Pamela Thomas-Graham

"I was brought up to challenge myself, to try to be successful on my own terms. I was brought up to be focused. So I see myself as more fully engaged than ever before"

"I do not use brute force in my management style. I use my strategic abilities. I work hard to create a team environment. It’s extremely important for a leader to empower others in driving the success of the organization. I emphasize how essential it is to be nimble and always resourceful."

"My mother always emphasized that we should be able to hold a conversation on any topic for at least five minutes. This reinforced the value of knowledge and intellectual curiosity in us"

"Don't get discouraged, and don't let other people define your potential. In high school, when I told my guidance counselor that I wanted to apply to Harvard, she said that was an unrealistic expectation. My parents and others encouraged me to apply anyway, and I became the first person from my high school to ever attend Harvard. So hold onto your dreams, even when others try to diminish them. And think big"

"A very people-intensive profession. You spend a lot of time rolling up your sleeves to help other people solve a problem. I find that very satisfying, both intellectually and emotionally." It's also rewarding"

"when you can take things you learn in a business environment and apply them in a pro-bono context"

"Our efforts involve reaching out to people,", "making sure that they know who we are, and that we're interested in them"

"One of the things you have to trade off is how much time you're going to have for personal thing"

"“Don’t let other people’s diminished expectations for you be the truth about your life,”"

"“There’s no question that there are barriers, people who are going to try to make us feel badly about our prospects, people who are going to say it’s not a glass ceiling, it’s a concrete ceiling and you’re never going to overcome it, you’re never going to get there,”"

"“Should you even consider taking risks in an environment where the economy might be slowing down? Throughout my career, I’ve found it very important to have a mindset that says I have to keep taking chances, because that’s how you learn, that’s how you develop and that’s how you grow,”"

"“Even though the economy is more challenging, it’s still going to reward people who are creative and innovative and have vision.”"

"“I thought that it was really important, after having done the same thing for ten years, to take a risk and put myself in a situation that was going to be important for the future. Understanding how Internet companies work and what it takes to manage them and what it takes to make them profitable is going to be a critical skill for managers going forward … While it can be frustrating and difficult, it’s a wonderful thing to shake up your career and try something different,”"

"“Wherever you are in your career, you have to become an expert at something pretty quickly. Being a generalist and being a smart person is not going to get you where you need to go,”"

"“It’s very important to have a mentor who can help you understand the unwritten rules of the company. Try to find three or four people who can look out for you in different ways.”"

"“Think about hiring people who push you. It’s important that you create an environment among people that says we’re all trying to be better, we can all learn from each other, we can all inspire each other""

"“Think about the other side of your brain, the side that’s not about business, the side that is more creative … Through my characters, I can explore issues about women, race, ethnicity and all kinds of interesting things in a completely different way. But also, [writing] is fun.”"

"“The secret to success is being nimble, and light on your feet,”"

"“Most of my pivots come through conversations,” she said. “Maybe it is because they are giving voice to something I have already been thinking about.”"

"“Everyone who has achieved something, there have been times when they did not know if they could do it, and there were definitely times when people told them they could not do it,”"

"“It is really important to have people around you, family, friends, or someone in your life, who can back you up against the naysayers.”"

"“You have so much more agency than you realise. There will always be people saying you can’t do this, you are too old or too young, but you have a lot of power if you choose to own it.”"

"Consulting is an excellent way to learn management and strategy skills,"