DRIVEN Blog
A Shift In Attitude: Releasing The Need To Please Your Network
By always being a “Yes Person” or a “People Pleaser”, there’s one person who often gets left out in the cold: YOU! Have you ever stopped to examine the ways that saying “Yes” to your boss…
Taming The Victor: How To Respond When The Other Person Needs To Be Right
Have you ever found yourself absolutely certain of something, only to find out later that you were totally off-base? This question, and others like it, are what we’ve been asking you to consider in our…
Openness To Influence: The Factors To Consider Before Receiving Feedback
At the very end of my most recent article Listening to Understand: A Social Skills Staple Examined, you were challenged to experiment with four prompts during your conversations to more effectively “listen to understand” and to remain open to influence. Were you able to stand under another’s reality without…
Social Intimacy Part II: The Obstacles Between You & Workplace Trust
Think for a moment about your idea of trustworthiness. Which attributes do you require in your colleagues to consider them trustworthy? What qualities do you strive to exhibit to…
Social Intimacy: A Sure Bet For Achieving Workplace Trust
Who knew the simple word “trust” had such a complex, multifaceted connotation?! I began to suspect it after studying Maister’s Trust Equation, which has gone on to become one of my trusty templates…
Reliability: An Action That Truly DOES Speak Louder Than Words
In pondering the Trust Equation, one discovers that words are indispensable for building workplace trust. Words can make the difference between inclusion and exclusion on the part of the…
Setting The Corporate Example: The Importance of Building Trust Among The Home Team
From the perspective of leadership or management, the most progressive outlook you can foster is the acknowledgment that your employees are your greatest assets. Think of it: In line-item…
The Corporate Game Plan: Taking Real Steps To “Evolutionize” Your Firm in The 21st Century
“And finally, many firms do not have a game plan in place to set stress-eliminating practices into motion.” -From DRIVEN’s article “Preventing A Workplace Disease”, July 2016Six months ago, I launched an…
Coming To Terms: A Macro Perspective on The Importance of Soft Skills
Soft skills: They’re universal. Why is this so essential to understand and act upon as a boss or manager? Well, as you may have learned in my September 2016 article introducing you to the stress-averse…
A Smoother Operator You Will Never See: Superwoman Rosalie Mandel
In an age when professional women are still struggling to get noticed in their careers, sometimes it takes more than just being great at your job to pull ahead. But it takes a…
The Currency Of Compassion: Leveraging Your Network With Perspective
Network management is like wine: The more you expose yourself to it, the more you appreciate its nuance. Once you’ve achieved a certain level of expertise (and hopefully enjoyed a few glasses…
The Irony Of It All: When Enthusiasm Is A Sign Of Desperation
An interesting thing happened when I met with a prospective client last month. Based on a variety of factors, I had assumed that this company was a long shot. In my mind, the possibility of yielding…
Advancement Strategies: An Informative Glimpse Into Our Interactive Symposium
Interested and interesting people. Once again, we filled a room with them….70 of them, as we provided yet another remarkable and informative evening full of discussion, business insight, and…
Going Down?: Why The Elevator Pitch is an Occupational Dinosaur, and What Should Replace It
In any Networking 101 discussion, the topic of the Elevator Pitch inevitably comes up. Its name derives from an old-fashioned metaphor that places you on an elevator when an executive…
Soft Skill Strategies: The Importance of Being Fully Present in Business
Think about it: Being self-conscious and being engaged in a business discussion can’t happen simultaneously. On paper, the solution is simple….eliminate the second-guessing that causes you to be…
Women Behaving Smartly: How to Find Your Edge in Business
My wise father would remind me during relevant moments as I was growing up that “life is not fair”. Fast-forward to my adulthood, and I take similar opportunities to continue the tradition with myself…
We’re In It Together: Men’s Role in Advancing Women
Recently I found myself at a hedge fund conference before a panel discussion about women in hedge funds. I was there to feel out the participants on their ideas about women’s advancement in this…
Productivity Repossessed: The Benefits of A “Hard Stop” Mentality
It’s likely that the most valuable lesson I learned during my four years at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration relates to workplace productivity. Ask anyone who has worked for or with me, and…
Women: Are We Our Own Worst Enemy?
cheryl benton headshotHere’s some serious food for thought in the age of women’s advancement by Cheryl Benton, founder/publisher of The Three Tomatoes, and one of our strategic partners. She raises an issue about the experience had by many women in the…
Smart Luck: Changing My Trajectory in One Intuitive Move
4-Leafed CloverSix months ago, I had the honor of witnessing a panel of four successful women in hedge funds speak about their success. It was a dynamic discussion: serious at times, humorous at points, and philosophically fascinating in all aspects. After…