Tag Archives: business

Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself: Avoiding Self-Sabotage At Work

I wrote an article on Forbes.com called “Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself“. It’s a message worth resharing: I was standing in the security line at an airport when a TSA worker came walking alongside the line yelling out in an animated way, “No liquids, no aerosols, no gels or creams on the airplane…You better […]

To Innovate Does Not Necessarily Mean To Expand

“To innovate does not necessarily mean to expand; very often it means to simplify.” – M. Russell Ballard Being in lockdown has required companies and service providers to innovate in order to keep their businesses alive. For so many years everyone has looked at growth as the indicator of innovation. Yet as the quote reads, […]

Focus On What You Can Control

“One of the happiest moments ever, is when you find the courage to let go of what you can’t change.” There are a million aspects to life that are out of our control. And focusing on things you can’t control is absolutely pointless…no matter how much you focus on them you can’t control them so […]

Remember Who You Are And What You Stand For

All through my growing up years as I would run out the door of our home, my mother would yell the phrase “Remember who you are and what you stand for”. I would guess I have heard that phrase literally thousands of times as a child. Most days she said it I would roll my […]

When You Lie Down With Dogs You Get Fleas

Throughout my career I have encountered many people in the business world:  Some are honest and good, and some are not.  The most important thing to recognize is this – when someone shows you who they are through their actions and their behavior – BELIEVE THEM!  If someone has shown a track record of honesty […]

Make The Effort

“The grass is always greener” …it’s a syndrome that plagues a lot of people. They constantly believe something else would be better than what they currently have.  Most commonly we hear of people catching that syndrome in their dating or marriage relationships, but the truth is it can exist in any area of life, from […]

Everyone has a history that can be used to inspire others

Everyone has a story…a history…a series of failures and mistakes that have shaped them into the person they are today.  I, for one, believe we shouldn’t be ashamed of our story. Our story is what helped us become the person we are. That story is what taught us great life lessons that we might not […]

If I’d Given Up…

Last Friday I was humbled to receive the Leadership in Business Award from the YWCA for my business accomplishments and the work I do championing women and girls through my foundation (the IPOP Foundation).  They put on a beautiful event of around 1,200 attendees Friday and I told them it was the sweetest way to […]

Greatness Takes Work

“The heights by great men reached and kept Were not attained by sudden flight, But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night.” -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Achieving greatness, whether in business, or a talent, or our personal lives, takes work….loads and loads of hard, dedicated, crazy amounts of work. And there will […]

If You Have Purpose You Don’t Have To Be Pushed, Your Passion Will Drive You There

“If you have a strong purpose in life, you don’t have to be pushed. Your passion will drive you there.” – Roy Bennett I’d only been asleep for three hours when my alarm went off at 4am this morning. I had an early morning flight I needed to get up and ready for so I […]

ADD, OCD, or TBD? Which Disorder Do You Have?

“Our attention span is shot. We’ve all got Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD or OCD or one of these disorders with three letters because we don’t have the time or patience to pronounce the entire disorder. That should be a disorder right there, TBD ‘Too Busy Disorder.’ ” – Ellen DeGeneres ADD and TBD…those are […]

What AWESOME Looks Like now available in ebook on Amazon Kindle

January 29, 2019 the hardcopy of my book “What AWESOME Looks Like: How To Excel in Business And Life” was released. And I’m happy to announce that today, the ebook Kindle version of my book was released on Amazon.com. You can download your copy of the ebook version on Amazon.com here:  https://www.amazon.com/What-Awesome-Looks-Like-Business-ebook/dp/B07PB1FKXB The ebook versions […]

It May Not Be Your Fault, But It Is Your Responsibility

You may not have caused this problem yourself, but it is your job to do something about it, especially when you hold any kind of a leadership or management position. Management means that you are responsible for everything – whether you personally made the mistake or not – you still have to own the responsibility […]

They Are Trusting You – Don’t Blow It

Last night after I finished judging a business plan competition down at Utah Valley University my family and I met up at a restaurant to take my Father and Mother-in-law, who had traveled down from Idaho to visit us for the night, out to dinner. We were excited to see them as my father-in-law was […]

IT ARRIVED! This Just Got Real

IT ARRIVED! The first few printed copies of my book, “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel In Business & Life” arrived at my house!!! Opening the box and seeing the first few copies of it in print for the first time felt a little surreal. Then when my Mom and Dad showed up to […]

The Thrill Of A Close Game

Tonight my husband and I were invited to join our friends in their suite at the arena for the Utah Jazz versus Golden State Warriors basketball game. It was a neck and neck game right down to the last minute when the Utah Jazz won the game. As we were heading home from the game […]

The Launch Of The Amy Rees Anderson Academic Entrepreneurs Program At USU

Last week we announced the creation of the “Amy Rees Anderson Academic Entrepreneurs” Program at Utah State University in partnership with the Center For Growth And Opportunity and today I was so excited to get to go and meet with our very first cohort of female fellows in the program. I was blown away at […]

Success Comes From Doing The Little Things Over A Long Period Of Time

Today I heard “The Stonecutter’s Creedo” for the first time. It was written by Jacob Riis: “When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will […]

Celebrate the Milestones, Have Balance, and Take Care Of Yourself

Today I met with an entrepreneur who is going through the pains of growing their young business. We talked about all the pains that come with learning to communicate your vision with your team, hiring, training, delegating, prioritizing your time, and all the other struggles that are typical growing pains for entrepreneurs. As I shared […]

The Power Of Encouragement

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.” –William Arthur Ward Today I was reminded of the powerful impact my mentors have had on me. I have had the privilege of […]

The things you can think up if only you try

“Think left and think right, think low and think high, oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try.” – Dr. Seuss Idea generation and problem solving go hand in hand. They both require us to think and tap into our creativity to identify new and better ways and new and better solutions. […]

Pretend You’re In Magic Land Where Everything Is Guaranteed To Be Successful – What Would You Do?

If you could do anything you wanted and be 100% positive it wouldn’t fail, what would you do?  Have you ever asked yourself that question?  Try it…it’s an interesting exercise to do with yourself. I was talking with a friend tonight about what they want to do with their life business-wise. I asked them what […]

#FIAMF – Fix It And Move Forward

If you’ve made a mistake, fix it. If you don’t know how to fix it, then learn!  And whatever you do, don’t throw your hands up and act like there is nothing you can do about it, because you can ALWAYS do something about it – there are always choices you can make that will […]

How To Achieve More Than The American Dream (Forbes Article)

“The essence of America – that which really unites us – is not ethnicity, or nationality, or religion – it is an idea – and what an idea it is: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things.” – Condoleeza Rice The American Dream Awards is an event put on by the […]

He Said, She Said. The Gender Communication Gap

I gave a keynote speech at a conference today and for part of my speech I went over some of the gender differences in the way we interpret communication in the workplace.  It’s such an interesting topic and there is so much that I discovered over the years as a CEO managing nearly 2,000 men […]

A Lifetime In A Day

“A funeral is not a day in a lifetime, it’s a lifetime in a day.” One thing in life is certain, and that is that each of us will eventually pass on from this life. When that day comes for each of us, the best we can hope for is to have words spoken about […]

What one successful entrepreneur said was the most important advice he could give me as I began my entrepreneurial journey

Yesterday afternoon someone I love dearly passed away.  He was Marion D. Woods to others, but he was Uncle Buzz to me and Buzz Woods to his good friends. He had been fighting cancer but unfortunately his body wasn’t able to fight it any longer and he passed away surrounded by his wife and children. […]

Do it now, and move on with your life.

“Every day spent procrastinating is another day spent worry about that thing. Do it now, and move on with your life.” Normally I would see that quote and think it was awesome, but on a day where you have so much to do you can’t see straight it doesn’t exactly give you the warm fuzzies […]

Never Think Nor Say “I Can’t”

Someone once told me that the moment you either think or say the words “I can’t” you’ve lost, so never to do it. Hearing that advice had a big impact on my life because I believed it and I tried to never allow myself to think or say it when it came to my business […]

No Man Is Above Unconscious Gender Bias In The Workplace – It’s “Unconscious” (Forbes Article)

Imagine you are watching the following scenario take place: A small meeting is being held in a board room. At one end of the table sits a man (we will refer to him as man A) and across from him sitting side by side at the table is another man (man B) and a woman. […]