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"Succeeding Sane!"
Bonnie St. John Deane is an international speaker, executive coach, author and the president of SJD&Co. As an Olympic medal-winning skier, Rhodes Scholar, Harvard honors grad and former White House official, Bonnie Specializes in high performance under pressure. Having been an amputee most of her life, she knows how to adapt when conditions are less than ideal. Bonnie has been featured by NBC Nightly News as one of the five most inspiring women in America. Her greatest challenge? Succeeding in business while staying sane with her family in San Diego. Bonnie’s recently released book, Succeeding Sane has been featured on the Today Show, Montel Williams Show, Home and Family, BET, CNN and in magazines and newspapers across the nation. Here she shares with the Career Exposure Network her experience, insights and expertise.
What kinds of traits/skills/characteristics will a person need to be successful in your industry/company?
While courage to speak and self-motivation are crucial in my field, patience is perhaps the most important. From the time I secured an agent it took four years to sell, write and copy/edit my book. Becoming a public speaker also takes a long time because you must build your business through word of mouth. Someone once said the definition of a speaker is someone who has stuck with it long past the point of financial reckoning or reason.
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Are there any emerging trends in your industry/company that will impact your hiring criteria?
Use of the internet and the need to track speakers bureaus, web sites, databases and mailing lists...all these things are becoming more important. I will probably put more emphasis on knowing html and being able to understand databases.
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Has Higher Education been important in your career path? What educational advice would you give to viewers? Tell us the path you took to where you are today!
I have a master’s degree in economics. However, I also know a hairdresser who does what I do! Read widely, listen to what others need and be willing to invest in yourself. I have reinvested a lot of my own money to be where I am. So many people are afraid to put their own money on the line for their dreams. Spending it on "things" seems safer, but it isn’t!
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Describe a day in your professional life...
Three or four times a month I travel first class to a beautiful hotel where I check in, practice my speech, take a hot bath and go to bed early. I often get up in the wee hours in the wrong time zone and have to give a unique, from the heart, knock down great speech. I love the pressure.u000du000au000du000aWhen I am at home in the office I am doing interviews for radio, newspapers or interviewing clients to learn about their business. Or I may be on the phone working with the executives I coach. I spend a lot of time on the phone. I also oversee the billing, financial strategy and new projects like our mailorder arm of the business.
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What influenced you to choose your career field, and how did you get started in your business?
I wanted to work at home (I have a daughter), do something I loved, and have freedom. I started by talking to people and learning as much as I could. I started out losing money for a year!
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What women have inspired you on your career path?
Patricia Fripp, the 1st woman president of the National Speakers Association. My Mother, Dottie Walters, the founder of the Intl Group of Agents and Bureaus. Susan Taylor, the editor and Chief of Essence Magazine--a great speaker. Maya Angelou, a writer, a doer!
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What challenges have you faced in business because you are a woman? Share your strategies for overcoming them?
Often men tower over me and treat me with little respect because I am a short black woman. I hardly notice it anymore. I have so many credentials now that they tend to do an abrupt turn in behavior when they figure out who I am. This gives me an opportunity to learn a lot about their character.
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How do you maintain balance in your life? or, Do you?
I hate balance. In my book, Suceeding Sane, I describe an alternative called "Blending". Blending means you get more out of each thing you do so you don’t have to try to do so many things.
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Tell us about your Corporate Diversity program. What is your company doing to educate employees on valuing diversity in the workplace?
I am diversity. I am disabled, black, woman, and eccentric. We have a very small business so their is no way to escape dealing with diversity.
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Tell us about your international business experience and what advice you’d have for those looking to work abroad.
I have worked in Tokyo, England, New Zealand and South Africa. Don’t assume anything. Ask a lot of questions. Be prepared to look stupid from time to time. It’s fun.
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What are the biggest problems for people working overseas? Share your strategies for overcoming these challenges.
Cultural differences take a long time to absorb. You may be offending others without even realizing it. Try to cultivate a few good friends who will tell you honestly when you are acting overly "American."
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Thank you Bonnie St. John Deane for sharing your insights and experience!
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