ABBA Was Right: Why You Should Take A Chance on Someone and How Lauren B. Took A Chance On Me

(Image courtesy of the ABBA The Museum)

In 1978, Swedish Pop group ABBA released Take a Chance on Me. I view the song as the inner musing of someone wanting to grow as a professional. Think about it, the first stanza of the song goes as follows, " If you change your mind, I'm the first in line, Honey I'm still free, Take a chance on me, If you need me, let me know, gonna be around If you've got no place to go if you're feeling down." It perfectly captures the way people feel when cold calling or emailing a person.

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This might come as a shock to you, but I was never the biggest fan of writing. I prefer to talk on the phone. I like hearing a person's voice as the words on the page or screen lack tone, emotion, or intent. For example, the infamous "k." text means okay but can also denote anger or annoyance. As a result, reaching out to someone you do not know over text or email requires a person to balance their words and grammar. This tightrope of cold calling and emailing balances degrees of professionalism and personality. But, how do you know if you succeeded? Sure, you didn't fall off the rope, but completing the task doesn't equate success.

(Image courtesy of Shutterstock. Image depicts the silhouette of young man balancing on slackline high above clouds and mountains, sun, beautiful colorful sky and clouds behind. Slackliner balancing on tightrope between two rocks, highline silhouette)

The return message is the KPI (Key Performance Indicator) of cold calling or emailing. Lauren B. was one of the first people to return my cold email. On a Friday night in May 2021, Lauren, head of communications and global events at a major fashion company, took time out of her busy schedule to talk to me. Lauren and I clicked. Her encouragement and sagacity make her a fantastic mentor. I am lucky to have her as a sounding board. She is the inspiration for the continuation of this blog. As the blog grew, I knew that I wanted to write a profile about her. The person who saw the sparkle in a diamond in the ruff. I asked her a few questions about professional and personal development; here are her answers.

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1. How can a person find fulfillment in their professional life?

I find it to be the combination of doing a job that you are good at while enjoying what you are doing. This enjoyment should give you excitement and energy. For me, the concept of fulfillment keeps evolving as you grow in your professional and personal life.

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2. What advice would you give to students and young professionals who want to enter the fashion marketing realm?

When someone wants to get into marketing, I would say begin your career in public relations. A person needs to understand the fundamentals of public relations before entering more specialized sub-realms like brand marketing. Two subfields feed into the current marketing social media and event planning. Consequently, a person who has a range of skills in these subfields can make headway in the realm.

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3. What are ways one can discover or develop a passion of theirs?

A person should follow the wise words of Dory from Finding Nemo: Just Keep Swimming. In life, moving and growing from challenges allows you to understand yourself and the world around you. The Van Andel Institute for Education, 2019, agrees with Lauren's ideology when it says, "the first step to solving any problem is to persevere. Dory didn't always have an answer for the tasks she faced, but she didn't let that stop her from trying. She chose to face her problems and work through them one step at a time. Perseverance may not be a solution, but it will change our outlook.

(Image courtesy of https://vaei.vai.org/2019/08/06/just-keep-swimming/ . Image depicts Pixar's 2003 Finding Nemo starting Albert Brooks (Marlin) and Ellen DeGeneres (Dory) in the ocean with Andrew Stanton (crush).