"Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it." - Steve Jobs | lesa meira

A little while ago, one of my colleagues commented favorably on how many people I know and the fact that I'm always making introductions. She asked me how I did it. I didn't realize that I had really created a system of keeping in touch with people whom I felt would be influential for my career or business. | lesa meira

Part of being a proactive business owner is identifying your business goals and figuring out how to meet those goals using the tools available to you. One of the most available tools today is the Internet. The Internet can help you address all manner of business challenges from customer service issues to waning sales. | lesa meira

What gets your attention faster - a faucet with a slow leak or a busted pipe causing a flood? The flood, of course. Does that make the slow leak any less of a threat? No. I'm willing to gamble that right now, you have a slow leak in your business. And, odds are, you won't address it until you have a flood. What you need to understand is: slow leaks cost more over time. A cost most business professionals can't afford to absorb.   | lesa meira

When branding yourself, your business,  you want to make sure you are giving out a great impression from the very first second they land on your page.  The appearance of your profile and its given information is an opportunity to make the impression that will give you the business lead you are seeking for. | lesa meira

The world‘s top-performing organizations understand that employee engagement is a force that drives business outcomes. Research shows that engaged employees are more productive employees. They are more profitable, more customer-focused, safer, and more likely to withstand temptations to leave the organization. In the best organizations, employee engagement transcends a human resources initiative,it is the way they do business. | lesa meira

I recently spoke at a conference hosted by the Women's Leadership Exchange. During my presentation, by using personal experiences, I single-handedly debunked the myth that real business is not done by using social media and social networks like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. | lesa meira

I recently had an email exchange with a colleague about how similar romantic relationships are to the relationships we have with clients and then (of course) I began to draw parallels to social media engagement. | lesa meira

Through research of several hundred ATHENA Award recipients leadership practices and perspectives, ATHENA identified eight tenets that lie at the heart of the way women lead. | lesa meira

A big part of being a leader in your community or your industry, is to advocate. We need to break out of our office walls and realize it's a big world out there. No matter how "small" we might be as a small business or as one individual person, we are greatly impacted by laws that are passed. We all must be a part of those discussions and decisions and learn to advocate -- for your business and for women business owners. | lesa meira