Taking Care of Business: A week devoted to taking our professional lives up a notch.
When Stephanie Newman founded her creative consultancy Stellia Labs, she knew she was starting a company that was aligned with her personal values. “When I first started Stellia, I began working with a career coach,” she says. “She helped me recognize that one reason I was leaving my full-time consulting job and starting a platform of my own was that I wanted my career to reflect my value system. For instance, I craved more flexibility, creativity, and social impact than I would find on my current track.” Newman says it was important for her to complete an easily Googlable values exercise. (Here’s one!)
“I wrote down my top five values and taped the paper on my wall. I refer back to the sheet whenever I have to make a tough business decision. Usually, when I’m feeling doubtful about a client or commitment, it conflicts with one of my values. On the flip side, the opportunities I’m most excited to pursue bring all my values to bear. Integrating this exercise into my business has saved me from burnout and kept me on track.”
