Janice Bryant Howroyd is a 62 year-old African-American woman who is the CEO and founder of the Act-1 Group. The company engages in talent and resource management solutions, and it also is the largest minority woman-owned employment agency in the States.
Recently, this wonder woman was interviewed about her success and the do’s and don’ts of being as successful as she is. After doing 40 years of successful business, she said,
“I never imagined this. I always imagined success though. You see the evolution in technology, you see the transparency that the world offers, but the fundamental things that we built the business from have stayed the same, and I really think that’s more the secret to the success.”
Being brought up in the difficult times of segregation, she commented about it by saying,
“I’d love to sit here and sound pretty about it, and I’m not pulling out the violin strings for folks to cry about how I grew up.” She went on to say that, “The reality of it though, is that it was harsh, it was ugly, and it should never have been that way. My mother used to always tell us, ‘In order to be outstanding, sometimes you’re just gonna have to stand out,’ so I grew from that root of really working forward, not being held back.”
Finally, Howroyd gave the best piece of advice to struggling professionals by saying,
“Never give up on who you are personally to become who you wish to be professionally.”
Image: Via Flickr/GotCredit
