Authenticity in the Workplace: Really?

Deborah McMurray is the founder, CEO and Strategy Architect of Content Pilot. Her vision has always been to elevate professional services organizations through smarter strategies, dazzling execution and a service ethic that starts with passion and ends with love and care. In this podcast we discuss authenticity in the workplace. We also address topics like being grateful for what we have, what past generations had to deal with that we don’t, and what we are most grateful for.

We touch on some harder hitting issues like the fact that men still run the world and whether it matters that men hold the majority of leadership positions. We talk about whether having more women in power would lift women everywhere in every way. more women in power. Lastly, we address what would be different, if anything, if there were more women in leadership positions.

What Makes Deborah Unique

As a former head of two large law firm marketing departments, she brings a leader’s in-house perspective to every engagement with a professional services firm. Having conducted many hundreds of client interviews, she also brings the client’s voice to every assignment.

Wonder Woman

Deborah McMurray,

CEO of Content Pilot

Our approach is strategy-first in everything we do. Our clients’ strategic vision and goals reign supreme, and we are both the standard-bearers and protectors of them. With your strategy as our foundation, we design for your firm five years from now – pushing you to see greater possibilities than you might imagine today.

I have co-authored several books published by the American Bar Association Law Practice Management Division, with the latest being, “The Lawyer’s Guide to Marketing on the Internet, 4th edition.” I also wrote the 2nd and 3rd editions with co-author Greg Siskind.

—Deborah McMurray

Deborah From Her Own Point of View:

Projects she Loves

Anything with strategy. Unearthing positioning strategy is a special talent and I am known for it. Working with our creative director and project managers on smart and beautiful design for websites and brands, crafting a new and elevating content strategy, and writing copy with heart that hits the intellectual and emotional mark – I love all of this.

I am literally thrilled when we work with major law firms on their new proposal systems and experience management projects. Again starting with strategy, we climb into their processes, understand their teams and their technologies and find ways to streamline, make them better, more productive and efficient.

What Makes her Proud

I am proud of three decades of service to the legal marketing community, having held many local and national roles in the Legal Marketing Association. I was inducted into the LMA Hall of Fame in 2008 and the College of Law Practice Management as a Fellow in 2007. I was delighted to be on the inaugural list of National Law Journal’s “2013 Top 50 Legal Business Trailblazers & Pioneers” and included in LawDragon’s Top 100 Legal Consultants for several years running.

My charitable service is intensely meaningful, too. I am Board President of the Resource Center, the largest LGBT and HIV provider of services in North Texas. And I am a long-time board member and advocate for the Dallas Theater Center.

Nuts and Bolts

• Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, Gustavus Adolphus College, St Peter, MN

• Master of Music, honors, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

• Frequent author and blogger, speaker at regional, national and international conferences and law firm retreats, tweeter

Enjoy the Podcast

Deborah McMurray

How to Reach Deborah McMurray:

deborah mcmurray

CEO+Strategy Architect

D214.351.9690

C972.897.4921

deborah.mcmurray@contentpilot.com

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Badass Lady Gang Member a.k.a. Wonder Woman in Business, Lindsay Griffiths Shares New News!

Lindsay Griffiths

International Lawyers Network

Lindsay Griffiths is [currently] the International Lawyers Network’s (ILN) Director of Global Relationship Management. In this role, she develops and facilitates relationships among ILN member firm lawyers at 90+ law firms in 67 countries, and seeks opportunities for member firms to build business and relationships, while ensuring member participation in Network events and initiatives. Ms. Griffiths works closely with the Network’s Executive Director on the oversight and management of day-to-day operations. She develops strategies and implementation plans to achieve the ILN’s goals, and shares responsibility with the Executive Director for recruitment, member retention, and a high level of service to members.

At least that’s what you THINK she is — and what she does — for now.

In this episode of “Wonder Women in Business Podcast,” Badass Lady Gang Member, Lindsay Griffiths shares with us some surprising news about her newest professional accomplishment and some of her proudest personal and professional achievements. Lindsay speaks about a unique and unexpected inspirational mentor, someone you’d never guess. Together we dish about gender bias, particularly “prove it again” bias in the international arena.

This was one of the most fun podcasts to date. Enjoy — and Go Red Sox!

Enjoy the podcast.

Lindsay Griffiths, ILN

To Contact Lindsay:

Lindsay Griffiths, Executive Director of Global Relationship Management

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lindsaygriffiths

Websites:

iln.com  (International Lawyers Network)

zenlegalnetworking.com  (Zen & Art of Legal Networking)

lindsaygriffithsphotography.wordpress.com/  (Lindsay Griffiths Photography)

Phone: 201-594-9430 (Work)

Email: lindsaygriffiths@iln.com

Twitter: @LindsayGriffith

FreemanMeansBusiness.com

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Wonder Women in Business: Couldn't Be Wilder About Carrie Wilder!

Carrie Wilder

Expedia Group

Director of Market Management, Argentina

Cross-cultural communication has become strategically important to companies due to the growth of global business, technology, and the Internet. Understanding cross-cultural communication is important for any company that has a diverse workforce or plans on conducting global business. As one might imagine, such efforts are extremely important at global companies like Expedia.

Today, we welcome Carrie Wilder, Director of Market Management in Argentina for Expedia Group Lodging Partner Services. Expedia Group powers travel to a highly valuable global audience of travel consumers, collaborating with the world’s leading consumer brands to provide incremental demand and direct bookings.  Travel agents have direct access to one of the broadest selections of travel products and services on the world’s travel platform.

A graduate of Georgetown University, in Washington D.C. Carrie has acquired 25 years of international experience in the hospitality industry both in renowned hotel companies and consulting firms. She began her career with Marriott and Hilton in the U.S, and upon relocating to Buenos Aires she joined the pre-opening team of Park Hyatt Buenos Aires where she stayed for 6 years as Front Office Manager with financial and operational responsibilities for Rooms Division. 

As Director of Marketing, Communication and Services in the consulting firms Service Quality Training and Creative Concepts Massimo Ianni, Carrie was able to apply her experience in service, training, and customer care in  a variety of projects all over Argentina. Constantly looking for new challenges and the opportunity to create innovative concepts, she joined in the development and opening of the Faena Hotel & Universe as Director of Operations. 

As a consultant, she has worked for Massimo Ianni & Associates and Ten Rivers Hospitality, both firms are dedicated to assisting service oriented companies and hotels, as well as hotel development projects. In the educational field, Carrie has been a professor at Swiss American Hospitality Institute, Fundacion Collegiato, and the Business School at Universidad de San Andrés. 

Together with the Austral Group, she collaborates as a tourism and hotel industry expert panelist and gives conferences to visiting MBA candidates from prestigious foreign universities visiting Buenos Aires.  In 2004, she was also a co-founder of Cast9, a consulting boutique specializing in service, quality, and training using innovative concepts and methodologies which apply theatrical techniques, theory and exercises to human resources for the hospitality industry. Expedia Lodging Partner Services, a division of Expedia Group, recruited Carrie to lead their team and ambitious growth plans for South America in 2017.

Enjoy the podcast.

Carrie Wilder

Expedia Group

Director of Market Management, Argentina

Carrie’s LinkedIn Profile

linkedin.com/in/carriewilder

Websites

• casacalma.com.ar  (Portfolio)

• laalondra.com.ar  (Portfolio)

• cast9.com  (Portfolio)

Phone

• 5491161561222 (Mobile)

Email

carriewilder@gmail.com

Twitter

• godiva3

FreemanMeansBusiness.com

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You Can Take the Girls Out of the South But..

Jennifer Scalzi

Wonder Woman in Business

…You can’t take the South out of the girls! I had a fantastic conversation with Jennifer Scalzi of Calibrate Legal yesterday! She’s a gal after my own heart. Jenn and I come from Texas and Louisiana respectively and ended up in Boston (my favorite city in the U.S. of A.). Although I left years ago (y’all know my story), Jenn resides in the Boston suburbs with her husband and four children.

About Jennifer…

Jennifer Scalzi is the Founder and CEO of Calibrate Legal and its subsidiary, J. Johnson Executive Search (JJES). Jennifer has spent the last 17 years inside, and as a consultant to, law firms. As Calibrate Legal’s CEO, she utilizes that industry insight to develop modern services that prepare today’s law firms for tomorrow’s legal marketplace. Sophisticated talent plays a large role in that strategy, and Jennifer specializes in helping her clients find the best path forward when seeking to hire impact players in marketing, business development and communications roles.

In the past decade of providing placement and strategy services to law firms, she has achieved prominence as a business partner who truly understands the landscape of the current and future legal industry. Her insider knowledge — gained from six years in professional development and lawyer recruitment at a prominent Am Law 100 firm and as a leader in the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) — gives her a competitive advantage that saves her clients time and energy. She looks to her vast network of leaders from industries spanning professional and financial services, university educators, and key stakeholders in Fortune 100 companies to inform her perspective of the business world at large.

“I created Calibrate Legal after having countless conversations with law firm leaders about the obstacles they face in proving their contribution to their firms’ bottom line. I wanted to develop platforms and tools that would help those who have previously been labeled “non-lawyers” to redefine themselves as Revenue Enablers™. When their mindset changes, the trajectory of their firms will change as well.”

Enjoy the podcast.

Jennifer Scalzi

Jennifer’s expertise is international in scope and she has successfully placed candidates on three continents. She runs global searches for her clients and regularly travels throughout the country, and on occasion overseas, for the sole purpose of assessing candidates.

A featured speaker and published author on topics of professional and career development, Jennifer has contributed to Forbes, CBS’s “MarketWatch,” The American Lawyer, and Law360.com, among others. Jennifer’s networking  was most recently profiled as a case study in J. Kelly Hoey’s 2017 book, Build Your Dream Network: Forging Powerful Relationships in a Hyper-Connected World. Additionally, Jennifer was inducted into the College of Law Practice Management in October 2017, which recognizes distinguished law practice management professionals. She is also a Fellow of the ALM Intelligence Program.

How to get in touch with Jennifer?

EMAIL: Jennifer@Calibrate-Legal.com

TWITTER: @Calibrate_Legal

LINKEDIN: linkedin.com/company/calibratelegal/

FreemanMeansBusiness.com

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A Visit to the Island with Mike O'Horo

Mike O’Horo

“The Coach”

Mike O’Horo is been known by lawyers everywhere as The Coach. He’s helped more than 7000 of them generate $1.5 billion in new business. He’s integrated human coaching with online education (Dezurve) and interactive training (RainmakerVT) that teaches practical business development skills. These tools also enable firms to identify which lawyers are serious about learning, and which will contribute to the estimated 80% waste of your budget.

Prior to getting into the law biz, Mike had been a:

• gemologist, jewelry designer, and turnaround manager for underperforming stores,

• sales trainer for jewelry salespersons,

• recruiter for the computer industry,

• co-creator of crude, pre-Internet software to automate recruitment (startup ended in a crash and burn),

• sports marketer, selling pro tennis event sponsorships and athlete endorsements

Since 1991, Mike has been a sales coach to lawyers, helping them generate opportunities and convert them into revenue. He created processes and software that supports all three components of the learning mission:

1. Education : Dezurve is a curated library of marketing/sales topics. It enables firms to offer BD education to all their lawyers at negligible cost. By measuring each lawyer’s participation level, it identifies which lawyers are committed to learning, and therefore deserve additional investment in training and coaching.

2. Training : RainmakerVT is a 24/7 virtual world where lawyers learn and practice BD skills via interactive simulations. It also tracks participation and progress, identifying which lawyers deserve serious coaching investment.

3. Coaching : This is the 1:1 collaboration by which lawyers apply what they’ve learned.

We had a great time on the podcast, touching upon his recent marriage and move to Belize. Yes, Belize, folks! I had an incredible interview with Mike, sharing some great intel and some fun stuff too! Enjoy the podcast here:

Enjoy the podcast.

Mike O’Horo

How can people reach Mike?

• Websites: Rainmakervt.com and Dezurve.com

• Email: mikeohoro@rainmakervt.com

• Twitter: @salescoach

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mikeohoro/

• Skype for U.S. callers: 702-879-4837

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The Secret Life of Silvia Coulter

Wonder Woman

Silvia Coulter

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know
And YOU are the guy [ahem, gal!] who'll decide where to go. — Dr. Seuss

I simply cannot say how deeply delightful recording this podcast was for so many reasons. Silvia Coulter threw me so many curve balls in our chat on my podcast that I was jaw-dropped much of the time. Who knew? Not only did we both attend Northeastern in Boston (she was actually graduated from Northeastern), she knew exactly where I used to live on the South Shore. We had so much fun talking about everything from happy thoughts like Beantown back then to fine China and sad thoughts like the empathy we share for one another, caring for ailing and aging — dying — mothers. I learned things about Silvia that brought tears to my eyes and in the same sitting made my cheeks burn from smiling so much. You too will learn more about this amazing woman in this podcast I call, “The Secret Life of Silvia Coulter.”

Enjoy the podcast.

Silvia Coulter

Most of us know and love Silvia for her for her experience as a legal business development phenom. She has been a “shero” of mine for many years in the industry. Her current role at LawVision Group is as Co-founding Principal and she is also an Adjunct Professor at George Washington University, College of Professional Studies in the Masters in Law Firm Management Program.  Silvia is widely regarded as one of the legal industry’s most experienced business development, leadership and organizational culture experts. Her experience includes working as a former strategic account executive and sales leader at a Fortune 50 company, a chief marketing and business development officer of two global law firms, and consultant and facilitator to firms across the globe.

Law firm leaders rely on her experience and assistance with leadership development, culture assessments and business development strategy.  In 2010 she was given the highest recognition in the industry among her peer group and was inducted into the Legal Marketing Hall of Fame. She is a co-founder of the Legal Sales and Service Organization (LSSO) and a Past Elected President of the Legal Marketing Association and a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management. She is a frequent speaker and facilitator at law firm retreats and legal industry meetings.

LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/silviacoulter/

EMAIL: scoulter@lawvisiongroup.com

MOBILE: (617) 697-4869

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