Capital Region Women@Work

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MARCH/APRIL 2013

What’s your company’s

Emergency Plan?

Building Your Team

Girl Scout Cookies, Anyone?

The etiquette of selling at work

Surround yourself with the right people Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill Producing Artistic Director, Capital Rep

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Publisher George Hearst III Editorial Janet Reynolds, Executive Editor Brianna Snyder, Associate Editor Design Tony Pallone, Design Director Colleen Ingerto, Emily Jahn, Designers Contributing Writers Kristi Barlette, Molly Belmont, Laurie Lynn Fischer, Anna Zernone Giorgi, Mary Malone McCarthy, Stacey Morris, Anne Saile, Wendy Page, Cari Scribner Contributing Photographers Colleen Ingerto, Emily Jahn, Suzanne Kawola, Tyler Murphy Sales Kurt Vantosky, Sr. Vice President, Sales & Marketing Kathleen Hallion, Vice President, Advertising Tom Eason, Manager, Display Advertising Craig Eustace, Retail Sales Manager Jeff Kiley, Magazine Sales Manager Circulation Dan Denault, Home Delivery Manager Business Ray Koupal, Chief Financial Officer TimesUnion.com Paul Block, Executive Producer Women@Work Advisory Board: Anne Saile†, chair; Marri Aviza†, Kristen Berdar†, Debra Best†, Nancy Carey-Cassidy†, Karin Carr†, Andrea Crisafulli-Russo†, Heather Ford†, Kathleen Godfrey†, Ann Hughes†, Theresa Marangas†, Lydia Rollins†, Curran Streett†, Farah Tuten, Joella Viscusi, Kirsten Wynn â€

Advisory Board founding members

Capital Region Women@Work is published six times per year. If you are interested in receiving home delivery of Capital Region Women@Work magazine, please call (518) 454-5768 or visit capregionwomenatwork.com.

For advertising information, please call (518) 454-5358.

Capital Region Women@Work is published by Capital Newspapers and Times Union 645 Albany Shaker Road, Albany, NY 12212 518.454.5694 The entire contents of this magazine are copyright 2013 by Capital Newspapers. No portion may be reproduced in any means without written permission of the publisher.

Capital Newspapers is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hearst Corporation.

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Contents March/April 2013

www.capregionwomenatwork.com

Is your company in this issue?

@ WORK 10 Bitstream

35 Bubbling Up

Business tidbits for all

Labels are the name of the game

14 Tips from the Top

39 Getting to the Top Book review: I’d Rather Be in Charge

The 7 habits of highly successful women

41 Working Overtime

16 On the Cover

Going back to school can do more for you than you think

Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill owns the director’s chair

66 The Last Word

18 Gather ’Round

Help with noisy neighbors

Assembling the best management team

20 Ready or Not

@ HOME

Protecting your business from the unknown

43 Moms@Work

24 Hate Networking?

A new adventure

Some tips to get the conversation going

45 Pump Me Up 7 ways to boost your energy naturally

26 Sick and Tired

48 Selling Out

What you need to know about taking time off

28 E-Z Pass How to keep your computer secure

30 Step by Step Horses help humans in this therapeutic program

“

When candy bars for a cause can create a problem at work

50 Meals on the Go Field Goods brings fresh, in-season veggies right to your doorstep

54 Getting Away Amelia Island, Florida

You have to really be willing to say yes. Get your foot in there. How do you get the experience unless you get the experience?

— Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill

”

 ON THE COVER: Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill, Producing Artistic Director, Capital Repertory Theatre. Photo by Suzanne Kawola.

6 | women@work

pg 18

Ambient Environmental, Inc...........................24 Aras Performance Group................................66 BST.................................................................24 Capital District Vitality Center........................45 Capital InteriorScapes....................................20 Capital Repertory Theatre..............................16 College of Saint Rose.....................................24 Deb Best Practices..........................................24 Field Goods....................................................50 Fox23 News...................................................24 Fusco Personnel Inc........................................18 GE Global Research Center............................18 Global Foundries............................................24 GoatCloud Communications..........................28 Godfrey Financial Associates..........................24 Greane Tree Technology.................................66 Invisible Fence of the Tri Cities and Hudson Valley.....................................26 KeyBank.........................................................24 M3 Business Service Network........................43 Morgan Stanley..............................................24 Name Bubbles................................................35 Next-Act.........................................................48 Pearl Carroll & Associates..............................18 Picotte Companies.........................................24 Pinnacle Human Resources............................26 Pride Center of the Capital Region.................24 Proctors..........................................................16 Repeat Business Systems...............................20 Resumes With Results....................................66 Rumors Salon & Day Spa........................ 20, 24 Saile Group, LLC...................................... 14, 24 Saratoga Hospital..........................................45 Saratoga Therapeutic Equestrian Program...................................30 SEFCU............................................................18 TL Metzger and Associates.............................28 Wilson, Elser..................................................24 Women Presidents’ Organization...................24 Call 518.454.5366 or e-mail jreynolds@ timesunion.com with your story ideas.

LEGAL SERVICES FOR PROFESSIONAL WOMEN Providing legal counsel for the life and work issues of professional women throughout the Capital District

April M. Dalbec: Matrimonial, Personal Injury & Criminal Law

Amy S. O’Connor: Trusts, Estates & Elder Law

Michelle L. Haskin: Matrimonial & Family Law

An experienced litigation attorney focusing on matrimonial and family court matters, plaintiff’s personal injury cases, and criminal defense including misdemeanors and felonies.

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Practices exclusively in matrimonial and family law, concentrating on negotiating and litigating divorce, separation, premarital agreements, property divisions, child support, spousal support, custody, and adoption.

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McNamee, Lochner, Titus & Williams, P.C. is a full service law firm. We are dedicated to providing effective and creative solutions to the legal issues of working women through multiple practice areas that serve the full spectrum of legal needs.

For the professional woman who may be encountering the complexities of life decisions, from buying a home, planning estates and establishing trusts, to matrimonial, custody and elder law issues, our attorneys provide thoughtful and experienced counsel.

For all Women-owned businesses, large and small, we provide legal counsel in transactional, contractual, regulatory compliance, and planning matters. From forming a business entity and addressing employment and labor issues to succession planning and exit strategies, McNamee, Lochner, Titus & Williams provides the legal services professional women require.

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EDITOR'S NOTE

Hi, My Name is ...

W

alking into a room full of strangers has be to be one of the most uncomfortable parts of my job. I was the kid who was content to watch, the teenager who stood back at the dance. I am the less talkative one in our marriage. Some people love to meet new people. I don’t.

I’m sure there are colleagues and friends reading this right now thinking What?? Janet’s one of the most outspoken people we know.

But being able to express your opinion and speak in front of a crowd is different — at least to me — than having to talk one-on-one with strangers. Being face-toface under those terms makes me want to crawl under the carpet.

And yet I don’t, in part because I can’t.

As editor of this magazine and others, I’m

required to reach out to people at the various events we host. I need to be an ambassador whenever and wherever I can.

So the story on opening a conversation with someone at an event (page 24) is admittedly a little self-serving: I wanted to get some tips I could use myself at these events.

But I also wanted to give you a way to meet the 2013 Women@Work Advisory Board, a talented group of women who are ambassadors for this magazine and the various events we host throughout the year. They will be featured periodically in the magazine offering some of their expertise on different topics.

We’ll be introducing the board March 20 at our next W@W-sponsored event (see page 41 for info). Be sure to stop me and say hello. W

Janet Reynolds Executive Editor jreynolds@timesunion.com

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BITSTREAM

Job Search 2.0 I

f you’re looking for a job and not having much luck, you might consider how much of your hunting is done online. According to NPR, 70 to 80 percent of jobs are never published on the web. What’s the solution? E-mail past employers and go to every networking event you can, and be aggressive. According to NPR’s experts, the best way to get a good job you want is to treat the hunt like a sales opportunity. source: http://tinyurl.com/ ww13jobsearch 10 | women@work

Digital Time Off A survey of employed e-mail users finds:

22% are expected to respond to work e-mail when they’re not at work.

50% check work e-mail on the weekends.

46% check work e-mail on sick days.

34% check work e-mail while on vacation.

source: http://tinyurl.com/ww13email

Photos/illustrations: Job search, © iStockphoto.com/Nastco; envelope and graphics, Emily Jahn; doctor, © iStockphoto.com/Visiofutura.

Compiled by Brianna Snyder

9 to 5

By Jeanne A. Benas

Working Women W

omen have the best chance at a successful career if that career happens to be a physician, dentist or optometrist, according to Forbes. Jobs expert Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., author of Best Jobs for the 21st Century, found that women in these positions reported the highest levels of career satisfaction, the highest median earnings (in 2011), strong projected growth through 2020 and the

largest number of total annual openings, as tracked by the U.S. Department of Labor, Forbes reports. The study found women excelled and were happiest at jobs that gave them opportunities to practice their skills, enjoy job security and where communication between colleagues and management was strong. source: http://tinyurl.com/ww13docs

capregionwomenatwork.com | 11

BITSTREAM

The Ever-Yawning Gap T

he San Francisco Chronicle reports that the pay gap between men and women MBA graduates is growing.

Ten years ago, top MBA graduates experienced almost no pay discrepancy at all. Today, however, women are making as little as 79 cents on every dollar paid to their male counterparts.

categories with the largest gender gap in pay were insurance agents, personal advisers and securities sales agents. Women in those jobs earned 55 to 62 cents for every $1 men pulled in, the census data showed. source: http://tinyurl.com/ ww13paygap

Doggin’ It

“

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.

”

– Edith Wharton

12 | women@work

The gap affects women in pursuit of finance jobs in particular, studies show. The theory is that after the 2008 crash, many — but especially women — fled finance, and women’s salaries plummeted as a result.

A study of 2010 census data by Bloomberg found that among the six

A

ccording to the Associated Press, 26 percent of Americans considered themselves procrastinators.

In 1978, only 5 percent gave themselves that label. (And it turns out men do it more than women: 54 percent of self-identified putter-offers are men.)

Blame it on Facebook and texting and Tivo. Whatever. The important question is how do you stop?

According to the health site Greatist. com, an effective strategy is to restart your day at 2 p.m.: “Don’t let the

whole day be a wash if you fail to be productive in the morning. Re-assess what’s top priority in the afternoon and get it done with a fresh start,” the site says. If you can’t get yourself properly motivated to get work done on a big project, try accomplishing smaller tasks, Greatist recommends. Clear out your e-mail, file some old documents, be at least somewhat productive, which tends to spur more productivity. source: http://tinyurl.com/ ww13procrastination

Photos/illustrations: Money, Emily Jahn; cleaning bottles, © iStockphoto.com/Maria Toutoudaki; cleaning graphic, Emily Jahn.

vs.

Watch What You Say W

ant to talk smack about your boss on Facebook? Well, new regulations permit you do so, with some limitations. The New York Times reported earlier this year that the National Labor Relations Board, in a series of rulings, says that workers “have the right to discuss work conditions freely and without fear of retribution, whether the discussion takes place at the office or on Facebook.”

Federal law already protects workers’ speech — it’s OK to discuss work matters at the water cooler, even if it’s done in hushed tones. But new regulations forbid

big companies from instating broad social-media policies that fire employees for posting “’disrespectful’ comments or posts that criticize the employer.”

For instance, in 2010, a caseworker at a nonprofit in Buffalo asked her colleagues on Facebook how they were feeling about their jobs. When three posted complaints, all were fired, in addition to the caseworker who posted the prompt. But a decision at the end of 2012 concluded their termination was unlawful. Their posts are classified “concerted activity for mutual aid,” the Times says.

1976

28h 26h

But there are cases of firings over Facebook posts that are much more justified, the NYT says: a police reporter for the Arizona Daily Star posted “What?!?!?! No overnight homicide. …

You’re slacking, Tuscon.” (The reporter was fired.) And a bartender in Illinois, angry because he hadn’t received a raise in five years, posted on Facebook that his customers are a bunch of rednecks, and he hoped they choked on glass as they drove home drunk. He was fired. source: http://tinyurl.com/ ww13facebook

2005

War of the Chores

All men Married men All women Married Women

M 17h 17h 14h 13h

en are pitching in more now than they were in the 1970s — almost twice as much more, in fact — but women still do the majority of housework. Men spend about 14 hours a week doing domestic chores, while women do more like 17 hours. And, by the way, men spend about 50 more minutes than women a day on leisure activities, such as watching TV. source: http://tinyurl.com/ ww13cleaning

6h 6h

capregionwomenatwork.com | 13

TIPS FROM THE TOP Anne Saile is an award winning CEO, entrepreneur, executive coach, author and owner of the Saile Group LLC, a leadership and business consulting company. For more information, visit www.sailegroup.com.

7 Habits of

Highly Successful Women

Photo by Joan Heffler.

By Anne Saile

T

hink about the most successful moments you’ve had in your life.

Describe what it took for you to get there. What were they? What made them successful? What habits worked for you?

I’m a huge fan of Steven Covey, bestselling author of The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, and often listen to the audio versions of his books in my car on the way to and from the office. As 2012 came to a close, I found myself reflecting back on the year, reviewing successes and losses, and got curious about this topic in relation to women. What are the key habits of highly successful women? And why are those habits unique to us? I thought about my good fortune of being surrounded by so many successful women and decided to inquire about what key habits they attribute their success to.

The following tips are developed from their answers.

Habit #1: Highly successful women know that moving three things forward by a mile will get them farther than moving 100 things forward by an inch. Each and every one of us has a limited amount of time to accomplish our goals. It’s important that we do not get distracted by the shiny things — keeping a single focus helps us reach our goals faster and more successfully. Women tend to naturally multitask, managing more than just one objective at a time. Sometimes we set ourselves up for failure by not focusing on where we can make the greatest strides and successes.

Habit #2: Highly successful women make decisions and move on. So many times we find ourselves playing out every possible scenario when faced with 14 | women@work

a decision. Instead of spending time collecting and analyzing data only to second-guess ourselves into paralysis, we can use a combination of information and instinct to make a decision and move forward on the path to success.

Habit #3: Highly successful women never say never or that it can’t be done.

They find a way to make it happen.

It may not look the way they initially thought or follow the plan they had in place, but their open mind was ready when opportunity struck. Nurturing the unique gift of agility, adapting and changing course mid motion in order to achieve a goal, both contribute greatly to successful outcomes.

“

you don’t have to be! If you know your strengths and what you bring to the table and tap into those around you who can offer needed perspectives and expertise, their insights and experience will help you to problem-solve in a way that’s informed and effective.

Habit #6: Highly successful women understand that it’s not their job to make everyone happy. People-pleasing is exhausting, impossible work. Wanting to make people happy isn’t a bad thing; it’s just that oftentimes women overspend their energy trying to help others to the sacrifice of their own equally important priorities. We must understand that conflict can be used for growth and doesn’t have to be about winning or losing.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

– Aristotle

Habit #4: Highly successful women admit mistakes and take responsibility for themselves, their teams and the repercussions. We’ve all made mistakes.

This is just part of life. But what differentiates successful women is their ability to admit when they’re wrong. This can be very difficult. Ego, pride and not wanting to seem incompetent often stand in the way. What’s more important, though, is getting past the mistake and making things right. We gain much more respect by taking responsibility than by pointing fingers or finding excuses.

Habit #5: Highly successful women don’t solve problems alone. They realize you cannot be expected to be an expert in everything, and (more importantly) that

”

Habit #7: Highly successful women are grateful for their good fortune and sincerely celebrate the success of others. This creates a culture of enthusiasm, encouraging teams to be happy and hardworking. The optimism that ensues will drive the success of the business.

Gratitude motivates people. When your team knows you have their best interests at heart, their commitment is increased tenfold.

While the road to success for women in the business world is rarely an easy one, these seven habits can help set you on the path to successfully achieving your hopes and dreams. W

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ON THE COVER

Centerstage at Capital Rep Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill owns the director’s chair

By Brianna Snyder | Photos by Suzanne Kawola

W

hen Maggie MancinelliCahill was 20 years old, she left Denver, Co., for New York City so she could study acting. She hated it.

“I was there for the craft of acting,” says Mancinelli-Cahill, who is now the producing artistic director of the Capital Repertory Theatre. “I ended up just sitting there going, ‘I don’t think I should be an actor.’ I wanted to be the one who tells the actors what to do. … My mother always said, ‘That suits you much better.’”

Mancinelli-Cahill’s love of classic literature and theater began at an early age. Because her father was in the Army, the family moved all around the country, until they landed in Denver when she was 14. Her father had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease and there was hope for treatment in Denver. Treatment was unsuccessful, and he passed away a year before they developed a working treatment, Mancinelli-Cahill says.

“It was very hard on my family,” she says. But, “my Army-brat experience taught me to survive.”

Moving from place to place had given Mancinelli-Cahill the skills to talk to anyone. “You go on the first day of school and you think everybody’s going to hate you, and you think, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m really pretty and I’m a really nice person,’ and they’re all looking at you like, ‘Ew.’” “You just learn you can survive it,” Mancinelli-Cahill says of her difficult teen years. “In my world I survived it by being really smart and getting A’s and

16 | women@work

doing other people’s homework if they asked me to.”

After she discovered she was much better at — and much more interested in — directing, she left New York and returned to Denver, landing a job as a props master at a little storefront theater.

“I said yes [to the job] because no one

would talk to me as a female director,” she says. “The guy who ran this theater thought women were great for being costume designers and prop masters. So I went.” But then something happened.

“This guy was like, ‘Women should do props and costumes,’ but what happened was they lost a director for a play called

A Man for All Seasons,” Mancinelli-Cahill says. “The guy who was running the theater had the lead, so he couldn’t direct it. My friends who were there said, ‘You should let Maggie do it.’ He came to me and said, ‘I really don’t have anyone else I can ask.’” Reluctantly, he let MancinelliCahill take over.

This was a major turning point for the young, aspiring director, and to this day she carries the lesson learned from the experience: “You have to really be willing to say yes,” she says. “Say yes. Get your foot in there. How do you get the experience unless you get the experience?”

Mancinelli-Cahill directed several plays in the little theater before it shut down, devastating the crew. “It was a horrible time for everybody in the company,” she says. “We all got so terribly depressed.”

At this point, Mancinelli-Cahill began freelance directing all over the country.

For awhile she even gave up theater, she thought, taking a job as a program manager at a hospital, where she made brochures and put out press releases.

She was amazed to find she could apply the skills she’d learned in theater to an administrative position like the one she’d gotten. Designing a brochure, it turns out, was not unlike designing a playbill.

But soon the lure of the stage grabbed her again, and in 1993, she enrolled at Columbia University to get her master’s degree in directing.

Through a fellowship, she met and worked with some of the board members at the Capital Repertory Theatre. When she saw Cap Rep needed a new artistic

The Download on

Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill Title: Producing Artistic Director Age: 60 Hometown: Army brat, born in San Pedro, California.

Family: two brothers, one sister, and my son, Andy, (21)

director, she went to the board to suggest they hire her. She was the producing director of a theater company in the city at the time, where she’d been responsible for — and excelled at — fundraising. She got the job.

But when she arrived in 1995, the company was in bad shape. “When I came here, there was just three weeks’ payroll in the bank,” she says. They put together a season of shows and made do with what they had.

The theater has come a long way since those darker days — and seen dark days since, thanks to the theater-killing recession in 2008 that shuttered arts organizations across the country — but a management partnership with Proctors (made in 2011) is proving to be smart for business. “[The partnership] instantly made just the life of the mind possible. To be an artist and to lead an arts organization, you can’t wake up every morning and be worried where payroll is coming from,” Mancinelli-Cahill says. “We’ve been two years in the black, which is remarkable.”

Maggie’s top tips for success: • Say yes to opportunity. Even if it seems like what is knocking at your door isn’t perfect; more times than not, one opportunity really does lead to another.

• Give people the benefit of the doubt — not everyone is out to get something.

• Read about something other than your job.

• Let go if something isn’t working. Try very hard, but in the end, let it go and make room to let something else come into your life.

• Fight for what you believe. W

Guilty Pleasure: Going to the movies by myself Surprising Fact About You: I weigh much less than it appears. I hate oatmeal.

Favorite contemporary playwright: Tony Kushner What excites you about your job: Being a part of making great stories come to life and working with some of the top artists in our country doing so!

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Creating a Well-Oiled Machine Assembling the best management team

A

leader is only as good as the people around her, which is why assembling a top management team is critical to any company’s long-term success. The question is what’s the best way to create that team? Should you look for the best and the brightest?

Like-minded people? Or should you look for other attributes?

At GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna, the universe is divided into six large categories, and each category is headed by a technical director, who oversees hundreds of researchers.

Christine Furstoss, technical director for manufacturing and materials technology at GE, leads a team of 450 researchers across North America, Europe and Asia, and says that as organizations get larger 18 | women@work

and broader, being able to make sure that the company’s vision and goals are communicated becomes harder because you have less and less direct contact with team members. Good management teams, then, must know how to bring a team together around a mission, and simultaneously foster individual growth, she says.

“Really great managers create great leaders,” says Furstoss.

It’s this overarching vision — an ability to focus on the details and the big picture, a talent for seeing the individual and the team, a quality of knowing when to think and when to act — that makes a good manager. Hiring managers and human resources directors at some of the region’s top companies say that when assembling

a successful management team, these character traits often rank above any skills listed on a resume.

Good managers are able to handle change and guide others through it, says Furstoss. They are inclusive but decisive and recognize that work is not a democracy. Good managers understand their role in any situation: At a meeting of vice presidents, they can speak to strategy; when they meet with staffers, they can respond to more tactical questions. Most importantly, good managers recognize that the toughest points of a process are the interfaces and that their job is to “smooth” those interfaces, says Furstoss.

Patricia Fusco, president of Fusco Personnel Inc., a woman-owned staffing company in Albany specializing in execu-

Photo: © iStockphoto.com/xmedobear.

By Molly Belmont

tive and mid-level placements as well as staff level and temporary placements, has been helping assemble management teams for 18 years.

As an ombudsman for the hiring company, Fusco’s first task is to understand the company’s expectations for the new hire. Expectations include specific job responsibilities, but they also mean fitting in with the company’s corporate culture.

“Someone can be great on paper, but they also have to mesh with the company, especially on a small team,” says Fusco.

Fusco does site visits to see the department where the new hire will be placed.

Seeing the team at work and how the department is laid out helps Fusco tailor her search criteria. As an outsider, she is sometimes better able to distill a company’s values and communicate them to prospective candidates. She also plays a more neutral role in the interviewing process. Whereas many employers are tempted to try to sell the applicant on the company, Fusco encourages applicants to sell themselves to the company. “I try to let the candidate talk as much as possible,” she says.

At GE, Technology Director Danielle Merfeld and Technical Director Terry Leib say they favor open-ended interview questions designed to help a person tell their story.

Leib, the technical director for chemistry and chemical engineering for GE, says she asks candidates about their professional highlights and then tries to dig deeper. What challenges did they face?

Who did they work with? This speaks to what an individual is capable of and how they might approach similar situations at GE, she says.

Merfeld, who is the technology director for electrical technologies and systems, says she looks for high performers who show ownership and “run their little piece of the organization as though they own it.” When interviewing, she asks candidates to tell her about events that

they’ve driven, and she pays attention to how they talk about it. Do they mention with whom they worked? What are they most proud of and why? Do they talk about what they learned?

I

f good managers are defined by their ability to articulate the way forward, then good management teams are defined by their ability to embody a company’s core values and represent its interests.

At SEFCU, the human resources department worked together to create their hiring criteria, not surprising for a company that prides itself on communication and collaboration. “At SEFCU we perhaps have a different perspective on leadership teams than other organizations. We look for a variety of factors but most importantly, people with the right attitude and cultural orientation that are consistent with what’s most important at SEFCU, that is banking with a purpose,” says Sheree Hipwell, director of human resources at SEFCU. “We seek purposedriven individuals, recognizing that there are many responsibilities and tasks we can teach them, but they need to come to the table with that connection and mindset.”

In fact, SEFCU places such a high premium on collaboration and communication that this model is extended to the office layout. Instead of residing in big corner offices, executive level managers work side by side in “collaboration pods,” explains Karen Heath, director of workforce development at SEFCU in Albany. “If the chief marketing officer has a technology question, he can look to his right and there’s the chief technology officer,” says Heath.

Elizabeth Meyer, senior vice president of internal operations for Pearl Carroll & Associates, says her company values initiative, urge and commitment, and when searching for new team members, fitting in with this client-focused insur-

ance company ranks above having an insurance background.

“Skills and experience are important, although I must say some of the most successful people on our team do not have an insurance background … but they do have that experience of just wanting to do the very best job they can for their clients,” says Meyer.

While new hires are encouraged to assimilate, Meyer says this doesn’t mean checking their opinions at the door. “I think from the get-go people are encouraged to ask questions and bring that outsiders’ perspective,” says Meyer.

People tend to surround themselves with people who are similar to them in mindset or disposition, but when assembling a successful management team, managers say it’s important to find people with diverse strengths and perspectives who can bring something new to the table.

“Rookies staff with people like them, but those with experience recognize needs for varying types of individuals and teams. Homogenous teams work in some situations and heterogeneous types work in others,” say Sally Porush, vice president of employee experience at SEFCU in Albany. The employee experience team works closely with directors and hiring managers to pinpoint the needs of a team and make strong selections during hiring.

“We consider those already on the team to ensure a balanced and diverse team with complementary strengths,” says Hipwell. “In retail banking, branches are team-based environments and diversity and chemistry are essential.”

Another key element for predicting future success? Finding team members who can handle coaching.

“You can overcome a weakness, you can fill a gap in experience,” Leib says, “but if you have someone that’s really closed off to feedback, then that weakness is going to become a problem.” W capregionwomenatwork.com | 19

By Anna Zernone Giorgi

20 | women@work

their employees, for the customers that rely upon them, and for the service that they provide,” says David DeMatteo, chief of planning for the New York State Office of Emergency Management (NYSOEM).

Ideally, your BCP should include a specific plan to reestablish normal operations as quickly as possible. For Marri Aviza, president of Rumors Salon and Spa and Rumors IV Men in Latham, maintaining lists of phone numbers for management, staff and support services was crucial in enabling a prompt response to a roof collapse. Within minutes of receiving the initial call, Aviza mobilized the people needed to begin assessing and repairing the damage. By remaining off-site, Aviza was able to establish a centralized disaster center, from which she could coordinate communications, maintain an incident timeline, and

allocate resources.

“We weren’t able to enter the building because the fire department was here,” Aviza says. “Without that recovery plan in place, we would not have been able to reach our insurance company; we would not have been able to reach team members. But, because we had done all of that homework ahead of time and had put it off-site, we were able to act very quickly.”

While the benefits of having a BCP may be apparent, the process can seem overwhelming. Where do you begin?

Numerous online resources (see sidebar on next page) from organizations such as the Small Business Administration (SBA) and FEMA offer free access to information and tools that can help you assess your needs, organize necessary data, and test your plan.

Start your plan on page 22

Illustration: © iStockphoto.com/AnsonLu.

W

hen Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast in October 2012, 265,000 businesses in the state of New York alone were affected.

As electricity and other utilities returned, companies varied in their abilities to resume business as usual. While you can’t prevent a catastrophic event, being prepared with a business continuity plan (BCP) can help you make the most of what’s left after a crisis, whether large or small, natural or man-made.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), when businesses are hurt by a disaster, approximately 43 percent never reopen and 51 percent fail within two years. Up to 75 percent of companies without BCPs close within three years.

“If properly developed, BCPs allow a business to continue operating in times of emergency. This is necessary because businesses need to survive for monetary reasons, for the livelihood of

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Creating Your Business Continuity Plan You likely have most of this information on hand, but now is the time to organize it into one comprehensive unit that can be duplicated and accessed off-site.

Start by locating: • organizational charts along with identification of the crisis management team, individual responsibilities and the chain of command • updated office, cell phone, and home contact information for employees, customers, suppliers and insurance agents • contact information for providers of utilities, e-mail, computer software, information technology, and local businesses to repair physical damage • contact information for emergency services, ambulances, hospitals, and poison control • copies of vital financial and legal records such as contracts, bank account information, billing, payroll and insurance policies • current inventory lists, including raw materials, supplies and business machines

Step Two: Identify BCP Objectives By identifying objectives, you’ll set concrete goals for the crisis management team. List the vital business functions that are most important to maintaining normal operations. Include which personnel, functions, services and equipment need to be up and running first.

Determine how quickly these functions need to be reinstated and in what order.

“The most important thing right now is data when it comes to disaster recovery. The data is the most expensive and the most important thing that people want to hang on to,” says Dawn Abbuhl,

22 | women@work

president of Repeat Business Systems, an office technology firm in Albany. “More and more, people are backing up to cloud storage, which is a server elsewhere, not in your location.”

Even for Abbuhl’s customers who have on-site servers duplicating their systems every 10 to 15 seconds, cloud storage is used as a backup to the backup. The main benefit of cloud storage is that you can go anywhere and access the data remotely or use it to restore systems that fail in your office, she says.

Step Three: Assess Your Risks Investigate what types of disasters have happened in the past and the likelihood for recurrence. Consider the type of business you manage, how your customers rely on your products or services, and the scenarios that could cause a disruption of your ability to serve them.

Research the issues that may be unique to your building, your neighborhood, and your town.

In Albany County, Sheriff Craig Apple, Sr., whose office oversees the Albany County Emergency Management Office, says the threat of widespread flooding from the Gilboa Dam is one risk that often is overlooked. The magnitude of such an event could make affected businesses unreachable for days.

“If the Gilboa Dam broke, there would be unbelievable flooding. Though it would take about five and a half to six hours to get to us, when it did, it would be unbelievable. So, that is something that we prepare for,” Apple says.

By consulting your county Emergency Management Office, you can learn about local concerns and plans for communitywide crises. To facilitate this process, Sheriff Apple routinely helps local businesses assess their on-site vulnerabilities.

Step Four: Develop Strategies One of the most important tasks is to develop realistic survival strategies to offset the impact of a disaster. Consider how your business depends on companies outside of your geographical area and how you could be affected by their disasters. When selecting a new supplier, ask how they deal with disruptions to their services since you will be relying on them for consistency.

While businesses in the Albany area didn’t suffer damage from Hurricane Sandy, the impact of the storm was farreaching. Karen McGowan, owner of Capital InteriorScapes, an indoor plant design firm in Ballston Spa, felt the effects. “A large number of our providers have warehouses in New Jersey, so there were shipments of material that we were not able to receive or receive on time [as a result of the storm] so we had to relocate the materials that they were not able to ship,” McGowan says. “Though we managed, it was a scramble to find similar products from other vendors, especially without warning.”

With the potential for such ripple effects, it is becoming more common for companies that are dependent upon a business for a specific service or product to choose to do business only with other companies that have a viable BCP in place, especially in the information technology and telecommunications industries, DeMatteo says. “This is becoming a savvy business practice across other sectors to ensure that the company is choosing business partners that can sustain their functions. This dependency/interdependency relationship is key to the survival of the business and its reputation.”

Illustration: © iStockphoto.com/DNY59.

Step One: Compile Vital Information

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Step Five: Identify Teams and Define Tasks Having multiple backup systems, and a plan for implementing them, also can help prevent disruption when basic systems are compromised. The BCP at Repeat Business Systems identifies secondary sources for services such as electricity and telephones, and identifies the people responsible for implementing those backup systems. “We have a written plan if our phones go down. We have three different phone carriers, so if one goes down, we have some backup,” Abbuhl says. “We also have a plan that details who the person is who makes the call to the phone company.”

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Step Six: Test and Revise Your Plan Once you’ve finalized a BCP, take advantage of the opportunity to test it before you need it. A drill will identify weaknesses in communication and execution. Ensure that the management team and relevant principals are kept updated regarding changes. Regularly review the plan, on an annual basis at minimum, to keep all information current and accurate.

Being prepared is simply good business sense. “It’s a matter of how much you care for your business. If you’re talking about personal preparedness, that’s one thing. Everyone should have a ‘go pack’ and be able to move to an alternate location,” Apple says. “But, for businesses, if you can shut down your doors for a month, great. But, I don’t think most businesses can do that.”

BCPs also play an important role beyond your doors. “A BCP helps to ensure that those businesses can maintain their functions and the service they provide in support of the population,” DeMatteo says. “This level of preparedness in turn helps re-stimulate the local economy after a disaster.”

BCP links to get you started Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ready.gov/business/implementation/continuity

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Hate Networking?

Some tips to get the conversation going

By Janet Reynolds

A

sk just about anyone to speak candidly about how they feel about networking events and you’ll get an almost universal similar response: I hate/dread/fear them, or some variation therein.

Yet most of us must attend at least one event each year where we hardly know anyone. And if you’re serious about moving up the career ladder, learning how to make the most of a networking event is critical. What’s the point of going to an event and leaving without having met a single new person and possibly extended your working circle?

The answer is simple: There is none.

The ability to make the most of a networking event begins with opening a conversation. Herewith are some of the favorite conversation starters used by the Women@Work Advisory Board, a group of powerful Capital Region professional women who know the value of a good introductory conversation.

Anne Saile President, The Saile Group My favorite way to start a conversation begins with standing by the entrance at an event so that I meet as many people as possible as they arrive. When I see someone I want to know better, I first mention something about them that stands out, such as how nice their scarf or tie is, and then I introduce myself. Once they’ve responded in kind, I ask a follow-up question that helps me get to know them better.

Kristen Berdar Partner, BST I find I make stronger connections when I make eye contact, smile and approach with confidence.

24 | women@work

I try to keep it simple. I smile and ask a question that encourages them to talk about themselves, such as asking why they are attending the event and what are they hoping to gain. That way I may be able to introduce them to another person I do know and we can all benefit by expanding our circle.

Deb Best Principal and Owner, Deb Best Practices I usually start this way: “Hi, I’m Deb Best. What brings you here today?” I’m always curious to hear their answer first. And if they’re interested in continuing the conversation, they’ll ask me the same question. If not, it’s my signal to move on and meet someone else.

Karin Carr Vice President for Institutional Advancement, College of Saint Rose I usually begin this way: “Hi, my name is Karin Carr, and I work for The College of Saint Rose. I have the best job in the world. I’m the vice president for institutional advancement, and I oversee fundraising and alumni relations. I help students and donors realize their dreams.

I have been at the college for 11 years, and I can honestly say that I love my job.”

A few reasons why this works: People want to know what I do since I say it is the best job in the world.

A few things I try to remember: Keep remarks short and sweet. Sometimes simple goes a long way.

• Understated self-confidence is most effective.

• Pay attention to the other person.

Give them their moment to shine.

• Ask open-ended questions. One question that I am going to try is this: Tell me the best thing

that happened to you today.

Nancy Carey Cassidy Executive Vice President/ Chief Operating Officer, Picotte Companies I will often introduce myself as chief operating officer of Picotte Companies and parent of teenagers. I find that usually leads to a story about my and the other person’s most recent experience, good or bad, with children. It also often brings some humor into a conversation. I also think it is important not to be afraid to share something about yourself with people, not just business.

Andrea Crisafulli Russo President, Crisafulli Bros.

Plumbing & Heating Introducing myself and striking up conversations at events doesn’t come naturally or easy to me, even after years of doing it! For me, it’s most comfortable to keep it real and in the present. I may ask what brings them to the event, how long they’ve been involved with the organization. If traffic, parking or weather was an issue, I will use that.

Heather Ford Vice President of Business Banking, KeyBank My favorite way to introduce myself while networking is to identify something about the person, whether it is something in their name or the company they work for where I may know someone or even the color of their suit or tie or a great pair of shoes. It is a personal approach that usually relaxes the other person and gives us both a comfortable start to the conversation.

Kathleen Godfrey Founder, Godfrey Financial Associates I don’t like talking about myself; I like learning about other people, especially what motivates them, what excites them, what they’re passionate about. So, once I’m through the initial pleasantries, I ask questions like these: “What do you do that brings you joy? What/who inspires you? If you knew you couldn’t fail, and if you knew you’d never run out of money, what would you be doing?”

Ann Hughes Anchor, Fox23 News When I meet someone, if there is a genuine compliment to be made about their clothing, the color they are wearing, or even a necklace, for example, I make that compliment to break the ice.

Or, I often ask someone I just met if they are from the area. Many people have great stories to tell about how they got to the Capital Region or why they’ve stayed and conversation often flows after that.

Theresa Marangas Partner, Wilson, Elser I usually start by talking about what I do. “I have the privilege of leading the litigation practice at Wilson, Elser, a national law firm with over 800 attorneys. I’m a courtroom attorney who defends high-end businesses and professionals in civil cases, not criminal.

But most of my day is spent in the office managing my team, handling client meetings and marketing. I’m also the mother of three delightful children.”

Then I usually try to get them talking about themselves. Try hard to remain focused and curious about other people.

Find out about their activities outside of work and try to connect about interests in outdoors, cooking, travel, reading, etc.

What people like to do in their downtime

is an easy way to get them talking and to understand where they are coming from.

Lydia Rollins Senior Vice President/ Financial Planning Specialist, Morgan Stanley I often start this way: “You look familiar.

Where do I know you from? I am in wealth management with Morgan Stanley. Are you connected with the financial services industry? Maybe this is where I know you from? No? Then what company/industry are you connected with?”

Curran Streett Executive Director, Pride Center of the Capital Region When I first arrive at an event where I don’t know anyone, I seek out a small group of people who look casually engaged, not so enthralled in their conversation that they will not welcome a newcomer. I always ask if I can join their conversation, as a formal way to insert myself, and say my name and my context for attending the event, and quickly turn the conversation back to the group, since people like to talk about themselves and it is an easy conversation. “What brings you here?” or “Have you come to this event/location before?” No one likes feeling awkward, so I do my best to ask easy and engaging questions and keep fellow networkers feeling comfortable.

A part of this is knowing when to move to the next conversation. Exchanging business cards is a natural opportunity to move on, and start all over again.

Farah Tuten Senior Manager of Manufacturing and Engineering, Global Foundries As an engineer, most of my interactions on a daily basis and at conferences are with men. This eliminates the typical conversation starters that I use when

outside of a work environment (“Beautiful necklace! Where did you get it?,” “How old are your children?”). Unfortunately, despite my husband’s best efforts, I don’t know much about sports, which is what the guys are usually talking about when I walk up. A simple “Hi, I’m Farah.

What line of work do you do?” seems to work well. Once they have answered that, follow-up questions include: “How long have you been doing that work?,” “How do you like it?” Keep the conversation going by asking questions.

Joella Viscusi President, Ambient Environmental, Inc. I was raised in a large Italian family. As such, I am a very outgoing and friendly person. I can’t help but hug, touch and otherwise engage people. It’s cultural and lends itself very well to breaking the ice in such settings as networking events. It generally starts at the coatroom or in line picking up a name tag where I offer up a small joke, perhaps about the bar or the food. So often before I even enter the event, I walk in with someone I haven’t met before, chatting about the nice shoes they are wearing and asking where they got them. If I happen to see someone I do know, I offer to introduce this newly-acquired acquaintance and the conversation goes from there.

Kirsten Wynn Director of Special Projects and International Initiatives, Women Presidents’ Organization It has been my experience that people love to answer questions about a topic they are fluent and comfortable in, namely themselves. After introducing myself to someone new, I always ask a question about their work, their company, what brought them to the event or even where they operate from. A question is a great way to get the other person talking and start a conversation. W capregionwomenatwork.com | 25

Sick and Tired What you need to know about taking time off

Y

ou wake up feeling not right.

Maybe your throat hurts or you’re coughing so aggressively your eyes are tearing up. Maybe your daughter has a stomach bug she can‘t kick. Perhaps your brain is taxed and you need a break.

You pick up the phone, call your boss and deliver the message: You’re taking a sick day.

Nearly 60 percent of private-sector workers receive paid sick days, according to the Center For American Progress, and the average full-time worker takes 3.9 days per year for illness and 1.3 days to care for sick family members.

Having the ability to take sick time is important, says Rose Miller, president of Pinnacle Human Resources in Latham.

“A company that does not offer any 26 | women@work

personal/sick time for illness or injury is saying they don’t value employee lives or families,” says the HR expert. That doesn’t mean, however, that paid time off should be given out freely or be unlimited, she adds.

According to a National Compensation Survey, Americans receive an average of 8.5 days a year to take as sick time. It’s a pattern that Miller sees locally. “We see most companies, regardless of size, give employees some amount of sick leave,” Miller says. She adds that offering sick time shows an employer understands, and respects, the work/life balance.

But sick time isn’t as clear cut as it was, say, in the 1960s when time off was specific and clear-cut. Now you need to ask, rather than assume you know and understand the criteria of your com-

pany’s policy.

Ask for a company handbook or speak with someone in HR to understand the rules. If you’re new to a company, have ongoing conversations with both your manager and colleagues to understand any unofficial expectations when it comes to taking time off, says Amanda Augustine, a job search expert for TheLadders, an online job-matching service for professionals.

More and more companies are realizing they must become family-friendly and employees are demanding more time off, says Miller. As a result, companies gravitate toward a Paid Time Off (PTO) program. This blends vacation, personal and sick time into one pool of paid time off.

“Employees will use whatever paid

Photo: © iStockphoto.com/Olesia Bilkei.

By Kristi Barlette

By the Numbers

time off is allocated when personal needs arise,” says Miller. “In other words, if they are sick or their family member is sick, employees are very likely to request time off and use whatever balance of time they have, regardless of what it is called.”

That’s right. Sick days aren’t only for when the employee isn’t feeling well. Many workers call in sick when a family member is on the mend, too, and that’s OK. Kim Bellizzi owns Invisible Fence of the Tri Cities and Hudson Valley based in Troy. She has a small staff, and unless her team is present and working — installing fences and helping customers — the company doesn’t make money.

That said, Bellizzi stresses the importance of health and family. “If someone is sick-sick, that is a sick day,” says the business owner. “Also, if one of my installers had to take his wife to a procedure, or if their kids are sick and home from school,” that would be a sick day.

But, as with anything, sick time needs to be taken in moderation. Barring a major illness or injury, Bellizzi considers an average of one day every two months to be reasonable. At six days a year, that number is nearly double the averages discussed earlier.

Illustrations by Emily Jahn.

Sick-Day Excuses to Avoid Do you ever call in sick when you are actually feeling just fine? If you’re like 30 percent of American workers, the answer is yes, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.

Real or feigned, more people call in around the winter holidays, with about onethird of companies saying they take more sick calls during that period.

But some staffers take sick time a step further and come up with ridiculous, dogate-my-homework-style excuses, including one related to the Hunger Games.

Here are just a few real-life explanations employers have heard from their staffers calling in “sick“, according to CareerBuilder:

The trickier issue in the PTO debate is mental health days, those brain-rest moments we all so desperately need after a big project is completed or we’ve had a major fall-out with a colleague or client.

Sometimes they seem to come when the weather is perfect for skiing, or golf, or just before a dozen of your in-laws descend on your home for a big holiday.

Are they OK to take? The answer seems to be that it depends on your workplace.

Miller has a mostly hands-off attitude.

“Employees do not need to disclose why they are requesting the use of their paid time off,” Miller says. “They need to follow policy on usage and ask questions about what happens when paid time is exhausted.”

Augustine, the job search expert, is open to them as well. “When a vacation is not feasible … and you need a day off to deal with a personal issue, it’s a good idea to take a mental-health day instead,” she says. “If your company does not have sick days, use a personal day. It’s better to stay home and take care of whatever is upsetting you, rather than let it invade your work space and possibly damage your personal brand.” W

• • • • • • • • • •

My toe got stuck in the bathtub faucet My dog is having a nervous breakdown A bird hit me My sobriety tool wouldn’t allow the car to start.

My dead grandmother is being exhumed for a police investigation.

I forgot I was hired for the job I am suffering a broken heart I’m sick from reading too much I’m upset after watching The Hunger Games My hair turned orange after dyeing my hair at home

Workers with a college degree are more than twice as likely to have access to paid leave than those with less than a high school education, according to the Center for American Progress.

29 percent of employers check up on their workers to make sure they’re really ill and not just playing hooky, according to CareerBuilder.

On an average day, 1 million Americans call in sick for stress-related reasons, according to OnlineUniversity, a site that offers informal, online education.

$10: The average hourly wage of workers without paid sick leave

Sick days cost about $63 billion per year, nationwide, according to a study released by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine near Chicago in 2007.

capregionwomenatwork.com | 27

E-Z Pass Company password security doesn’t have to be complicated

By Brianna Snyder

P

Your Mobile Phone and Work If your company has provided a phone for you, you’re probably already fairly protective of it. It’s wise to check with your H.R. representative to make sure you’re aware of various protocols and procedures, says Cliff Rohde.

But if you use your personal phone for work — e-mail, texts, calls — it might be prudent to keep 28 | women@work

recordkeeping of all the employees’ usernames and passwords,” says Cliff Rohde of GoatCloud Communications, an SEO and Internet-marketing company based in Albany. “This is critical not just for the security of the enterprise but also business continuity.” Say, for instance, an employee needs to go on leave suddenly or is let go. Without access to that employee’s login information, you might find yourself in a frustrating situation, unable to access important or pertinent documents, contacts or other files on that

your phone locked with a passcode and install an app that allows you to track or scramble the phone remotely, in case it’s stolen.

John Bagyi, an attorney specializing in labor and employment law, advises employers to provide employees with company devices to avoid any messiness that might come with mixing up personal and work phone or computer usage. If employees are using their personal devices for work, Bagyi advises employers to do three things: have

employee’s computer. Tracy Metzger, owner of TL Metzger and Associates, says her business secures all its data behind passwords using a cloud service.

That way the information is safe, but accessible by everyone who has the right passwords.

Having a password system is just the first step to secure company system. Even more important is making sure everyone in your company practices smart passwording, Here are some suggestions for creating hacker-proof passwords.

the employee use a password on her phone, require the employee to let the company know if she loses her phone, and get the employee’s permission to wipe data off of her phone remotely in case it’s stolen.

It’s also possible, Bagyi says, that if you’ve been getting e-mail or information on your phone that’s relevant to a lawsuit, your phone could be confiscated for forensic examination. That can be somewhat traumatic if that device is your personal one.

“We had a client once where an employee had used his home computer for personal and business reasons and something that he accessed from home became relevant to a case,” Bagyi says. “As a result the court issued a seizure for his computer. … This is a computer his kids used and their homework was on.”

In other words: if using your personal device for work can be avoided, avoid it.

Photo: © iStockphoto.com/Kolobsek.

assword management can be a big headache. Monthly prompts from Outlook or your company’s computer administrator to change your password can be exasperating, and can seem like a waste of time.

Do we really need to change our company passwords every 30/60/90 — fill in your company’s blank — days?

The short answer is yes. According to ComputerWorld Magazine, a 2011 survey found that 90 percent of the 583 businesses polled said they’d experienced security breaches by hackers in the previous 12 months. And the New York Times reports everybody will likely be hacked eventually.

Computer security may begin with strong passwords, but iif you have multiple employees sharing a company network, keeping a record of everyone’s password is important as well. “There should be some sort of centralized

1. Avoid words

Independent. Proactive. Committed.

“If your password can be found in a dictionary, you might as well not have one,” according to the New York Times. Hackers are in possession of fairly sophisticated programs that, in seconds, run through popular or likely words or terms you may have used in your password. They don’t even break into the system to see your password; they actually just guess. If your password is a mix of letters, numbers and characters, your chances of your password getting guessed are significantly lower.

2. Make a mnemonic Farhad Manjoo writes in Slate that the phrase approach to password-making can be taken one step closer to tight security.

“Turn your phrase into an acronym,” he writes. “Be sure to use some numbers and symbols and capital letters, too. I like to eat bagels at the airport becomes Ilteb@ta, and My first Cadillac was a real lemon so I bought a Toyota is M1stCwarlsIbaT.” This approach is a good one if you’re trying to manage several passwords across various sites. Manjoo continues: “You can even create pass phrases for specific sites that are coded with a hint about their purpose. A sentence like It’s 20 degrees in February, so I use Gmail lets you set a new Gmail password every month and still never forget it:i90diSsIuG for September, i30diMsIuGfor March, etc.”

3. Get a password manager Certain subscription services and free services will automatically generate passwords not even you know for all of your sites.

You just remember the one master password to access the rest.

Rohde uses Last Pass, which is free for desktop use but costs just $12 a year for mobile security, too. “It’s a very slick little piece of software,” Rohde says. The program has an authenticator service that vaults your data, as well as multiple protections against spam and malware, in addition to keeping your forms and passwords secure. “What you do is you remember one password to log into Last Pass and then you kind of let Last Pass take over for you in terms of remembering passwords and password generation.”

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NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

Step by Step Horses help humans in this therapeutic program

By Laurie Lynn Fischer | Photos by Emily Jahn

H

andicaps are races in which horses carry different amounts of weight to level the field. They’re also something thousands of humans have begun to overcome, thanks to STEP, the not-for-profit Saratoga Therapeutic Equestrian Program in Schenectady.

Executive Director Karen “Kay” Stanley-White has devoted her career to horses and people with special needs.

One of the first women to get a trainers license at the Saratoga Harness Track, this gutsy rider has run her own riding and training stable for more than 40 years, 30 | women@work

in addition to her day job as a physical therapist.

“Horses are a lot like people, and don’t let anyone tell you different,” says the two-time state dressage and eventing champion, who is responsible for the survival of STEP. Founded in 1986 with a borrowed pony and a couple of volunteers, the program has grown over the years.

From March through December, during about 425 therapy sessions, two side spotters accompany each rider. Usually, the rider sits on a blanket rather than a

saddle, so the patient can feel the animal’s heat and movement. White drives the horse from behind.

“This is not glorified pony rides,” the veteran horse trainer says. “This is medically founded research. We actually see miracles here. For 27 years, I have seen more than 1,800 individual lives change.”

One 5-year-old autistic boy uttered his first word — “fun” — when his pony picked up its pace in the indoor STEP arena. Another autistic 2-year-old said his first word — “Bert” — his horse’s name.

Tears streaming down the faces of par-

STEP into the future ents and facilitators alike are not uncommon in this arena, White says.

On this evening, Mai Linh sits straight and proud astride Peanut. After multiple leg surgeries and six years of medical therapy on horseback, she’s learning to ride on her own through the STEP Up program. Listening to White’s prompts, the grinning 14-year-old extends her arms like an airplane, reaches up and down, then touches Peanut’s mane and tail. It’s only when she dismounts and grabs her pink crutches that there’s any indication that the Wilton resident has cerebral palsy.

“When I started, I was using a walker,” Linh says. “It helped me a lot to walk the right way. Having balance is what it helps. It isn’t just therapy. You get to experience how it is to really horseback ride, which is fun. You only live once.”

late the rider’s nervous system, release tight muscles and build lax muscles, she explains. The animal’s motion trains the person’s brain and body to make small posture corrections.

“You can’t use your arms, hands, legs and feet unless your center core is stable,” says White. “We’re trying to make everything translate to the ability to enjoy life. Being a child, your occupation is to play. Being an adult, it’s getting gainful employment. I’ve been blessed to be able to combine my professional career and love of horses with my medical degree in physical therapy into a partnership at STEP where I can live my vision, helping children and others with special needs and using the horse in a most unique and rewarding way. This is how I want to end my days. continued on page 32

STEP invites you to get involved with its campaign for sustainability. “STEP has fulfilled my life’s journey, but it is far from complete,” says Executive Director Karen “Kay” White. “I’m no spring chicken anymore and need the physical and financial support of new blood and new community. We’re looking for board members and volunteers who really want to step up to secure STEP’s future and prove the efficacy of hippotherapy and what we do.”

To volunteer or donate labor, expertise, funds or supplies to STEP, please call 518-374-5116 or e-mail stepatnfec@yahoo.com.

For more information, visit STEP’s website at stepup-nfec.org.

S

TEP isn’t just for kids. It also helps adults recover from strokes, and, this year, the stable is running Horses for Heroes, a program for veterans with post-traumatic stress syndrome, brain injuries and amputations.

Humans aren’t the only animal to benefit from STEP. White saved a former family farm from further subdivision by building the New Forest Equestrian Centre, fencepost by fencepost. Of 16 horses stabled there, nine were donated or rescued.

“These are horses that would otherwise wind up on a table in France, Japan or Canada,” says White. “I use everything here from minis to Percherons. They all go through years of training. We choose the horse based on the patient at evaluation. For instance, if they have a very stiff spine, I may want a horse that has a lot of rotation in its movement.”

Hippotherapy uses the rhythm of the horse’s three-dimensional gait to stimu-

capregionwomenatwork.com | 31

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT continued from page 31

The Download on STEP founder Karen “Kay” Stanley-White

coup and the horse went over backward while riding a cross-country course as a teen; fractured a leg, ribs and collar bone

Born in: Cohoes

Surprising fact: One horse produces 50 pounds of manure and 8 to 10 gallons of urine per day.

Lives in: Glenville Family: Single grandmother of three, mother of two Age: “Is a matter of mind. If you don’t mind, it don’t matter.”

Education: Russell Sage College, Hudson Valley Community College; Degrees in physical therapy and recreation. Specialty certifications in orthopedics, spinal injuries, neuromuscular injuries, neurology, brain injury, pediatrics and hippotherapy First job: Father’s gopher and groom at Saratoga Harness Track at age 16.

Toughest job: Parenting, working a farm and holding down a job while putting herself through college Worst horse-related injury: Flipped a

Favorite horse story: Seabiscuit

Best decision: To purchase property for the New Forest Equestrian Centre and build the STEP program Guilty Pleasure: Riding her horse Peprico Two words to describe STEP: Life’s mission Distinctions: 2011 NY Assembly proclamation praising her work & STEP; many civic awards and equestrian accomplishments.

Brush with Greatness: Was working at Saratoga flat track when Onion defeated Triple Crown winner Secretariat Favorite breed of horse: How can one choose between their children? W

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From the legend of the Yellow Emperor to the story of the Terracotta Army, from the mountains of Tibet to the banks of the Yangtze River… Let Shen Yun take you on a magical journey through ancient dynasties and faraway lands, with over 20 pieces of original programs. Immerse yourself in a world of sublime beauty and grace, and experience a China you’ve never known.

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“The finest event I’ve ever been to in my life. I was in tears... the human spirit, the dignity, the power, the love, coming out of those people was astounding. This is the profound, quintessential end of entertainment, there is nothing beyond this, nothing.”

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I DID IT

Bubbling Up

For this savvy label entrepreneur, labels are the name of the game

By Cari Scribner | Photos by Colleen Ingerto

W

hat’s in a name? For Michelle Brandriss of Saratoga Springs, the answer is a thriving business.

Brandriss launched her company, Name Bubbles, in January 2009 after encountering a challenge familiar to moms with young children. “I was labeling my son Cooper’s things for pre-school, and the masking tape wasn’t sticking and the markers weren’t permanent, and it was frustrating,” Brandriss says. “I knew there had to be a better way.”

At the time, Brandriss was a busy executive in client services for an advertising company, and travelled extensively. She was juggling her time and frequently spent days at a time away from her family, something that hit hard one afternoon as she was packing for another business trip.

“One Sunday, Cooper had a fever and I had to leave for four days,” Brandriss recalls. “It was at that moment that I made the shift. I knew right then I had to start a business that allowed me to be near home but was also successful. I wasn’t ready to take the risk until that exact moment.” After six months of researching the product and the equipment needed

to produce the labels, Brandriss unveiled her company website and started receiving orders in early 2009.

Name Bubbles are stickers that adhere nearly permanently (they can be removed if you peel them with intent to remove) to clothing, backpacks, lunch bags, sneakers, baby bottles, sports gear and just about anything else cloth, plastic or capregionwomenatwork.com | 35

I DID IT

other materials. They’re washable, cute, stylish and available in thousands of combinations of colors, designs and fonts, everything from purple, flip-flop-shaped stickers with pink contemporary lettering to bright yellow school buses with block letters. Brandriss recently launched a line of write-on labels with a semi-permanent, smudge-free ink pen and a hydro marker (provided with stickers) for labeling items such as plastic containers of leftovers. Once the tub of leftover spaghetti has been eaten, the label can be wiped off to identify the next batch.

How the labels look is a critical part of Brandriss’s company strategy. “I knew how (the labels) looked mattered,” Brandriss says. “There’s been a Renaissance in the baby market, with fancier nurseries, color combinations and patterns. Our style is much more modern than what was out there previously.”

T

he products aren’t just for children, though. Brandriss and her team have developed a line of labels for college students and an elder care package

for older adults going into nursing care facilities.

After being launched from home, Name Bubbles is now housed in a large, open, bright suite inside an office complex in Clifton Park. The office is filled with humming printers and work space for the creative staff of designers, website experts, a customer service rep, and a crew of mostly college students assembling the packages of labels and completing quality assurance. Her staff is currently 17 people, but more people may be hired during busy months including the start of school and the onset of camp season.

“During busy periods we run a split shift to fill orders,” Brandriss says. “I’m always working at night. I’m a night owl, and I check sales and my e-mail every night before I go to bed.”

Brandriss has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, and her artistic flair is prominent in both shared workspace and her office, which has fresh flowers in a tall vase, an antique table with wroughtiron chairs and a poppy-colored leather

Michelle Brandriss’ and Lauren Rose’s Tips for Success: 1. Hire key employees that complement your weakest areas. It can be scary, but they will be your best teachers.

2. Learn to step back, look and think about your next decision. Quiet thought allows you to see the project to the end before you make a move.

3. Hide the remote; everyone in the family will benefit.

4. You have to acknowledge and be the change that you want in your life (this counts for work and home).

5. Remember the person you were at 10 years old; don’t forget how it felt to laugh so hard that you ended up with the hiccups.

6. Don’t yell at or speak down to people. No one likes a bully and that’s how you will be viewed.

7. Believe in yourself. If you don’t, no one else will.

8. Don’t wear high heels in a snow storm; it’s self-induced victimization.

9. Keep a copy of your favorite song in the car. If you need inspiration or have a rough day, sing it at the top of your lungs and you’ll feel instantly better.

10. Be thankful for those around you.

Success is achieved from the work, effort and contribution of many.

Nothing truly great can be built by one person.

36 | women@work

sofa. The main work area features a cluster of seats for staff meetings, none of them matching, creating a cool, unique vibe.

One of Brandriss’ rules of running a business is to identify talents in the people she adds to her team. “I believe in hiring people to complement areas where I’m not as strong,” Brandriss says. “I’m more creative, so I need people in business administration, marketing, accounting and auditing.”

To that end, Brandriss hired Lauren Rose as her director of business development and marketing in 2011. The women met at a local daycare attended by their sons, both now 6, after Rose admired the labels on Cooper’s items. Rose has been the lead person in strategizing new markets, identifying demographics and updating the website to be more interactive.

“There’s an enormous market out there,” Rose says.

“We get brand-new moms every year with kids going to daycare. There are four million new moms a year, and 64 percent of them work. A whop-

NAME BUBBLES won a “She Knows Parenting” award for their colorful school supply labels last year. 

ping two billion dollars are spent on school supplies every year in this country.”

Social media has played a large role in the company’s success. “There are mom blogs out there that help spread the word about our labels,” Brandriss says. “Moms sit down with their kids on their laps and use their iPads or tablet to shop for child-related things. It’s a constantly changing environment.”

As for the future, Brandriss says her staff may grow and her product line may diversify,

but she intends to keep the business under one roof. “We have room to expand and add more equipment, but I don’t think about a satellite office,” Brandriss says. “We’re on a growing trajectory between the Internet and mail orders. We’re visionaries here, and we rely on one another. It’s all about teamwork.” W

SEMINAR

Reinventing Yourself with Higher Education MARCH 20, 2013 | 5:30-8PM SCHENECTADY COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE VAN CURLER ROOM IN ELSTON HALL

FEATURED SPEAKER Dr. Candace Vancko President, SUNY Delhi

FREE EVENT Looking for a way to introduce new options into your career and your life? College is one of the best ways you can invest in yourself. Whether it’s to ramp up your career, change direction altogether, find a more meaningful encore or just have fun, returning to school has never been easier. Find out just how college can help transform your career and your life.

Event is free, space is limited. Register at womenatworkevent.eventbrite.com Questions, call 518-454-5583

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BOOK REVIEW

Read this book if…

You want to discover what’s really holding you back from becoming a leader.

Getting to the Top

The first person to get out of the way is you

I’d Rather Be in Charge, by Charlotte Beers, Vanguard Press, 242 pages, $15.99

By Brianna Snyder

P

lenty of business books aimed at helping women navigate the Old Boys Network in corporate America note the differences between men and women and how they think. This is the first book I’ve read that actually asks women to look inside themselves first to learn what they need to overcome to get to where they want to be in their careers.

Yes, men are from Mars and women are from Venus, but the way to learn how to overcome and work with those differences to find success, Charlotte Beers says in her book I’d Rather Be in Charge, is to delve inside.

Beers, whose impressive career includes stints as CEO and Undersecretary of State, starts by asking her readers to look at their upbringing and the behavior models they copy. “Our first training in people management,” Beers writes, “comes from our families.”

To help women reach a better self-understanding, Beers has a series of questions that must be answered: What did

your mother say to you about work? How did your siblings affect you?, for example. She then offers advice on how women can get beyond their families’ various behaviors to achieve what they actually want.

From there, she walks readers through strategies to analyze other people’s traits and being true to themselves while getting ahead. (She also teaches these strategies in workshops called — aptly — the X Factor. For those who’ve forgotten Biology 101, women have two X chromosomes while men only have one; hence, the X factor.) She offers strategies as well for presentations and other work situations.

While the book sounds as if it’s a ride in pop-culture psychology, it’s not at all.

Beers is a pragmatist who has walked the walk of the plan she offers here.

She’s her own best testimonial to the ways in which knowing yourself is the best way to get ahead. W

Notable Quote:

Instant Recall:  The most insidious form of nonasking is what Beers calls “therefore” thinking: I didn’t even get considered for that job; therefore, I must not be good enough.  Traits do not dictate your fate even though they are your gut reactions, your underlying drives.  The more multidimensional the picture managers have of you, the better it is for you.

“It’s not about the work; it’s about how I deliver the work.” capregionwomenatwork.com | 39

YOUR CAREER

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7:30-9 AM WOMEN@WORK BREAKFAST PANEL: Managing Your Personal Brand with Social Media Savvy professionals know that smart use of social media can help take their career to the next level.

We’ll discuss what — and what not — to do.

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Reinventing Yourself with Higher Education, sponsored

by Women@Work, will be held March 20, 5:30–8 pm, at Schenectady County Community College. The event, which is free, includes light fare and networking.

Pre-registration is required. Go to womenatworkevent.eventbrite.com.

Working Overtime Going back to school can do more for you than you think

By Brianna Snyder

Photo: © iStockphoto.com/William Britten.

W

orking full-time and putting yourself through school — these are the challenges of the overachiever. And if you’ve got kids and a spouse to boot, the work-plusschool feat seems doubly heroic.

A good education is one of the most important assets you can have. An upcoming panel, Reinventing Yourself with Higher Education, on March 20 at Schenectady Community College, will center on the subject of continued education and its many benefits. We chatted with members of the panel to find out what some of those benefits can be.

Susan Beaudoin, who’s moderating the panel, is the assistant vice president for administration at Schenectady County Community College. “Education can be used to jump-start your career if you need to transition,” she says. “Getting another degree (could also help) your already chosen career.” Women feeling stuck in their jobs likely will find they have more options if they take a class or get another degree.

“Our economy is moving toward more advanced and technology-relevant kinds of jobs,” says panelist Shadi Shahedipour-Sandvik, associate professor at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at SUNY Albany. She says all women — those looking for new jobs or those already established in their careers — will undoubtedly benefit from staying current and skilled with the web and technology.

“There are going to be many jobs requiring advanced skills,” ShahedipourSandvik says. “That’s why it’s important to go back to school to get those skills that they probably do not have.”

So what about those of us with busy jobs and dependent kids and spouses?

How can we even conceive of devoting time to anything else? Thankfully, many schools take the working adult into consideration. They provide flexible options, such as evening and online classes.

Laura Schweitzer, president of Union Graduate College and another forum panelist, says the investment in contin-

ued education pays for itself. Citing the Department of Labor, Schweitzer gives plain statistics: The average high-school graduate makes about $33,000 a year.

Those with associate degrees make an average of $40,000 a year. Those with bachelor’s degrees can expect to make about $55,000 annually. With a master’s degree, average yearly salary is $66,000. “From an employability standpoint and from an income-earning standpoint, women who return to higher education truly benefit,” Schweitzer says.

She points out that because education helps us earn more money, enhance our careers and be better at our jobs, we’re likely to be happier in general. “I think there’s great job satisfaction when you have your master’s degree,” she says.

“The personal joy you get out of working increases at every level of education that you attain.”

“Education is really an investment in your life. It’s an investment in you,” Beaudoin says. “Education is the ultimate investment in yourself.” W capregionwomenatwork.com | 41

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Join Albany Med’s medical experts as they discuss how advancements in research are leading to newer and better treatment options for those suffering from chronic pain.

5-6 PM Networking/Informational Session: Get up-to-date health information by visiting a variety of Albany Medical Center’s informational booths.

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MOMS @ WORK

Mary Malone McCarthy is founder and CEO of M3 Business Service Network, m3bsn.com.

She lives in Clinton with her husband and three children.

Photo by Gail Haile.

A New Adventure

By Mary Malone McCarthy

W

ho doesn’t benefit from a little adventure? The adrenaline rush and anticipation of the unknown can put a little shazam back into anyone’s life.

My greatest adventure has just begun as I left the comforts of a family business to start my own company. M3 Business Service Network, which began part time, is now my full-time job and a life dream come true. I realize that starting a company is not for everyone; as a matter of fact, some people look at me with the most perplexed look on their faces as they ask, “But why risk it?” or even more direct, “Have you lost your mind?”

Growing up in a third-generation family business has been incredibly rewarding and a chapter I am enormously proud of. But the itch to create from nothing and inspire a team I build is a fire in my belly that has never relented.

The challenge can be daunting but offsetting that are the opportunities that make my decision one of the best I have ever made.

From a young age, I have had an entrepreneurial spirit and infatuation with starting a company. Whether it was the childhood lemonade stand or running a division of another company, I knew that I would create my enterprise someway … somehow. I would often visualize myself in that role to the point where I could feel it in my bones. I have spent endless hours and years researching, looking at acquisitions and partnerships but nothing felt as perfect as the start of M3. As I have begun this journey, I have done quite a bit of reflecting on just

what M3 will be and the qualities it will live by. I keep coming back to a simple but powerful list.

• Exceed Expectations. I love the challenge to dazzle and I mean dazzle your customer with service.

Don’t look at it as a chore but as an opportunity few truly seize. Service is a tired, overused term but one that few companies embrace and execute. Incredible service is fun to deliver and puts a company in a league of its own. For an example of superior customer service check out one of my favorite online shopping sites — zappos.com. Now that’s a company that makes providing fabulous service fun!

• Be grateful. The many great people whose paths I’ve crossed over the years are part of the fabric of who I am today. I am amazed and eternally grateful for the opportunities created by clients, business associates and friends who trust that I will do the best job for them.

• Listen. Each conversation is an incredible opportunity to learn a new concept, competitive differentiator or perhaps learn of an opportunity to seize. People (including me!) so appreciate the simple gesture of

listening to understand.

• Value. Value each new experience and each person with whom you cross paths. Conversely, add value to each customer experience and opportunity.

• Perseverance and Determination.

Similar to running a marathon, the best achievements often require unwavering commitment and relentless determination to withstand the ups and downs. Vow to expand your efforts a little further each day, climb each hill with stamina and to stay in the race no matter what.

• There are no coincidences. Make your goals a reality. I love this statement that was shared with me many years ago. Success, whether personal or professional, comes with passion, risk, determination and a lot of spunk. Only you can make your goals come true.

So what will your next adventure be?

Big or small, professional or personal, each one is an important and memorable part of who we are. Don’t let age, selfdoubt or the naysayers stray you from your passion. Life is one incredible journey, so make each chapter a memorable run and choose whatever road puts a little shazam in your life. W

Working can be challenging for any woman. Add children into the mix, though, and the formula changes again. In Moms@Work, authors Megan Willis and Mary Malone McCarthy share their insights on working and raising a family. They will alternate column duties, and you can find them in between issues blogging at blog.timesunion.com/momsatwork. capregionwomenatwork.com | 43

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Pump Me Up 7 ways to boost your energy naturally

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Photo: © iStockphoto.com/x iofoto.

W

hen it’s 2 p.m. and you’re reaching for your fifth cup of coffee, you’re not really doing yourself any favors if you plan on sleeping at all during the night. Those energy drinks that are in the news because of fatalities? Not so good for you, either.

And we all know how short-lived the energy is we get — admittedly tasty — from a chocolate bar.

So what’s a woman to do who has a mid-afternoon slump and needs a little boost to get her through the day? Here are seven ways to boost your energy the

natural way, so that you don’t become a grouch and you’re able to make it through the day and meet your deadlines.

Catch some ZZZs. While it’s obvious that lack of sleep the night before will make you tired, it’s also important to try to get the same amount of sleep each night, and enough of it. If you feel yourself getting tired and have the opportunity for a 20-minute afternoon nap, do it.

You’ll feel reinvigorated.

Eat breakfast. Your brain needs a steady flow of nutrients to perform at

its best. Skipping breakfast starts your day off at a detriment. “To minimize the downtime, work toward blood sugar regulation, first and foremost,” says Dr. Richard Herbold, a chiropractic neurologist and clinical nutritionist at the Capital District Vitality Center. “Never, ever, ever miss breakfast.” Eat in the first hour of being awake and include protein.

“It can’t be high-glycemic packed with stimulants,” he says, meaning don’t start with donuts and coffee. Start the day with a healthy breakfast of lean protein, high fiber, fruits/vegetables, and good fats. continued on page 46 capregionwomenatwork.com | 45

Some Superfoods • Almonds, pistachios, walnuts and other nuts, although stay away from macadamias and pecans, which are high in fat and low in protein • Beans • Blueberries • Dark green vegetables (broccoli and kale, for example) • Oats • Oranges and other citrus fruits • Pumpkin • Salmon • Soy • Spinach • Tea (especially green tea) • Tomatoes • Turkey • Yogurt

Drink caffeine in moderation. “The caffeine in a couple of cups of coffee is perfectly harmless for most healthy people,” says Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson Karen Ansel, “and has been shown to improve energy and focus.” It’s drinking an excessive amount daily that can dehydrate you (which depletes your energy), and that can cause more of a crash when the original energy boost wanes. “Coffee is not a good substitute for sleep, and adds to any tension and stress that you already feel,” says Lisa Hodgson, registered dietitian and clinical nutrition manager at Saratoga Hospital. Remember that caffeine is also in sodas, not just coffee.

Besides, too much coffee keeps you up at night, which defies rule number one: Get enough sleep.

Drink more water and herbal tea.

The more dehydrated you are, the more lethargic you’ll feel. Water is the best way to hydrate, which in turn keeps you alert.

Ansel also promotes green tea: “In addition to containing a small amount of caffeine, which can give you a small energy boost, tea also contains an amino acid that increases energy and focus without the jittery feeling some people get from caffeine.” Green tea is less acidic than coffee, which is better on digestion, and drinking water or tea all day will make you feel full and less apt to reach for bad

Superfoods & the Glycemic Index Foods with a low glycemic index, where sugar is absorbed slowly, can help you avoid that lag in energy that typically occurs after eating foods with a high glycemic index. Foods with a low glycemic index include whole grains, high-fiber vegetables, nuts and healthy oils (such as olive oil).

“Include some lean protein in each

46 | women@work

foods out of hunger.

Take a brisk 10-minute walk, ideally outside. It seems counterintuitive to exercise when you’re feeling tired, but exercising causes your body to release stress hormones that can really recharge your batteries. Sunlight stimulates endorphins — the body’s natural chemicals that lift your spirit — so your energy level will increase from a walk, a boost that can last up to two hours. “You really can’t underestimate the importance of exercise for boosting energy,” Ansel says.

Eat less sugar, and more foods rich in protein and fiber. One of the most important methods of performing at your best is to maintain a steady bloodsugar level, which limits the necessity for stimulants (coffee, sugar, nicotine).

Sugary foods spike blood sugar, providing an energy burst, but the boost is soon followed by a drop in your blood sugar, which has the opposite effect — it leaves you depleted and wiped out.

“There are super foods, and foods of different qualities,” Herbold says. The big thing to understand about food is the glycemic index (see sidebar). “The higher the glycemic index, the faster your sugar goes up and down. If you’re a sugar junkie, you’re on a rollercoaster ride.”

Processed carbs have much the same effect as sugar; avoid these, especially at lunch. “High-fat things tend to weigh meal, such as lean beef, skinless chicken or fish,” says Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson Karen Ansel.

“Research reveals that protein-packed meals are more likely to keep us alert while carb-heavy meals are prone to make us drowsy. Make sure that you have a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, which are packed with nutrients that keep our bodies and brains performing at their peak.” Proteins and fats have glycemic indexes that are close to zero.

Photos: iStockphoto.com. Salmon, © Dušan Zidar; green veggies, © Kenneth Crawford; nuts, © Denis Pepin; lemon, © Stefano Tiraboschi; beans, © Lauri Patterson; woman eating lunch, © diego cervo.

continued from page 45

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you down,” Hodgson says. “They fill you for the moment, but don’t build up your energy.” Foods with a lower glycemic index tend to be more stable. “Foods higher in fiber and whole grains will give less of a swing, and will fill you up better, for fewer calories,” Hodgson explains.

Eat smaller meals during the day, especially healthy snacks in between meals. Not allowing your blood sugar to drop by eating consistently every three to four hours helps prevent swings in mood and energy. “Have protein at every meal,” Herbold says. “Have low-sugar-content meals, frequently. That basically means lots of veggies, lean proteins and good fats.” Some food combinations are considered great power snacks, such as peanut butter on a whole-wheat cracker. “Go with the whole Greek-yogurt craze,” suggests Hodgson. “It has a lot more protein than other yogurts, and is a good source of calcium. Add a few nuts. A handful of almonds and string cheese is not a bad way to go. The hundred-calorie snack is a perfect-size snack.”

These lift your energy and make that energy last.

Herbold says to be mindful that this is a process and a journey: “You won’t stop drinking 12 cups of coffee tomorrow. Be realistic in terms of timeline to make some changes, consistently.

What we should aspire to are eating better whole foods, exercising and getting sleep. That’s the stuff you have to start with.

Basic stuff is basic stuff.”

Hodgson advises that “when you’re crazy busy, remember to eat. Put it in your calendar. Overall, know that if you make some better choices, you’ll be better able to make better decisions during the day.” W

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Selling Out When candy bars for a cause can create a problem at work

48 | women@work

By Kristi Barlette | Illustration by Emily Jahn

Photos: Desk, © iStockphoto.com/Suljo; popcorn, courtesy Boy Scouts of America; cookies, courtesy Girl Scouts of the USA; candles, courtesy Yankee Candle; candy, © iStockphoto.com/ bravo1954.

W

e’ve all been there. We walk into the office and there, prominently placed right next to the coffee machine or another popular gathering spot, is the signup sheet — usually with a caveat noting no one should feel any pressure to participate. It’s time for their children to sell Thin Mints or wrapping or candy bars or popcorn. All you have to do is sign on the line.

But what if you don’t want to? What if money is tight or you don’t need any popcorn or — here’s an idea — you think it’s wrong for parents to sell stuff for their kids at their workplace? And what if the sheet belongs to the child of your boss?

Navigating these selling waters at work can be tricky. No one wants to alienate a colleague or manager over some Kit Kats, after all. But the reality is no one should feel as if non-participation places their work life in jeopardy.

Statistics show two-thirds of parents of school-age children sell fundraising products at some point each year, often by taking orders at work, according to a survey by the Association of Fund-Raising Distributors and Suppliers. Parents offer to help their kids’ fundraising efforts for a variety of reasons.

“Schools and nonprofit kids’ organizations are relying more than ever on fundraisers to survive and it’s putting more pressure on parents to sell,” says Julie Purdy, a Cohoes-based life coach who works with clients on work-related issues. “Parents don’t want to see their children lose out on field trips, playgrounds and extracurricular activities, so they mean well and feel like they’re promoting worthy causes by bringing order forms/items to work.”

Additionally, selling door-to-door can present safety issues, another motivator for parents to help out, says Purdy. “Parents don’t have the luxury of time to supervise their children going door-to-door with multiple fundraisers throughout the year, so the easy way out is to bring the Girl Scout cookie sheet or candy fundraiser to the office,” says the workplace expert. “Door-

to-door sales can also make collecting the money and delivery difficult. Whereas it’s easy to catch coworkers at the office.”

The economy also plays a role. Often moms and dads don’t have the resources to purchase enough items to feel as if they’ve done their share. So a way of easing that burden is to ask coworkers to support a worthy cause.

But those economic concerns go both ways, says Karen Michael, a Richmond, Va.-based workplace expert and employment attorney with 20 years of experience. “The economy is tight and coworkers don’t have that extra $10 or $20 to buy wrapping paper they can get at Target for a third of the cost, or to buy chocolate bars or give to causes they do not personally otherwise support,” says Michael.

Instead she favors employers implementing no solicitation policies in the workplace. This would prevent the selling of anything for personal gain — from taking up a collection for a local cause to sponsoring a child or coworker for a charity walk to selling jewelry or Tupperware.

“

common area, or giving a general headsup to colleagues without a direct request to buy, is acceptable. Even posting what you’re up to on Facebook, or creating an invite can work. If your colleagues are your friends on social media you can include them on the invite. They can then participate, or take a pass, without any face-to-face rejection.

And, of course, not all selling is looked upon unfavorably. In some cases, that Girl Scout cookie form circulating in your office may be the only access you have to Samoas.

B

esides the obvious — checking with your human resources department for guidelines on selling at work — gauging appropriateness extends to your role in the company, too, say experts. Managers can face different obstacles than their staff.

Moran recalls a story where a supervisor was selling cookies at work for his daughter, and made it clear he expected everyone to purchase at least five boxes.

While it may seem obvious that this is inappropriate, it happens.

Door-to-door sales can also make collecting the money and delivery difficult. Whereas it’s easy to catch coworkers at the office.

Selling at work often makes employees feel compelled to buy something, and can create unnecessary tension, Michael says.

These “rules” would prevent the potential tension and the conflict of interest that sometimes arises with these sales.

Dan Moran, president of Next-Act, a career management company in Colonie, is OK with having in-office sales opportunities, as long as the process is professional, and does not interfere with staffers getting their work done.

He advises, for instance, not approaching a coworker when he or she is in the middle of a project or on their way to a meeting. Leaving a form on a table in a

”

Be sensitive to where you stand in the company, says Purdy. As a general rule of courtesy, managers and supervisors should refrain from putting staffers on the spot by soliciting them with fundraising sales.

“Your staff may feel pressure to pay up to stay in good standing or consider it a bribe, even if you don’t,” she says.

The one other thing to watch? Reciprocation.

“Remember fairness counts,” says Purdy. “If you’re going to ask colleagues to buy from you, make sure you return the favor and buy from them.

If you don’t you may have unhappy coworkers.” W capregionwomenatwork.com | 49

MEALS ON THE GO

The VegetableDelivery Woman Field Goods brings fresh, in-season veggies right to your doorstep

By Brianna Snyder | Photos by Tyler Murphy

B

efore Donna Williams started distributing local produce to the people of the Capital Region, she was an investment banker in New York City. Williams got her MBA from Columbia before working for a while in the publishing industry. Then, she says, “everything that could go wrong did go wrong.”

She moved to Portland to run a small digital publishing company, but at the last second their venture capital firm pulled out and the startup went down.

Soon after, medical complications put Williams in the hospital; she had three back surgeries within six months, she says. After “a very serious bout of depression, with no job and no place to live, I packed up the poodle and moved in with Mom and Dad in Athens.”

Things eventually started improving.

Several months after moving back to the 50 | women@work

area, Williams met the man who would become her husband. Today, she’s married, has two step-daughters and a baby, and she’s running her own company.

“I was able to get a consulting project with Greene County looking at how to grow agriculture in the county,” Williams says. “In the process of doing that I found that there’s a tremendous amount of demand for local produce and that there

really isn’t a scalable distribution system.

In other words, CSAs and farmers markets are great but you can’t grow them enough to serve a larger market. There’’s only so many people who can get to the farmers market on Saturday morning.”

Williams started Field Goods in 2011.

Working with farmers all over the region, she picks a number of vegetables, fruits, herbs and even cheeses — all lo-

Williams believes you need just six items to prepare any kind of vegetable. They are: Some kind of OIL, preferably olive.

cally produced — and delivers them to her customers. What sets this food-delivery system apart from others? You don’t get to choose what comes in the bag. All the produce is picked based on supply and what’s in season.

“That’s very important because the minute you introduce choice your price structure rises,” she says.

(In January, a weekly subscription for a fairly large-size bag of veggies cost between $20 and $30, depending on the size of the bag.) “Plus, it forces people to try things they wouldn’t try.” Every bag includes a newsletter and a rundown of what’s in the bag and what to do with it.

“It’s fun. It’s like a beer-of-the-month club. We give them recipes and basic fundamental instructions on what to do with what’s in the bag.”

Williams says the other significant motivation behind Field Goods is wellness. “I designed it to be a wellness program,” she says. “If you get a bag of vegetables every week you will eat the vegetables, whereas if you go to the grocery store you might buy the cookies and not the vegetables. It really changes people’s eating behavior.” Currently Field Goods has nearly 1,000 subscribers throughout the Capital Region.

“I had always dreamed of running my own business and necessity finally made it happen,” she says. “My story is one of necessity brings invention.”

See recipes on page 53

Some kind of cheese. GRATED PARMESAN freezes very well as do most cheeses and they can be much less expensive if you buy large sizes.

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Donna’s Must-Have Pantry Items

Some kind of allium such as GARLIC or ONIONS. Some kind of acid, such as LEMON or VINEGAR. Some kind of carbohydrate, such as rice or pasta or beans.

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SOY SAUCE or BRAGG. (Bragg is similar to soy sauce but has much lower sodium and is lighter. You’ll find it in health food stores; the

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packaging looks as if it hasn’t changed since it was invented in 1912.)

Top Tip for Healthy Cooking Buy great quality ingredients and don’t buy into the myth that cooking takes time and skill.

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MEALS ON THE GO

continued from page 51

Dinner in 30 minutes Kale Walnut Pesto Ingredients 1/4 cup chopped walnuts 3 cups chopped kale; coarsely chopped (about 1 big bunch), preferably Lacinato aka Dinosaur or Tuscan kale 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 2 cloves of garlic 3/4 cup olive oil Method Strip kale leaves from stalks and coarsely chop. To measure, firmly press into a measuring cup. Using a food processer, finely chop the kale. Add the garlic, olive oil and cheese and puree.

Mix with hot pasta. Add additional olive oil if it is too clumpy.

Broccoli Soup Ingredients 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 medium or 1 large onion(s) 1 clove of garlic 1 quart of good-quality chicken broth 6 cups of coarsely chopped broccoli (stems and florets) 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper Method Heat butter and oil in pan until butter is melted. Add onions and garlic and cook at medium heat until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add broccoli and broth, bring to a simmer and cook 8-10 minutes until broccoli is tender.

Puree the broccoli and broth with the cheese, salt and pepper in a blender until smooth. This can be refrigerated or frozen and reheated.

Green Potato Chips (aka Kale Chips) Ingredients 2 cups kale, coarsely chopped (about a 1/2 bunch), preferably Lacinato aka Dinosaur or Tuscan kale 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon soy sauce Method Heat oven to 275 degrees.

Strip the kale leaves from the stalks and coarsely chop the leaves. To measure, firmly press into a measuring cup.

In a bowl, whip olive oil and soy sauce together until thoroughly mixed. Place kale in a plastic bag and pour in the olive oil and soy sauce mix. Aggressively massage the kale around in the bag until all of it has a light covering of the mix. Spread in one layer on a cookie sheet. Cook for 10 minutes, shake them around on the sheet and cook another 10 minutes until crisp.  W capregionwomenatwork.com | 53

Getting Away:

Amelia Island, Florida

By Stacey Morris | Photo courtesy Amelia Island Tourist Development Council

T

he most famous parts of the Sunshine State are well documented.

Orlando is home to the big-name theme parks that seem to grow exponentially by the decade. Dayton and Destin are known for the “gone-wild” grind of spring break.

But Florida has quieter, more undiscovered parts, where the natural elements themselves are the attraction. And it doesn’t get more serenely elemental than Amelia Island, the 13-mile barrier island off the northeast corner of the state that’s noted for lush landscapes and peaceful quiet.

Amelia Island is one of the southernmost barrier islands in the chain that stretches from South Carolina to Florida. You won’t find roller coasters or sizzling nightlife on the island, which was named after King George II’s daughter, but you will find 54 | women@work

plenty of beautiful scenery and miles of unspoiled beaches. The island is an amalgam of luxurious resorts, private residences, beaches, parks and golf courses.

It also features Fernandina Beach, the island’s laid-back downtown center. It’s in this sunny, seaside town where you can explore cafes, antique shops, souvenir stores, and oceanside restaurants whose specialties include buckets of justcaught shrimp on ice. Those wanting to retreat into nature don’t have far to look.

Amelia Island is known for its undisturbed sand dunes, protected marshlands that beckon kayakers, and miles of treecovered walking trails.

One of the best places to take in the natural splendor is the Omni Amelia Island Plantation, a 1,350-acre complex bordered by the Atlantic shoreline and a seemingly endless canopy of Spanish oak and mag-

nolia trees, tropical plants, marshlands, and nearly four miles of beach. Plantation is the operative word, since founder and developer George Fraser commissioned an ecological land-use study when he acquired the property in 1971. The study resulted in Fraser’s standard for development on the plantation: Any future buildings would have to be constructed without disrupting the beauty or function of the natural environment.

Fraser was truly a visionary, green before his time. Thanks to his mission, houses and condos seem airbrushed into the natural pattern of centuries-old Spanish oak trees, tidal marshes, oceanfront dunes and grassy savannas. Named an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System, the certified Green Lodging Destination also features three courses of championship golf, 23 clay tennis courts, seven

 THERE’S LOTS TO DO at Amelia Island.

Watch sunsets (far left), join the Amelia Island golf club (left), go fishing and take carriage rides through Fernandina.

restaurants, a shopping village, spa and a mini-zoo filled with rescued turtles, lizards and birds.

Kayaking through marshlands, strolling through downtown Fernandina Beach, or bicycling under canopies of trees may not sound very exciting, but that’s exactly the point of a visit to the quiet refuge of Amelia Island. Sometimes understimulation, coupled with an extended dose of sunshine and ocean breezes, can be the perfect tonic for what ails the chilled soul of a northerner.

been under eight different flags of rule: French, Spanish, British, North American Patriot, Latin American Patriot, Mexican Rebel, Confederate, and United States.

To fully experience the history of The Isle of Eight Flags, check out Amelia Island’s Museum of History, Florida’s first spokenhistory museum. Its storytelling tradition is told through twice-daily tours led by docents, who offer tales of intrigue and adventure in the Eight Flags Gallery.

Must-See

Kelly Seahorse Ranch 1st Coast Highway (904) 491-5166 kellyranchinc.net

Amelia Island Museum of History 233 South Third St., Fernandina Beach (904) 261-7378 ameliamuseum.org Amelia Island’s unique history means that it is the only city in the nation that has

The Outdoors

The dune-bordered beaches of Amelia Island make it an idyllic setting for horseback riding, both for the beginner and serious equestrian alike. The Kelly

Seahorse Ranch is located on a 200-acre preserve where you can observe dolphins, shorebirds, and other wildlife as you explore the shoreline on a leisurely horseback ride. The horses are trained for walking-only excursions (no galloping allowed). That combined with professional guides give visitors a novel way to enjoy Amelia Island’s sparkling white-sand beaches and the beauty of the ocean.

Family Attractions Fort Clinch 2601 Atlantic Ave., Fernandina Beach (904) 277-7274 floridastateparks.org/fortclinch One of the most well-preserved 19th-century forts in the country, Fort Clinch features daily tours with period re-enactors depicting garrison life. The fort is located within a state park, which means you can also indulge in beach activities such as sunbathing, swimming and beachcombing. Anglers can fish from the pier to take advantage of excellent surf fishing. Hikers and bicyclists can explore a six-mile trail through the park and a view of the biggest sand dunes in the state of Florida. Selfguided nature trails provide opportunities to observe and learn about native plants and wildlife. You can also check out the campus via a Segway at EcoMotion Tours, which offer three different excursions of varying lengths through the park’s untouched island terrain. Want to experience beach star-gazing at its best? A full-facility campground and a youth camping area provide overnight accommodations. continued on page 57 capregionwomenatwork.com | 55

Capital Region Women@Work is the in-print component of an innovative network of local women in managerial and executive positions.

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continued from page 55

Places For Couples Fernandina Beach This picturesque 50-block historic district has escaped 20th-century commercialization and big-box stores. Instead, spend an afternoon strolling streets with houses and storefronts dating back to the late 19th century, including Victorian-style mansions and cottages. The heart of the shopping district is Centre Street, which has bookstores, candy makers, clothing boutiques, and a number of restaurants, most of which boast a menu full of just-caught seafood.

Accommodations Omni Amelia Island Plantation 6800 First Coast Highway, Amelia Island (904) 261-6161 omniameliaislandplantation.com The recently renovated resort on more than a thousand acres reopens this March with 155 additional oceanfront rooms and suites, expanded culinary options, Heron’s Cove Adventure Golf, and the largest poolscape in Northeast Florida with an infinity pool, family-friendly splash pool, and children’s pool. The plantation also has a shopping village, spa, 23 tennis courts, and three championship golf courses.

The Ritz Carlton Amelia Island 4750 Amelia Island Parkway, Amelia Island (904) 277-1100 ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/ AmeliaIsland This luxury beachfront hotel includes miles of beaches, nearly 500 guest rooms, 42 suites, indoor and outdoor swimming, five restaurants and a spa.

Dining Verandah at Omni Amelia Island Plantation 6800 First Coast Highway, Amelia Island (904) 261-6161 Overlooking the resort’s clay tennis courts, Verandah’s menu is a mix of locally sourced produce and meats, as well as fresh catches of the day from the Atlantic.

Joe’s 2nd St. Bistro 14 South 2nd St., Fernandina Beach (904) 321-2558 joesbistro.com A casual atmosphere that attracts locals as well as tourists, Joe’s is known for its specialty fruits-of-the-sea menu, such as Amelia Island shrimp and grits, and the tuna martini, which is seared ahi tuna tossed with fresh mango, avocado and ginger oil.

Salt The Ritz Carlton Amelia Island 4750 Amelia Island Parkway, Amelia Island (904) 277-1100 Not surprisingly, diners can flavor their entrees with an array of nearly two dozen varieties of salt from around the world.

Choose from Salt’s elegant dinner menu or arrange for a private meal in the chef’s kitchen with a customized menu. The restaurant offers a daily “Salt Fusion” demonstration where all the varieties of salt can be sampled.

When To Go

Upcoming Events Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance March 8-10 The Ritz Carlton and The Golf Club of Amelia Island ameliaconcours.org A weekend-long car show celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Porsche 911, the Ford GT40, and the cars of Henry Miller.

Eight Flags Shrimp Festival May 3-5 Fernandina Beach shrimpfestival.com Celebrate shrimp prepared a number of different ways at this festival that pays homage to Fernandina Beach as the birthplace of the modern shrimping industry.

Includes a Shrimp Festival Parade, marauding pirates and fireworks.

Amelia Island Wine Festival Oct. 12 Downtown Fernandina Beach (904) 491-4872 ameliawine.com

Try to avoid: Though Amelia Island is a barrier island with plenty of ocean breezes, visiting during Florida’s humid summer months is something most travelers want to avoid, unless the off-peak prices are too irresistible to pass up.

Vintners offering more than 100 wines to sample, a behind-the-scenes look at the Florida wine industry, and signature dishes for purchase from area restaurants.

Best Time to visit: You won’t find winter temperatures as high here as in south Florida, but to most northerners, the mercury spiking to the mid-60s in December, January and February is a welcome respite. Spring and fall are ideal times to visit Amelia Island, as temperatures tend to hover in the mid 70s.

Amelia Island is located in northeast Florida, 30 miles north of Jacksonville.

For more information, contact the Amelia Island Chamber of Commerce at (904) 261-3248, or islandchamber. com; or the Amelia Island Tourist Development Council at (904) 277-0717, or ameliaisland.com. W

If You Go

capregionwomenatwork.com | 57

THE LAST WORD

Compiled by Brianna Snyder

K

nowing what to do in sticky situations is one of the hardest parts of being a manager.

In each issue of W@W, we’ll feature a tricky issue with answers from area HR professionals, managers and business owners. If you have a question you’d like answered, drop us a line on Facebook, facebook.com/ capregionwomenatwork, or send an e-mail to bsnyder@timesunion.com.

Your question will be kept confidential.

This doesn't arise frequently at our firm since the bulk of our work is done quietly on the computer. We do, however, have an open floor plan, and staff conversations do occur in hearing range of others. We all do our best to be mindful of those working quietly around us and if it becomes a distraction, everyone is comfortable enough with one other to gently point out that the noise level is becoming a distraction.

– Annemarie Lanesey Greane Tree Technology 58 | women@work

How do you handle employee complaints about office noise?

I once worked in an organization with a lot of people in cubicles. Technical people worked in close proximity to customer-service people and because the customer-service people were on the phones a lot and collaborating with each other and the technical people were on their computers with less distraction, we had to look at the office layout. We made some changes about where people were located so we didn’t have people next to each other who had conflicting task requirements. Some people weren’t aware of how loud they were or how often people hung around their cubicle or stopped in to discuss business. I advise people who are having difficulty concentrating to talk to their coworkers one on one and explain the issue to them. ... If you approach them reasonably and explain your situation, often people become aware of the problem (for the first time).

And if that doesn’t work, move up the chain and ask management to intercede.

– Betty DiMaria, CEO and performance strategist Aras Performance Group, Troy

– Rose Miller, SPHR, president Pinnacle Human Resources, LLC An employee who feels it’s too loud should ask why it is loud is it and if it is appropriate behavior or disruptive. (The manager should) accept the complaint from the employee and then identify the source of the noise and whether it’s appropriate or not. If it is work-appropriate, you have to find a way for the person to work and be successful away from the noise. Sometimes people work with headphones on. … Managers have to understand what gives their employees the best opportunity to be successful.

– Debra Antonelli, SPHR, President Delark HR Solutions Having worked for large, international bulge bracket investment banks and corporations in New York City, (where) only members of the executive leadership team had offices … I became accustomed to operating in an environment where you could hear colleagues' conversations. Although it could be perceived as distracting, it also created a high-energy environment that fostered teamwork and collaboration. So, I would tell an employee complaining about noise in the workplace to either embrace it or get a pair of earbuds to tune it out.

– Stephanie Staff, CPRW, CPCC Resumes With Results

Illustration: © iStockphoto.com/artvea.

Question:

When an employee complains about noise, I would first recommend an employer look up the OSHA regulations on noise levels in the workplace. If noise levels exceed what is required, the employer should put in place whatever is required to mitigate the situation.

If this is not the situation, I would recommend an impartial assessment of the environment. Would any reasonable person think it was disruptively loud?

How is the department’s productivity compared to others? Is the noise caused by one or more employees?

These are all variables that can be addressed. These are all problems that can be solved, if the assessment confirms there really is a problem.

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Janet Reynolds Executive Editor jreynolds@timesunion.com

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