I am humbled to celebrate my 20th anniversary in business! I founded Rita B. Allen Associates in 2005 with so much enthusiasm and motivation to make a difference. It has been an incredible journey and even more rewarding than I could have imagined! That is possible only because of the support of so many clients, colleagues, friends, family, and trusted advisors. A heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you for your continued partnership, generosity, and confidence in me!

In celebration of this milestone, I am kicking off a year-long conversation on
20 Lessons Learned over 20 years!
I look forward to your comments!

Lesson #5: ALWAYS STAY TRUE TO SELF, YOUR PERSONAL BRAND!

Find and be your best authentic self. When we stay true to ourselves, aligned with our values and leveraging our talents, we allow our differentiators to guide and empower our actions and decisions. It enables us to be grounded, staying true to our personal brand and our leadership brand, which are two sides of the same coin. People will remember these moments and the mark we leave behind.

For example, throughout the last 20 years, there have been many scenarios where conflicts have arisen that could easily have pulled me in directions that digressed from my best authentic self. In those moments, I stayed centered and true to my best authentic self and focused on the goal at hand to navigate through. As a result, I acted in behaviors remaining true to myself and how I served others.

ALWAYS STAY TRUE TO SELF, YOUR PERSONAL BRAND!

Lesson #4: ALLOW YOUR BUSINESS TO EVOLVE!

As you build and grow your business, allow it to evolve which may stray from your business plan. No matter how much planning, projecting, research and forecasting we do, we won't know until we try. Once we try, sometimes we find certain areas are not as marketable or rewarding as we planned and we must be ready and able to pivot. Stay open to the journey and allow your business to unfold and emerge.

For example, in my original business plan, I had 3 core areas of focus for my business and I learned after year 3, that one of those areas was not a revenue generator; and so I shifted quickly. The result turned out to open up different doors that were even more sustainable, rewarding and profitable!

ALLOW YOUR BUSINESS TO EVOLVE!

Lesson #3: IT IS ALL ABOUT BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS!

Relationships can make or break careers. They are a critical part of building our personal brand and achieving our aspirations. Establishing, building and nurturing mutually rewarding relationships is foundational to having a fulfilling life and career. It is all about giving back and paying it forward. Being of service to someone else, an ally and supportive colleague is not only the right thing to do and rewarding, it does come back to us in many ways. Staying connected, being authentic and also strategic about the different kinds of alliances we build is essential.

For example, when I started my business 20 years ago, I had a strong base of relationships that truly enabled me to build my business. Because of those relationships, I already had a strong support system and following that was a spring board for new business and referrals. Many of my previous clients, colleagues and friends were initiating meetings, connections, prospects and business for me which helped me kick-off my practice...and today, 20 years later, referrals are still more than 50% of my business! It is all about building relationships!

IT IS ALL ABOUT BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS!

Lesson #2: There is no such thing as failure

So often we hold back on taking risks due to our fear of failure. If we can shift our mindset to one that does not embrace failure, we will find there are many opportunities in front of us to explore. One of my favorite quotes is by Nelson Mandela who says, "I never fail, I either win or I learn." Each experience results in success because we either achieve what we set out to, OR we learn a valuable lesson that allows us to move forward.

For example, very early in my executive search career, as I started to flex my marketing skills, I faced a couple of disappointments. Through that process, I learned what worked well and what did not work as well. As a result, I was able to advance my marketing skills significantly and ended up directing firm-wide marketing initiatives as well as starting my business with a solid foundation of marketing practices. There is no such thing as failure!

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FAILURE!

Lesson #1: SAY "YES" WHEN IT SCARES YOU!

We are often presented with unexpected opportunities that require us to stretch, take risks. Personally, I have experienced many that forced me to take leaps of faith in myself. As a result, I have learned that if a challenge scares me, I need to say yes.

Those have been my best learnings, which uncovered talents leading to new and exciting paths I would not have otherwise experienced. For example, as a business major, I never imagined being a writer, much less author. Many years ago, I was asked to write an article, and that led to another, and another, yet another. I found I actually liked it and was pretty good at it. A client later planted a seed in my mind that I needed to write a book and challenged me to do so. If I listened to my inner critic and allowed the fear to hold me back, I would never have discovered this path that has been so rewarding and profitable for me!

SAY "YES" WHEN IT SCARES YOU!