Grace Gravestock

Last year, I completed the best project of my career. I attended a Customer Service Week industry event with my client team and supported the leadership in their "Best CIS Implementation" Case Study. Before the presentation, I distributed cards with a QR code to download my white paper and talked up the leaders and team to attendees. Our presentation was standing-room only, and the white paper gave recognition and visibility to the leadership and team members and their important respective roles in the project's success. I also added info about my independent consulting services since it was my white paper. From that event, I gathered about 50 email addresses of potential clients into my CRM!

This is my #1 Networking TIp that I use virtually EVERY time I meet someone new! After you've established trust and rapport, and decided that you DO want to speak with them again, ask if you can take a selfie of you both together. Explain how you will use it. I usually show them how I use the selfie to immediately add them to my phone Contacts, and also how I use pre-determined categories in my Contacts to add relevant info quickly so that I can remember how and where we met, who they are. Then I text them the photo too, so we can both add the other to our Contacts, if desired. This way, when I call you or you call me next time, I'll see this picture and remember how and where we met!

My #1 tip is to make sure you plan based on sound numbers! Sure, it's often hard to anticipate exactly how much demand there will be or how fast you can make profit, but if you don't watch your numbers, you'll likely run out of your savings before you start making enough to keep the lights on. Wish I could say I didn't make that mistake!

After about 20 years of tech work and lots of hours, I finally realized that it's the excessive screen time and singular visual focus that has been a major cause of debilitating migraines and headaches for decades. Today I'm learning how crucial eye health and specific self-care practices impact my well-being. Specifically, it's important to follow the natural light and circadian rhythms of the body which means NO SCREENS after dark! The result may be headaches or eye pain. While I've had temporary relief from a variety of alternative practices including acupuncture, the most surprisingly effective has been castor oil packs on my eyes at night with a warm pack on top of that.

When I was a young program manager, my boss at Dell was so busy that I knew I would only have a few minutes of his time. I made it a point to always come prepared with a concise summary of recent accomplishments plus specific questions or insights to share about what I knew were his priorities. I knew that being so prepared was one of the best ways I could show respect for his time, demonstrate my organization and foresight, and proactively add value to his life. While I certainly stood out, I've since realized that this was also my way of "proving my value". As a mature professional, I am no longer trying to PROVE anything. My work speaks for itself, and my confidence and posture allows me to truly lead - and show up as a peer.

While it may cost me in the short-term to be up-front and honest about my intentions on a project, it has always paid dividends. After the successful completion of a large-scale change project for a recent client, I was asked to lead the next effort. I chose to be honest about where I want to take my career and the project was out of alignment. While the client may have been surprised, I knew that it was better for our long-term relationship that I didn't say yes, then leave mid-way through the project and burn bridges.