Do you ever think you can’t make change happen because you don’t have the title and the authority? Think again and find inspiration in this chat with Emily and Patti – two changemakers of the first order! – InPower Editors
Kindness may not be the first word we typically associate with the top ranks of corporate, but that’s changing fast thanks to people like Patti Johnson.
A former senior executive with Accenture and current Founder and CEO of People Results, Patti is equally at home in the boardrooms of clients like PepsiCo and Microsoft as she is in the dining room of her Texas home.
And that’s what I love about her.
Despite her success and hard work, she doesn’t take it all too seriously.
This is why, after a humiliating early speaking engagement, I called Patti.
This is also why, after struggling with financial worth, I called Patti.
Did I mention that some of the best advice on balancing motherhood and career in Who Says It’s a Man’s World came from her?
For example: “If everyone is out the door and the house is still standing, then who cares if no one had a hot breakfast.”
Amen to that.
A few years ago Patti casually told me she wanted to write a book and – in true fashion – the next thing I know she has a colorful wall of Post-it note chapters and is neck deep in research on organizational change.
The result is a masterful guide to swimming upstream in business called Make Waves: Be the One to Start Change in Work and Life.
The idea behind the book is to explore ways we can all be successful “wavemakers”, creating real change even without the obvious benefit of title or clout.
I had the opportunity to chat with Patti about what wave makers have in common that we can all apply at work and her advice, as usual, was spot on.
