The Invisible Mentor

The Invisible Mentor Week in Review

Avil Beckford — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:30:00 +0000

This is what we talked about on The Invisible Mentor Blog this week: Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwel, Black History Month – Madam C J Walker, Operated the Largest Black-Owned Business in the Early Twentieth Century, and Carol McManus, America’s LinkedIn Lady.

Adventures in Learning

Mentoring in Moments at Socialize Toronto

Booked for Mentoring

I have been reading Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell for over two months, and it’s the first time I have ever taken so long to read a book that I actually enjoyed. I have read at least 20 other books during the two months, but I needed a lot of time to digest and process what I was reading in Outliers. When you hear about Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, the first thing that often comes to mind is that it takes 10,000 to master a subject. However the book is so much more than that.

Booked for Mentoring: Review – Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

Wisdom of Life Profile

This month is Black History Month and we will start off with Madam C J Walker, and follow up with other profiles of people who contributed to black history. Madam C J Walker took her $1.50 in savings and turned it into a $117,000 business in eight short years – the next year she was a featured speaker at the National Negro Business League Conference. It is worthy to note that Madam Walker was able to send her daughter to college from the money she made as a laundress.

Black History Month – Madam C J Walker, Operated the Largest Black-Owned Business in the Early Twentieth Century

Interviews for Mentoring

This week we featured Carol McManus, America’s LinkedIn Lady. Some of the biggest messages from the interview are the importance of having sponsors, mentors, and being open to opportunities. Here are Part One and Part Two of Carol McManus’ interview.

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Interview With Invisible Mentor Carol McManus, America’s LinkedIn Lady Part II

Avil Beckford — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:30:57 +0000

“You want to align yourself with people who believe in you and can see things in you that you don’t see in yourself.” Carol McManus, America’s LinkedIn Lady

Invisible Mentor: Carol McManus, America’s LinkedIn Lady

Company Name: LinkedIn Lady

Website: http://www.linkedinlady.com, http://ywait4success.com/

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Carol McManus: I’m an entrepreneur. I left the corporate world in 2007 to start a coaching, consulting and leadership development company. I built that company to six figures using social media. My business has moved over to social media expertise and I’m now known as America’s LinkedIn Lady.

Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

Carol McManus: It’s easy especially now. I have always been a balanced person. I learned many years ago that you have to turn it off. Whatever you choose to do, whether it’s family or friends or personal activities, or the pets or the children, you have to separate that from business. In my case, there comes a certain point in the day, and it’s toward the end of the normal business day, sometimes it’s 5:30, sometimes it’s 6:30, or 7:00 pm, but when I turn off business, I’m done for the day and the rest of the evening is devoted to me and my husband. We don’t have children at home so it’s really about us, our time together. That’s my world and it doesn’t necessarily apply to other people.

My advice from my own integration, you want your business to support your personal life and your personal life to support your business. At the end of the day you have to set the rules on how you balance them because if you let either one get out of balance, the other one is going to suffer.

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

Carol McManus: My down time is creative time for me. I have a couple of hobbies. I like to write so I often write. I love to read, but my physical creative activity is I love to do flower arranging with silk and artificial flowers and make different types of decorations. I find that very therapeutic so it doesn’t involve other people. It’s time for me to go into myself and be creative and do things which in my world brings beauty and satisfaction for me, but it has nothing to do with anything else that’s going on around me.

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

Carol McManus:

Always be true to yourself. I remember my daddy telling me when I was a little girl that at the end of the day, the only person you have to sleep with is yourself. What he meant by that is you always have to be responsible for yourself.
My father was very passionate about me being able to be independent, not that he didn’t wish for me to be married, and have children, and a wonderful life, and someone to share my life with, but because he grew up in the Depression he was passionate about wanting me to stand on my own two feet. That’s a second lesson I learned and it goes hand-in-hand with being true to yourself.
Don’t take yourself too seriously and always be able to laugh at yourself.
You have to have humour in your life. Without humour a life can be pretty dismal and boring, and it makes you a dismal and boring person to be around so find ways to bring laughter into your life. And if it doesn’t come naturally to you then seek people who are fun to be around and share that joy. Go buy a video of I love Lucy TV series, which will make you laugh.
We only have one life, and the richness, satisfaction and depth that you get from life – and we don’t know when that life is going to end, life is very precious and for some it ends far too soon, and for some who live healthy lives it goes on forever. You only have one life and you are the only one who can ultimately control that, so having goals and knowing what it is you want to accomplish and what you can give back to the world, what is your legacy going to be, and I don’t mean legacy etched on Mt Rushmore with the presidents’ profiles because for most of us it’s nothing nearly that dramatic. But for all of us, leave a legacy, even if it’s only with your own family, or your neighbours or the people you interact with. But being conscious of that, and taking ownership for what you leave behind is the other big life lesson for me. And it’s something that I try to work on a little bit every day.

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Carol McManus: I will give two answers to that because it comes up in two forms. I come up with a lot of ideas just when I’m in my own head. That could be when I’m listening to music, taking a walk or driving in the car. I let my mind wander, go, and think creatively. When I’m doing some of these crafty things I find I’m also creative and come up with great ideas. But having said that, the development and the richness of those ideas, come to fruition when I bring people into the conversation. I love to brainstorm and debate with people. I want them to challenge me and take the seed of an idea and help me improve it because I know I can’t do it all by myself. I’m very much an open book, so it’s letting me be creative in my own head, and then testing the market, but really using other people’s attitudes and experiences and impressions so that you can improve on what you thought was a really good idea to begin with. It always gets better.

Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?

Carol McManus: It’s a quote from Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, either way you’re right.” I’m paraphrasing a little bit but it’s so absolutely, 1,000 percent true. If you think you can do something, you’re going to put yourself subconsciously on a path to make it happen. If you think you can’t do it, you’re going to subconsciously put yourself on a path that it will never happen. Based on everything you’ve heard so far, you always try to put yourself on a path that you really have to believe in it and the tools and resources will come into your life to help you let things become real. If on the other hand you think you can’t, guess what, that’s going to be the reality.

Avil Beckford: How do you define success? And in your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Carol McManus: I define success as happiness. I think success is whatever ultimately makes people happy. And it’s defined differently for different people. For me, it’s the joy of being able to sleep peaceably at nights, that I’m able to provide for myself and the family, that I’m getting personal and professional satisfaction out of what I’m doing, that I’m influencing and impacting other people’s lives, and that I’m having fun doing it. So it’s all packaged together, it’s not just monetary, or about specific accomplishments, and it’s not just about joy, it’s all of that wrapped together. And I think every person needs to define what that is for themselves, and I don’t think anyone can say, “This is the formula for success.” If there is a formula, you need to define the pieces of what success is for you.

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

Carol McManus: Because I have a training background, I have always been the best student. I’m a teacher’s dream if you will because throughout my entire adult life, long since I left the college classroom, I’ve always taken courses or programs or conferences to be around people, and I think that has contributed to my success. My field has changed, my specialty has changed, it’s gone from sales to operations to executive to entrepreneur or to coaching to consulting to social media, so my career has had many dimensions to it. But at each level, I think my success came because I was first and foremost a good student, and invested the time, effort and energy through reading, listening to others, observing or mentoring under others, how they did what they did, that I could become the best at it that I could.

And if I found that I was on a path that didn’t feel comfortable, it didn’t feel right, or it was taking me off track, then I would stop and take another direction.

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

Carol McManus: Invest in yourself and continue to learn whatever you are learning. But in today’s world, I’m going to add something else to that answer, is that you always want to keep your eyes and ears open to the possibilities. We’re in a very different world today than the world I grew up in. When I grew up, there was an expectation that you got an education, you chose a career, and that sort of became your life path. And I was fortunate in that, that was the direction my life took, and it was only at the later stage of my life that it took a new direction. And what I mean by that is social media because when I left the corporate world four years ago, if someone told me that I was going to be a social media expert, I would have laughed. It wasn’t on my radar screen, but the world we’re in today, we have to be nimble and flexible, times are changing, things are happening at a rapid rate, technology has dramatically changed. The speed at which things happen, the speed at which we communicate, I think anyone, regardless of age, if you’re starting out today you certainly want to be goal oriented, but at the same time you want to know that those goals are not etched in stone, that other doors and opportunities may open, and you want to be open to those possibilities. So don’t get too locked in, that you miss the acres of diamonds that are right under your feet.

Avil Beckford: 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?

Carol McManus: I love this question because I could come up with 50 people that I’d love to meet.

Abraham Lincoln: He was not a popular man, he was not a popular president, but he had leadership qualities that were so critical, and a true turning point in this country’s history. I would love to sit and chat with him about what he thought were the solutions to the country’s problems at the time, what were the key decisions and how did he make those decisions to lead the country in a more positive direction.
Jack Welch: He is an extraordinary story, and there are many well-documented corporate executives in America, but Jack Welch because of his history of being able to do turnaround situations and to turn lemons into lemonades. I read his book, but beyond the heart and soul of what made him tick, and the kinds of things that kept him up at night that allowed him to accomplish what he accomplished.
Martha Stewart: I would love to sit and have a conversation with her. Martha is a lightening rod. I find as I talk with people, people either love her or hate her, but what you cannot deny about Martha Stewart is that she is an extraordinary self-made woman with self-made success. She is focused and very successful and continues to reinvent herself. She is a model for always seeing the next opportunity. Again, I want to know what makers her tick, how does she think, what kinds of people does she surround herself with, what are her tolerances and intolerances. The other thing I admire about her, and it may be because of the space that she’s in, but she seems to be someone who has this balance of what’s important to her in her personal life and what gives her joy, and her dog comes to mind. She is famous for her chow chow dogs, her home and farm, but at the same time, she is passionate about her business and what drives her business and her brand.
Lou Holtz: Because coaching is part of my repertoire, I heard Lou speak on multiple occasions. I’ve listened to his videos, he to me is the epitome of an inspirational coach and someone who in multiple challenges, not just Notre Dame but University of South Carolina and other places he was over his career, he has great quotes and great inspiration, and I would like to sit and talk to him about the lessons he had learned as a coach. I would actually ask him some of the questions that you asked me.
From a more introspective level and understanding beyond the surface and the obvious. I tend to be focused on the now, but I’m a reader and follower of Deepak Chopra’s teachings and if I could ever have an hour to sit and talk to him, to really understand at a deeper level how I can understand myself, and take myself to a deeper level, that would be joyous.

Avil Beckford: Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply?

Carol McManus: That’s easy for me because the answer is the The Art of War by Sun Tzu. It’s not a new book by any stretch of the imagination. It’s been out there for a very long time. To me, the BI is the guiding light, the “bible” for business, life, for how to communicate , negotiate, strategize, for all of the things we are talking about, that are a part of my business and personal repertoire – it’s all right there in that book and I’ve referred to it, reread it many times. I try to read it once a year.

Avil Beckford: You are one of the 10 finalists on the reality show, So, How Would You Spend Your Time? Each finalist is placed on separate deserted islands for two years. You have a basic hut on the island and all the tools for survival; you just have to be imaginative and inventive when using them. You are allowed to take five books, one movie and one music CD, and whatever else you take has to fit in one suitcase and a travel on case. What would you take with you and how would you spend the two years? T he prize is worth your while and at this stage in the game there really aren’t any losers among the 10 finalists, since each are guaranteed at least $2 million?

Carol McManus:

Two Years

Survival would be first and foremost because you have to have shelter and you have to feed yourself. For me personally, having a creative soul, I would write, write, write because I think if you have two years to spend with yourself everything that’s inside of you, and everything that you can imagine needs to come out and needs to be shared. That’s how I would spend the majority of my time when I wasn’t in survival mode.

Five Books

The Art of War, Sun Tzu
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials) – It’s a marvellous book because you have to have that expectation that you are in fact going to get off this island. That might take some negotiation and persuasion, skills that have served me well. It’s a book that I read regularly because as human beings that’s all we do is communicate and negotiate with people.
Animal Farm by George Orwell: There are lots of good lessons there on how to survive.
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman: Or something similar to that. It’s a compilation of poems. It’s very inspirational and I think if you were on a deserted island you would have those moments where you needed to reflect and see the joy and beauty in life.
Milton Berle’s Private Joke File: Over 10,000 of His Best Gags, Anecdotes, and One-Liners: It’s the greatest book ever. He is a renowned stand up comic.

Movie and Music CD

My all time favourite music CD is Tapestry-Legacy Edition (2-CD) by Carol King. I find all of the music she has written over the years, she didn’t sing, she wrote more than she actually sang, but that was such an influential, and remains an influential CD to me because there is so much inspiration and hidden messages in the music. I have listened to it over and over again and never get tired.

The movie is a tough one because there are so many to choose from. The one I choose would be the absolutely most outrageous, that would cause me to laugh and that would be Blazing Saddles (30th Anniversary Special Edition) because it is truly one of the most ridiculous movies ever made but every time I see it I never cease to laugh. I never cease to see new nuances and I think that’s something I would want to spend my time with.

Blazing Saddles – Movie Trailer

If you cannot view the YouTube video, please click here.

Carole King – Tapestry

If you cannot view the YouTube video, please click here.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Carol McManus: Life and people. I love being around people. If there is a challenge that I had, going from the corporate world to being a solopreneur, and commuting versus working out of a home office it was separation from every day having the interface with people. So I have crafted my business so that is part of my day now because I think the opportunities in life are endless. We don’t happily live in this world on a deserted island by ourselves and if you don’t take joy in the people who are around you and appreciate something about everybody regardless of who they are, where they came from, what they do, we are all a unique special person. I just love to talk to people, find out what’s of interest to them and it’s part of that expanded life – our universal life together. That’s what gives me joy and what I try to bring to the people around me.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Carol McManus: Reflection and meditation. It’s supplemented by everything we talked about – the reading and the music and the creative outlets. The real nurturing comes from the downtime, the quiet time, the reflective time. It’s a learned skill that has served me well. I wish I had learned to meditate much earlier in life because it does really amazing things to center you and recharge your batteries so you can continue to move forward.

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

Carol McManus: Good health for me and mankind. And where that comes from, it starts from a very personal place as I watched my father’s declining health. I had my mother come live with us in her later years with her declining health, her sister also because my aunt didn’t have children. As a young child, I went through health issues with my grandparents on both sides of the family. As I get older and the bones start to creak, things start to go wrong, you realize that the joy of life and the ability to do the things you want to do is all grounded in good health. I do believe that all the health issues we’re facing today, whether it’s cancer, heart disease on one end of the spectrum and things that alarm me are autism and ADHD at the other end of the spectrum, I personally have a strong belief that a lot of this is environmentally influenced. If I had one wish for the genie, it would be to wave her magic wand or whatever she uses to give good health to everyone because once you have health then there are no boundaries to what we can do.

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

Carol McManus: I’m talking to people like you because you stimulate me and I’m absolutely being sincere about that. This has been a delightful experience and what I mean by that is that interaction with other really smart, savvy people, that stimulate me, that cause me not to not only give and share my thoughts, but forces me to go in, think about and test myself and my own boundaries.

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Video Credits: Blazing Saddles – Movie Trailer Uploaded by zuguidemovietrailers on Apr 15, 2010, Carole King – Tapestry Uploaded by raymaclean on Dec 29, 2008

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Interview With Invisible Mentor Carol McManus, America’s LinkedIn Lady

Avil Beckford — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:38:27 +0000

“You want to align yourself with people who believe in you and can see things in you that you don’t see in yourself.” Carol McManus, America’s LinkedIn Lady

Invisible Mentor: Carol McManus, America’s LinkedIn Lady

Company Name: LinkedIn Lady

Website: http://www.linkedinlady.com, http://ywait4success.com/

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Avil Beckford: What’s a typical day like for you?

Carol McManus: I’m like most entrepreneurs, I don’t know if there is a typical day, but I do have a routine that I try to follow so I can stay on top of things. My day starts early and I try to deal with paper, emails and even the social media. I try to get all of those things out of the way so I can focus the rest of the day on existing business, networking and developing new businesses, and how that’s split up on any given day depends on the schedule and the calendar. At the end of the week I want to make sure that I’ve allocated enough time for each of those three things.

Avil Beckford: How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

Carol McManus: I motivate myself because I’m a goal-driven person, so my motivation is driven by my goals. I stay focused on what I’m trying to achieve, not just monetary goals, but what the income and achievement of those goals is going to do for my life and family. To stay motivated is to keep reminding yourself of why you get up everyday and go to work. My goal summary is on my bulleting board, right in front of my face, I look at it every day. When I achieve a goal I get great satisfaction of being able to cross it off the list, or change the number, or raise the bar a bit. I think it’s that visual reinforcement that keeps me motivated and plus I have my husband who is my biggest supporter and champion and also my nudge. What I mean by that he is also the person who motivates me and if he thinks I’m straying or need a pep talk, then he is right there for me.

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

Carol McManus: That’s a very hard question because I am not a person who lives with regret. The challenge as a coach, one of the things that I see with people, is that they invest a lot of time and energy trying to reset the clock and change things. And the fact of the matter is you can’t. I’ve had good experiences, bad experiences, challenging experiences, and extraordinary experiences, and all of those led to the totality of who I am now. The honest truth is that I’m not sure I would do anything differently because it wouldn’t have gotten me to where I am now – it would have led me on a different path.

Avil Beckford: What’s the most important business or other discovery you’ve made in the past year?

Carol McManus: I think the most important discovery for me is the fact that in spite of what’s going on in the world, and that’s more economically driven, that statement, than anything else, we as individuals and business people can own and take control of it, and the people who are succeeding, and in fact thriving in this environment are the people who have the right attitude. I always thought I was a positive person and had a good attitude but I never really focused on how much that has served me. I think for me the discovery was how important that was and it caused me to reinforce the need to keep a positive attitude. And I’m not talking Pollyanna with rose-coloured glasses. I’m talking about knowing that in every opportunity there is possibility. If you focus on the possibility, you’re going to end up with a better solution than if you focus on the challenges and the obstacles.

Avil Beckford: What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them? Carol McManus:

I think a potential threat to any business is competition so I keep an eye on the competition, but I don’t focus on it. I think it’s more of a peripheral awareness of what other people are doing, how can I learn from that, how can I reposition my business to either respond to it or counter it. So that’s definitely number one.
I’d be foolish to say that the economy is not a potential threat because we are still in unstable times economically and there are simply things you cannot control. So a potential threat is if it spirals out of control then I would definitely have to retool and adjust.
I would potentially be the third threat to myself, and I think that’s true for all business people, is that if you take your eye off the ball, you take your eyes off the goals and become complacent, that can be the worst possible thing for your business. You always have to be checking yourself and reinvesting in yourself and recharging your own batteries so you’re always operating at an optimal level.

Avil Beckford: What’s unique about the service that you provide?

Carol McManus: There are a lot of people in the social media space, and there are two things that make me unique. Number One I’m a baby boomer so I’m not of the generation that grew up with electronic in the crib so to speak. They came into my business world and my life much later. It’s a learned skill for me and because it’s a learned skill I think I have a different perspective and appreciation of the technologies that are available to us today. The second piece going back to social media I think what makes me unique against my competitors is that I don’t consider myself to be a point and click approach to social media, I don’t worry about the technology and the tools and the mechanics. There are lots of people who do that better than I do. In fact, I outsource most of that for myself, what I focus on is my business experience. I focus on social media from a strategic standpoint, and when I sit with a client we talk about business goals and marketing message, ideal target client and then talk about how social media can serve that. I don’t recommend for example, that people jump in and start tweeting all day long because if there isn’t a real business objective, and a real direction as to where you want to go, it’s not going to serve your business. I think that’s a different approach than a lot of people in the social media space take.

Avil Beckford: Describe a major business or other challenge you had and how you resolved it. What kind of lessons did you learn in the process?

Carol McManus: My major challenge in life is to stay focused in the moment. I have been very blessed in my career to have new opportunities offered to me, and I can think of one specific example where I was more focused on something else that was going on, another opportunity, than focusing on the job that was in the moment. This is not only a reflection for myself but also advice for everyone, that whatever your current responsibilities are whether you’re working for yourself or you’re working for somebody else you want to focus on what your responsibility is and do that to your very best ability because it’s through that accomplishment that you will get noticed and promoted, advanced or have new opportunities open up for you. You can’t always be looking at the horizon and at the next shiny object that dangles itself in front of you. You really have to stay focused on the now – the present.

Avil Beckford: Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

Carol McManus: My big break came from one of my mentors. I was with one company for 27 years, and again I had a very blessed career, which I’m very grateful for, but this person at an early time in my career really took me under his wings and gave me reflective feedback that I needed to help shape my career, was able to point out skills and possibilities that I didn’t necessarily see in myself, and then became my champion in the organization to open up that door to new opportunities. That was huge for me, so it’s definitely tied to a mentor. At the time he was not my direct line supervisor, but he became my direct line supervisor later on, but we were at different places in the organization but he took an interest in my career and then opened those doors so again, the side piece of advice there is you want to align yourself with people who believe in you and can see things in you that you don’t see in yourself and obviously help to open those doors.

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

Carol McManus: One of my biggest failures, you’re only giving me one! I can think of many things that I started and for whatever reason didn’t get to the finish line. And again, there is a bigger lesson here, when I have failed, it was when I failed to follow-through. I am an idea person. I’m a strategist, so I do come up with a lot of cool ideas, some of which in retrospect I should have followed through on, so it’s a general answer to a question. But for the first 10 or 15 years of my career, it was a pattern where I would start something and not get it to the finish line, start something and not get it to the finish line. From that, I consider it to be a collective failure and the lesson is, and this is where goals come in, if you have clear goals and a vision, and you’re laser focused on what it’s going to take to get there, then you’re more likely to put yourself on a path to accomplish it, and take it all the way to the finish line.

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

Carol McManus: That’s a personal answer and it’s walking away from my first marriage. It was at a time where there was an age difference between us and we were at different points in our lives, there was nothing horrible, no big custody battles, there was no fighting or bickering like a lot of people go through in a divorce. But it was simply a decision that if we continued on the path that we were on, it was going to end badly, so making that decision in a timely fashion, that this was not going to serve either of us, and walking away from it. It was a very tough decision, but for both of us the best decision that I ever made. Both of us went on to live very happy lives, and we both found new spouses and it ended up having a happy ending. I don’t care what the circumstances are, whether volatile or not volatile, ending a marriage that you made a commitment and went into thinking you were going to live with this person for the rest of your life is not an easy thing, or should be an easy thing to walk away from.

Avil Beckford: What are three events that helped to shape your life?

Carol McManus:

Where I went to college and what I studied because I went to America University and studied political science which gave me an opportunity throughout college to work on Capitol Hill. It shaped my perspective about the country and politics in general, but it gave me a greater appreciation of not just the fundamentals of democracy, but honestly and truly, how to get things done, and it was a great foundation for my business experience.
Around that same time, I had the opportunity to go to Woodstock in New York back when the real Woodstock happened, and while I was not of the hippie generation, it was a fluke that I was even there it shaped my life because it was the antithesis of the environment that I had been living in on Capitol Hill with the free form and the music – a total different appreciation for seeing the world on a bigger platform and everything that was tied to it, not just the event Woodstock, but everything that was tied to the movement in the sixties having to do with social consciousness and the protest about the war, really gave me a life path to be able to separate what’s important and what’s really important or what you think is important versus what is important.
The third would be to sell a small boutique company I had back in the seventies and go into a bigger environment, working in a corporate environment. It was a big departure for me because I grew up in an entrepreneurial family. My early career was very much as an entrepreneur and going into the corporate world totally changed me and shaped my perspective on how I did and saw things, helped me to develop my leadership skills, helped me to see things through various different lenses – through the human resources lens, the financial lens. Now that I have come full circle back to being an entrepreneur again, there is absolutely no question that, that experience makes me a better business person, a better service provider, a better strategist, all of those skills have served me very well.

Avil Beckford: What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

Carol McManus: The accomplishment I am proudest of is my most recent venture of claiming that title of America’s LinkedIn Lady. It’s the first time in my adult career, and in my life really, that I have had true personal brand identity, something that I feel I won, that I’m comfortable in, that I feel competent in and that has given me a personal brand. When you spend 27 years in a corporate environment, the identity is not about you, but the company and what’s good for the company. I was very comfortable with that, and it wasn’t that I wasn’t recognized or didn’t have name recognition within the organization, I did. But a very different thing happened when I went out on my own. When people meet me and say, “Oh, you’re America’s LinkedIn Lady.” I have been to events and have people say to me that they came to the event because they heard about me and wanted to hear what I had to say. That is not only flattering but it’s also daunting because it puts a big responsibility on your shoulder. It is definitely something I’m proud of, and it’s something I didn’t plan and aspire to, but the fact that it has happened, I can really enjoy it now.

Avil Beckford: How did mentors influence your life?

Carol McManus: I worked for a company that was owned by an even larger company, a male dominated company, and I was young coming up the corporate ladder, and I had a female mentor who was one of the only women who held senior positions in the company. I sought her out in terms of guiding me about how you compete, get noticed and recognized as a professional when you’re in a male-dominated company. Her advice to this day has served me well. There were several legs to it but basically it was be true to yourself first and foremost, be who you are – don’t try to be overly feminine and don’t try to be overly masculine, just focus on the job at hand and do it to the best of your ability. Unfortunately at the time, because this goes back a few years, women have come a long way, which I’m happy about, and in my small way I was a contributor to move it along this path. But at the time, women had to be better than men at what they did. So if men operated at a 100 percent, we needed to operate at 110 or 120 percent, and do it without malice or feeling guilty, or bitter that people aren’t recognizing you or you’re not getting paid. You just do it and that advice and the guidance she gave me is what opened more doors for me and helped to shape my career because I didn’t try to play the game that other women played in the workplace.

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

Carol McManus: The one core message was not to take yourself so damn seriously. And I say that with a big smile on my face because it’s advice that we can all take. Another way to phrase that is don’t believe your own press. What I mean by that is not to be cynical or sceptical about people, you should be proud of your successes, but I think when people let their ego get in the way, when you do get compliments, when you do get awards, when you get promotions, it’s very easy to slip into that pattern in thinking you’re great and have all the answers. None of us do and you can’t operate in the world today, in a family, a business unit, in a company, in a church or any other organization without the support of other people. I have had more than one person share that advice with me, which helped to keep me focused and keep each others focused. You are one person making a contribution and it’s always part of a bigger picture.

Avil Beckford: An invisible mentor is a unique leader you can learn things from by observing them from afar, in the capacity of an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

Carol McManus: Always act as though someone is watching. In other words, whatever you’re doing, pretend that you’re on stage and there is an audience in front of you, even surrounding you, who is not necessarily judging, just observing what’s going on. So if you’re always doing your best, being your best, putting your best foot forward, magical things will happen. You don’t have to go out and campaign for them, you don’t have to politic for them, you don’t have to beg for them, and you don’t have to demand them. They will happen, because when people notice you, when you’re at your best is when good things happen.

Interview With Invisible Mentor Stefan Meister, Director, intercultures (theinvisiblementor.com)
Interview With Invisible Mentor Stefan Meister, Director, intercultures, Part Two (theinvisiblementor.com)
Interviews for Mentoring: Invisible Mentor, Maggie Berry, Women in Technology (theinvisiblementor.com)
Interview With Invisible Mentor Jeanne-Marie Robillard, Senior Account Executive, National Speakers Bureau (theinvisiblementor.com)
Mentor Yourself: Interview With Maggie Berry, Women in Technology Part II (theinvisiblementor.com)
The Invisible Mentor Interviews Chris Kulbaba, Career and Employment Counsellor, Resume Writer, Facilitator, Public Speaker & LinkedIn Entrepreneur
The Invisible Mentor Interviews Chris Kulbaba, Career and Employment Counsellor, Resume Writer, Facilitator, Public Speaker & LinkedIn Entrepreneur Part Two

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Black History Month – Madam C J Walker, Operated the Largest Black-Owned Business in the Early Twentieth Century

Avil Beckford — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:30:15 +0000

This month is Black History Month and we will start off with Madam C J Walker, and follow up with other profiles of people who contributed to black history.

Image via Wikipedia

“Surely you are not going to shut the door in my face. I have been trying to tell you what I am doing. I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. I was promoted from there to the washtub. Then I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations. I know how to grow hair as well as I know how to grow cotton. I have built my own factory on my own ground.” Madam C J Walker at Booker T Washington’s National Negro Business League Conference (1912)

At that time, Black men discounted Black women’s entrepreneurial ventures even when they were successful. Madam CJ Walker had been trying to get the attention of Booker T Washington at his convention for three days and he ignored her efforts. She was forced to stand during the event and say what she had to say. As quoted above, immediately after she explained how she took her $1.50 in savings and turned it into a $117,000 business in eight short years – the next year she was a featured speaker at the National Negro Business League Conference. It is worthy to note that Madam Walker was able to send her daughter to college from the money she made as a laundress.

Name: Madam C J Walker (Sarah Breedlove McWilliams Walker)

Birth Date: December 1867 – May 1919

Job Functions: Entrepreneur, Hair-care Industry Pioneer, Philanthropist and Political Activist

Fields: Hair care

Known For: First female self-made millionaire in the United States

Born Sarah Breedlove to freed slaves on a cotton plantation, Madam CJ Walker was orphaned at age seven. She and her older sister survived by working in the cotton fields of Delta and Vicksburg, Mississippi. At age 14 Madam Walker married Moses McWilliams, and in 1887, at age 20 she was widowed with a 2-year old daughter. It is believed that her husband was lynched during a race riot. With an infant, little formal education and unskilled, Madam Walker had to find a way to take care of herself and her child.

That same year, she left the Mississippi for St. Louis where her four brothers were and established herself as a laundress. She did this for the next 18 years. Every day while she laundered her customers’ clothes, hands immersed in steaming water in the wash tub, her hands, face, and hair experienced the full impact of the steaming vapors of the chemicals and fumes from the strong detergents.

At the time, a common health problem among African American women was baldness, which was caused by poor diet, stressful working condition, illness, damaging hair care products and scalp disease. With all the difficulties in her life, and the rigors of her work, Madam Walker started to lose her hair – she had split ends and patches of bald spots. She used various beauty products that were touted to promote hair growth. She experimented with various chemicals to find the correct formulation that would aid in the care and grooming of the hair and skin of African American women.

To promote her laundry business, Madam Walker always wore freshly laundered, starched, and pressed clothes to highlight her skills. Immaculately dressed, in 1904, she attended an event hosted by the National Association of Colored Women at the St. Louis World’s Fair, where Booker T. Washington’s wife, Margaret Murray Washington was speaking.

Margaret Murray Washington was also elegantly dressed in silk with her hair pulled back from her face. This inspired Madam Walker to work harder to improve her looks because she was very conscious of the bald spots and broken hair. To supplement her income, Madam Walker registered as a sales agent for Annie M. Turnbo Malone’s Poro Company which sold hair mixes door-to-door. Walker was disappointed with the products and experimented with them in an effort to improve them.

She came up with a formula which she says she received in a dream. Madam Walker had some success selling her products in St. Louis, but she decided to move to Denver. Shortly after moving there, she met Charles J. Walker, who was a skilled publicist and newspaperman. He gave her tips on how to market and advertise her products. It is suggested that he told her to use the name Madam CJ Walker. The Walker business took off in Denver and the two married shortly after (1906).

Madam Walker created the Walker system which comprised of a broad offering of cosmetics, hair care products that removed the curls from African American women; licensed Walker Agents; and Walker Schools offered meaningful employment and personal growth to thousands of Black women.

Madam C J Walker in the National Archives

If you cannot view this YouTube video, please click here.

Madam C. J. Walker’s Journey to Success

She targeted an untapped base of American consumers and workers – African American women.
Mobilized a network of African American women as sales agents for her line of hair care products.
She developed the system, which comprised of Madam C J Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower.
Her husband Charles Walker handled promotions and other administrative functions at the home office while Madam Walker went door-to-door marketing her hair care products. In their ads, they used before and after shots which are now common today.
From 1906 to 1916, Madam Walker traveled throughout the United States, West Indies and Central America to promote her business.
As sales increased, Walker began training “agent-operators.”
Gave lectures and demonstrations at black clubs, homes, and churches in the Southern and Eastern states.
Established a training centre for her salespeople, along with research and production laboratories and another beauty school.
Organized agents into a series of “Walker Clubs” that gave cash prizes to the clubs doing the largest amount of philanthropic work.
Had annual national convention to bring together the agents to learn new techniques, share business experiences and to talk about personal success stories.
Became a member of associations: National Association of Colored Women.
Gave financial support to organizations in the community like the YMCA, NACCP, Bethune-Cookman College in Florida.
In 1910, she built manufacturing facilities in Indianapolis, a city with multiple train lines to facilitate a streamlined mail order business.

Business Philosophy

Madam Walker’s business philosophy stressed economic independence for the 20,000 former maids, farm labourers, housewives, and schoolteachers she employed as agents, factory and office workers.

Philanthropy

In 1911, she contributed $1,000 to the building fund of the Indianapolis YMCA.
Made donations to homes for the aged and the needy.
Donated money to Palmer Memorial Institute.
Maintained scholarships for young women at Tuskegee
She became a benefactor of Bethune-Cookman College in Florida leaving it $5,000 in her will.
In 1919, in her will, she left $5,000 to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Political Activism/Advocacy

During World War I, Madam Walker was among the people who supported the government’s black recruitment efforts and war bond drives.
After the bloody 1917 East St. Louis riot, she joined the Negro Silent Protest Parade planning committee to petition President Woodrow to support legislation to make lynching a federal crime.
She joined a group of blacks who advocated an alternative peace conference at Versailles after the war to monitor proceedings affecting the world’s people of color.
Madam Walker advocated for black women’s economic independence and she did her part by hiring and training them to work for her company. This is significant because many of these women had worked as maids and sharecroppers.

Madam C J Walker worked incredibly hard, and the demands she placed on herself ultimately undermined her health. On May 25, 1919, at age fifty-one, Madam C J Walker died. At the time, she was considered the wealthiest black woman in America, and is said to have been the first African American woman millionaire.

Why Madam C J Walker’s Contribution Matters

Madam C J Walker’s contribution matters because she had a significant impact on the lives of many. She advocated for black women’s economic empowerment, creating business opportunities for them at a time when most black women worked as servants and sharecroppers. Madam C J Walker was a trailblazer, and used her business acumen to propel her to affluence.

Further Reading

Timeline: The Life of Madam C. J. Walker (http://www.madamcjwalker.com/)
Madam C.J. Walker: “I got my start by giving myself a start.”
Happy 144th Birthday, Madam C. J. Walker!
Black History: Madam C.J. Walker, America’s First Female Millionaire. What is Black Beauty?
Madam C. J. Walker
Madam C. J. Walker – A Pioneering Black American Woman

Sources Cited/Referenced

Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History, p 2259 -2260

Inc. Magazine, The Great Leaders Series: Madam CJ Walker, Founder of Madame CJ Walker Enterprises

About.com Inventors: Madame C. J. Walker, http://inventors.about.com/od/wstartinventors/a/MadameWalker.htm

Women in History, Volume Sixteen, p134-p138

Video Credit: Madam C J Walker in the National Archives Uploaded by usnationalarchives on Feb 18, 2011

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Booked for Mentoring: Review – Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

Avil Beckford — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:31:13 +0000

I have been reading Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell for over two months, and it’s the first time I have ever taken so long to read a book that I actually enjoyed. I have read at least 20 other books during the two months, but I needed a lot of time to digest and process what I was reading in Outliers. When you hear about Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, the first thing that often comes to mind is that it takes 10,000 to master a subject. However the book is so much more than that.

According to Gladwell, “This book is about outliers, about men and women who do things that are out of the ordinary….People don’t rise from nothing. We do owe something to parentage and patronage. The people who stand before kings may look like they did all themselves. But in fact they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn to work hard and make sense of the world in ways others don’t.”

Cover of Outliers: The Story of Success

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell demonstrates to readers why some people succeed, while others fail even though both may put in 10,000 hours. Other elements are critical for success, it’s simply not only about putting in the hours and working hard. When I just started reading Outliers, I wrote the post Do Big Breaks, Mentoring, and Hard Work Equal to Success? to explore the idea. Gladwell says that to be successful, on top of hard work, you also have to get opportunities. For instance, Bill Gates worked hard writing computer programs, but he also had access to a computer which most people didn’t, which gave him an advantage, and then he also had the opportunity to use those programming skills.

Ingredients of Success

Passion
Talent
Hard Work
Opportunity
Arbitrary Advantage

What’s this 10,000 hours that people are talking about?

Researchers have shown time and time again that to become excellent at mastering complex tasks requires 10,000 hours of hard practice. And the most successful people got the opportunity they needed to learn how to become an expert. For instance, The Beatles got numerous opportunities to play in clubs to accrue their 10,000 hours. They recognized the opportunities and accepted them.

In addition, there were many transformative moments in history that helped to make millionaires, and timing was everything. For example, the industrial era in the United States, which was pre and post the American Civil War in the 1860s and 1870s, people like John D. Rockerfeller, Andrew Carnegie and Marshall Field were able to capitalize on that. Another transformative era was the personal computer revolution, which people Bill Gates and Bill Joy capitalized on.

Given all that has been mentioned, to be successful, work has to be satisfying because you’ll likely put in the necessary hours to gain expertise. There are three elements for satisfying work – autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward.

One thing that I had never thought much about, which the book gave prominence to is that “it matters where you’re from, not just in terms of where you grew up or where your parent grew up, but in terms of where your great-grandparents grew up and great-great-grandparents grew up…” It’s interesting that I have always been able to accept ambiguity, and I learned in Outliers that’s because of my Jamaican heritage.

A big takeaway from Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell is that, say for instance you are a surgeon, you have to understand what it really means to be a good surgeon, “when we understand how much culture and history and the world outside of the individual matter to professional success – then we don’t have to throw up our hands in despair…We have a way to make successes out of the unsuccessful.” And you can learn to remove cultural barriers that prevent you from being successful and living up to your true potential.

Five Great Ideas

Success is the result of “accumulative advantages.”
Success simple isn’t a function of individual merit, and the world in which we grew up in; and the rules we choose to write as a society does matter.
Success is a function of persistence, doggedness and willingness.
To become successful you have to master the art of standing up for yourself, and learn how to navigate systems and bureaucracies.
Power distance, which is concerned with attitudes toward hierarchy, specifically with how much a particular culture values and respects authority, plays a role in professional success.

I recommend world Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. However, to get the most from the book, you have to allocate the time to reflect and contemplate on what you are reading. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book link is affiliate link.

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Mentoring in Moments at Socialize Toronto

Avil Beckford — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:30:00 +0000

I frequently talk about mentoring occurring in moments, and this was evident at mediabistro’s Socialize Toronto conference last Friday. Profound conversations can take place over seconds and minutes. By watching conference attendees you could tell by the look on their faces that it was worth their time to attend the conference. People were not shy about asking questions, and they were interacting with each other during the breaks. You could feel the upbeat energy in the room. People who had only known each other online, now had the opportunity to talk offline.

Jim Hedger shared some great Search Engine Optimization tips with me during a two-minute conversation. Though it was a short time, I felt that I was mentored during that time. It was great to discover that conferences are great places to not only meet people and learn, but are also great for people to be mentored in sound bites.

In the EdgeRank (Facebook) vs. PageRank (Google) session, a tidbit that stuck with me is that when you think of Facebook, it’s the place to ask questions, and for Google, the place you find answers – that’s how you build engagement. That short answer by one of the panellists opened up a whole new world for me.

A Few Mentoring Moments at Socialize Toronto

When writing, think AIDA: Attention-Interest-Desire-Action (attract Attention, arouse Interest, stimulate Desire and present a call to Action).
Videos that go viral appeal to body, mind and spirit.
There is a button on your Google+ page that allows you to pull in YouTube videos into your updates.
Anayltics for Twitter – Edelman TweetLevel, and Twitalyzer
To find a schedule of Twitter Chats https://bitly.com/bundles/kmullett/4
For more engaging stories, move from one-way storytelling to dynamic storytelling.

There were lots of tips at Socialize Toronto, but the biggest highlight of the conference for me was learning about 40 Inventive Principles. The reason I found 40 Inventive Principles to be so fascinating is it’s another tool to help us to be more creative, and to solve problems more creatively. Just reading through some of the examples given for each principle will give you ideas on ways to change the way you do work. For me, that was another mentoring in moments.

Examples of 40 Inventive Principles

“Principle 1. Segmentation
Divide an object into independent parts.
Replace mainframe computer by personal computers.
Replace a large truck by a truck and trailer.
Use a work breakdown structure for a large project.
Principle 4. Asymmetry
Change the shape of an object from symmetrical to asymmetrical.
Asymmetrical mixing vessels or asymmetrical vanes in symmetrical vessels improve mixing (cement trucks, cake mixers, blenders).
Put a flat spot on a cylindrical shaft to attach a knob securely.
Principle 6. Universality
Make a part or object perform multiple functions; eliminate the need for other parts.
Handle of a toothbrush contains toothpaste
Child’s car safety seat converts to a stroller
Principle 17. Another dimension
To move an object in two- or three-dimensional space.
Infrared computer mouse moves in space, instead of on a surface, for presentations.
Five-axis cutting tool can be positioned where needed.
Principle 22. “Blessing in disguise” or “Turn Lemons into Lemonade”
Use harmful factors (particularly, harmful effects of the environment or surroundings) to achieve a positive effect.
Use waste heat to generate electric power.
Recycle waste (scrap) material from one process as raw materials for another.”

I am sure that if you looked at the complete list of principles, you will find a few that resonate with you. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

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The Invisible Mentor Week in Review

Avil Beckford — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:30:26 +0000

This is what we talked about on The Invisible Mentor Blog this week: Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli, Wisdom of Life: Susan Brownell Anthony, Women’s Rights Activist and Abolitionist, and Maggie Berry, Women in Technology.

Adventures in Learning

For National Mentoring Month, consider creating your Personal Board of Mentors. Having one mentor is seldom ever enough these days, because no one person can assist you with all your mentoring needs. It is your responsibility to ensure that all your needs are taken care of.

Create Your Board of Mentors – January is National Mentoring Month

Booked for Mentoring

While I was in my degree program at Haskayne School of Business, the University of Calgary, we had to watch a film, Meetings, Bloody Meetings, starring John Cleese, and that stuck with me. I was reminded of that film as I read, Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli.

Booked for Mentoring – Book Review: Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli

Wisdom of Life Profile

Wisdom of Life: Susan Brownell Anthony was very outspoken and said what was on her mind, which made her an excellent reformer. While working as a teacher, she discovered that male teachers earned $10 a week while their female counterparts earned a measly $2.50. Anthony raised her objections and subsequently was fired. That did not dampen her spirits though. Over the years, Anthony voiced her objections about many issues such as slavery, women’s inability to manage their own money, and right to vote. It was the tireless work of Anthony and her colleagues that allowed women many rights that they now take for granted.

Wisdom of Life: Susan Brownell Anthony, Women’s Rights Activist and Abolitionist

Interviews for Mentoring

This week we featured Maggie Berry, Women in Technology in London. One of the biggest messages form Berry is to network, network and network. Here are Part One and Part Two of Maggie Berry’s interview.

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Mentor Yourself: Interview With Maggie Berry, Women in Technology Part II

Avil Beckford — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:29:00 +0000

Invisible Mentor: Maggie Berry

Company Name: Women in Technology

Website: http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk/

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Maggie Berry: I run an organization called Women in Technology based inLondon and our strategic aim is to increase the number of women who are working and achieving in the UK’s technology profession.

Avil Beckford: How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

Maggie Berry: I keep them quite separate. I spend a lot of time on work, but I keep my connections separate. But some of the ladies I’ve met, and have grown to know over the last few years are beginning to become more like friends, and it’s just a fantastic feeling.

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

Maggie Berry: With my boyfriend, with my friends, with my family. I like traveling, going away at weekends and I like history. I read the BBC History Magazine and I love it. I read it cover to cover every month. I read a lot of historical novels – I like imagining how we lived, understanding all the things that got us to where we are now in society.

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

Maggie Berry:

Network, network, network.
Have a mentor.
When offered a job, negotiate the salary. Men negotiate and I don’t believe that it comes as naturally to women.
Life is short and time runs away with you so make time for friends and family.
You spend a lot of time at work so you have to do work that you enjoy and that gives you satisfaction. If the role you’re in doesn’t offer enough scope for that, get involved in other things – volunteer on committees and charities and find satisfaction from other things if your job isn’t able to offer that. Not every job can give you satisfaction on a day-to-day basis but there are other ways to get a sense of getting involved and giving back.

Avil Beckford: What process do you use to generate great ideas?

Maggie Berry: I get ideas from everything that comes at me. I read a lot and if I see things that look good, I wonder how we might be able to replicate them. I share ideas, get ideas from the team, from other activities that are going on all over the place and I jot them down and email them to myself and then we work out how we might be able to develop them into something – something more concrete.

Avil Beckford: What’s your favourite quotation and why?

Maggie Berry: One I hear a lot that I like is Madeline Albright’s quote that “there is a special place in hell reserved for women who don’t help other women.”

Avil Beckford: How do you define success? And in your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Maggie Berry: Success is different for everyone. There is so much discussion now about increasing the number of women on boards and in senior roles, which is brilliant but the fact is, only a very small percentage of anyone (men and women) are going to reach board level because there just aren’t that many board level positions available generally. So I believe that we need to make sure we’re providing for the women who are working at all levels – we need to provide resources and support for everyone because success is different for everyone.

For me personally, success is taking pride in the brand we have developed at Women in Technology and the activities that we deliver and making sure that everything that we do is of really good quality. So when people come along to our events, even if they’re free, it’s important to give great value to them.

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

Maggie Berry: I have worked for the same organization since 2000 – it’s a really great firm and when they offered me the Women in Technology project, I grabbed that opportunity with both hands. I also always try to approach work as positively as possible to make sure that I get as much from it personally as the business gets from it. I acted on the opportunity to manage Women in Technology – a few years ago when this was quite young, this was a huge opportunity and I still think this is a huge opportunity. We still have so much more to do and I’m looking forward to that because it’s exciting!

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

Maggie Berry: Accept that there is a lot to learn all of the time. There are people sitting around you who will have a lot of skills and experience that you can learn from. Get involved so, for example, if you work in a large organization and they’ve got a women’s network, get involved, check it out, see if it will work for you. If you get the opportunity to move forward with different projects, be nominated for an award or speak at an event, don’t play things down, go for it and take advantage of all the opportunities that come up.

And remember that the career you’re in at 21, won’t necessarily be the job that you’re doing when you are 31 or 41. We have accept that we’re probably going to be working until our mid to late sixties so I potentially have another 30 years to work, and I can do loads of things during that time. So just remember that none of the decisions that you make are binding and everything can be changed.

Avil Beckford: 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?

Maggie Berry:

Queen Elizabeth I: I would like to get an understanding of how she operated in that very male Tudor environment and how it was to be one of the first female leaders whose reign lasted a very long time. We’d had a female queen before her but Elizabeth had an amazing reign and I would like to know what her tips for success were.
Marie Antoinette: From her childhood inAustria to coming into the French court and just what it must have been like to have lived atVersailles. What was her life really like? I’d be interested to know if she had any insight into what was coming with the French Revolution.
Mary Queen of Scots: I’d love to know what she was thinking. She is an interesting character because she was going to be the Queen of France but then the Dauphin died unexpectedly and the whole life that she’d been groomed for changed and she was just a teenager.
Catherine of Aragon: I would like to find out if she did actually consummate her relationship with Prince Arthur as that was the whole question that precipitated the creation of the Church of England and the breakup from the Catholic Church which was a huge schism in English society. I’m sure she wouldn’t tell me because she wouldn’t tell anyone but it would be amazing to know whether that happened or not because obviously it had a huge impact on British life.
Queen Victoria:

I am interested in strong women in history. These women were doing amazing things. These women were famous during their time but there were also loads of other normal women doing amazing things as well.

Avil Beckford: Which one book had a profound impact on your life? What was it about this book that impacted you so deeply?

Maggie Berry: I have read lots of historical novels because they are so interesting to me – it relates back to my love of history and understanding how we live. I loved Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray and I happened to read a very old copy of it which was about 100 years old. It was very small with very thin pages and I’d just moved to London and the book is set in London at the time of the Napoleonic War and here was me, in 21^st centuryLondon, reading aboutLondon in 1815, and learning about all the things that happened on the streets where I was, and I absolutely devoured it. It was amazing and I really enjoyed it. I honestly don’t have one favourite book, but that would be among my Top 10.

Maggie Berry:

Five Books

The Bible
War and Peace (Oxford World’s Classics)
In Search of Lost Time: Proust 6-pack (Proust Complete)
(only because it’s one of the longest books written so that would take up some)
Note book for writing in
Scrap book that I can keep anything interesting in.

Film: My favourite film when I was young was Pretty in Pink with Molly Ringwald so I’d probably take that as I can’t think of anything else!

Pretty In Pink (1986) – Trailer

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Music CD: I’d probably choose something that’s rousing that I could play at full volume to give me a bit of a buzz.

How I’d Spend My Two Years: In my suitcase, I’d have a laptop, electricity generator and some thing that could give me access to WIFI and I’d spend the time looking up ‘stuff’ that’s interesting to me – so probably about the history of peoples all around the world.

Avil Beckford: What excites you about life?

Maggie Berry: All the possibilities, thinking about all the stuff that we don’t even know yet and meeting people.

Avil Beckford: How do you nurture your soul?

Maggie Berry: Friends and family, keeping grounded.

Avil Beckford: If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

Maggie Berry: I’d like to remove war from the world. There are many wars between religions and I’d like religions to live happily together. We can have our own beliefs, one belief isn’t better than another, and consequently there’d be no “you don’t believe what I believe so I’m going to kill you”. The death and destruction of war is awful.

Avil Beckford: Complete the following, I am happy when…..

Maggie Berry: When I’m at home chilling out and relaxing. I’m happy when I’m at the end of an event that we delivered that was great. I’m happy when I’m with friends and family. And I’m happy when I’m beside the seaside.

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Mentor Yourself: Interview With Maggie Berry, Women in Technology

Avil Beckford — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:30:56 +0000

Invisible Mentor: Maggie Berry

Company Name: Women in Technology

Website: http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk/

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Avil Beckford: What’s a typical day like for you?

Maggie Berry: I don’t really have a typical day per se as my role involves a range of different aspects from the overall strategy for the business, to getting hands on with the networking events and training courses that we run as well as spending time with our sponsors and making sure that we’re helping them to position themselves as an employer of choice for women working in IT. I’m also responsible for finding new companies that would like to work with us and I get involved with a lot of women’s business networking groups inLondon. So my days quite often involve speaking at an event – for example, I might talk to a student group to make them aware of the importance of networking from the start of their careers.

Avil Beckford: How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

Maggie Berry: I have been involved with Women in Technology from the very beginning and I’m fully responsible for it. I’m really proud of what’s been built up over the years and of what we deliver to our members. So what keeps me motivated me is the services we provide and, especially, the networking events that we run for our members. We put a lot of effort into doing everything and making our activities good and it’s all worth it when you get positive emails coming back or calls saying, “This is brilliant, I loved it. It made me think differently about X, Y or Z.” That’s a big driver for me – the impact that we have on the women in our network.

I think my main other motivator is for myself as I want to achieve and I want the business that I run to do well and to be well-received in the market and so I put a lot of effort into that and that keeps me going.

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

Maggie Berry: I’m fromScotland and went to university inEngland quite far away from home and if I could talk to my 17 year old self, I’d encourage her to study inScotland and build a life closer to my family. That’s one of the things I wish was different as I’m not as geographically close as I’d like to be them. I’m close to my family and I’m obviously in touch with them regularly but I wish I were closer to home. However, you don’t think the same about things at 17 as you would tweny years later!

And if I was looking at Women in Technology, I wish we’d employed people sooner. I did a lot of the ground work on my own and we’ve only really expanded the team in the last couple of years. For five years it was just myself and one other and I think we could have achieved so much more if we had invested in some extra staff a bit earlier.

Avil Beckford: What’s the most important business or other discovery you’ve made in the past year?

Maggie Berry: One of the things that has become a bit more apparent to me in the last year or so is the importance of having a personal business network – a personal network of people who you can call upon. I’ve always had a big network of people but I didn’t ever reach out to them for help. I’d always try to solve problems on my own but when I have reached out when I really needed advice, the people in my network were willing to come forward and help to provide me with some brilliant advice. It is a two way street, I help people and they are happy to try and help me back in return.

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

Maggie Berry:

Part of our revenue is from helping companies to hire more technical women and in the downturn, that we’re going through at the moment, lots of firms are making redundancies, they’re not hiring. So we’re looking at different ways to work with those firms and support them in their gender diversity journey, even if that doesn’t involve jobs and recruitment.
I see other networks running women in IT ‘stuff’ and what I really like to do is to reach out and collaborate with them instead of there being lots of stand alone groups hosting smaller activities. I think it’s better if we all work together towards the same kind of goals because there isn’t lots of money in the space. We all want the same thing, which is seeing more women achieving and working together and collaborating is the way forward. Some groups are interested in that, and that’s great as working together is very important for me.
And as we look at how we grow and further develop the business grows, it’s important to make sure that we invest in having a bigger team giving us a further reach. We’re quite a small team which has delivered an awful lot without masses of resources and I know that people would like us to do more things, such as hosting more events in different cities. So we need to keep an eye on the team and make sure we’re working smart to make the most of all of our capabilities.

Avil Beckford: What’s unique about the service that you provide?

Maggie Berry: I think in theUK market our online job board, which is used by companies who would like to attract more job applications from women working in IT, is unique. Certainly there are lots of organizations out there running many styles of networking events but we specifically work with firms to help them raise their profile as an employer of choice. We’re looking at providing our network with the additional skills they need to be a well rounded technology professional who is going to achieve success in their career, whatever that success looks like for them. There are lots of fabulous networks out there for women but I think, if you are a technical woman in theUK, our network has a lot to offer you.

Avil Beckford: Describe a major business or other challenge you had and how you resolved it. What kind of lessons did you learn in the process?

Maggie Berry: I have been running Women in Technology since early 2005 and, before that, I wasn’t really in any roles that gave me any particular business challenges. The ongoing challenge for Women in Technology is that companies are interested in our services but they don’t necessarily always have the budget to invest the resources that are required. We are asked to do things for free and that’s quite difficult as we’ve invested a lot to put all our services together. I think in theUS firms are more accustomed to paying for diversity related activities and that needs to become more acceptable in theUK.

I know that the firms which engage with us get a lot of value from it but we also have a number of firms who just want to work with us for a short time and although we’re happy to work with them, it’s hard because gender diversity is big picture stuff and there needs to be a long term plan. It’s not something that can be sorted out in a few months. So we’ve learned to manage expectations and push back when firms make unrealistic demands about what we can deliver and how quickly they will see a change.

Avil Beckford: Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

Maggie Berry: In terms of Women in Technology, the organization I worked for at the time is aLondon financial services recruitment firm called McGregor Boyall Associates and they always had a strong focus on diversity. Back in 2004 they undertook a piece of diversity research about IT recruitment in the City and one of the aspects that came out was the lack of women working in technology roles. My boss, Laurie Boyall, had bought the URL womenintechnology.co.uk and he gave me the project of building a website around it.

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

Maggie Berry: We’ve not had any major failures with Women in Technology but you take knocks all the way through in running a business. You then have to look at each incident, ideally later after the heat of the moment is passed, and think, “How could I do that better next time?” Also over the years, as you deal with different clients, host networking events and things like that, we constantly ask for feedback and so much of what we’ve done, and how we’ve developed the business, has been done by acting upon the feedback we’ve received. That has helped us to keep on a positive path because we’ve done things that have been asked for and we constantly try to improve upon what we’re doing.

It could be something really simple. For example, someone once said to me that you need to have nibbles available at the beginning of an evening event because people are hungry after work and after sitting down for an hour-and-a-half, they’re going to leave straightaway and not stay to network as they have to go to find something to eat. Or another piece of feedback somebody shared with us is that where a venue is flat, the speakers need to be on chairs that are higher than the audience’s otherwise they’re not visible from the back of the room. So sometimes it’s just a simple logistical thing that you can easily change and even more complex changes are quite manageable if you give yourself enough time.

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

Maggie Berry: After I graduated, I went back toScotland and worked at home for a few years. I lived in quite a small town and I knew it wasn’t going to give me the breadth of career and life experience that I wanted. The only other place where I had friends was London so I made the decision to move here in 2000.

I was torn because I liked being close to family so it was quite hard to make that move but it’s been such a positive experience and now, when I consider it I love London but I still wish I was closer to home in Scotland.

Avil Beckford: What are three events that helped to shape your life?

Maggie Berry:

The choice of where I went to university had an effect on my life as it meant that my friends were not from close to home. I went to a university that was in the south and as such a lot of my friends were fromLondonor the south east and so that’s where I gravitated to.
Taking the opportunity to work on Women in Technology when that project cropped up. At the time we had absolutely no idea what was going to happen and I know we would have been fairly gobsmacked if we could have glimpsed a few years into the future and seen what it had become as it wasn’t what we were setting out to do.

Avil Beckford: What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

Maggie Berry: I have to say Women in Technology as I live and breathe it and I’m really proud of what it has developed into. I love the network and the positive impact we’ve had on people’s lives and that we can help women find jobs and share networking opportunities. It’s a small business, but I’ve been involved in all aspects of it and I’m proud of that.

Avil Beckford: How did mentors influence your life?

Maggie Berry: I’ve had a couple of different mentors over the last few years but I’ve never been involved in a formal mentoring scheme. My mentors are people who I’ve met through work and who I’ve thought are really great. I’ve been in a very fortunate position that they have been happy to share some of their expertise with me. I have a couple of mentors who are very senior women in business who I have met through my networking and they are always happy to offer advice, whether it’s something really practical, advice that I need about the team at work or general advice about life, happiness, marriage, all sorts of things. It’s really important to have mentors to help you in life and you don’t have to have just one, of them to only be women – it’s great to be able to call upon the expertise of many different people.

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

Maggie Berry: I would break that down into two areas – one is hands-on practical business advice about breaking down business problems – what is it, how can you move forward – it’s tangible business knowledge they can share with me that can help me with the situation that I am in. The other area is about self-confidence and self-belief and to have somebody who is able to give you really relevant advice from a dispassionate perspective.

Maggie Berry: Network and get involved! I’d say that to everybody. It’s one of the reasons I go out and talk to student groups to explain to them that networking isn’t just for senior people. It’s something they need to from the start of their career. You need a network of people around you so in good and bad times you have people to call on. For me, it’s the most powerful thing I’ve done and I can’t recommend it enough. It takes time though and you’ve got to find the networks and the groups and the activities that work for you, whether it’s geographical or it’s within an industry, or a women’s network. Get out there and you’ll get to meet people you wouldn’t come across in your day-to-day work and that’s just so important.

2011 Interviews for Mentoring (theinvisiblementor.com)
The Chief Mentoring Officer Interviews Annemie Ress, Senior HRD eBay & Global Engagement Lead at eBay (theinvisiblementor.com)
The Chief Mentoring Officer Interviews Annemie Ress, Senior HRD eBay & Global Engagement Lead at eBay, Part Two (theinvisiblementor.com)

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Wisdom of Life: Susan Brownell Anthony, Women’s Rights Activist and Abolitionist

Avil Beckford — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:30:02 +0000

Wisdom of Life: Susan Brownell Anthony was very outspoken and said what was on her mind, which made her an excellent reformer. While working as a teacher, she discovered that male teachers earned $10 a week while their female counterparts earned a measly $2.50. Anthony raised her objections and subsequently was fired. That did not dampen her spirits though. Over the years, Anthony voiced her objections about many issues such as slavery, women’s inability to manage their own money, and right to vote. It was the tireless work of Anthony and her colleagues that allowed women many rights that they now take for granted.

Name: Susan Brownell Anthony

Image via Wikipedia

Birth Date: February 1820 – March 1906

Job Functions: Women’s Rights Activist and Abolitionist

Fields: Women’s Rights and Anti-Slavery

Known For: Women’s Suffrage Movement

Susan Brownell Anthony was the second of eight children of a Quaker father and Baptist mother. She attended the Friends’ Seminary near Philadelphia for four months to learn Quaker tenets. Anthony’s Quaker education influenced her belief in equality between men and women as well as her interest in other social issues. To help her family financially, she began her professional life in 1939 as a schoolteacher at New Rochelle’s Friends’ Seminary.

U1TV – Profile of a Giant – Susan B. Anthony

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While working there, she discovered that she was earning only 20 percent of what her male counterparts with equal qualification were earning – Anthony discovered firsthand the effects of disproportionate wages. Anthony had always been outspoken, so she voiced her objections to her superiors. She also had the habit of visiting the homes of African Americans students because she wanted to see how they lived, and how she could better serve them at school. These visits were frowned upon, and coupled with her protests over her wages, Anthony was eventually fired. This seemed hypocritical since the tenets of the Quakers espouse equality among men and women and all races.

In 1846, Anthony was hired as the principal of the Girl’s Department at Canajoharie Academy in Rochester, which was close to her father’s new farm. In 1849, she quit teaching and returned to run the family’s farm at her father’s request.

Anthony was exposed to social issues like anti-slavery, temperance (anti-alcohol) and women’s rights because her father often hosted reformers and abolitionists like Frederick Douglass, Wendell Phillips and William Lloyd Garrison in their home. Anthony’s parents and her younger sister attended the Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York in 1948 where they signed the first Declaration of Women’s Rights.

In 1851, Anthony became president of the local chapter of the Daughters of Temperance. In the spring of that year, she attended an anti-slavery meeting in Seneca Falls, where she stayed with Amelia Bloomer, the editor of The Lily, a temperance magazine. Anthony and Bloomer met Elizabeth Cady Stanton who had also come to the convention. Anthony and Stanton became fast friends, and they formed a collaborative partnership which lasted the rest of their lives – Anthony was great at organizing, speaking and traveling while Stanton was great at generating ideas and writing.

Anthony had been drawn to reform movements such as temperance and anti-slavery because of meetings hosted by her father However, she was somewhat slower to fully embrace women’s rights until January 1852 when she attended a Sons of Temperance meeting in Albany, New York and was prevented from speaking because of her gender. Women “were not invited there to speak but to listen and learn.” This incensed her so much that she left the meeting.

After this historic meeting where she was snubbed, Anthony soon formed the Women’s State Temperance Society. She concluded that the right to vote would give women respect and equality. For the Society’s first convention, which was held in April 1852, Anthony wrote hundreds of letters, fundraised, held a series of meetings throughout the state, secured speakers, and organized publicity. Her convention was a huge success. Elizabeth Cady Stanton accepted the presidency of Women’s State Temperance Society.

Stanton convinced Anthony of the need for organized activity around women’s political, social and legal rights. Anthony attended National Women’s Right Convention in Syracuse, New York in 1852. From that time until the end of the American Civil War (1861 – 1865), Anthony campaigned door-to-door, in legislatures, and in meetings for women’s rights and the abolition of slavery. In 1856, she became the chief agent in New York State for the American Anti-Slavery Society run by reformer, and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, a friend of her father.

Anthony’s petition in New York State started to pay off. In 1860, the state passed the New York State Married Woman’s Guardianship Law, which allowed married women to own property, keep their own wages, and have custody of their children should they separate from or divorce their spouses.

During the Civil War, Anthony organized the Women’s National Loyal League in 1863 which supported 13th Amendment to the Constitution to abolish slavery. By August 1864, the League gathered 400,000 signatures on a petition, and presented it to Congress. In February 1865, Congress passed the 13^th Amendment abolishing slavery. In 1866, Anthony and Stanton founded the American Equal Rights Association, and supported the Republican Party which had been formed 10 years earlier to oppose slavery.

Over the next few years, while the 14^th and 15^th Amendments were being drafted, Anthony lobbied for the inclusion of women’s suffrage, but the male political establishment wanted to focus solely on ensuring the rights of freed men.

Through the funding of George Francis Train, Anthony helped to establish the weekly suffrage newspaper, Revolution, to promote what were at the time radical women’s causes such as equal pay for men and women, better education for girls, more professional options for women, prostitution, and easier access to divorce. Anthony’s partnership with Train was a surprising one because he was racist and alienated most suffragists, but she thought she could further her cause with the assistance of the “Devil.”

The first issue of Revolution was published in January 1868. Anthony was listed as publisher, with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Parker Pillsbury serving as editors. In one issue, the Revolution printed the text of Mary Wollstonecraft’s 1792 manifesto, The Vindication of the Rights of Woman. The paper strongly opposed the 14th amendment because it did not include women. The paper quickly ran into financial difficulties after Train withdrew his support. By 1870, the paper had gone bankrupt, so Anthony went on a lecture tour for six years to pay off the $10,000 of debt. Anthony also founded the Working Woman’s Association, advocating for higher wages and shorter work hours.

In 1869 Anthony and Stanton had formed the National Woman Suffrage Association. Later that year, other suffragists who were not prepared to criticize the 15^th Amendment or break with Republican ties and abolitionists formed the American Woman Suffrage Association. The two groups reunited two decades later to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

On February 3, 1870, the 15^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, which gave all “citizens” the right to vote, regardless of race, but it did not specifically mention women. On November 1872, Anthony went to the polling station held in a barber shop in Rochester with a copy of the US Constitution. She read the 15^th Amendment and registered to vote in the presidential election. Word quickly spread and 50 other women registered to vote over the next few days. On November 5, 1872, Anthony voted in the presidential election. On November 28^th a US deputy marshal arrested her for voting illegally.

Other women were arrested but only Anthony’s case went to trial. The trial was set for 1873 so Anthony went on a speaking tour to address the question, “Is it a crime for a US citizen to vote?” In the case, United States vs. Susan B. Anthony, which began in June 1873, Ward Hunt wrote his decisions before he heard arguments from the lawyers. Hunt also instructed the jury to find her guilty then dismissed them. He denied a motion from Anthony’s lawyer for a new trial and fined her $100, which she refused to pay. The court didn’t pursue payment because that would allow Anthony to take her case to the Supreme Court which they didn’t want.

Anthony continued her suffragist work: She spoke before Congress, political conventions, labour meetings, and town meetings in every part of the country, wrote articles on women’s history, and lobbied for social change. In the mid 1870s, Anthony, Stanton and Matilda Joslyn Gage, co-authored the five-volume History of Woman Suffrage (1881-1902).

While on a trip conducting a suffrage campaign in California in 1896, Anthony met Ida Husted Harper, an Indiana reporter. Anthony took an instant liking to her and commissioned her to write her biography, the two-volume The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony, with incidents and comments drawn largely from scrapbooks, diaries, and letters Anthony kept.

In 1890, Wyoming became the first state to allow women the right to vote. In 1900, Anthony convinced the University of Rochester to admit women. By the time she died in 1906, three other states Colorado, Idaho and Utah had granted women the right to vote. It was not until 1920, 14 years after Anthony’s death that the 19^th Amendment of the US Constitution gave women the right to vote in national elections.

A Susan B. Anthony commemorative postage stamp was issued in 1936 in connection with the sixteenth anniversary of the ratification of the nineteenth amendment granting women the right to vote. She was also honoured in 1979 and 1980, when the United States Mint issued one dollar coins bearing her likeness. Susan B. Anthony was the first woman pictured on a US coin in general circulation.

Susan Brownell Anthony’s Steps to Success

Firm belief that failure is impossible.
Partnership with Elizabeth Cady Stanton made both women successful in their causes. They were well-matched and their skills complemented each other.
Advocated for the rights of women, and against slavery.
Did what was necessary to move her cause forward.
Excellent fundraiser.

Why Susan Brownell Anthony’s Contribution Matters

Paved the way for women to gain the right to vote.

Lessons from Susan Brownell Anthony

You will not necessarily benefit from your hard work, but others will.
Stand for something in your life.
She was a true leader who others imaged.

Works Cited/Referenced

American Women Writers

Americans at War 1816 – 1900

UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography

Women in World History

American Social Reform Movement Biographies

The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia

Reconstruction Era Reference Library

West’s Encyclopedia of American Law

American Heroes~SUSAN B. ANTHONY (1820-1906)~by rldubour (ourpoetrycorner.wordpress.com)
Empowered Women (laurendukes.wordpress.com)
Causes of the civil war (slideshare.net)
Famous Women – Amelia Bloomer (thebigchilicookoffevergreen.wordpress.com)

Video Credit: Uploaded by dawilli1 on Oct 6, 2006

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