Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC Setting potential to flight.
Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC Hidden Challenges and Opportunities: A Strengths-Based Approach to Accommodations and Success May 21 st 2:00 - 3:45 PM
Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 3 Who I am & what I do ● Author of Surviving Dreaded Conversations: Talk Through Any Difficult Situation at Work (McGraw- Hill, 2009) ● President of The Krysalis Group, a business consulting firm in New York City ● We create management, marketing, training and sales solutions ● Our clients utilize us to create programs where message and image meet through presentation ● This could be internal functions such as training and management or external activity such as marketing and sales ● The point being, the more they match, the stronger the company and brand
Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 4 My current profession & how I got here ● A long and winding road ● Trained to be a dancer because of my trouble in school ● Learning stage makeup as a kid led to makeup artist freelance jobs in college ● Undergraduate was a performing arts school ● Graduated with a BA and went into the beauty/fashion business ● Worked in sales, sales management and training ● Went to graduate school at NYU for a masters OD and HRM and post graduate in Business Education ● Graduated with an MA & went to Goldman Sachs ● Formed The Krysalis Group in 2001
Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 5 My experience with disability ● School was a disaster ● I flunked everything ● They wanted to kick me out ● My father intervened and cut an “extra credit” deal ● As soon as I was out of the system I was fine ● I learned what I can and cannot do ● As a result, I know how to build highly complementary teams ● The work world was my chance to leave what school did to me behind ● I’m grateful for that freedom and the people who saw my strengths and made a way for me ● The net result is a strong and positive work identity ● The antithesis of my school identity
Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 6 Difficult experience & what it taught me ● In graduate school and covering the East and West coasts ● I had to figure out a way to get my homework done ● My boss couldn’t understand why I had such idiosyncratic traveling needs ● She thought I should just be able to study on the plane ● I couldn’t ● Years later we talked about it ● I learned that there was no reason to hide it
Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 7 Disability has helped me professionally ● Everything about my disability has helped me in my career Survival Forced to fight the status quo Think differently See differently My brain couldn’t be shaped/conformed to the norm Creativity was preserved Learned not to listen to people who think they know Learned to listen to myself and trust those who are interested in bringing out the best in people as opposed to the reverse
Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 8 Remembering one thing… No one can tell you what you can/can’t do. Don’t listen unless they are telling you, you can do amazing, wonderful things.
Copyright © 2010 The Krysalis Group LLC 9 Contact Website: Phone: Fax: The Krysalis Group 311 Church Street, Suite 2B New York, NY 10013