1. What gets you out of bed each day? My work and my family. I love teaching and writing and spending time with my husband.

2 .How did you become interested in your profession? What do you enjoy most about your job? I have always been curious about social phenomena and just kept finding myself taking more courses and deciding to get a PHD. What I enjoy most about my job is teaching and writing and doing it in a way that helps women in business do better for themselves. Negotiating what you are worth and negotiating the conditions for your own success are topics that I have written about and that help women position themselves to succeed at work. I love what I do.

3. What were/are some of the obstacles you have encountered (overcome)? As a woman academic in business, to study women sometimes puts you at the margin of your field. But what I have tried to do is show that what is good for women is good for business--that when you understand some of the challenges that women face, you can help them (and men too) become better negotiators and mange their transitions into leadership.

4. What were/are some of the obstacles you have encountered? Both in business and in my private life I follow the same set of rules. They are instinctive, intuitive. In times of turmoil, crisis, urgency I act fast and focused. You never know if they will work and quite frankly, I don’t care. I don’t even ask the question. I just act and look for a solution. Other things around me lose their importance. A formidable energy carries me forward and allows me to achieve incredible things. Several times in my life I had to go through times of such turmoil making it necessary to mobilize this “energy kick”. Sometimes for shorter periods, sometimes for quite some time. Every time, so far at least, I made to the end.

5. What inspired you to become a writer? From where do you draw inspiration? I don't know that I would say that my primary profession is writing. I am a professor at the Simmons School of management and writing is an integral part of the academic profession. But I know clearly where I get my inspiration, it is from the stories of women--my MBA students and the executives I consult to and teach. Their challenges and finding ways to help them work them through is what I truly enjoy about my work and what gives me inspiration.

6. Do/did you ever have a mentor? If so, describe your relationship. I have a fabulous mentor--at first she was a professor of mine and then on my disseration committee and then we collaborated on many projects. I learn from her both intellectually and polictically in navigating various aspects of my career.

7. What significant partnerships have played a role in your success? At the Center for Gender in Organizations at the Simmons School of Management, we brought together about 8 women who worked on various projects having to do with gender relations in business and non profit organizations. We learned together about various ways to think about gender and organizational effectiveness. These collegial relations have been critical to my thinking.

8. In your book – “Her Place at the Table” you say, "Buy-In -- you can't lead if no one wants to follow, but bringing a team on board can be problematic." Can you tell us what you mean? Sure. I don't think people anticipate the kinds of resistance they might encounter in taking on a new leadership role. When you think about it, you can do things that help bring people on boarso they don't block you and your agenda. There are several things people can do--engage people from a stance of curiosity and a belief that people resist for their own good strategic reasons. If you understand some of their issues, you can try to find ways to solve some problems--to go for some small wins that show you are in their corner. There are many other, what we call strategic moves, that people can use to make buy in more likely, but they will have to read the book for that.

9. How can women support women seeking leadership roles (in business, the community, etc)? I think the most important thing women can do is consult each other. Often we have a very limited focus--talking through the situation can help an individual women appreciate the situation more fully. The other way women can help is to do what we call seed support--talk about the good things a new leader is doing in the early months of her tenure. Again we talk about this at length in the book.

10. If you could only offer one piece of advice to our readers, what would that be? Recognize that the choices you have are never yes or no, but always 'yes, and. You can always negotiate the conditions for your own success.

For more information on Deborah M. Kolb and her new book, visit www.negotiatingwomen.com.

© 2006 - Heidi Richards is the author of The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business and 8 other books. She is also the Founder & CEO of the Women’s ECommerce Association, International www.WECAI.org (pronounced wee-kī) – an Internet organization that “Helps Women Do Business on the WEB.” She can be reached at www.HeidiRichards.com.