Happy New Year!!

I have decided that the word for me in 2012 is STRATEGIC!!!  In 2012, which promises to be a complex year, I will be working on strategic growth of my business and assets, strategic positioning and strategic alliances. It is part of my realization that with the complexity that this year promises, time and resources are particularly limited, and that I need to plan, position and deploy resources carefully, and execute brilliantly to make this year count.  Plan, position and pounce!!!

Let’s tackle the challenges and sieze the opportunities together!   Building relationships and having authentic conversations is what makes my life fun, and we got to do that at the January Broads Circle members-only Monthly Huddle – Meet the CFOs.  At this lunch, we created the first Broads Pod! The CFO Broads Pod was created with new members Berenice Officer, Dogswell; Dawn Olsen, VCA Antech; Jen Petrovich, Body Armour; and Anne Plechner, CFO Consulting.  If you know of other members (or potential new members) who are CFOs and would like to join the CFO Broads Pod, please let us know.

The February Monthly Huddle is Meet the Investment Bankers and women in private equity, and will be on February 8th.  Hope to see our members there!  If you know of any women general counsels, please invite them to Broads Circle, as our March Monthly Huddle will be Meet the GCs.

Broads Circle is going to Orange County!  Our first event in OC will be held on Feb 15th.  Broads Circle is looking for C-Level women leaders in the OC to join the panel.  We have formed an OC advisory board to help plan and produce our events in OC. If you know of any OC professional women who would like to get involved with Broads Circle OC, please contact us.

Invest in Yourself

As the year is winding down, we have some great events to close it out on a positive note.  Be sure to check out the upcoming events listing on our website to learn more.   Our first annual Bottom Line Broads Awards on November 3rd was so exciting for us! We had a fantastic group of women who are leading the way in driving revenue and growing capital. View the event photos at www.BroadsCircle.com.

Is your revenue growth stalling a bit this year due to a tough economy?   Are you growing your capital as you would like?   If not, you may need to invest more time and effort in generating revenue for yourself and your business. I don’t mean sitting there doing the work, but maybe you should invest more in rainmaking.

Broads Circle events provide the opportunity to build business relationships. We believe that successful, impactful, powerful people have strong networks. They draw on these networks in driving revenue and growing capital for themselves and their corporations. Our events provide opportunities for exceptional women in Los Angeles to meet and create high quality money and power connections. Perfect for the Alpha-Girl building a stellar career.

If you are ready to take your revenue and capital to the next level, invest in yourself by attending an upcoming event and connecting with our guests and members. One conversation with the “right” person can help take your business to the next level. If you’ve never attended an event, we invite you to join us and find out what you’re missing!

Interested in membership? We offer the following networking tools for our members:

1. Members-only dinners following cocktail events
2. Monthly Huddle small group lunches
3. Broads Pods – focus groups for specific industries/niches
4. Writing articles for Broads Blogs
5. Posting your news to the website or the member newsletter
6. Publicizing your company events
7. Connecting with other members to help build your business

Contact kim@broadscircle.com to request a membership application.

Darya Allen-Attar
Broads Circle Founder
Financial Advisor
Email: darya@broadscircle.com
www.BroadsCircle.com

Power = Revenue + Capital

It’s October and the last quarter of 2012. I keep one thing in mind every day: Power = Revenue + Capital. We will celebrate that equation and women who live it at our Bottom Line Broads Awards Luncheon on November 3rd at the Olympic Collection Banquet and Conference Center in Los Angeles (learn more). You will be inspired by the achievements of these women. For those of us who are on the journey, the Broads Circle Monthly Huddles are turning out to be a great way to really connect with a smaller group of women and expand on our revenue generating relationships.

This month the world lost Steve Jobs. The story of this “adopted” American of Middle Eastern descent who dropped out of college only to become a multi-billionaire is a great American success story. I have heard more wisdom about life and business from Steve Jobs since his death than I ever did during his short life.

I thought I would share a few Steve Jobs quotes that really appealed to me. Enjoy the below and remember to stay on top of your Money and Power game.

Human Resources – A Strategic Weapon in Driving Revenue

By Kimberly Congdon
Regional Vice President, Human Resources
Time Warner Cable, West Region
Broads Circle Bottom Line Broads Member

As a Human Resources Executive, having to convince others of the value of our function is not a new phenomenon.  The role of HR has changed as well as the name. Many forward thinking organizations refer to the role as People and Organization or Human Capital.  Me, I really like the terminology Human Resources as long as people think about both words – Human and Resources – instead of conjuring up that nice HR lady that helps me when I have problems with my benefits.  Frankly, her job was outsourced a few years ago.  There can’t possibly be a savvy business person out there that doesn’t understand that people are expensive, but the question is: Do you view it as strictly an expense or as capital that is at your disposal to either use effectively or waste?  Once the concept of maximizing human capital instead of getting rid of expenses takes hold, you’re ready to welcome a Human Resources executive in as your partner.

In my own experience, I have been engaged in lead roles of five sweeping and dramatic organizational changes over the past 7 years.   The bigger the ship, the harder it is to turn it, and the West Region that went through those changes consisted of 9,200 people and was a little over $3billion in revenue.  Those five changes were:

Your Personal Board of Directors

Over the last couple of years through relationships expanded as a result of Broads Circle, I have formed a personal Board of Directors. You know, a little group of people who as Keith Ferrazzi says, “have my back.” I highly recommend that you create such a group for yourself. Think about it this way: it takes a village to help you succeed, and a personal Board of Directors can help you get there!

As for who should be on your Board, look close to home: friends, colleagues, professionals and family members. Who do you admire and who has information that can be valuable to you? Picking the right people is really tricky. It took me a while to figure this out. Before I was able to choose my Board members, I had to get to know myself on this issue first. No matter who you choose, it is absolutely necessary that you always keep one thing in mind: those serving on your metaphorical Board are doing so because they care about you and your future. Like the Board of Directors of a company, your personal Board of Directors need to have the right mix of necessary elements. Taken from the Caroline Dowd-Higgins study and book: Look for the connector, the accountability master, the shoulder to cry on, the dreamer and the mentor to sit on your Board. They can be 5 different people or just a couple of people who possess all five characteristics.

The Necessary Elements: