Business Lessons From My Mom
“Dear daughter: Be loud, take up space—your voice matters.”
–Angela Anagnost-Repke
My mom and I at a fundraiser in Sonoma, California. I was showing her how to take a selfie. I LOVE this “learning” look on her face! In fact, I used this image on the cover of my book. (May, 2014)
My mom was a marketer before the term was coined. She was my original business teacher and mentor. I write about this in my book, “Out Of Love: A Daughter’s Journey With Her Mom To The End”. As much as I may have resisted “learning the ropes” as a kid, the things that have “stuck” with me now are timeless truths that I tap into as a Global Business Consultant and Community Builder today.
Here is a short list of the business lessons my mom instilled in me:
My strong work ethic.
No short cuts.
No guessing. If you don’t know, ask.
Answer the phone on the first ring.
Look people in the eye and shake hands firmly.
Every human deserves kindness. You never know what someone may be going through that they are not open about.
Create systems and structures that make it easy for people to do business with you.
Be efficient. Use time wisely.
“The rules” are for other people, not us (this was one of my favorites to watch my mom play out in her own life. So fun. I always laughed at her “naughty” & rebellious twinkle in her eye).
Each of these is still a cornerstone of the way I conduct myself in businesses today. As a lifelong entrepreneur, I’ve also evolved into being an intra-preneur, meaning that any business I’m involved with becomes MY business, in my own mind. I embrace every project like it’s MY reputation, my success on the line. In this way, it feels natural and my energy flows in service of the brands I represent. I take this seriously, AND I like to make it fun and flowing, rather than rigid and boring.
Those who work with me can spot how I’ve manifested these business lessons from my mom, in my own unique, “Lynn” manner. I teach, train, consult on these, and I bring the business principles into my daily work-flow with teams and business leaders.
I recently spoke at a conference, thanks to Rick Tamlyn. That old concept, “culture eats strategy for breakfast”, came up in the context of the conversation during one of the training sessions. It reminded me of the way I was raised. We focused on “culture” (back when I was a kid, this translated into the way we treated others, bottom line).
The ROI (Return On Investment) was beyond what my immigrant grandfather (who started & grew our family businesses in Detroit, Michigan, right off the boat from Ellis Island) ever imagined, I’m sure. He was an extremely prosperous Chaldean business man and with eight children (my mom being the eldest daughter), all born after he landed in Detroit, he had his hands full. As soon as I could see over the counter, I was waiting on customers. I gobbled up those business lessons. In college, I majored in English, Psychology, and Computer Science. Little did I know that today, I’d be tapping into all of those in some form or fashion.
My life today is shaped by those years as a little kid working in the family business, as well as the leadership journey I’ve been on my entire adult life. I think that my mom’s cancer diagnosis (with me becoming one of her main caregivers while working full-time on a marketing team in Silicon Valley) and the journey that followed had a huge impact on my transformational leadership journey. This is why I was compelled to write my book.
I know now that I was always a leader, and I’m grateful to the most recent teachers, mentors, coaches, who have loved on me through all the transformational moments in my life, especially the one where my mom left the planet.
What business lessons have you learned, either from your mom, or from others, and how do we harness those to bring more healing and transformation in our world? It starts with one conversation.
Please reach out. I’m right here, as close as your keyboard/touchpad.
