I've always been a terrible delegator and inordinately proud of my ability to multitask. By the time I've explained what needs to be done, my reasoning goes, I may as well have done it myself. And at least I'll know it was performed exactly to my specifications. And I'm not alone. Women take on more than their fair share of household chores, childcare and what I call 'office housework' (the labour intensive minutiae). Our ability to juggle a multitude of tasks, coupled with our conscientious approach to work, can result in us becoming so overloaded that we get stretched to breaking point. This tendency also affects our ability to find the time and space to think broadly and strategically about our long term goals.
And that's where Tiffany Dufu's widely praised new book Drop The Ball, Achieving More By Doing Less, comes in. It asks women to learn how to cultivate the single skill they need in order to thrive, the ability to let go. This poignant, funny and very practical title draws from Tiffany's own experiences as an overworked multitasker, and will help you rethink the way you approach your life and work.
Ladies Who Lunch (And Do)
Honored to be included in Elle Magazine Editor in Chief Robbie Myers' lunch event, part of Elle Agenda, an initiative to bring together successful women over a productive conversation about the biggest issues they face today.
Patricia Herrera Lansing, a former Vanity Fair fashion editor and daughter of Carolina Herrera; Dee Poku, founder and CEO of women's empowerment network WIE; Susan Mercandetti, editor-at-large of Random House Publishing Group; Meryl Poster, founder and president of Superb Entertainment; Robbie Myers; Tavi Gevinson, journalist, actor, and entrepreneur; Alexis Maybank, cofounder of Gilt Groupe and Project September; author Emma Cline; Samira Nasr, fashion director at Elle; and Mickey Rapkin, a journalist and former senior editor at GQ.
Announcing The Other Festival
We live in the age of the maker. There is an entrepreneurial spirit infusing this generation like never before, and New York (Brooklyn in particular) is at the epicenter of the female founder movement. That's why I'm so thrilled to announce my newest event, The Other Festival.
The Other Festival is a one day event that celebrates female makers and creators. It showcases the emerging pioneers of this generation, the women who are redefining how to do business, setting their own rules, pushing boundaries. Next wave inventors, storytellers, founders, artists.
The event is being produced by Live Nation and we're honored to count the City of New York (WE NYC), Ogilvy, Univision, The Skimm and Galore among our many partners. The festival takes place on Saturday June 11th in Brooklyn and here's what you'll experience:
The coolest space EVER - indoor/outdoor stages, mini gardens, viewing platform
Fascinating and informative discussions
Workshops on everything from blogging to design to raising money
Ample opportunities to connect with fellow makers
Art, photography, dance, demos
Shopping in our SMART SHOP village
And we cap it all off with a night of kick ass live music!
Do sign up to our dedicated festival newsletter and follow us on Instagram at @otherfestival for regular updates and access to special offers.
Nobody knows better than you
This week I interviewed Elizabeth Cutler, the founder of SoulCycle for my monthly speaker series and it was a bittersweet experience. She and her co-founder Julie Rice had announced their resignations from SoulCycle the day before. That aside, she was a funny, honest, straight talker about everything from the importance of trusting your instincts, to actually generating revenues to sustain growth (not just raising more money!), and the value of grassroots marketing over paid advertising. Amazing entrepreneur.
Equal pay for equal work
I recently had to negotiate my fee for a new consulting gig. I wasn't really happy with their proposed rate so I countered. And the other party offered me more money, but still less than the amount I’d requested. Despite this, I immediately accepted. Because in my mind, it was still a pretty good offer.
I’d fallen into a classic trap and was instantly annoyed with myself. Why did I give up so easily? Because I was afraid the offer might go away? Or didn't want to seem too pushy or greedy? Though at least I negotiated. Did you know that 70% of women don't negotiate their salaries at all?
Today is National Equal Pay Day. A host of initiatives aim to bring awareness and action to the problem, and celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence, Patricia Arquette and Sheryl Sandberg have or are speaking out on the issue. Women are paid 78 cents for every dollar a man makes and it’s a practice that needs to stop. Women need to know their value and be unafraid to hold out for what they want. And it's worth being prepared before you go to the negotiating table. If you're unsure, it always helps to ask advice from successful peers and mentors about negotiating style.
