Conversations on Success

Some of my most rewarding experiences in business, and for that matter in my personal life, have been at meetings, conventions, or gatherings after the formal events have concluded. Inevitably, small groups of ten to fifteen men and women gather together to rehash the happenings of the day and to exchange war stories, recently heard jokes, or the latest gossip from their industry. It is in these informal gatherings where some of the best lessons can be learned.

Usually, in informal groups of professionals, there are those who clearly have lived through more battles and learned more lessons than the others. These are the men and women who are really getting the job done and everyone around the room knows it. When they comment on the topic of the moment, they don’t just spout the latest hot theory or trend, and they don’t ramble on and on without a relevant point. These battle scarred warriors have lessons to share that everyone senses are just a little more real, more relevant, and therefore worthy of more attention.

These are the kind of people we have recruited to offer their insights and expertise for Conversations On Success. The book is filled with frank and powerful discussions with men and women who are making a significant impact on their culture, in their field, and on their colleagues and clients. It is ripe with "the good stuff," as an old friend of mine used to always say. Inside these pages you’ll find ideas, insights, strategies, and philosophies that are working with real people, in real companies, and under real circumstances.

It is our hope that you keep this book with you until you’ve dog-eared every chapter and made so many notes in the margins that you have trouble seeing the original words on the pages. There is treasure here. Enjoy digging!

At age 15, Nicole fled alone from Communist Hungary to the United States. Speaking no English, she lived as "homeless" person in New York City for over a year. Through her undying vision and intuitive negotiating skills she received a scholarship to the University of Chicago, earning a BS in Psychology, and later a MA in Industrial Psychology from NYU. Before the age of 30, she became the first woman senior vice-president of Sales and Marketing at Citicorp in New York City. Ms. Schapiro has received many awards, such as the City of San Francisco's Immigrant of the Year Award, Toastmasters International Leadership Award, San Francisco Small Business Administration's Woman Business Advocate of the Year 1999, and was honored in 2000 as a 21st Century Dynamic Woman by the American Business Women's Association. She has been a guest on national radio and TV shows such as Oprah, CNN and BBC to name a few. Ms. Schapiro’s inspirational life story combined with over 30 years of practical experiences in the trenches informs, inspires and ignites individuals. They become motivated for greater changeability and higher productivity towards creating organizational and personal cutting-edge futures. Ms. Schapiro’s ability to understand, motivate and communicate with people at all levels worldwide, in any diverse culture is "magical."