Personality

Communication World, Jan-Feb, 2004

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST PAYING JOB?

Front of house manager in a tiny theatre company called Druid in Ireland. My sister was the artistic director, and it was wonderful to hang out with lots of thespians.

WHAT'S THE BIGGEST RISK YOU'VE EVER TAKEN?

Moving from London to San Francisco to set up a new business in a market I knew next to nothing about. My husband remained in London to complete his Ph.D., while I had our two young children with me. I was also handling the public relations of a large international client. It's fair to say that for the first six months I was in the U.S., I was completely clueless about what I was doing. Six years later, we have five U.S. offices and 140 employees, but it still defies logic how I got through those early days. When I look back on it now, though, it was a tremendously exciting time and it was the height of the technology boom. It was a pivotal time in the development of the company, and I'm really glad I did it.

WHAT'S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU'VE FACED IN YOUR CAREER?

Probably the ongoing balance between a highly demanding job that involves international travel and time to nurture and raise my three young children. I recognize that my clients and staff will shout if they don't get enough of my time, but my children won't necessarily. I therefore need to listen to them harder and not overlook their needs when my job demands my time.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING PROFESSIONAL MOMENT?

During an incredibly important new business pitch, the CEO of a major software company appeared to fall asleep while I was presenting. As strange as it sounds, this isn't the only time something like this has happened.

DESCRIBE AN ETHICAL DILEMMA THAT YOU FACED. HOW DID YOU RESOLVE IT?

My desire to wake the CEO up. I wimped out, which I'll always regret.

IF YOU HAD A 28-HOUR DAY, HOW WOULD YOU SPEND THOSE EXTRA FOUR HOURS?

Doing very little of anything important. In fact I'd probably do what the CEO above did. It would be incredibly easy to drive yourself 28/7, but taking time to reenergize is extremely valuable and important these days.

WHAT GETS UNDER YOUR SKIN PROFESSIONALLY?

People who take themselves too seriously.

WHAT'S THE MOST VALUABLE ADVICE YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN IN YOUR CAREER?

Don't take yourself too seriously.

WHAT'S THE WORST ADVICE YOU'VE FOLLOWED?

Don't act until you have all the information. This means you never act and you never take risks. You simply ask more and more questions, which can ultimately disenable you.

TELL US ABOUT A TIME YOU ACTED FIRST AND ASKED PERMISSION LATER.

When my company was invited to pitch one of the industry's most coveted PR accounts--IBM--I brought 23 people from our offices around the world to New York to prepare the pitch. This took our most senior people out of their business areas at a crucial time of the year. I could have caused havoc and created a huge financial risk for the company. As it was, I just caused havoc in New York--have you ever tried to get 23 business leaders to work together on one project? What was I thinking! We won the account, though, and it was a great example of a situation where taking a huge risk turned out well. I think the trick is knowing when and what to risk.

WHAT CAN'T YOU SAY "NO" TO?

A gin and tonic.

DIVULGE A DEEP DARK SECRET OF YOURS TO CW READERS.

I hate being interviewed.