Some of us still remember the impact of Betty Friedan's book, The Feminine Mystique, on American culture.  The late Ms. Friedan will always be known as a pioneer of the women's liberation movement in the 1960s, and her treatise in that book on the plight of women trapped in the powerless role of homemaker broke new ground. Now there's a new book, cleverly entitled The Feminine Mistake by Leslie Bennetts that has rocked the world in a different way.  While Bennetts has taken a lot of heat for her work, I think it should be required reading for every woman who is flirting with the idea of leaving the workforce to become a stay-at-home mom or wife--and certainly this is a book I want my 28-year-old daughter Kitty to read as she considers her own choices regarding work. Essentially Ms. Bennetts, a journalist for many years and presently a writer for "Vanity Fair," outlines the flawed logic of women dropping out to stay home and raise babies, which is noble work but at best a "temp job."  The economic impact of women dropping out is enormous, and Ms. Bennetts, who has been vigorously attacked by the conservative right for her opinions, relates story after harrowing story, complete with financial repercussions, about women who opted to stop working and then paid dearly due to divorce or a husband's death.   I was both invigorated and disturbed by this book.  As a woman who chose to have children and also work, I've spent a lot of time feeling guilty for my choices.  The author's hypthesis freed me up to celebrate my decision to work while raising a family and also provides amazing data to back that up.  Her premise is very controversial, especially in the context of a backlash culture where women are "off-ramping" at an alarming rate.  I'd love to have a book discussion around this provocative work--if you're interested, please email me at choices321@aol.com.   

Ever catch yourself bored to death in your own interview of a CEO or book author you thought would be interesting? Ever meet with an interview guest to discover she's just a pompous blowhard spouting corporate jargon? Or worse, that you can't remember what she just said two minutes ago?I'll soon be giving a seminar on Interviews that ROCK: Getting the Most out of Your Guests at the New Media Expo later this month. In my research and anecdote-collecting, I came across five common pitfalls that every interviewer, whether an independent business owner, podcaster or PR professional, invariably runs across:

1. Your guest is dull as dirt. It happens sometimes--we choose a dud of an interview subject. Could be that he's just not media-trained or microphone-shy, but the best you can do is get the heck out. End the interview and edit the content to something useful.
2. Your guest is a pompous blowhard. Sometimes a talkative guest just loves the sound of his own voice and won't stay on the topic that your listeners or readers want to hear about. In episode 34 of her Trafcom News Podcast, Donna Pappacosta suggests something like, "This is really interesting, but I don't want to take up too much of your valuable time. So could we get back to the topic of XXX?"
3. You space out and discover you weren't paying attention. This also happens more than we non-media-trained types care to admit. It's late; we're tired; we know it's a good interview and are checking sound levels... and then hear that crushing silence that means the guest is done speaking and we have no idea what she just said. Of course, the best thing to do is to pay attention to begin with--active note-taking can help with being fully engaged for the entire interview. But if you do space out, try this, "Oh, that was so interesting that I lost track of my next question! Let me check... To switch topics a bit, can you tell us about... ?"
4. The guest uses jargon you don't understand.CorporateSpeak--you know what I mean. "Pushing the envelope" and "thinking outside the box" and "shifting paradigms" and "achieving critical mass with core competencies." What the heck do those really mean? If you don't know, your listeners or readers won't, either. Solution? Just ask. And if you don't understand the answer, ask again. And again. Ask to be spoken to as if the guest were explaining it to a small child--or his mother. 
5. The guest is on a cell phone, and you can't hear her clearly. For a good list of reasons why doing any interview over a cell phone is a bad idea, see Leesa Barnes' post on this. Just don't do it. Insist he or she use a land line. If she isn't near one, reschedule for when she can be. Your podcast will be a million times easier to edit, and you won't pull your hair out trying to understand your guest!

As I think back over the years I have to admit that the things I remember most dearly are NOT work related. Sure I remember working with some amazing people and signing many big deals but honestly my sons first birthday party and baseball game are much more clear.  I made the decision early on in my career (not sure why) that my son came first, that I didn't want to regret not spending time with him.   Now that he's 27 a husband and a father of one angelic little girl, I must admit I wish I would have spent even more time with him as he was growing up! Ok, summer is behind us and fall and the holidays on the way what plans have you made to spend more time with family? 

Children are back to school and I have noticed my clients' renewed focus on their investments.  The market has changed and it is the perfect time to review all of your holdings, get rid of what no longer fits your strategy and make new additions that provide better opportunities for the future. Take advantage of any tax losses the volitile market over the past few months has provided - you will be happy you did next April!  Schedule a time with your tax preparer to meet in October or November to focus on year end planning before Holidays are in full swing.  An hour or two of proactive planning now is the best way to make your wealth work for you What is your top financial priority this Fall?    

Hello! I'm Heather Locus and I will be facilitating the blog about finances - investing, taxes, insurance, college, retirement and estate planning.  I am a partner at Balasa Dinverno & Foltz LLC.  We are a private wealth mangement firm managing over $1.5 billion of assets for individuals, corporations and charities.  I love helping people use their wealth to enjoy their life.  My favorites are helping clients make life changing events like quiting their jobs to start their own companies, taking their entire families on memorable vacations, helping them buy that dream home or splurging on pleasures like great tickets to an event or a piece of art that moves them.   Frequently I find money is not the main issue that holds clients back from truely enjoying their wealth.  I had a client that talked about buying a second home out West for years.  She could afford it, but would not proceed.  During one of our conversations she mentioned that,"They did not think it was a good idea".  I asked who 'They' was - her friends or her daughters?  She stopped, thought for a moment and started to cry.  After a couple of minutes she replied that she had not told anyone about her dream except me - 'They' were just the voices of her friends and daughters in her head that she anticipated.  She said that when her parents had moved out West many years ago it was as if they were "dead" to her and she didn't want her daughters to feel the same.  It was an 'ah ha' moment for her.  She talked about her dream to her daughters that weekend and proceeded to buy a second home in Arizona very quickly.  She maintains a wonderful relationship with her daughters and LOVES spending the cold Chicago winters in Arizona. What is one of your dreams you have not shared with anyone?  What steps can you take in the next week to establish the finances and other resources to make it happen?  - Heather

Just words?  Blink, time, fleeting?  In the last few weeks the thought of time as fleeting has come to the forefront in my life more often then usual. Yes, we all know time is our most precious asset. Have you ever had the feeling you would like to "grasp" back that moment, that time, that instant when time stood still. We remember experiences that are different ~ one in a lifetime ~ rare.   In the book blink, the author Malcolm Gladwell talks about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant - in the blink of an eye - that actually aren't as simple as they seem. As women we are tasked with so many things ~ many of the things we do we do instinctively ~ as the years go by and we look back, the daily grind is not what we remember.  We remember experiences that are out of the norm ~ getting married, our childs birth, their first steps, our first job, time with our friends and the list goes on....So the question is how do we as busy professionanl women with busy lives make sure we capture the essence of life through valuable experiences....so it doesn't feel so much like a blink? 

Welcome to Opening Doors!  Hi, I'm Tara Farnsworth and I will be blogging about the wacky and ever changing world of real estate.  We will talk about financing, marketing tips, processes, research help and whatever you are looking to learn... As a full time agent and business owner, I am very passionate about real estate and truly believe EVERY ONE should have a wonderful experience.  This blog is one step in the right direction to ensure you too have a great experience... On a personal note, I have a wonderful husband Wade, a great dog Skylar and a loving cat Radja.  We love seeing movies (so let me know if you've seen something I should see), reading, going to dinner (always open for suggestions) and traveling.  We fit other things in when time permits:)

Welcome to the blogosphere!  Five years ago I met Georgia Dudley at another women-in-business group and she told me about her new venture, Empowering Women Network (EWN).  She and I were both launching our respective businesses that summer, and I was transitioning CHOICES Worldwide (www.choicesworldwide.com) from a part-time to a full-time enterprise, offering business and career coaching.  I pulled out my checkbook and signed up for EWN right away... anyone who's ever met Georgia can understand why.  Thus I became EWN Member #1 and I'm happy to be with you and Georgia today. At the last EWN meeting, Jane Pigott quoted Madeline Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State, who once said "There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."  I'd like to say it another way: There's a special place in heaven for women who do help other women.  Being a member of EWN is one of the most powerful ways I know of to do just that.  Spread the word.

Hi! I'm Georgia Dudley, and I'll be blogging here about professional women, their trials and tribulations as I see them and the goodness they create in the world. For those who don't know me, I'm the Founder of Empowering Women Network, Inc. by day and an avid animal rights activist and now blogger by night. I founded EWN 5 years ago and I'm happy to say we are still here and have become an industry leader in providing services to high potential female professionals.

How do we do that you ask, well through membership to our amazing organization, learning, mentoring and all around support of each other where ever we may be on this journey called life as a "woman".

So I'll be your blogging hostess about professional women (women business owners and women in the workplace). Topics will include things I've learned and things I still have to learn about business, relationships, health and wellness and spiritutality.

I've asked a bunch of EWN Members to help me BLOG ~ they are amazing and have so much to offer! This is it, we are here, where are you we can't wait to meet you!

Over the last two weeks, I've received no less than seven invites for Shelfari, a new social site for sharing favorite books. And you know what I did?

I ignored them. Deleted them. Angrily, sometimes, even.

I mean, I have a blog or two. And a podcast. I'm on LinkedIn and Facebook and Twitter. My god, people, how much sharing do we really need to do online, after all?

But this morning, I was in an adventurous mood. So I gave it a try. And you know what? I like it. It's easy to use, even if you haven't had your coffee yet. The idea is that you simply create a free account by creating a user name and password, and then... you just list your favorite books. Period. That's it.

If you want to list books, you click "Build Shelf." Then type a key word in the box, like "Harry Potter" or "Getting Things Done." It will bring up books that match that title or author, and you just click to add to your shelf. In 15 minutes this morning, I added 30 books by my favorite authors.

What's the point of that, you ask? Ahhhh! It's all in the sharing. The next step is to click on "My Friends" and "Invite Friends." With one click, you can import all the email addresses from your Gmail, Yahoo, AOL or Hotmail account, and anyone who accepts will be able to see your book recommendations.

See the possibilities? Sure, we talk with our clients all the time, but how fun would it be to see what your too-busy, never-time-for-a-phone-call client thought of the latest Harry Potter book or Karen Post's Brain Tattoos on business branding? Or it might provide a fun way to connect with friends or colleagues you just don't get to see all that often. Basically, it's kind of like having your own, worldwide book discussion group.

It's simple. I like it. Wanna see my books? Click here! If you try it out, let me know what you think!