How Do YOU Handle Change?
How well do you handle change as an entrepreneur? Change can be sometime difficult, especially if you weren’t expecting it.  Are you responding expeditiously to the social, environmental and technological changes that can affect your bottom line?  The most successful entrepreneurs not only embrace change, they actively seek it out knowing that greater fulfillment, success and growth is obtained when you can adapt to an ever changing market. So, what do you do if you experience change in your business or personal life?  Perhaps you've grown from a one-person office to managing a staff of five or maybe one of your largest clients just announced that they no longer need your services. Whether large or small, sudden or planned, change is change! As a former entrepreneur of a successful building maintenance company, I remember having to deal with a few situations where I needed to make quick and fast decisions. Though frustrating, I was able to look at each situation and make sou...
Author: Site Contributor

To Share or Not to Share? What a Question!
As successful business owners and corporate executives, many of us struggle with finding a good balance between being fierce leaders and taking the glory and profit of our hard work versus sharing the profit and the responsibility of the risk. Over the past few years, I have been involved in several initiatives, some small, some large, where some of the ventures died before they saw the light of the day, as people around the boardroom struggled with, well, sharing the pie! In the beginning, the honeymoon-stage made everyone feel like the sharing was fine. However, as negotiations became tighter, you could feel the tension in the atmosphere, as the refinement of the deals and the desire to take it all became more tangible. Let’s do the math: if I have a pie to share and this pie represents 100 pieces and you and I decide to split the pie in half, we would both have 50 pieces each, correct? If we then invited others to play with us and we decided to divide the pie into five equal parts...
Author: Dr. Gabriela Cora

C-Link Suite Interview with Lesley Harris
One of our 27 recipients of the 2009 Ascendancy Awards for Business Women, as president of Travelocity Business, Lesley Harris leads one of the fastest growing travel management companies in North America. From its origin in 2003 serving unmanaged business travelers, Travelocity Business now has more than $800 million in travel spend under management. Prior to Travelocity Business, Harris was vice president of sales and customer care for Travelocity, responsible for leading Travelocity's offline global call center enterprise in support of consumer sales and service. Before that, she was vice president of the small business division for Sabre Travel Network where she transitioned the small business division from direct account management to a service center structure. Prior to her experience in sales, Harris was vice president of North America operations services for Sabre Travel Network. Harris started her career with Sabre in 1995 and held various positions in finance, operations an...
Author: Jean Lewis

Travelocity Business' Lesley Harris Wins Ascendancy Award
SOUTHLAKE, Texas, Jun 08, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- w2wlink, the premier professional online community for women, honored Travelocity Business President Lesley Harris with an Ascendancy Award on May 28 in Dallas. Presented in seven other locations nationwide, the Ascendancy Awards honor women for their professional achievements, as well as their role as mentors to other women. Candidates for the awards were nominated for achievement in corporate, entrepreneurial and career transition settings. Now beginning her third year as president of Travelocity Business, Lesley Harris leads one of the fastest growing travel management companies in North America. From its origin in 2003 serving unmanaged business travelers, the agency now has more than $800 million in travel spend under management. Travelocity Business offers corporations a compelling combination of best-in-class automation with a complete array of traditional travel management services. "It is an honor to receive the w2wlink Ascen...
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Women on Boards Equal Strong Financial Performance
Fortune 500 companies with the highest representation of women board directors attained significantly higher financial performance, on average, than those with the lowest representation of women board directors, according to Catalyst’s most recent report, The Bottom Line: Corporate Performance and Women’s Representation on Boards. In addition, the report points out, on average, notably stronger-than-average performance at companies with three or more women board directors. The study, which is the second of Catalyst’s Bottom Line reports, looked at three critical financial measures: return on equity, return on sales, and return on invested capital, and compared the performance of companies with the highest representation of women on their boards to those with the lowest representation. “Clearly, financial measures excel where women serve on corporate boards,” said Ilene H. Lang, President of Catalyst. “This Catalyst study again demonstrates the very strong correlation between corporat...
Author: Site Contributor

C-Link Suite Interview: Nina Vaca
Nina Vaca, CEO of Pinnacle Technical Resources, Inc., one of the 27 winners of the w2wlink 2009 Ascendancy Awards for Business Women, two-time winner of Hispanic Business Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award as well as Ernst & Young’s 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year award for Technology and Communications for the Southwest Region, founded Pinnacle in 1996. Pinnacle is an information technology services provider to the Fortune 500. The company’s client base includes industry leaders from the telecommunications, financial services, health care, technology, consumer products and business process outsourcing sectors. Pinnacle’s services include enterprise data warehousing, custom application development and architecture, system/network integration and installation, and call center technologies. Under Vaca’s leadership, Pinnacle has become the second fastest growing firm in a $20 billion dollar industry, and now includes approximately 1,500 consultants across 38 states. She is a gradua...
Author: Jean Lewis

Tips on Building Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty is an area about which professional women have a special understanding. Women being generally relationship oriented and social in nature have an inclination toward maintaining and building good relations.  For more information on relationships as a factor of importance to women in the workplace, see In the Company of Women, (Heim et al.,Tarcher, 2003). "The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer." Peter Drucker, Brainyquotes.com. Coffee shops, hair salons, and restaurants have long used the buy one or buy some number, get one free program to much success. Hallmark Card’s customer loyalty programs have become well known for successfully driving repeat customer business in times of fast emerging competition on the Internet. New ways to build customer loyalty develop with new ways to track it as well as with the development of new kinds of technologies for product. The best ways to create customer loyalty programs start with knowing your customer and know...
Author: Jean Lewis

Dallas Business Journal Interview
Lisbeth McNabb, 47, has more than 20 years of experience working in high-growth environments -- and she wouldn't have it any other way. A couple of months back, she left a two-year CFO position at Match.com to found w2wlink.com, a Web site geared toward professional women in times of growth. In early 2008, she plans to launch a networking concept on the site, where women fill out confidential profiles and w2wlink.com matches them in appropriate groups. Why women, and why now? McNabb says the marketplace is ripe: There are more than 34 million professional women in the United States, and 70% to 80% of small business launches are by women. Their buying clout tops $2 trillion. "I'm leveraging a lot of realities," she said. "The market is gigantic and the buying side is very compelling." McNabb was interviewed by Correspondent Karen Nielsen. Q. What's it like to go from a Fortune 500 company to an Internet startup? A. I'm very atypical for someone at a Fortune 500 company. I'm very ...
Author: Karen Nielsen

7 Strategies for Leading in Times of Change
As successful executives and business owners, we are "entrepreneuring" 24/7. We wake up with a full schedule of things to do and, as professional women, we juggle our personal and our family’s activities as well. Whether man-made or natural disaster, while unexpected events may be catastrophic in nature, it is the emotional intensity that may overwhelm our senses and good judgment. To best cope with the emotional intensity of crisis so that we may lead effectively and stay calm, here is a quick checklist.  It will enable you to set up a solid foundation on which to stand firmly grounded,  as well as to operate best when the pressure is on. Strategy #1: Assess the situation. If you are facing an unexpected event, whether it ranges from a catastrophic-like event to the loss of a significant family member or friend, ensure your own safety, your family’s safety and the safety of those who work with you. You cannot blink in choosing people first. Strategy #2: Concentrate on your "here an...
Author: Dr. Gabriela Cora

w2wlink.com Founder/CEO Lisbeth McNabb in D Magazine’s D CEO
July 14, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Dallas, Texas – Lisbeth McNabb, founder and CEO of w2wlink.com, is featured in the August issue of D Magazine in the "D CEO" section (www.dmagazine.com). "D CEO" introduces Dallas business leaders to one another. It celebrates the entrepreneurial tradition of Dallas, the men and women who take risks, who create jobs, who better the city. "D CEO" has become required reading for top executives who want to know more about their peers and to make a difference in our city. w2wlink.com is the premier community dedicated to professional women, helping them get to where they’re going – faster. w2wlink.com provides expert knowledge, tools to overcome obstacles, and connection with others in the online groups. McNabb leads a team of professionals to research and meet the needs of the professional woman in content and networking aspects through targeted content and online marketing and proprietary software for online networking. She has built on experience ...
Author: Site Contributor

How to Network Successfully in a Male-Dominated Environment
Finding the time, energy and confidence to network can be tough for anyone – even successful business women. But women who work in male-dominated environments can find networking even more challenging. It can be an intimidating and isolating situation, and is more common than many might think despite the approximately 70 million working female Americans (38 percent of whom are in professional occupations). For these women, and many others like them, building successful relationships with their peers can be more difficult. Women may be ostracized, patronized or simply overlooked by male colleagues who believe that their company or industry is no place for a woman. Some men may be overtly rude and confrontational, while others may just be uncomfortable having a woman in their workplace and avoid interaction altogether. Whether dealing with male bosses, employees or peers, being the only women (or one of a very few) can be very lonely indeed. If you do work in a primarily male environme...
Author: Marny Lifshen

The 3 D's of Leadership for Professional Women
As professional women take on the task of leading teams, mastering the 3 D's of team leadership: Decision-Making, Delegation and Diplomacy allows them to fulfill their roles in impressive fashion. For professional women, there is an emphasis on the Delegation "D," because they often believe they have to prove their value by doing it all themselves Decision-Making Decision-making is at the core of team leadership. The best skill team leaders can develop is that of helping a team build consensus to make decisions. This is both an art and a science. It is a skill that can be taught and improved with practice. Solely the executive women, as leader, must make some decisions, but when working with teams, it is important for morale and motivation to involve team members. In Alan Weiss’ "Best Practices Consulting Seminar," he identifies five approaches to decision-making. The skill is in knowing when to apply each of the five following approaches: 1) The leader makes the decision by hersel...
Author: Skip Weisman

Maria Shriver Reports on the State of the Professional Woman
In a new study titled, "The Shriver Report," by Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress, the lives of modern women were put under a microscope as thousands across the country, men and women, were asked to be candid about the expectations of today's working men and women. More specifically, the number of women professionals has grown steadily since the 1960s, and because they're not going anywhere, it's throwing both genders for a loop. Women are working just as hard, or harder than their spouses, and life at home is under constant negotiation between many couples. Who are these women blazing the trail and how do they measure success? As reprinted from Maria Shriver's report: "Women say they feel increasingly isolated, invisible, stressed, and misunderstood. I wondered what was going on. I talked to the women, and they filled out our questionnaires. I learned women are hungry for something that's missing in their lives—a place to connect. They say they feel increasingly ...
Author: Site Contributor

Press Information for w2wlink.com
w2wlink.com is the premier community dedicated to professional women, helping you get to where you’re going – faster. We provide you expert knowledge, tools to overcome obstacles, and connection with others in our online groups.    Hot Topics: women business, women networking, women entrepreneurs, executive women and women mentoring.   Click here to download the w2wlink Media Kit. The w2wlink Team publicrelations@w2wlink.com o: 214.866.0299 f: 214.889.8001
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3 Ways to Get the Credit You Deserve
How to view it: Men are really good at taking credit for everything. Women are not so good at taking credit for what they deserve. When I give workshops on secrets to getting ahead for women, one of the hardest exercises for participants is what I call "the owning your own worth exercise." It actually is very simple. The participants have a few minutes to write down their thoughts about what makes them great or valuable in a specific work context. Then she must stand in front of the group and tell the group in a first person declaration. "I am a great sales person because …" For many women, this task might as well be walking on hot coals. On the other hand, it is also very common that when a woman is given a compliment at work about her success, her immediate reaction is to say something like, "Well, I could not have done it without Jenny and the team." A common and pleasant ritual among women is the "No, it’s not me, it was you." Exchange. It goes like this: MANAGER: Great Job Be...
Author: Robert Schwarz

Be Heard in Meetings
Many women complain about the difficulties they have in being heard by men in meetings. When we learn to understand the gender differences in a positive and constructive light, we can learn new ways to increase the effectiveness of our communication that will increase our productivity and success. This four part series of articles is geared to helping professional women communicate more effectively during meetings so that they will be more successful in having her ideas accepted and utilized. Four skills will be discussed, starting with the art of interrupting for professional women. How to View It The first specific skill that professional women need to learn is the art of interrupting. This is hard for women, because as a group they are interested in sharing and listening. The custom for women is to listen with the understanding that after someone is done talking it will be your turn. This behavior pattern begins in very early childhood. When women talk with each other the custom ...
Author: Robert Schwarz

During Tough Times, Two-Way Improvement Plans Work Best
There are few feelings in the world as gratifying as celebrating a championship with teammates whom together you developed, persevered, broke through barriers, overcame obstacles and achieved the ultimate goal for which all were striving. The path to becoming a championship team in athletics is a life-transforming journey. Additionally, it is important to understand that there are many championship teams that due to luck, circumstances, the bounce of a ball or an inch or two, fall short of the ultimate goal. This doesn’t make them less of a championship team. Create a System of Two-Way Performance Improvement Feedback Professional women, desirous of creating a championship team, work on setting high expectations and accountability for their team members.  That strategy requires a corollary approach. This corollary is to consistently apply a process that involves evaluating the performance of team members as it relates to the goals and objectives of the department or company they lead...
Author: Skip Weisman

Is Networking Different for Women and Men?
The concept of networking can be deceptively simple. So simple, in fact, it would seem natural to assume that networking is pretty much the same for men and women. But is this really true? The correct answer to the question of whether networking is different for men and women is actually no and yes. It is true that many of the basic philosophies, strategies and tools of networking apply for both men and women, and that anyone can learn to be a successful networker, regardless of gender. But in reality, women face different opportunities and challenges in the workplace and in networking. Balancing career and motherhood, the glass ceiling, and sexual harassment are just a few examples of the unique trials women face. Our networking experiences can actually be quite different from men – even at the same event, within the same organization, or in the same industry or community. While there is no question that we girls have come a long way in the business world during the past thirty year...
Author: Marny Lifshen

w2wlink Announces Ascendancy Award Winners
Twenty-Seven Award Winners in Corporate, Entrepreneur, and Career Transition Settings across the nation DALLAS (5/29/2009 11:46 AM Eastern Time) – w2wlink.com, the premier professional online community for women, is pleased to announce its first ever Ascendancy Award recipients. Along with sponsors ClubCorp, The World Leader in Private ClubsSM, and American Airlines, w2wlink initiated the Ascendancy Awards to recognize, reward and inspire women to maximize their potential in their careers. Candidates were nominated from eight cities and at-large locales across the nation for achievement in Corporate, Entrepreneurial and Career Transition settings. Three national winners were selected among the total 27 award winners who were recognized May 28. This year’s three national award recipients are: Corporate national winner Ambassador Frances Cook has established many firsts in her long-term career as ambassador to various global efforts. Since she began her career as a Special Assistant to...
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The Risk of Heart Disease in Professional Women
Heart disease is the number one killer of women, and with the pressures that professional women face, heart disease is an especially important issue to that subgroup in particular.  To some of you this may come as a shock, but I assure you, this is nothing new. In fact, over the past decades while the death rate for heart disease in men has been declining, for women it is increasing.  There are many reasons for this discrepancy, including the fact that women have not been included in major studies looking at heart disease.  Even to this day, on average, only 25% of studies on heart disease include women.  Needless to say, women need to know their risk and how to do something about it, so they don’t become just another statistic in this epidemic that was once known as only a man’s disease. It was recently overheard that, "the more women live like men, the more they are going to die like them."  There are multiple risk factors that lead to heart disease besides age and family history, s...
Author: Suzanne Steinbaum

Make Networking a Way of Life
In this economy in which large companies are growing at a slower pace than in the past and given the highly transactional marketplace, workers are changing jobs more frequently either by choice or by necessity. People who previously have targeted only large corporations are looking elsewhere, often to smaller companies. This job climate makes networking even more important. Now, more than ever, it is a necessity, not an option. But because time is truly a precious commodity for many professional women, networking, unfortunately, has often been put on the back burner. The busier the woman, the more networking has lagged behind in priorities. Often it has been done only sporadically for a pointed purpose. Or it has been done in an ad hoc way when convenient. In both cases, women have missed tremendous opportunities to grow their careers exponentially. Professional women can no longer afford to neglect this critical, strategic career builder. There are many preconceived notions about ...
Author: Marny Lifshen