Play – the 3rd Footprint

 (18 minutes)

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Continuing our 5 part footprint series here at In Our Shoes, we deliver the third footprint that successful women leaders and independent professionals make when aiming for a career they love. If you are just joining us here at In Our Shoes – welcome! Before you leave, be sure to Subscribe to stay current on all the events, seminar programming and power interviews we land here! Don’t forget to check out this summer’s seminar programming delivering the Dream Shoe Seminar offered in New York and London which this five part series is a segueway to: empowering women to go for a career they are passionate about sans any barriers!

Footprint 1

• Audio Replay (17 minutes)
• Our Career Column in Here is the City News.

Footprint 2 -

• Audio Replay (21 minutes)
• Our Career Column in Here is the City News.

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Interviewing successful women entrepreneurs and consulting with women who have worked in corporate most of their career lives or who have stepped out of the workplace for a few years after having children and wish to re-enter, inspired this Dream Shoe seminar last year, addressing the below questions I am asked all of the time as they are considering the next stage of their careers. Share your story in the following pre-seminar registration Profile Sheet and then explore what the Dream Shoe Seminar is all about. We hope to meet you in person! In the meantime, enjoy these 5 footprints of what working women really want out of life: to follow a career they are passionate about!

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Psssst, have you subscribed to In Our Shoes? Media share buttons sit below for you to pass it on!

 

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Please welcome our next guest here to our empowering female village: Malvina Guretsky (aka “MAG”),

 

A former Wall Street A-lister who walked away from a lucrative executive career at investment giant Deutsche Bank to become a mumpreneur.

She was one of only eight women selected from her division to gain entry into a leadership program that would fast track her to the C-suite as a Managing Director. Entering an intense coaching program, she was prepped with all of the tools and resources she would need to run the company, leaving colleagues in bewilderment when she resigned.

 

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Why would she take the off-ramp at the very height of her career?

 

The short answer Malvina Guretsky reveals:

 

“The higher I climbed in my career, the further I lost my identity.”

 

Co-breadwinner with her husband providing for their three children, Malvina Guretsky confesses she had no answer to the obvious question from concerned family and friends: “So what’s next?”

 

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Malvina’s next move was completely unexpected, leading her to the fashion retail industry. This Mother’s Day, she will be opening completely new doors – those of her new boutique MAG Tricotes, launching a unique hand-knitted clothing line designed for women and little girls. She has also caught the attention of Martha Stewart and appeared live making her unique fashion statement on the  The Female Entrepreneur show taped April 4, 2011!

 

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Do superstar women at the top of their game abandon their career to spend more time with their families?

They would, when they no longer recognize their reflection staring at them in the mirror, Guretsky’s story reveals. This In Our Shoes interview captures dream shoes in the making; we’re honored to have Malvina Guretsky here with us to share her success stories!

 

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IN OUR SHOES: Malvina, welcome to In Our Shoes! I will start by saying that your story reads like a bestseller off the fiction shelf! First, tell us a bit about your background.

 

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MAG: Thanks so much. I was born in the Ukraine and came to the US shortly after my seventeenth birthday with only a few hundred dollars in my pocket. I picked up English in nine months and received a full academic college scholarship to NYU in their computer science and math program. I later entered the financial services industry, building proprietary order routing systems across US trading floors for brokerage firms.

 

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IN OUR SHOES: Your last career move was accepting a Director level position at Deutsche Bank Global Equities Division. Did you ever have any doubts about whether you would succeed in that new role?

 

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MAG: I never had doubts. I knew that the role would come with many unknowns and would be a challenge given its global presence. I had just left a position at a brokerage firm where there was no real challenge left for me. I had moved up and sideways and still there was no change. I was ready for something new and exciting.

 

 

 

IN OUR SHOES: Although a veteran in the financial services industry, this was a very senior role with far more reach than you had in your career thus far. How did you approach stepping into these shoes?

 

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MAG: From my observation, a woman would take a more structured approach to the decision-making process; she would get actively involved in every intricate detail of every task being handled by her team. I was no exception to that rule – I first spent a lot of time with my internal teams as well as with my clients, understanding and often experiencing firsthand their challenges and frustrations. I then analyzed the data collected, and only then I proceeded to make executive decisions. Granted sometimes this approach takes considerably more time than simply directing, yet I believe in the end it yields better results.

 

A good friend of mine once told me that the best leaders are those who know the strengths and daily tasks of their employees, two levels down. He believed that if every corporation were run like that, the results would be astounding. I have tested this theory and I am now a firm believer that it works.

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IN OUR SHOES: Talk to us about failure. Were you scared to fail?

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MAG: A close friend coached me early on and gave me a great advice. He said that it’s okay to be nervous, but not to be scared. I never forgot that.

A failure is commonly defined as lack of success. I simply define it as a valuable lesson learned. We can all learn from our mistakes and change direction, which is not the same as failure.

IN OUR SHOES: Step us into the shoes of a Director of Global Equities at a leading investment bank. What is it like?

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MAG: Honestly, I’ll admit it was glamorous at first. I was traveling on business one to three weeks a month jetting between North America, Europe and Asia. The money was great and I was being challenged once again. Things however began to change for me when I was selected for a leadership program, which would promote me to a Managing Director.

The game had changed to something I had not been exposed to before. I was being prepped to be a master at navigating the corporate landscape to survive, watching my back at every turn, and essentially being groomed to win by a man’s playbook.

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IN OUR SHOES: What was the primary reason that led you to resign? That’s a lot of traveling for a mom with three kids at home. If the travel had been eliminated, would you have stayed?

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MAG: I would love to sit here and give you the socially acceptable answer admitting to missing my kids. The travel was absolutely grueling after a while and I did miss them, but it wasn’t the driver behind my decision to leave. The corporate game I learned to play and liked too much was changing me into someone I no longer recognized. I questioned who I was every day, and worse, I soon found myself playing this game at home. I could no longer distinguish between my identity at work and at home.

The money was excellent and my role was esteemed, but it pulled me away from the person I was.

IN OUR SHOES: What was the reaction of senior management at Deutsche Bank when you submitted your resignation?

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MAG: They were hands down shocked and in disbelief. They heavily hinted on more than one occasion at throwing more money at me to change my mind. I wasn’t surprised. Managers often use this easy approach, assuming that would be a quick solution to any problem.

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IN OUR SHOES: What did you do once you found yourself in the shoes of a stay-at-home mom?

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MAG: I absolutely loved being a stay-at-home mom and being with my kids! I embraced it all. I turned the house upside down and took on home makeover projects! I registered my kids in extra curricular activities, started driving them around, getting to know them, their teachers, my neighbors – all the things I hadn’t had the time to do before. I grew a large organic garden and began harvesting vegetables. I spent time with friends and family and just kept myself busy.

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IN OUR SHOES: It must have been a sharp change for you to suddenly be on a soccer mom schedule. You created a clothing line after only four months of being at home as a full time mom!

 

MAG: My intention after leaving Wall Street was to give myself enough time to focus on the next step. It just turned out that the next step for me was something that I had been passionate about my entire life – that is fashion and couture knitwear. The second I picked up an old pair of knitting needles, I knew that was it. I also had a clear vision for my store – a vision of a small boutique that felt like home, where each garment was lovingly made by hand, where every piece reflected the skill of the designer and the artisan, where the fabric would be so soft, one just couldn’t help but want to touch it, where the cut was so classy and design so timeless, one never had to worry about trends, where the client actually had a say in the final product. I started networking, designing, selecting fibers and colors, hiring professionals in order to grow my new business venture: a hand-knitted couture clothing line for women and babies. Four months later, I had filed to incorporate MAG Tricotes.

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IN OUR SHOES: Talk to us about the loss of your income. That must have been a substantial cut for a family of five given an established quality of life.

 

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MAG: It was a financial setback we were ready for.

 

My husband and I were prepared to downsize and sell our house, if necessary.

 

Lack of money doesn’t scare me. We have always lived within our means, no matter what those means were. We never carried any debt. After I had resigned, we made some adjustments to our lifestyle. I no longer needed to turnover my wardrobe every month. We no longer had a need for a live-in nanny. Seeing how my kids loved having me at home really shifted my priorities.

 

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Anyone can afford to quit the job to pursue one’s dream. We’re allowed to wake up one day and choose to be happy at work. What’s more important? My cousin graduated from Columbia University in the top 3% of her class. She had every lucrative job offer you can imagine. Instead she chose to become a park ranger in New York City. A great day for her is when she rescues a baby eagle that falls from its nest! Now that’s inspiring!

 

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IN OUR SHOES: Did your friends and family support your decision to resign?

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MAG: My mother was devastated. I’m her only child; she was extremely proud of me and was always bragging to everyone about my career success. She didn’t take the news well and was worried about how we were going to adjust with only one source of income for the foreseeable future.

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IN OUR SHOES: Malvina, you’ve achieved success working in Corporate America. Now you are venturing out on your own starting your own clothing line. Tell us some things that you want people to know about your approach to success.

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MAG:

 

I do not take no for an answer. When people tell me that I cannot do something, I just smile. I embrace every new challenge with open arms..

 

IN OUR SHOES: Tell us three things that your closest friends would be shocked to know about you.

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MAG: I am very open with those who are close to me, thus I’m afraid I can only come up with a couple of facts, if any. My friends would probably not believe this, but I am a 100% true blooded introvert. That’s not to say I’m anti-social. I just don’t enjoy small talk and empty chatter. When I have to go to a social event, I thank G-d when it’s over and I can go home and put my feet up. Introverts tend to engage in one long meaningful conversation – and that is what I enjoy most of all. The second little secret is that I was a pretty good rifle shooter for ten years in the Ukraine, earning second prize at a National competition. I’m also a control freak and a perfectionist – but I don’t think it’s a big secret.

 

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IN OUR SHOES: Tell us about the challenges you faced as you started MAG Tricotes?

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MAG: I can count on one hand the things I knew about starting my own business. I knew how to knit. I knew how to find the right people. I knew how to select fine fibers. I knew how to get people together for a common goal. That was it.

You don’t know what you don’t know. I didn’t know how to price my garments. I didn’t know how to track inventory. I didn’t know how to scan the tags or what search engine optimization was all about. The list goes on and on. Guess what? Today I know how to do all of those things. I am sure tomorrow yet another unknown will come up, and I am sure that I will overcome that challenge, too.

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IN OUR SHOES: Malvina, you appear to be a restless soul. Is that a true statement?

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MAG: Yes, I am absolutely restless. I am restless in my determination. As a perfectionist, I am constantly second-guessing: “Did I do it right? Could I have done it better?” I am never content with what I’ve achieved, I always want to do better.

 

Us women tend to be our own toughest judges. We often carry self-doubt on our shoulders, and second-guess our actions. Our goal is to always jump better. Men, on the other hand, always want to jump higher.

IN OUR SHOES: What led you to start a business striding such foreign territory without prior skills or experience working in the fashion retail industry?

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MAG: The career I had was admittedly glamorous given the money and travel. There was nothing more satisfying than my work.

 

The price I paid for that first class seat however was with my precious family time. It was simply time to shift my priorities and start something new.

 

The most important qualities I possess are: my passion, my impeccable customer service skills, my ability to find the right people for the right job, and a healthy belief in myself. The rest can be learned.

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IN OUR SHOES: Where do you see the future of MAG Tricotes? Tell us about your dream shoes.

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MAG: I see myself extending into home and ladies accessories such as crocheted purses and hats, hand knit cashmere covers for pillows and sofas. I’m also envisioning four more stores located in Greenwich, Manhattan, Beverly Hills and Aspen.

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IN OUR SHOES: Switching gears, as you know In Our Shoes also takes a stand for supporting career women in the UK. What is your perception of career women in London given your frequent travel there for Deutsche Bank?

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MAG: Working for many months in Europe, I discovered that a British woman’s lifestyle appeared to be more traditional than that of an American career woman. I saw how natural, and almost expected, it was for a career woman in London to call it quits and stay home after having a baby.

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IN OUR SHOES: What advice would you share with women who want to go after their dream shoes but are battling the economy’s pressures or are single moms?

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MAG: There will always be various pressures and challenges in life. There are some people who will wake up and say: “Today it’s not sunny, so I won’t do this” or “911 just happened, I can’t do it now.” We can only worry about things that are in our control, the rest are either obstacles to overcome, or simple excuses.

 

Living your life means just that: living your life. We only have one. Know what you want and go for it.

 

It’s better to look back and say “I tried and had a good run” rather than “I should have tried it and now I will never know.”

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IN OUR SHOES: Why did you choose In Our Shoes as the platform to host your first interview?

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MAG: I like working with people whom I can trust and I know I could trust you and your work here. I love inspiring other women AND being inspired by them.

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IN OUR SHOES: You are about to open your boutique in Scarsdale, NY on Mother’s day. Do you have any doubts about its success?

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MAG: My experience, my passion, and my intuition will lead it to success. I am nervous, but not worried. I just know:

 

If you want to succeed at something you have to wave away any fear of failure.

What inspiring advice. What we love about Malvina’s story is how she outgrew the corporate career shoes that no longer fit with her family life to pursue a lifelong passion with an optimistic spirit.

It also answers the pressing question swirling around every women’s lifestyle media channel: Why do women abandon the C-suite?

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Malvina’s label, MAG Tricotes (tricoter: “to knit”, in French) is a creative play on her initials (Alexandrovna is her middle name). This spring season Malvina Guretsky opens the doors to her luxury boutique in Scarsdale, NY. In her boutique she created an intimate environment, which allows Malvina to provide an unsurpassed personalized shopping experience to each and every client. MAG’ high-end, unique hand knitted and crocheted clothing line for sophisticated women and little girls delivers high end fashion with MAGnificent flair.

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You can visit MAG Tricotes boutique at 120 Christie Place Scarsdale, NY 10583 and online to preview the MAG luxury line of unique designer pieces at http://www.MAGTricotes.com.

: http://www.facebook.com/MAGTricotes.

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Have a empowering interview you want In Our Shoes to host?

Ready to sprint into your Dream Shoes?

In Our Shoes is committed to empowering women to slip into their dream shoes leading them to a profession they are passionate about. Have a business idea you’ve been tossing around but don’t feel you’re good enough? Ready to take the leap towards starting a new career or kick up your business a notch to reach the next stage?

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Discover your secret sauce for stepping towards success! Attend the Dream Shoe Coaching Seminar!

You’ll walk away with a fresh vault of ideas to jump start your journey to the next level surrounded by like-minded inspirational women for support!

 

Our Final Installment in the “Sabotage” Series is about Embracing the Intrinsic Feminine Energy within you!

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Reminder, readers we are hosting a free call Wed. March 28 @5:30 EST to answer all of the questions you have about navigating the business world as a woman or enlightened man! This is completely free and meant to inspire and support you in any way In Our Shoes can. As you know, the mission here is to launch you to success wherever that may be.  Even entrepreneurs can benefit from this wisdom. We hope to meet you there! For those in Europe – we’d love to host a call that works for you as well. Please email me: Marisa@InRShoes.com and let me know what times work best! Everyone – invite your colleagues, friends, partners – this will be an empowering session you won’t want to miss!

 

Sabotage Teleconference will be held Wed. March 28  @ 5:30 EST!

 

Laura L. Brown: So many women grew up with role models of women putting on a “mask” when they went to work – and they expended a ton of energy trying to act like a man at the office.  We know now that is not only ineffective, but it is counter productive on so many levels.

 

• It is exhausting to keep up a façade, and we aren’t truly even good at it.
• It disconnects us from our internal voice and source of wisdom.
• It gives others the impression that we are not authentic.
• It undermines our confidence, and weakens us.

 

The fine line we are expected to walk requires us to act like a woman, but not too much like a woman, right?

Be smart, productive, effective, but not emotional.  Be a decisive leader, but don’t “mother” your team.  Be a woman, but not completely.

 

The key is to be grounded in your intrinsic energy as a woman while understanding how to function in the world of men in business.  This combination will give you the confidence to remain centered and strong, to know your value.

 

Returning to Source

 – engaging your natural feminine energy will support you on your path to success.

 

The natural, innate skills and strengths of being a woman are interconnected with each other, and using them successfully relies on you integrating them – confidence, clarity, kindness, positive languaging, stepping into your power, being calmly responsive, not taking things personally, communicating effectively – if you apply this knowledge to your interactions, you will experience drastically different results at work.

 

It’s time women own the fact that companies with more women in higher level positions perform better.  We belong at the top!

 

Past research on the attributes society associates with ‘being feminine’ show that the most important qualities for women are being thin, nice and modest.

That means if women want to play it totally safe, we have to be willing to stay as small, quiet, and attractive as possible.

We all know that is not only unrealistic, but it is also extremely unacceptable.

 

And besides, playing it safe is not being authentic!

 

Being true to ourselves and bringing our best selves into the business world demands that we are authentic in every sense of the world, and we should expect nothing less of ourselves and each other.

 

It’s time to ask yourself, how in touch are you with your inner self, with all the invaluable skills and abilities that you possess as a woman?

And how are you tapping into these skills to support your personal and career growth?

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To learn more about how Laura can support you or your organization in career development and advancement, go to www.LotusLifeWork.com and sign up to receive her newsletter and information about the March launch of her self study product: Positively Promotable – Understanding Men at Work. You can also download her free smartphone app for Android and iPhone – search for “LotusLifeWork” to receive daily doses of information, inspiration and introspection!

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If you haven’t heard of TED, this is the place you’ll want to go to launch your dream shoes. TED is an ambitious crowd sourcing experiment where you have the opportunity to launch your ideas out to a worldwide audience. The ideas you can throw out cover the range of creativity, invention, business, science and the most pressing global issues once the stage opens up in your city (they have just left London).

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A picture is worth a thousand words and In Our Shoes is going for gold. Here is my handwritten picture (below) of what I believe is essential for women to advance themselves in organizations while juggling it ALL.

The TED Audition

Our pitch to change how the world does business:

establishing mini coaching circles of 6 women with one (male or female) champion at all levels in public and private sector organizations. The circles are meant to build a network pipeline for sponsorhip, empower women and ultimately create a springboard for them to advance themselves professionally. I believe establishing these coaching circles for women rank right up there with those mandatory performance reviews and should be at the core of every organization’s professional development curriculum.

 

Please share your thoughts expanding on this idea for TED and I will add it to the audition plugging you away. Have a jaw dropping idea for TED?  Give it a shot – there’s nothing to lose dear readers. As you know, your Shoe Hostess does not believe in failure. We can only change direction. Wish me luck and I look forward to hearing your comments on this topic actioning change for professional women!

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“You better know that in the end, it’s better to say too much, than never to say what you need to say” - John Mayer, “Say”.

Follow me on Twitter! @InRShoes

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In our third installment of The Top 5 Ways Women Sabotage Themselves in Business, Laura L. Brown is addressing the topic of Negative Languaging. 

 

One of the first questions we received touches on one of the most common issues for women.

 

Is it appropriate to say “I’m sorry” in business?  Do women overapologize?

 

Apologizing is something women do without even realizing the words are coming out. I invite you to keep track for one day of the number of times you say, “I’m sorry.“  I guarantee you will be surprised.  And most likely as you say it, you aren’t really apologizing for anything.  It’s just a natural reflex.

 

I’m sorry, can you pass the water?

 

I’m sorry, did you need to talk to me?

 

I’m sorry, may I squeeze by you?

 

Women say “I’m sorry” so often as a lead in to a question, when it would be more appropriate to say “excuse me” or “pardon me” or just ask the question with no lead in at all.  Women even say “I’m sorry” when people bump into US!  It’s become a reflex.

 

As far as whether it’s appropriate to apologize in business – just like in any situation in life, if you are in the wrong and are sincerely wishing to make amends, then of course, apologize to the offended party.  But do not use the words “I’m sorry” without thinking.

 

Men do not throw around those words for a reason.  It makes you look weak and if you are apologizing all of the time, then you appear to make a lot of mistakes, neither of which are going to reflect well on you.

 

Another great question came up about EXPLAINING.

 

Is it fair to expect male managers to understand when you’d like to be at your kid’s school one day for a special event and so will need to work from home? 

Do you ask permission or do you take it given the reputation and work ethic you’ve grown?

 

Obviously, there are many factors at play here, not the least of which is your position in the company, your relationship with your boss, and the expectations of individuals in your particular company.  If working from home on occasion is an accepted practice in your office, then all you need to do is inform your boss that you will be working from home on X day, assuming you actually will be at home working and only at your child’s school for a few hours.

 

Never lie to your boss, but do not go into any big explanation of what you are doing with your personal time either.   If your boss questions your desire to work from home, then tell him you have an appointment near your house and working from home will allow you to make the most of your day without having to commute.

 

Women have a tendency to over share at work because they feel that if their boss or colleagues know why they were late, or why they need time off, they will be more understanding. 

The truth is that no one really cares to hear your explanations. 

They care whether you are doing your share of the workload, and can be relied upon to follow thru with your commitments and responsibilities.  In many cases, providing an explanation only hurts your reputation.

 

These examples are only the tip of the iceberg in the discussion of how women undermine their own success using negative languaging.   If you want to learn more, stay tuned for an exciting announcement coming next week that will give you the opportunity to ask me your questions live!

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To learn more about how Laura can support you or your organization in career development and advancement, go to www.LotusLifeWork.com and sign up to receive her newsletter and information about the March launch of her self study product: Positively Promotable – Understanding Men at Work. You can also download her free smartphone app for Android and iPhone – search for “LotusLifeWork” to receive daily doses of information, inspiration and introspection!

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Perceptions

 

This week we are going to take a look at Perceptions in the Business World.  One of the questions we received was,

“Is there a difference in people’s perception when similar behavior traits are shown in a man as opposed to a women?”

 

The answer is YES! And this is such a key topic – it’s at the heart of most issues women face at work. 

 

If you understand that the way men and women are neurologically wired is inherently different, then it’s easy to see how we would perceive our world and the people in it, through quite disparate gender filters.

 

It’s not about men being judgmental or unfair.  It’s how their brain translates our words and actions based on how they would behave in the same situation.  In most cases, they don’t understand our motives or intentions, just as we do not understand theirs, without some explanation.

 

“How do women convince male colleagues that just because women work different hours, doesn’t mean they work less?”

 

Remember, your actions are being processed through their filters.  If they don’t work when they are not in the office, they assume others don’t either.  The key is to not be vocal about being out of the office – don’t feel the need to explain – but raise the volume on discussions of your productivity and accomplishments.  Obviously, you need to manage the language of how to do this effectively, but women need to stop feeling the need to justify and detail their absences.  (We’ll get further into this discussion next week when we cover Languaging Issues.)

 

Another comment we received related to moms constantly checking their cell phone, talking to kids or caretakers at home, and how this was perceived negatively by coworkers. 

 

Again, it’s about context.  If you really do need to check in, do it in private – your office, the bathroom, outside work on your lunch or break.  And take a look at how often you are checking in, and whether there really is an issue at home, or you are feeling insecure, left out or guilty for being at work?  If it’s the latter, that energy is being projected to your colleagues and you will be perceived negatively not only because of your action, but what the action says about your state of mind and confidence level.

 

The final topic I am going to cover today is one that comes up in every coaching session I have -

being “nice” versus being “kind”  – at work.  You may think these are the same, but I assure you they are not. 

 

Being “nice” comes from a desire to be liked by everyone – you are motivated by influences outside of yourself.  

 

Being nice is about not disagreeing with people and taking on more work than you have time for because you’re afraid people won’t like you if you say no.  It’s a transaction where your sense of self worth is coming from outside of you.  Being nice has no boundaries and puts you at the mercy of other people.  It becomes a vicious cycle of you needing approval, or fearing reprisal, driving you to continue your “nice” behavior.  This sets you up to be perceived as someone who is not a leader, someone people can dump work on and someone who doesn’t think for themselves.

 

Being “kind” is a state of being and comes from within you – treating everyone else as a spiritual entity doing their best in life, just like you.  

 

You can disagree with people, or say no to their requests, and still be kind in the process.  There is never a reason to be unkind, even when others are not treating you well.  You can remain composed, knowing their behavior is their responsibility, and disengage from an unprofessional interaction with your self confidence in tact.  You have boundaries around your time and energy, and will help others when needed, if you can.   Kind people are perceived as thoughtful, grounded, professional.

 

The key is to be aware of the difference and know your location on the scale between “nice” and “kind” right now – then work to ensure you eliminate the “nice” and accentuate the “kindness.”

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To learn more about how Laura can support you or your organization in career development and advancement, go to www.LotusLifeWork.com and sign up to receive her newsletter and information about the March launch of her self study product: Positively Promotable – Understanding Men at Work. You can also download her free smartphone app for Android and iPhone – search for “LotusLifeWork” to receive daily doses of information, inspiration and introspection!

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So far we have addressed Assumptions, Perceptions and Languaging – this week we take on POWER! If you’re just joining the Sabotage Seminar Series, here are the prior posts: Part1, Part 2, Part 3.

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Sabotage Teleconference will be held on Wed. March 28 @ 5:30 EST.

 

I am going to address a difficult reader question, one that many of you have had or will have in your career:

 

How do you go about reaching the person in “the corner office” without stepping on your immediate boss’ toes?  

 

This reader also stated that she does have a good relationship with her boss, but felt that her boss was keeping her ‘at bay’ and was comfortable with where things were at.  I’m assuming by ‘things’, she means the current pecking order and that her boss is a man.

 

There could be perception issues here and she may be misreading her boss, in which case a quick conversation will determine if that is what’s happening.  But let’s assume that she’s reading the situation correctly, and her boss is keeping her from the exposure to the executives that she most likely needs to move up in the company.

 

Why would a boss do this?

 

• Because they are insecure in their own position.
• Because they have been taking credit for your work.
• Because they feel you are competition in their desire to move up the ladder.
• Or maybe they are just comfortable with the way things are and don’t like change.

 

No matter how you slice it – this is about power. 

At the moment, the boss holds all the power by being a gatekeeper between you and the senior executive, and he is clearly very reluctant to give up that power.  The key here is to get the boss to see how giving you visibility and access to senior people will reflect well on him, possibly even increase his power.   You need to reassure the boss that you are a team player, that you respect the hierarchy of the organization, but that you would like to create a career development plan that gives you more visibility and allows you both to succeed. 

 

You need to be grounded in your own strengths and your value to the company, so that your requests for more visibility do not appear to be attempts to usurp your boss’ power.  Insecurity and fear always come across as threatening power moves, especially to someone already concerned about keeping their own power.

 

Women tend to have an uncomfortable relationship with power because it goes against our nature of wanting to be inclusive and harmonious.

  (Of course, by accident I typed hormonious – which I’m starting to think should also be a word, but I digress.)  Power issues are connected to perception issues because if we perceive power as negative – controlling, aggressive, bossy – then we will shy away from it, not wanting to appear to be any of those traits.  But if you replace the word ‘power’ with the word ‘influence’, it changes our perception and emotional reaction significantly. 

 

Who wouldn’t want to be influential in their workplace?  And how do you rise to the top of the ladder unless you excel at influencing others? 

 

Right now, you need to influence your boss’ behavior in a subtle way.  The good news is that women excel at this!  Good Luck and keep us posted on the results!

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To learn more about how Laura can support you or your organization in career development and advancement, go to www.LotusLifeWork.com and sign up to receive her newsletter and information about the March launch of her self study product: Positively Promotable – Understanding Men at Work. You can also download her free smartphone app for Android and iPhone – search for “LotusLifeWork” to receive daily doses of information, inspiration and introspection!

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Share and comment below.

Have you subscribed to In Our Shoes?

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Teleconference Call for Sabotage Seminar is Wed. March 28 @ 5:30 EST.

Dial-in Number: 1-218-862-6789
Conference Code: 542045

 

Readers, as promised we kick off the week with part one of our five week seminar series on How to Master Gender Dynamics in the workplace delivered by renowned success speaker and entrepreneur Laura L. Brown of LotusLifeWork. Welcome to IOS Laura, lots of questions have been coming in, we’re excited to dig in. I’ll turn it over to you. – Shoe Hostess.

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Laura L. Brown

“Thanks, I am passionate about helping women succeed in business and look forward to providing you with the some vital insight into what is really going on at work.

 

The Top 5 Ways Women Sabotage Themselves in Business: 

• Making assumptions about what motivates men
• Not understanding how you are being perceived by men (and other women)
• Languaging yourself into a negative reputation
• Having issues with power
• Not staying grounded in your feminine strengths

All of these behaviors keep women from reaching their career goals – and most of the time it’s completely unconscious! Assuming you know how men are thinking or what drives their actions is mistake number one!

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What can women do to ‘bond’ with male colleagues?

Stop thinking they want to bond with you. Men think of work as a game, with a pecking order. Your main concern should be, do they respect you?

What do you do if your boss consistently invites a male associate who is more junior to you to social outings?

There are many reasons why this could be happening and the best thing you can do is to not assume you know the reason. Of course, situations like this are delicate because of the variables involved, such as his marital status, are you the only woman in his department, does he respect your work. Clear communication is the place to start. Be clear about your goals, i.e., do you want to build a better working relationship with your boss or be friends with him? Are you prepared to hear him say that he isn’t comfortable being in social situations with just the two of you? How would you respond to that very real concern?

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I invite you to take a look at where you are assuming you know what drives the behaviors or actions of your male colleagues. It is only human to think that others will act the way you would act, but male and female brains are wired differently. Because of this, we view the world through different filters and motivations.

Men are not looking to be your friend at work, they are looking to succeed – it’s all about winning, however they define a win.

The goal is to be respected for your skills, abilities and accomplishments. It’s not about who ‘likes’ you.

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In next week’s seminar, I will address perception issues and how men and women displaying the same behaviors will elicit different responses. Feel free to keep submitting questions. Should we not get to them all, I will host a tele-conference dial-in where we can dig in some more on a group level.”

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To learn more about how Laura can support you or your organization in career development and advancement, go to www.LotusLifeWork.com and sign up to receive her newsletter and information about the March launch of her self study product: Positively Promotable – Understanding Men at Work. You can also download her free smartphone app for Android and iPhone – search for “LotusLifeWork” to receive daily doses of information, inspiration and introspection!

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Share and comment below.

Have you subscribed to In Our Shoes?

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Up next meet Natasha Lowery, an American Texan mom living in London. She sounds off to In Our Shoes on what it’s like to parent amongst mummys on British soil. Stay tuned!

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Readers, In Our Shoes introduces a 5 week blog seminar series on How to Master Gender Dynamics in the workplace delivered by renowned success speaker, entrepreneur and our personal guest here at IOS, Laura L. Brown! Pssst, and the best part is we want readers like you to drive the content!

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Please post your questions, concerns, real-life situations of working with the opposite sex in the workplace (anonymity is respected) in the “Comments” section below or e-mail me directly at Marisa@InRShoes.com. Laura will weave the solutions to your specific concerns into this weekly blog series beginning on Monday February 27. Be sure to share this post with your friends and colleagues as well for their input!

‘My purpose in life is to guide women on how to rise through the ranks of organizations and change the way the world does business.’

These were Laura L. Brown’s first words when we initially spoke of having her guest blog here at In Our Shoes to deliver the seminar that pulled me in cold:

How Women Sabotage Themselves in Business.

Laura has over 25 years of business experience where she has rapidly progressed through the ranks of every kind of organization from family businesses, to international multi-billion dollar corporations, to startup organizations. She has worked with companies such as Apple, HP, Microsoft, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, Lotus, Compaq, Infiniti division of Nissan, and Marriott Hotels and Resorts. She has consistently built, developed and trained multi-national teams with zero turnover, and has been a much sought after career coach. Today she is running with great success with her own company: LotusLifeWork.

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Laura is the go-to expert on coaching women to understand the differences between how men and women are ‘wired’ given her deep research on neuroscience and seasoned experience on how gender dynamics impacts how we interact at all levels of an organization. Whether you are navigating the executive arena, managing a team, working towards a promotion at any level or just starting out in your career -

knowing how you are perceived by men, understanding how they think and what drives their actions will give you the ability to succeed.

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Stay tuned and don’t forget to post your questions for Laura to address in this seminar into the Comments area below or e-mail me directly at: Marisa@InRShoes.com.

 

Subscribe to In Our Shoes.

 Dear readers, it’s here! The Audio replay from the Sabotage Tele-Seminar hosted here on In Our Shoes. See below for your listening pleasure!

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Thanks to everyone who dialed in.  It was yet another empowering conversation on the topic of

How Women Sabotage themselves in Business

Before we start the next work week, I’d like to share a quote from French chef Michel Roux Jr. found in my favorite section of the Guardian: This much I know.

“The chaos of the kitchen is almost peaceful. When I am in the middle of a service, I am so focused. There is nothing else on my mind apart from the food in front of me. ” - Michel Roux Jr.

I’m a big fan of this section. I get high on collecting morsels of wisdom and intriguing facts from people. They don’t need to necessarily be famous. Recently when rushing to catch an early morning flight for business,I had the most fantastic conversation with my taxi driver, soaking in all of his lessons learned as a father while his wife worked full-time escaping the mommy shoes. My morning had started off crazed and yet this semi-retired complete stranger had me hanging on every word.

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When reading the above quote from Chef Michel, it reminded me of the chaos of the working mother’s life juggling the work-life balance thing with shoe swapping success. Running a kitchen is no small feat when you think of all the moving parts involved and the time sensitivity in delivering to hungry clients.  A chef is also one of the few esteemed artist professions given its stable and high income earning potential despite the sharp critic personality prerequisite  - their perfectionist gene.

 

Is chaos essential? I believe it is. It’s the yin and the yang of life. It pushes us. It sets us straight and forces us to consider what we want to do when we grow up.

If you are living a life you don’t love, find your passion; find your CHAOS.

Slip into a new pair of shoes and find what it is that you love to do. A must-have key ingredient á la chef Michel just in case you aren’t sure: 

you must be knee deep in chaos, loving every minute of it.

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Pssst, Chef Michel runs one of the few restaurants (Le Gavroche in London serving classical French fare) that mentors students straight out of culinary school. Sound familiar readers? One more reason we have fallen for you here Chef Michel. You are a man who believes in starting from the ground up to inspire people in their career - true In Our Shoes spirit. Read the full interview on “This much I know” from Chef Michel Roux Jr.

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If that doesn’ t move you, here’s a little inspiration from your Shoe Hostess and her budding little chef (someone needs to do the cooking around here!)  Don’t fight it dear readers, chaos is in fact very essential  indeed!

 

 

In Our Shoes is seeking interviews with women in careers traditionally reserved for men. If you know of an inspiring woman chef , we would love to meet her! Location is never an issue – US or Europe.

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“We’re never gonna survive, unless we get a little crazy” - Seal: “Crazy”

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Have you spread the word and subscribed to In Our Shoes?

Companion “First Footprint” from In Our Shoes column in Here is the City News.

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This summer In Our Shoes delivers an empowering seminar program for women offered in New York and London: the “Dream Shoe” Seminar!

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I leave you here with the first of a 5 part free audio series unveiling the:

 

5 Footprints which Smart Ambitious Women make when following their Passion in Business!

 

Play- 17 minutes

 

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Interviewing successful women entrepreneurs and consulting with women who have worked in corporate most of their career lives or who have stepped out of the workplace for a few years after having children and wish to re-enter, inspired this Dream Shoe seminar last year, addressing the below questions I am asked all of the time as they are considering the next stage of their careers.  Share your story in the following pre-seminar registration Profile Sheet and then explore what the Dream Shoe Seminar is all about. We hope to meet you in person! In the meantime, enjoy these 5 footprints of what working women really want out of life: to follow a career they are passionate about!

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• Am I good enough? I’ve worked in corporate my whole life, dream shoes are just that – a big dream.
• How can I reinvent myself pursuing a career I love when I have only worked for other people?
• I have no official employment experience on paper, only an interest in XYZ business, how can I transition to a new career?
• I am a single parent and main breadwinner, how can I take a risk and start something new?

These questions and more will be addressed in this 5 part seminar and serve as a preview of the in-person Dream Shoe Seminar made available this year. I hope you enjoy this First Footprint sound byte and return back for more inspiring solutions to jumpstart you to the next stage of your career!

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Place your comments and questions below. We can follow up with a tele-conference seminar again where we can continue the conversation on how Smart Ambitious women follow their Passions in Business!

Psssst, have you subscribed to In Our Shoes? Media share buttons sit below for you to pass it on!

 

Negotiating. You do it in your sleep.

We underestimate the deals we’re cutting around town. We bargain with car dealers,  when pushing for the next raise; we’re cutting deals  with our munchkins at every breakfast sit down before school. I myself was caught in the act over the holidays with a pretzel vendor in New York’s Rockefeller Center.  The same toasty pretzel I normally fork out 1 dollar for in an average NY minute, suddenly sky rocketed to $4 during Manhattan’s tourist trap season.

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But I’m not here to talk about overpriced pretzels in New York’s concrete jungle.  As your Shoe Hostess I’m here to talk about a strategy you can use the next time you sit down at the bargaining table with someone. This is no longer considered men’s territory, women strike winning deals too.

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The power of silence.

It’s not exactly something Americans swing easily. It takes alot to stifle us in general but going silent for several seconds during a a one-on-one negotiation can work wonders for your bargaining power. For one thing, it allows you to create space (an impromptu pregnant pause if you will) between you and the other person when the discussion is getting dicey.

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Granted, it absolutely feels awkward and doesn’t come naturally for women.

We’re programmed with an aim to please and are averse to making waves. Heaven forbid we’re perceived as being difficult in a given situation. Taking a step back and suddenly going hush during a free flowing healthy conversation takes some practice but can spark some pretty powerful wins.

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Going silent signals that you are in control and stand behind what you’re proposing. It’s a chess move that can prompt the other person to opening up with more information than they had initially planned on sharing. They could also change course by taking a different position or better yet get a closer view of what it’s like in your shoes. The good news? Any one of these motions puts you in a better position.

So don’t sweat it, silence is a good thing.

Going mum will always buy you more time especially if the terms have navigated down territory which risk your coming to a satisfying agreement in the end. More negotiation tactics in my column here for London’s Here is the City, but for now I shush and that’s all you’re going to hear from me.

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Subscribe here.

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I’m a big believer that the positive energy between people is intentional and something which we attract precisely when we need that extra umppphh in our lives. I immediately felt a connection towards Jeanne Peterson when we met in her London office last November. She emitted that hit-the-ground-running energy which any working woman recognizes only too well. You know the kind where we’re buzzing about our business with a killer smile that speaks: “Small talk over, let’s get to work!”  I had found a little bit of Manhattan in this woman and I was lovin’ it.  

 

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Jeanne Peterson has broken all barriers when it comes to realizing the personal and professional life she wanted. Read on for her powerful interview where she dishes on how

hitting the glass ceiling early on in her career ignited her to “throw away the paradigm“

and start living by her own rules. You’ll learn how she hopped a flight twice from her home in Denmark to London to interview for a position at global IT consulting firm Project Brokers that didn’t exist, reversed roles with her husband and morphed into the sole breadwinner for her family.  On a mission, Jeanne wanted to move from Europe and live in Toronto near her parents. One year later, she’s now opening up her new office in Canada.  Her career should be a case study highlighting that not just academics can get us to where we want to be, but also an

unyielding dogged faith in yourself when the voices in your head scream self-doubt.

My favorite quote from our interview: “Women can and do achieve much more than men. They are always more open to ideas”. Without further ado here’s the

inspiring interview with working mum of two, Jeanne Peterson.

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Subscribe here to In Our Shoes.

 

 

If you’ve been out of the job hunt for a while, you should know that the rules have changed in this competitive climate – on both sides of the Atlantic.  What follows doesn’t just apply to landing that next job. It’s also a wake up call that should scream: “this is the next move which will make me h-a-p-p-y“.

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Working in the financial services industry, I’ve given out lots of goodbye hugs in the last few years to close friends and colleagues. I learned what leading recruitment firms swear by, in order for you to stand out in this rocky job market. Here’s the inside scoop.

The questions you need to ask yourself are: Who am I? and What am I selling? 

You are your own brand. You need to manage yourself  like a company who sells a product because that’s exactly why a hiring manager is gracing you with their presence – to find out just how valuable a package you are. The only questions taped to their forehead are “Why should I hire you?” and “What makes you unique?”  

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Here comes the tough part. Write down all of the things that you do well – not just related to your specific job skills. Do you speak another language or play the guitar? Are you a good networker? Are you super organized? These talents are what you throw in as chit chat during the pregnant pauses of an interview which can turn it around if you feel it’s going south.

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I was told a priceless story from someone who knew he wasn’t hitting it off  with the person interviewing him. As he was getting ready to leave, he threw down his last card and mentioned he loved to cook. Turns out so did the hiring manager. They hit it off, the guy was hired and he shares that story with everyone to prove that it’s about your whole story and not just what’s on a piece of paper. Go back to my post on  Soft Sexy Skills for a read on how your magnetic personality can really turn the tables when landing a position. 

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You can also cheat by getting the skinny on anyone beforehand. Have a peek at their very public profile on Linked in. Here’s mine: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/marisa-santoro/6/a19/186  – all above board dear readers and arms you with what makes for great conversation.

 

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Create your banner ad

Think of this as your name blinking in bright lights. What makes you the star? Your banner ad is the first thing they should see at the top of your Resume / CV. Here’s what mine would look like:

Distinctive mix of Creative, Technical and Online Media Writing skills

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My career is rooted in technology but I’m also very creative and I’ve always been a writer. Much like branding a product to market, you emphasize why your story is different because in these times you can’t be perceived to be the same as everyone else. .

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Branding can mean a variety of things. It could be an online presence, a blog, you can be a subject matter expert in a certain area. Write down all of the things you did in your career and it will flow; just make sure it lands with a splash!

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Your 30 second elevator pitch

The  top one third of your resume is the most valuable piece of real estate – it’s your bio in a few sentences and it needs to back up your banner ad above. It should answer the question: “So, tell me your story?“  This brief summary of  Fabulous You, is your 30 second elevator pitch. It’s what you would throw out at cocktails when you’re getting warmed up in the name of good networking. 

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 Your 2 minute Commerical

Your 2 minute commercial is in the interview, your one shot to expand on all of this. Yep, you heard me. Two minutes is the golden rule; go on longer than that and they’ve hit the snooze button. Of most importance before your curtain closes and you’re about to exit the interview, you turn around and remind them (while humming the Rocky theme song)

why you can repeat your successes again, in your sleep. 

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Readers, I leave you with more Job Search Tips here.  

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 Questions? Open it up here as a conversation that everyone can benefit from in the just released In Our Shoes Forums.  No login required and you don’t need to leave your real name or email.  Just click Reply.

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Subscribe here. 

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If I’m too quiet at home, my son will check in and ask “Mummy, are you ok?”  (Peppa Pig is big in our house). I’ll answer with a short “Yep, I’m good.” followed by a big squeeze. I’ve become quite spoiled by my little man making sure I’m happy.

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This scene turns a bit sour however, if my mom is visiting. She’ll usually answer with:  ”No, she’s not ok. Your mom is definitely not normal!“. 

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Our tap dance then begins where she’ll lecture me on the life I lead. The one where I take on projects that have me travel to our Boston and Toronto offices. She’ll remind me of the weekend in Paris I took for a girlfriend getaway or how I drive too fast (maybe a half truth). I won’t mention London or my plans to hop the pond permanently one day.

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Generally, I  don’t really swallow judgement calls. But I will say this:

Our moms get credit for all they juggled as homemakers, but when it comes to our working mama lives, they haven’t a clue.

I’m a product of a Sicilian family raised in Brooklyn, New York. Mama spent her life devoted to one thing – the famiglia.  I get that raising my brothers was no easy feat – one a musician, the other a dabbler in all life had to offer. They were good bad boys. Yet today, I’ve somehow been branded the oddity. My family is  a supportive bunch but generally speaking, they don’t really get me. A typical welcome from my brothers will be: “So what are we blogging about today sis?” followed by snickers. (I believe they secretly await the call to corrupt me one day.)  .

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The deal is, if you’ve signed yourself up as a working mother, you either coast until you expire in this fragile economy or you step up and really make a go of it. I’ve spent almost two decades doing the work that I do. Travel and yes a satisfying social life come along for the ride. Everyone loves perks. If one tapped into the underground network of mommy guilt, you will find the break away from the home truly keeps us sane and hence makes for better mothers. It’s not just about the money.  One day my son will learn that in fact I’m very much the norm in this century and that (per big brother teasers) I’m quite a gem really.

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I leave you with a snippet from a book just scribed by UK writer Gaby Hinsliff. “..about the future of work and the massive changes in family life that are coming together now in one big bang.”

“Half a Wife: The Working Family’s Guide to Getting a Life Back”.

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“The impact of the so-called “second shift” done by women on top of work is a marital risk factor most couples go to the altar knowing little about. Young women prone to swooning that their boyfriend will be “a really great father” because he likes small children should learn to check instead how often he stacks the dishwasher, perhaps a better indicator of a man ready to share the routine daily work involved in family life.”

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Well said Gabs. Wish you’d released nine years ago, before I myself headed to the altar. You may very well lower the divorce rate around here. Wishing you much success with its release!

Next up: The “elevator pitch” and “your 2 minute commercial”. More to come….

Subscribe here, Comment below. 

There’s a well accepted learning theory referred to as the “Four Stages of Competency” as whispered in the orb of psychology.

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We all have a star we’re shooting for, a personal success mission that’s been lingering. Experts say, if you mosey on through each of these stages (below), you’re on your way towards this quest for success. That is, as long as you’re up for learning the skills to get you there. Roll with me on this one.

 Stage 1: Unconscious Incompetence

This is the stage where you have no inkling of how to do something and here’s the rub, you’re not even aware that you’re incapable. You rebuff  any value in learning a new skill in order to achieve success. This my dear readers is the scary stage, because you’re in denial. Until you accept its value and (ahem) your own incompetence, you’re unable to move onto Stage 2. 

 

Stage 2: Conscious Incompetence

Ahhh, now your eyes are wide open. You recognize that you don’t know how to do something but that it’s relevant to what you’re trying to achieve. You’ve turned a new leaf and are eager to keep falling off the bike until you learn the skill well.

 

Stage 3: Conscious Competence

You’re in the deep end of the pool. Not only do you know how to perform this skill, you’re now working on perfecting it. You’re in deep concentration but still taking baby steps to get there. Your game is on. 

Stage 4: Unconscious Competence

You have had so much practice that the skill is now ”second nature”; you can practically do it in your sleep. You’re even ready to start teaching others your wisdom!

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I’d say most of us give up somewhere around Stage 2 1/2. This talk is easier said than done. Life is never easy, but isn’t it fun to dig in once in a while and let it rip?

Find your passion, accept your failures and most of all -  enjoy it.

An Italian saying I love: “Nella vita – chi non risica – non rosica.” -  He who risks nothing, gains nothing.

One life, best to make  it a good one. 

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A toast to 2012. Salute!  [sah - loo - te].

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.  Subscribe here

 

 

In a study conducted in the US and Europe interviewing senior managers across industries, it was asked what skills they value most in the people they hire. Turns out, it’s the soft skills that tip the scale unanimously.

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Time to get your sexy on. 

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You can be at the top of your game regardless of whether you’re a chef, research analyst or an accountant.  At the end of the day however, you’re valued on how professionally you cooked the roast, not on the rating of the heavenly five course meal you just whipped up.

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The Top Three hit list  of what skills are most desired by management: 

1. Leadership

2. Communication Skills

3. Personal Charisma / Persuasiveness

.Love it. I’ll also throw in my personal  #4 :

4. Quiet Confidence – never leave home without it.

 

 

Happy Holidays readers. New year. New possibility. New slate.  Cheers!

 

“Sometimes I get a good feeling. I get a feeling that I never never never never had before.” – Flo Rida

  

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I never said I was normal. The things women take on these days are only viewed as sane because we pull it off so well. We have to, it’s our survival gene.  I’m often asked how it feels to be all over my ‘A’ game.  That sounds enviable but I don’t take myself too seriously. Funny, noone ever asks how it feels to gamble on yourself, because if anything that’s what I’m really good at. I’m a risk taker and at heart, a pure blooded restless soul.

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.No sooner back from London, I attended 3 after work NYC events this week to either support another woman, network it for the IT day job and scout for more shoe swapping stories of  empowering women to pick up.

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.The life I lead is not glamorous, don’t let these pics fool you. You have to network, you have to get out there, you have to live and breathe what you’re after and you have to kick it up a notch by taking on a little risk.

If I want it, I ask for it and in some way or another the universe returns the favor.

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This week I wanted to step it up in the network circuit of IT professionals.  By Wednesday I was selected to sit on Qliktech’s Customer Advisory Council for Financial Services. By Thursday, I was asked to speak at their “Investor Day” conference to showcase my experience using their software.  There I networked with some investors hoping to give some kudos for my favorite Swedish firm. Oh and did I mention? I’m petrified of public speaking.

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A few martini’s into the evening, I ran into my consulting partner Project Brokers the same folks who hosted me at their flat in Kings Cross, London.  I learned Clay LeConey my account manager (on my right below), has an accomplished famous working mother who would willingly share her success story with In Our Shoes.

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Did I mention I’m also really good at ‘picking up’ women? Not bad for a weeknight.

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After cocktails I zipped across town from Upper East to Upper West side to cheer on good friend Chini for the coming out party of her successful startup:  Mom to Moms Advisors hosted at Trump’s Place. She had a huge turnout and much media coverage there to send her on to bigger things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“Nothing in this life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” – Marie Curie

 

 

 

 

Reminder, you have the opportunity to meet British transplant, NY Success story Mom to Mom’s Advisor’s Chini Perera-Lunemann this Thursday 11/17 @ Trump Place 160 Riverside Blvd 6:30 to 8:00 pm. She’s got Donald Trump’s attention and is hosting at his very dig.  Come see her in action holding her “Fourth Trimester” event.  Here’s the In Our Shoes interview I had with Chini this past summer.

 

.SSwing by, I will be there covering the event!

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