Uncorking A Story

Early in her career, Karen Mangia followed a very conventional formula for success—say yes to everything, deliver with excellence, and never let them see you sweat. It worked wonderfully for a while, until it didn’t. At the age of 33, Karen faced an undiagnosed illness—she didn't know what to call it, and neither did a team of five doctors. This forced Karen to reimagine what success means, and at that time success meant getting healthy. When things were asked of her, Karen would pause and ask herself, will this help me achieve my goal? She realized that she could no longer say yes to everything and this her filter changed her life. Eventually Karen was properly diagnosed, and while her health returned she didn’t abandon her newfound philosophy—instead, she continued to be more selective about the projects she took on and learned how to work through others and lead others more effectively to get work done. Her story was so powerful that she was encouraged to speak about it publicly and that led to someone e