Women in the Workforce
Work When it Works: The Wisdom of Working on Vacation
How does Cynthia Kay* define work-life integration? She doesn’t. As the founder and owner of Cynthia Kay & Co and the author of Small Business for Big Thinkers, she says work and life are all connected and there’s no separation. As a small business owner for 28 years in a highly technical field, she reinvents […]
You Can Have it All, Just Not All At Once: Lessons from the Boundaries
Jennifer* has been achieving work-life integration since before we were all talking as much about it. I met Jennifer shortly before she left a corporate job in order to go out on her own. It was a gutsy move. At a time when lots of us were focused on serving the corporate lattice, Jennifer started […]
A Family of One
When she was 27, a co-worker told Ginny Giles* that she should be the one to work late because she had no family (she was unmarried without children). Another co-worker said that Ginny should be paid less for doing the same work because she didn’t have children to support. (What???) Ginny knew these were fundamentally […]
Keeping the Lights On: Finding What Matters
Zoe Carmichael* loves to see the lights turn on. Whether she is teaching her class at Kendell College of Art and Design or coaching a client on presentation skills, she is most energized when she sees a student light up with new understanding or when she helps a client present with a newly burgeoned sense […]
Lessons in Meaning: How to Drink a Cappuccino
Agnes wanted to be an actress, but her dad wanted her to go into business and economics so she did. After a short and very successful run in a stock/banking oriented field, she realized that she needed to put quality of life first and pursue a different path. She’s never looked back. Agnes is originally […]
Designing for Good and Finding Peace in the Present
Seeking fulfillment in work-life? Connect, contribute, stretch, think big, and never over-plan! Rebecca’s story shows how ‘designing for good’ and ‘peace in the present’ are keys to an abundant work-life experience. Here are lessons from a 20-something graphic designer*: Stay Connected. For Rebecca, work-life has always been connected. Contrary to work and life being isolated […]
Choose a Life, Not a Job: Why You Shouldn’t Buy Milk on Sunday
Danielle’s best advice to her son and daughter? Choose a life, not a job. This is precisely what Danielle* and her husband have done. They recently moved from Boston, MA to Basel, Switzerland. They’ve chosen a life for themselves and their children. Danielle isn’t an expat, she is a local employee at her Swiss company. […]
Purpose from the Inside Out
“I had it all wrong. I was planning for my life and my career externally, not internally.” Mary Brown is a business designer and her ability to help others design their work-life is based on her own success*. She says when she first started out, she had spreadsheets and plans for what would happen with […]
Aligning Vision and Values – 3 strategies for growth and 1 test for success
Mika (a pseudonym) is loving her new place. She has just moved in and on the scale of change, this year has been a biggee. In addition to her move with her nearly-five-year-old daughter, she has also left her job as a senior executive at her firm. It’s scary but she’s owning it, driving through […]
The Alchemy of Abundance – 7 Lessons for Growth
Margot (not her real name) is someone whose journey is both inspiring and instructive. Margot is a senior associate for her firm. In addition, she is a part-time instructor with a university. She is based in Canada and despite the record cold and snow on the day we met over lunch, she was warm and […]