Newberry Solutions Turns 15

Whaaaat?! Newberry Solutions has been in business for 15 YEARS!!! This huge milestone crept up on us. These 15 lessons have made the biggest difference on this unexpected journey into entrepreneurship (yes, I had no idea I was going to start a business when I left my executive role at Deloitte), and I hope they help you as you continue to navigate your path.

Photo by Cup of Couple

To help me celebrate, please pay it forward by sharing this list with others. Giving people the tools and resources they need to be successful is what has meaning and heart for me.

1. “I’ll see it when I believe it” - Wayne Dyer. It all starts by taking a leap of faith. I started my company three months before the economy tanked in 2008. If I didn’t believe that what I wanted to achieve was possible, how could anyone else? (My commencement speech at Texas Woman’s University was inspired by this too.)

2. Keep passion and purpose at the forefront. In times of fear, self-doubt, and fatigue, reconnect to your passion and purpose to get yourself back on track. Your “why” is powerful.

3. Keep your eye on the big picture. It will keep you from sweating the small stuff and will help you keep things in perspective.

4. Focus on the “right” work: those areas where you can have the biggest impact on the business given your role and strengths. There’s only one of you – invest your precious time, energy and strengths wisely.

5. Pause. Exhale. Repeat. Never underestimate the power of breath to ground you. In a few seconds, you can bring your stress level down.

6. Small steps lead to big results. To keep from getting overwhelmed, don’t worry about solving everything; start by defining the first two steps. Learn from each step and iterate. This helped me immensely in 2008 and again when I battled cancer during the pandemic.

7. Trust that things will unfold as they should, especially when you’ve already taken proactive steps. Get out of your own way and don’t overthink it.

8. Keep generating options (aim for at least three). You always have more options than you think, even when things seem impossible.

9. Take care of yourself. Self-care is not a nice-to-have strategy. It’s your oxygen mask. You can’t be there for anyone else, let alone yourself, if you run out of gas.

10. Make it easy for people to help you. Arm them with the information and tools they need to help. And, most importantly, accept help.

11. Surround yourself with people who energize you, raise the bar and challenge you to think differently.

12. Trust your intuition or gut. Remember that it’s not just a feeling in your body; it’s wisdom developed from years of experiences, challenges, painful lessons and resilience.

13. Know when to walk away. When emotions run high, take a break. When you are fried, take time off. Keep Maslow’s hierarchy in mind.

14. Pay it forward without worrying if anything will come back to you. It always does—tenfold.

15. Use your body to change your mind. Blast that favorite song and dance it out, walk in nature, and do those power poses (Amy Cuddy).

I want to challenge you to identify one or two lessons to keep at the forefront for yourself. These lessons apply whether you are an entrepreneur, in the corporate world or not in the workforce at all.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t express my gratitude to you for being part of this 15-year journey. We wouldn’t be here without you. As always, our top priority is your success. If we can help your organization through the New Lens® app, executive coaching, leadership development programs or speaking, please reach out to us.

How to Use Passion to Overcome Fear

In my last couple of articles, I've talked about getting unstuck and living by your definition of success instead of how others define it for you. As you continue down this path, you will start to run into your fears as you put yourself “out there” to: 

• Go down a new path with an uncertain outcome,

• Solicit feedback you may not agree with,

• Try something new,

• Go for what you want in a way you haven't before, or

• Own the role you have played in where you are today

What Can Keep You Going

But fear doesn’t have to stop you in your tracks. From my personal experience and that of my clients, I've seen how passion can help overcome fear. This is not about simply sucking it up and getting through the situation in front of you. Rather, it’s about understanding what’s really important about the specific goal or challenge at hand. 

For example, it could be about doing the right thing, making a meaningful difference, proving to yourself that you can do it, being a role model to others or something else. By clarifying and tapping into the power of your underlying values and passion, you will find strength you didn’t know you had.

This helped me immensely as I launched my own business. In my last article, I told you about deciding to leave my executive role at Deloitte. I certainly faced my share of fear – of leaving a successful career and failing in my next venture. 

And the process definitely had its ups and downs. Just three months after I launched my company in 2008, the Great Recession hit. To work through my anxiety and fear, I frequently reminded myself how important the goals behind my business were to me. I was — and still am — deeply committed to the mission of my company: to help high performers, especially women, get results they couldn’t before. I was equally passionate about designing the kind of life I wanted, in a way that worked for me. I wanted to be a better parent and to have more space for other people and experiences in my life. Connecting to that a holistic view of what truly mattered to me propelled me through all the challenges and uncertainty.

Facing Fear Head-On

This approach can work well in your personal life, too. If you've read this blog for a while, you know that I have a sense of adventure, love being outdoors and love to try new things. But I also have a fear of heights. In the past year, I’ve used my sense of adventure to motivate me to do things that felt pretty scary: a doors-off helicopter ride in Hawaii going over 100 mph, walking on a tightrope 35 feet in the air in Arizona, and going rock climbing for the first time and rappelling off an arch in Moab, Utah. None of these were easy to do. While I did these activities, I had to focus on the unbelievable scenery and mountains – the part of it that I really loved – instead of the pounding in my chest. Each time I put myself in a scary situation, it gets a little easier. And I’ve started to see myself differently, as someone who can conquer fear in any situation.

This week, identify an important goal or challenge in front of you and what it would mean to you if you achieved it. When you focus on the power of your passion, you will start focusing more on what you want instead of your fear. This small but critical shift can motivate you to move forward in the face of fear – to achieve big results.