The President of the United States. A violinist. A race-car driver. What do these professions have in common? Other than being pretty cool jobs, these titles were all of interest to a 10-year-old Shontay Lundy, who'd eventually become the creator and founder of her own brand — Black Girl Sunscreen. Though she didn't become a race-car driver, she definitely identifies herself as someone with a need for speed — meaning, she's an avid risk-taker. And once you read her story, you'll understand why I absolutely agree. She's taken a lot of huge risks in her life — the most pronounced being straight after college. Rather than returning home to her parents like many post-graduates do, she decided to immediately start a life of her own. Without a clear idea of what she wanted to do career-wise, she took to driving her car to Miami to pursue her masters and find a part-time job. On top of not having a job, she also didn't have a place to live — but leave it to Shontay to figure out a way....

Even as a child, Sinead Norenius-Raniere, VP of Product at Cision, knew that she wanted to accomplish a lot. At one point she remembers wanting to be a nurse. Then a policewoman. Both didn’t pan out, but it turned out to be the best thing that could’ve happened for her. One career stood out — makeup artistry. Her journey began in Santa Barbara where she began working at a local salon as a makeup artist. It wasn’t exactly what she was going for (she wanted a career in aesthetic beauty), so she decided to go back to her home in San Francisco to get her aesthetic license. This, as she describes, was her entry point into the wild west of beauty. Seeing as our theme this quarter is technology, I was intrigued by Sinead’s approach to the topic. Sinead has seen a tonne of evolution in the industry and has worked to strengthen beauty’s tie to technology. How does she envision technology as a part of her future vision for Cision? Initially, she was brought in to help reimagine the online...

A leader’s empathy is rewarded tenfold with employees who return loyalty, dedication, and a desire to succeed. While leading with empathy is certainly not a new concept, when I started my professional career as a creative marketer more than two decades ago, it was not common practice.  When I was just a couple of years out of college, I landed a position at a well-known publishing house as the assistant to the editor-in-chief of a high-profile magazine. I remember feeling a bit stuck in my role and craving new challenges more in line with my personal passions. So, I mustered up the courage to set up time with human resources and shared my vision for my role within the company and how I wanted to do more. After my meeting ended, I took the elevator down, feeling so proud of myself for speaking up. By the time I got to my floor, the elevator door opened, and I was met with only two dreaded words: “You’re fired.” I was completely shocked. It took me a while for me to process...

Congratulations to Jodi Katz on the release of her new book. Grab your copy today: https://amzn.to/3aVLbgh Business leaders are constantly faced with the dilemma of how to embrace the work they love while keeping it from eclipsing the other parts of their lives. It is easy to get sucked into feeding work's end-less hunger. Work is infinite. Work is unforgiving. It is also exciting and joyful. And that's what makes it so seductive. The challenge is to give ourselves fully to our work, which is necessary for success, without getting drained by work's immense neediness. In Facing the Seduction of Success, you will learn poignant insights from conversations on how beauty industry leaders strike that balance. Or valiantly try. If you are serious about the balance of success and its pursuit — and enjoy a spot of humor and authentic emotion along the way — then this is the book for you!

I often talk — on panels, with guests on my podcast, WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™, and in my book, Facing the Seduction of Success — about why I started my own business 16 years ago. Yes, I wanted to run an agency that produced great creative work for the beauty industry I love. Yes, I wanted to have more control over my work and how it impacted the other parts of my life (more about that later.) But I also wanted to change the face of leadership, at least the leadership I had observed and experienced when I was an employee early in my career. In those first years, as I thought about what my future leadership style might look like, I focused on two things: the toxic work environments I had experienced (i.e., how NOT to lead) and my personal values (i.e., how I strive to live my life.) Had I scribbled some of that preliminary thinking about leadership on a cocktail napkin, it might have read something like this: Always remember what it felt like to be the new kid. Always remember what...