goals | Katalyst

The Power of Words and Images…

Jul 122012

I find that creating really compelling business and emotionally persuasive writing requires me to have a similar approach to my writing as my friend who is a fantastic graphic artist has to creating an evocative new brand image. She paints beautiful works of art in her spare time, which feeds her creative ideas for generating striking branding collateral. In order to be insightful in my business and nonprofit writing, I write fiction stories, poems and – right now – I am writing a screenplay. It gets those creative juices moving in the right direction.

I learned a long time ago that writing is like painting a canvas, creating a symphony or choreographing a dance. There are requisites that we must all attend to in order to be expansive and deep – no matter what we create. I would never suggest that writing a screenplay is more important than writing a really compelling sales letter. I am a writer and I always hope that the words I write will evoke emotion, ideas, thought and action. That is what matters to me, not the format I am writing in. I put the same energy and thoughtfulness into a blog post as I do a poem – because I am attached to the outcome. I want my client to call me and say, “Wow! That blog post got thousands of hits and shares and people contacted us wanting to know more!” – just like I want to write a poem that makes someone comment with, “Wow! That poem really touched me!”

Have you ever read something that was technically correct but didn’t move you? Of course you have. We’re surrounded by emotionless words in the advertising, business reports, marketing emails, proposals and web content we’re exposed to every day. It’s awful. So, we just read over it and move on. But every now and then something grabs us and pulls us in. It sparks an interest. It makes us think. It creates an image in our minds. Sometimes it even makes us take action. That’s powerful!

Words and images are powerful when they are honest – which is probably why I am a writer and photographer. Not because I seek power, but because I seek to move people with words and images. I want you to feel something when you read my words or view my photos. How do you see it? Feel it?

Here’s a photo I shot recently. Tell me what it makes you feel. What do you see? What thoughts does it conjure up for you? Write a poem about it if you like. Whatever you share is yours and yours alone, with my gratitude.

Thank you in advance for sharing!

“10 Reasons Why Women Make Better Entrepreneurs”

Business & Marketing, Uncategorized, Women in Biz, Work 4 Responses »

Oct 202011

As a woman entrepreneur, I found this article an interesting and validating read and thought you might too! – Kat

by Adelaide Lancaster

I’ve heard one too many female entrepreneurs preface a challenge they’ve had with the statement “maybe it’s just because I’m a woman but I find it hard to”…(you can fill in the blank): ask for what I want; settle for something less than perfect; not to try to do it all myself. These statements make me cringe. I’m not a fan of sweeping gender generalizations and I’m certainly not keen on women attributing their challenges (challenges that many people experience by the way) to the fact that they are female. Women entrepreneurs get enough flak for not being more like men without us jumping on the bandwagon ourselves.
I can’t say whether any of the oft-recited gender stereotypes are true (“scientific” studies always seem to be contradictory in their findings), but let’s pretend for a moment that they are. Then let’s pretend that these differences aren’t deficits (gasp) and instead are assets. What if gender differences made women even better business owners? It’s not hard to make a compelling case.

Let’s take a stab at it. Here are 10 reasons why women are better entrepreneurs:

1. Women are better connectors.
A stronger network means they will be better resourced throughout the life of the venture. By leveraging their connections, they will have to reinvent the wheel less and learn fewer lessons the hard way.

2. Women are better at multitasking.
They can work towards multiple priorities and balance multiple roles simultaneously. They won’t shy away from a full plate and will be equipped to handle the multifaceted job of entrepreneur.

3. Women are perfectionists.
They have high standards and won’t settle for mediocre efforts or results. The business will save money and time because haphazard mistakes and sloppy work will be avoided in the first place.

4. Women take others into consideration.
They build businesses that deliver value for multiple stakeholders – customers, employees, investors, and founders. They aren’t out for purely their own gain and their “put others’ first” attitude will net tremendous loyalty for the business in the long run.

5. Women think success comes from hard work not just from being “awesome.”
They are willing to do what it takes to hit the mark and they don’t let their egos get in the way. Failures, which are inevitable, spark a redoubling of efforts, not a crisis of self-worth.

6. Women share the credit.
They build companies where employees feel valued for their contributions and input.

7. Women second guess themselves.
They consult others about important decisions to make sure they aren’t overlooking something. They won’t be afraid to change course if new information or learning is brought to light.

8. Women don’t take as many risks.
This means that the ones they do take are more calculated and well thought out. They won’t over-extend the company by chasing bright shiny objects or the latest hottest idea.

9. Women don’t fiercely negotiate for the best they can get.
They understand that the price paid or received isn’t the whole story. They think about value more broadly and understand the price that relationships and the process requires.

10. Women value their life outside of work.
Their commitment to their company is only enhanced by having a full life outside of work. They know that friends and families are an important part of overall satisfaction and that the costs of burnout are significant for both themselves and the company.

Certainly this isn’t true of all women. All of it may not even be true for one woman. But any of it could be just as true as the current deficit model that many of us subscribe too. Further consideration of our assumptions is warranted when we assume that any differences, if true, are instant liabilities – qualities to apologize and compensate for. So, the next time you hear a woman apologize for being a woman, offer one of these alternate interpretations as a reason for her success.

————

Adelaide Lancaster is an entrepreneur, speaker and co-author of The Big Enough Company: Creating a business that works for you (Portfolio/Penguin). She is also the co-founder of In Good Company Workplaces, a first-of-its-kind community, learning center and co-working space for women entrepreneurs in New York City. She is a writes a blog for Forbes.com and is a contributor to The Daily Muse. She lives in Philadelphia, PA with her husband and daughter.

Follow Adelaide Lancaster on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ingoodcmpny

Life. And Other Plans…

Lifestyle, Updates, Work 5 Responses »

Jul 092011

It’s been too long since my last post! I have resolved to be better at blogging, despite my hectic days, because I love to write. It reboots my brain.

Lately, I’ve been writing a lot of client press releases, brand messaging, media stories and the like. It’s very rewarding to be able to write for a living, but sometimes I really just need to write what’s in my head and not a PR or marketing piece.

I have started a book and I am debating posting some excerpts or chapters here. The book is about the valuable lessons I’ve learned in my life so far – and there are some BIG ones! I never really thought my experiences were all that unique, but apparently they are (according to many friends, family members and colleagues who gasp when I tell them some of the gory details). Recent events and urging from those same friends and family members have pushed me to write it all down.

So, you will see this blog return to its former format where I share more openly the things I’ve learned through experiences I’ve had – including my favorite photos. Last fall I decided to stop posting a lot of the personal stuff here because I was in the middle of a contentious divorce and my ex-spouse (a trial lawyer) was digging for anything he could find to try to damage my integrity. I am hoping that he has now moved forward with his life and will find his own peace and joy. I know that I have. I wish the same for him.

If you enjoyed the social media, marketing and business pieces I’ve contributed to Katalyst Blog recently, you can still find them on my company’s website blog at www.hipchameleon.com. I will still write about the ups and downs of launching and running a business here – but those posts will be personal anecdotes, just like nearly everything else I post on Katalyst Blog.

As many of you already know, I launched a Marketing and PR firm with two partners in January 2011. After about three months of pretty stable success, we decided that having only two partners worked better for our lives. It was too hard to make decisions with three people and we didn’t all agree on the direction of the business or how to divvy up the workload fairly. My partner, Brett Greene, and I agree quite nicely on the direction of Hip Chameleon, how to meet our client deadlines and what services we want to offer. It also helps that he is an experienced social media adviser and a prolific writer. We’ve taken Hip Chameleon in the direction of specializing in digital marketing and social media, because we believe that’s where the world is heading, we’re passionate about making strong, personal connections online, and we want to help take our clients there where they can meet and help their current and future customers/clients. It’s turning out to be an excellent fit for us.

After only six months in business, Hip Chameleon is doing very well. We have had some wonderful clients and some slightly odd ones too – but that’s what makes this work interesting. I wouldn’t enjoy working with just one personality type all of the time anyway. Some clients are deeply engaged in every step we take, while others just hand us the reigns and say, “Drive!” We like both approaches, as long as we are treated like the experts we are.

In addition to writing a book, leading social media and digital marketing workshops, diving into a web developer program and managing our company, I am also creating a natural, organic skin care product line that I’m very excited about. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and know a good deal about. After using my homemade concoctions on myself for years, I finally decided that the time has come to share them – but more on that later!

For now, I just wanted to check in, let you know what’s happening on my end and ask you how you’re doing on yours.

So, how are you doing? What new or exciting thing is happening for you? Let’s talk!

Namaste,

Kat

You can call yourself an Entrepreneur when…

Business & Marketing 1 Response »

Jan 102011

I loved this post from James Altucher: You can call yourself an Entrepreneur when… Altucher Confidential - especially since I am getting very little sleep these days, as I launch my business, Hip Chameleon PR & Marketing, with my partners.

I go to bed late, wake up early (wake up in a panic at 4 am over a line I think I left out of the last proposal I sent out) and think about our clients and our business all of the time! I forget to eat and only exercise sporadically these days – which is the one thing I am severely missing – my daily runs that reboot my brain. I will have to do something about that.

Still, despite every true word Altucher (@jaltucher) writes about the craziness of being an entrepreneur, I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. I am my favorite boss. I’m tough on myself, without being condescending or mean. I know what I expect and I do my best to deliver. I freely give credit where credit is due, without fretting that someone is out to make me look bad. I allow myself to show up for work in slippers and take as many breaks for a fresh cup of coffee or tea as I want. I am grateful for my partners – especially for the wisdom and experience they bring. And when a client asks for help with something, I just do it. I don’t have to ask anyone else for permission or worry about whose toes I may be stepping on.

Less sleep is a fair trade for freedom and inner satisfaction. Now if I could just find time to get the darned company website done!

Namaste,

Kat

Woman, Thy Name is Entrepreneur

Business & Marketing, Fundraising & Cause Marketing, Social Networking 4 Responses »

Dec 162010

I recently went back to working as a PR, Marketing, Communications & Promotional Event Consultant; only this time, I took it one step further and decided to form an actual company with two trusted friends and talented PR and marketing pros.

Our new agency, Hip Chameleon PR & Marketing (@HipChameleon), officially launches on 1/11/11 at 11:11 am until 11:11 pm. Why? Because that sounded like a really fun date and time to take advantage of! We’re planning a party and inviting our friends, families and community.

For me, I felt I needed to get into a space between working full time to make someone else’s business dreams happen – and going it completely alone to make my own dreams happen. I had “gone it alone” before and learned that it gets pretty lonely after a while.

I am an entrepreneur, not a loner. I really like people and enjoy working with them. It’s also a good strategy to have at least one other person to bounce ideas off of and engage in the workflow process – otherwise, too much time spent working on projects alone begin to take on the patina of a mad scientist’s isolated thinking. When you work alone all of the time, there’s no one around to tell you that your idea is whacky. Everything looks feasible when sound ideas aren’t weighted to counterbalance the crazy ones. Let’s face it, some ideas are just plain dumb. It helps to have a good friend and/or partner on hand who is willing to gently tell you that you are off your rocker.

Being an entrepreneur is terrifying and thrilling at the same time. No one is going to cut you a paycheck every two weeks just for showing up and doing a reasonably good job. No one pays you to take a bathroom break, a long lunch or a two-week vacation. Sick days result in lost income and business development is necessary, but takes a lot of energy and effort to result in new, paying work.

As an entrepreneur you think twice about signing up for a 3 day conference – even when you believe future potential clients will be there too. The Return on Investment (ROI) is unclear, but what you do know is that it will take funds from your cash reserves and you won’t be chalking up billable client time while you’re sitting in a presentation (unless you are really crafty or downright dishonest). As a corporate employee, being sent to a conference in San Diego is a boondoggle. I always ate well, slept perfectly, enjoyed drinks on the waterfront with colleagues and ran the pier in the morning whenever I was sent to San Diego by my agency. As an entrepreneur, I take the cheap flights, stay in the cheap hotels, work at night so I can bill for some of my time, eat sandwiches and hope I will run into someone I know who will offer to treat me to dinner or drinks on their company’s dime. It doesn’t matter that I can write the conference off on my quarterly taxes; it’s the revenue I have to spend on the front-end that hurts a little.

Despite all of that, the thrilling parts of being an entrepreneur are a much bigger deal for me. I wake up every day excited to cut my own path through the forest. Every “win” is a win for me, my partners and our company. I don’t have a boss telling me what to do or using me to cover his or her own ass when something goes wrong. I take on the clients and projects I most want to engage with, that excite me every day to be working on, and that provide opportunities for me to stretch my skills, my mind and test my courage.

If you are an entrepreneur, or have ever tried to become one, you know that it takes courage to fly solo - and only slightly less courage to fly with trusted co-pilots. It’s even more challenging a flight when you’re a woman because you often have to prove yourself to clients and prospects for actions that most men are given credit for on the spot – earned or not. Women have to demonstrate they can handle challenging tasks, where men are oftentimes given the benefit of the doubt before they even climb into the cockpit. But that’s ok; having to prove our navigational skills just makes us better pilots.

I’m not what most people would label a feminist. I grew up with a father who treated me like a son most of the time. I was told I could do anything I wanted, as long as I was willing to work hard for it. I was not allowed to make excuses just because I was a “girl.” In fact, my father warned me that I would have to work even harder than boys for some things. I am lucky to have a dad who didn’t treat me like a princess, but even his wisdom couldn’t prepare me for what I would later encounter in the work world as a female.

I have been denied promotions and blatantly told that I didn’t get it because it was “no job for a lady,” (even though I was outselling and outperforming the men doing the same job I was doing). Equally true, I have been offered promotions because I was told that I was attractive and my looks would garner more sales. I won’t lie. I took those promotions and still went out and kicked ass, knowing that my looks might get me in the door – but being a reliable, straightforward, helpful sales rep would increase my sales volumes and earn me valuable referrals.

I took a lot of crap from men over the years and heard my share of sexist comments. Likewise, I endured snarky, catty remarks and blatant sabotage from women peers and bosses who thought I was just a “Kewpie Doll.” I wish I had a nickel for every time I was called that name. But, that was a long time ago and Human Resource laws have come a long way to diminish abusive office behavior and improve working conditions for all. What’s more, as more women have become organizational leaders and shattered the glass ceiling, they have embraced a willingness to mentor younger women up the corporate ladder without fear of being accused of simply promoting “the sisterhood.” That was not the case when I started out in the workforce. It was dog-eat-dog and every woman for herself, if you wanted to get ahead.

I think that I am especially lucky to be in Boulder, Colorado at this stage in my life and career. There is such a strong sense of community here – especially among entrepreneurs and start-ups. I’ve never witnessed so many people who so unselfishly give away advice, contacts, referrals, work product and offer help and resources (expecting that what comes around goes around). But in order to be showered with support for your ideas, you have to be authentic in how you approach people in this community. Boulder folks quickly sniff out a phony or con artist. I know that probably sound corny, but it’s true. If you show up for a networking event and only come there to hock your wares and promote yourself, you may as well have shown up wearing a baby seal fur coat and announce that you clubbed it yourself (most Boulderites will stone you for that). Okay, maybe it’s not quite as bad as that, but you will get labeled a “snake oil salesman” pretty quickly if you don’t embrace a collaborative and candid approach to the local “meet and greet” events. Soon, no one will take your phone call and you’ll be shunned on Twitter by your nearest neighbors. Fortunately, a sincere mea culpa brings forgiveness and second chances here.

The [i4c] Campaign (@i4cCampaign), which hails from Boulder, is deeply committed to supporting and honoring entrepreneurs. In fact, it was being tagged on Twitter by my friends at [i4c]Campaign to view the video below that drove me to write this post. As a woman entrepreneur, I found this presentation inspirational and encouraging. I hope you will too. I invite you to check out the [i4c}Campaign’s website and connect with the good people there: http://www.i4ccampaign.com/

Namaste,

Kat

Working Overtime

Business & Marketing 4 Responses »

Nov 012010

A friend and I were talking shop the other day about how much our careers have changed in just a year. For a while we were both working as marketing and PR executives in different corporate offices earning six-figure incomes and feeling grateful that we’d finally “made it.” Then in 2009 we both lost our jobs in what I refer to as the “Great American Non-essential Employee Layoff.”

For over a year my friend and I both worked as consultants after we were laid off. We swapped client stories and whined about how low our hourly rates had dropped and how much time we were spending chasing down invoice payments. Then I was offered a staff position with an agency and left my friend with my list of former clients, who I knew could not pay my new agency fees.

My friend didn’t know whether to feel jealous or sorry for me because, while consulting work offers a lot more freedom than being required to show up to an office every day, it also causes sleepless nights spent worrying when a client doesn’t pay you. On the other hand, while the regular job offers some degree of financial security and a sense of being part of a team, it also makes you vulnerable again to industry changes over which you have lost the flexibility to adapt because other people are making those decisions.

The “essentials” who remained after our layoffs were staff-level employees who churned out project work for under $35,000 a year and the C-level bosses who were being told by their CEOs and boards to make big budget cuts during a tanking economy. So, they cut us – the D-level middle managers who kept the workflow going, managed lean departmental budgets and our staffs, who were unhappy they’d not be getting year-end bonuses after all. We worked directly with the clients and customers, reported up and down the corporate food chain, solved daily problems and put out fires, then flew economy across the country for client and regional office meetings, stayed in Marriott hotels and carpooled in compact rental cars.

After the 2008-09 sweep of layoffs, companies started bringing in the very people they let go to do the very tasks they once did on salary, but now as underpaid consultants. That opened up some opportunities for the unemployed, but it also created a Dixie Cup throw away approach to staffing.

I’m not entirely blaming the employers, by the way. They create the office culture that they prefer and we sign on in return for a regular paycheck. We may grumble as we gather around the company microwave, where we heat up our frozen lunch entrees, before taking them back to our desks to continue working; but we generally don’t challenge the culture that exists for fear of losing our “secure” jobs.

I have news for you… nothing is secure about “regular” employment any longer.

Multinational CEOs are being shown the door if company stocks tank, along with formerly regaled sports coaches who dare to have two losing seasons in a row, as well as the 20-year veteran executive administrator who doesn’t know what a Tweet is, but knows every detail of the last CEO’s flight preferences, his wife’s birthday and how his dog died.

Any more there seems to be little fiscal value placed on actually training someone in a job, but an inexplicable value in finding where an employee went wrong and letting them know that they’ve been “put on notice” not to make the same mistake again. After all, your replacement is just a resume review and a phone call away.

I used to walk into companies as a management consultant, review their hiring practices, look at their employee workloads, assess their staffing and skill deficits, review their team performances against their objectives and then make recommendations about where to cut, hire, reward, fire, develop and train. That was when companies actually recognized that high turnover is costly in terms of lost productivity, repetitive training time, new hire compensation gaps, decreased company morale, lost business, project delays and bad publicity (sometimes disgruntled present and former employees complain with a megaphone). I didn’t even name every real and hidden cost of high turnover because it would just be piling on. You get the point.

When I was studying business management in college the mantra then was that successful businesses excelled by developing company loyalty among employees. Employees who love their jobs engender the best word-of-mouth publicity a Marketing Director can get. Low turnover keeps staffing costs down, productivity values high, and clients and customers happy. No customer appreciates that Customer Service Sue solves their product problems in July only to have New Hire Sam mess things up again in November. They want to know that Sue is still there and has their back if something goes wrong again.

Don’t get me wrong. If Sue drinks on the job and swears at her teammates, she may be a candidate for firing. Sam, on the other hand, may just need some additional training and time to learn the system before becoming a stellar employee. I am not suggesting that no one should ever be terminated from their job. I’m just recommending that employees not be viewed as disposable as Dixie Cups. One is not always just as good as another.

Sometimes, when given a chance, people can really surprise you with how intelligent, creative and resourceful they can be at a task that would not ordinarily fall within their job description.

As a fundraising executive, I once asked a administrative assistant – who lacked a high school diploma and whose second language was marginal English – to help me write a very challenging grant narrative for a million dollar request of a national financial institution. I needed another brain helping me on the subject and I didn’t want to keep revisiting the same well that came up with the same stagnant ideas.

My assistant shyly refused to write anything, but sat down with me and talked about her own experiences and ideas on the topic while I took notes. It was the best grant I’d ever written and I owed much of that success to my assistant. Even better than helping me to win the grant for our agency, she was very pleased to have found a new sense of pride in her work and in her unique abilities. Not long after, she stayed after normal work hours to learn a complex client management software program that made her even more valuable as an employee and gave her a sense of accomplishment. She did resign later, however – to complete her high school degree while also attending community college. I can accept turnover for reasons as good as that.

I really admire companies I learn about through my wide-range of friends, clients, colleagues and contacts that demonstrate how much they value their people. A few weeks ago I was touring some of the senior residential facilities of a national client agency. My tour guide mentioned that they have more employees going on 10 years of service than on 2, and that they’d just celebrated more than 10 people in one regional office who’d been with the company more than 20 years. As we got on the elevator, this senior executive got into a lively conversation with a woman who had been working in the laundry facilities for 12 years. It was a conversation of mutual respect and appreciation for what each of them did in their work. I was impressed. Every company should strive to create such a respectful environment among their employees – regardless of who sits in a high-rise office, hauls a laundry bag or pushes the mail cart.

Hanging on to well-trained, hard-working employees and rewarding them for their service is a whole lot more cost-effective and productive than installing a revolving door on the HR office to accommodate high staff turnover. Just run the numbers; but don’t forget to run the hidden ones I’ve mentioned too. People are not Dixie Cups. Just because you can reload the dispenser doesn’t mean you’re not being wasteful.

Wishing you all tremendous success in your endeavors!

Kat

See this great Inc. Magazine article, which illustrates my point.

“To create happy, satisfied, and loyal customers, you need happy, satisfied and engaged employees. Create a work environment where employees don’t feel appreciated, respected, or well-equipped to do their jobs, and you’re guaranteed to drain them of energy and passion.”

shortlink: http://www.katalystblog.com/?p=918

What would you do if you KNEW you could not fail?

Archives, Communications 13 Responses »

May 122010

What would you do if you knew you could not fail? I had that question hanging on a plaque over my desk for two years. Although I saw it daily, it was a year later that I finally read the word “knew.”

That one word significantly changed things for me as soon as I recognized the difference between the meaning I’d been reading and the actual words on the plaque. In my mind I had been skipping over the word knew. I read it as, “What would you do if you could not fail?” That’s very different from knowing in advance that not only will you not fail – but that you will succeed! That’s a powerful idea, isn’t it?

To know what success is you have to first define it. It’s different for everyone. Do you require fame, money, happiness, romantic love, a close family, or perhaps spiritual awakening to feel successful? What about self-determination?

At this stage in my life, success means being able to travel freely, write to my heart’s content, shoot my photographs, paint in the morning, enjoy good food and hang out with my friends anywhere and anytime I want to - all without worrying about how I will pay my bills or meet my responsibilities. I don’t really care if I sleep on my friend’s lumpy sofa in Rome – so long as while I am in Rome I have the freedom to explore, sample the exquisite cuisine, chat with friendly locals and spend a few days with my camera wandering the city and countryside. To me, that lifestyle translates into ultimate success. I know that I will have to work for it; but I would rather be earning a living doing the things that I truly love to do, and which inspire me, rather than to make lots of money doing things that I don’t enjoy or resent.

If I knew I could set out tomorrow for Italy, Greece and Turkey – and not worry that I would be stranded without money or run the risk of losing everything I’ve already created, I would be online now booking a flight to Rome. And therein lies the problem…

Fear.

Fear that everything will fall apart.

Fear of making wrong decisions.

Fear of the unknown.

Fear of losing what I already have.

Fear of failure.

I used to think myself a pretty fearless person, and I was – before I had anything significant to lose. I wish I had followed my travel dreams before they got so far away from me. I bet some of you have had similar thoughts. Fear can be paralyzing.

When I started this blog, I vowed to myself to not discuss my divorce here because I didn’t want it to define me; but I have received so many lovely and thoughtful responses to the few lines I’ve written about my divorce experience, that I’ve decided to break my self-imposed silence on the subject. It is more important to be real with my readers. Apparently, there are a lot of other people out there who are in the midst of, or have gone through, a divorce situation themselves. So, here’s a bit about my story and why I remain hopeful and positive, despite the daily challenges. I hope that you will feel comfortable enough to share yours too.

When I moved out of the home that my husband and I shared last summer, I did so because I was thoroughly miserable and had been for several years. I had married a man nearly 12 years my senior who came from a very different cultural, religious and geo-political background than I. At first our differences were compelling. He taught me new things from his experiences and I taught him new things from mine. However, as the years went on, our differences became a chasm that could no longer be bridged. What’s more, as I got older I ceased to be his agreeable, amiable younger wife. I grew weary of agreeing to everything he wanted in order to keep peace at home. It took me a long time to realize just how much control over my own choices, career path and dreams I had relinquished to my husband. The more I gave up in the name of “maintaining harmony” between us, the more control he took. Finally, it became too much for me and I started to take some of myself back. That behavior created a lot of conflict between us. My husband had gotten accustomed to my deference to his decisions. He must have been wondering, “Who is this woman demanding that we spend a holiday with her family instead of with mine?” After all, we’d gone to Florida at least once, if not twice, a year to see his family over our fourteen years together. I couldn’t even get him to agree that I should attend a very important family funeral back in my hometown of Seattle. He generated a scenario that required one of us to be home the week of the funeral, and then he left town. I was stuck in Colorado and could only send my apologies and flowers to my family.

For several years, I kept pushing for more of an equal partnership in our marriage and he kept pushing back. It became a contentious and exhausting chess match – and he was a much better chess player than I. A mutual friend once asked my former husband why he so loved being a trial lawyer and his response was, “because I love to argue.” Well, that was for sure! I couldn’t even plan a simple dinner without having to justify every part of the meal; it’s cost, preparation and nutritional value. To get through even the simplest decisions, I had to make my opening statement, present evidence, bring in witnesses and make closing arguments. I know you may think I am exaggerating, but I assure you that was just the tip of the iceberg. Only trial lawyers should marry other trial lawyers – not people like me who hate to argue.

As my unhappiness and weariness increased, I spent more and more time alone or with friends and less and less time with my husband. One day I was browsing a bookstore with a girlfriend when I saw the plaque, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” That was an excellent question that I felt I needed to seriously think about. I bought it and hung it above my desk. Every day for a year I asked myself that question – and every day I was gripped with the fear of making a dramatic change in my life. I feared the unknown. I feared failure.

Six months later, at the request of my Board of Directors, I dissolved the nonprofit agency I’d taken on as a Turnaround Specialist. Tough economic times had struck the U.S. and a sinking housing market had particularly hard hit Colorado. Because much of our state revenue was tied to a runaway housing boom, businesses and nonprofits were folding like newspaper tents caught in a hurricane. For a time, Colorado led the nation in home foreclosures and our economy was tanking (later to be led by Arizona, Nevada and Florida).

After having worked nearly nonstop since I was fifteen years old, I was suddenly out of work. With each unsuccessful job interview I grew more despondent. I was either overqualified for the position or an MBA was hired for the same job I’d previously held with my BA and having twelve years of nonprofit management experience. It didn’t seem to matter that I’d raised over $10 million grant dollars in my career or had successfully turned around 3 previously failing nonprofits. I lacked an MBA and that made me less competitive. So, I looked into going back to school for my MBA – that was until I discovered that the tuition alone was going to cost me nearly $50,000. I tried to get my husband to support my career change, but he refused and continued to interrogate me daily over the resumes I’d sent out and what job interviews I’d lined up. For over six years I had been earning the bulk of the household income and he simply wanted me to get back to work as soon as possible so we could return to our favorable standard of living. My unhappiness grew deeper.

One morning I was at my desk, preparing yet another batch of resumes and cover letters and I happened to look up at the plaque above my desk. I read it out loud and landed hard on the word “knew.” I thought about that for a while. “What if I was certain that I would succeed in regaining my happiness and self-determination if I were to leave my husband?” The next morning I started planning my break – at least that’s what it felt like: A prison break. I desperately needed to recognize that woman in the mirror again.

A year since deciding to make such a major life change, I am still officially “unemployed,” but working with a great group of interesting clients. I have only my car and a few pieces of furniture (although my estranged husband constantly threatens to take my car away, despite having promised it to me). I have lost my house, most of its contents, my hard-earned garden, my dog, and various other assets. I struggle every single month to make ends meet in a slowly improving economy. I go into court without a lawyer and face down an unprincipled trial lawyer who is doing everything in his power to make me pay for having left him. Recently, my tax return – which I had hoped would buy me a new camera – went to pay his unpaid back taxes instead. As an avid photographer, one of the most difficult things for me to be without is a decent camera – but I know that problem will eventually be solved. “Patience is a virtue,” they say, and I am a patient woman.

For years I was fearful of losing everything I’d worked so hard for – and I have surely sacrificed most of it in the interest of self-determination. I was fearful of the unknown; and yet I face the unknown every day. I was afraid of failing and making wrong decisions; and I’ve survived in spite of my many mistakes and failures. I’ve learned that nothing and no one is perfect; and so I let myself off the hook and do not expect perfection of myself, nor any one else. Life goes on despite the hardships we endure, which is why it is vitally important to welcome every new day knowing that even when you fail, you’ll survive the failure and come out the other side wiser than you were before. Eventually, mere survival gives way to living cheerfully and hopefully again. It is then that you will realize, as I have – even though my divorce battles rage on – that fear is just a four-letter word. “Fear” has no power, unless you give it power.

Everything in life has its cycle – the good stuff and the bad stuff comes and goes. What is true today may not be true tomorrow. I find a kind of liberation in knowing that unprejudiced truth. It has given me the courage to take advantage of new opportunities that present themselves, meet new people and explore more options. I know that if I miss one shot at the golden ring, the merry-go-round will spin by it again and I will have another chance. Something else will cycle through in place of missed opportunities. I just have to pay attention and keep trying to grab the ring as it comes my way again.

Namaste,

Kat

shortlink: http://bit.ly/brYjrW

Photo of the Week

Archives, Photography 3 Responses »

May 042010

It’s been kind of a rough week (and it’s only Tuesday) – which is why the Photo of the Week is a day late. Sorry about that! I am traveling in the Bermuda Triangle that is divorce right now – and it is really NO fun. My former spouse is a trial lawyer and he appears to be set on making everything as difficult and painful as possible – which is really too bad because I had hoped we could part as friends, since that is how we began. I won’t bore you with the details – even though lately they read like a dramatic novel. When you marry someone who thrives on drama, you shouldn’t be surprised when you get drama.

Personally, I prefer my drama to come in other ways… like the still drama of this old tree, long ago struck by lightening. I visit it every time I am in Rocky Mountain National Park. It never gains leaves, no matter the time of year – and yet it as beautiful as a masterful sculpture. It reminds me that even after if you’ve been struck by lightening and survived, your inner strength and beauty live on.

Namaste ~ Kat

How Can I Be a Photographer Without a Camera?

Archives, Art & Culture, Photography 15 Responses »

Apr 052010

I have been asking myself that question a lot lately – especially when people quiz me, “So, what do you do?” I used to answer first that I am a writer and photographer who also paints and then I would add, “But for a living I am a fundraiser and marketing specialist.” Now I hem and haw on the answer and sometimes land on, “I have no idea. Lots of things, I guess.” Oh well, I always hated that question anyway and receiving the sideways looks of confused strangers kind of humors me. I know I am supposed to know the answer to that question - and I do; I just don’t know how to deliver it in a tidy sentence.

This career uncertainty leads me back to launching this blog. I kept hearing from my creative friends that it should be all about my art, my photography or my writing. My business-minded friends suggested I use it to communicate about fundraising or marketing in emerging media. When I said, “How about all of those things?” to any one of them the responses were always, “Just focus on one thing you’re really good at!”

Hmm… what if I am really good at lots of different things?

I don’t think that most people believe that having talents for lots of different things is truly possible but, being both a left and right-brained thinker, I know that it is. Several brain tests I have taken demonstrated the same results: I am both analytical and creative, a realist and a dreamer (oh, and I am a true Libra).

I think the fact that my brain function is fairly evenly balanced between the two hemispheres is also the reason why I manage to shoot some good photos. I understand the technical wizardry required to capture a low light, high-speed shot and I can see the final image in my head before I even engage the button. Friends who go out shooting with me laugh that, even with digital photography and the ability to get off a hundred shots of the same subject (allowing you to hedge your bets that at least one shot will be great), I still shoot only a few frames and then I am off to the next subject. I usually know if the lighting is right, subject placement works and if the picture tells a story or will have visual appeal.

My first camera was a vintage Hasselblad rangefinder that an elderly neighbor gave to me when I was 8 years old. He bought it in Germany after WWII, before he returned to the states as an Army captain. It was heavy and shot incredibly clear and detailed images. My poor mother spent a small fortune developing film at the local drugstore every week. It was then – at the ripe old age of eight – that I decided I was going to be a photographer and a writer when I grew up.

Over the years I owned a few Canons SLRs and then finally a DSLR. My first film Canon was stolen in the Yukon and, more recently, my DSLR Canon was stolen abroad when I loaned it to friends for their vacation. They offered to replace it, but both were recently out of work and struggling financially. I could not ask them to buy me a new camera. Unfortunately, I had also let the insurance lapse because I knew I would be buying a new DSLR soon. That was a year ago.

After having my DSLR stolen, it struck me oddly that my new camera of choice was my iPhone. Nevertheless, I got off some great shots with it and at least felt like I was still living in the world of photography – even if only on the outside of town. Then I dropped my iPhone on a cement floor one evening and that was the end of my photo-shooting adventures.

Most people who know me would tell you that I am the friend who is almost never without a camera. I knew from experience that it was agonizing for me to have to say, “Oh, I wish I had my camera so I could take a picture of that!” So, I made sure that I always had a camera in my car, purse, backpack, or slung around my neck. Now, I am completely cameraless and have had to get used to life without one.

I never write about the divorce I am going through – not on Twitter, Facebook or here. It is a painful, difficult and very personal experience that I am sure many of you can relate to. Frankly, I get so tired of talking about it with close friends and family that I am thrilled to have a “virtual circle ” of friends who are oblivious and therefore ask me nothing of it. Because of the dissolution of both my marriage and the nonprofit agency I once ran, I am using all of my wits (both left and right-brained ones) to keep afloat economically and emotionally. It has been quite a valuable learning process. I have had to adapt to doing more with less and to simplify, simplify, simplify. Still, despite the difficulties, I am so much happier and healthier as a person now that I am in control of my life again. I have also noticed that my art, my writing and – most especially – my photography have become more enriched and colorful (the same is true of my friendships).

Friends sympathetically ask me how I can still be a photographer without owning a camera. To me, that is like asking a blind person how they can still be a human. I still “see” the photos I would shoot and in my mind (sometimes even out loud, which earns me a few odd looks) I observe something I would ordinarily shoot with my camera and I say “click!” Now it is stored in my brain – I just regret that I cannot share those images with others.

Once this challenging cycle in my life is over and the bloom emerges again from the thorns, I will have a good camera and be able to share those images with my friends and family, as I have been doing since I was eight years old. You can take the camera away from the photographer, but the photographer remains – and this too shall pass.

Namaste,

Kat

Shortlink: http://wp.me/pwNzo-7F

Being a Serial-tasker is not a Curse

Archives, Art & Culture, Communications 6 Responses »

Jun 012009

I tend to do a lot of things simultaneously and have therefore labeled myself a Multi-tasker, which one good friend points out is an impossible claim to make. He insists that no matter what, I can’t actually be doing more than one thing at a time. So, as a matter of semantics, we agreed that I am a Serial Tasker – someone who does multiple things back-to-back.

As a Serial-tasker, I always have a painting underway on a petite French easel that’s permanently stationed in a corner of my dining room (even my dining room multi-tasks!). It’s also likely that if I am awake, my Mac is running TweetDeck, Mail, iTunes, Photoshop, Safari and probably Word & Acrobat. In each window I am working on a task that has some sort of deadline pending – some sooner than others and some just goal deadlines I’ve created for myself and I continually putter away at.

Chances are also good that I am cooking something while running back and forth in the house between my computer and my easel. The kitchen is between the two rooms anyway – so why not make a risotto or roll some sushi as I am passing through? There’s a lot of useful simmer time that I can capture to paint a layer on the canvas or add a digital layer to my psd file (Photoshop junkies got that reference). Better yet… I squeeze in both - occasionally burning a meal in the process, but not often.

The one thing that I can’t do without focused concentration is writing. I can do several writing projects at once, as long as they are similar in nature, but I can’t mix in other tasks with writing. I need solid concentration time for that particular passion. Even if I step away from a writing project, I need relative peace so I can ruminate over what I am going to be writing. In college I wrote entire academic papers in my head before I sat down to put the words on my computer screen. It used to drive my roommates nuts that I would write and write through the night, before a major paper was due, never sleeping and then turn it in the next day and receive a higher grade than they’d received for papers they’d spent weeks working on. As any other writer might say… hey, it’s my “process!”

I have been a Serial-tasker as long as I can remember. It was a skill that was honored in my family because my father is the same way – both very left-brained and right-brained. I proudly take after him. He used to teach me how to make gunpowder in the garage when I was in grade school (his way of teaching me chemistry) but then we’d go out and tend to our elaborate Japanese garden that he so adored or take a walk through the forest behind our house. He would bring a field guide along and identify every plant, bug and tree for me along the way – then look at his pocket watch and realize that the blackberry pie he was baking was ready to come out and we would have to run back to the house. He and I would have picked and washed the blackberries at sunrise that day. My father is also ambidextrous, which I am not (my left hand is just there to help my right hand tie shoes and lift heavy objects). I almost hate to think of all the additional things that I could accomplish if I too was gifted with the skilled use of both hands!

It wasn’t until I hit middle school that my multi-tasking ability became a subject of ridicule from my teachers. I was accused of “lacking focus,” being “flighty,” or having my “head in the clouds” because I would be doodling some tremendous dragon on my PeeChee while listening and taking notes on a teacher’s presentation. Thank goodness iPods didn’t exist back then or I am sure I would have performed everything to a soundtrack. Oddly, it didn’t seem to matter to my teachers that I was a straight A student. They wanted me to “focus!”

My orchestra teacher wanted me to put my focus on my flute performances and give up volleyball, soccer and track. But I was first chair in the woodwind section, so why did I need to give up anything? My volleyball coach pressed on me that I should focus on one sport so I could excel in it, but I was good enough to stay on all of my teams and still have fun. I certainly wasn’t the star, but I was a good team player that helped the superstars stand out (I was a pretty good goalie, though). Being a team player is central to who I am. I don’t care how good you are at spiking the ball, you still need a teammate to provide you a good set up or to pass the ball so the power center-fielder could take a shot at the opponent’s goal (although I am useless with my left hand, I have a heck of a good left footed kick!).

I’ve always been told to focus, focus, focus and there were times when I really tried. I tried in college to focus on a major and came out with two majors and two minors. I tried to focus on one career but have loved the multiple fields that I’ve chosen. I never believed that my serial-tasking, multi-faceted personality was the curse that others seemed to think it was, but I learned that people preferred me to be more one-dimensional so they could categorize me and check me off their lists. I thought everybody’s brain worked like mine did, so I could never figure out why I was able to get more done in a day than most people could accomplish in 3 days. Seemed to me that they were the one’s who lacked focus.

As I got older I was awarded a new label to explain my “lack of focus” and multiple interests and activities: I was now referred to as high energy. I liked that term a whole lot more, so I embraced it. Today they would probably say I have ADD – and they would be wrong. I have the ability to focus on one thing for a long time, I just prefer to focus on lots of different things at the same time. Still, I can start on a painting and work on it all day, finally putting away my brushes and paints at 3 AM.

Upon becoming an adult I knew I could take advantage of my serial-tasking skills and I used them to propel myself into several interesting careers. I was often promoted within a few months of joining a company – which sounds great in theory – but it doesn’t always make you friends with people who feel left behind on a promotion they’d wanted. In order to get along better with my co-workers, I learned to give them my ideas in an indirect way and not take credit for them later. Soon, I was seen as an effective mentor and worked my way into management and eventually led large departments and became a nonprofit CEO.

I am often stumped when a person asks that presumptive question we all get asked when we’re introduced to someone new, “So what do you do?”

Even as a full-time CEO, I had trouble answering that question. I stammer, “Uh… uh, well, I uh…” The problem with that question is that my head cycles through all of the things that I “do” and it takes me a few seconds to land on the answer I realize they want, Oh! Work! You want to know what I do for work! The questioner often looks at me curiously, like I must suffer from advanced dementia. I know they must also be wondering how I could possibly manage anything, let alone from the position of a CEO, but I get along pretty well. I’m smart enough to hire a stellar staff. In fact, I tend to hire other Serial-taskers, like myself.

Although I have now reached a position in my career where I am high enough on the corporate food-chain not to be criticized for my “lack of focus” because I get things done, I still baffle people who need to make up their minds about me. Are you an artist, a photographer, a fundraiser, a salesperson, a marketer, a gardener, a writer, a graphic designer, a gourmet cook, or a career consultant??

Yes! Yes to all of those things!

You’ve probably realized by now that I’m using my story to get to a message for you to leave with…

Don’t let anybody else define who you are. You and you alone have the power and responsibility to define yourself and the life you want to create out of that. Anyone who tries to define you isn’t doing it in your best interest. They are doing it to make themselves comfortable. If you are in a career you hate or that simply bores you to tears, you have a responsibility to your own happiness to look very closely at why you are there. Is it for money, prestige, security, or something else? Maybe you just got caught up in a stream of jobs and found yourself there? Whatever the reason, if you don’t enjoy it, chances are you are not the best you can be at it anyway.

I love consulting with people about making life-affirming career changes. I feel like I am helping people who’ve somehow become lost in the woods and need to find themselves again. I don’t have all the answers – just helpful suggestions. I’ve found that most people know in their guts what they want to do anyway. They just need me to help them come up with a plan to get themselves there. Ask my former employees who remain in contact with me years later. One of my favorites is living out her dream in the Peace Corps after she and I had several heart-to-heart conversations and I had to threaten to fire her if she didn’t follow her dream. I didn’t of course! I sent her to grant writing workshops instead so she had a skill the Peace Corp would value. Obviously, it was valuable to me as her supervisor too. She now writes large grants for girls’ empowerment programs in Albania. I’m very proud of her.

Please contact me with your questions. I welcome them!

Namaste,

Kathleen

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