The Invisible Mentor

Archive for the ‘Mentoring’ Category

Today and tomorrow we present Paul Copcutt’s interview. Are you noticing any similarities in the interviews that you read here? If you were asked what are three threats to your business, how would you answer? What are three events that shaped your life? For Paul, it was (1) The death of his mother and sister when he was seven years old, (2) Taking a job at a biotech firm as a National Sales Manager without any medical experience and (3) Marrying his wife. If you were to respond to the questions, would any of  your answers be similar Paul’s?

Tell me a little bit about yourself. Tell me a little bit about your company and where the idea for your business came from?

Paul Copcutt, a transported Brit, I came to Canada in 1996 with the biotech company I was working with to follow a Canadian and convince her to marry me. I started my company Square Peg in 2004 as a recruitment company but always with the intention of doing something more involving personal branding because what I had been doing in a corporate career was personal branding there was just not the name for it.  Now that is all I do, personal branding for individuals, inside corporations and speaking on the topic.

What’s a typical day like for you?

I run a home based business, so once the family is getting on with their day is when mine starts professionally. This will involve talking to clients on the phone, using the technology of the internet to connect and stay in touch. If I am out meeting clients or speaking, a day can start early and be a long one depending on location, travel etc.

How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

My main motivation is that everyone should have the opportunity to understand personal branding and see if it applies to them. My purpose is to spread that message to as many people as possible. Also I love to connect with others. My colleagues and connections become my virtual watercooler. I am in two mastermind groups and we help and hold each other accountable.

If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

The journey I have had to this point makes me who I am, I don’t know that doing it differently would have resulted in the same outcomes, so I hesitate in saying what I would do differently.

What’s the most important business (or other) discovery you’ve made in the past year?

That my biggest strength is spreading the message to many versus converting people one at a time and modestly I am actually very good at it.

What’s one of the biggest advances in your industry over the past five years?

The speed of the internet and the developing technologies that stem from that. Now people see the need to manage their personal brands because of the impact of social media and online brands.

What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?

1. Remaining focused – belief that what I am doing now is right and resisting the temptation to look at another direction just because things may not be happening fast enough. 2. Too much noise, not enough substance – there are a lot of people now talking about personal branding but to be honest that is all it is. There are very few people who are actually doing something everyday in terms of helping people define and develop their personal brands. 3. Bright shiny objects – trying too many new things can be a distraction. I am a catalyst and starter, but not a finisher, so new ideas and so on are a big attraction but also distraction.

What’s unique about the service that you provide?

I inspire people to take action with regards to their personal brands by sharing personal information and examples and practical solutions. There does not have to be smoke and mirrors to make this happen.

What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?

I do not think that most people in my field who are actually working with people on their personal brands are doing it badly. It is more those that talk about personal brands as the solution to online branding but fail to get the foundation offline established first.

Describe a major business (or other) challenge you had and how you resolved it.

Charging by the hour you reach a limit – either in number of hours you can work or fees you can charge – or both. I stopped charging by the hour or month for my services and went to a project based model.  Researched value based fees models and created proposals and marketing materials around talking about value and outcomes versus hours worked.  I now have only one client who pays by the hour and that is an arrangement through a partner and not my contract.

What lessons did you learn in the process?

People are receptive to a project based fee model for consulting and coaching. It makes you focus more on the outcomes and creates a much better relationship with clients because you both have interest in getting results versus just delivering a program.  Clients call on me when they need to not when they need to pay for it.

Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

My first ever client for my own business. I had made the decision to leave my previous employer and had no actual business to take with me. That first client gave me the opportunity to prove myself and became a significant client for my first 2-3 years of business.

Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?

First ever job that required me to sell a service instead of a product. At the time I was not ready, I could not relate to selling an intangible and within 3 months I had left the company. The next time I went to sell a service a few years later I knew what was expected and needed and although it still took me some time to get good at, it eventually set me up for what I do now.

What has been your biggest disappointment in your life and what are you doing to prevent its reoccurrence?

To varying degrees I still get disappointments – the contracts or pieces of work you expect to get but don’t. I try to learn from every experience and even ask the question “Is there something I could have done differently?” and take that to the next experience.

What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?

Moving to Canada with all my family still in the UK. I knew deep down it was the right move, and Canada has offered me so many opportunities as well as a wonderfully supportive wife and two great children. Not sure if I ever would have started my own business back in the UK.

What are three events that helped to shape your life?

1. Loss of my mother and sister when I was 7 years old.
2. Taking a job as a National Sales Manager for a biotech company without any medical qualifications.
3. Marrying my wife.

What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

My two children.

How did mentors influence your life?

There are probably three people, apart from my father, who have influenced my life.  My first ever boss when I had a part time retail sales position. He said, “You are never bigger than the customer and the customer is never bigger than you.”

The owner of the first recruitment company I worked for who let me learn from my own mistakes and was okay with my learning the lessons even if it meant we lost the business.

And my boss when I first became a manager, who always challenged me to have at least two options to any decision.

What’s one core message you received from your mentors?

See above

Which resources (books, movies, training etc.) did your mentors recommend to you?

The most influential training I received was the Wilson Learning Social Style program over 20 years ago and is still something I use now.  I am constantly looking for new resources, books and probably seek out opinions from many places to find these, but I have never found anything to replace that program.

As an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

Be yourself, be truthful. Stick to your values and beliefs and it’s okay to say no sometimes.

What nuggets of wisdom have you gleaned from Paul’s interview? How might you apply his responses to your situation.

Keep the conversation flowing. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise for white papers, articles, fact sheets, anniversary booklets, you name it. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content. And if you cannot figure out which books to read for professional development, I am your WOMAN, I can assist you with that too.

Instead of an interview, I have decided to line up responses to the same career-related questions so that you can compare and contrast them. The interviews are content rich and some may find it daunting, others may find it difficult to remember all the wonderful information. This is a way for me to enhance the user experience and make it easier for you to use the information. Please let me know what you think.

How did mentors influence your life?

Gina McAdam

Their kindness and generosity, sharing their time, ideas, experiences and contacts, impressed me deeply. This gave strength when one needed it, and also a key through many doors that may have otherwise remained locked or unnoticed. Their bright example is what made me want to be a mentor as well. In 2008, I was thrilled to be named Shine Outstanding Mentor of the Year. Shine is a national industry award for female talent management in the UK hospitality and tourism industry. It was started in London by two ladies of Italian origin who wanted to make a difference to how women were seen and wanted to see themselves in the industry.

Ron LeBlanc

I have always surrounded myself with very bright people, and my mentors have always been good to me. I am always striving to improve myself.

Lynn Kahle

I can’t think of any mentors and that makes me sad…

Duke Redbird

They influenced me in terms of encouraging me to understand that the pursuit of money and power as an end was unwise and that the best advice I got, often was follow your bliss. Use the talents that you were gifted with and the money will come.

What’s one core message you received from your mentors?

Gina McAdam

Don’t hide your light under a bushel.

Ron LeBlanc

Always deal with professionals and always get the very best people. If you do not have the best people you are not going to succeed in a difficult industry.

Lynn Kahle

I can’t think of any mentors and that makes me sad…

Duke Redbird

Be wise. I remember I was on a reserve in Morley, Alberta and there was this man in his late seventies or early eighties sitting under a tree. I sat beside him and he said to me, “What do you think about white man’s insurance?” and I said that I had never thought about it because I have never had it. He said, “I have thought about it a lot because they came around to my house to sell me insurance and I didn’t buy it,” and I said, “why?” he said, “When I was a young  man, about your age, I would chop wood for the older folks. I am an old man now, when I need a pillow someone gives it to me, and if I tell them to chop wood, they chop wood for me. That’s Native insurance. White man’s insurance won’t do that for you.” And that was the conversation and it has lived with me ever since.

Which resources (books, movies, training etc.) did your mentors recommend to you?

Gina McAdam

One fabulous mentor, Diane Morris who runs TIAW, recommended that I join and get involved in good networks. I have never looked back since. Someone who is less a mentor than a caring colleague has always signposted me to great articles, events, people and organisations.  Through him I’ve got involved in the Oxford Brookes University Bacchus Mentoring programme for final year hospitality management students. I now mentor a very motivated girl from Sweden and a very bright young man from Hong Kong.

Ron LeBlanc

I was told to keep current on the front side of things because of the constant oscillations of the market and everything else. Everything that affects your business is always shifting so stay on the front side.  Get the best data and voices. I used to read Harvard Business Review, and marketing magazines.

Duke Redbird

They encouraged me to read non-fiction books.

As an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

Gina McAdam

Nurture the people who give to you, always give back. Also, someone I spoke to recently said that one of his mottos was ‘you can’t have two faces’. Treat everyone with equal respect. That is so true.

Ron LeBlanc

Follow your bliss, follow your passion and stay current at all times. You are always unfinished, you are always working on something you want to be and will be. Have a leading kind of curiosity that gets you access to all the information in your particular sector. You have to be passionate, and if you are not, the universe will conspire against you. You want the universe to support you. The intelligent universe will support someone who is operating within their passion and following it.

Lynn Kahle

READ.

Duke Redbird

Realize that what gets everyone up in the mornings is one of four motivations or a combination of them: money, power, self preservation and romance, which includes all the arts, and everything associated with the arts. These are the motivators, and put more emphasis on the self preservation and romance side, and less on the money and power side. You’ll be a happier person.

What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?

Gina McAdam

Respect yourself and all people; b) never give up and that’s different from cutting your losses c) know that you can’t know everything, d) trust in Someone or something higher; e) never forget to say thank you.

Ron LeBlanc

1. Follow your bliss, follow your passion: when you follow your passion you find that the universe conspires to help you along the way
2. Notwithstanding that passion, you need an honest assessment of the possibilities within the choice which you have taken. If your passion is to move piano you know there is a limitation there. If your passion is to be a head of a company you know that’s a different thing completely so you have to have a realistic view on your ambitions
3. Once your way has been chosen, the lesson in life is that you have to be the best. Every individual is unique in some way and has unique sets of talents of experiences and that uniqueness has to be shored up by all the information possible. You have to know what you are doing and be efficient in the career that you’ve chosen.
4. You cannot expand your business without co-operating. One of the imperatives is survival of the co-operatives. Every expanding business needs a level of faith and you need trusting people around you. You need to be able to give up some of the power and co-operate.
5. You can be wrong, and you have to be able to take a bullet, be candid about it and say that you are wrong. You have to be quick about it. That’s the best way forward. Meet those challenges, meet those failures with candor.

Lynn Kahle

1. Learn to listen.
2. It is better to give than receive, especially when it’s unexpected.
3. The golden rule still applies.
4. Love is infinite—your children teach you this.
5. Good health, physical and mental, really is priceless.

Duke Redbird

This is a tough question and I could write a book just to give it justice. But I would say don’t sweat the small stuff, the only thing we have is now, this moment, there is truth and relative truth, most people function on relative truth and few people have an idea about what is really truth. Another life lesson is that the opposite of birth is death and the opposite of life is eternity.

What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?

Gina McAdam

Generally, I was never afraid to try something new and see where it would lead.  I didn’t have fixed ideas and notions about myself. When I did, I knocked on the right doors. But I was lucky always to have an orbit of good and wise people around me for support.

Ron LeBlanc

Straight and unmitigated courage and confidence in my own talent and intelligence but also I have learned more and more that I need a supporting group of professionals as I move forward, education and professional support and a great deal of courage. Go for it!

Lynn Kahle

Not so sure that I have but I do keep up and change the content of a course to be as relevant as possible.

Duke Redbird

Never burn bridges, treat everyone with respect, and follow the golden rule.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Ron LeBlanc

Collect all the information possible about the field, look at it and really be mindful of how the field moves you, and make sure that it is field that you want to be in. Look at yourself and make sure that it is the place for you. You only have one life so you want to be sure.

Lynn Kahle

If you don’t love it, leave it. Do something else. There are a lot of options.

Duke Redbird

Be compassionate and have charity in your heart.

if you combined the responses what might you create? If you compared and contrasted the responses, what might you glean? Keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise for white papers, articles, fact sheets, anniversary booklets, you name it. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content. And if you cannot figure out which books to read for professional development, I am your WOMAN, I can assist you with that too.

Recently there has been coverage in the media on Minute Mentoring, or speed mentoring, which is the brainchild of Dana Perino, ex-White House Press Secretary. Minute Mentoring is based on the concept of speed dating, and for those who may not know, according to Wikipedia, “Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process or dating system whose purpose is to encourage people to meet a large number of new people. Its origins are credited to Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish HaTorah, originally as a way to help Jewish singles meet and marry. Supporters argue that speed dating saves time.”

Minute Mentoring

The aim of minute mentoring is to save time. Many of these female power brokers who participated in the minute mentoring event, do not have the time to participate in traditional mentoring relationships, but are able to carve out pockets of time to share their knowledge and wisdom. If you have never had the privilege of participating in traditional mentoring relationships, instead of feeling disheartened and sorry for yourself, be proactive and take your professional development into your own hands.

Mentoring Circle

Since the face of mentoring is changing, gather together a group of your friends and colleagues and form a mentoring circle, a peer mentoring support network. The relationship is reciprocal in nature where members of the Circle work as a unit to support each other in achieving personal and professional success. As a group, identify accomplished individuals who have successfully done what you are trying to do in your careers. Think about what you would like to learn from them. Organize a minute mentoring event, and invite these mentors who you have chosen to attend.

Invisible Mentors

In addition, you can incorporate the invisible mentor concept, coined by Karen L. Peterson, a Washington State University Professor in her 2000 paper, “Invisible Mentor: Communication Theory and Lilian Katz.” As defined by Peterson, “invisible mentors” are unique leaders you can learn from by observing them from a distance. Since 2000, we have progressed a long way, with advances in Internet and other online technologies. As a group, members of the mentoring circle can identify 10 people who they have always wanted to meet, and conduct extensive research on them. What books have been written by and about them? Which speeches and presentations have they given? What concepts and models did they develop? Who mentored and influenced them? Which books influenced them and why?

Each member should present to the group what they learned so that all may benefit from the newly acquired information.

The Merging of Mentoring Circles, Minute Mentoring and Invisible Mentoring

The mentoring circle combined with minute mentoring and invisible mentoring can form a dynamite hybrid mentoring program that can benefit mentees, especially those who have not had access to traditional mentors. With careful planning, mentees can reap the benefits that other mentees who are participating in traditional mentoring programs are accustomed to reaping.

What other concept can you adapt to your mentoring program? Everything old is new again, and you have to change with the times or you will be left behind to become obsolete.

Keep the conversation flowing. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise for white papers, articles, fact sheets, anniversary booklets, you name it. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content. And if you cannot figure out which books to read for professional development, I am your WOMAN, I can assist you with that too.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia via Apture

On Wednesday and Thursday we present an interview with Duke Redbird, First Nations Ojibwe Elder. It is my intention to bring to you a diversity of interviews so that we may all learn and grow. It’s amazing how much we can learn from others if we are open. Interviewees who are different from us can direct our thinking in new directions. For example, when talking about disappointments in life, Duke says that if the glass is half-full he simply gets a smaller glass, so now that glass is full. I wouldn’t have thought of that. We are socialized to choose between half-full and half-empty so it doesn’t occur to us that we can add another choice and that is to get a smaller vessel. What are your thoughts?

Tell me a little bit about yourself. Tell me a little bit about your company and where the idea for your business came from?

I am a First Nations Ojibwe Elder from Saugeen, a small reserve located in Ontario. I was born in 1939 so I’m 70 years old and will be 71 in March. I lived my entire life between the sacred and the profane, and I see the sacred as anything that has been created by the creator and nature, and the profane as anything that has been created by human beings. So when I am in the sacred I try not to profane it, and when I am in the profane, like I am today, I try to bring something sacred to it, so that’s my rule and prime directive.

What’s a typical day like for you?

I mentor faculty and students at the Ontario College of Art and Design, I am also a mentor for students at the University of Toronto, I am doing a totem impact project at York University, and I work on my film and television projects.

How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

Motivation is just waking up in the morning and realizing that you are alive and have things to do. We are here for a purpose and we have to fulfill that function whatever we find it to be. It is sort of like Joseph Campbell says about following your bliss.

If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

I would never have touched alcohol or cigarettes in my youth. In my youth, holding your liquor and smoking appeared to be social badges of maturity. Though I quit drinking 25 years ago, and I no longer smoke, those were very poor choices. I wish I had had a mentor to steer me in another direction.

What’s the most important business (or other) discovery you’ve made in the past year?

The most important discovery that I made was to recognize the shift of consciousness that’s taking place around the planet, and it’s taking place with all the discourse that’s going on about developing more spiritual context to engage the world that we live in. It’s like a quantum leap has taken place in a new kind of reality. It’s no longer about money and power, it’s about self preservation, and romance is becoming integrated into those ideas.

What’s one of the biggest advances in your industry over the past five years?

Technologies are constantly improving. We are on the cusp of a whole new technological society, and it has to do with things like making a movie on your cell phone and being able to project in on a screen, 3-D on your laptop. Now we have floating keyboards and you don’t even need a keyboard in front of you, just a little projector projecting one on your table, or some empty space, and it works on your computer. Whenever we come up with a new technology we have no idea how it will affect us as human beings.

What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?

Can’t think of any.

What’s unique about the service that you provide?

There is nothing particularly unique about the service that I provide, except that I am engaged in broadcasting as an Arts and Entertainment reporter, and I act as a mentor elder and advisor to students.

What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?

I think the fact that television is becoming planned and not as creative as it once was. I look at old programs, what we called the Golden Age of television and classical TV and things have gone downhill in terms of what we call infotainment, it’s information and entertainment combined, but it’s not real news.

Describe a major business (or other) challenge you had and how you resolved it.

Every decision that one makes is a challenge to get it right, and I saw most of the challenges that I faced on the basis of discovering whether they were wise decisions. I realize that the past is over, it’s gone and so one shouldn’t dwell on the past. You face a challenge based on the information you have at the moment, and then you try to solve it on the basis of wisdom, and how they might affect  your condition, your health, your attitude and personality, all those things.

What lessons did you learn in the process?

Most of what we consider to be civilized activities are nonsense, and so we have to make our way through a maze of bad decisions that people are making on our behalf.

Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

Moses Znaimer gave me the opportunity to work in television, and York University gave me a lot of help when I went to university. I have had so many it’s from a series of people.

Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?

To tell you the truth I cannot think of a big failure, nothing comes to mind.

What has been your biggest disappointment in your life – and what are you doing to prevent its reoccurrence?

I cannot think of a disappointment. I would view something as a disappointment if I wanted to do something and was stopped. That hasn’t happened to me. I was having a discussion with Ron LeBlanc and he asked me if the glass was half full or half empty. When a glass is half full, I simply reduce the size of the glass, and it becomes  full so you do not become disappointed if you have that approach to life.

What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?

A few years ago I decided to go and live in the North, and I actually bought a business in the Algonquin Park area. For all intents and purposes I made up my mind to live up there permanently, and one of the hardest decisions I had to make was when I realized that it was impossible, and that I would have to come back to the city [Toronto] to fulfill the obligations that I had, my art and my career, and so that was difficult.

What are three events that helped to shape your life?

Being born, being orphaned at nine months, and going through non-Native American foster homes as a child. These people were taking in orphaned children as a business and not for compassionate reasons. Going through that experience as a child, I realized that I was a commodity and not a person, and that I represented an income. These things defined my personality, character and how I approach life. Another event is when I chose to celebrate my culture and also get involved on social and political levels to establish a more equitable life for First Nations people.

What nuggets of wisdom have you gleaned from Duke’s interview? How might you apply his responses to your situation.

Keep the conversation flowing. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise for white papers, articles, fact sheets, anniversary booklets, you name it. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content. And if you cannot figure out which books to read for professional development, I am your WOMAN, I can assist you with that too.

Today we present part two of Ron LeBlanc’s interview. Ron loves the concept of the hero’s journey so it’s no surprise that the one book that profoundly impacted his life is Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces. To generate great ideas, he immerses himself in art and hangs out with “great” people. This makes sense because a study by INSEAD business school revealed that networking is one of the five discovery skills for innovation.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am a 58-year old Canadian and the Chairman of Madacana Holding Inc, a fairly major player in the gem business in Madagascar. I have a sapphire mine and land bank in Madagascar. We’ve been in Madagascar since 2004, and I took over operation and control of the mine in 2006, which is located in the south of Madagascar. Prior to 2006, I was a gem buyer.

Madagascar is a complex place, but I have experience doing business in Africa and I enjoy it. Madagascar is probably the best place in the world for gems so it was the right place and the right time. I am a low functioning polymath and I have done a lot of things: I’ve been in bars, restaurants and I have been in the aesthetics business for a long, long time. After two years of exploration, I am ready to go into serious mechanized mining in the gem business in Madagascar.

As an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

Follow your bliss, follow your passion and stay current at all times. You are always unfinished, you are always working on something you want to be and will be. Have a leading kind of curiosity that gets you access to all the information in your particular sector. You have to be passionate, and if you are not, the universe will conspire against you. You want the universe to support you. The intelligent universe will support someone who is operating within their passion and following it.

How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

It’s together and I think in some ways the guys who are surviving here do not separate their personal and professional life, it’s all integrated. But when I say that, there has to be sacrifices. But most powerful people don’t see it as a sacrifice.

What’s a major regret that you’ve had in life?

I don’t really have any regrets. I think I will have regrets when I finish having life. While you are in life you do not have regrets. Regret is the illumination you get by looking back when you have finished having life. I do not have regrets because I keep moving forward.

What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?

1. Follow your bliss, follow your passion: when you follow your passion you find that the universe conspires to help you along the way
2. Notwithstanding that passion, you need an honest assessment of the possibilities within the choice which you have taken. If your passion is to move piano you know there is a limitation there. If your passion is to be a head of a company you know that’s a different thing completely so you have to have a realistic view on your ambitions
3. Once your way has been chosen, the lesson in life is that you have to be the best. Every individual is unique in some way and has unique sets of talents of experiences and that uniqueness has to be shored up by all the information possible. You have to know what you are doing and be efficient in the career that you’ve chosen.
4. You cannot expand your business without co-operating. One of the imperatives is survival of the co-operatives. Every expanding business needs a level of faith and you need trusting people around you. You need to be able to give up some of the power and co-operate.
5. You can be wrong, and you have to be able to take a bullet, be candid about it and say that you are wrong. You have to be quick about it. That’s the best way forward. Meet those challenges, meet those failures with candor.

When you have some down time, how do you spend it?

I read at least 50 books each year. I am constantly reading and going to the theatre. I do this because I need the balm of escape so when I am in the theatre I just lose myself. I need that. The driving consciousness during wakefulness that I need for my business is nice, but the balm of escape allows me to get relief from that.

What process do you use to generate great ideas?

I hang out with great people, I read a lot, and I find that there is sympathy between what I’m reading and what I’m thinking, so the topics and the ambience is often found in the literature. I often go to the arts that I personally choose, or the friends that I hang around with, when I need to generate great ideas.

What’s your favourite quotation and why?

“Man plans, God laughs.” Yiddish proverb

It’s difficult to make a plan. You need a vision for it moving forward and you need to place milestones and you better be ready to adapt because making plans is like trying to predict the weather.

How do you define success?

I think success really is living with your passions. If you are a busker on the street and you’re playing music, or you’re trading on the floor or you’re being a mother, if you are doing what you want to do, that’s success. Living to your talents and your passions is really the measure of success.

In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

If you are blessed with a clearly defined and delineated passion, the formula for success is to be brave and to jump into that passion of interest.

What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?

Straight and unmitigated courage and confidence in my own talent and intelligence but also I have learned more and more that I need a supporting group of professionals as I move forward, education and professional support and a great deal of courage. Go for it!

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Collect all the information possible about the field, look at it and really be mindful of how the field moves you, and make sure that it is field that you want to be in. Look at yourself and make sure that it is the place for you. You only have one life so you want to be sure.

If trusted friends could introduce you to five people that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose? And what would you say to them?

Barack Obama: I think he is a fascinating and interesting character

Joseph Campbell: I would like to have met Joseph Campbell and talk to him about the mythological state of  man and the power of myth

Albert Einstein: I would have liked to meet Einstein because I am interested in science and math and would have liked to talk to him about gravity

Georgia O’Keefe: She is an interesting and fascinating painter and of course I’d like to talk to all the painters. I’d like to talk to Clinton, Van Gogh and a few of the other guys. I’m also interested in the impressionists.

Bill Gates: He has an interesting view on things. Steve Jobs would also be interesting too because he has an innovative and creative mind

And I would like to say to them, “What have you learned?” I think every character has a place of pure experience and I would love to learn what they have learned over and above everybody else.

Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply? Did you have an emotional or intellectual attachment to this book? Why?

The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. I see myself as being on a low grade journey and I’ve always been out in the world doing deeds,  and I guess this is a self mythology and Joseph Campbell without question has  gathered quite clearly all the pan-global myths and has articulated a pretty distinct underpinning of man’s journey, a kind of hero’s journey. He talks about Prometheus, Jason and so on. He talks about all these journeys and he really spoke to me. I have been out there on this mythological journey. I think it is very true and we are all mythological beasts and we follow the stages of mythology whether we know it or not.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are five books that you would like to have with you and why? Summarize the book in two sentences.

Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth

Fall On Your Knees

1001 Arabian Nights

Don Quixote, Miguel  de Cervantes

Short stories by Alice Munroe

Bill Moyer’s Interview with Joseph Campbell, Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth: He asks the pivotal questions and collates the information for us

Ann Michael’s Fall On Your Knees: I love poets who become writers. The story is about the Canadian experience, very richly articulated.

Short stories by Alice Munroe: I love Alice Munroe. She can make even the most mundane experience a kind of graceful experience. She is regarded as the best short story writer in the world.

What one music CD and movie would you like to have with you (on the deserted island) and why?

Movie: The 2001 Space Odyssey

Music: The Greatest Hits of Leonard Cohen

What excites you about life?

Beauty

How do you nurture your soul?

Beauty, I am in the gems business

If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for? Or, if I gave you a magic wand, what would you use it for?

I have got most of what I want so maybe I wish to be more tolerant, less hostile,  and to be more compassionate

Complete the following, I am happy when…..

I am beginning a project, the creative first few days of a project. And after a long night of dancing

What gems of wisdom can you glean from this interview? What aspects of the interview can you apply to your situation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content.

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Today and Wednesday we feature Ron Leblanc, Chairman of Madacana Holding Inc. located in south Madagascar. I met Ron in Starbucks and I chatted with him for a bit and was fascinated by his story so I asked if I could interview him. You never know where your next connection will come from so you have to be open. Do you know who is sitting beside you? As usual, the interview is information rich. One of the toughest decisions that Ron had to make was fire a friend he had hired because he was under-performing? Growing up in a small town in Ontario, Ron couldn’t wait to spread his wings and soar, so finally leaving that town was one of the events which shaped his life. Enjoy the interview, this is my way of paying it forward.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am a 58-year old Canadian and the Chairman of Madacana Holding Inc, a fairly major player in the gem business in Madagascar. I have a sapphire mine and land bank in Madagascar. We’ve been in Madagascar since 2004, and I took over operation and control of the mine in 2006, which is located in the south of Madagascar. Prior to 2006, I was a gem buyer.

Madagascar is a complex place, but I have experience doing business in Africa and I enjoy it. Madagascar is probably the best place in the world for gems so it was the right place and the right time. I am a low functioning polymath and I have done a lot of things: I’ve been in bars, restaurant and I have been in the aesthetics business for a long, long time. After two years of exploration, I am ready to go into serious mechanized mining in the gem business in Madagascar.

What’s a typical day like for you?

There is no typical day for me. My days are different because of the responsibilities of running a mining company in Madagascar. In my particular business in Madagascar you have to be awake all the time. There is no real regiment. When I am in the field there are production and operations demands on my time. Most of my investors are Canadians so I am often in Canada raising funds for the company. At other times, I am putting those funds “in the ground” so to speak. I also have a cutting stone factory. Because I have raised most of the funds privately, I feel like I have to lead many things personally.

How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

Everything I do is a consequence of my passion so I never have a problem getting up in the morning because I like what I do. I am completely animated by beauty and I have always been in aesthetics and that which animates life.  I never really have to motivate myself other than being in my passion which is gems, so I don’t need to motivate myself because I am motivated naturally.

If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

That’s an interesting question but I don’t know if I’d do anything differently because all success is inevitably a compound of success and failures and I am convinced both my failures and vices have gotten me to where I am at, and I cannot see taking out one component over another because that would unsettle the nice integrated success to date so I do not see myself doing anything differently.

What’s the most important business (or other) discovery you’ve made in the past year?

The most important business discovery I’ve made is really about myself, and that is to grow, you have to be collaborative these days. And the new Darwinian imperatives are not just survival of the fittest but survival of the most cooperative.

What’s one of the biggest advances in your industry over the past five years?

In the gem business the biggest advance is a new business model which attempts to control colored stones by doing it in a larger and more scaled up fashion and that’s been the difference. All along the colored gem business has been a mine here and a mine there and it’s been too random and the issue of randomness in any business is that you cannot establish market price. Now we are dealing with bigger mines that have dominion over the product so that we can begin to have stable pricing.

What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?

The first threat to my business is political because I am in Madagascar. The country just went through a revolution. You have to be able to navigate the rapids when you are in Africa. Second, when the world markets are waning you have to be able to outlast the poor markets, and the third threat is you have to be adaptable in your company to foresee what’s coming.

What’s unique about the service that you provide?

I am the most inexpensive gem merchant in the world.

What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?

Most people don’t understand that you need to have an economy of scale, you need to do things big enough to be able to afford to realize your potential.

Describe a major business (or other) challenge you had and how you resolved it.

The business challenge I had was a revolution in Madagascar, and at the same time the world international community was collapsing. How I resolved this I simply turned the lights way, way down and stopped doing any kind of work, ensured that we had security in place, but I just knew that I had to outlast the revolution. I cut the cost down radically. I had to make sharp personal and business cuts.

What lessons did you learn in the process?

You need to have a plan B because you cannot make plans that disregard external events. You need to see your business in relation to all the other factors, and you have to know what those factors are that impose themselves on your business. You have to move quickly to take advantage of open and closed windows. I got too arrogant, too prideful and presumed that things were too good for me, and disregarded the ambiance of the market. I think that’s a big, big mistake and you have to learn to go when it’s good and pull back when it’s not.

Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

When you are in line with your destiny, a kind of intuitive certainty of the way forward, the world becomes benevolent and many things come to you. And there are always mentors around, as well as circumstances, but when you are aligned with your destiny and your passion you are always  fortunate.

Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?

One of my biggest mistakes I made was to presume that I did not have to deal with professionals. When you deal with professional the world becomes symmetrical and when you deal with fools the world becomes asymmetrical. I have dealt a few times with amateurs and the consequence of that is my world became more difficult to control.

What has been your biggest disappointment in your life – and what are you doing to prevent its reoccurrence?

I haven’t really been disappointed. But it’s very disappointing that loyalty is so fickle, and one should not presume it in life, but reward it if it comes to you. I am talking about the people who work for you, your friends, and the people around you. Don’t look for it but if it comes celebrate it.

What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?

The toughest decision I had to make was axe someone I hired who turned out to be not very good at the job. You sometimes have to sacrifice friendships for the greater good, which is the shareholders.

What are three events that helped to shape your life?

1. Living in a small town, the world appears big and exciting. I had a kind of mythology that I shaped for myself, and that small town represented constraints. It was a bit of a dark little town, and every thing beyond that world unfolded with all its possibilities. It was a big thing in my life to leave that small town.
2. Back in the sixties and early seventies I got entwined in nefarious activities and I think meeting my first wife really helped me cross that river stick. I had to move from that very dangerous life that I had taken on for myself and move into a straight life and she was pivotal in helping me to do that. It essentially changed the context of my life which was getting too dangerous and so that was a big thing. When I got into another life, I felt that business was easy because the courage that I applied to my nefarious world could be applied to the world of business. She gave be a choice between a life in darkness and one in the light.
3. I was in Morocco and bought a bunch of gems as gifts. I was traveling with a friend and he later said “I hope you didn’t pay more than $5 for that crap.” I’d bought these gems which turned out to be valueless and worthless, and I said to myself that I’d never be fooled again. I felt shamed, and I steered my ambition to understand all things beautiful and aesthetic and decided that I would learn about gems.

What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

It’s what I am doing right now. It’s the inflexible drive to ensure that this company, despite all the odds, turned out alright. I am most proud of my stalwart push to ensure that this company will succeed against a lot of odds.

How did mentors influence your life?

I have always surrounded myself with very bright people, and my mentors have always been good to me. I am always striving to improve myself.

What’s one core message you received from your mentors?

Always deal with professionals and always get the very best people. If you do not have the best people you are not going to succeed in a difficult industry.

Which resources (books, movies, training etc.) did your mentors recommend to you?

I was told to keep current on the front side of things because of the constant oscillations of the market and everything else. Everything that affects your business is always shifting so stay on the front side.  Get the best data and voices. I used to read Harvard Business Review, and marketing magazines.

What nuggets of wisdom can you glean from the interview? What are five takeaways?

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content.

Below are two tales from Aesop’s Fables, what lessons can they teach you in the workplace?

The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

A Wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down among the sheep. The Lamb that belonged to the sheep, whose skin the Wolf was wearing, began to follow the Wolf in the Sheep’s clothing; so, leading the Lamb a little apart, he soon made a meal off her, and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals.

Appearances are deceptive.

The Bald Man and the Fly

There was once a Bald Man who sat down after work on a hot summer’s day. A Fly came up and kept buzzing about his bald pate, and stinging him from time to time. The Man aimed a blow at his little enemy, but acks palm came on his head instead; again the Fly tormented him, but this time the Man was wiser and said:

“You will only injure yourself if you take notice of despicable enemies.”

What do you think of the fables? The application for me from The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, is that things are seldom as they seem and you should do your due diligence. Do not be quick to jump on the bandwagon, investigate first. And, in desperation, some people will do whatever it takes to get what they want.The fable teaches us to operate with integrity.

As I was reading the lesson learned from The Bald Man and the Fly, I remembered something I read recently, “It’s none of your business what others think about you.” The lesson is very apt for office gossip. What other things come to mind? And I am also reminded of one of the four agreements, never take things personally.

To read more fables please click here.

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

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Who is in your support network? Who are you going to call on when you are in a tight spot? Recently,  Josh Hanagarne,  from the World’s Strongest Librarian wrote a fun post titled “I’ve Joined A Gang That You Shouldn’t Mess With.” In the post he talks about the people he would summon if he were in a tight spot: Pinhead from Hellraiser, Dalton From Roadhouse, John Mclane from Die Hard, Blacula, and Bill The Butcher. As you can see there are only men on his team.

Liz Muirhead came back with “I’ve Joined a Gang That You Shouldn’t Mess With Part II” in response to Josh’s post. On her team she would like to have Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in T2, Uma Thurman in Kill Bill 1&2, Kate Beckinsale as Selene in Underworld, Jessica Biel as Abigail Whistler in Blade: Trinity,  and Sigourney Weaver as Lt. Ellen Ripley in Aliens. Liz has an all female team that she would call on.

I thought about it and decided to join in the fun. If I were in a tight spot, personally or professionally here are the five people that I would like to have on my team:

Anja Creed, lead character in Alex Archer’s Rogue Angel series.

In the book Anja is an archaeologist who goes on unique digs. But what I like about her is that she often uses her brain to get her out of tight spots. She has excellent analytical skills and knows how to fill in the gaps. She is a questioner and exercises due diligence in most cases. If force is called for, she also knows how to kick some serious ass.

Richard Dean Anderson’s character MacGyver from the hit TV show of the same name

MacGyver was always able to work with whatever he had to find a very workable solution.

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein said, “You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created.” With any problem that I had, Einstein would help me to rise above  it and uncover an innovative solution.

Estee Lauder

I would like Estee Lauder on my team because she was a woman ahead of her time and she would assist me in thinking differently and taking the path less traveled.

Thomas Alva Edison

Persistence pays and I’d like someone who has lived it. Edison keeps at it and when I get frustrated I would like someone to encourage me to go on until I found the right solution.

The team that I have chosen could watch my back in many different situations, and collectively, I think they would help to bring out my best self. And I would learn from them in the process, isn’t that what life is about? I enjoyed writing this post because it forced me to think, and the interesting thing is that I had no idea who I would choose when I started writing the post. Who would you want on your team to watch your back, and why? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

Related Posts

I’ve Joined A Gang That You Shouldn’t Mess With

I’ve Joined a Gang That You Shouldn’t Mess With Part II

Image Credit: via Apture

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Did you say thank you today? Which five books, one music CD and movie would you like to have on a deserted island? What does success mean to you and how do you define it? Read Gina’s responses in Part Two of  her interview. Use this information because we are on this journey together. Let’s learn from the wisdom and experiences of others.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I’m a wife and mother who runs her own strategic marketing and communications consultancy in London, with a portfolio of very exciting clients.

All the people I work with, both clients and associates, are smart, ambitious and great at what they do. It’s a great fun being a Director of a famous restaurant and food company like Cafe Spice Namaste in London; we’ve just launched a new product in a very fashionable department store, and our Chef Patron, Cyrus Todiwala, has just been awarded an OBE by the Queen. Editing Leader, an e-zine for the global luxury hospitality market (http://www.profile-recruitment.com) is fantastic too, giving me the excuse to visit and meet some incredible places and people around the  world. I also work with a brilliant communications expert who happens to handle PR  in the UK for the world’s largest hotel brand. Everything I do is very stimulating and over the years, my work has been extremely diverse.

The fact that I work with people with similar values to mine helps. After the ‘me-first’ culture of the last decade, a sense of community and collaboration is important. Being part of peer networks, such as the Worshipful Company of Marketors, the City livery company for marketing professionals, is excellent because it has a civic and charity focus as well.  I’m also very keen to help raise the profile and economic empowerment of women, through organisations like the 50,000-strong The International Alliance for Women (TIAW), of which I’m a Board member. They do wonderful things like promote micro-credit, mentoring and entrepreneurship.

As an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

Nurture the people who give to you, always give back. Also, someone I spoke to recently said that one of his mottos was ‘you can’t have two faces’. Treat everyone with equal respect. That is so true.

How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

In my heart, my family – including my extended family – takes precedence, which is probably owing to my Asian roots. They know this, so their behaviours enable me to give my work precedence if that makes sense.

What’s a major regret that you’ve had in life?

That I didn’t spend enough time with my two younger sisters when I was growing up. I was too busy wanting to be ‘one of the boys’ as I’m the middle child with two older brothers!

What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?

Respect yourself and all people; b) never give up and that’s different from cutting your losses c) know that you can’t know everything, d) trust in Someone or something higher; e) never forget to say thank you.

When you have some down time, how do you spend it?

A good book, French choral music or a Bach cantata. I also enjoy listening to Beethoven’s piano concertos, particularly when rendered by Mitsuko Uchida.

What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Reading almost everything I can get hold of, including adverts in the tube. Walking around London. Talking to people.

What’s your favourite quotation and why?

In dreams begin responsibilities – Yeats. It shows that imagination and desire aren’t enough; we have to take action to make things come true.

How do you define success?

Being content with what you have, but knowing you have journeyed from here to there and not stood still.

In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

The same as luck – the marriage of preparation and opportunity.

What are the steps you took to succeed in your field?

Generally, I was never afraid to try something new and see where it would lead.  I didn’t have fixed ideas and notions about myself. When I did, I knocked on the right doors. But I was lucky always to have an orbit of good and wise people around me for support.

If trusted friends could introduce you to five people that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose? And what would you say to them?

Audrey Hepburn – ‘How did you do it?’ – Her elegance and style are almost cliche, but she is after all an icon. She was apparently a very decent person, and she took her UN charity work extremely seriously. She had an aura of quiet dignity.

Virginia Woolf – ‘Why did you do it?’ – She was the subject of my Masters dissertation years back at Newcastle University, and I focused on her voluminous diaries.  Her death was abrupt and premature, although not surprising given her history of illness, and it deprived literature of a razor sharp pen. I like the way she to an extent turned her back on stifling upper-class Victorian tradition and was unashamed to use her brains, talent and art to make a living. To me, she’s part of the tradition of great women adventurers and innovators — she introduced us to a whole new landscape of writing.

Siri Hustvedt – ‘How did you learn to think and write like that?’ – Her books, specifically What I Loved and The Sorrows of An American are deep and unusual character studies and she offers not so much plots as enquiries. They’re quite unnerving, and always beautifully written.

Hillary Clinton – ‘What keeps you going?’ – She is a marvel to watch, because she never stops pushing boundaries.  I was trying to choose between her and Nancy Pelosi, but running for President, being a Senator and now Secretary of State nudges her a couple of feet forward. Few make the mistake now of referencing her as the wife of Bill Clinton.

F Scott Fitzgerald – ‘Who was Jay Gatsby?’ – Another writer, I’m afraid, but the truth of The Great Gatsby and the fascinating circus that was the jazz age revisited us in the last three decades, imploding less than two years ago. So much been written about them, but I don’t think we’ll ever unlock the mysteries lurking behind our modern day Jay Gatsbys.

Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply? Did you have an emotional or intellectual attachment to this book? Why?

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I read it every year for four consecutive years in my teens. It was about honouring land, tradition and a way of life, but also about rebuilding things that had been destroyed and accepting change.

The noblest characters weren’t always the main ones, which has some universal truth  about it.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are five books that you would like to have with you and why? Summarize the book in two sentences.

The Bible – Timeless wisdom and, depending on the edition, arguably the best written novel in history – and every word rings true.

Gone with the Wind –Margaret Mitchell.  The American Civil War signals the end of an era.  One woman decides she must not only survive the change, but thrive in it.

A Summons to Memphis – Peter Taylor – Pulitzer Prize novel about a  son who discovers the meaning of forgiveness when summoned home to help his sisters keep an elderly father from remarrying.

New Hart’s Rules – The handbook of Style for Writers and Editors – All the guidance you need to get the technicalities right.

Letters Between Six Sisters – edited by Charlotte Moseley – the glamorous and scandalous Mitford girls, in their own words

Have you read any books that inspired you to start a business, service or invent “something”? If yes, which book?

No book in particular, but I have always read business journals and magazines – Fortune, Business Week, the Economist.  As it happens, as much for the style as the content.

What one music CD and movie would you like to have with you (on the deserted island) and why?

French Choral Music by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge directed by Timothy Brown.

Shoot the Moon, a film directed by Alan Parker. Ostensibly sad, but ultimately life affirming…especially for women with ‘Faith’

What excites you about life?

People, and the endless possibilities for innovation and reinvention.

How do you nurture your soul?

Good music and good books. The Zoroastrians – and I have met many to admire — have a good mantra: good thoughts, good words, good deeds, which seems to be a recipe for peace of mind.

If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for? Or, if I gave you a magic wand, what would you use it for?

That my son grows up to be decent and successful, in that order.

Complete the following, I am happy when…

I am working, and when surrounded by family and friends.

What aspects of Gina’s story can you apply to your situation? What would be your five great ideas and takeaways from this interview? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

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About Gina McAdam

Before founding Stratemarco, a successful London-based marketing and communications consultancy, in 2003, Gina was Head of Marketing and later Head of Policy Development & Public Affairs for the National Training Organisation for the UK hospitality and tourism sector. Today, she is a highly-regarded communications expert whose work brings her into regular contact with leaders of some of the best known brands in the UK and global hospitality and tourism industry. Highly versatile, she also undertakes assignments for key public,private and voluntary organisations beyond the sector.

Gina was raised near Washington DC and Manila. Moving away from the family traditions of law, banking, agriculture and medicine, she started her career in advertising for Ace-Compton/Saatchi & Saatchi in Manila where she handled various Proctor & Gamble accounts, and at J Walter Thompson Advertising Company, handling the Anne Klein, Cacharel and SC Johnson brands. After that, she travelled extensively, writing and teaching in Madrid and working in publishing in New York. Today, she is regularly invited to contribute pieces to publications in the Far East – it is her way of keeping in touch with her Asian roots.

Highly committed to diversity in the workplace, Gina has been on the board of City Women’s Network (CWN) and is now on the board of The International Alliance of Women (TIAW). She is a member of the European Professional Women’s Network and a Changemaker for the UK charity Working Families.

Gina is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Marketors, and a member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), for whom she was a guest speaker at the 2008 IABC Eurocomm Conference in Barcelona. She is a member of the Institute of Director, and holds an MA in English & American Literature from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and is an alumnus of De La Salle University, Manila and Henley Management College, Windsor.

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This week on Tuesday and Wednesday I present Gina McAdam. For new subscribers I interview highly accomplished people from all walks of life and locations to share their wisdom and experience. All interviewees are asked the same questions, so it’s always interesting to see the diversity of responses. Gina like many successful people plans for her day the night before by checking her schedule, what about you? Her responses to the question, “What are three threats to your business and how are you handling them?” is quite surprising so look for her responses. Her response to “What’s one core message you received from your mentors?” is ” Don’t hide your light under a bushel,” resonated with me, and I’m sure will resonate with others, especially women because we often tone down our accomplishments and are often the best kept secret. I know that people are often surprised by some of my accomplishments. Because listening is such a critical skill please zero in on her response to her biggest failure.

There is a wealth of information that can assist us in attaining professional success, this is my contribution to getting you there.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I’m a wife and mother who runs her own strategic marketing and communications consultancy in London, with a portfolio of very exciting clients.

I’m steeped in the commercial world now, but a few years ago I was involved a lot more in government-funded programmes. There was the strategic planning and delivery of the government’s agenda for upskilling the workforce through vocational training. I even produced a study on the problem of ‘worklessness’ and prepared enterprise development strategy reports for London.  A totally different spectrum.

The fact that I work with people with similar values to mine helps. After the ‘me-first’ culture of the last decade, a sense of community and collaboration is important. Being part of peer networks, such as the Worshipful Company of Marketors, the City livery company for marketing professionals, is excellent because it has a civic and charity focus as well.  I’m also very keen to help raise the profile and economic empowerment of women, through organisations like the 50,000-strong The International Alliance for Women (TIAW), of which I’m a Board member. They do wonderful things like promote micro-credit, mentoring and entrepreneurship.

What’s a typical day like for you?

Up at 6am and sometimes before, check my emails, run through the things I have to do for the day. If I’m not headed out the door, wait till 8.30 or 9am to start the phone calls. Lunch with a friend, client or associate – sometimes that’s one person rolled into one. Meetings or work delivering on projects occupy the main part of the day.

How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

I’m always excited about what a new day brings, and the chance to learn something I didn’t know. In a role that calls for dealing with people, the interaction is the thing. Even old friends and contacts bring something fresh each time you see them.

If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

I sometimes wonder what would have happened had I accepted an offer in my twenties to write in Florence for a year, shutting out the rest of the world.  But that was just my parents being indulgent and I was quite romantic then.

What’s the most important business (or other) discovery you’ve made in the past year?

If you’re good at what you do and are open and resourceful, regardless of the economic climate, there will always be something for you.

What’s one of the biggest advances in your industry over the past five years?

Although my work is essentially marketing and communications, it straddles many different industries. One of the biggest changes has to be the rise of digital and specifically social media, and my clients are all very excited about the possibilities of Twitter, You Tube, Facebook and even Linkedin.  People will always demand solid, well-crafted and thought out content, but the channels and tools available to express them are revolutionising the way people do business and communicate with their customers.

In terms of the hospitality and tourism industry, where many of my clients sit, I would say that more women across the world are taking on the big operational roles of general management, or becoming managing directors and CEOs.  There is also the trend for international companies to hire local talent rather than merely parachute in expats. One of the oldest, most prestigious hotels in Asia appointed its first female, Chinese general manager a few years ago. And it’s been a great success. Also, there’s a lot more use of new technologies, and of course the consumer’s awareness of the environment has wrought positive change.

What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?

Three questions come to mind – can I keep up the energy levels? Are my clients safe and secure? Will my family always be this supportive? In terms of the first, I try to look after my health; second, I try to add as much value as possible to my clients’ business; and third, I show my husband and son that they are more important than anything.

What’s unique about the service that you provide?

I think it’s the ‘personal touch’ and becoming part of my clients’ team and not just a service provider. It’s important that they know you are with them every step of the  way.

Also, because of my international background – I was born and raised in Manila, but spent some of my formative years in the US, studied in the UK and worked in Asia, America and Europe, the last twenty years in London  – I can bring the positive sensibilities of different worlds to the table.

What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?

I tend to operate amongst fantastic, hard-working ‘can do’ people and this field is awash with them. If there’s anything we do badly, it’s not stopping often or long enough to relax and smell the roses. I’m as guilty as the rest, often working during holidays too. Not good! I’m sure we’re all trying to work smarter, but in our field, we have to keep up with the speed of communication.

Describe a major business (or other) challenge you had and how you resolved it.

It was a situation involving divergent business practices and beliefs.  When this occurs, you are best to cut your losses.

What lessons did you learn in the process?

Sometimes you just have to walk away.

Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

I was moonlighting as a journalist at university when I was assigned to interview a hotshot female advertising executive in Manila. After that, she asked me if I’d ever consider going into advertising after graduation. She became my first ever boss. Her name was J M Rebueno, and I’ve never forgotten her.

Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?

It was probably a personal one, over a decade ago. I lost a whole year’s joy with one of the very best people I’ll ever know because of something silly. But we’re now closer than ever and a lot of my success is down to my friend’s deep and abiding support. The lesson is always to listen to what the other person says, even when they’re not saying it.

What has been your biggest disappointment in your life – and what are you doing to prevent its reoccurrence?

I try not to dwell on setbacks.

What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?

Deciding to leave Europe for New York, after having lived and worked happily in Madrid for more than three years.  But it was something I had to do. As it happens, New York eventually led me back to London, where I have been ever since.

What are three events that helped to shape your life?

Just one, really. My father’s death in 1990 was a huge blow, as he had been a great mentor and source of wisdom.  Outwardly he was a traditionalist but his liberal spirit allowed all his children the freedom to choose their own lives. The death of a parent catapults you into the next generation, they say, and it’s true. Your whole perspective changes and suddenly you feel much, much older.

What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

Hands down, my son Harry.

How did mentors influence your life?

Their kindness and generosity, sharing their time, ideas, experiences and contacts, impressed me deeply. This gave strength when one needed it, and also a key through many doors that may have otherwise remained locked or unnoticed. Their bright example is what made me want to be a mentor as well. In 2008, I was thrilled to be named Shine Outstanding Mentor of the Year. Shine is a national industry award for female talent management in the UK hospitality and tourism industry. It was started in London by two ladies of Italian origin who wanted to make a difference to how women were seen and wanted to see themselves in the industry.

What’s one core message you received from your mentors?

Don’t hide your light under a bushel.

Which resources (books, movies, training etc.) did your mentors recommend to you?

One fabulous mentor, Diane Morris who runs TIAW, recommended that I join and get involved in good networks. I have never looked back since. Someone who is less a mentor than a caring colleague has always signposted me to great articles, events, people and organisations.  Through him I’ve got involved in the Oxford Brookes University Bacchus Mentoring programme for final year hospitality management students. I now mentor a very motivated girl from Sweden and a very bright young man from Hong Kong.

What aspects of Gina’s story can you apply to your situation? What would be your five great ideas and takeaways from this interview? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

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About Gina McAdam

Before founding Stratemarco, a successful London-based marketing and communications consultancy, in 2003, Gina was Head of Marketing and later Head of Policy Development & Public Affairs for the National Training Organisation for the UK hospitality and tourism sector. Today, she is a highly-regarded communications expert whose work brings her into regular contact with leaders of some of the best known brands in the UK and global hospitality and tourism industry. Highly versatile, she also undertakes assignments for key public,private and voluntary organisations beyond the sector.

Gina was raised near Washington DC and Manila. Moving away from the family traditions of law, banking, agriculture and medicine, she started her career in advertising for Ace-Compton/Saatchi & Saatchi in Manila where she handled various Proctor & Gamble accounts, and at J Walter Thompson Advertising Company, handling the Anne Klein, Cacharel and SC Johnson brands. After that, she travelled extensively, writing and teaching in Madrid and working in publishing in New York. Today, she is regularly invited to contribute pieces to publications in the Far East – it is her way of keeping in touch with her Asian roots.

Highly committed to diversity in the workplace, Gina has been on the board of City Women’s Network (CWN) and is now on the board of The International Alliance of Women (TIAW). She is a member of the European Professional Women’s Network and a Changemaker for the UK charity Working Families.

Gina is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Marketors, and a member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), for whom she was a guest speaker at the 2008 IABC Eurocomm Conference in Barcelona. She is a member of the Institute of Director, and holds an MA in English & American Literature from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and is an alumnus of De La Salle University, Manila and Henley Management College, Windsor.