Don't Wait Till Graduation -- Your Life Starts Now!

Here is a pre-commencement address for the students in your family.

It's no secret that we're in a tough economy and that trend is likely to continue.  Thus, getting work-ready is an important priority.  Get an edge on the competition and start now to build experience to showcase on a resume.  If you wait until you're actually looking for that first big job, it might be too late.

The good news is that companies will be needing smart, savvy new entrants.  We've been through two no-hiring phases in the last ten years, so there are big gaps in the talent pipeline.  The aging BabyBoomers will ultimately retire or be replaced. 
But it's C-O-M-P-E-T-I-T-I-V-E out there.

Q.  What do hiring decisionmakers like to see? 
A.  Passion, perseverence, leadership, pursuit of excellence.

Q.  I don't know what I want to do after graduation.
A.  That's OK.  Why not use the time now to see what's out there?  Snoop around.  Try on a summer job and see what it's like in a particular company or industry.  Use the process of elimination to find out what you definitely DON'T want to do.  That's a step forward.

Q.  No one is hiring.
A.  Volunteer at a non-profit.  Every position inside the organization -- from marketing to accounting, IT and fundraising -- could use an extra dose of help and brainpower.  This will look great on a resume and you can make some excellent contacts.

Q.  I can get hourly work in retail or a restaurant, but I'm not interested in pursuing that field.
A.  If you need $$ and this is what's available, go for it.  See if you can get continuing work in one specific company over a period of time.  Summer job, holiday work.   Demonstrate work ethic and longevity.    Build relationships with customers, who may be able to help you in the future. 

Q.  I've been a camp counselor every summer.  How will that help my future career?
A.  Winning the slot year after year is a good thing. Shows you are well-regarded, reliable.   Also indicates you can deal with the unexpected and all kinds of people issues.  Homesick kids.  Demanding parents, etc.

Q.  What about an international program or mission initiative?
A.  Definitely a good addition to your portfolio!

Q.  I love music and I'm in a band. 
A.  Practice makes perfect.  Keep it up! Maybe even keep track of hours/gigs/revenue.  Add a quantitative
twist to a future resume. Track customer/venue names. You're building a network for the future!

Q. I'm into writing...cooking...Superheroes...vampires...
A.  Then turn your avocation into a potential vocation.  Write a blog.  Share your knowledge, passion with others.  Become a young, up-and-coming thought leader.

Q.  Will I need an internship?
A.  YES.  YES.  YES.  This is the primary hiring pool for future positions.  Begin laying the groundwork now.

Q.  I don't want to work in someone else's company.  I want to have my own business.
A.  Excellent!  Then start now.  Or preview the entrepreneurial life by working for another business owner/founder.   

Make the most of this valuable time in your life.  Have a great summer.  Be a sponge.  Listen and learn.  Find out about people's lives.  Collect cards and contact information.  Oh...and don't do anything stupid/crazy/unretractable on-line. Honor your personal brand!!!  :)

Synergy



Christine Breck, founder of Texas Wall Street Women, called this week with an invitation to present at the Dallas chapter's October meeting. 

We brainstormed critical topics to address:  leadership, career management and networking -- all wrapped up under the umbrella of busy career time constraints. How does one cope with work, home, family, fitness, a touch of social life and still find time to sleep??? 

It's risky to have all of one's eggs in one basket.  A byword of career planning is to network before you need to.  And advancement often requires relationships and outreach in industry circles beyond one's immediate department, according to author and career expert Dr. Helen Harkness.  Yet, in a post-downsized world, bandwidth is limited.  It's not uncommon for an individual to be doing the work of more than one. 

What's the solution?  Women in particular need a career and relationship strategy that delivers efficiencies.  It's all about synergy -- mixing business and personal realms.

Men have been doing it for years.  Drinks at the 19th hole after a game of golf.  Football and baseball outings.  Poker groups.  We now have executive women golf initiatives.  But you don't have to undertake sports if you're not athletically inclined.  There are many other paths.

Here are some points that I will address:

1.  People do business with those they like.  Become friends with your clients.

2.  Saying no is an important as saying yes.  Don't get saddled with commitments if they are not going to give you an effective ROI.  Or if they're not enjoyable.

3.  Delegate and outsource -- don't try to be the homemade cupcake goddess if you are a time-crunched  road warrior. 

4.  Seek alliances that can deliver multiple outcomes. 

5.  Find fitness outlets with friends.

6.  Target organizations where your customers are -- and your competitors are not.

When I was single in my 30s, I always built relationships with the wives of male clients.   My pro bono community work was always in support of their special charities.  When I married, my husband and I became friends as couples with many longtime clients and co-workers.  We are trusted advisors to one another.  We network.  We refer business.  We help each other.     

On Saturdays, I always look forward to Lisa Ann McCall's Body Balance class.  It's a wonderful regime and as a bonus, it's a catch-up session with friends and colleagues from Texas Women Ventures (4 of us), Second Wednesday Book Club (3 of us) and Women's Leadership Exchange (4 of us), as well as a women's financial breakfast series where I first met Lisa Ann!

Texas Women Ventures Fund has been highly rewarding.  We are a mezzanine fund that invests in women-led businesses.  It's an impressive network of professional women -- and some men, as well -- who provide funding as well as expertise and connections, as needed, by the portfolio companies.  It's a for-profit organization for the investors, but one which also does good, as the companies are creating hundreds of jobs in their local economies.  Many friendships and business relationships have been forged, as the group prepares to raise a third fund this year. 

The key is to find The Perfect Fit of outreach initiatives that work for you and your career goals.

Dress for Success

copyright Nancy Keene, 1983

Have you ever heard of John Malloy's Dress for Success bible? 

When women were gaining higher stature in the workforce, he espoused in 1975 a set of rules for professional attire -- spawning minions of man-suited females and likely inspiring the entire Liz Claiborne category of fashion for working women at the time, launched in 1976 with great success. 

Malloy's message, at heart, was pretty sensible.  Be conservative. Be classy. Don't make fads and fashion your focal point. To some extent, the principles still apply.

Why do controversies constantly erupt on aspects of female attire?  It's been widely discussed this week, due to the hoo-hah of the New York Jets coaching staff and television reporter Ines Sainz. See link to NFL story here. 

 
I did an interview today on the topic with MSNBC "career diva'' Eve Tahmincioglu.   See link here

There are many reasons for confusion.  More flexibility exists in what you can wear today, as there are companies that favor old-school, traditional corporate attire.  Others go the business casual route.  Then you add the complication of home offices -- occupied by entrepreneurs as well as Fortune 500 company sales forces seeking real estate savings on the bottom line. 

There are no real rules.  And no singular expert upon whom women today rely.   

 

copyright Nancy Keene, 1983

I wrote a blogpost last year on the dilemma.  Here is the link. 

Generally, you are in charge of your own brand.  You get to choose your own packaging to showcase your  fashion sense, career image and life purpose. 

Here are some principles for perpetuity: 

• Dress for the job you want, not just the job you have now
• Watch for visual cues from those you admire
• Consider your personal brand and how your attire transmits signals
• Be appropriate for your role
• If you are going to multiple venues during the day, dress for the dressiest. 
• You can always remove a jacket or alter accessories to suit the more casual setting
• Who you want to be and how you look must be congruent

Some comments on Ines:

There was an early role model in sports broadcasting who was also a former beauty queen.  The elegant, classy Phyllis George.  But she was pioneering in a U.S. media market, which favored attractive, but conservative females, albeit with a touch of sass.   The female on-air TV talent in Latin America has a distinctive aspect of va-va-voom.  So...it is important to view Ines in the context of her home market. 

Photo commentary:  A video shoot at D/FW Airport to promote voice mail technology for VMX, my first high-tech ad/PR client.  I was cast as a busy, traveling businesswoman who wanted an easy way to stay in touch with her office and clients.  Even in the 1980s, they wanted the Dress for Success look and there was one little John Malloy silk neck bow in my wardrobe -- added to a demure silk tweed suit with a wrap skirt. Vintage, anyone? 

Mad Men: Don Draper's 10 Secrets of Career Success

Don Draper, the dashing lead character in the television series Mad Men, is a master in the art of re-invention. His story is taken to the extreme, as he architected his ascent from humble beginnings to the top of Madison Avenue in the 1960s.

Flash forward to today -- a difficult economic environment with many vying for fewer upwardly mobile career slots. 

What can be learned from Don's skills and strategies?

Here's an analysis -- from my perch as talent advisor and former ad agency VP:

• #1  Lack of Privilege. Don entered the world in the ultimate state of indignity. His mother was a prostitute who died giving birth to him. He was dumped on the wife of his cheating, abusive father -- an unwelcome addition to the family and on-going reminder of the infidelity.  It didn't discourage him, it propelled him.
• #2  Visionary. Don was a have-not in a world of haves. Every life experience magnified the disadvantage of his childhood status and the allure of a better place.  He would escape to the dark of the cinema and fantasize living the life he observed on the bright silver screen. He had clarity, ambition and determination.
• #3 Opportunistic. When his commanding officer was killed in the bunker, Don seized a lifeline by trading G.I. tags and undertaking a new identity. Wounded and in a state of delirium, he still had the grit and wherewithal to break out of the box of his reality and into the potential of his future. He lives his mantra, "Move forward."
• #4 HANDSOME! ! ! ! Women swoon over Don's good looks. And guys consider him a man's man. What a delightful and beneficial distraction as he's striving to jump onto a new path to prosperity. Recipients of fibs and fakery along the way probably didn't even notice, as they were no doubt dazzled by his considerable dazzle. Clearly it was an asset he was able to package and deploy.
• #5 Core Talent.  Don is a gifted story-teller, as wife Betty notes when confronting him about his double life. His talent was born out of ignominy, desire for escape and the complexity of living a lie. He knows first-hand the desperation of want -- an insight that would evolve as a secret competitive weapon.  He has the power to persuade.
• #6 Savvy Targeting. Don is not adept with money or the mechanics of business. He knows how to sell and compel. Thus he chose a brilliant career track: the go-go world of advertising. It was the glamorous, highly-compensated Master of the Universe profession of its time and a growth field, to boot.
• #7 Act and Dress the Part. To elevate into a new echelon, industry or company, you must embody the culture and nuances.  You have to fit in.  Don may have the private behavior of an alley cat, but in public he displays the patina of the elite.  He has impressive board room presence.   He is indignant at impolite behavior. ''Take off your hat," he orders uncouth gents in the elevator. 
• #8 Massive Capacity to Hold Liquor. Who isn't amazed at the proliferation of alcohol and womanizing depicted on the show? No wonder they called it the Swinging Sixties!  That said, Don is generally cool, credible and in control when on duty for Sterling Cooper business. No blithering or dialing drunk. An excellent lesson, always.  
• #9 Work Ethic. Despite the drinking and extracurricular activities, Don puts out the work -- in spades. He is constantly jotting, thinking, researching. He gets out of bed in the middle of the night when his client Conrad Hilton beckons. The original 24/7 man, he also demands high performance of others.  When turning down copywriter Peggy Olsen for a raise, he tells her, "You're good. Get better!"
• #10 Supportive Sponsor. You can't get from here to there all by yourself. Neither did Don. You need a network of support -- at the top.  Ad agency owners Bert Cooper and Roger Sterling were good star-pickers. They took Don under their wings, nurtured, challenged and rewarded him. But they called in their chits when they needed him to sign an employment contract in order to win and retain key clients.
• Bonus Boost:  The Better Half. Don was strategic and savvy in wooing a wife who would fit his future standing. Betty had breeding and Grace Kelly beauty.  She came from the Philadelphia Main Line, a Bryn Mawr alumna.  She knew how to ''keep help'' and run a proper, tastefully-appointed home. She bore him a daughter -- and two sons to carry on his made-up name.  With Betty, he had the complete package.

But it wasn't enough for Don. Or was it too much? Maybe more than he deserved?

WSJ: Should you Relocate Before you have a Job?

I am featured in The Wall Street Journal in an article entitled The Next Best Career Move:  Actually Moving.  Writer Liz Garone did an outstanding job illustrating the premise with success stories of people who have put the cart before the horse, i.e., moving before they have a job.

It takes targeting, strategy, research -- and guts.  But if you are in a geography that is lackluster in career opportunities -- with a glut of talent competing for few slots -- it makes all the sense in the world to reposition and catapult yourself into a more robust, career-enhancing economy. 

Look at the cumulative boost in earnings that could accrue throughout your career.  More is better than less in terms of what you will need to fund retirement.  And opportunity breeds opportunity.

Some excerpts from the WSJ piece:

So far the trend is visible at either end of the job spectrum: from senior-level job seekers who have a financial cushion to weather the costs of the move and the following transition period to more junior-level job seekers, who have fewer fixed expenses and can move easily.

Nancy Keene, a director in the Dallas office of executive search firm Stanton Chase, calls it the "act local/be local" phenomenon, in which job hunters are doing whatever they can to appear to be—or become—part of a community. It's a career move that—if executed right—can be a good investment. "People are looking to reposition for the next phase of their career," she says. "If you're going somewhere with a robust and diversified economy, it's a pretty safe bet." 

Some who can't afford to make the move are giving the illusion of being local by renting a mailbox, getting a local cellphone number, and staying with friends and family nearby to attend networking and industry events, Ms. Keene says.

I speak from personal experience.  Moving to Texas at a time when the Rust Belt was struggling was a smart and strategic move that dramatically changed life for the better.  Both of my sisters followed me to Dallas where they also launched successful careers.  Here is a link that describes my own relocation in D Magazine's Why We Love Dallas cover story.

Here are some tips to forge your own path-to-prosperity:

1. Thoroughly research companies in your sector.
2. Monitor corporate news in the local media and business publications of your target location.
3. Get your resume into the databases of executive search firms as a form of ''passive marketing.''
4. Reach out to your networks of college alumni and former work colleagues for insider perspectives, referrals and introductions.     
5. Make the most of in-market visits.  Stay with family or friends.  Have a full schedule of meetings, interviews and networking activities.
6. Be sure that your social media listings (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) are consistent with how you are presenting yourself, location-wise.
7. Select a realtor who is well-rooted in the market for information on transitional, rental and even housesitting possibilities.

Other excellent resources:

• Best/Worst states for employment -- from DailyBeast.com
• Inbound migration statistics
• North Texas growth metrics -- from the brilliant Michael Cox, director of SMU's O'Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom

I am a big fan of the brilliant author and thought leader Marshall Goldsmith.  In his new book Mojo, he dedicates an entire chapter to the topic That Job is Gone! Many people are hoping to wait out the return of the market, but many of the jobs and industries are gone for good.

If you are weighing the possibilities of undertaking a relocation on your own, Marshall offers inspirational tools and metrics, balanced with the splash of cold water reality that can help in your decisionmaking process.  

Going/Growing Global

Call it the law of unintended consequences.  You're a rapid-growth local food company.  You build out your market in concentric circles.  Local...regional...national.  But one day...boom.  You're selling into the military.  Where are their end-users?  Iraq.  Afghanistan.  You've got to drop-ship into Dubai.  Congratulations!  You're now a global company. 

How do you execute on the opportunity?  Hire someone in Dubai to oversee?  Pay a premium to an international broker?  Is there a stateside supply-chain/logistics who does it all from here?  You quickly have to know what questions to ask.  Having an Advisory Board with broad reach and expertise makes a material difference to help you navigate the decision tree -- profitably. 

We're living in an interdependent, connected 24/7 world.  And despite the worldwide economic downturn, globalism is not dead, according to Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.  This was discussed at the daylong inaurural conference of the new O'Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom at SMU Cox, where I spoke on the panel, Accessing Global Talent.

The statistics are not cheery.  We're experiencing historical drops in global trade.  Sales and shipments of both durable and intermediate goods are down.  A particularly visual datapoint relates to overcapacity and slack in cargo.  Currently, there are 178,000 freight cars sitting unused.  Picture an empty train 2,900 miles long, stretching almost end-to-end across the U.S.

Fisher's soundbite of the day warned against the danger of protectionism.  ''It is, quite frankly, the crack cocaine of economics.  It may provide politicians with a temporary high, yet it is instantly addictive and inevitably proves debilitive and fatal."

But Fisher encourages us to take heart. He notes that Americans are inherently capitalistic and thrive on competition.

Thomas Falk, chairman and CEO of Kimberly-Clark, validated the continuing importance of global markets with his lieutenants overseeing China and Russia in tow.  Targeting global customers is critical to growth.  But the key to extend , target and capture worldwide market share is to learn the quirks and minutiae of local customers, which means understanding local culture, which in itself is evolving and changing with globalization.

The competitive roadmap is different for each geography.  China has 150 brands of disposable diapers.  Russia has six.  Distribution channels are even more complex.  There is no one rule/approach for global expansion.  It's not a mass-market approach, but a custom fit.  It's all local, local, local.

That means cutting through bureaucratic red tape and finding the most welcoming and efficient locales for new plants.  It means gearing up for rapid growth in China, where the best and brightest employees seek companies that can deliver 40% annual growth and a robust future career path.  10% is measly.  You have to enter the market with a big plan and commitment.

In the early gold rush to put down stakes in China, American and European companies have been competing with each other for local talent there.  Today, the big competition is with Chinese national companies which are raising the ante in compensation packages, promises for growth and patriotic prestige. 

Later in the day, Rich Templeton, chairman, president and CEO of Texas Instruments delivered an ''ah hah'' moment regarding the global aspect of their corporate DNA.  The company was founded by entrepreneurs in the oil services business -- early global road warriors with customers, relationships and a business view that was far more far-reaching than less-traveled domestic counterparts.   When I met my husband, a deepwater subsea engineering expert, he had the most exotic range of passport stamps of anyone I had ever known! 

TI was early to expand into postwar Europe in the 1950s,  Japan in the 1960s, Asia in the 1960-70s and India in the 1980s.  Today, 88% of revenue ships outside of U.S.

The company embraces the global marketplace as an opportunity not a threat.  "We do not know borders,"
he explains. 

Talent also has no boundaries, so TI casts a wide global net to target the top engineers/designers in each locale.  Their historical global presence also put them close to global customers, solving unique problems and tapping in to emerging innovations at a very early stage.  Products are developed by multi-country design teams.  Templeton touts that TI stock provides a way to invest in global markets. 

So how does Dallas fit into the picture?  As a global business nexus, opines Fisher -- with confirming statistics on the Ascension of DFW presented by O'Neil Center director Michael Cox, former chief economist at the Dallas Fed. 

With brain power, transportation, favorable cost-of-living, entrepreneurial spirit, DFW is a location to which global talent is easily willing to relocate.  The local area has grown from a scant 3,000 in the 1870 census to a burgeoning population of 6 million -- now the fourth largest metropolitan area in the U.S.  Despite an unavoidable impact from the global recession, the North Texas area still has the lowest rate of unemployment anywhere in the country, except the home of the federal government -- Washington, D.C. 

"But that's not a real city," quipped Cox.

Scott Smith, VP of staffing at AT&T, laid out an incredible, multi-media machine being built for recruitment of the 30,000 people the company targets hiring annually as it expands into new markets and replaces waves of BabyBoomers preparing for retirement.  It is a massive and impressive initiative!

For other companies fighting for the same talent pool, executive search firms like mine will continue to offer a similar, aggressive, multi-tentacled, high-tech, high-touch reach into the global talent market that the Davids of the hiring world will need to compete with the Goliaths of the Fortune 100.

Like the Marines, we're ready...we're prepared.  Bring it on!

A Cup of Coffee with....a Real Mad Man

Ray Trapp is a legendary Dallas adman, as well as a former boss/mentor. (See story of how I talked him into the job!)

We chatted recently about his career start in New York and the world depicted in AMC’s Mad Men and the Sterling Cooper agency.

Is the TV show an accurate portrayal of the times?
The staging, business attitudes and general culture are very realistic for the mid-1960s when I was an Account Executive – an actual Mad Man -- at Ogilvy & Mather in New York.

How did you get to Ogilvy?

I was recruited straight out of the MBA program at Northwestern, now known as the Kellogg School of Management. I started in a training program with six others selected from the most prominent Business schools. I was there from 1964 to 1970.

Why advertising as a post-MBA path?

Here’s a dose of career advice: Look for situations where you can make a big impact in as short a time as possible. I was young, cocky, and ambitious! Advertising was a hot field and paid very well. My studies had been balanced between finance and marketing, so I could have gone either way. But I had a love of the arts since childhood.

Why did you choose Ogilvy?
At the time, advertising was in its golden years with David Ogilvy, Leo Burnett and Bill Bernbach ruling the world with fabulous reputations for ‘’breakthrough’’ campaigns. I received two agency offers, as well as one from General Foods – all at the same starting salary. But I chose what I saw as the fast track in advertising at the best “shop.’’

Why did Ogilvy choose you?

I had a strong combination of academic excellence, dramatic writing skills, training in the arts and an outgoing personality. This seemed to me, and apparently to them, as a natural background for Madison Avenue.

First impression, first day on the job?
Nice offices, but not extravagant. A low key start. Meet other trainees, get processed by HR. Then, a series of interviews with 6-7 executives as a get-acquainted process. We were then assigned to 6-week rotations in various departments before moving to permanent assignments in Account Service. The culture was pleasant, welcoming and reserved. It was all very professional.

Drinking in the office?

I never saw it – physically in the office, that is.

Liquid lunches?

We typically just ate at our desks. One day, a supervisor invited me out for lunch and I found him sitting in the bar of the restaurant. I proceeded to have a drink or two with him, thinking this was a prelude to moving to a table. He kept ordering more martinis. I soon realized, ‘’this is lunch.” On the walk back to the office, we stopped at a deli. He ordered a sandwich and carried it back to his desk. He was a five-martini-and-tuna-on-rye lunch guy.

Even more prevalent was the 5 o’clock ‘’whistle’’ when executives headed out to get the train or bus back home. For many, the routine was to leave the office, stop at your favorite bar and belt down a few.

Many a Mad Man got into big trouble at home if he had a few too many and ended up partying with the office crew until midnight. He got to sleep in a hotel for the night and in the dog house for a week or two afterwards.

Client entertaining?

If your client came in from out-of-town, the evening dinner proved to be a bit more adventurous. It was normal for everyone to have a cocktail or two before dinner. Wine was not such a big deal in 1964.

In general, smoking and drinking hard alcohol was very expected for the times. It was not unusual at a neighborhood party to have at least one or two husbands need help home. Occasionally, one of the housewives would have too much and get sick or get the giggles. But no one thought of it as that unusual.

Womanizing that you observed?

The typical male-female office protocol in the mid-1960s would hardly be acceptable today. Guys said and did things that would probably get them arrested today!

Love affairs sprouted quite easily. Don Draper is not the only Mad Man to view himself as young, virile and bullet-proof. I worked for two bosses, both of whom later became ad agency presidents, who had office affairs with female associates, got divorced, left small children at home and married their new loves. Those second relationships have lasted to the present day. As a first wife, Betty Draper should definitely be concerned!

How many women were in higher-up positions?

Men dominated the business at the time. I knew no women in any account service roles at O&M. All media, research and management staff were also male. Women were making inroads into creative -- writer, art director, production and mechanical art staff positions. But it still was truly a male-dominated business in the 1960s and well into the next decade.

What accounts did you work on?

I was fortunate to work on accounts with very big multi-million dollar ad budgets that were considered the cream of the crop in packaged goods marketing. I oversaw accounts for Metrecal Diet Foods, General Foods and Lever Brothers: Dove dishwashing liquid soap, Dove beauty bar, Imperial Margarine, Lucky Whip toppings, Start Instant Breakfast drink which was a big introductory campaign and more.

Your impressions of David Ogilvy? What did you learn from him?

He was a true gentleman, a good businessman and an avid student of the art of persuasion as expressed in advertising. He frequently came to our 6th floor cafeteria to purchase a sandwich and sit with the staff at tables where anyone, even the lowliest traffic mail delivery person, could join him. He was a very open and engaging individual. He loved what he did and inspired us to make our work more effective and more successful.

When did it all change?

I think the advertising world became too successful for its own britches. In 1965, the agency went public and David Ogilvy put a lot of money in his pocket as a result of the IPO. Many other agencies followed this path. My theory is that this brought a lot of attention to the financial side, as all earnings were now publicly disclosed. Clients suddenly began to focus on what ad agency profit margins were. Big client CEOs learned that agency presidents were making more than them. AND THEY COULD NOT STAND IT!

So the word went out: “Cut those agency revenues and bring them back to reality. Stop paying them 15% commissions. It is obviously too much for these fat cats. Let’s start paying them fixed fees that cap their profits.”

And the grinding began.

119 Reasons Why We Love Dallas -- No. 97

You Never Know When You Are Going to Meet the Person Who Will Change Your Life, ctd.

From May 2009 issue of D Magazine.

When the call for input hit the D Frontburner blog, I had to share this treasure of a story that combines serendipity…strategy…grace…and generosity. What a privilege and turn of fortune, thanks to Mr. Stanley Marcus, to whom I will always be grateful.

http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/2009/06/01/97_119_Reasons_Why_We_Love_Dallas.aspx

What is the Perfect Fit?

The Perfect Fit is what we are all looking for in life -- whether it is a job, a new team member in business, a romantic partner, a wonderful book that keeps us captivated/enlightened, a recipe ingredient, item of apparel or even a comfortable chair.

When we find The Perfect Fit, we feel a glow of of happiness, security and satisfaction. A little touch of bliss. It's what life is all about!

But to clarify, this is not the search for extreme perfectionism -- or inertia, i.e., not moving frorward because nothing is good enough.

Look at this wonderful entry for the word ''fit'' from the Visual Thesaurus. The Perfect Fit, in my philosophy, infers something situational -- something that is right for the moment or the unique economic environment. It is happiness in celebration of the special pleasures and accomplishments of daily life. The right words that resonate when you are trying to make a point, achieve progress or express thanks/gratitude. It implies movement, adapting and possibly a bit of compromise.

Regarding the negative aspect of the definition, a little hissy fit every once in a while in confined quarters with a limited audience is probably a healthy thing in the interest of drawing boundaries, standing up for oneself, etc. But use sparingly! Perhaps write things down, get a second opinion, infuse a dose of diplomacy and lay out plan for resolution before indulging in spontaneous combustion.