Lucinda Douglas

Power Play! Inspired by succesfull people from all walks in life.

‘Power Play’ is the name of my chapter in my newest book called ‘The only 21 stories you will ever need to be successful in life & business’. 21 stories compiled by me.

No guts, no glory
Back in 2012 I became the commercial director of an international organisation. I had never been a director before, never had a single education in this direction but I had ten years of hands on experience as an account manager. I worked in transport and logistics and I loved it. So when I saw that one of my contacts in my smartphone had vanished, I decided to call the director and tell him that I would be there within 48 hours. No I didn’t tell him that I still had to drive 1.600 km because I was on holiday! No, I had a job to catch.

Commercial director
48 hours later I was in an all-male boardroom and I loved it! I loved every second of it. It was a true power play and an hour later I had a position that suited me. It fitted me. I assure you I lost all insecurity the moment I got that title. I remember saying to them: ‘I have one hour because I have to be somewhere else after this.’ I had nothing, my business was at a crossroads and I needed this job for my confidence and finance. But never, never would I allow anyone to notice that.

I won the game and four months later the royal owners flew in from London and asked whether I would perform my magic in England. You see, my presentation was perfect, my confidence was on par and I was focussed.

Keep it personal
People came to me with all kinds of stories. They needed someone to talk to and that was exactly the feeling I wanted to give people. That they were heard, seen, noticed and acknowledged. I knew one thing, the more space I gave them the bigger their responsibility became and their loyalty grew towards me as a person. And let’s be honest, people do business internally and externally with people who value and respect them and people who allow them to be themselves and allow them space to flourish.

Boosting my confidence
I think that when you do things you have always done, it kills your confidence but the moment you start doing things you have never done you grow and flourish. I allowed myself to get to know myself in this position and took everything from there. The moment I stopped this job, I immediately wrote my first management book called ‘Sales Is Sexy’. Amazing what confidence, guts and audacity can do with a person.

I absolutely advise you to read ‘The only 21 stories you will ever need to be successful in life & business’. The book is filled with very different stories from successful people from all walks of life and it will inspire you too.