When Barbara Roche asked me to be a part of Reel Chicago's Reel Women series, I was over the moon. Although it feels like a lifetime ago, the majority of my career took place in film and advertising. It's where I learned and practiced leadership skills day-to-day....
With the passing of Raquel Welch earlier this year, I reflected on one magical night I had with her. This typically isn’t the type of thing I’d release to the public, but we can all use a good story. This story is about empathy, kindness, and meeting people...
Melissa was thrilled to record a podcast episode for the Fitting Out podcast, created and hosted by Jonah McGuire. With this podcast, Jonah aims to shine a light on the greatness of humanity which exists everywhere by delving into people’s personal journeys as...
Our theme for December is Acknowledgment. Acknowledgment is simply: acceptance of the truth or existence of something. No judgment necessary. Some things may not be cause for celebration, but by acknowledging them, we can honor their existence and move on. With all...
Want to know the secret to just about everything? Pay attention. Slow down. Play nice. You can apply the above rules anywhere, but they are particularly critical to teamwork, whether you’re the official manager of the team or are leading as a team player. Let’s...
Little known fact: my career started in tech. I was a writer at US Robotics, a company that produced computer modems. It was a hub of innovation at the early stages of the internet. It couldn't have been a better time to be in the tech world. So it couldn't make me...
Today I drove through a toll gate barrier. Yup. The Mazdarati busted right through it. Nope, I wasn’t on the run from the law. Exiting 94 in Indiana, I just didn’t see it. The sun glared blending the barrier right into the highway. My foot came off the gas just...
It was my pleasure to be featured in Authority Magazine for their series on Emotional Intelligence: What it Is; Why it is so Essential; How We Can Increase it. Here are five tips I share on growing your Emotional Intelligence: Hit the pause button. Stop before you...
This is the last in a series of five blog posts on the key components of Emotional Intelligence: Self Perception, Self Expression, Interpersonal Relationships, Decision Making and Stress Management. In our last blog post, we spoke about Decision Making. Today we’re...
If we want results, we need space. Space to think. Space to work. Space to dream. Space to create. So what do we do now? How do we cope when everything happens in the same space all of the time? Here's how I've been doing it in my space:...
