Try it On

I wanted to share a philosophy that has taken the better part of my professional life to glean… with some fun news within it.

Almost a decade ago, when our family was contemplating the previously unfathomable to us - relocation from our lifelong home of NYC - I searched for a way to position this exploratory trip we were taking to Southern California to our daughters, then 14 and 8. Professionally, I was ready to become the CMO of Taco Bell; personally, this was the giant stumbling block. “Look,” I told the girls, who would have been a lot more excited about a winter’s trip to the warm west coast had their futures not been riding on it, “consider this a shopping trip. These few days are about going into the fitting room together and trying this all on to see how it feels.”

?A few weeks later, as I was on the phone in our NY apartment finalizing my agreement, our younger daughter walked in overhearing, looked at me with a wry smile and landed this unforgettable line: “well… I guess we are at checkout.”

?Little did I know then, in my attempt at a quick metaphor for my daughters, that I had found a professional philosophy based in curiosity and courage that I have tried to embrace since.

?TRY IT ON.

?When a colleague offers a new idea for how to do things, when a recruiter emails with an opportunity that isn’t immediately obvious, when a boss asks you to tackle something outside of your comfort zone, our brains often leap into defensive mode, serving all the reasons something isn’t right. It’s a safety impulse. New + different = risky. However, allowing ourselves to “try it on,” first in our imaginations, and potentially then in real life, is arguably the best way to find what can suit surprisingly well.

?If I had not instinctively taken this approach to my career since moving from luxury beauty to fast food, I don’t think I ever would have given myself the permission to come out of the fitting room wearing the entirely new outfits of big box home improvement executive, and more recently theme park executive.

?For many of us, especially women, “trying it on” has been too much about attempting to dress a certain part - literally and figuratively - in order to belong. Earlier in my career I felt pressure to straighten my naturally curly hair. I forced in contact lenses which never worked as well for me as glasses. I attempted to wear “the right brands” even as my mother’s deep influence made me much more interested in shopping creatively. In recent years, I was advised not to be so colorful. (Yes, actually).

?The fitting room was a vessel for trying to fit in.

?Now, I realize the fitting room is a vessel for finding a professional “wardrobe” that is uniquely right for me.

At this stage in my life, I am excited to wear MULTIPLE looks, from marketing executive to podcast host to board member to speaker. ?And as I adjust to the new look of an empty nester - as much as I dreaded hitting this phase - it represents new freedom to embrace this philosophy even more fully.

?In that spirit, the biggest new outfit I am putting on is that of a Consulting CMO, which I’m starting to do for an iconic, 122 year old American retailer that is ripe for brand reinvigoration - what I love to do most. That company is JCPenney . I see so much potential here. Quite literally, I can’t wait to show people how much is in this store that is worth trying! I’m so appreciative to have been introduced by a dear colleague to their wonderful CEO, Marc Rosen , with whom I felt an immediate connection, and who had the vision and open-mindedness to invite me to go forward this way. I’m grateful for possibilities, for writing different rules of what an executive should LOOK LIKE, and for friends who have been just the kind of people anyone would want in a fitting room with them: honest in helping me see when something I had tried on just wasn’t right for ME… and otherwise unflaggingly encouraging of me to get out there and wear what I had chosen with confidence and pride.

?I can’t wait to show you what I’m wearing next!

?And I hope this might encourage you to do the same.

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