Well that happened. After the most incredible book launch, last week I spoke at Google and KeyBank, appeared on almost a dozen broadcast news shows around the country, had an incredible celebration in my community, and oh yea, I became a USA TODAY bestselling author.​

And now it’s time to hit the road. This week I’ll be stopping by Nashville’s WKRN Local on 2 to film an in-studio segment. I’m in town to speak at the Mom 2 Summit so please come find me if you’ll be there, and definitely find me if you’re down to venture out to find some famous Nashville hot chicken.

After Nashville I head to Los Angeles (come hang with me and Jess Abo at Zibby’s bookshop on April 11th!) then back in NYC for a bit before I’m off to DC to give a TEDx talk.​

And hopefully, if I succeed in my mission, my agent and I will be crashing the White House Correspondents dinner because that is happening directly after my TEDx talk. If you’d like to get involved, we are eagerly enlisting co-conspirators.

So yea, it’s been a wild and wonderful couple of weeks. Through it all, the question circling in my head is this: Will I be ok when the excitement dies down?

I’m pretty sure my answer is yes, because I really have been truly present and massively enjoyed every moment. I've taken nothing for granted and I know this moment, while wonderful, is also fleeting.

Plus, I have about a zillion post-book-launch ideas I haven’t had time to focus on and I’m looking forward to building those out this summer. Here are a few ideas I'm toying with:

1. Setback Strategy Sessions. People always ask me if I can coach them. While I’m not a certified executive coach, (but I know many talented ones if you need a referral!) I am an expert in how to work through setbacks, which is why I am creating an offering that includes several customized (group and individual) sessions that will offer actionable takeaways and renewed perspective on whatever setback you might be working through. I want to help people figure out how their setbacks can become the launching pad to their next big thing. Let me know if you’d like to be among the first to sign up as I shape this service.
2. Professional Development Training. I’m already working with several companies to host trainings on how teams can effectively work through tumultuous times, from those impacted by layoffs and restructuring to those just needing a morale boost, energy infusion or just straightforward team building. Please let me know if you want to discuss a program tailored to your organization.
3. Back to freelance writing. I wrote an article for Fast Company about how to approach severance negotiations that comes out in two weeks, and am working on a Forbes piece for Mental Health Awareness Month about small businesses centered around mental wellness.
4. Working on my second book! That’s right. It’s still just a pile of rough notes right now but yes, it’s in the works!

That’s a snapshot of how I’m crafting my next chapter while still enjoying this one. Tell me, what do you visualize as you look toward your next chapter?

In the meantime here’s what I’m:

​This report from Moms First and Boston Consulting Group, which measured the return on investment of companies offering child care benefits for their employees.

The results of the study proved that when companies invest in child care, the financial return significantly outweighs the cost. It demonstrated an overwhelming 425% return on investment, with 88% of employers pointing out how childcare benefits increases productivity for parents and non parents in the workforce. 90% say it also boosts talent recruitment and retention. No surprise there.

What remains to be seen is what we do with this data. Will it result in mass adoption of these benefits? I certainly hope so.

The TikToking of LinkedIn. Please let's not ruin LinkedIn by filling it with CEO synchronized choreography videos. Please.

A hopeful and surprisingly optimistic perspective from Bronwen Dickey, this week’s guest editor of the Sunday Long Read. Regarding the state of bookstores and journalism, she says:

“When I get off my laptop and breathe real air once in a while, I see a world whose weary inhabitants are clamoring for longer stories, not shorter ones. I see readers lingering in bookstores, long after Amazon and the pandemic were expected to kill them off. I see writers finding new and creative ways to put their work in front of larger audiences.

I think something similar is happening with journalism, even if it doesn’t always look that way. Yes, a lot of great publications are hemorrhaging money, and readers are cranky about paywalls, but The Atlantic topped one million subscribers this week. Sites like The Atavist and ProPublica continue to publish narratives that take years, rather than months, to report, and that are significantly longer than most print mags could run.”

Are we finally craving nuance and depth vs. hot takes and quick soundbites in our feeds? I will take any hint of progress in that direction, and anything optimistic around the state of publishing and journalism these days.

Anything that helps women become better negotiators. That’s why I’m so excited to be speaking at the WIN (Women in Negotiation) Summit on May 30th. And if you’d like to join, the conference organizers are offering 20% off tickets if you use my code: AS20. Hope to see you there!