This content was created by Pete Alexander. This content was uploaded by Pete Alexander. This is a podcast episode (Episode 201: "Winning at Business and Life with Sheena Majette") recorded 2021-01-05. It is a short, focused interview (6 questions in about 7 minutes) hosted by Professor Pete Alexander with guest Sheena Majette, CEO of SLM Education Solutions and founder of Diamonds and Pearls Girls Club. The conversation covers event program design and storytelling, mentoring young girls, leadership advice emphasizing agility, vision, collaboration and empathy, a recommended guest (Dana Lawrence), Sheena's first job, and contact details (SLM website and LinkedIn).
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Well, first of all, thank you, Professor Pete, for having me. I am Sheena Majette, CEO of SLM Education Solutions, which is an event management company that specializes in event program design. We want to disrupt the status quo of how event programs are developed and delivered and apply creative and innovative solutions so that the programming is positive, has positive outcomes and engagement and impactful and empowering. I'm also the founder and president of Diamonds and Pearls Girls Club, Inc., which is a nonprofit girls education found association that teaches life skills to girls 12 to 18.
Sheena, it is so great to have you on the show. Question number 2: What is something that that makes you smile and/or laugh about working in your industry?
Well, so much, so much. So when I'm wearing my event management hat, I love meeting new people. I love the people who I've met along my way and continue to meet, some amazing connections, and that people who have poured into my life in such positive ways that I am forever grateful. I also love being able to tell a story with a program where you see that story come to life, right? And you're sitting amongst the attendees, and you literally can see them as they have that aha moment, that light shines, and you know that they've heard or experienced something that has had a positive impact.
Mm-hmm. And I can totally understand the benefit and the, you know, just the satisfaction that you get from that because Being at conferences where that happened to me as an audience member, I can only imagine as the event coordinator how that would be just so satisfying for you. So it's a great story. I love how the passion in your voice.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And with Diamonds and Pearls, mentoring young girls, that's my passion. That's my heart and soul. I have 3 daughters. So being able to provide these young girls with the tools that they need as they transition from girls to women and set them up for success, it just fulfills me in enormous ways.
Mm, I love it. I absolutely love that 'cause that's having an impact on the future. It's so great. Question number 3, I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
I would say the chapter on agility.
Hmm.
The business environment and landscape is rapidly changing. Rapidly changing, right? Almost at the speed of light, it feels like these days. And so having those tools as a leader to empower yourself to be agile, to be adaptable, to be able to move with those changes in ways that you're going to ensure that your business maintains its value proposition and sustainability, I think that's so important. I mean, gone are the days of the 3 to 5-year strategic plan. It's 1, 2 years at the most, if you're lucky. And then you have to hit the reset button. So as a leader, you really need to understand how to apply those skills to be agile in this business environment.
Very wise. Thank you so much for sharing that. Question number 4, other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business leaders?
Oh, I love that. So those three are very good, but I would say be a visionary, be collaborative, and be empathetic, you know. And the visionary speaks to what I just talked about with agility, you know. But in addition to having that agility, you have to have the vision, you have to have foresight, you have to, you know, really understand where you're going to take that business. To make sure that it does maintain its value and sustainability. But in addition to that, you need to be collaborative because it is not likely that you're gonna be the smartest person in the room. So you're gonna need to work with your teams, your internal, your external stakeholders, and you're going to need to collaborate with them so that you can employ those strategies and tactics to realize that vision. And empathetic, which to me is the most important because it humanizes you.
Mm-hmm.
And it builds trust and loyalty. And in the business environment, you know, if you want to create a culture where you're going to attract that talent and retain that talent, you need to be able to relate. You need to be able to be seen as a human being so that people want to trust you, want to support you, and be loyal.
Mm-hmm. Very wise. And I like how you have it clustered as a group of 3. All of them are so important. And if you lack one of those 3, I assume that it's sort of like a 3-legged stool. You're probably going to collapse?
That's right.
I like to use, to use kind of visuals.
So cool.
Question number 5: What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
Well, I have to tell you, I am so blessed to have so many amazing business leaders, um, in my network and circle, but I would love to recommend Dana Lawrence. Dana is a leader in audit, risk, and compliance. She is a dynamic speaker and a trainer, and she possesses all of those leadership attributes that we've discussed here and then some. She's someone who I would follow any day and support any day of the week as a leader. So I would recommend Dana. I think she will bring a lot of value to this discussion for your audience.
Perfect. I'll reach out to her. Thank you so much for that referral. And our final question, question number 6, please tell me about your first job.
Well, so my first job was, I was a sales associate for a men's store, and I absolutely loved that job. Not for the obvious reasons of the eye candy that would walk through the door, right? But I loved connecting with the customers and I loved helping them tell the story that they wanted to tell with the items that they were selecting, you know, for their image, for their attire, and building that customer loyalty and building those relationships. So little did I know that it was laying the foundation for the full circle of my professional career where I get to now tell stories with event programs.
I love it, and I love how you tie that first job into, into what you're currently doing. And, and it's true, I mean, I can't tell you how many I went into a men's store and was trying to figure out what tie and, you know, or back when we wore ties, right? Tie and whether or not I should have a handkerchief that matches or things like that. And an associate who would help me and say, okay, this is what you want to do to be able to present yourself in a certain way. It really is telling it as a story. And I never thought of that before. So thank you for that. It's really great. So Sheena, thank you so much for being on the show. How could people find you? Find you?
Yes, well, you can find me through LinkedIn, uh, as well as my website, which is www.slmeducationsolutions.com.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
