About halfway through the process of writing this book I got the idea to share a small part of each story here on this website in order to spread their inspiration globally, and gather stories of other scrappy women. Now that you’re here on our website, Welcome to the Scrappy Women in Business^TM Sisterhood! (Our scrappy bros are certainly welcome, too, and if you’re the kind of men we enjoy hanging with, you’ll be relieved to know that you don’t have to smoke a big fat cigar to join, or swill more than your body weight in beer. But you might have to bare you soul and show your scars. That’s right—no one gets into the Scrappy Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame unscathed. Not that we’d trade the experience for anything in the world!)

Scrappy Women in Business – Living Proof that Bending the Rules Isn’t Breaking the Law is an entertaining and inspiring collection of true stories of women who overcame the negative voices around them – and sometimes within them – to create extraordinary lives. Gracious but determined, these resilient professionals ignored the easy path, didn’t take “no” for an answer, and frequently swam against the tide to achieve success. “Hanging in there” succinctly sums up their collective secret to success. But that’s easier said than done. We all need a little help sometimes. If you’ve ever had “one of those days” when your co-workers seemed to grow horns, or you were tempted to sink into the icy couch of despair, reading these stories will help buoy your spirits and realize that you’re not alone. Just one of their stories will inspire and energize you for the next sprint. If you’re a seasoned professional, you’ll see some of your own journey reflected in these stories. And if you’re just starting out, the wisdom in this guide will save you a whole lot of time and aggravation.  If you enjoy reading short version of their stories here, we hope you’ll buy the book and continue indulging in their scrappiness.

While these women’s stories are remarkable, I’m sure that each of you has your own unique story to share. You’re invited to share your own story here. This collaborative website will grow this collection of stories from a trickle of wisdom into a fountain of inspiration from which we sincerely hope millions of women will drink. Our collective voices will ultimately build a supportive platform from which women everywhere will gain the courage to leap boldly into their own remarkable futures. Visit and add your stories to ours so that, drop by drop, we can grow this tiny stream into an ocean of wisdom.

NOTE:  The original date of this article was May 1, 2010.  The date has been changed so that it shows up as the first post in this series.  - Scrappy Kimberly

Originally published on ProjectConnections.com

About 15 years ago a woman I barely knew, the wife of a coworker, was listening to me describe the challenges I faced as a project manager at Hewlett Packard. “You’re not using your feminine power!” she suddenly pronounced, as if she’d just discovered the cause of some mysterious chronic illness I’d been suffering from for a lifetime. My first reaction was, “Use my feminine power? I sure hope not!” Since I was obviously perplexed, she further explained that this included nurturing behaviors like bringing food and drinks to meetings, and expressing other characteristics that I’ve heard described as “soft skills” by HR pros. I figured I’d missed that in the job description.

You see, I was working in high-tech, and for over a decade I’d painstakingly stamped out any semblance of femininity in my work. After earning a Master’s degree in physics, a field in which women are almost as scarce as on-time schedules, I’d entered the high-tech engineering world, a profession with an equally abysmal track record of attracting women. Why on earth would I want to associate myself—in any way—with anything female in my work? I was sure I would appear weak and ineffective to my colleagues, and quite possibly my salary would decrease.

Maybe I was being a little paranoid, but until recently, I have done my best to ignore the gender issue in my career. I’ve steered clear of “radical feminism,” and I most certainly didn’t want to be perceived as “nurturing.” However, this past year I’ve been working on a book project, Scrappy Women in Business, which prompted me to reflect on the role of women in the workplace, and my own experience as a female in a predominantly male work environment. As a result of this, and the changing nature of the work environment, I’ve come to value what my colleague’s wife called my “feminine power.” But my initial hesitation wasn’t completely unfounded, given the research on women in the workplace.

Even If I’m Not Nurturing, Chances Are People Will Think I Am

It turns out that it might not matter whether I am nurturing or not—being a woman, it’s likely that I will beperceived as nurturing by CEOs and other top executives. Catalyst, the leading global nonprofit dedicated to expanding opportunities for women in business, published a study in 2005 under the intriguing titleWomen “Take Care,” Men “Take Charge:” Stereotyping of U.S. Business Leaders Exposed. Their research demonstrated that, although women and men often lead in similar ways, they are perceived very differently by both male and female senior executives. Regardless of the reality, women are perceived to be better at supporting and rewarding while men are perceived to be better at delegating and influencing upward.

Unfortunately, these unconscious biases impact the perception of competence and fitness for promotion, though with the growing emphasis on teamwork and collaboration these days, I’m not sure in which direction. We can, however, measure the results by observing the difference in participation of women and men at various levels in the professional world, and in the relative compensation of women and men.

Just Because You’re Paranoid Doesn’t Mean People Aren’t Out to Get You

Back in the 1970′s women represented only 10% of the musicians in an orchestra. That number has risen over the years to over 35%, and a Princeton University study in 2000 found that a big chunk of that gain was due to the switch to blind auditions. When the decision-makers can’t see whether the musician is a women or a man, more women are hired. A study by The Anita Borg Institute on the recruitment, retention, and advancement of technical women found that women are sometimes preferentially eliminated during the resume review process, even if the interview process is unbiased. Another study specifically comparing evaluations of resumes by randomly assigning a woman’s name found that resumes bearing a woman’s name were rated lower by both women and men. (Perhaps women should use initials instead of first names on resumes, or hiring managers should have the names masked before reviewing them.)

Of course we’re all biased in many ways. All human beings are. Our assumptions and beliefs unconsciously influence our decisions, and our brains are clever enough to keep this process hidden from us so that we think we are making rational decisions based on the facts. Don’t think you’re biased? You can find out in about 15 minutes. Harvard University’s “Project Implicit®” provides a test in exchange for using your data in their studies. You will be randomly assigned one of a variety of bias studies, but you can repeat the process to experience them all. Based on experimenting with this several years ago, I found that I have a slight tendency to associate technical topics with women. Go figure!

According to US Department of Labor statistics, only 10% of employed engineers were women at the turn of the century (2001). And while the salary differential in engineering has largely disappeared, the employment differential remains large in all but the life sciences. Even project management remains a profession with some degree of gender disparity, in both employment and pay. The 2010 PMI Salary Survey suggests that only 40% of US project managers are women (based on survey respondents), and that the salaries of women project managers are “considerably lower” than that typical for men (about 10%). Karen Klein’s 2005 article “It’s a Women’s World, Too” does make the point that women are entering the project management profession at rates around double that of men, but still acknowledges that female project managers face barriers to success that are peculiar to women, such as excessive humility and a tendency towards self-criticism.

The Road to the Top Winds Uphill All the Way

In spite of the possible risk, and because I’m past typical childbearing age (something executives admit is a real barrier for women in hiring and promotion in off-the-record true confessions), I’m less inclined to eschew my feminine qualities in my work these days. I’ve found that these qualities have become increasingly valued for their importance in delivering extraordinary business results. The incredible diversity of teams, increased focus on alliances and partnerships, the growth of open innovation, crowd-sourcing, and collaboration on a massive scale (facilitated by the internet), have all made people keenly aware of the power of group genius and the importance of a more collaborative style of leadership. I’ve noticed that the work I do as a project manager increasingly involves facilitating interaction rather than giving direction; perhaps it was always about that and I just didn’t notice because I was suppressing my nurturing side.

It turns out that female versions of leadership improve bottom line business results. In a 2004 Catalyst study, companies with a higher proportion of women on their top management teams enjoyed a 35% greater ROE (Return on Equity) than those with the lowest. Although I’m wary of the trap of stereotypes, in the past couple of years I began to wonder if maybe women and men really do lead in some fundamentally different way. And, with more profit at stake, I hope it’s something that can be learned by anyone, even nurturing-averse me.

There are plenty of pop psychology discussions about gender differences, including the somewhat unimaginatively titled “Are Women Better Project Managers Than Men” on the Toolbox for IT Project and Program Management Blog. Puh-LEESE! This kind of conversation is similar to my Japanese friends asking me to describe Americans. “Which one?” I ask. Like all simplistic questions, the answer to whether men or women are better project managers is, “It depends.” It depends on which woman, or which man, and which project, and in which situation. While statistics can help us understand trends in the aggregate, it’s foolish to apply that data to any specific individual or situation. Those who carelessly apply averages to individuals do both parties an injustice. Let’s not deepen the gender divide by participating in these kinds of debates. Instead, let’s look at facts.

Is there gender bias at work in project management, and the business world in general? In my project leadership role I make it a practice to focus on the results produced, not the intentions of my team. Customers care about results, not intentions. I think the same approach may work well in this situation. I have no real way of knowing whether there is bias in the process, but I do know that there is a difference in the outcome—the participation and compensation of women relative to men. The measurable data from Catalyst certainly demonstrate a disparity:

Percentage of women in the U.S. labor force: 46.3%
Percentage of women in management, professional and related occupations: 50.6%
Percentage of female Fortune 500 corporate officers: 15.4%
Percentage of female Fortune 500 board seats: 14.8%
Percentage of female Fortune 500 top earners: 6.7%
Percentage of female Fortune 500 CEOs: 2.4%

Of course, root cause analysis is important, but the root cause of being overweight has been well known for years and still I can’t lose 5 kilograms. I personally don’t care whether the remaining disparities between women and men in project management—and the business world in general—are a result of accident, unconscious bias, or a devious plot. The causes no longer interest me. Making and measuring progress does. What’s measured tends to get attention, and frequently improves.

The Coming Shortfall in Working Age Population in the Developed World

Based on a report by the Stanford Center on Longevity, (PDF) it looks to me like it’s in all of our best interests to make workplaces more attractive to human beings in general, and—in fields where they are under-represented—to women in particular. In a decade or two, the shortage of working-age people will be an economic crisis in some parts of the world. Japan and Germany in particular will face at least a 20 percent shortage in the coming decades. (That’s why I don’t worry about women’s equality in the workplace in Japan—it’s coming!) We’ll need everyone’s participation if businesses are going to successfully meet the challenges facing humanity.

The Anita Borg Institute found that technical women leave their companies in mid-career at twice the rate of men. (Read more about this and the reasons why in this PDF if you like.) Companies are losing women, especially at the mid-career stage. Catalyst reported that women cite four major reasons why companies lose female talent: “lack of flexibility (51%); glass ceiling issues (29%); unhappiness with work environment (28%); and feeling unchallenged in their jobs (22%). Only 5% report being downsized and only 3% say they were victims of sexual harassment.”

Of course, the workplace isn’t all that hospitable to men either. A 2007 Gallup Institute study on wellbeing concluded that 77% of all workers hate their jobs. HATE! Wow. That’s much worse than being unhappy with the work environment or feeling unchallenged in a job. I’m no expert at organizational development or the link between worker satisfaction and profit, but I’m guessing this is NOT good for project success or bottom line profits. A little more nurturing probably wouldn’t hurt any of us, or our chances for project success either.

If Being More Nurturing Will Increase Project Success, Bring on the Nurturing!

I was educated as a scientist, and if I were just looking at past data I’d conclude that expressing my so-called feminine side in the high-tech business world would put me at a bit of a disadvantage. But that’s kind of like driving while only gazing into the rearview mirror. With almost everyone hating their jobs, increased emphasis on collaboration, and the coming shortfall in skilled workers, I’m thinking that a more nurturing work environment is going to be a competitive advantage.

In fact, I’ve been experimenting with a more nurturing approach in my work in Japan, and it’s yielding excellent results: noticeably improved performance in various individuals, faster response to my requests, and more enjoyable working relationships. It’s working so well that I’m tempted to try it out on this continent. My only concern is whether it’s possible to be both scrappy and nurturing at the same time. Considering the potential 35% higher ROE, I’ll have to give it a go purely for financial reasons.

Nurturingly yours,

– Kimberly

Sip some of Nathalie’s chapter here, and enjoy a whole glassful of her adventures in the Scrappy Women in Business book. Bottoms up! – Kimberl

Coming to the USA from Europe—the Netherlands specifically—it was a no brainer for me to start my own business in my new home country. Being an entrepreneur in the USA is far less risky than starting a Dutch business. (Perhaps that’s one of the secrets to the past economic success of the USA? It sure isn’t due to easy-to-understand tax laws!) I looked into starting a consulting business back in the Netherlands, but the mountains of paperwork and stringent requirements kept me from following through with it. For starters, you need the equivalent of $125,000 in the bank to simply be able to launch your business. On top of that, there is no protection from personal liability for professional failure; any business failure will affect your personal wealth as long as you own the majority of the company. Being a small business owner means there is no way to avoid personal liability in the event of your professional demise. It would have been easier to run for political office and change the laws than to start my business, but by the time I finished investigating the options I had no interest in either—at least in Holland.

You can imagine my surprise when I checked into starting a business in the USA. I explored the different structures on the internet, and even went to the Small Business Administration for information. When I realized that “limited liability” really means that only the money in the company is at risk, my disbelief was mind numbing. “Are you sure?” I asked over and over again. Wow! The USA really is the land of opportunity. I started my business immediately.

Security is an Illusion

When I first moved to the USA, my well-intentioned HR manager, Ernie—a real sweetheart—did his very best to explain the concept of “at will” employment to me. It was a foreign concept to me, coming from a country where there is (or at least there was last time I checked) a two-month resignation period starting the first day of the month after you handover your resignation letter. Let me explain: If I decide to quit my job on June 5, I am legally required to stay on the job until August 31. My conversation with Ernie went something like this: “So you mean, if I wake up in the morning and decide that I no longer want to work here, I can just call in and quit? And that’s it? I don’t even have to get out of my pajamas?” “Yup!” he replied. “And it works the other way around, too. In the ‘at will’ system, if your manager decides there is no longer a need for you, you can be instantly shown the door.” I thought this was extremely bizarre, but liberating in a way.

Once I finally understood the “at will” system, I found it confusing when my friends with “real” jobs said things like, “Oh, consulting is not for me because there are too many uncertainties.” Really? Let’s do some risk analysis here. (My apologies, having been a project management consultant for almost 10 years, it’s an occupational habit.)

I have my own health insurance, my own liability insurance, and my own pension fund, so with or without a consulting gig I am covered. True, all of this costs money, but on a monthly basis, it’s not breaking the bank.

My employed friends can be laid off at any time, at which point they could be without health care, and have a lapse in pension funding. The health care issue in particular carries a very high risk if my friend happens to fall ill at the wrong time. To resolve that lack of coverage, they have some very expensive solutions that bridge gaps in coverage for people between jobs. (Or at least that’s the way it works as of this writing. Who knows what will happen, as I’m writing this during the huge debate on health care reform.)

All of this seems to have the potential of being way more expensive than my monthly overhead. Maybe it’s just me, but being employed sounds like a much more uncertain situation.

Working for Nothing Pays!

Finally, after eight months (yes, eight!), I got another consulting gig based on the reputation I built while volunteering for one of the professional development associations I had joined. They reasoned that if I delivered this kind of quality work and was this driven for no money, then I would be even more excellent if they paid me. Of course, sitting on the bench for so long, aside from giving me a sore butt and depleting my finances, had also made me gun-shy. As many of you in the consulting world know, it is hard to maintain the pipeline of future business while you are actively working on a current engagement. I was determined to never be on the bench again for such a long period so I promised myself that I’d make sure my next gig started the moment the current one ended.

Fast forward five years and it suddenly struck me that, outside of family visits to the Netherlands, I had not had a real vacation. (And I can assure you that those family visits are quite the opposite of a vacation. I desperately need a vacation after one.) Before moving to the United States I was used to the European tradition of three to four weeks of vacation a year, which I generally spent backpacking through some part of the world. Dropping down to nothing at all was quite a shock! I had seriously neglected one of my biggest passions because I was too afraid to be without a consulting engagement again after that long dry spell.

Time to Celebrate Life

I love to travel! It gives me the opportunity to experience other cultures and meet people from around the world. I personally believe that being immersed in foreign cultures provides you with a reality check of your own perspective on life and the world around you. I have had some of the most eye-opening experiences while traveling abroad. One example that stands out was my trip to Tibet in 1998. When I left my job with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) I had over 40+ vacation days outstanding, so I was able to wave goodbye immediately after handing in my resignation and handing off to my replacement, instead of spending the mandatory two months with the company after resignation.

I used the first month off to find a new position, and spent the other traveling through Tibet. Since then I’ve traveled to many other places during the breaks between my consulting engagements, including diving with endangered sharks to support conservation efforts. Got a break in your career? It happens! Join the club! But don’t sweat it—celebrate! Take my word for it, it’s worth it. Don’t sweat the downtime (or small stuff either, for that matter). Take control of your life and take action!

Want to start your own business? You could read one (or many) of the hundreds of books out there on the subject, make all the right moves, and do it just the way the experts tell you to. Knock yourself out in the process! Will it get you all the way to the finish line? Possibly, but if you’re missing one particular key ingredient of success, more than likely you will wind up someplace short of your dream destination. I can assure you that all the information in the world—and all the blood, sweat and tears to go with it—won’t get you to your personal nirvana if your mindset is out of whack. What am I suggesting? A gut check! But wait a minute. I just said mindset, and now I’m telling you to do a gut check? Stay with me and answer these questions truthfully.

Gut Check Questions for the Aspiring Business Owner

1. Are you ready, willing and able to work ridiculously long hours?

2. Will you vow to make time a “non-issue”? That means no complaining that there’s “not enough time for me” (what you do for your business is for you). No using “I don’t have enough time” as an excuse. For anything!

3. Are you up for hard work, doing jobs you don’t want to do, and getting little, if any, pay for it? (At least at the onset.)

4. Are you good at selling, or at least willing to sell and get good at it?

1. 5. Are you able to take on all of this and, at the same time, maintain a predominantly upbeat, determined attitude?

If you hear anything but a deafening “YES” rattling between your ears, or if your stomach tightens up because you really want it to be a “yes” but it just isn’t (that’s the gut check part), you have some work to do if you want to start, run and grow your own business.

Start, run and grow a business in the real world. While appealing, it’s not for the faint of heart. It takes work, and a willingness to make mistakes, feel stupid, look stupid, and then get right back up, make adjustments, and go after it again. It takes courage. It takes determination. And you’d better be able to sell. And perhaps the most challenging aspect is that you have to come to terms with the fact that you don’t know it all. You’d better be very willing to quickly ask for the help you will unavoidably need. Might as well tackle that one right off the bat. Before you hang out that shingle, do your research and be brutally honest with yourself about why you are making such a move. This moment of introspection will be a big help when choosing which model you are going to pursue. If you are never going to put in the time to attain the right attitude, and to learn how to sell, then I’d strongly suggest choosing a model in which you don’t need to do that. Get a partner. Hire a sales staff. Nothing sells itself.

No “I Did It And So What?” Outcomes

Connect your business to something bigger. Sometimes you are going to get tired. You are going to look at yourself in the mirror and ask, “Why did I do this?” When that happens, you’d better have a really good answer! Whenever you experience an ounce of doubt, you need to be able to go straight to what I call your personal “What For?” Why are you doing this? You need to tie your work and your business to something that means an awful lot to you to get through these defining moments. Once you do, it stops being about you, and you will fuel yourself with a desire that will enable you to overcome those tough times. Without a deeper reason than having a business or making a living, you’ll likely give up before you reach the finish line, or you’ll be successful and wonder why you went through it all … because you’ll feel surprisingly unsatisfied.

I have a relative who spent a lifetime in the medical field as a highly respected doctor. He told me on several occasions how it was never very satisfying for him. It was his parents’ dream that he become a doctor, but it was never his dream. Don’t live out someone else’s dream! Do something in the world that resonates with you and do what matters most to you. It sounds simple, because it is, but it’s still the most important piece of the puzzle. Get busy jigsawing!

Find Out What You’re Here to Do, and DO IT!

My work is my passion. I believe with every bone in my body that my work is having a powerful, productive, positive impact on the world. Not just my world, the world. I have spent many years discovering what I am here to do and then doing it. I am filled with certainty that my actions and efforts are in alignment with my purpose for existing. This thoughtful reflection on a reason for being is a process that I encourage everyone to undertake. I don’t do my work for the money, for the glamour, or for my ego. I do it because it is who I am, and it’s making a meaningful difference. Even though money isn’t my motivation, I do quite well financially, I have traveled the world as part of my work, and my self-esteem is as healthy as the rest of me.

We frequently come last when it comes to running our own business, at least in the short run. We do things even when we don’t feel like it, because it matters to our customers and there’s no one else to do them. We give up time for ourselves, because the quality of what needs to get out the door is more important that a little more leisure time. For me that’s part of the gift of having my own business. I don’t have the luxury of coasting through life. It’s bad for my self-esteem. Whatever I’m doing is in support of what I’m passionate about. I put my purpose first, so I never feel like I’m putting myself last. And when I finish a day’s work—one where I know I gave it my all—the time left for me, however much that happens to be, is that much sweeter.

Yummy delights – Sue’s samples of her Grace-filled life pastry will satisfy your literary sweet tooth!  Read her whole chapter in Scrappy Women in Business. – Kimberly

My professional story has taken me from one extreme to the other—from an uber-left-brain career to an uber-right-brain one—and back again to center. Looking back, I see that my whole brain has been at work all along, bringing first a human emotionality to the computer world, and later a software engineer’s logic to the emotional world. I ultimately found myself in the unofficial but artful profession of “innovation advocacy,” a role I have naturally played all along.

In my story, I am accompanied by a very scrappy ally, a Princess of Good Fortune. I call her “Grace.” Grace sometimes appears in the recognizable forms of health, wealth, love and success. At other times, she comes disguised as pain, sorrow, loss and confusion. Always, she is my friend. I hope that my story tugs at yours, and reveals the presence of Grace at work in your life, too.

Scrappy Story, Full of Grace

When I was young I was a strong student of math and science, but could in no way picture myself working in a lab or a hospital. Squeamish and klutzy, I could only imagine myself in an office, “being helpful in some way.” Secretary, I guess! This limited aspiration was not cool with my advisors and teachers, or with my very scrappy mother, or even with me. But what other career was there for a klutzy science girl? Enter the new field of “computer science,” a mysterious subject one of my female cousins had taken up. Math? Check. Science? Check. Office? Check! Knowing nothing else about this emerging field, Grace gave me a decision and a future. It was 1977.

In college, at a progressive Catholic university named Clarke, I learned to program computers using punched cards. Clumsily modern, this process taught me to think carefully and get things right the first time, as the opportunity for programming experiments came at a rate of only one chance per day! (Imagine forgetting an “end-if” and having it slip your schedule by 24 hours!) Thoroughness of thought continues to be a gift, though a sometimes pesky obstacle to my more creative side. My first computer job came to me through a tried and true method—an introduction by my mother. I was frightened to begin my first serious job, but my mother insisted, “Just pretend you can, until you can.” This proved to be excellent advice! In fact, I’ve learned, it is how all creative acts are accomplished. After a series of more educational degrees and jobs, and a few lucky breaks, I found myself in the San Francisco Bay Area – Silicon Valley.

In Silicon Valley, Tandem Computers and I embraced each other, and I began my career as a technology manager. Ostensibly, I guided network software development projects and helped facilitate the development of new and improved networking standards. Actually, I was there to empathize with people through their triumphs and frustrations, help get things in line when things got out of whack, and enjoy frequent, informal opportunities to teach. I had the good fortune to work with some very creative people. A keenly perceptive and progressive manager told me I had a well-developed connection between my “left” and “right” brain. It was a new concept to me, and apparently somewhat uncommon in the computer engineering world. He appreciated my ability to bridge the technical and human sides of work.

Continuing on through a dizzying series of life experiences, lurching forward time and again with Grace, I have recently started a new business and launched several collaborative initiatives in the service of evolving innovation. This latest hero’s journey will be aided by many gifted allies who have often personified Grace to me. The journey will require me to be very scrappy, and very artful, to be sure. I can’t wait to begin!

There is no map for the Hero’s Journey—every one of us must walk their own unique path. But here are a few guidelines I’ve collected during my own adventure that I hope will light your way, and a poem to light your heart. Although the road seems at times to wind uphill all the way, it’s a journey I wouldn’t have missed!

Scrappy Practices

- Pretend you can, until you can.

- Listen to those who see your potential.

- Say “Yes” when you can. Say “No” when you must.

- Always believe in yourself.

- During a “fall,” be gentle with yourself, and listen carefully.

- As you get older, begin to embrace your “inferior functions.”

- Study with great teachers whenever you can.

- Celebrate every success, however small.

- When you fall in love, ask yourself, who does this person represent in me?

- Embrace “downtime” that comes your way. Create some from time to time.

- If stuck, change your structure. This will allow something new to happen.

- During times of struggle, create a credible and inspiring story that will keep you going. Make it up out of thin air if you have to!

- Every Hero’s Journey depends on allies to achieve success. Be always on the lookout for well-aligned and trustworthy allies. Be always on the lookout to be a well-aligned and trustworthy ally.

Artful Practices

- Recognize Grace when she appears, even if she’s wearing one of her unattractive disguises.

- Do not fear the unknown.

- Embrace what insists on emerging.

- Be thoughtful, forward-thinking, and prepared. Then, surrender and improvise.

- Listen to “little birds.”

- When destruction is all around, be creative.

- Don’t miss your opportunity to relish the children in your life.

- If real life isn’t making sense, look for the archetype or metaphor—much may be revealed.

- Whatever you do, notice what you are really doing.

Notice any story you may inadvertently find yourself in, and discover what character you are playing. Play it graciously, or seek a new role for yourself.

Enjoy this glimpse into Pat’s jaunt through her career.  (Read about her entire adventure in the Scrappy Women in Business book.) Savor the moment! – Kimberly

As a young girl, I would always cringe when this question was asked of me. The problem was I never really knew if I wanted to grow up or not! Of course, I had no choice in the matter of growing up. It was going to happen. But I did have a choice in what I wanted to be. Throughout my career, I’ve set my sights on one career dream after another—sometimes materializing them seemingly out of sheer intention, and usually with a bit of synchronistic luck. If you think you’ve wandered in your career path, take heart! You are not alone. At various times in my life I thought I wanted to be a nun, a sports coach, a teacher, a journalist, a psychologist, and numerous other professions.  After wandering through these adventures I realized that . . .

I’ve Always Wanted to Run My Own Business

We successfully completed a major computer conversion that took two years of long hours and huge learning. I started to get very excited about “What’s next?” until our five-year strategic plan was stopped short by an upcoming reorganization. After three months of being in a holding pattern, and with no date as to when this would change, I was more than bored. I started helping a friend of mine in a business she was just starting. After work hours, I helped her put together some organizational structure and financial guidelines. After about three months we started talking about becoming partners in the business. I didn’t know when my IT project was ever going to start up again, so, true to my “any way the wind blows” strategy, I decided that I’d always wanted to run my own business and began working with her.

WBF (We Be Fine!)

We partnered up, and I owned 49% of my very own business! It was a wonderful marriage of skills. I brought in my knowledge of operations, finance and IT, and she was a master at sales and marketing. The plan was that the two of us were going to run the business for five years, create a wildly successful business model, sell it, and become philanthropists.

Well, part of that happened. We worked wonderfully together and grew WBF (we always called it We Be Fine!) into a million dollar business in three years. And then it all went bad. I’m not even sure to this day what happened, but the business and the partnership turned sour. I left the dream behind. The business closed nine months later. The worst part about it was that all of the horrible things you hear about happening when friends go into business together happened to us. I am still sad about it to this day.

Smart Enough to Be a Consultant

Devastated by losing my dream, I took another six-month hiatus before deciding that the next step in my wandering career was to be a consultant. I was sitting outside at lunch one day and gazed down the waterway (I live on an island in a planned community) when I looked up and saw the building about half a mile away from where I live. I set my sights on working there. Since it was so close to home I could avoid all the rush hour commuting, which, quite frankly, makes me cry. About the same time, a friend put me in contact with a consulting group that was searching for someone with my expertise in successfully running large IT projects. You guessed it. Within two weeks, I was working in that building—a dream job of working on web development (young technology at the time) as a consultant with no overtime and no people reporting to me. Yay! It was fun and the learning opportunities were never-ending. Until the bust, of course, when it was no longer fun and it all ended rather suddenly.

This Time for Sure … I Know What I Don’t Want to Do!

Technology was changing at the speed of a Lamborghini (which is really fast), and I just didn’t have the desire to chase after it any longer. Lots of workplace politics went down that gave me a deep understanding of how that game is played, and I left the company knowing I was played out. And if you can’t play, you can’t be effective.

When I left, I knew I was finished with corporate America. I’d totally had it. The idea of even looking for a job in that arena made me physically nauseous. So I had to stop thinking about it and look for another playground.

Poof! You’re a Coach! (What’s a Coach?)

At this point, a career consultant advised me, “Pat, you don’t have to look for work in the same area you’ve been in. Be open to work that may never have existed before.” Hmmm, good point! When I was in college, running IT organizations wasn’t even an option, because that field didn’t yet exist. I kept hearing about this field called coaching, and it piqued my interest. It had the elements of cheerleading, building leaders, speaking and writing. Synchronicity struck again. Within 72 hours of finishing that workshop, I signed up to take a coaching fundamentals course. At the time, this was a relatively new field. I took one course and fell in love with this profession, and went on to get my certification in two coaching programs as well as a credential from the International Coach Federation (ICF). I spent my first few years in my own coaching business primarily coaching women in transition who were starting or wanting to grow their own businesses. My initial focus was to get really good at coaching individuals, one on one, to help them find their purpose and their grounding. I wanted to work with individuals and leaders who wanted to play bigger games in their work, community, and even the world. After a few years, I felt the best use of my time was to return to the corporate world as a coach. This individual coaching experience, along with my business background in a variety of functional areas would be a great combination for coaching those inside of organizations in the competencies they most wanted to develop to succeed.

I changed my marketing to orient it more to companies than to individuals. During this time, I received an email that described what I was looking for to a T. The problem was it involved working for a 110-year-old utility company. I knew utility companies were not my style, but the job looked interesting. I kept the email, but went back to evolving my marketing approach. After a few of my friends sent me the very same email, advising me to take a look, I thought I should investigate it further. I figured that if it was a match I could convince them to hire me as a contractor.

Well, they wanted to hire me, but I was not very good at convincing them to make me a contractor—I joined the company less than one month after I sent in my resume. This was certainly a possibility I’d never imagined when I was in college! I was now a Leadership Coach at California’s biggest utility company.

Corporate America Didn’t Want Me Back for Long

What an amazing, though brief, ride this gig was. I was hired with almost 20 other coaches to support the leaders of the organization in strengthening their leadership competencies. The company was experiencing a very large and radical business transformation and the intention was to help my clients become better at leading their teams confidently through this transformation.

Perhaps you can imagine the impact I felt when my very first client left the company within two months of our work together. She and I both knew that she was not destined to stay with this company. It was not a match and she was miserable. No one should be miserable day after day in their work. She just needed a bit of coaching to support her decision. We worked together to find a position that more suited and valued her strengths.

For me, it was one of the best work situations I’ve ever experienced. I was able to work with many emerging and seasoned leaders and guide them along their leadership path, and helped people find work they were truly happy doing. They learned to master their strengths and manage their weaknesses.

I worked with some of the most professional, competent and heart-based coaches I had ever known. In addition to utilizing my business expertise and coaching training, I was able to open my heart and truly love the people I worked with, both my associates and my clients. It was nearly perfect.

And then … it happened. Our senior executive champion left the company and a new individual was hired. After a few months in the job, this person redistributed our budget, and our department was eliminated. I was laid off faster than you can say Jiminy Cricket.

Life After Corporate Life

Today, as I write this, I am back in my own business, inVisionaria, coaching people in career transitions and leadership competencies. It didn’t take me long to fill my life with rewarding and satisfying activities. I work with people to help them find what they love to do in life and how they want to show up as leaders. I support and guide them on the road to making it real.

I’m also working with a group of colleagues to bring to life a new model of coaching. And I am working with another group of women to form a non-profit called Catalyst Youth Leadership. We are committed to creating powerful and affirming experiences of personal leadership for youth that will positively affect the course of their lives and the lives of those they touch. I am also completing a book called Women Who Play Bigger Games, or something like that. We’ll see what the final title is when the time is right.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” I now know that I will never answer that question—mostly because I now know I never want to grow up.

So there.

Have a bit of this juicy offering from Carole! Read her whole story in Scrappy Women in Business, then put some cucumber slices on your eyes and relax! – Kimberly

Have you ever noticed that chasing your dreams just makes them retreat? Sometimes stalking them creates the opposite of the result we’re seeking. But, just like that proverbial butterfly, happiness will frequently land on your shoulder while you’re otherwise occupied. One day I suddenly, I realized that my ideal life was taking shape before my very eyes. I currently have a great job at an exciting, fun startup in Los Altos, California. I bought a townhouse in nearby Mountain View in February, while keeping the New York house near my family in Rochester. And I have good friends in Germany and the UK that I visit occasionally. This is my beautiful life. How did I get here? It seemed to all appear while I wasn’t paying attention. How did I do that? It turns out, I was Scrappy through and through.

You’ll Put Your Eye Out!

A lot of people along the way told me what I shouldn’t or couldn’t do, starting with how I shouldn’t consider a career in engineering. Maybe they were just kidding around with me, but this was the 1970’s, and I took it seriously. “Girls can’t be engineers!” exclaimed one family friend. This prompted an immediate response of, “Ohkaaay … that’s precisely what I’ll do then!” There were six women in our university class of 120 electrical engineering students. The guys treated us as if we were from another planet—possibly friendly, but they’d seen the movie Aliens. Best not get too close, just in case we intended to use their bodies as hosts for some creature that might pop right through their chests in the middle of an exam. The professors were even-handed. One was a jerk to everyone equally. As for the rest, there was no evidence of any repressive sexism, at least none that I was aware of. Maybe I was just too young and naïve to notice, but none of the other women seemed to have any problems, so I’m at least living under the illusion that there just weren’t any.

Walking Among Dinosaurs

My first real job out of college was at GE Aerospace and Electronics Systems Division (AESD). I was hired into the QA group, courtesy of GE’s focus on diversity. Court-mandated focus, I believe—thank you, very much. I learned a lot on that job. GE AESD in the early ’80s was a weird space-time coordinate to inhabit. The ’70s had been a hard time for the aerospace industry, and they had laid off a lot of people, mostly their junior people. In the early ’80s, as business picked up, they started hiring right out of college, so there were a hundred or so college grads in their early 20s working with a bunch of men in their 40s and 50s. This bimodal population of employees was more than a little awkward in this extremely conservative industry in this tiny little industrial town in upstate New York. The attitude in the QA group was very much like that I’d encountered during my summer work at Delco, while I was in college: “Just do yer job. Of course you hate the company and the bosses, but you’ll work all yer life here until you retire, then die pretty quickly because you’re not useful anymore. Don’t cause a fuss. Don’t speak up. And don’t work too hard—you’ll make the rest of us look bad.”

Bleeaach!!! Welcome to my nightmare! It seemed like I was walking among dinosaurs. The attitude was defeatist, pessimistic, grim, and drained the life right out of any living creature that tried to cross through this “Wall of No.” I wanted no part of it. (And this was before I’d been exposed to anything like the Law of Attraction or the most current quantum physics theories on so-called reality.) So, in spite of being told by one such psychic vampire, “You can’t move into the software group out of QA!” I interviewed for a position in the software group and got it. Of course, the QA group expected me to turn it down because it just wasn’t done—to move out or move up, that is. Hah! Out I went like a shot! Scrappy can mean resisting the prevailing attitude. And resist I did.

Fast Forward About a Million Years

In 2008 I took a job that challenges all my Scrappy skills at a very fast-growing startup. This time I have taken on challenges and delivered on projects unlike anything I have done before—at lightning speed. It’s absolutely thrilling, and so much fun. At this point in my life, any resistance or Wall of No that I face is primarily generated by me. My family now admires what I’ve done, rather than cautioning me on my choices. So many friends and former coworkers have also started their own businesses—whether a sole proprietorship or a venture-funded startup. As a result, I’ve surrounded myself with people who believe in creating their own lives and agree that the life they get is largely a result of their behaviors and attitudes. Boundaries that I encounter now are my own internal limitations, and I have some well-proven techniques for overcoming such self-induced limitations, some of which I’ve shared with you here. Scrappy can mean understanding yourself well enough to catch one of those self-limiting beliefs as they fly through your brain, and dismiss it as just a thought, not the truth.

All told, I have not acted, or even felt, Scrappy all the time. I have sometimes agonized, or waffled, or dragged myself kicking and screaming through a change. But looking back at what I’ve done, what I’ve been through, what I’ve accomplished, I’m proud of myself. And that, my friends, may be the Scrappiest achievement of all.

Sample the inspiring story Mai-Huong has to offer in the Scrappy Women in Business book right here in the comfort of your cozy computer! – Kimberly

When you were growing up, how many times did someone tell you to “Keep your eye on the ball”? I have heard it about 500,000 times … not that I’ve been keeping track. Rounding off to the nearest hundred thousand, let’s just say too many times … from my teachers, coaches and teammates. The point of them telling me this, of course, was to get me to focus on the particular task at hand. Over the years, to me that phrase has come to mean, “Keep going for what I want and don’t give up”. As a result, I was willing to take risks, step out of my comfort zone, and try new experiences. This has made my life a far more interesting adventure than I ever could have imagined as a young child growing up in Asia.

Protective Roadblocks – Other People Protecting You from Your Own Success

The week I turned 16, my sister drove me to apply for my first job at an amusement park. I applied for and received a job in the food concession department. I was not assigned to a particular restaurant or section, but rather was assigned to a backup team. My job was basically to go work in any restaurant or food area that was short of staff on any given day, doing whatever was needed. They couldn’t have found a better person than me to do this job since I was a quick learner and able to adapt to new situations rapidly.

After a year of cashiering, serving drinks, making food, waiting on tables, scrubbing grills and washing floors, I decided that the measly minimum wage I was receiving wasn’t enough to make up for the crummy work conditions. I set my sights on the games department. The jobs there seem to be a lot more fun, there was less dirty work, and employees even received incentive dollars to buy fun merchandise.

When I told my manager that I was going to apply there, she looked at me and, to my surprise, told me that it was very difficult to get into the games department. The interview would be tougher, and I would have to pass an audition. My manager didn’t think I was going to make it through the interview. She asked me to stay in the food department working for her. I remember quite clearly my answer to her. I told her that I was going to give it a shot and that I was going to make it into the games department.

The next day I got an interview and went to the tryout. Not only did I pass, but I was also given a prize for my audition. My work and social life in the games department was fun, and I received an enormous number of bonus dollars to buy cool merchandise during my career there. Instead of letting my manager limit me to what she thought I was capable of, I believed in myself, took a risk, and got what I wanted. It wouldn’t be the last time.

In my first corporate job, I applied for an overseas position. These positions were highly coveted, since they allowed you to work 30 continuous days on then have 30 continuous days off. The company would fly you to the overseas location, and fly you back home or anywhere else in the world that you would like to go instead for your 30-day break. This seemed like a dream come true for me, since I was eager to travel the world.

I told my manager that I would like to apply for one of these positions, and asked him to recommend me—part of the bureaucratic process at the time. Several weeks later, I found out that he didn’t throw my name into the hat for the job because he was not sure that I would be able to handle an overseas job. He thought it would be best for me to stay in my current role. (Gee, thanks!) He then proceeded to apologize to me for not nominating me. As it turned out, the nominees submitted by other managers were not as qualified as I was. In the midst of his apology, he told me that I was a better developer than the other candidates, and that “I was not the Asian woman he thought I was.” You can imagine how uplifted I felt by that remark! Apparently he had found out earlier that day that I was a Black Belt who fought at national level competitions, and I had won first place in a Taekwondo competition over the weekend. I think it’s safe to say that this new insight into my character transformed his image of me from someone who needed his protection to someone he’d better not get into a bar fight with.

Unfortunately, his revelation came too late for me, and his protectiveness of me cost me a great opportunity. That experience taught me never to assume what people know of me, but instead to always tell them why I’m a good candidate for a job, sharing what experiences I had that would make me successful in a new role. Needless to say, I don’t leave my advocates’ perceptions of me to chance anymore. I don’t go around wearing my Taekwondo outfit at work, but I do make sure they know I can break a board in half with little more than a flick of my finger.

Several years ago, I received an invitation to join a Fortune 500 company. The job description didn’t resemble anything that I’d done before. I wouldn’t manage any development, test, or operational teams. Instead, I would manage virtual teams of people from various disciplines such as program management, engineering, test, operations, product planning and customer support. I’d also be supporting an entire suite of online services products and platforms rather than just one.

When I visited my brother the week before starting this new job he said, “That sounds like a hard job, are you sure you want to do that?” I remember telling him with confidence, “Yes, it will be quite difficult, but I’m prepared to do it.” In fact this job was just what I needed! It was a great next step in my professional career. It would allow me to let go of some of my technical skills in engineering and design and focus on my business leadership skills, such as influencing, negotiations, and managing without authority. It would also test my communications skills, as I would be working remotely from my team members.

Ultimately, it turned out to be one of the more challenging and rewarding jobs of my career. This experience gave me the chance to be completely responsible for creating and implementing strategic and tactical plans to beat our global online services delivery competitors. This job also afforded me the visibility to engage with senior executives across various product lines. Looking back, this position was a natural progression for my career, and I’m glad I took the plunge.

Follow Your Instinct and Take That Chance

Those six simple words, “Keep your eye on the ball,” have helped me achieve so many goals in my professional and personal life. I learned not to take no for an answer, but instead to interpret no as meaning “not right now,” or “need more clarity,” or “it’s too complex, simplify it.” The power of focus and my drive to accomplish each objective energized me and gave me the strength to forge ahead, confront new challenges, and ultimately succeed. Making plans and reviewing my calendar helps me to mentally and emotionally prepare for the challenge ahead, whether it be a hectic day, a difficult meeting, or a long road trip. Being open to feedback from my coaches, peers and employees allows me to reassess myself, change my tactics, adjust my game and win. I’m far from perfect, so there’s always room for improvement.

I’ve never regretted following my instincts and taking a chance, and hope you will learn to trust your instincts, too. Stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new can produce unexpected surprises. It did for me. It opens new paths, possibilities, and enjoyment that I didn’t know existed. I always gear up for the next challenge by telling myself that it won’t be easy but I can do it, so don’t give up. My life is much more interesting today due to the many challenges that I undertake. Of course, there’s always the next irresistible challenge beckoning to me!

Here’s a taste of what’s waiting for you in Yuko’s chapter in Scrappy Women in Business.  Bon appetite! – Kimberly

Although I’ve lived all my life in Japan, where society’s expectations and treatment of women differ greatly from those of men, I’ve lived anything but a traditional Japanese woman’s life. As a young girl growing up in a small town a long train ride from the center of Tokyo, I embraced two opposing dreams. On the one hand, I imagined that I’d grow up, get married, and have five children. At the same time, I dreamed of becoming a doctor, lawyer, or some person of significance in the business world. Looking back, straddling both of those possible futures ended up diluting my resolve to follow either one, and it wasn’t until much later in my life that I found my true calling—to contribute to the global changes that are happening in the exciting world that we share.

In the beginning, I was most interested in English language skills and cross-cultural awareness, but I grew to realize that a set of core human skills unites us across linguistic, cultural, and other boundaries. English and cultural awareness are tools, but true breakthroughs in communication, and in building relationships, occur when people can walk in another person’s shoes and connect on a heart level.

Going Global

In the early days of my current career I had the opportunity to work for one of the biggest companies in the professional development education industry. I was responsible for establishing alliances with educational institutions outside of Japan and sending thousands of Japanese business people (mostly men) overseas to experience first-hand what it meant to be an international business professional. I was quickly promoted to manager and received a dizzying series of raises—most of which were kept secret because they came much faster than was typical for a person in my position. Now I was finally making more than I did as a waitress!

Our company already had a location in Houston, which isn’t high on the list of places people in Japan hope to visit. I was chosen to oversee our expansion on the East Coast in our Washington, D.C., office in Virginia, which enabled me to make many trips there over the next five years. From my base in D.C., I traveled all over the US, visiting potential partner schools that would offer our services. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? But most of what I saw consisted of the inside of airplanes, taxis and hotels. However, I did get a feel for how tough it was to be a global businessperson. Picking up and moving from one city to the next in a foreign country, being far from family and friends, traveling from hotel to hotel, I gained an appreciation for the human challenges that our clients faced as their companies grew internationally.

I learned to be ready for anything, and to take the unexpected in stride. Often things don’t go as planned. Suitcases went one way and my airplane went another. Flights were canceled, leaving me without a place to stay for the night. Rooms were sometimes filthy, and the bar sometimes closed before the stresses of the day had been dulled by a sufficient quantity of the dry martinis I enjoyed at the end of a long day. Through it all, I managed to enjoy the little miracles and pleasures that I encountered along the way. And I learned a lot, and grew strong. In particular, I gained the ability to quickly make decisions and adjust to whatever situation I found myself in. Now, whenever it seems that things are going wrong, I look for the nuggets of wisdom or personal growth available in the situation. “Never give up!” has become a guiding philosophy of my life.

Over the years, trends toward the “internationalization” of Japanese businesses turned into the now-popular “globalization” movement. Through it all, I continued to support this growth through educational and experiential programs that broadened the minds of participants. Just going abroad doesn’t necessarily result in acquiring a global mindset, however, so we developed programs that included real-world experiences, tough challenges, and rich opportunities for people to grow as human beings as well as business leaders. Seeing the changes in their faces convinced me that we were doing the right things to enable them to be ready for the changes and challenges ahead. I was finally doing something I could really believe in!

Becoming an Executive

After 23 years of working in this industry, I was finally promoted to an executive position. On that particular day, I was invited to a meeting with the founder and CEO of our company, and was told about the promotion. This was an especially big deal because I was the first woman within our company to be promoted to an executive position, what we call being a “board member” here in Japan. The promotion wasn’t based on age or seniority, as is still the case in some Japanese companies. The overseas programs we’d been running had grown into global programs in Japan, taught by consultants from abroad, and the revenues and profits of this new business had grown significantly over the past couple of years. Our success was undeniable, and I think my promotion was a direct result of that, and of my ability to communicate effectively in complicated circumstances where many parties need to reach an agreement to achieve some desired result. Some people say that I single-handedly started this new area of our business, which now accounts for the fastest-growing part of our business. But I’m mature enough to know that no one does something of this magnitude alone, and I owe much of the success to the wonderful people who have been on this journey with me. (Nevertheless, I always enjoy hearing how people appreciate my contribution to this work!)

I’m still holding on to my dream of helping to usher in the changes that Japanese businesses need to make in order to help solve the problems of our world. I even have the audacity to imagine that I might somehow be contributing in some way to world peace through my work. Of course the world has so many problems that I also sometimes wonder whether one small Japanese businesswoman can make any difference at all. Although I’ve been tempted to give up many times, my belief has grown stronger since I’ve started building my scrappy mental muscles. Now I’m guided by the inspiration that I first heard from my friend, Scrappy Kimberly Wiefling: “What seems impossible is often merely difficult.” And I understand the importance of inspiring others. Personally, I’m doing whatever I can to help in my own way to contribute to a greater purpose than my own life here on earth. I hope you’ll join me in that adventure. It’s exciting!

Here’s an appetizer from Hannah’s chapter.  Read her whole fascinating story in the Scrappy Women in Business book. – Kimberly

“The FBI is on the line,” said the receptionist one morning, as I stepped into the company. “They need to talk to you.” Now, even though I am not a morning person, that greeting will get anybody’s mind kicked into high gear. My heart rate doubled, and my mind raced faster than the Indy 500. Yes, it was the FBI, and they were simply conducting an investigation concerning some minor fraud that one of our customers had been subjected to.

It was an unusual start to a day for sure. But every day is truly unique, and every day is challenging in its own way. And if it isn’t challenging, I’ll find a way to make it challenging. I just love the endless variety and rapid change in my work. Wearing many hats and being the jack-of-all-trades suits me. Yet, as the company has grown, I have enjoyed hiring really competent people to take over various functions to free up my time to focus on what I—right or wrong—believe is more important stuff.

My Journey

Life is a journey, and running a company is a kind of journey as well. Everyone in business talks about exit strategies and whether to cash out and all that jazz. I’m more concerned about enjoying the ride. I’m always peering ahead, trying to determine the next destination, steering to stay on course, and keeping all of my fellow travelers together. Some days I feel in control, driving the bus with a strong navigation system and lots of support. Other days feel more like I’m sitting in a random car on a remotely controlled roller coaster and pretending to have some kind of control. (Who is screaming in the background?)

My business adventures started at the ripe old age of 4, when my brother and I formed a joint venture. We went to a nearby forest and dug up wild primroses. We loaded them onto our small toy cart, and then we started our door-to-door services, targeting garden owners based on the looks of their gardens. Our revenues were low, as was our pricing strategy, which was to charge around 10¢ per primrose. On the other hand, our cost of goods sold (COGS as I would later learn to call it) was zero, so we had a 100% profit margin. As always, when something is too good to be true, there’s a hitch. Our dad did not want his children “begging in the neighborhood,” and thus I got my first experience with business being hampered by authorities and regulations. After that I learned to ask permission before I started anything new—at least until I turned 18.

Money

It comes in pretty handy sometimes, and you especially notice that fact if you didn’t have any before. I put myself through university with a combination of temp work and income from political activities. For example, I wrote paid op-ed articles and gave speeches that sometimes were paid. Some of my current friends might justifiably be surprised to learn that I was hired for a long-term assignment on a weekly radio show about manners, where I represented the voice of manners among young people.

However, it was through clerical temp work that I made the most money. This allowed me to see business from the bottom up, and I do mean the very bottom. I observed close-up the pecking order of some companies, where new temps were kept at arm’s length on the outside. Other companies were warm and welcoming. Some had well-trained staff. Some had lots of politics. I remember distinctly that I felt different about contributing in each of these different environments. While you can certainly learn about culture in business school, as I did, feeling it yourself makes an unforgettable impact. It’s a lesson that has guided my business to this very day.

Some temp jobs were tedious, and I learned to grit my teeth and just do the work. I learned to keep myself listed with several temp agencies so I was assured a choice of income opportunities. At one point in my studies, I was so low on cash that I lived on $1.50 for two weeks. After enduring that experience, during which I tired of eating whatever was in the cans from my meager pantry and visiting friends and family at meal times, I had decided that would never happen again. These days I sometimes think I’d benefit from a couple of weeks of such a diet, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to relive those scary times—and, in any event, I tend to live a little healthier these days than in my happy-go-lucky youth.

About Risk and Living

My dad was declared dead 11 years before I was born. He officially died in a “Konzentration Camp” (KZ Camp). He would later tell the story about smuggling weapons into the camp, getting caught, and being sentenced to die. Waiting for his execution in a small, obscure hole in the ground, he was overlooked when troops liberated the camp, and only found later. The troops thought that he had already been executed, and he was listed as the last person to die in the camp. In reality, he was the last rescued survivor. After his rescue he learned that his family had been killed, except for some distant relatives.

I can’t imagine what my dad felt about going from a near miss of his own death to the news of the death of his family. I haven’t had to face anything near the risks he faced in those dark times. I have found that everybody looks at risk differently. For me, the story of death and close misses is also the story about living life to its fullest … to fulfill dreams … to celebrate … and to put risk in perspective. My dad’s story helps me do so.

“What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” This is one of those standard business questions that coaches ask, and that are good to think about. Yet it’s difficult, because you know that you may actually fail. In my opinion, you cannot succeed if you are not willing to risk failing, because the only way to avoid risking failure is to avoid being in the game. Maybe the biggest failure of all is not to try. Maybe I will choose that as my epitaph. One thing’s for sure, mine will never be along the lines of “Should have, could have, wish I would have, if only ….” Better to give it everything I’ve got. Better to give it my very best.

Don’t go shedding any tears for me, but sometimes it is lonely at the top, and anxiety can kick in. “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” said Shakespeare in Henry IV. I counter that unease with friends, associations, and my membership in Vistage International, which provides me with a business coach and a peer group of business owners I can rely on for advice and support. My Vistage friends are of tremendous importance to me.

I also take action to stay on track. I have 1-on-1 meetings with my coach, and I also, perhaps surprisingly, have 1-on-1 meetings with myself—looking at my goals, reviewing whether I am on track and whether I am spending my time wisely. (Maybe I should call these 0.5-on-0.5 meetings, or 1-on-0 meetings!) And every morning, I ask myself what my most important goal is for that day. This simple practice helps me stay focused on what really matters to me.

Dream of Africa while taking in the rich aroma of this sample from Eldette’s Scrappy Women in Business Chapter. – Kimberly

I live in Africa, but not in a mud hut as many people unfamiliar with Africa might imagine. I don’t have elephants or lions running around my garden. We have electricity and inflation, drive cars in traffic jams, and pay exorbitant amounts for petrol (gas, as you might call it elsewhere). All in all, as exotic as Africa sounds to some people, it’s pretty routine stuff.

We usually don’t have projects like the one I’m currently working on (and going to tell you the story of in this chapter), but this one takes the cake and is worth a rant. (It’s less costly than therapy!) But please don’t get the idea this is the norm in Africa, OK? This continent is too diverse to be summed up in anything as brief as a single chapter of a book anyway. I hope you’ll get some sense of my scrappy business world by taking this journey through one project from hell that summarizes so much of the worst and best of my business life experience.

White “African” Cruella de Vil

After graduating at the age of 18 in 1979 from a snobby, academic, all girls’ high school in my native South Africa, I longed to study to become a lawyer. My Scottish father forbade it! According to him, I needed to go into the army and learn proper discipline, and he thought I was well-suited for this career as I had (and still have!) a voice like a sergeant major. He thought I’d be well served to go and study computers or engineering after that. Thanks, Dad.

Naturally I was determined not to follow his advice. But a little research surfaced the fact that I was, apparently, already too liberal to be an attorney. I realized that studying law would most likely lead me directly to being locked up in jail rather than keeping anyone out of it. Besides, I was told, “You are deeply misguided about what law is really about!”

On to the army. I walk with military purpose (not a catwalk model’s prance, to be sure), and have never been regarded as a shy, retiring person, so I would probably have fit into the army. I have the personality for it, too. In fact, I’ve heard people say they would rather drop a heavy lead weight from a dizzying height onto their foot than confront me; my projected confidence level is rather high. But I was still determined not to listen to my dear old dad. So to punish him (yep, daft thoughts!), I went to work at a butchery with fancy, up-market deli outlets. (I can carve a mean roast!)

Carving meat wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Although I’d taken the deli job to get back at my dad, I resigned soon after to leave South Africa and travel through Europe because I realized that I was the only one suffering! For many months I lived in trains and train stations, worked as a domestic maid, became a companion to a dear, wise old lady, and briefly held other enterprising jobs—hoping my father would relent (he didn’t).

After I returned home, my remarkable mom negotiated a deal with my dad where I could attend a particularly conservative university studying in Afrikaans (my second language, a Dutch/German derivative) for a degree in commerce, an activity which lasted all of one year. At the end of the year we—the university and I, that is—realized we were not of similar mindsets, so I transferred to a technical university and completed a marketing diploma instead.

During my three years of marketing study, I worked as a flambé waitress and cooked yummy food at the guests’ tables (can still prepare mouth watering meals, as well as carving a roast), and doubled as a barman (I know when you’ve had too much to drink, even if you don’t!)—basically, anything legal that paid my bills.

After graduation, I joined a computer company in a marketing role and found my passion—computers. I’ve never stopped learning, experimenting and growing since. In the 25 years I’ve been in the IT industry, I have built servers and networks, designed and tested applications, and consulted—all of this in a variety of niche markets. I have also done loads of application implementations and ERP suites in a number of vertical markets throughout Africa. I never explicitly studied computers, but because this interested me I’ve spent 25 years learning on the job and late at night with the hounds of hell chomping at my butt. I’ve enjoyed every moment of this because it was so darn fascinating and intriguing.

It’s Tough to Do Your Job While Holding Your Nose

I recently completed one of the toughest projects of my life, one that caused me to come close to losing my marbles. This experience has packed a lifetime of lessons into a very short time span. What I’ve learned to date will serve me well for the rest of my long and scrappy life, and perhaps will be useful guides along your journey as well:

- If you are held accountable but don’t have authority, walk out

- If you don’t walk out, find the person who does have authority and insist that they take responsibility. Don’t view this as being powerless or as a compromise of your own personal authority. It’s simply an organizational dysfunction beyond your control. But, with the right person at your side, it’s not beyond your influence. (Also, find a good counselor. You may not think you can this time, but next time buckets of self-love will show you can walk out and survive!)

- If the performance of any team member is not up to muster, raise the issue immediately to their attention. Raise it repeatedly and in the right forums and in a manner that you can prove irrefutably. Protecting nice but incapable people is no favor to anyone.

- Never compromise your calculated analysis or gut feel. If you are measured by it, stick with your gut!

- People scared to tell the truth in the first place will be terrified when they are forced to admit this later and will look for someone else to blame. Watch your back and have your backup plan ready!

- Don’t trust anyone else to deliver bad news. Do it yourself. You know what the real deal is and will speak with conviction. Senior people seem to have an aversion to proper “truth-speaking.”

- Corporate due prudence and wise business speak is often considered dishonest by people on the receiving end. No, it’s not acceptable behavior. Avoid it like the plague!

- Never for one nanosecond compromise any sensible business or project management principals. If you do, you will lose your self-worth, you will forever be seen as a “cretinous git” or a puppet or both, and you will lose all credibility.

- If you land in a horrible business or project situation, the only way to recover is to apologize unreservedly. If the client is gracious enough to permit it, state your firm beliefs, and then show the details of your plan to make it right. Finally, make a clear commitment based on under-promising and over-delivering, remaining transparent in the extreme at every turn.

- If a team has never had exposure to any good business or project management practices or methodologies, first pray, then tell them without a doubt what you expect of them and what they can expect from you. Once you have set these expectations, show the team how commitment works by putting yourself first in the firing line—always.

- If you expect your team to work ungawdly hours, work with them, know what they are doing, ask questions, get involved, and become as tired as they are. Nothing else (other than pizza and sweet stuff) will endear you quicker than suffering with them when suffering is called for.

- Everyone must be driven and measured by the same financial outcomes for true cooperation to exist.

- Know and believe in your own self-worth. If you know this, you can’t be flattered into an invidious position or fall for the ego-stroking approval trap from which you cannot easily extricate yourself. There are some challenges in life to which one can simply say, “No, thank you!”

- Don’t forget to laugh!

P.S. If you see some marbles rolling past your desk, those would be mine. Please collect them for me and post them back at your earliest convenience!

Nibble on this tibdit of Julie’s chapter. Enjoy the whole tasty meal in the Scrappy Women in Business book. Yummy! – Kimberly

I grew up in Iowa, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I had much of the small town naïveté, but as an athlete, I also had a great drive and confidence. The combination led me to think I could do anything. So when I was too young to know anything, and too naïve to be scared, I started a business. I was 22 years old. What did I know? I believed I had something to offer, so other people believed it too. It worked for a while and the success and ultimate failure of that business has framed my life. After my own scrappy small business failed, I decided to spend my career helping women entrepreneurs succeed. This chapter is a collection of what I learned from my own experience and their successes.

I have had the privilege of watching thousands of businesses take off. I have seen women who were square pegs in every job they ever held develop outrageously successful businesses. I have seen women who are survivors of domestic abuse create jobs for other people and be the beacon of hope for their communities. Inside every success story is a scrappy entrepreneur, a woman who did something extraordinary where other people would have given up, and frequently many people along the way were advising her to give up! But that’s not what scrappy women do.

One Day I Said “I am a Consultant!” … and They Believed Me

Part of my graduate program was to get an internship. During my second year, I was given an internship with the City of Chicago. I negotiated compensation as part of the internship, and was called a “consultant” for a whopping $15/hour. As I networked and met people around the city, they asked me what I did, and I explained that I was a consultant.

Scrappy Tip: Say you own a business … and you do! Business will often come to you.

Will you be able to do what it takes to start your own business? Will you commit yourself to your business with complete focus? Will you believe in yourself and your value enough to ask for what you want? Will you ask for help? Will you be unique and unforgettable? If you are willing to do all of these things, my experience indicates that you will be running your own successful business someday.

After reviewing over a thousand business plans a year over many years and seeing how people fare over time, here is the great lesson I’ve learned. Are you ready? People who have the most academically impressive business plans almost always underperform those who have a scrappy business plan. Not that business plans aren’t important—they are. But scrappy action beats intellectually appealing theory any day of the week.

Scrappy Tip: Don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. Plan some, then … Just do it!

Knowledge Is Power, But …

Have you heard the story about how women who are elected to Congress spend their freshman nights in their hotel rooms studying every new bill so they can be experts on the content of the bill? The men, on the other hand, spend their nights networking, aligning themselves with the power brokers, asking others about the pros and cons, and getting first-hand knowledge of the perspective of key influencers. It is certainly important to be prepared. But enough already! Knowledge is power, but relationships with the right people are more powerful. Get out there and network with the power brokers. If you think you are one, and you act like one, you will become one.

Scrappy Tip: No amount of preparation and studying can match the power of networking. So go out and network!

Working in the field of microenterprise, watching women and men start businesses, I see a pattern not unlike the example of women in Congress. Men will put out a shingle, say they are in business, network, boldly ask people to invest in the business, and set aggressive goals. Ladies, I am afraid that the record shows that we gals, on the other hand:

- Don’t think big enough in our business ideas, frequently confusing giving back with making money. (And we can really do both!)

- Over-prepare before taking the leap, feeling like everyone else knows something that we don’t.

- Confuse requests to invest in our business with asking for help, something we think we’re supposed to give, not get.

If you are starting a business that typically takes 3–5 years to grow to a certain size, you’ll be hard pressed to convince investors that you will be able to do it in a year. Investors want to see the story behind the numbers, and they want to feel confident that your numbers are realistic.

Scrappy Tip: Be bold, think big, act big, ask big, and believe in yourself.

Enough said. Just repeat that last Scrappy Tip over and over again, and get busy!