By Phylicia Teymer 

This past week I had the tremendous opportunity to attend the IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference (IBM PWLC) on behalf of our IBM Emerging Leaders Program. Throughout the week I was granted the chance to not only shadow IBM’s Chief Analytics Officer and Chief Economist, Martin Fleming, I was also given first-hand career advice from multiple executive leaders. In understanding the benefit of sharing knowledge and expertise, I will highlight key “nuggets” of wisdom I received (via panel & in-person), in addition to the significance behind my excitement around IBM’s transformation to a cognitive solutions and cloud platform company.

For background, IBM PWLC is designed primarily to help inform and enable executive business partner (BP) leadership on our key solutions and capabilities available or in development for new market & revenue opportunities. Via listening to multiple leadership panels & from personal discussions I gathered the following key tips to excel in my career and in life:

• Don’t be afraid to take a role that scares you! As Ginni Rometti has said before, “Growth and comfort do not co-exist.“
• Trust your instincts & always maintain integrity.
• Challenge yourself to speak in public.
• Be confident.
• When building a team, think B R O A D E R and BIGGER than yourself.
• When submitting proposals for innovative ideas always: Know your audience, do your homework, show supportive material/data, know what will make it successful, and share how you plan to accomplish it. Show the VALUE of your idea and how it will positively impact your audience.
• In “growth hacking“, creatively innovate quickly & keep costs low.
• As someone who wants to get into a role which will impact the ways we go to market and connect with customers I was told to build my “thought-leadership” through my writing abilities (journalism), create content, and exemplify my ability to critically think on the subject of leveraging social media to connect with customers, supplement content, & build brand awareness.

While at the conference my thumbs  were moving at lightning pace as I tried to share as many insights via #IBMPWLC on Twitter (via iPhone) in addition to writing them in my handy, “THINK”, notepad. A key quote, among many, really resonated with me.

“Be disruptive or be disrupted” mentioned by Senior Vice-President of IBM Systems, Tom Rosamilia. CLICK TO TWEET

Change is constant, one either embraces it or fails to adapt and evolve.  As we’ve seen with the rise of Uber in the transportation industry, or with AirBNB in the hotel/lodging industry, it’s important to be able to drive transformation to the routes that the markets are shifting towards. We’re in the “age of the customer”, which is why I am excited to see IBM’s commitment towards our ongoing transformation as a cognitive solutions & cloud platform company. We’re in the cognitive era. I fully believe our ability to bring the power of cognitive analytics & computing capabilities to consumers in ways that will educate, empower, and improve business processes will be the ultimate game-changer for all those who take action to harness the power of data.

Join the conversation on Anchor.FM – “What’s your definition of being “disruptive” in business? https://anchor.fm/w/99F3B8

By Phylicia Teymer
 We may not know the precise details of what our future holds, but we do determine our actions to achieve goals which aim to yield the outcomes we desire. Every moment of each day presents an opportunity to focus on accomplishing our goals, step-by-step, until complete. I usually begin with my ultimate lifetime goals, then work backwards to determine how and what needs to be done to reach them (and adapt along the way).

Below I’ve highlighted a few of my key goals for 2016 as not only a daily “focus” reminder, but to also help inspire others & foster meaningful conversations. I’ve kept these a bit high-level, however, as many who know me well would accurately predict, I personally have a detailed list for each of these.

Sleep & Daily Meditation

In the past, I’ve under-estimated the power of “digitally unplugging” to recharge & sync my mind & body. To stay up-to-date in an “always-on” world of virtually connected people & devices requires a lot of mental energy & focus. This year, I aim to get at least 6 hours of quality sleep & 20 minutes of meditation a day. That’s a lot in my life, given I haven’t meditated much at all in the past, and I used to think I could conquer the world with little sleep and still remain healthy. TIME is a precious commodity. It has to be prioritized. My moments will be spent on what matters most (which means I also have to learn how to say “no”, too, which is harder than it sounds).

Build Connections & Network

The power of a connected community is vast. It’s about WHO and WHAT one knows. I don’t know everything or everyone, however, I do know what I want to learn. Given the power of social media & community organizations, I can find others who are up for exchanging knowledge and expertise (or at least a small conversation) for mutual growth.

Eat Healthy, Increase Fitness Goals

I can dream BIG, yet if I’m not healthy enough to accomplish or enjoy the small & large victories along the way, then what’s the point? Somewhere among tackling my many goals, I forgot about how my body is an engine that needs continual quality energy from food to keep going. In order to teach me a lesson, my body said, “Fine, you can exercise all you want, but if you don’t consistently feed me, I’ll show you! Let’s slow down your metabolism, and hold on to everything you eat. You’ll learn soon enough.” My body was right, I learned. This year I aim to drink at least 8 8 oz. glasses of water a day, and 5-6 small meals/snacks a day. I aim to increase my current fitness level to at least 50 minutes of moderate/intense activity 5-6 days a week in which I’ll incorporate some new fun activities such as cardio bag boxing, trampoline workouts, and tabata cycling. This year I want to run a 5K, 10K, & half-marathon (and maybe a marathon if my doctor approves).

Quality & Excellence in Work and Life

I strive to do the best I can in all areas of my life which comes with challenges as I continually push out of my comfort zone. I want to lead change and motivate others to work together to achieve beneficial organizational goals. I want to create new processes to further enhance the way social media are utilized within our organization. I will continue to build my experience & expertise around how social media make a fundamental impact on organizations’ brand, customers, & bottom line. I will be vulnerable and understand that large accomplishments do not happen without a great team working together.

Invest in Self-Improvement and Knowledge Acquisition

I will continue to read numerous articles (books & magazines), and listen to different podcasts aimed towards self-improvement in particular areas surrounding my professional and personal life. Some of my favorite magazines include Popular Science, Fast Company, Inc., Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Time, and Consumer Reports. This year, however, I also want to increase my knowledge of computer science & experience with cyber-security through a local educational charity called Cyber Discovery Group.

Give Back

I want to volunteer throughout the year to make an impact on people’s lives and the environment. I’ve considered different ideas, such as reading with children at a local school, time with elderly at nursing homes, delivering flowers to patients’ rooms at a local hospital, providing knowledge around social media marketing to a local small business, or spending time to clean up a school or park of trash & litter (decisions, decisions). While I don’t have a lot of spare time, I do feel it’s important to give back to the community in whatever way possible, even if it’s only a few hours a month on a weekend.

Here’s to 2016! I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts and/or suggestions.

It’s time to enjoy the journey.