The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Invisible Mentors’

Invisible Mentor: Maggie Berry

Company Name: Women in Technology

Website: http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk/ 

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Maggie Berry: I run an organization called Women in Technology based inLondon and our strategic aim is to increase the number of women who are working and achieving in theUK’s technology profession.

Avil Beckford: What’s a typical day like for you?

Maggie Berry: I don’t really have a typical day per se as my role involves a range of different aspects from the overall strategy for the business, to getting hands on with the networking events and training courses that we run as well as spending time with our sponsors and making sure that we’re helping them to position themselves as an employer of choice for women working in IT. I’m also responsible for finding new companies that would like to work with us and I get involved with a lot of women’s business networking groups inLondon. So my days quite often involve speaking at an event – for example, I might talk to a student group to make them aware of the importance of networking from the start of their careers.

Avil Beckford: How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

Maggie Berry: I have been involved with Women in Technology from the very beginning and I’m fully responsible for it. I’m really proud of what’s been built up over the years and of what we deliver to our members. So what keeps me motivated me is the services we provide and, especially, the networking events that we run for our members. We put a lot of effort into doing everything and making our activities good and it’s all worth it when you get positive emails coming back or calls saying, “This is brilliant, I loved it. It made me think differently about X, Y or Z.” That’s a big driver for me – the impact that we have on the women in our network.

I think my main other motivator is for myself as I want to achieve and I want the business that I run to do well and to be well-received in the market and so I put a lot of effort into that and that keeps me going.

Avil Beckford: If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

Maggie Berry:  I’m fromScotland and went to university inEngland quite far away from home and if I could talk to my 17 year old self, I’d encourage her to study inScotland and build a life closer to my family. That’s one of the things I wish was different as I’m not as geographically close as I’d like to be them. I’m close to my family and I’m obviously in touch with them regularly but I wish I were closer to home. However, you don’t think the same about things at 17 as you would tweny years later!

And if I was looking at Women in Technology, I wish we’d employed people sooner. I did a lot of the ground work on my own and we’ve only really expanded the team in the last couple of years. For five years it was just myself and one other and I think we could have achieved so much more if we had invested in some extra staff a bit earlier.

Avil Beckford: What’s the most important business or other discovery you’ve made in the past year?

Maggie Berry: One of the things that has become a bit more apparent to me in the last year or so is the importance of having a personal business network – a personal network of people who you can call upon. I’ve always had a big network of people but I didn’t ever reach out to them for help. I’d always try to solve problems on my own but when I have reached out when I really needed advice, the people in my network were willing to come forward and help to provide me with some brilliant advice. It is a two way street, I help people and they are happy to try and help me back in return.

Avil Beckford: What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?

Maggie Berry:

1. Part of our revenue is from helping companies to hire more technical women and in the downturn, that we’re going through at the moment, lots of firms are making redundancies, they’re not hiring. So we’re looking at different ways to work with those firms and support them in their gender diversity journey, even if that doesn’t involve jobs and recruitment.
2. I see other networks running women in IT ‘stuff’ and what I really like to do is to reach out and collaborate with them instead of there being lots of stand alone groups hosting smaller activities. I think it’s better if we all work together towards the same kind of goals because there isn’t lots of money in the space. We all want the same thing, which is seeing more women achieving and working together and collaborating is the way forward. Some groups are interested in that, and that’s great as working together is very important for me.
3. And as we look at how we grow and further develop the business grows, it’s important to make sure that we invest in having a bigger team giving us a further reach. We’re quite a small team which has delivered an awful lot without masses of resources and I know that people would like us to do more things, such as hosting more events in different cities. So we need to keep an eye on the team and make sure we’re working smart to make the most of all of our capabilities.

Avil Beckford: What’s unique about the service that you provide?

Maggie Berry: I think in theUK market our online job board, which is used by companies who would like to attract more job applications from women working in IT, is unique. Certainly there are lots of organizations out there running many styles of networking events but we specifically work with firms to help them raise their profile as an employer of choice. We’re looking at providing our network with the additional skills they need to be a well rounded technology professional who is going to achieve success in their career, whatever that success looks like for them. There are lots of fabulous networks out there for women but I think, if you are a technical woman in theUK, our network has a lot to offer you.

Avil Beckford: Describe a major business or other challenge you had and how you resolved it. What kind of lessons did you learn in the process?

Maggie Berry: I have been running Women in Technology since early 2005 and, before that, I wasn’t really in any roles that gave me any particular business challenges. The ongoing challenge for Women in Technology is that companies are interested in our services but they don’t necessarily always have the budget to invest the resources that are required. We are asked to do things for free and that’s quite difficult as we’ve invested a lot to put all our services together. I think in theUS firms are more accustomed to paying for diversity related activities and that needs to become more acceptable in theUK.

I know that the firms which engage with us get a lot of value from it but we also have a number of firms who just want to work with us for a short time and although we’re happy to work with them, it’s hard because gender diversity is big picture stuff and there needs to be a long term plan. It’s not something that can be sorted out in a few months. So we’ve learned to manage expectations and push back when firms make unrealistic demands about what we can deliver and how quickly they will see a change.

Avil Beckford: Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

Maggie Berry: In terms of Women in Technology, the organization I worked for at the time is aLondon financial services recruitment firm called McGregor Boyall Associates and they always had a strong focus on diversity. Back in 2004 they undertook a piece of diversity research about IT recruitment in the City and one of the aspects that came out was the lack of women working in technology roles. My boss, Laurie Boyall, had bought the URL womenintechnology.co.uk and he gave me the project of building a website around it.

Avil Beckford: Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?

Maggie Berry:  We’ve not had any major failures with Women in Technology but you take knocks all the way through in running a business. You then have to look at each incident, ideally later after the heat of the moment is passed, and think, “How could I do that better next time?” Also over the years, as you deal with different clients, host networking events and things like that, we constantly ask for feedback and so much of what we’ve done, and how we’ve developed the business, has been done by acting upon the feedback we’ve received. That has helped us to keep on a positive path because we’ve done things that have been asked for and we constantly try to improve upon what we’re doing.

It could be something really simple. For example, someone once said to me that you need to have nibbles available at the beginning of an evening event because people are hungry after work and after sitting down for an hour-and-a-half, they’re going to leave straightaway and not stay to network as they have to go to find something to eat. Or another piece of feedback somebody shared with us is that where a venue is flat, the speakers need to be on chairs that are higher than the audience’s otherwise they’re not visible from the back of the room. So sometimes it’s just a simple logistical thing that you can easily change and even more complex changes are quite manageable if you give yourself enough time.

Avil Beckford: What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?

Maggie Berry: After I graduated, I went back toScotland and worked at home for a few years. I lived in quite a small town and I knew it wasn’t going to give me the breadth of career and life experience that I wanted. The only other place where I had friends was London so I made the decision to move here in 2000.

I was torn because I liked being close to family so it was quite hard to make that move but it’s been such a positive experience and now, when I consider it  I love London but I still wish I was closer to home in Scotland.

Avil Beckford: What are three events that helped to shape your life?

Maggie Berry:

1. The choice of where I went to university had an effect on my life as it meant that my friends were not from close to home. I went to a university that was in the south and as such a lot of my friends were fromLondonor the south east and so that’s where I gravitated to.
2. Taking the opportunity to work on Women in Technology when that project cropped up. At the time we had absolutely no idea what was going to happen and I know we would have been fairly gobsmacked if we could have glimpsed a few years into the future and seen what it had become as it wasn’t what we were setting out to do.

Avil Beckford: What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

Maggie Berry:  I have to say Women in Technology as I live and breathe it and I’m really proud of what it has developed into. I love the network and the positive impact we’ve had on people’s lives and that we can help women find jobs and share networking opportunities. It’s a small business, but I’ve been involved in all aspects of it and I’m proud of that.

Avil Beckford: How did mentors influence your life?

Maggie Berry:  I’ve had a couple of different mentors over the last few years but I’ve never been involved in a formal mentoring scheme. My mentors are people who I’ve met through work and who I’ve thought are really great. I’ve been in a very fortunate position that they have been happy to share some of their expertise with me. I have a couple of mentors who are very senior women in business who I have met through my networking and they are always happy to offer advice, whether it’s something really practical, advice that I need about the team at work or general advice about life, happiness, marriage, all sorts of things. It’s really important to have mentors to help you in life and you don’t have to have just one, of them to only be women – it’s great to be able to call upon the expertise of many different people.

Avil Beckford: What’s one core message you received from your mentors?

Maggie Berry: I would break that down into two areas – one is hands-on practical business advice about breaking down business problems – what is it, how can you move forward – it’s tangible business knowledge they can share with me that can help me with the situation that I am in. The other area is about self-confidence and self-belief and to have somebody who is able to give you really relevant advice from a dispassionate perspective.

Avil Beckford: An invisible mentor is a unique leader you can learn things from by observing them from afar, in the capacity of an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

Maggie Berry:  Network and get involved! I’d say that to everybody. It’s one of the reasons I go out and talk to student groups to explain to them that networking isn’t just for senior people. It’s something they need to from the start of their career. You need a network of people around you so in good and bad times you have people to call on. For me, it’s the most powerful thing I’ve done and I can’t recommend it enough. It takes time though and you’ve got to find the networks and the groups and the activities that work for you, whether it’s geographical or it’s within an industry, or a women’s network. Get out there and you’ll get to meet people you wouldn’t come across in your day-to-day work and that’s just so important.

Maggie Berry: I run an organization called Women in Technology based inLondon and our strategic aim is to increase the number of women who are working and achieving in theUK’s technology profession.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Related articles

• 2011 Interviews for Mentoring (theinvisiblementor.com)
• The Chief Mentoring Officer Interviews Annemie Ress, Senior HRD eBay & Global Engagement Lead at eBay (theinvisiblementor.com)
• The Chief Mentoring Officer Interviews Annemie Ress, Senior HRD eBay & Global Engagement Lead at eBay, Part Two (theinvisiblementor.com)

“Suddenly, the whole machine lifted from the rail. For 12 long seconds, the Flyer wobbled and snaked 10 feet above the dunes, landing 100 feet away. [John] Daniels had snapped the shutter, freezing in an instant what mankind had sought for millennia,” Michael Patrick of Popular Mechanics, December 17, 1903, when Wilbur Wright successfully flew their Flyer 1 aircraft.

The Wright Brothers are credited for inventing the airplane, but many had paved the way for them. They knew about Otto Lilienthal’s stellar work, but it wasn’t until his death in 1896 that they became interested in his glider flight experiments. At the time of Lilienthal’s death, the Wright Brothers had owned and operated a cycle shop for four years where they also manufactured bicycles. This gave them solid experience in practical mechanics.

This profile contains videos that I found on YouTube and Videopedia for those who prefer to watch the videos than read the profile. I did not make the videos.

Image via Wikipedia

Name: Orville Wright

Birth Date: August 1871 – January 1948

Name: Wilbur Wright

Birth Date: April 1867 – May 1912

Job Functions: Entrepreneur, Aviator

Fields: Aviation

Known For: Inventing the Airplane

In 1892, the Wright Brothers opened the Wright Cycle Shop inDayton,Ohio. At that time in history, the bicycle was an exciting mechanical device, and in 1895 they started to manufacture bicycles. They knew about Otto Lilienthal from 1891, but it was after his death in 1896 that the Wright Brothers took notice of the body of work that Lilienthal left behind. Lilienthal inspired the brothers, and they became interested in glider experiments.

The Wright Brothers entered the aviation field at the right time because some of the theories of aerodynamics were already known, and a body of experimental data was available. There was also a recent development in internal combustion, which would make powered manned flight possible.

Wright Brothers Biography

The Wright Brothers started the process the way most successful inventors and innovators would.

• Gathered all the information they could find on the topic and read them through until they thoroughly understood the subject matter.
• They didn’t just read the data they collected, but also carefully analyzed it. The Wright Brothers determined that they would have to master the principles of flight observation by using gliders, after which they would combine an engine with the wing structure. They looked at the failed attempts with heavier-than-air machines.
• Designed and tested their own models and gliders.
• Built their own engine.
• When the experimental data they had gathered was inadequate or wrong, they conducted more thorough experiments.

By going through the process above, the Wright Brothers concluded that earlier attempts at flying failed because plans for the early plane required the pilot to manoeuvre his body to control the plane. They decided that it would be better to control the plane by the twisting of the wing tips so the flight could be adjusted to changing air patterns without requiring the pilot to shift his weight.

Armed with this newfound knowledge, the Wright Brothers flew double-winged kites and gliders to gain experience and test the data they had. They needed the perfect place to do that. After checking with the US Weather Bureau, they found an area of sand dunes, Kill Devil Hills, close to Kitty Hawk in North Carolina. In 1900, they set-up a camp in Kill Devil Hills. Their first device failed to fly because it was unable to develop sufficient lift. As they tested their devices, they kept accurate records of both their successes and failures. Their own test data proved that previous tables of information they had gathered were inaccurate.

They returned to Dayton in 1901 to build the first wind tunnel in the US so they could test their devices in a more controlled environment. They tested over 200 models of wing surfaces to measure lift and drag factors to identify the most suitable design. “They also discovered that although screw propellers have been used on ships for more than half a century, there was no reliable body of data on the subject and no theory that would allow them to design proper propellers for their airship. They would have to work the problem out for themselves mathematically.”

The brothers built a third glider and incorporated all the new information from their experiments. They returned to Kitty Hawk, made over 1,000 gliding flights, confirmed their previous data and demonstrated that they could control the three axes of motion of the glider. The Wright Brothers were now ready to add power to their machine. They soon discovered that no manufacturer would build the engine to their specification, so they had to build it themselves. The engine had four cylinders with 12 horsepower.

In December 1903, they made the first manned, powered flight in heavier-than-air craft. First, Orville’s plane flew 120 feet and the flight lasted 12 seconds. On the fourth flight, with Wilbur at the controls, the plane traveled 852 feet and stayed in the air for 59 seconds. Unfortunately a gust of wind severely damaged their aircraft. They returned toDaytondetermined to build another aircraft.

In 1905, the Wright Brothers decided to focus on aviation, and in 1906 they received a patent for a flying machine. In 1907, Army Signal Corps (the US government) tendered a $25,000 bid for an airplane built to their requirements, and three of the 22 bids were accepted. The Wright Brothers were the only ones to complete the contract.

In September 1908 while Wilbur was inFrance, Orville successfully demonstrated their contract airplane, which was accepted by the government.

The Wright Brothers’ Steps to Success

• Their father Bishop Wright gave his children a toy helicopter, which ignited Orville’s and Wilbur’s early interest in aviation.
• As children, they assisted their father in editing the journal, Religious Telescope. As young adults they produced their own paper, Westside News on a printing press that they created.
• Wilbur and Orville’s skills complemented each other. Wilbur was meticulous, detailed oriented, had business savvy, mechanical skills and a disciplined mind, and finished the projects he started, while Orville was impetuous, an idea generator, full of enthusiasm and spontaneity.
• They didn’t know much about flying, but had a deep interest in it so they looked at the body of work that was available and started from there.
• Mastered the body of information on aeronautical science and added to it.
• Viewed problems as opportunities: When they couldn’t find anyone to build an engine to their specification, they built one themselves.
• Were curious and inventive.
• Tested, tested and tested until they got it right.
• Used their failures as feedback.
• They became expert pilots as a result of all the glider flights they made.

Why the Wright Brothers Contribution Matters

The Wright Brothers came into the game after a considerable amount of work was done, and they did the smart thing by looking at what had been done before instead of reinventing the wheel. They immersed themselves in the topic of aviation until they really understood it then they started testing the accuracy of the data they had uncovered. They found a lot of inaccuracies and they ran their own tests to gather new information. They conducted the same tests over and over to make sure the experiments were repeatable. When there was no data on a certain aspect of aviation, they did tests to accumulate the body of knowledge. When they couldn’t find anyone to build an engine to their specifications they built it themselves. They were undaunted by the many obstacles they faced. The aviation industry followed the path of The Wright Brothers and not of Samuel Pierpont Langley – it accepted the Wright Brothers’ method of aerodynamic control.

Pearls of Wisdom

• Objectively evaluate what’s been done before and decide which path you are going to take. Many times you have to blaze your own trail, don’t get caught up in circular thinking.
• Because you start out late in a field doesn’t mean that you cannot finish ahead.

Why Orville and Wilbur Wright Would Make Excellent Invisible Mentors

Their lives are living proof of what hard work and determination can accomplish.

Life Wisdom from the Wright Brothers

• Know and understand the fundamentals of your field.
• Build on your basic knowledge to become a master.
• Fail fast, fail often, and fail forward to success.
• Look at what’s being done in other industries for inspiration.
• Find ways to experiment in your job to perform better, and keep careful notes for evaluation later.

For More Information on the Wright Brothers

The Wright Brothers At Kitty Hawk (Scholastic Biography)
The Wright Brothers: A Biography (Dover Transportation)
Sterling Biographies: The Wright Brothers: First in Flight

Works Referenced/Cited

Science and its Times, Volume 6

Encyclopedia of World Biography

UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography

American Decades

Business Leader Profiles for Students

Europe 1789 – 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of Industry and Empire

Bowling, Beatniks and Bell Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20^th Century America

YouTube Video Credit: Uploaded by NatureLover987 on Feb 6, 2009

Book links are affiliate links.

These are some of the people I interviewed this year to act as your mentors. In case you missed any of the interviews, when you get the opportunity, take a moment to read them. While you are reading the interviews, think of what you have in common with the interviewees, and ask yourself, what can I learn from them that I can use in my work and life? You can also find these interviews and more on the Mentors page of the blog

1. Mind your Qs please! She was the first female CEO of a steel company in Canada (Part I) (Part II)
2. She left a successful search consulting business to become a human excellence coach (Part I), (Part II)
3. The life coach who is also an artist (Part I), (Part II)
4. Someone who knows what leadership is about (Part I), (Part II)
5. The “hip accountant” (Part I), (Part II)
6. The entrepreneur’s friend (Part I), (Part II)
7. Head of PR for a technology firm, a writer, and very witty (Part I), (Part II)
8. The social justice film producer (Part I), (Part II)
9. A mentor directed her path to success (Part I), (Part II)
10. Someone who is a career and employment counsellor and a LinkedIn Heavyweight (Part I), (Part II)
11. A leadership and career coach, and a very straight shooter (Part I), (Part II)
12. An internet marketer and social media trainer (Part I), (Part II)
13. Someone who is a relationship builder (Part I), (Part II)
14. An IT executive who sang at her own wedding (Part I), (Part II)
15. Someone who is into food safety (Part I), (Part II)
16. She is an Assistant Deputy Minister (Part I), (Part II)
17. As a youngster he read biographies (children’s) of “great people” which taught him the importance of reading and learning from the experiences of others (Part I), (Part II)
18. The founder of Athena International (Part I), (Part II)
19. A successful business owner who attended 17 schools in three countries while growing up (Part I), (Part II)
20. Founder of Connected Women (Part I), (Part II)
21. Someone who was a former editor of Chatelaine Magazine (Part I), (Part II)
22. She started in the library and ended up in the executive suite (Part I), (Part II)
23. She launched the International Women’s Festival, and also operated a very successful business which she sold (Part I), (Part II)
24. Someone who died for four minutes (Part I), (Part II)
25. Someone who used to hide under the table from bill collectors, now she is a success story (Part I), (Part II)
26. When she first became a leader, she was referred to as Godzilla, but a mentor helped to smooth off the rough edges, now she is a remarkable leader (Part I), (Part II)
27. His best friend was embezzling so he gave him the opportunity to do the right thing (Part I), (Part II)
28. A busy senior level banking executive who escapes from it all through fiction (Part I), (Part II)
29. Someone who is a CFO of a restaurant chain (Part I), (Part II)
30. Someone who is a marketing and communications consultant (Part I), (Part II)
31. Someone knows what it means to fall down seven times get up eight (Part I), (Part II)
32. Someone who is an entertainer and comic artist (Part I), (Part II)
33. Someone who is a goldsmith and jewelry designer (Part I), (Part II)
34. An entrepreneur who blends health and technology (Part I), (Part II)
35. The medical doctor (Part I), (Part II)
36. The serial entrepreneur with mild superpowers (Part I), (Part II)
37. Serial entrepreneur and expert interviewer (Part I), (Part II) (Part III), (Part IV)
38. Founder of First Fridays (Part I), (Part II)
39. Someone who does cross-culture consulting (Part I), (Part II)
40. This senior executive made a tough decision that no parent should ever have to make (Part I), (Part II)
41. The reinvention guy (Part I), (Part II)

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Interviewee Name: Susan Murphy

Company Name: Jester Creative Inc.

Website: http://www.jestercreative.com

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Susan Murphy: I live in Ottawa, Canada with my husband, 3 cats, and 1 dog. I’m an entrepreneur, a writer, and a teacher. But mostly, I’m a storyteller.

Avil Beckford: What’s a typical day like for you?

Susan Murphy: A few years ago, my business partner and I made the decision to get rid of our office and work remotely. Our team also works remotely, and it’s the best decision we ever made for the company.

As a result, I have a lot of flexibility in my days. Typically I start the day off with a big, warm mug of coffee and my laptop or iPad. I read through the morning headlines, check in on Twitter and Facebook and say good morning to some friends. I then usually compose a blog post or two, for my own personal blog at suzemuse.com, or for one of the other blogs I contribute to (Workshifting.com and Thoughtwrestling.com).

I try to schedule meetings for late morning or early afternoon, so I can work in lunch and errands midday without affecting the flow of what I call the “real work” in the morning and afternoon.

My “real work” time is focused on projects like client work, working on our television show, or prepping for classes and speaking engagements.

I teach at the local community college a couple of nights a week as well as some online courses, so my evenings are usually made up of either teaching commitments, events, and of course, some social time with family and friends, too.

Avil Beckford: How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

Susan Murphy: I love to work hard. I’m not afraid to work hard, and since I’ve been self employed (going on 8 years now), I’ve not had a difficult time staying motivated. When you are solely responsible for your own income, it pushes you to keep bringing in new opportunities. Lack of money is a big motivator!

But mostly, I try to surround myself with people and ideas that are inspiring. I watch successful people and study how they work. Then, I try to bring what I learn into my own environment. Watching other people succeed is a great motivator.

Avil Beckford: If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

Susan Murphy: I would have way more confidence. I’m a shy person by nature, and I tend to not give myself enough credit for my experience. I’ve been working in media and communications for 22 years, but sometimes I still feel like I’m a kid just starting out…like I have so much more to learn. And I realize that in many ways, I do.

However, if I had the chance to do it over, I would have done more to overcome my fears and shyness sooner, to make the most of the opportunities that have been presented to me.

Avil Beckford: What’s the most important business or other discovery you’ve made in the past year?

Susan Murphy: I think the thing that’s been the most apparent to me this year is the real power of what’s possible when you work and collaborate with other people.

I’ve learned both sides of collaboration too, because there are times when it works and times when it doesn’t. I’ve worked on some great blogging projects, and some awesome web and video projects this year, where the team was tight and there was a lot of trust, and the ideas and work just flowed. However, I’ve also had some situations this year where trust and respect went by the wayside, and collaborative efforts broke down.

When trust leaves a relationship of any kind, business, personal or both, it can be very damaging. Unfortunately, not every collaboration is going to work out, because not everyone has the same level of trust and integrity.

I guess the important discovery for me was to realize that it can, and will be both ways, and that we should focus on the positive collaborations, and know when to let things go if it’s not working out.

Avil Beckford: What’s one of the biggest advances in your industry over the past five years?

Susan Murphy: Well, hands down it has to be the emergence of the social Web. As I mentioned before, I’m a storyteller. I started my career by helping people to tell stories using video, by helping people produce TV shows that were important to them. I moved into the Web world in 1997, and continued to help people tell stories by building an online presence. But when I first got involved in the social part of the web – things like blogging, podcasting, and of course, Facebook and Twitter – the way people told stories began to evolve again.

I was like a sponge back in 2007 – absorbing everything I could about this new, social, online place. I contributed, I got to know people, I learned, and then, I started to really understand how to use these social tools to help people tell their stories.

I’m still a storyteller, at the root – but now, I have a whole lot of new storytelling tools at my disposal.

Avil Beckford: What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?

Susan Murphy: I try not to focus too much on threats, other than being aware that they are there. I prefer to move my business forward on the positive. If I feel threatened, I’m fearful, and I don’t think that’s a way to run a business.

But I suppose the biggest threat, if there is one, is the one that we all have – what if business dries up? What if the downturn in the economy hits hard? Being in a marketing-related field, we’re well aware that marketing budgets are often the first things to be cut. So, to counteract that, I think it’s necessary for companies to continue to be diverse – don’t just pigeon-hole yourself into one specialty. Use all of your skills and experience to find ways to help people.

That’s why, not only am I a TV producer, but I’m a consultant, a web site designer, a teacher, and a writer. I even do HR and recruiting work sometimes, because I have a background in that. I move my work in and out of where it needs to be for me to be always expanding, and growing.

Avil Beckford: What’s unique about the service that you provide?

Susan Murphy: Jester Creative prides itself on being a one-stop media production company. We build web sites of all sizes and complexity. We design print layouts. We write copy. We run marketing campaigns. We do training. We produce videos, and make television shows. We help our customers design and create and manage all of the media they make.

A lot of companies only provide one service or another – just web design, just video production, or just social media consulting. What sets us apart is that we do it all. We deliver fully integrated media campaigns on as small or as large a scale as our customers require.

Avil Beckford: What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?

Susan Murphy: I think by far, the thing I see done the most poorly is anything to do with social media. First of all, I believe that social media in and of itself is a buzzword, and because it’s a buzzword, there are lots of businesses out there who are trying to take advantage of the trendiness of the term. They are trying to build entire businesses around teaching people how to make an @ reply on Twitter, or create a page on Facebook, and charging way too much money for social media consulting services that are mostly bogus and not based on any real best practices or experience.

We don’t need to be teaching people how to get more followers on Twitter, in my opinion. We need to be teaching people how to become better communicators in this new era of communications.

People don’t need to be taught how to upload a video to YouTube. It’s one button – labelled, “Upload”. I think most people are smart enough to figure these things out. Given a bit of time and the self-motivation, anyone with a laptop and an Internet connection can figure out how to use Twitter. What they may need more help with is using it to communicate well.

Avil Beckford: Describe a major business or other challenge you had and how you resolved it. What kind of lessons did you learn in the process?

Susan Murphy: Back in 1994 I had the worst year of my life in terms of my health and personal life. In addition to the end of a significant relationship, I ended up quite sick more than once for 3 different, and fairly serious ailments. I spent much of the year either not working or only working part time. The worst of it was, I was only 24 years old.

Until that point, I’d always been very healthy. But I was working 100 hours a week in a very stressful environment. I had no distinction between my personal life, my friendships, and my work. In short, I was way out of balance, and at just 24 years of age, it had caught up to me. My body literally shut down, forcing me to stop suddenly, and take stock of where I was at and where I wanted to go.

It was a turning point for me, because I realized that everyone has a physical and emotional limit to what they can do.

I spent a good chunk of time over the next year or so healing physically and emotionally, and I came out on the other end of the experience a much stronger person with a sense of the direction I wanted to take with my life.

Though I would never wish sickness or heartbreak on anyone, these are often the times in our lives when we learn the most.

Avil Beckford: Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

Susan Murphy: I was just out of college, 19 years old, and ready to take on the world. Only the world was not quite ready to take me on yet, apparently. Two years of broadcasting school, and there was not a job in sight. It didn’t help that the same year I graduated, both the CBC and CTV had just gone through rounds of layoffs. The future didn’t look so bright in my industry.

I discovered that the local community cable channel was looking for volunteers to work on productions, so I signed up. I quickly realized that this was a great way to get experience and to meet new people. Since I didn’t have a job, and I was still living with my parents at the time, I dedicated 40-60 hours per week to working on productions. One day, I was giving one of the staff producers a ride home, and he asked me if I was aware of a job placement program being run by the provincial government, where I could work at the station 40 hours a week for 4 months with pay. I signed on immediately and was accepted to the program. I was immediately taken under my boss Andre’s wing. He taught me everything he could about producing shows.

About 1 month into my placement, Andre got a promotion to Executive Producer. Suddenly, he had far less time to devote to producing his shows. He figured, since I was already basically doing the job, that I might as well step in and run the shows. He gave me a shot, trusted me with 7 programs that meant a lot to him, and set me off and running. I did so well that 3 months later, when my placement ended, I was hired full time. Andre was the person who believed in me from the beginning. To this day, 21 years later, he and I are still very good friends. I am forever grateful for his support and friendship.

It just goes to show that one must seek out and grab onto opportunities when they come their way. Even if the opportunity doesn’t mean a paying job at first, if it’s in line with your path, then it’s vital to grab hold. You never know where the path will take you.

Avil Beckford: Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?

Susan Murphy: I once made the mistake of trusting the wrong person too much. Although things were fine for the first little while, I started to feel suspicious that the person was not being truthful. Instead of terminating things when the red flags went up, I ignored the warning signs and continued. Ultimately, the bottom fell out of the relationship, all trust was gone, and it wound up being a very expensive mistake, both financially and emotionally.

I’ve learned that it’s one thing to give people the benefit of the doubt, but it’s another entirely to throw caution to the wind and blindly trust, especially when entering a business relationship with someone that you don’t have a history with. Trust and respect are to be earned, and take time to build. If you see red flags, heed the warnings and get to the bottom of it. Even if it means saying “no”, you’ll be better off in the end.

Avil Beckford: What has been your biggest disappointment in your life – and what are you doing to prevent its reoccurrence?

Susan Murphy: To be honest, I spend so little time focusing on disappointment that I can’t answer this question. Everyone makes mistakes, and I’ve made several. I’ve had hard times like everyone else, but I can’t look at things with regret and disappointment, because then I could never move forward. My advice is, when bad things happen, work as diligently as possible to pick up the pieces and carry on. Harbour no regrets. Forget about being disappointed. Take the lesson and move forward.

Avil Beckford: What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?

Susan Murphy: The toughest decision for me was finally quitting my full time job to start my business. Jumping off the cliff into the unknown was very frightening. Many things had to be put on hold financially. My husband had to sacrifice a lot and take on a second job.

There were many times when I wanted to give up and go back to my old life. There were lots of sleepless nights. But eventually things started to turn around, and now, 7 years in, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’m grateful to my husband, my family, and my friends for sticking it out with me on this journey.

Avil Beckford: What are three events that helped to shape your life?

Susan Murphy: Getting my first job, marrying my husband, and starting my business.

Avil Beckford: What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

Susan Murphy: I am a very shy person by nature. I’m most proud of the ability I’ve gained to stand up in front of people and teach and speak. It’s something I would have never dreamed of doing 20 years ago.

Avil Beckford: How did mentors influence your life?

Susan Murphy: Through all the iterations of my career, mentors have been there. I watch, listen, and learn from them on a regular basis. And now, with the Internet, our mentors can be anywhere. I have friends that I only know online who influence me and teach me things on a daily basis. It’s a remarkable thing.

Avil Beckford: What’s one core message you received from your mentors?

Susan Murphy: Above all else, be yourself.

Avil Beckford: An invisible mentor is a unique leader you can learn things from by observing them from afar, in the capacity of an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

Susan Murphy: Don’t spend too much time getting caught up in the method and the process. Spend the most time on using your natural talents and abilities to create great things.

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Interviewee: Marnie Walker

Company: 401 Bay Street

Website: www.marniewalker.com www.401bay.com

Marnie Walker is an amazing woman who is proof that you can get anything you want in life if you want it bad enough and are prepared to do what it takes. In her last year of high school she became critically ill and subsequently spent many years struggling to walk. I recently met Marnie at an international conference and knew that I had to interview her so that you may learn from her. Get a notebook and pen because you are sure to learn a thing-or-two from this serial entrepreneur who was named Canadian Women Entrepreneur of the year in 2004.

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Marnie Walker: Starting and building organization is exciting to me.  It comes as no surprise then, that I am a serial entrepreneur.  My current business is 401 Bay Centre, a fully serviced office facility at 401 Bay Street, in the heart of downtown Toronto. Prior to that I started and built Student Express, a school bus company from a start up to a multi-million dollar company with a fleet of 250 buses, which I sold.  I love being around entrepreneurs.  There is an excitement and magic about them.  They are out there every day creating, innovating, doing.   I teach entrepreneurship at the Schulich School of Business, am a founding Board member of Maple Leaf Angels investment organization and sit on several boards.  I am married to a supportive husband, Bill Fahey and live in Toronto and Australia.

Avil Beckford: What’s a typical day like for you?

Marnie Walker: While living in Australia where I am now, I get up between 5 and 6 am when the sun comes up.  This is my favorite time of the day.  It is fresh and beautiful with the day just unfolding.  After a coffee and fruit, I head into my office and get on line with Toronto. It is afternoon there. I usually work until noon and then go out and do something.  Sometimes, it is a walk on the beach, a swim, a drive, a hike in the rainforest or visiting friends.   Other times I sit on my lounge and read a book or just think… If I have a big project to do, I may work all day.

Avil Beckford: How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

Marnie Walker: Long ago, I discovered that if I do what I love to do, I do it well, and am happy.  So I try very hard to organize my life, so I do what I love and love what I do.  Then motivating myself is easy. The trick here is to find people to share your life with who are different than you and like to do the things you don’t and vice versa.  Then you can focus on what you love to do, and so can they.

Avil Beckford: If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

Marnie Walker: Like many women my age, I have too often given up or postponed my dreams and needs for others. I have realized as life has unfolded that while many of my dreams and needs have, are and will be met, others will not. Knowing how precious time is, I would have been more selective with how I spent it, and focused more and earlier on making my dreams a reality.

Avil Beckford: What’s one of the biggest advances in your industry over the past five years?

Marnie Walker: The way people work has dramatically changed over the past five years with technology advances in communications. 401 Bay Centre is part of this new office reality where resources like meeting rooms, reception and administrative support are shared and only used when needed. This new office model reduces the financial overhead for an organization as well as the environmental footprint.

Avil Beckford: What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?

Marnie Walker: The biggest threat to 401 Bay Centre is the state of the economy and the tight financial markets. To meet this challenge, we have reviewed our costs and modified our services to increase the value to our clients.  Examples include:  more team offices, expanded administrative support, frequent user discounts for meeting rooms, discount long distance packages, discounts on services, reduced lease terms.

Avil Beckford: What’s unique about the service that you provide?

Marnie Walker: 401 Bay Centre is unbranded, the address is the name. Therefore the office has the look and feel to clients of their own private space. We offer all the services and administrative help a company needs.  Having started and run businesses, I understand these needs well and have put together the facilities and team to provide them. Our location on prestigious Bay Street, with direct access to the P-A-T-H, Queen subway, underground parking, Sheraton Centre, The Bay and the new Bay Adelaide Centre is fantastic. The views from the office are great. The building has been recognized for excellence in both management and its ‘Green’ focus.

Avil Beckford: What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?

Marnie Walker: I believe 401 Bay Centre offers a level of client service that is not available elsewhere.  Our philosophy is to be become part of our client’s team and work together. Being owner run and operated is a huge advantage.

Avil Beckford: Describe a major business or other challenge you had and how you resolved it.

Marnie Walker: 401 Bay Centre opened November, 2008 in the heart of the financial crisis. Our target market was small companies wanting to grow and professionals.  The market went into freefall. We quickly refocused our offices and services to companies looking to downsize, and companies and branch offices looking for temporary space due to uncertainty regarding their long term needs, and organizations looking to reduce their overhead.

Avil Beckford: What lessons did you learn in the process?

Marnie Walker: Flexibility and quick reaction to changing market conditions and other challenges is the key to continued success.

Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

Marnie Walker: There have been many people who have helped me throughout my life, I call them my heroes.  Many of them did not realize the impact they had on my life.   My kindergarten teacher who encouraged my curiosity; my hematologist who helped me recover from a serious illness; a professor at Western University who encouraged me to enter the business school, the dean at the Schulich School of Business who helped me re-locate to Toronto, the official at the York Region District School Board who gave me my first bus contract, my first client at 401 Bay Centre, my current team at 401 Bay Centre who look after the clients so well.

Avil Beckford: Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?

Marnie Walker: I have never failed.  However, I have many bumps in the roads and a few dead ends.

I have learned to get up, shake myself off and get on with it. There is always a solution – I just have to find it.

What has been your biggest disappointment in your life – and what are you doing to prevent its reoccurrence?

Marnie Walker: My biggest disappointment has been the inability to have children of my own. I raised two stepchildren in my first marriage and am involved in the lives of my nieces and nephews, and children of my friends.

What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?

Marnie Walker: The decision to sell Student Express was one of the most difficult decisions.  It was my baby, I created it, built it, and loved being part of it. However, the offer I received was too good to receive and I sold it. At first I felt like I had fallen off a cliff. Now I realize it was a wonderful opportunity to experience new things and make more of my dreams a reality.

Avil Beckford: What are three events that helped to shape your life?

Marnie Walker: When I was in my last year in high school, I became very ill and spent seven months in the hospital and many years struggling to walk.  While this was devastating, I learned that if you want something bad enough, and work hard you can overcome anything. I went to the University of Western Ontario. I took an introductory business course, which I loved.  My professor realized I had an aptitude for business and helped me enter the business school. I had found what I loved to do and was good at. This is remarkable as it was a large class and women were uncommon in the business school at that time.  There were only two women in my class. The decision to leave the Corporate world and become an entrepreneur led me to start and build two successful companies – Student Express and 401 Bay Centre – and to teaching entrepreneurship at the Schulich School of Business which I love.

Avil Beckford: What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

Marnie Walker: I was named Canadian Women Entrepreneur of the year in 2004 in recognition of growing Student Express from a start-up to a multi-million company with a fleet of 250 buses. The award further acknowledged the contribution Student Express made to transporting special needs students which was our focus.  It was wonderful to be able to make a difference to the lives of these children and their families and be successful as a business as well.

Avil Beckford: How did mentors influence your life?

Marnie Walker: I met Tina Breckinridge, when I was in my 20’s.  She had a profound impact on my life. She was a successful business person, an independent thinker, travelled the world, had a loving family and friends, was a great cook, had a wonderful home, loved art, ballet, opera, was widely read and sharp witted. She taught me that I could do it all and be myself! Tina is 102, lives alone in her home in Oakville.  She is still a remarkable woman.

Avil Beckford: What’s one core message you received from your mentors?

Marnie Walker: It is your life, so take charge of it and live it the way you want.

Avil Beckford: As an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

Marnie Walker: Have the courage to follow your dreams even though it will lead you into uncharted waters.

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right side) by email or  RSS Feed.