| A Most Eclectic Collection of Panelists by U. Michael Schumacher Our April 13th luncheon on “Women of Influence” was by all accounts a success, both in the number of attendees and in the agenda provided. Not least of the success of this event was our partnership with two other professional organizations, the Northern N.J. Professional Chapter of the Association of Women in Communication and the Public Relations Society of America (NJ Chapter). For many, it was an opportunity to see friends and acquaintances from these groups, and for all an opportunity to make new ones. The three individuals who represented the 25 selected by NJBIZ to receive the honor of being named “Women of Influence” for 2004 were Elizabeth Christopherson, Executive Director of NJN; Sally Glick, chief marketing officer at J. H. Cohn, LLP; and the founder and driving force behind Diane Turton, Realtors, Diane Turton. Thanks to program chair Gary Denburg, it was quite a distinct panel of successful women, each coming from a different realm of the New Jersey business community. Panelists were introduced by the President of the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce Joan Verplanck.
Changing scope of NJN programming
Ms. Christopherson spoke proudly of NJN’s many accomplishments under her tutelage, not the least of which includes less reliance on state funding, as well as the development of programming whose main purpose is to educate, rather than entertain. Forty percent of adults in this country, Ms. Christopherson reminded us, operate at the lowest literacy level — the first-grade level. That isn’t sufficient to fill out a job application. The world is made up of two types of individuals, she pointed out, “people who live and people who lean.” Ms. Christopherson is undoubtedly someone who has among her goals and priorities enabling others to live more fruitful lives, and ones with purpose. An NJN film clip showed a woman working to obtain her GED through an NJN-sponsored program that helps older adults reach this important life goal. NJN also provides professional development courses for teachers and plays a pivotal role in providing an emergency response system, successfully demonstrated immediately after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. For several weeks following this tragedy, NJN transmitted news programs for inoperable New York stations. Insight into Sally Glick’s success
Sally Glick shared her formula for success, which she
summed it up in three words: “energy, enthusiasm, passion.”
“Knowledge is power,” she repeated several times, adding that being passionate about what one does is key to being productive.
Ms. Glick provided several key soundbites, such as “The more we make happen, the more things happen.” On building a reliable and productive team, she offered: “Don’t make people do things that make them uncomfortable.” Rather, she added, “I match character with ability and personality.” Her final exhortation was, “Make life fun!” Enjoying one’s work
A woman who seems to live that adage of having fun is Diane Turton, who was attired in a fuchsia business suit with a matching wide-brimmed hat. Attendees knew they were in for an electric presentation when Ms. Turton started off by informing her listeners that she had recently lost 150 pounds. The success of her real estate business, she continued, is in recognizing that “anyone breathing is either a buyer or seller.” Some of the most sophisticated sales techniques she employed over the years include “losing” her children at the beach and then having herself publicly paged, purposely knocking on the wrong door when delivering bogus Tupperware purchases, and holding garage sales that were really ploys to engage in conversation with buyers about their real-estate needs. In business, Turton said, “You have to trademark yourself and provide good service.” Success is bound to result. “You yourself,” said Turton, “is what holds you back.” return to May 2005 Adtalk |
