I had the good fortune to attend the Mass Women’s Conference last week.  Hosted in four major U.S. cities, it is the largest conference for women in the country. It’s an event that attracts women from high school age through those more mature in their careers, and its intention over one night and one full day is to inspire, motivate, and develop women on a wide variety of topics. This year, not surprisingly given the current climate, the topic centered on “having a voice.”

We heard from a variety of truly exceptional women who have found their voices, and are taking advantage of sharing them. Actress Viola Davis shared a backstory so raw and moving, there was not a dry eye during her keynote. Gloria Steinem, the woman who has paved the way for so many women to thrive, is still sharing her brilliant wisdom at age 83. Designer Diane von Furstenberg showed us what it’s like to still be creative and irreverent at age 70.  Very different women, with one very common theme: they have a voice, and they use it.  

I will be quite candid in saying one of my frustrations with conferences in general - even with incredible speakers as this one had -  is this. Attendees invest money and are thrilled to see powerful talks. Maybe they also take copious notes and walk away sharing information with peers about the incredible day they’ve had. All good; but the frustrating part for me is that often times people go right back to work the next day, and proceed as normal. That time away might have been inspirational in the moment, but many people fail to apply the learnings to make a significant difference in their everyday.  I walked away from the most recent conference pondering of the 11,000 women in attendance learning about how to find their voice, how many would be inspired to do just that and then truly use it.

And if they do find that voice and use it for the greater good, will anyone actually pay attention?

Let me zoom out and address this idea with a bigger picture example. Time Magazine recently selected “The Silence Breakers” as their Person of the Year. These brave women (and a man!) represent a selection of those who have had enough and were no longer willing to stand aside and let themselves be marginalized. To what end though? Sure, it’s fulfilling to see those who have treated others with such flagrant disregard removed from their positions of power. And yet, will these people who were brave enough to use their voices really make a difference?

Essentially, even if women - or candidly anyone who is being treated badly -  find their voice and summon the courage to use it, can they drive change to occur? I honestly believe over time it will, but we sure do have a lot of obstacles to overcome before wide sweeping behavior evolves.  For every politician who steps down in shame, we seem to elect a new one with just as many accusations. For men who hold positions of power and are finally removed in disgrace (think Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer), there are likely a significant number of people who turned their heads for years before the scrutiny became so significant there was no other option but to terminate them. So the question becomes, will change really occur proactively, or will we continue down a path of senior leaders accepting this behavior until something so egregious blows up in their own backyard, they are forced to tackle it head on?

It’s not unlike the cybersecurity field I’ve worked in for the last seventeen years. For so long, security experts preached the importance of understanding vulnerabilities and how to best protect their companies. Often, it fell on deaf ears. “Too expensive an investment,” or “That could never happen to us.” And then the Sony and Target breaches happened, along with so many others. At that point, even my mom understood how serious an issue this was becoming. As a result, sometimes people have to be hit where it hurts - massive decrease in market cap, termination of senior leaders, etc. to shake a company into change. Cybersecurity is now a discussion topic in every boardroom and a key focus area for CEOs. It took years, but the voices - combined with the severe ramifications of not paying attention - ultimately have begun to pay off. The same is likely going to be true with the way we treat one another in the workplace.

My challenge to us all is to not sit passively by and hope that the person sitting next to us will be bold enough to use her voice. Each of us - men and women - need to say “enough!”...and then put a stake in the ground as to what they will no longer accept. Companies need to not just say, “that’s horrible,” and then look the other way because they haven’t suffered the same fate as Uber. Instead, leaders need to take a stand, proactively define what they will do to make changes to ensure they are creating a workplace that is safe for all, and then be transparent about how they are measuring against those goals.

Voices are incredibly important, and we all must use them to drive change; not just rely on a handful of powerful people to represent us all. Equally important, however, is action. We are better than the situation we are in right now as a business community. Let’s not just talk about fixing it. Let’s actually do it.

Christina Luconi is Chief People Officer for Rapid7. Follow her on Twitter: @peopleinnovator.

In the sixth episode of our Career Inspiration podcast, I interviewed Michael Brown - VP, Talent at SHYFT Analytics.

Brown graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Applied Psychology. His career has focused on building out the talent acquisition function for high growth companies. When he joined Acquia in 2012, he was the sole technical recruiter and ended up running a global talent acquisition function as a Director. Today, he leads a team at SHYFT Analytics in Waltham which is a fast growing cloud data management and mobile analytics for the global life sciences industry.  

​In this episode we discuss:

• Brown's background
• Building a successful employee referral program
• The challenges of hiring UX professionals
• Recruiting talent in the suburbs
• The importance of having a side hustle
• ...and lots more!

You can listen to the podcast in the player below. To make sure you receive future episodes, please subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, or Soundcloud. If you enjoyed our show, please consider writing a 5-star review - it will definitely help us get the word out there!

Keith Cline is the Founder of VentureFizz.  Follow him on Twitter: @kcline6.

Work and play were once treated as separate domains, but the state of the current workplace environment fully integrates both. The concept of “gamification” has been embraced by a multitude of industries; we see credit card companies incentivizing spending by offering mileage rewards programs, restaurants and cafes rewarding visits through stars or points, and even personal financial planning apps making saving fun through virtual awards and milestones.

This concept can easily be replicated to increase employee engagement internally at your company as well. Gamification can involve the incorporation of incentives to motivate your team and support a goal and value-driven culture. There are a variety of platforms you can use or programs you can build to reward your employees and facilitate an environment of creativity and collaboration.

Employee Recognition

While there may be mixed feelings towards the approach of offering virtual rewards in the workplace, it has certainly been shown that incentivizing employees generally increases productivity and willingness to complete tasks. Gamification as a use case for employee recognition can look a lot like the platforms developed by WooBoard, Tap My Back, and IActionable. In these applications, participants can receive feedback and gain recognition from both peers and supervisors. These recognitions are scored as points that can ultimately be redeemed for gift cards, trips, or other rewards.

These types of platforms can be great for incentivizing employees to interact with those outside of their primary functional group and instill a sense of community within the company. It’s also a great way to allow employees to chose their own rewards rather than be awarded something arbitrary like a plaque on the wall.

Philanthropy

Many organizations aim to enable and empower their employees to inspire greater social change. Platforms like Causecast and Wespire provide companies the opportunity to create impact through supporting the values that they are built on themselves. Companies can define their corporate identity, and translate that identity to events and outreach opportunities that employees can choose to partake in and earn points for.

There are also practices that can be initiated within the office to promote environmental sustainability such as donating leftover food, recycling, and minimizing your carbon footprint. These types of programs align corporate missions to tangible initiatives in the greater community, and incentivizes employees to make true and meaningful commitments to these causes.

Wellness

With the workday becoming longer, more stressful, and more sedentary, many companies are starting add wellness and work-life balance to their list of values. Outside of adding a gym, offering fitness perks, or hosting fitness classes in your office space, how can you show that you truly support your employee’s health?

Hotseat is an employee engagement platform that adds customized two-minute exercises to your calendar, which collectively can make a large difference at the end of the day. Employees rack up points for participating and can cash them out for health prizes. Programs like Wellable allow employees to sync fitness tracking devices like Apple Watches and Fitbits to coordinate office-wide competitions like step challenges. Even further personalized is a product called Virgin Pulse which integrates an employee’s individual interests and personal goals and generates a unique program encompassing activity, nutrition, sleep, stress, focus, cognition, financial health, personal relationship, philanthropy, and other aspects that drives their happiness. The platform also provides a number of resources for employees to understand their personal health, and engage with their colleagues on a global level.

The foundational idea is that supporting an employee’s health and well-being will not only lead to a happier workforce, but also a more productive business. Showing your employees that you reward time spent on physical health is ultimately what will prove that it is a true value.

FOMO. Even if you aren’t familiar with the acronym, you’ve likely encountered it.

“Fear of Missing Out” is that sinking feeling you get when you feel like you are being left behind. Like when you are scoping out your friends’ Instagram shots during a fun Saturday night, while you are stuck on your couch in your flannel PJs, taking down a pint of Halo Top, and binge-watching Sons of Anarchy.  Regardless of how FOMO might hit you, it’s becoming ever more commonplace in today’s hyper-connected, share-everything-with-everyone society.

While FOMO can sting in our personal lives, it’s potentially even more dramatic when it creeps into our professional lives. Think about it. There’s a huge world out there, and there is always something to get involved with or people to connect with if you are motivated to make it happen; you are in control of how involved you want to be in your own life. However, at work, you typically don’t get to choose your team or the people you partner with on a daily basis. Assuming all of these co-workers share your same aspirational desire to continue to learn, grow and develop, it can be really painful if you feel stuck on the sidelines while you watch them get called in for exciting projects and opportunities.

Rather than wallow in self-pity, here are four simple approaches about how to get off the bench and get in the game.

TAKE A LOOK IN THE MIRROR.

It’s shocking that even some of the most skilled people have glaringly limited self-awareness.  People often think they are crushing it at work, but don’t understand their blind spots or have an accurate read on how others view them.  For example, you might think you are so valuable, you should be included in every meeting that touches your world. Is this realistic though? Take a beat to evaluate your role, and what value you add to your team and organization.  Do you truly need to be in those meetings, or do you just want to be? Most companies try to limit who’s involved not to be dismissive; it’s because at some point it just becomes inefficient to have too many people involved. That said, if you really are being left out of things that you should be involved in, it’s up to you to do that self-evaluation. Are you behaving in some way that would cause others to feel like they are better off without your input? Maybe people are reading you as overwhelmed, so they don’t want to throw more on your plate. Or maybe they view you as someone who talks over everyone else’s ideas, and jams your own point of view. Not sure why it’s happening? Instead of suffering from FOMO, ask your manager or trusted colleague for feedback. It might be a little scary, but you just might get some much needed insight that allows you to thrive going forward.

MAKE CONNECTIONS.

Once you’ve developed a little more clarity on why you actually may be left out of things, get friendly. That means, get out of your own head, and start connecting with your co-workers. This doesn’t mean you need to become insanely extroverted, but it does suggest that the more time you spend developing relationships (think sharing a cup of coffee, eating lunch with the team, offering to pitch in to help someone wrap up at night) the more likely people will include you going forward. Anytime someone raises their hand and says, “I’ll help...what can I do to pitch in?” I’m inclined to find a role for them. If they deliver with a great attitude, I remember and proactively reach out to them the next time. I won’t play into people’s FOMO, but I’ll sure reward those with opportunity if they earn it.

UNDERSTAND YOUR VALUE CONTRIBUTION.

People should be included in projects because they will add high impact, not because of their title or years of experience. To be included, you need to add value. A few years ago, we identified two up-and-comers as having unique skill sets to aid us in orchestrating our town hall meetings. So talented are both, they now partner with our CEO each month to plan and execute these meetings. Their unique value contributions allow them direct access and have netted them additional new opportunities. Find your value, offer it to others, and deliver impact. Do this, and you won’t be sitting on the sidelines for long.

NEVER, EVER GIVE UP.

This isn’t a “I gave it a shot but I’m still benched” kind of scenario. If you continue to be passed over, you need to have a heart-to-heart with your manager. While it would be outstanding if they would be direct and clear on why this is occurring, you might need to ask some direct questions to get to the root cause. Then really listen to the feedback.  Maybe there are some legitimate reasons.  Maybe you have a great attitude, but your work quality isn’t as great as you think it is. Maybe you are making this all about what you want as opposed to what’s in the best interest of the team. Apply the feedback; act on it. And don’t give up.  If you are following the above steps, it will happen for you.

Christina Luconi is Chief People Officer for Rapid7. Follow her on Twitter: @peopleinnovator.

“Intellectual property has become – in many instances – the most valuable asset on a company’s balance sheet,” Anaqua CEO Bob Romeo said.

Intellectual property (IP) protects the ideas that your company owns. It’s your patents, your trademarks, your copyrights, and in some cases, much more than that. For a company like IBM, it might not be enough to just hire someone – or even a team of people – to manage this. For context, IBM broke the U.S. patent record in 2016, with over 8,000 patents granted in a single year.

And so, for a company to manage so much IP, an analytics-driven platform like Anaqua’s can prove necessary. And in fact, it was necessary.

Anaqua was established in 2004 in response to an “important gap within enterprise software solutions,” according to Anaqua’s official website. Simply put, there was no unified IP management system.

In response to this problem, Anaqua worked with IP leaders from The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Motor Company, and British American Tobacco to develop specifications for a “new web-based, unified system for intellectual property – a comprehensive software platform capable of managing and automating the full IP lifecycle of patents, trademarks, designs, trade secrets and contracts.”

Now on the recently-released ANAQUA 9, the platform “unifies the critical tools, best practice workflows, data, documents and services into one efficient, intelligent environment so our clients operate more efficiently and make better decisions faster,” according to the company.

Between Anaqua, its merger with Lecorpio, and its acquisitions, the company has roughly 1,000 IP clients worldwide, including IBM, HP, and Honda. Collectively, Anaqua’s platform is used to manage up to 25% of the world’s IP.

Although different companies have different needs when it comes to IP software, Romeo explained that the core software is the same for every client, with different pricing depending on how many patents and trademarks a given client has. That said, because companies can have different needs, the platform can be customized with various add-on modules.

When it comes to Anaqua, the name of the game here is “growth,” especially in the years since Romeo joined in 2015 from Reed Elsevier. Under his leadership, the company has announced four major acquisitions, including ideaPoint in September 2015, AcclaimIP and Free Patents Online in April 2016, and Patent River in June 2016.

He was also there for Anaqua’s merger with Lecorpio in July of this year.

“Our roots were very, very similar. We’re both based in innovation, both very young companies, and we both really believed that bringing both companies together would give us an opportunity to take advantage of our strengths, and create something that is even better than what we had individually,” Romeo explained.

Anaqua’s growth is occurring at every level. In 2015, the company maintained roughly 150 employees and 375 clients. Today, Anaqua has about 320 worldwide employees (with 120 in Boston), and has nearly tripled its client count.

In its success, Anaqua has been recognized for two awards in the past year. This spring, Hyperion MarketView recognized Anaqua as “Law Firm Software Leader,” while, last winter, the company was recognized as a “Market Leader” in Hyperion’s 2016 report for IP management systems.

Anaqua is headquartered in Downtown Boston, but maintains a total of 10 offices between Massachusetts, California, Utah, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy, and India.

This global physical presence is a must, due to the company’s expansion plans, as well as the fact that F500 companies like HP and Honda require global support. IP needs to be filed separately for every part of the world it maintains a presence in.

This gives Anaqua an advantage over other IP management companies in Europe and especially Asia, who might not be able to support large companies with international needs.

“We have global customers all over the world. When you’re in Japan, you need to be there. You need to be where your customers are.”

To cap off the interview, I asked the CEO about his proudest moment since joining Anaqua.

“I don’t think I can think of just one, so I’ll tell you what I told the board. I think we have great momentum. The merger with Lecorpio is going very well. We’ve got the two businesses working very well together. We have a very, very strong pipeline, and we’re running after it very, very hard. It just feels really good right now.”

Alexander Culafi is a Staff Writer for VentureFizz. You can follow him on Twitter @culafia. ​

Images provided by Anaqua.

It’s true, the “War for Talent” is over… the candidates have finally won. This should be no surprise with how the world is changing. Everyone has access to an incredible amount of information on the Internet, our networks are getting bigger and stronger, and we’re communicating more than ever. Just as the customer now holds most of the power in a buying process, candidates are now in the same position in the hiring process. This shouldn’t worry anyone though… this is a good thing! Now that candidates hold the reigns, we as employers can no longer stretch the truth and ‘BS’ our corporate story (not to say everyone was, but luckily the dirty tactic is gone for good).

Why is it good news that candidates have all the information they need when learning about a future employer?

1. It pushes companies to be more transparent

In a world of interview and employee reviews on Glassdoor, Google news with the latest rumors, public company financials posted online, and bigger networks of connected workforces, employers are now in the hot seat to be honest and transparent in every area of their business. No longer can we say, “We have the best technology” we need to show we have the best. No longer can we say, “We have a ping-pong table and we’re the best place to work” we need to go much further, and we cannot say, “Our employees are the happiest here” when they are, in fact, not happy. All things we can no longer turn a shoulder on. This transparency forces employers to build better workplaces that attract, engage, and retain the best talent out there, because if they don’t… they will fail.

2. It pushes brands to go further than “We’re Awesome, We’re Hiring” as a message

You see it every single day that you’re on LinkedIn, browsing a job board, or commuting through the city and see a job ad at the T-station. The “We’re Awesome, We’re Hiring” message. That doesn’t work anymore. You need differentiation. You need to cut the BS jargon out because candidates are seeing right through it. What differentiates you? It’s not free coffee, ping pong, and bean bags. Candidates now are more interested in technology that is proven in the market, teams of incredibly hard-driven professionals working towards a mission, strong leadership teams and the market opportunity in front of the company. Going further I would add that programs such as mentorship, work/life balance, and challenging work are more attractive messages than “We’re Awesome.” Dig deeper and ask yourself, “What do we offer that is on the plane above just ‘being awesome?’”

3. It creates a two-way communication built on trust

With transparency comes trust. Now that employers are opening their practices, policies, and missions up to the public, we are working towards a more trusted relationship. We’re now seeing deeper conversations about who the employer is, and you’ll even notice candidates are sometimes interviewing the employer now! They have the information, so let’s be honest in our answers to their questions about our company.

4. Candidates find better long-term fits, Employers get the right talent

This is probably the greatest part of companies building stronger employer brands. By creating a strong brand around what you’re good at and not trying to be like every other company, you make it easier for the right candidates to find the right employment. By building your employer brand out to your strengths, and showing exactly who you are and what you stand for, you’re able to hire the right candidates who won’t walk in the door and be caught off guard by the way things work. Stronger, more personalized employer brand, played to your strengths leads to a longer tenured workforce. Additionally, with the right fit employee, businesses end up seeing the needle move in terms of the company’s overall success. It’s a win-win.

There are plenty of other reasons why having a transparent, honest, and attractive employer brand leads to company success, but the list is too long. If you want your business to survive in the longer term, or if you’re having trouble retaining employees, maybe it’s time to reassess your employer brand and figure out the types of talent you want and how you really need to present your culture in order to hire them.

Justin Graci is the Brand Marketing Manager at Turbonomic. You can follow him on Twitter here: @JustinGraci.

In the fifth episode of our Career Inspiration podcast, we are really excited to have Mike Hebert - Head of Talent Acquisition at edX - join us!

Hebert has a unique background and some serious credibility being that he graduated with an MIS degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and actually wrote code. He also started his own hardware and software support company before switching over to his current profession in recruiting.  

​In this episode we discuss:

• Hebert's background
• Tips for hiring engineers
• Building out your employment brand
• How to prepare for an interview with edX, and how to land a job there
• Pointers for recruiters on how to be more effective
• The importance of retention as it relates to your overall strategy
• ...and lots more!

You can listen to the podcast in the player below. To make sure you receive future episodes, please subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, or Soundcloud. If you enjoyed our show, please consider writing a 5-star review - it will definitely help us get the word out there!

Keith Cline is the Founder of VentureFizz.  Follow him on Twitter: @kcline6.

Whether you call it resilience, grit or optimizing for “Option B”, that quality that allows some of us to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever doesn’t have to be elusive.  We all have the ability to rise from the ashes and find the opportunities that exist during the worst of times.  I’m introducing the concept of Plan O...for “Opportunity.”  Specifically those contingency plans we must embrace when our original plan goes off course. They almost always do, so why not explore the possibilities that can come from that?

In her bestselling book Grit, Angela Duckworth wrote about those who embody the elements of perseverance and passion for long-term goals, with a realization that achievement doesn’t always follow a clean, linear path. Resilience is often defined as that quality held by people who find a way to rise from the ashes, never letting a setback or failure drain their resolve. People characterized as having grit or resilience seem to share a number of similar attributes, including a positive attitude, the ability to regulate their emotions, and view their failures as opportunities. Over a century ago, educator Booker T. Washington highlighted resilience with his quote, “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed.”  Truth.  

Any time tragedy strikes a family, people tend to comfort parents with the often used adage, “Children are so resilient.” That sentiment probably doesn’t provide ample comfort, but there is something to it.  By learning about resilience from a young age, children are better capable to learn from disappointments, cope with losses and adapt to change. We learn most of these skills by kindergarten, and yet somehow we tend to ditch some them as we get older. Let’s remember back to childhood and see what we can learn.

Make Connections 

One of the first things children learn when they are young is how to make friends and develop empathy. We learned to be a good friend in order to make friends. We were provided support at home to strengthen those relationships and had a safety net for when disappointment eventually strikes. Essentially, we were taught we are never alone; if we have invested in relationships, we will always have a safety net to rely on.

Define a Structure

We often put kids on schedules to aid in establishing a routine, primarily to pacify those who benefit from a little structure. And while this is important in providing those basic elements that will aid as adults (understanding deadlines, organizing priorities, and the like), it’s also important to teach them how to operate when things don’t go according to that structure. For example, when my kids were in middle school, the principal actually requested that if your child forgot their homework, the parent SHOULD NOT immediately drop it off at the school, coming to the rescue. The kids needed to learn how to handle their mistakes, and not having someone bail you out every time is part of that learning. In other words, plan out whatever structure, roadmap or guidelines you want to aid you in organizing your work and life plans. And leave enough buffer room in there for a contingency plan.  

Establish Reflective Time

Kids get timeouts, naptimes, and recess as times to decompress and hit the pause button. Whether you think of it as personal wellness or work-life balance, everyone needs to carve out a bit of time to reflect and gather their thoughts.  When I was going through my divorce years ago, I was forced into an “Option B” situation - clearly, my life was no longer going in the direction I had anticipated. To stay focused, I chose priorities; kids and work. For a period of time, everything else took a distant place on the pecking order, including myself. It took me a while to figure it out, but I ended up transitioning my commute in the morning and evening from work phone calls to quiet, reflective time.  Sometimes I would listen to music, sometimes I’d just have myself a good cry. The point is, it became “me” time, which for that period of time twice a day no one could touch.

Set Reasonable Goals to Help You Accomplish the Audacious Ones 

Whether it’s learning to ride a bike or how to tackle that first book report, we teach children how to break down their big goals into small bite sizes ones. That same notion applies to us as adults. Consider the grand aspiration of promotions. Your Plan A might be “I’d like to be promoted into XX role by the end of the year.” Perhaps you’ve defined the roadmap to accomplish the skills you need to get there, and you make progress. Let’s go with an easy example of weight loss. Perhaps you have committed to an audacious goal of losing twenty-five pounds. You’ve signed up for a weight loss program, and you’ve hit the grocery store to stock up on healthy foods. You’ve set a goal of working out four days a week, and you’ve found a support group to cheer on your progress. And then you have an accident, in which you break your leg, and you are now out of commission and won’t be working out for the next few months. Does that mean your big goal of weight loss is now destroyed? Nope. It just means you need to refocus those goals and find a new way to achieve the master goal.  It obviously won’t be your original plan, but if you are committed, you’ll design a new one. Breaking down that big goal into smaller, reasonable and adaptable ones allows your Plan O to still get you where you want to go.   

This is the Worst Day...so Every Other Day Will Be Better

Death, loss, disappointments.  While some of us have suffered these to a more dramatic extent than others, every human suffers hardships. Each time my children encounter one, we spend time talking about previous times they felt similarly down, and how they were able to move past it and thrive. In the moment when it hits, it can feel like your world is falling apart. And yet, we all have the capability of moving past those difficult times. Of course, people need time to grieve and wallow a bit. However, when it’s time to move forward, putting things in perspective often helps. If that moment when you lost your job, got dumped or didn’t get that promotion you wanted became your absolute low point, it can only go up from there. If your Plan A is now defunct and you are feeling chaotic, pause and reflect.  What opportunities can Plan O provide? Sometimes, being forced into a new situation where you need to change course can offer possibilities you never dreamed of until you were forced to do so. Partner that with a positive outlook that each day will be a little bit better than the last, and you’re well on your way to healthy resilience.

Change or Die

As children, we learn about Darwin and the Theory of Evolution early on.  Simply put, if we don’t evolve, we die out. While having a set path and being able to navigate and feel in control of your Plan A might provide comfort, life just doesn’t always work like that. Finding ways to course correct and edit our plans isn’t just a new skill to develop; it’s critical to our existence. No, I’m not suggesting you’ll perish if you can’t establish a solid Plan O.  I am, however, acknowledging those who do build that resilience muscle is far more likely to evolve into a healthier, adaptable human being.

Resilience, grit and overcoming bumps are part of life’s journey. We all individually elect whether or not to embrace those ebbs and flows.  While intellectually everyone might understand the importance of our well being to develop that skill set, it’s easier said than done. By remembering and employing some of the basics we learned from our childhood, we can overcome just about anything. We just have to take a deep breath, believe in ourselves, and get busy plotting out Plan O.  While Plan A might have been what you were after, you just might find the opportunities your Plan O nets you are even better.

Christina Luconi is Chief People Officer for Rapid7. Follow her on Twitter: @peopleinnovator.