It wasn’t long ago that the Queen of England read the inaugural edition of a very unique, limited edition magazine. In fact, the magazine was the only copy of its kind and was penned by a a determined, confident, and limitlessly creative eleven-year-old British girl and her friend who filled the pages with their sketches and ideas. The Queen enjoyed it so much that she wrote the ‘editors’ back, sharing her anticipation of receiving the follow-up edition.
Seemingly destined for a successful career as an editor, Joanna Coles, now Chief Content Officer at Hearst Magazines, was one of those eleven-year-olds. As you can image, with a career path that has allowed her to spend time as a Mentor on Project Runway, a board member of both Snap Inc. and NYC Women Entrepreneurs, and now the author of Love Rules, not only has she accomplished a lot, but she has learned a lot as well.
We were lucky enough to host Joanna for a discussion with Shannon Brayton, LinkedIn’s CMO, that inspired through the lessons that she’s learned throughout her very storied career - and life.
A few of our favorites highlights from the talk:
As an editor, she learned to never take no for an answer. Determination, persistence, and hunger are some of the key characteristics that have helped Joanna to become so accomplished. Joanna gives literal meaning to the phrase, “you won’t get what you don’t chase,” best encapsulated in a story that she tells of once chasing the limo of her interviewer at Marie Claire.
As a board member, she’s learned to truly value peer-to-peer communication. In seeing first-hand that the way society is communicating is rapidly changing, she reminds us to be mindful to practice direct and engaged dialogue. The little things, like eye-to-eye contact without distraction, are the skills that will foster your relationships, professional or personal.
As an author, she’s learned the importance of being mindfully present. With social media, technology, and more distractions than we’ve ever been exposed to, Joanna urges us to invest in quality relationships. Encapsulated best in one of her closing quotes....
“The single thing that will guarantee you a longer and healthier life is the quality of who you love and who loves you back, and you need to be an active participant in that.”
With many years of experience in many prominent roles that span multiple industries, Joanna has a plethora of valuable perspectives that we can all take to heart. The New York Times called her “one of the most powerful people in media,” and she definitely showed us why.
Watch the full LinkedIn Speaker Series video, or listen to the podcast.