When you fail, remember that you are merely one step closer to success. The setbacks you face make you smarter and more resilient, equipping you with valuable knowledge that prepares you for victory.

As I explored success and failure stories across various disciplines — business, politics, academia, science, and technology — I was struck by a paragraph from Forbes. “There was a man who failed in business at age 21; was defeated in a legislative race at age 22; failed again in business at 24; overcame the death of his fiancée at 26; had a nervous breakdown at 27; lost a congressional race at 34; lost a senatorial race at age 45; failed to become Vice President at age 47; lost a senatorial race at 49; and was elected as the President of the United States at the age of 52. This man was Abraham Lincoln. He refused to let his failures define him and fought against significant odds to achieve greatness” (Forbes, Five Ways to make peace with failure). Further analysis of President Lincoln’s efforts revealed that many doubted his skills and determination. Yet, he proved them all wrong.

Analyze, Learn, and Take Action

When facing failure, approach it as market feedback, avoiding blame, negative self-talk, and regret. Focus on learning from unsuccessful decisions whether operational, interpersonal, or unassessed market conditions. In my case, reflecting on failures over the last 20 years, they were often people mistakes. I trusted individuals who were unethical, ego-driven, and ruthless. Hence, I now prioritize starting with people, ensuring those I chose to have in my life are ethical, energetic, partnership-focused, and complement my skill set. Learn to say no to anything less, as the few people you surround yourself with shape your average. Don’t be swayed by the surface; instead, consider if a person enhances your life and professional success.

Lesson from Adam Altman (ChatGPT CEO)

I read and listened carefully to articles and videos from the ultra-successful AI CEO Adam Altman. His relentless commitment to himself and his team stood out. He frequently reflected on the likelihood of failure but also acknowledged the potential for being really right would happen only once or twice. Early in his career, Altman understood that as an ambitious person, you must “give yourself a lot of chances to get lucky.” (Sam Altman, how to be successful).

Actionable Thought: Shape Your Future, Don’t Dwell on the Past

Obsessing over failure will not turn it into success. Instead, it intensifies the pain and traps you in an emotional prison with only negative options and outcomes. Rather than dwelling on the past, focus on shaping your future. Taking positive steps toward a greater future quickly eliminates the negative thoughts that hold you back.

One of the most powerful lessons is realizing you can figure out what to do in any situation, even seemingly impossible ones. The more times you do this, the more you will believe it. However, optimism is crucial. Self-belief is the most powerful trait for achieving compound success. Successful pessimists are a rare breed.

L’innovazione e la flessibilità consentiranno alle imprese di trasformarsi e diventare più competitive

Ora che ci siamo ripresi dalla pandemia COVID-19, crescono le preoccupazioni su come i conflitti geopolitici in Ucraina e nel Medio Oriente potrebbero influenzare la crescita e la sopravvivenza delle imprese. Partiamo da due premesse: come prima cosa è importante riconoscere che le crisi, che siano di natura geopolitica, finanziaria o ambientale, sono spesso sottovalutate dagli imprenditori; inoltre, le azioni e le decisioni prese durante e prima di una crisi possono determinare il successo o il fallimento di un’azienda.

Indubbiamente, questi sono tempi difficili per gli imprenditori e per le startup in tutti i settori. Si prevede, infatti, che il costo del capitale rimarrà elevato; la volatilità dei mercati dipenderà anche dai conflitti in corso e le tensioni tra Cina e Occidente continueranno ad influenzare le forniture e le attività d’impresa su scala globale.

Si può trasformare una crisi in un’opportunità? Gli imprenditori più determinati sapranno senz’altro farlo, sfruttando la crisi a loro vantaggio. Si metteranno in discussione e cercheranno di rivedere tutto, dal modello di business all’erogazione dei servizi al personale. Sebbene le ristrutturazioni aziendali non siano facili, durante una crisi l’imprenditore deve identificare il personale indispensabile e cercare di automatizzare attività di produzione al fine di ridurre i costi operativi. Un esempio è stata l’adozione da parte di molti ristoranti di codici QR e di app a sostituzione dei menu tradizionali, che hanno agevolato l’esperienza dell’utente, aumentando i profitti e riducendo il costo del personale.

Ed è fondamentale capire al volo i cambiamenti che una crisi genera inevitabilmente. Perché se si fa questo, si dimostra di stare al passo con i tempi e con le richieste della propria clientele. Ad esempio, uno dei cambiamenti principali dovuti alla pandemia è stata la digitalizzazione dei servizi offerti da molte imprese che hanno saputo adattarsi al “lockdown” offrendo prodotti personalizzati alle esigenze delle persone bloccate a casa. Così facendo le aziende hanno ridotto i costi operativi e hanno reso più snello il loro business model.

Durante l’attuale crisi globale molte imprese stanno promuovendo servizi tech nei settori alimentari, sportivi e di intrattenimento. A conferma di questa tendenza, secondo l’Economist, nel 2022, i paesi occidentali hanno speso almeno 600 miliardi di dollari in meno rispetto al pre-pandemia nei consumi tradizionali, poiché i consumatori fanno sempre più affidamento a servizi tecnologici per tutto ciò che concerne l’intrattenimento, il fai da te, lo sport e l’enogastronomia.

Ma quando la propria impresa non è in grado di dare profitti è importante anche saperlo accettare, saper riconoscere la sconfitta e non accanirsi. Un ostacolo molto comune è infatti rappresentato da quella che in inglese si chiama “the sunk cost fallacy”, ovvero la tendenza a non voler abbandonare un’iniziativa perché si è investito troppo tempo e troppe risorse. Ciò conduce spesso a prolungare la “vita” di un progetto nonostante i costi dello stesso superino di gran misura i benefici. Questo non fa bene né all’imprenditore, né alla propria “creatura”.

Lasciatemi quindi fare alcune considerazioni finali. Nonostante la parola “crisi” evochi sempre qualcosa di negativo, l’imprenditore dovrebbe focalizzarsi sul significato intrinseco della parola, ovvero “momento cruciale“. Ogni crisi rappresenta la rottura con il passato e con pratiche potenzialmente obsolete che lasciano spazio all’innovazione e la crescita. Dobbiamo inoltre ricordarci che le avversità rappresentano un grande motore per la creatività. Basta lavorare con disciplina e rimanere focalizzati sulla risoluzione del problema per uscire dalla crisi più forti di prima.

As we enter a more complex phase of the economic, geopolitics and climate crises, the Group of Industrialized countries G20 prepares to host its annual in person summit in November 2022 under the leadership of Indonesia President. The G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. These countries account for 80% of global economic output, 75% of exports and 60% of the world population.

While the Presidents and Prime Ministers of these countries have been meeting annually since 1999, except for the 2008 financial crises, the G20 has become a little more than a photo opportunity. Last year G20, the first in person meeting since Covid started, hosted by the Italian Prime Minister, did not move the needle of international cooperation.

This time is different
Under the Indonesian Presidency, the G20 will meet in Bali, after the Egypt Climate Summit COP27, to promote the Indonesia selected theme, ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’. The Indonesia President wants this summit to be actionable and to accelerate the global economic recovery while investing in a more health resilience marketplace. The G20 will also stick to its agenda of accelerating global decarbonization efforts as envisioned by the 2015 Paris Climate Accords. It will also push for a stable correction of supply chain imbalances ensuring that all leaders are at the table regardless of their geopolitical differences. Will these efforts succeed?

Will Self-interest prevail?
I continue to argue that the crises experienced since 2020 should not be wasted as the markets and consumers are ready for bolder actions to address these challenges. The current markets have changed dramatically to justify a return to pre-covid business as usual. Economies are in decline; Europe is threatened by war and natural disasters inflation is starting to bite. All of this is eroding families purchasing power and bringing millions of people back to poverty.

The G20 should demonstrate it is a relevant organization that has both policy and business power to effectively mitigate the crises impacts and promote economic policy coordination and adjustment. I expect the European Union, supported by Indonesia, the US and Canada will play a strong hand in the G20 negotiations to correct the energy inflation caused by the Kremlin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. This is also a time for China to showcase its international business credentials and commitment to cooperative and resilient economic growth.

Quidding is often associated with giving up. Wrong! Quitting is also a courageous decision of self-disciplined people with resolve and ambition. The type of quitting I am interested to discuss is the one that relates to our career choices that led to self-affirmation, happiness, and success. Millions of people are stuck in their jobs, and they don’t see future growth, both financially and personally. Many of these people face the daily challenge of neither being able to contribute to their business growth, nor to their personal learning. The challenge goes further, as many are unable to define why they do what they do and cannot measure progress towards success. My advice to all is, when these difficulties become the norm, and you don’t see where you are headed, it is time to quit. It is time to change as it will be irresponsible to stay. If you stay it would ultimately lead to personal misery, and for misery of the people you love the most and plus it will lead to mediocrity.

You Are the Most Valuable Asset

Quitting becomes easier when we experience an epiphany. Moments in which we find our voice, and we find what motivates us and stop putting up with unhappiness. If we let this inner voice guide us, we will increase our self-esteem and motivation. Ultimately this is the path to build your own dream and invest in yourself for the rest of your life. When you invest in yourself you start appreciating that you are the most valuable asset, and that you are building expertise that nobody can take away from you. The more you invest in yourself the higher value you acquire, and as the billionaire investor Warren Buffett says, “the more you learn the more you earn”. He also reminds us that, “nobody can tax your education and expertise” and expertise appreciation does not get eroded by inflation.

The Day I Decided to Quit

I left a high paid job at an International Financial Institution in Washington DC, where I reached a level of seniority and compensation that I never thought possible. I advised 20 Ministers of Finance, I became the Confidante of Heads of States and Sovereign Wealth Funds and powerful Royal family members in Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Qatar. However, to fit in this job profile I had to give up joy. I could no longer justify why I kept doing what I was doing. And even worse, I did not have a clue how to measure my work impact or contribution to societal improvement. That was the turning point for me. I decided to build an exit plan, started networking like crazy, and quit six months after. When I did, many people around me told me that I was crazy and irresponsible. Once I quit, I proved to the world and to myself that I could do it, and I quickly regained the self-esteem needed to get back on my feet, reskill and build the path to success and happiness.

Final Thought: You shouldn’t quit your work because it is hard. There are lots of difficult tasks we perform daily that are instrumental to become happy and successful. What you need to do is explore as much as possible to find these activities that you’re passionate about, and when you find them, stick with them even when they are painful. You shouldn’t spend your time on things that aren’t worth pursuing as this prevents you from being able to spend time on things you love.

The key obstacle to overcome when quitting is the “sunk cost fallacy”. The sunk cost fallacy occurs when we feel that we have invested too much to quit. This mental trap causes us to stick with an awful plan even if it no longer serves us and the costs clearly outweigh the benefits. As Angela Duckworth says in her great book Grit “let’s not get hung up on the idea that if you stick to anything, you’ll succeed. You must stick to the right things”.

Everybody needs a good quitting coach.” And I was like, “Oh, what do you mean by that?” And he said, “They need someone who will tell them the hard things that they need to hear when they can’t see it for themselves, because we can never see these things for ourselves.”

There are a lot of political posturing and acronyms around sustainability. This makes it confusing and unattractive. The simplest way to understand and profit from sustainability is to think of it as a way to conserve resources, save money and become aware of where to invest your savings and time to ensure you can profit from it.

At the core of capitalism is money making, and as companies try maximizing their revenues and profits, they are quickly jumping into the decarbonization, sustainability and Net-zero business future as this is emerging as one of the biggest business opportunities of our generation. In the next 10 years, sustainability considerations will have a much greater impact on how companies do business than even the Internet has had.

The green transition will affect companies’ competitiveness, relevance, and market positioning. Reducing the carbon intensity of our economies and building resiliency saves money and prevents damage and losses caused by disaster events. Those that invest in sustainability and clean tech now are going to be able to join the “first mover coalition” that is building the new industrial, digitally based economy of the future. Those that stay behind and lobby for the status quo are missing the point and missing the boat.

A few trend that you can learn and benefit form:

– In 2021 alone green tech companies attracted investment of over $1 trillion

– There are currently 43 private, $1b+ climate tech companies in the unicorn club. Of the 1,000 Unicorns today, the 43 in climate tech make up 4.3% of the overall group. Green unicorns are creating value for shareholders over 4 years (instead of 7 years in other sectors), reaching the billion-dollar valuation significantly faster.

– Decarbonizing our economies will be costly, but as in all investment, and disruptive changes capital and risk taking must be at the core of this transformation. Under the 1,5 C Net-Zero plans almost $30 trillion dollars will have to be invested by 2050. This corresponds to roughly 4 percent of annual GDP (in 2021 money). The cost of unmanaged and unpredictable climate change (based on business as usual) would be that the money invested to decarbonize our economies as climate events are projected to affect about 20 percent of global GDP by 2040.

– The growing demand for net-zero services and technologies is accelerating and could generate more than $12 trillion of annual sales by 2030 with key leading sectors including transport ($2.3 trillion to $2.7 trillion per year), power ($1.0 trillion to $1.5 trillion), and hydrogen ($650 billion to $850 billion).

-In early August 2022, the United States approved the largest ever green growth focused investment program toward fulfilling his goal to modernize the American economy and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The $ 500 billon program is a powerful move towards creating the new American industrial revolution.

Opportunity ahead:

More than 80% of climate new business fall into the three major categories of energy (35%), agribusiness (33%), and mobility (16%). In addition to these sectors, we believe that climate risk data and ESG focused companies are going to experience massive growth as investors and financial institutions try to gain access to climate risk data. Going forward most companies will also be required to disclose their sustainability and social footprint (which will become compulsory in 2022–2023 in the EU and in the US).

Final points: This is a good time for business and individuals to assess their internal sustainability score, and impacts, as this forces you to better allocate resources and efforts. In a post covid marketplace, and in a post-recession society, consumers will expect more from corporation in terms of social contract and sustainability promotion. Time for corporation to jump on the zero-waste economy and for individuals to jump on this rapidly expanding business opportunity.

Originally posted on https://andreazanon.org/.

I recently read a powerful life story by the author Mark Manson who wrote a book called “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck”. My main take away from this book was captured by this quote by Mark “the key to living a good life is not giving a fuck about more things, but rather, giving a fuck only about the things that align with your personal values”.

As I read Mark’s book, I came to think of one of the topics I often cover with the entrepreneurs I coach, which is ….pain is very much embedded in our lives, and we need to learn to put up with it. In order to put up with it, we need to accept that life is always going to suck a little bit. And we need to stop reacting to suffering, and instead embrace pain, define it and manage it. If we seek to avoid pain, we may end up experiencing higher levels of suffering.

While happiness is part of life, pain also plays an important role in our everyday existence. And I believe that “managed pain” can propel our growth and mastery. There is no such thing as an app or an algorithm for happiness, and we should accept that adversity is part of life. The less reactive we become about adversities, and the more we accept the limits of happiness, the more we can deal with the negative feelings of life. Happiness emerges when we fix what is broken and problem solve. However, we cannot expect permanent happiness.

Stress ahead of us

As we enter the 5th year of the global crisis, another financial meltdown looms at the horizon. This is potentially stressful and tragic unless we choose to prepare and adapt to these global phenomena. To adapt we need to change and be willing to give up part of our core beliefs and give up things that are dear to us. In so doing we can develop higher acceptance of pain to the point that we no longer give a damn about pain. That is how we reach mastery and we become unstoppable.

If you look at successful people across different industries, you will find that they had a higher tolerance of pain. They never let pain drag them down. Instead, they care about pain to accelerate their success and fortunes.

Hi, my friends. Today I want to talk about stress and how we can use it to our advantage. In fact, I say stress is fuel for growth. Let me explain myself. We all get screwed in life and these are the moments we grow the most.

People betrayed us, we were taken advantage of and people took things from us. The other day, one of the women entrepreneurs I advise told me, when I am in senior group meetings and raise my hand to talk, I am always the last one to be picked….probably because of my gender. Well, guess what? That happened to all of us. Shit happens to all of us. You have to convert these events and manipulate your brain to use it to your advantage. Step up, level up and don’t let any offense drag you done. What do you want to do about it, tell them to go to hell? I’ve actually learned from Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor, if you need to tell somebody to fuck off today, wait until tomorrow. Because by tomorrow, other priorities would have replaced that anger. So what I’m saying here is use the stress generated by people around us, by people that wrong us, to push you to the next level. There’s nothing better than revenge done by more success, more results, more impact.

Don’t get busy getting revenge. Get busy geting more success. That’s how you can prove all these bad people wrong. If they have failed you, if they have betrayed you, if they have disrespected you. Prove them all wrong! It does take a lot of mental strenght to do that, as you need to learn not to give a damn about pain. That is how you become unstoppable.

Be prepared to be wrong, and be prepared to shut everything off. And again, learn to use an offense to your advantage and to focus even more on what you can have absolute control, so that you can win bigger. More success is the best revenge ever. Again, stress is fuel for growth. Now go get it.

Sustainable business and ESG investment have become the norm since 2020. Large corporations are all now issuing sustainability reports and most global companies are integrating Net-Zero into their business models. In 2022 investment in ESG accelerated across all industries, and according to Bloomberg, sustainability assets under management (AUM) in 2023 reached $38 trillion. Bloomberg anticipates that ESG AUM will reach $50 trillion by 2025. This means that roughly every three dollars invested, one will be invested in sustainability. To further demonstrate the shifting investment trend, it is remarkable to check what Black Rock’s CEO Larry Fink said in 2021 in his investment letter to shareholders “There is no company whose business model won’t be profoundly affected by the transition to a net zero economy…companies not quickly preparing themselves will see their businesses and valuations suffer”. This essentially means that climate risk is becoming as valuable as investment risk and investors are acting accordingly.

Green Start-up Riding the Wave

There’s no part of the economy untouched by sustainable innovation and investment. This includes the proliferation of green or climate tech early-stage ventures. In recent years, some of the fastest growing companies are climate tech, including plant-based proteins, renewable energy, low-carbon steel, green concrete and coal, and electric batteries. Climate tech accounted for more than one quarter of all venture dollars invested in 2022, according to recent data analyzed by PwC. In terms of the highest valued billion-dollar companies, according to HolonIQ (an industry leader), as of January 2023, there are 83 Climate Tech Unicorns around the world for a total value of $180 billion. This is an impressive growth compared to 2022 when we had only 44 Climate Tech companies valued at 1 $ billion or more. Despite the market challenge and recent crisis, Green Unicorn will continue to scale and create value. They will likely continue to reach unicorn status much faster that the startup in other sectors as witnessed recently. Based on my analysis, green startups have taken an average of 4 years to reach Unicorn status (the billion-dollar valuation), as opposed to the 7 years for startup in more conventional sectors.

The Cost of Capital will Stay High

While there continues to be momentum around sustainability start up investment, higher interest rates could stall investment flows in riskier early-stage companies. As money have becomes more expensive throughout 2022 (with 7 interest rates raise in the US alone), early-stage projects may not be able to raise capital to fuel their growth as investors become more risk adverse and selective. There are in fact signs that investors are seeking opportunities with higher credit worthiness and more experienced executives. Early-stage disrupters will have to adjust to the new market constraints and must sacrifice higher valuation and give away more equity to attract investors with robust liquidity profiles.

Rising Carbon Prices

Investors and entrepreneurs should also take note of the raising carbon prices. Recent Net-Zero legislation and Global Climate Summits COP26 and COP27 (that respectively took place in the UK in 2021 and in Egypt in 2022) are securing carbon trading partnership and leading to higher carbon pricing. Furthermore, most countries have strong Net-Zero commitment by 2050. The European Union, which is ahead of the game, reached a deal in April 2021 to reduce greenhouse gases 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, and to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Carbon prices more than doubled since the approval of this legislation. Changes in the carbon market will affect every segment of the economy, increasing the price of everything from electricity to food and gasoline. Higher carbon prices will force companies to adopt cleaner technologies and decarbonize their operations. As carbon prices rise, and low-emissions technologies become more efficient and affordable, we will continue to see an increase investment in climate tech, and more companies will participate in the carbon market to trade their decarbonization efforts.

The US Inflation Reduction Act Impacts

The Biden Administration Inflation Reduction Act is the largest climate investment package ever approved by any country and it is changing climate tech investment forever. The nearly $370 billion climate and renewable energy package is streamlining carbon reduction across the board while accelerating climate investment globally. The bill aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by electrifying activities that are based carbon intensive fossil fuels and generating more electricity from renewable sources such as solar, wind and green hydrogen. This law is essentially sending a powerful message to the market and acting as a force multiplier of green investments across all segments of the economy.

The Cost of Climate Induced Disasters

Another element accelerating clean tech and sustainability investment, is the high cost of climate change. As disasters such as floods, forest fires or megadroughts became more frequent and intense, there is stronger evidence that climate events are linked to human carbon emission. Based on the data available from NOOA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration), the US may have been losing 1–2 % of GDP per year due to climate induced disasters over the last decade. This has acted as a catalyzer for climate mitigation and adaptation investments. Just to keep temperature increase at 1.5C compared to pre-industrial times (and thus limit the risk of catastrophic climate events), almost $30 trillion dollars needs to be invested by 2050 globally. This equals roughly 4 percent of annual GDP (in 2021 money). While the price tag for adapting and mitigation climate risk is high, the alternative is much higher. According to the Reinsurance Group Swiss-Re climate could cause $23 trillion in global GDP losses corresponding to 11 to 14 per cent off global economic output per year. With these massive losses, there are massive opportunities and financial markets, and entrepreneurs are going after this unprecedented market opportunity.

Conclusion

While ESG and clean tech investments are very promising, the market is still demanding more standardized ESG metrics and more regulation coordination to ensure high quality tools, harmonized carbon pricing, and effective resilience investment strategies. On the green start up front, we will continue to experience accelerated capital inflows toward these types of deals, even though doubts persist about the unproved economical profitability of green-tech startups. Rest assured though, we are in a strong market for sustainability investment and the regulators will continue to provide the market signals that will allow climate investment to thrive.

A handshake is the first step to build a lasting relation, and it is important to get it right. When we shake hand, we make physical and eye contact with our interlocutors, and we should learn why it matters so much as this is the first step towards building trust. Handshakes tend to be more natural for emotional intelligent people, as these folks have high self and social awareness, and they use it to their advantage. Learn from them, as they are very effective at reading the room, and finding the best time to reach out for a handshake.

Effective handshakes

An effective handshake starts with an engaging eye contact followed by a firm handshake and a smile. Firm and short but not too firm as that can make your interlocutor uncomfortable. When hand contact is made, a verbal expression should follow expressing pleasure for making the new acquaintance. Smiling throughout the entire process will makes the connection more meaningful. Don’t leave the room without saying goodbye to the new people you met and shake hands again if you can. And don’t stress out if you don’t remember the names of the people met.

Uncomfortable handshakes

The handshakes I hate are those that don’t happen. These are the ones, where people don’t reciprocate and they often happen in crowded gathering, where it is easier to get away with rudeness. Guess what, that is ok. Own the failed handshake, stand tall, smile, and walk away politely. It takes strength and courage to accept rejection. Get used to it, as this is the quickest way to become invincible.

Be always the first to reach out for a handshake and do it decisively and make your engagement intentions clear. If not reciprocated, move on, and don’t waste a minute torturing yourself about this un-rewarding event. If you absolutely want to retaliate, do it with elegance and call the person out and saying something like “you don’t like handshakes ah?”

What about Covid and the mental damage?

Since the time of Covid with all the mental damage caused, handshakes have become more challenging. Many people avoid any kind physical contact to avoid health risk. While this may sound excessive, it should be respected and accepted. If handshake is not possible, seek a lighter, respectful, and less intrusive and natural physical contact which could be a simple tap in the shoulder. When physical contact is not recommendable, or not viable at all, use your emotional intelligence to connect. Listen carefully to the person you are engaging and show interest and enthusiasm without interrupting. Silence is a powerful weapon you can use to your advantage.

And don’t forget that “the loudest person in the room is the weakest person the room” as stated by Jack Lucas in American Gangster, impersonated by Denzel Washington.abdr

A woman entrepreneur that I advised called me today and said, look, Andrea, my boss removes me from the emails I copied. He just removes me, takes me out. And I am kind of lost. What do I do? He does that out of feeling threatened and challenged. On top of that he is the biggest micro-manager ever.

Here came my response.

Don’t let somebody else’s weakness, insecurity, drag you down. Call these people out. And make it public.

Tell them out loud and let them know how you feel, and tell them, this is unacceptable. Address it publicly. This is bullshit, and you should not let it fly. It happens to all of us. When you do call them out? Do it as soon as it happens…just learn that’s okay to do it. It is actually not ok to let it go.

It is important to understand that sometimes we are excluded, and that is part of life. We dont get invited to a cocktail or a birthday party. And it hurts. Don’t feel bad about it, walk tall and be comfortable with exclusion and even with rejections.

On this however, be ruthless, and never let other people’s weaknesses or insecurity or whatever drag you down. Grow up and call people out when their insecurity is affecting your ability to operate and shine.

When you call them out, make it publicly even if you are a junior analyst. Step up and speak up.