40-Day Series: Day 2 - Linda Chappell

For those of you that know me you have probably heard me talk about Linda Chappell oh, about a thousand times. For those of you that don't you may have heard of someone else talk about her as she has literally touched thousands of lives throughout the last 40 years. She is a thought leader in the cheerleading industry and was one of the innovators of the National Federation Safety Rules back in the 80's when it was apparent that schools needed to insititute practices to protect their cheerleaders who had moved from pretty girls in skirts to real athletes. Linda was also owner and president of Dynamic Cheerleaders Association from 1972-1993 and hired me in to my dream job right after high school.

A little background to help put her influence on me into perspective....I started going to Linda's DCA camps the summer before my 8th grade year. I would go on to attend 5 years of camps as a "beam" (Linda's nickname for campers as she thought of each one as a sunbeam radiating light). Her camps were different than her competitors as she focused on building people through cheerleading, squad unity, and leadership. We learned cheers, dances, and stunts like the others but they were secondary to her strong desire to help girls become strong teammates and ambitious leaders.

Working for DCA was an absolute dream come true...it really was all I thought about doing post high school. I had the pleasure of being on staff for 2 years and then the honor of serving as camp director my last year. Have you ever read the book, "All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindegarten?", well all I ever needed to know I learned from Linda and my fellow colleagues at DCA. She taught me how to manage budgets, cash flows, and retail sales, deal with crisis management (emergency trips to hospital rooms), handle irate customers (ever met a cheerleading mom whose daughter didn't win?), and lead negotiations (campus rules and contracts) ...all at the ripe old age of 20. I learned the importance of team building as we traveled in a van for 9 weeks back and forth across the country with people I had just met (we were Road Rules before MTV even had the concept). We were responsible for hundreds of pre-teen and teen-age girls at every camp...not just teaching them and serving as role models but also from keeping them away from the football camp boys who always seemed to be having camp at the same time. We learned to not just function but thrive on 2 hours of sleep a night.

I think it is fair to say that most of us who worked for Linda took for granted what we were learning at the time. She didn't hesitate to put her company in our hands and we were just a bunch of college kids. I have never seen anyone who truly empowered people to excel more than she did. Her legacy is that everyone who ever worked at DCA or attended a DCA camp has an immediate bond of family love, even if you have never met before. Her success is marked by the thousands of people who have found success because of what she taught them. Her permanent imprint is proven as everyone whoever attended a camp can still sing and sign the words to "You Are My Friend" (the song that closed camp each night).

I could go on and on about Linda Chappell as she was the queen of making business personal and her impact on me and so many others is proof of the power that comes from doing so.

Golden Nuggett: Don't be afraid to give the rookie a chance to make a difference. Simply believe in them, encourage them, help them find their way from time to time and then watch them grow as they take your company to new heights.

Be who you are and learn to be better,
Lisa

40 Day Series - Day 1: Annette Loos

I was somewhat inspired by Annette Loos to start this series. I first worked with Annette back in the late 90s at Sprint. I remember being a newbie PM and her willingness to guide and advise me. She had the experience and seniority but always made me feel as if I was an equal. Our paths would cross at various times over the next decade....I don't believe we ever really worked for the same manager and yet I always felt like I was part of her team.

I always admired the gentle approach Annette used with her project teams, leading them to deliver on-time and within budget. She would use her amazing project management skills vs. a heavy hand or threats. She was comfortable managing up, down and across the organization. Above all of these wonderful things, Annette was gracious and knew how to make people feel special.

When I decided to leave Sprint and sent my goodbye note, Annette was one of the very first people to respond. Her words describing how she felt about me moved me more than any other note I received. I had no idea I had made that kind of impact and to say she inspired a confidence I had never felt before would be an under statement. She taught me a lesson in how one simple note can make all the difference. I will forever be grateful for her kind and giving words.

The golden nugget? Don't assume people know when they do good work or are making a difference because more than likely they don't. Taking a few minutes to share a note of your observations can inspire a lifetime of confidence.

40-Day Series - Thanking Those Who Made Business Personal

The last month has been a whirlwind of activity...exciting times indeed! The new company is starting to flourish, quality time was spent with the family and quite a few fun events took place celebrating with friends. With so much going on I haven't had much time to write. I have definitely missed it. The last few weeks I have had various conversations that have triggered a 40-day series I plan to write starting with this post. To provide some context as to how I came up with the series title I thought I would share what led me to the 40-day series concept in the first place.

First, I had a conversation with my neighbor earlier this week regarding Lent. For most of those who honor lent they give something up... an effort to honor Jesus's sacrifice I believe. However, I wonder if Jesus wouldn't find it more meaningful for his followers to give during this time of year than give up. I often think about what Christianity means to me and "giving" definitely plays a major part. What would the world be like if every Christian (or even better every person) dedicated them self to some kind of giving every day for the next 40 days? This led me to my second thought....

So, as I began to think about the concept of giving vs. giving up for Lent I started to evaluate what I would give. Considering I am starting a new company I am not in a position to give a lot financially. Kids are keeping us pretty busy running them around preparing for spring sports so committing to volunteering doesn't really work either. I then think about this blog and the possibilities it provides me to "give." This led me to my third thought.....

I have been in quite a few discussions with colleagues and thought leaders in the social media industry as to why tools like Facebook and Twitter are so powerful. I speculate that for many social media is the intersection of business meeting personal or vice versa. I have always held the belief that many in business are successful because they make business personal....they invest all they have in to what they do, their business is their life's passion and they are willing to share to help others get better. This triggered me to think about the people who have inspired me throughout my career and how their impact was made possible by their personal investment and willingness to give. I then think about how so often in our lives we don't take the time to give thanks and let people know how they made a difference in our life. Think about how many times you have heard, "I should have told them what they meant to me" or the amazing feeling you felt when someone took the time to thank you.

These culmination of thoughts has led me to how I am going to "give" this Lent season. I am going to post daily about someone who made business personal by teaching me, helping me, inspiring me and/or leading me. I will end the post with the golden nugget I took away in hopes that you too will be impacted. At the end of Lent I will create a post that will incorporate all the golden nuggets I have shared throughout the series. Hopefully this will provide a one stop shop reference that maybe you will share with others someday.

My objective is to "give" thanks, "give" knowledge and "give" you the ability to "give" to others. I hope you enjoy the series as much as I have enjoyed others helping me learn to get better. :)

Be who you are and learn to be better,
Lisa