This interview appeared in the FIGT Newsletter 17 February 2015. Cristina Bertarelli grew up in a beautiful small town in Italy on Lake Como, in a family that rarely traveled abroad and preferred to vacation…
Browsing CategoryTransitions
Managing Change – Rites of Passage
The lovely summer is behind us. Those of us who are parents are emerging from the hectic back-to-school season with its emotional highs and lows and are now moving towards the soon approaching Holiday Season….
Spring-Creating Opportunities for Something New
This spring has been busy. Spring usually is. The outdoor sports season starts for the children so nights and weekends are spent cheering at my daughter’s softball games and my son’s tennis and track &…
American Optimism, Finnish Sisu and Old Fashioned Grit
I grew up in a small town in western Finland. My family was a typical middle-class Finnish family, except that we come from the small Swedish-speaking minority. Both of my parents grew up on farms….
Finnish SISU
A couple of years ago I gave a presentation on SISU-Resilience the Finnish Way at a conference. Today I’d like to revisit and elaborate on that topic . In Finland we have something called Sisu….
The Constant Gardener
I like to garden. When I am not working or being a mother and wife, I am gardening. It’s become an obsession, I admit. After spending several weeks traveling, either for work…
The Opportunity and Challenge in Moving
One of my workshop participants once said that it feels as she left her best self in her country of origin and that her current version of her self is inferior: less self confident, successful…
How I Networked My Way into the US Job Market
I moved to the US over 12 years ago. I still recall my first attempts to look for a job. The economy was strong so there were plenty of jobs around. The New York Times…
Fall-A New Beginning
Labor Day has passed and fall is almost here, this is the best time for new projects. I always feel energized in the fall, probably a remnant from my school days when I looked forward…
Reach for the Stars or How to Set Goals and Reach Them
We often talk about the importance of identifying and defining our goals. This applies to both our personal and work lives. We set goals to lose weight, learn a new language, and land that new…