For the past four years, Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office
has been collecting dust on my book shelf. The highly intriguing title is an in your face guide on how to quit making “girly”
mistakes and take control of your professional pursuits. While
most of us already know that “apologizing” (#60) and “flirting” (#24) are basic do not do’s of the business world, Dr. Lois P.
Frankel hits home with a mistake that many of us unconsciously commit. Before I tell you what it is, let me take you on the journey of how I finally corrected my colossal mishap.
As a teen, I aspired to play in the WNBA and eventually transition into a career as a sideline reporter. All of you would have
been asking, “Pam who?” as I killed it with the best interviews ever. Fast forward to college when I wasn’t playing collegiate ball and the journalism dream began to fade. Too much em-
phasis on writing and not enough on talking! I took an interest in interpersonal communication, and my own manifestation
of Jeremiah 29:11 began to unfold. Now, everyone knows that when you graduate with a communications degree, you don’t really know what you’re going to do with it. I may not have known, but God did.
Eventually, I stumbled into a career of training and development, and I realized that I really dig helping people develop
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|| TRACY WILLIAMS
The Corne
skills that will enable them to be successful. However, notice that I said “…stumbled into.” At the time, there seemed to be no structure to my career and the decisions I was making. I knew I liked helping people and I knew I liked to talk, but what was my pur-
pose? What intentionality was I putting behind these decisions? I had Failed to Define My Brand – Mistake #45.
The problem with failing to define your brand is that while you
may be doing great things, you are unable to fully realize the value of your contributions. Failing to define your brand limits your
decision making and ultimately inhibits your intentionality. With no brand, you’re allowing your career to happen to you. Worst of all, you haven’t intentionally thought about how your brand will help you fulfill God’s purpose for your life.
Well, recently I got with the program. I no longer go to work
aimlessly. Instead, my actions have purpose and my decisions are intentional. Best of all, they fulfill what I know God has called me to do: