Laura Gassner Otting 
For 20 years I studied, recruited, and stewarded executives and organizations through some of the most difficult and uncertain leadership transitions. My searches (and those of the team of exemplary search consultants whom I was privileged to lead during my time running NPAG) resulted in a higher than industry average for a tenure of placement … Read more
Being wrong sucks. It’s inefficient, it’s embarrassing, and sometimes even downright dangerous. It’s a real haymaker right in the old kisser, that’s for sure. And, it’s also the best thing that can happen to you. Why do I say this? Because it is in those ego-shaking moments between the realization of wrongness and the interminable … Read more
Be the person your biggest champion sees. “You can do it. I believe in you. And, I will help.” Those were the words my running coach said to me when he looked me in the eye the first day we met, the day that I stood before him and told him that I’d run my … Read more
A few months ago, I got an email from a young woman I know. She wrote, “I took your advice and applied for the Assistant Director position when I really didn’t think I could get it. And, guess what? I have an interview tomorrow! I never would have applied if you hadn’t challenged me to do so. … Read more
I recently read an article suggesting that studies show that women who wear sleeveless dresses on stage appear to their audience members as less intelligent than their be-sleeved counterparts. It was based on a study in Yale Scientific that reported that people assign a higher degree of intelligence to those who wear more clothes than … Read more
Thank goodness for evolution. You know, evolution: that thing that has trained up over millions of years to (mostly) not do really hare-brained, death-inducing things. Jump off that bridge? Instincts say no. Stick my head in that lion’s mouth? Seems like a pretty bad idea. Eat day old sushi from my local gas station market? … Read more
Several years ago, Arnie Miller, my second boss, asked me to escort him to the cemetery to visit the grave of Eli Segal, my first boss, on what would have been Eli’s 73rd birthday. Arnie has Parkinson’s Disease and was told by his doctor that he shouldn’t drive anymore; he is not a man who … Read more
So, you’ve gotten a request for your time. You should say yes, right? It’s just a little advice, just a little got-a-few-questions, just a little massive disruption of your entire day. Not so fast, cowboy. First, ask yourself: Am I the right person, the only person, the most important person to help out in this … Read more
Misery is contagious. It’s slippery, it’s insidious, and it’s sneaky. You don’t even realize it’s shaded your sunshine until it’s too late. And then there you are: stuck. Stuck in a dark vortex of unhappiness, having lost all momentum to live your best life. But, here’s the thing: Joy works exactly the same way. You … Read more
I recently read an article which posed a question that went something like, “Why aren’t people from Nordic countries suicidal as fuck?” I mean, let’s face it: it’s dark, it’s cold, it’s dreary. And it’s like that for about six months out of the year. As a Miami girl who has spent 20 years trying … Read more