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Alissa Finerman

Los Angeles Executive Coach and Gallup Certified StrengthsFinder Coach, Speaker and Author

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Declare it…You’re Awesome!

December 20, 2011 By Alissa Finerman 2 Comments

Last night I went to see Marianne Williamson speak in LA. On the ride over my friend simply declared…

“I AM AWESOME!”

She wasn’t bragging or having a big ego, she was simply stating her truth. I smiled because you don’t usually hear people making this declaration but then I realized it’s the truth so WHY NOT say it? It’s empowering and energizing to share positive statements.

Many of us are trained to make declarations that are negative such as, “I’m not good at marketing,” “I can’t get a job,” or “I’m so unlucky.” Please stop this!

My friend followed up her “awesome-ness” declaration to share that she had just received a job offer in Real Estate after only three weeks on her job hunt! Clearly evidence that she is in fact AWESOME.

What do YOU want to declare?

I’m declaring that I’m “inspiring!” And that I have a thriving business that I love and a beautiful and loving relationship. Why not?

What about you? Are you a compassionate listener, brilliant business partner, wonderful mom, creative writer, talented teacher, or innovative CEO?

Declare it and own it! Now’s the time…I believe in you! And thank you Alicia for the inspiration and being awesome!

Truly awesome,
Alissa

***

About Alissa

Alissa Finerman is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Brookfield Property Partners, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Dress for Success. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook

Filed Under: Motivation Tagged With: inspiration for women, living in your top 1%, motivation, personal goal setting, success, top 1%

Living in Your Top 1% Interview Series with Heather Howell – Failure is not an Option

December 13, 2011 By Alissa Finerman Leave a Comment

The goal of the “Living in Your Top 1%” interview series is to break down the qualities of people who excel and to show that you can be successful and achieve personal greatness from any starting point in your life. The interview series looks at people from all different careers and industries. Some names will be familiar and others may not. The purpose is to understand and borrow from the “best practices” of winners to develop a roadmap to YOUR TOP 1%. We will share a new story each month.

This week’s guest is Heather Howell, the C’Tea’O (Chief Tea Officer) of Rooibee Red Tea. Her focus is on building the company and brand and raising money to fund additional growth. Heather has 15 years experience as a strategic partner for Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies. She is moving outside her comfort zone and excelling in her new role. She says when talking about her plans and goals for the emerging new beverage, “Failure is not an option.” Rooibee Red Tea is brewed and bottled in Louisville using Rooibos, a plant found only in South Africa. It’s an organic product that is high in antioxidants and naturally caffeine-free, which the health conscious consumers are loving.

I had the pleasure of spending time with Heather at the National Association of Women MBA’s (NAWMBA) Conference in Dallas, TX earlier this year. She serves on the National Board of Director’s of NAWMBA and was the ‘Chair’ of the Conference. She is innovative, smart, engaging, and high-energy. Heather does an amazing job of juggling her current high-powered role as C’Tea’O plus being a mom and wife.

Alissa Finerman: What’s the most important strength you possess that allows you to be successful in your role?
Heather Howell: Prior to becoming C’Tea’O of Rooibee Red Tea, my background was in people. I have over 15 years in Human Resources. I learned through working with top level executives and Fortune companies around the country, the key to success is hiring the best people for the job. For me, I have a good sense of self. I understand my weaknesses and lack ego. Therefore, I surround myself with talent that has strengths where I am weak. I also look for individuals who have crazy passion around their work and our brand.

AF: What does success mean to you?
HH: Success is inspiring others, in particular, other women. Success is small victories and seeing women break through barriers. I mentioned in an article once, that I want to create a world where, together, women break through the glass ceiling and dance on top of it. Success is making the world better for my children.

AF: What inspired you to leave a career you were doing well in to take a leadership role to build Rooibee Red Tea?
HH: It was a pivotal moment. I was making six figures, I had just been added to the Management Incentive Plan, I was also carrying the full family benefit coverage, I had access to an executive cafeteria that I still dream about, and all the resources one can imagine. However, my thinking and my actions were different. My ideas were creative and I was sprinting on a corporate treadmill that was engineered to move at a certain ‘turtle’ speed. At the time, I was watching men get promoted and during my time in Human Resources I had access to diversity numbers – when I saw that there were only .04% of women in Director level roles, I left and have never looked back.

AF: What motivates you on a daily basis to keep going?
HH: I am a mother to two children (boy and girl).
I am a wife.
I am a businesswoman.
I am board member.
I am a mentor.
I am a role model.
I am a community leader.
I am better at all of the above when I am working.
I feel that I am making a difference.
I am changing the statistics.
That’s what keeps me motivated.

AF: How do you “balance” running a company, being a mom, wife, and making time for yourself?
HH: I get a lot of sh*t for this comment and so I am going to add context around it…
“BALANCE IS FOR BALLERINA’s!”
I heard this quote from another working/mom – Amy Franko.
My life as a C’Tea’O of Rooibee Red Tea and C’Mommy’O of my household does not provide a daily balanced regime. My schedule shifts depending on the work, and many times it is not planned. The truth of the matter is, it’s not easy to be a working mother. You still have to do the laundry, buy the birthday gifts, do the Christmas shopping, plan the birthday parties, buy groceries, cook, entertain, and provide the love and support of friends and extended family. When my children are sick, or there is a snow day, the balance shifts and I have to create virtual solutions, or lean on my business colleagues for support. When, I have to travel or be gone for extended periods, it’s tough. My husband and I do not outsource our child care. One of us is home by 5:30pm every day. I don’t want to neglect the fact that my spouse has an equally intense career, as he is an M.D. in a very specialized field, he is a pediatric ophthalmologist.

Thus, I have stopped apologizing and have embraced the fact that balance is not in my repertoire. I get balance by being the best mom and the most ethical businesswoman I can be based on what is thrown at me on any given day.

AF: What role do goals play in your life? Tell us a few words about your goal setting process.
HH: My first week at Rooibee Red Tea – we set five pivotal goals. They hang on a white board in my office and I view them daily.

The first and most feared goal on my list of five is to raise capital. Because we are a consumer product company, success means we need more cash, until break even. The goal was to raise the first million of preferred stock. This goal was big. Who would invest in a women owned C’Tea’O? Would others see the same R.O.I. that I see? Would I be able to raise the money in my home town of Louisville, Kentucky? Every day I watched and learned. I am happy to report that we just completed the Series A preferred stock issue, giving the company $1 million in funding for expansion (the tea will now be available in Whole Foods Markets).

AF: What challenges have you overcome either in your new role or previously?
HH: I don’t really bog myself down in challenges. I am a solution driven thinker, so this question is difficult for me to answer. I guess the biggest challenge is moving into and leading Rooibee Red Tea in an industry that is considered both ‘Manufacturing & Non-Alcoholic Beverages.’ I had absolutely NO experience, with the exception of being a consumer of organic, healthy products. However, I am proud to say, I have over 80 years of experience in beverages and manufacturing if you combine my board members and my internal team. Rooibee Red Tea is filing for WEBNC Certification and just gained nationwide distribution, and this year we aligned ourselves with one of the best food brokerage firms in the nation. So, I guess not knowing, means — You are fearless.

AF: What are some of your most meaningful accomplishments?
HH: By far…Forty under Forty
* Winning Garden & Gun’s Best of the South Food Category — Garden & Gun is one of the coolest magazines that celebrates the South. I admired their magazine for years and my husband sent the link to this contest for BEST OF –Awards. So, one night, I got up the courage and $100.00 and entered Rooibee Red Tea into the contest. WE WON! It was a great day and over 550,000 subscribers still call or order our products from being named BEST OF THE SOUTH – FOOD.
* Being featured on the Weekend Today Show – Over Labor Day Weekend
* Most important – having a daughter and son who are both very good children, they say “please & thank you – and I don’t care for it…” My Grandmother (God love her!) would be so proud!

AF:What do the top performers do differently to excel?
HH: THEY HAVE PASSION!

Please visit Rooibee Red Tea to learn more about Heather and her fabulous company.
***
About Alissa
The “Living in Your Top 1%” interview series is presented by Alissa Finerman, an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Brookfield Property Partners, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Dress for Success. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook

Filed Under: Interview Series: Living in YOUR Top 1% Tagged With: inspiration for women, living in your top 1%, personal goal setting, Rooibee Red Tea, success, top 1%

Keeping It Simple

November 20, 2011 By Alissa Finerman Leave a Comment

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
~ ALBERT EINSTEIN

Sometimes life can be overwhelming with all the choices we have to make. So I like to keep things simple. And I find that keeping it simple is a great recipe for success.

I believe that deep down everyone wants to improve and lead his or her best life. Seems easy enough, but often challenging to implement because you need clarity and the courage to take action.

Here’s my recipe for success by keeping it SIMPLE…feel free to add on to make these rituals your OWN.

S: Define SUCCESS
We all want success but are you clear on what success means to you? To do so, it’s much more effective to focus on YOUR top 1% rather than on THE top 1%. Living your best life is dependent on doing what brings you energy, makes you feel alive and connected, and leaves you feeling fulfilled. It’s not dependent on your status, role, $$’s, or education as society likes to have us believe.

A client recently shared the following…

“I recommend if you have a dream follow it as soon as you can! I stepped into the French Culinary Institute this morning for my class after having 4 hours of sleep due to work and it didn’t matter, my heart was racing and I felt alive!!!”

Success is doing what makes you feel alive! Take the time to continually redefine what success means to you.

I: IMAGINE your ideal outcome
I like to encourage people to think in terms of the ideal outcome. This starts with your imagination. If you want to start a business, become a yoga teacher, or buy a house, train your mind to see all the possibilities by creating an inspiring vision for what you want. Then you can work backwards to see how your vision translates into reality. However, if you start dreaming and immediately let obstacles throw you off course, you create a less than ideal outcome.

The work is to have the courage to think without obstacles rather than let your mind be clouded by everything that can go wrong or the challenges that could show up. People who create think about what can be rather than why something can’t be done. You can train yourself to do the same.

M: Create a winning MINDSET
We all have a story. Many of us believe our story defines us, but what really defines us is how we interpret the story or facts and choose to move forward.

According to the National Science Foundation, our brains produce as many as 50,000 thoughts per day. Ninety-five percent of these thoughts are repeated daily.

Your thoughts become your beliefs, which, in turn, become your mindset. Your mindset governs your actions, which lead to your results. In short, if you have a mindset that limits your potential, then you will likely accept limited results in your life.

Start becoming aware of the words you use on a consistent basis and how often you tell yourself: can vs. can’t or impossible vs. possible.

Is your mindset costing you success or helping you excel?

P: PRIORITIZE What’s Important To You
Making something a priority is different than simply saying something is important.

I have lots of clients who think it’s important to make time for the gym or make themselves a priority but that doesn’t mean they do it. I start every coaching workshop by having people tell me their “wins.” Wins are anything that make you feel proud and give you the feeling of “I did it.” The consistent theme that emerges as to why the wins are accomplished is simple –people make them a priority. So if you want time to read to your kids, have a better relationship with your parents, go to sleep earlier, take a vacation, or take a photography class, make it a priority and you will see different results.

L: LAUGH often
I learned this one from my favorite yoga teacher, Jen Pastiloff. One of the things that I love about her class is her ability to make us laugh so we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We all know that tree pose or crow is serious stuff, but who really cares if you fall out of a pose? The truth — I do! But seriously, laughing opens up your heart and brings good energy into your life. Would you prefer to surround yourself with people who are laughing and fun to be around or Debbie downers? It’s your choice!

E: Bring EXCITEMENT into your life
Everyone can use a little excitement in his or her life and the easiest way to do this is to pursue a goal that is truly exciting rather than something you should do. How do you want to invest your time and energy? All the brilliant innovators get 24 hours in a day – the only difference is how you decide to use them.

You will naturally be more motivated and resilient when you fill your day with projects/a purpose/goals that are exciting to you.

TOP 1% BOTTOM LINE: Although life can be complicated, we always have the choice to keep it SIMPLE. To achieve this you need to know what’s most important to you and then focus on your top priorities. The process starts by gaining clarity on how you define success and then practicing your rituals consistently.

***

About Alissa

Alissa Finerman is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Brookfield Property Partners, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Dress for Success. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook

Filed Under: Living in Your Top 1% Tagged With: inspirational thoughts, leadership, living in your top 1%, personal goal setting, success, top 1%

Leading the Way Into YOUR Top 1% With Priorities

September 15, 2011 By Alissa Finerman Leave a Comment

“The essence of the best thinking in the area of time management can be captured in a single phrase: Organize and execute around priorities.” ~ Stephen Covey

There are a lot of important things in life: having a fulfilling career, making time for family and friends, feeling connected, having good relationships, being fit, making yourself a priority, learning a new skill such as the piano or speaking french, giving back to the community and the list goes on. The thing is — just because something is important (ie, going for an annual physical, saving money) doesn’t mean that you make it a priority in your life.

I realized the other day when I was giving a workshop on Goals That Make an Impact at Dress for Success in LA that saying something is “important” is often passive while making it a “priority” tends toward action. Think about it…

Nothing shifts until you make something a priority in your life. Yes, simple yet complicated.

The difference between “important” vs “priority” hit home when I asked everyone in the workshop to share a “win.” A win is something that you feel good about and feel proud of. The common theme with each person’s win was that they made it a priority in their life and took action. Sometimes the action is small, such as organizing an area in your house, or bigger such as forming an LLC for your business — either way, it’s got to be a priority to make it happen.

We make time for something when it is a priority. But when it’s important it simply stays on the to do list. For example, being healthy and fit is certainly important yet 2/3 of Americans don’t make it a priority. The reality is, it’s challenging to make something a priority in your life.

The challenge becomes to identify what’s important in your life and then to prioritize what you are willing and ready to take action on. These top tier priorities become critical to identify when you are ready to live in your top 1%!

“It IS possible for every person to reach their highest potential.” ~ Oprah

****

About Alissa

Alissa Finerman is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Brookfield Property Partners, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Dress for Success. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook

Filed Under: Living in Your Top 1% Tagged With: inspirational thoughts, living in your top 1%, personal goal setting, setting and achieving goals, success, top 1%

The Power of Story

September 9, 2011 By Alissa Finerman 1 Comment

The Power of Story is one of the most meaningful ways to shift our life upward or downward.

We all tell ourselves certain stories to explain why we can or can’t do something. We can’t change jobs because there’s nothing else we can do or we can’t start a business because we’ve never done it before or we can’t lose weight because we have no time…the stories go on and on.

So whether or not you play mind games with yourself, which many of us do, you can also change these stories. That’s the only reason I’m spending any time on this topic because we can re-wire the stories we tell and what is possible.

We have stories in every area of our life — work, relationships, health and finances. The issue is that when most people tell their stories, they get the facts and story part mixed up.

So let me share a few stories with you that had a positive ending. Just think of all the other inventors, entrepreneurs, and TV hosts who told themselves a different story and missed out on sharing their greatness.

* Thomas Edison tried over two thousand experiments before he invented the light bulb. He could have easily told himself he was a complete loser after 1,999 experiments. I’m grateful he tried one more time!

* Tony Hsieh, CEO of the online retailer Zappos, was told he could not sell shoes online or build a brand around customer service. He did not believe that story, and instead, sold his company to Amazon for $1.2 billion in 2009. He almost lost everything but continued to believe in himself.

* Oprah was fired as a TV reporter because she was told she was unfit for TV. Well, I’m glad she didn’t believe that story and stayed in TV and created the Oprah Show which positively impacted millions of people. And there’s still more to come.

Stories are powerful. Be mindful to use stories to lift yourself forward rather than limit what’s possible.

Take a moment and think about the dreams, goals, and projects you are currently working on. Where could you change your story to get different results in various areas of your life, including your career, relationships, and even your golf game? Often a small shift, can make a huge difference.

Believe in yourself,
Alissa

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About Alissa

Alissa Finerman is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Brookfield Property Partners, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Dress for Success. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook

Filed Under: Motivation Tagged With: living in your top 1%, motivation, personal goal setting, self-improvement, success, top 1%

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To contact Alissa about executive coaching, presenting a seminar for your team, leadership consulting or inviting her to speak at an upcoming event/conference, please email: Alissa@FinermanLiving.com

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