McCombs Alumni Network News

Alison Heiser joked in her closing keynote address at the Women in Business Leadership Conference that she has done everything that she was not supposed to do in her career. She left jobs before having new ones, negotiated severance packages when quitting, and even eliminated her own role at one company.

She has discovered that there are no strict career rules. However the key is motivation. Many have the skill, but lack the desire. “If you do something you like and are good at, you will show up every day and give it your best. You are a more complete person. Take your life. It is yours,” Heiser says.

However, Heiser encouraged the audience to seek balance. “When you love your job and your relationships are good, there is a danger of trying to do it all.” Decide what balance means to you and do not be vulnerable to the definition of others. Heiser offers the following guidelines:

• Be intentional about balance—and tell people.
• Be willing to change your mind.
• Ask for what you need.
• Don’t ask permission to balance.
• Don’t worry about the rules.

Heiser has held top marketing positions at Kimberly-Clark, Banta Corporation and Groupe Michelin and is currently principal of Alison Heiser Associates, which offers strategic marketing services. She predicts that positive change for work-life balance is on the horizon and the upcoming generation will help change corporations.