4 Steps to Managing Anyone

These steps have not changed throughout my many-year career. Managing means getting results through people. We do this all the time. If you are alive, you have already been a manager. You’ve managed delivery people, repair people, pets, children, in-laws, spouses and more. One myth is that you need to throw money at people to…

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6 "M" Action Plan for Success

Do a bunch of achieving women business owner award-winners want to hear a long keynote speech at their award ceremony? I think not. So when I was asked to emcee the NAWBO Ventura Bravo Awards, they gave me some time to speak. I delivered 15 minutes. It was the action plan that I know successful…

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Your Speech Coach Says, "Put Your Audience First"

How do you persuade customers or clients? The only way you can get someone to give you what you want – to persuade them to use your product or service – is to motivate them with your words. And here’s my little story about motivation. Picture it – you are eight years old in 3rd…

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Auspicious August for Women

                August was an exciting breakthrough month for women in many areas. Olympics: Every participating country had at least one woman on its team. For the first time in Olympic history, there were more U.S. female athletes competing than males. Forty years after its passage, Title IX came…

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First Female NFL Referee Takes the Field!

NFL Preseason AND the Olympics on my TV last week . . .ahhhh . . .music to my eyes and ears.  The coolest thing about the NFL Preseason (maybe the ONLY cool thing) was the first female NFL referee on the field for the first Preseason game last Thursday night!  The regular officials are in…

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NFL Hall of Fame: Attitude of Gratitude

Another NFL Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony did not disappoint.  Huge, strong, accomplished football men baring their souls, sharing their hearts, choked up with love and gratitude for their mothers, grandmothers, coaches, teammates, and more!  Everything a football girl could love.  And love it I did. I did find a recurring theme this year.  It’s…

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Brava Title IX Anniversary!

This week marks the 40-year anniversary of Title IX, which mandated schools—high schools and colleges—that receive federal funding, cannot discriminate on the basis of gender.  It meant the beginning of legitimate women’s sports.  I think it’s significant that this law was put into place the same year (1972) that Ms. Magazine dropped its first issue. …

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Necessary Roughness Rules March Madness

So I guess the Madness part is that I watched 8 college basketball games a day for two days straight this last weekend.  I know I’m an official Football Girl, but there’s something that grabs me about young men and women giving their all, playing a sport with all their heart 100 percent full out,…

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Are you ALL IN?

Valentine’s Day:  a time to celebrate who and what we love. . .  Tim Tebow is among them. Sigh. . .football season is over. . .he’s not in the news any more. . .or is he?  Sports pundits have been comparing the hot new NBA sensation, Jeremy Lin, to our boy Tim.  And yes, I…

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It's All About Momentum

So, we enjoyed my Super Bowl/birthday party at my sister’s house this past Sunday, as usual in my family.  I took notes during the game for this blog post.  My brother kept saying it’s about momentum.  I was thinking during the first quarter that it was about time of possession.  But my brother insisted, “No,…

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