Your Dose of Mana – Page 5 – Mana Advisory Group

Plant the seed

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Amy

Hi Reader, Welcome to Your Dose of Mana — a quick, weekly note with: 1 real story 1 leadership insight 1 practical takeaway 1 dose of art Plant the seed 1 Real StorySomeone recently wrote in a post, “your Target Company List isn’t a prison.” I laughed to my self and replied to the post with something like, “A prison’s kinda dark. I like to think of it as a seed — you plant it, let it take root, and before long it’s branching out, sprouting connections, ideas, and opportunities. It just takes… […]

A Doodle a Day

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Amy

Hi Reader, Welcome to Your Dose of Mana — a quick, weekly note with: 1 real story 1 leadership insight 1 practical takeaway 1 dose of art (NEW!) It All Started with a Doodle (sort of) 1 Real StoryMeet Gary, one of my besties from business school. He’s one of those rare combinations—smart, sharp, maddeningly disciplined, and most importantly, a genuinely good soul. He’s got a razor-sharp wit to go with his GQ looks, though we still debate the correct hair length (I’m right, natch). A marketing… […]

It’s about focus

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Amy

Hi Reader, Welcome to Your Dose of Mana — a quick, weekly note with: 1 real story 1 leadership insight 1 practical takeaway It’s About Learning to Focus“If you turn your brain off, you’ve got bigger problems!” 1 Real StoryThat’s what I used to tell people when I opened my meditation studio and they’d say, “Oh, I can’t meditate. I can’t turn my brain off.” It was late 2016. I had just wrapped the sale of Caerus Associates, and I wanted to bring meditation mainstream — a drop-in studio that… […]

Oops, I did it again!

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Amy

Hi Reader, Welcome to Your Dose of Mana — a quick, weekly note with: 1 real story 1 leadership insight 1 practical takeaway A Double Dose of Mana 1 Real StoryLast week, you likely noticed you got a double Dose of Mana.You weren’t imagining things — you did. Ugh. The first one was intentional.The second — a very personal update — was designed to go out two weeks later. But… technology is great, until it’s not (another Amyism) The reason why is not important. The kicker (or for me, the killer):… […]

Unpacking baggage

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Amy

Hi Reader, Welcome to Your Dose of Mana — a quick, weekly note with: 1 real story 1 leadership insight 1 practical takeaway Exploring love, leadership, & unpacking issues along the way. 1 Real StoryIn May, I surprised a few people with my LinkedIn newsletter, Mana Matters, when I wrote about being in a relationship after 15 years on my own. That story sparked a lot of reflection — so this is the update since I don’t think many of you are getting that other one, about a few things I’ve learned… […]

Why I dance

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Amy

Hi Reader, Welcome to Your Dose of Mana — a quick, weekly note with: 1 real story 1 leadership insight 1 practical takeaway This is why I dance 1 Real StoryI started dancing when I lived in New Zealand — after my partner left me. At first, it was just something to get me out of the house. Something social. Something that didn’t require me to lead. Because at that point in my life, I led everywhere else.At work, I was turning around a struggling organization of over a hundred people.At home, I… […]

Not until 2 cups of coffee!

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Amy

Hi Reader, Welcome to Your Dose of Mana — a quick, weekly note with: 1 real story 1 leadership insight 1 practical takeaway 2 Cups of Coffee 1 Real StoryWhen I worked at Caerus Associates, a small gov con mostly doing work for DARPA, my closest collaborator was Erin, our CEO. The rule with Erin was simple: don’t talk to her until she’d had two cups of coffee—or until she approached me first. Sometimes that meant 8:30, sometimes maybe 11. And you know what? It worked. We were a great pair. She… […]

I created a word!

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Amy

Hi Reader, Welcome to Your Dose of Mana — a quick, weekly note with: 1 real story 1 leadership insight 1 practical takeaway Know When to Fail 1 Real StoryOne of my “Amyisms” is: words matter. Last week, I was in the car, chatting with a friend, well, venting (a little exasperated) about someone’s quirks. I was rapidly ranting on…when out it came: She’s just persnicular! We both stopped, laughed, and said, “Yes! That’s exactly it.” Not just persnickety. Not just particular. But a mashup…. […]

5:11 am Wake Up

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Amy

Hi Reader, Welcome to Your Dose of Mana — a quick, weekly note with: 1 real story 1 leadership insight 1 practical takeaway Know When to Fail 1 Real StoryWhen I was a freshman at Ithaca College, women’s Crew had just been elevated from a club to a varsity sport. As I recall, about a 100 women showed up to the first meeting that fall, though many dropped out along the way as they realized just how grueling rowing really is. I didn’t drop. Four years, year-round, morning practices, sometimes… […]

Where were you?

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Amy

Hi Reader, Welcome to Your Dose of Mana — a quick, weekly note with: 1 real story 1 leadership insight 1 practical takeaway Know When to Fail 1 Real StoryOn September 11, 2001, I was in Venice, California. In the gym, on the StairMaster. I was watching the TV hanging in the corner with no sound. I couldn’t reconcile what I was seeing. It was unreal, Was it a movie? No it was the news with a lower third, chyron. WTF was going on?! When I finally got the audio, the horror of what was happening… […]