to fulfill their immediate needs – we also want to help them better plan for growth in the future and provide the market and business intelligence they need to make more informed workforce decisions.” Overcoming Roadblocks Early in Sarah’s career she was focused on learning all aspects of the recruiting business and the challenge was to keep pushing herself to explore new opportunities while not taking the safest or easiest route. Her willingness to try new things is what ultimately led her to find her right path. Another challenge Sarah faced as she started growing into leadership positions was learning to delegate and lean on others for support. “As women we often feel we need to do everything ourselves to prove our worth. While that also allows us to acquire more experience, it is only when we learn to delegate and trust in the teams we built that we can then take on new challenges and solve larger organizational issues. I had to stop always working in the business to be able to work on the business.”
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Recognize your own strengths and build the right team around you to capture the market.
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Focus on the Future
According to Sarah, the speed at which technology is advancing will continue to have a major impact on every business – not only are new jobs being created every day that never existed – but all workers will need to keep upskilling to advance with their current jobs. Sarah notes that she sees buyers’ appetites only increasing for new and creative workforce solutions. She believes her role is to continue to listen to what clients are asking for and to translate what she is seeing in the market for them. “I want to remain focused on being agile and proactive in order to lead my clients and teams in new directions to stay ahead of the curve.” Advice for the Next Generation of Women Leaders
Sarah’s message for up-and-coming businesswomen is “Stay curious and be prepared to constantly change. Know that probably only 20% of any strategy will go according to plan. Keep looking up on your journey – don’t just look down, and do not be afraid to ask for help and advice along the way. And as you blaze your own trail – make sure you are leading others along with you.”
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