The glass cliff, where women are given CEO positions because the likelihood of success is slim to none, is worth exploring. Fifteen minutes will give you the overview. 

15 on Friday ... As a leadership coach, advisor and instructor of executive women's leadership at George Washington University, there's so much I want to share with women all over the world. So what I'm doing is giving you 15 minutes  worth of ideas and actions to solve the most current leadership challenges women face. Join me and Christine Merser, Blue Shoe Strategy's leader, every Friday for new insights. - Leslie Grossman

15 On Friday: Glass Cliff; The New Glass Ceiling

It's not often I have the opportunity to interview someone like Laura Singer, who grew from foster care child - to graduate of Georgetown Law School. Her story and her insight as to how she accomplished what she did, is not to be missed. There are so many life lessons; the three words she uses to describe herself, her secret 'hobby' that gave her confidence to go after what she wanted, and so much more. After her post on LinkedIN garnered more then 30,000 responses, we knew she was a woman to listen to.

Ladies Who Launch: Interview with Laura Singer - From Foster Care to Law School

Tenet #3 for becoming a great leader is effective communications. There's so much to talk about here. We'll start this week with Action #1 - "initiate powerful conversations."   Listen and you will possess a critical tool - powerful questions.  Ask them and watch your relationships soar.

15 On Friday: Effective Communications: Powerful Communications

Ethel Rosenberg. Not guilty. A victim of a patriarchal US government plan (you remember Hoover) to get her husband to confess by putting her on trial. A bad plan gone worse, and the destruction of her reputation and motherhood was a planned strategy. Do not miss this new take on the Rosenberg's and what really happened. Anne Sebba, who is a NY Times best selling author of eleven biographies, is mesmerizing as she tells the backstory of the times and what happened.

Ladies Who Launch: Anne Sebba's book, Ethel Rosenberg; An American Tragedy

We sat down with the sister duo behind Equine Eilixirs, Liz Ehrlich & Kimberly Ercius, to talk about their start in life together as sisters and then later as business partners, building Equine Elixirs.

Ladies Who Launch: Meet the Team Behind Equine Elixirs - Liz Ehrlich & Kimberly Ercius

Meet Jennifer Iannolo, the founder of Imperia Global, whose incubator and programs are supporting women on their professional journeys with her theory of Self-Directed Empowerment™. Have a listen for some important takeaways and the possibility of joining Jennifer in her quest to support women helping women.

Ladies Who Launch

Ladies Who Launch: A Talk with Jennifer Iannolo, founder of Imperia Global

In 1993, almost thirty years ago, families were airlifted out of Bosnia to America, in a situation similar to the one faced by families in Afghanistan now. Our host, for the series Ladies Who Launch, Christine Merser, took a 12 year old girl into her home with her daughter, in much the same way American families are being asked to do now. "I have never talked to Nihada (known now as Nina) about what that was like for her way back then, but she said if her experience could help those coming over now, she would be happy to be interviewed. It was a hard interview. She was 12 when she came to live with us and we never discussed what it was like." Have a listen to hear what it was like for a young girl, plucked from the danger that surrounded her, and brought to America.

Ladies Who Launch: Immigrating from Bosnia to America. How It Feels to Welcome the Afghan Families

Leslie Grossman, founder of Circle Leadership, and Christine Merser, Leader of Blue Shoe, each show up at the table with three picks for the strongest Women Leaders of 2021. Some surprises to be sure; a little controversy. Don’t miss this podcast where Beth Dutton of Yellowstone has the stage alongside Liz Cheney, the GOP turncoat leading the January 6th committee examining the Insurrection. Who are your picks? We’d love to hear.

Blue Shoe Content: The Strongest Women Leaders Of 2021

Listen as Christine Merser interviews data miner Jessica Lautz from the National Association of Real Estate Researchers. The organization recently released the numbers behind single women out purchasing single men as first time home buyers by 10%! But the really surprising info is that we have been doing it since the early 80’s and considering the fact that women couldn’t be guaranteed the right to get a mortgage before the mid seventies (yes, they could discriminate based on gender no matter how strong your credit was), it’s certainly worth noting. But what does it all mean? A great conversation about the numbers, and what needs to happen with them to better serve women.

Ladies Who Launch: Women as First Time Home Buyers; Who Knew?

With the week's recent events, Christine thought it was apropos to revisit an interview she did a few years ago with Dr. Thomas Kerenyi, former head of obstetrics at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and one of the few doctors to step up after Roe v. Wade and perform safe adoptions for women. Dr. Kerenyi describes the panel(of all men we might add)that determined if a women was eligible to receive an abortion, the importance of a woman's ability to receive a safe abortion, and an incredibly unique insight into the institution of Roe v. Wade established in 1970. A hero then and how hard it is to believe that we might be back in a time and place where Dr. Kerenyi, if he were still with us, would need to put his career on the line once again to save women's lives.

Blue Shoe Content: Int. w/ Dr. Thomas Kerenyi; One of the Groundbreaking OBGYN's in the '70s

Christine Merser interviews Marjie Longshore from Family Leadership Center around how to communicate with your children around their school safety.

Blue Shoe Content: Your Family Circle Deals with School Shootings

Video is the future of social media; 1200 times more likely to be shared. More than a billion hours of viewing on YouTube each day. And, it tells the story oh so well. Take in the types of video that work on social media, and ideas and to do’s around making sure you make the best of this video presentations for your brand and story.

Blue Shoe Content: Video For Social Media - 1200 Times More Likely To Be Shared

Join Christine Merser as she shares her one-on-one interview with the legendary, literary Warren Adler - the man who named the Watergate complex in DC.
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Though he didn't publish his first book until he was 46, Warren Adler has gone on to pen over 50 novels, 12 of which have been optioned by Hollywood (including The War of the Roses, starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito; and Random Hearts - starring Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas; directed by Sydney Pollack).

Highlights include:
- what books can accomplish that no other art form can
- why Sydney Pollack and Harrison Ford weren’t happy when he did “the worst thing I writer could ever do”
- the role Dustin Hoffman played in bringing Random Hearts to the big screen
- Warren Adler’s Hollywood record
- how he’s decided to control his own destiny
- the 3 questions fiction writers are always asked
- why writers shouldn’t worry about exposing secrets
- on how a man who’s been very happily married for 67 years can write about such dysfunctional marriages
Warren also shares some insider's tales from Hollywood, including why they stopped production on Gone with the Wind; and which star of The War of the Roses started out a hairdresser.

Also an essayist, short-story writer, poet and playwright, Warren Adler’s works have been translated into 25 languages; he currently has 3 films and 1 television series in development.

Enjoy the interview!

Blue Shoe Publishing

Blue Shoe Publishing: Books to Screen - Warren Adler

Alexandra Peters’ collection of Samplers from the girls who went before us is riveting. The history behind them. The artistic nature of them. Their relevance to what ’she’ was facing in the 1800s will have your head spinning. Do not miss this interview with the brilliant Alexandra, who teaches us so much in the hour she spent with our fearless leader Christine Merser for Ladies Who Launch. You will find yourself heading up to your attic to see if by chance any of your ancestors happened to do a sampler that tells the story of her message to the world and your family's values.

Ladies Who Launch: Christine Merser Interviews Alexandra Peters - All About Samplers

Christine Merser interviews Carol Rea, who works at UPS in Kansas City about her rise at UPS. Much laughter. Much reinforcement around working for a large company like UPS, and best of all, laugh about Carol "Browning Up" to deliver packages during the busy season at UPS. 

Another woman's story and insight.

Carol Rea from UPS Talks About Women Big Business

Oh what we can learn when a business fails. Join Christine Merser as she interviews Sue Baxter, Mortgage Broker extraordinaire as she reveals a business failure and the lessons surrounding it.

Sue Baxter from FM Home Loans Interview on Learning from Failure

Abby Fabiaschi who, before she left business to be a full time writer, last served as Director of Global Sales Enablement (fancy term for cold calling division?)for Enterasys, who provides patented and differentiated wired and wireless network infrastructure, as well as security and management solutions. While we always say at Blue Shoe that cold calling is in the past, Abby walks us through how it's still in the present, but with a different mind set and application. Great interview about making 'warm' calls.  And, by the way, her book, I liked My Life can be found on Amazon and has nothing to do with her business life, but has already become a hot seller and book club choice.

Cold Calling in Business. Oh My!

Christine Merser, CEO of Blue Shoe Strategy, interviews Shanette Barth Cohen, Executive Director of The Hampton Classic about how she likes to be approached by vendors who want to provide the millions of dollars of services and products that make The Classic the foremost horse show in the country. Are you a sales person for a tenting company? Hear how to reach out to her. And, she talks about customizing sponsorship options for sponsors (including brands like Longine, Land Rover, and Fendi) so that no sponsorship package is generic and each package reflects the end game the sponsor wishes to win. If you are in the event industry, or you have an event where sponsorships are the cornerstone of revenue, this podcast is not to be missed.

Shanette Barth Cohen from The Hampton Classic Talks Sponsorships & Vendor Relations

The Iconic Modern Home approach to staging is to bring in furnishing of equal value to the listing itself, and then can sold as part of the listing itself. Who wants to spend six months furnishing a $7 million plus home when you can walk in, add you personal touches and live your life? Sarah Minardi, from Saunders Real Estate, in The Hamptons interviews Geoff about staging tips and his philosophy around furnishing a home. Brought to you by Melissa Cohn from the private banking division of Family First Funding, providing excellence in the mortgage market in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

Blue Shoe Biz Podcast

Real Estate Series: Staging a Real Estate Listing with Sarah Minardi & Geoffrey Walsky

Everything you need to know about the history of and future of subprime mortgages from Melissa Cohn, who leads the Private Client Group at Family First Funding. Six minutes to understand the complexity of it all...

Subprime Mortgages

Christine Merser interviews Randy Federgreen @RandyBrands, on all things luxury during Corona. Some topics include Hermes; the only luxury brand. The demise of Barneys. A conversation with Valentino about size 16's! Spanx moves from compression in-wear to outerwear. Marketing luxury retail apres Covid. Dressing on airplanes - except the President of Neimans, and oh so much more. Join us for a great discussion about luxury as entertainment. Randy is an influencer in luxury fashion brands.

Blue Shoe Biz

Luxury Brands in the Time of Covid-19 with Randy Federgreen

Christine Merser and Leslie Grossman talk all things 'leadership,' including how to determine what followers you want, what the follower responsibility is in this new era of so many leaders and so little time. Are all leaders good? Attributes of some of today's leaders, and of course the leadership styles of Donald Trump & Joe Biden.

Leaders & Followers; The Responsibility of Both

Our Managing Partner, Christine Merser, chats with author and client Kathy Aspden around her irritating ability to get more done in a day than anyone Christine has ever encountered. She walks through how she does it. It’s a fun and interesting discussion around habits and to do lists. (Did you know you shouldn’t make a to do list?) And, Kathy would recommend multi-tasking while you listen.

Ladies Who Launch: Time with Kathy Aspden

Christine Merser interviews Patrice Tanaka about choosing joy amidst the chaos and stress surrounding COVID-19, the election, and the general discord in the country at large. Don’t miss the epiphany Christine has, who never considered herself the 'choose joy' kind of woman.

Ladies Who Launch - Time With Tanaka

Women in Business. Successful ones that have found their niche, but are not necessarily household names. These are the ladies who launch.

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