Show Details

What if every day you woke up dying to get to work instead of dragging yourself out of bed? What if you figured out how to land one of those cool jobs you always read about other people having? What if work felt so much like play you couldn’t believe someone actually wanted to pay you good money to do it? Dr. Debra Condren is here to say: you can become that person. Change your mindset and get a fresh start—no retail therapy, plastic surgery, or golf swing adjustment needed. Instead, discover new options, switch on your mojo and hit your career sweet spot. Whether working for yourself or someone else, love what you do with a grand passion – and earn what you are worth. Tune in to AMBITION IS NOT A DIRTY WORD to learn how YOU are your greatest renewable resource and AMBITION is your best revenge.

 

 

Biography

AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word with Dr. Debra Condren

Debra Condren Ph.D. is a business psychologist, author, speaker, executive coach and career advisor on a mission to inspire people to make the contribution they were born to make—and teach them how to earn what they are worth doing meaningful, challenging work.

Dr. Debra Condren is the founder of Manhattan Business Coaching, a New York and San Francisco-based firm that advises CEOs, executives, and leaders how to laser in on and leverage “What You Need When You’re the Boss.”

She also founded the Women’s Business Alliance, an organization that has served as a motivational think tank for 3,500 women over seventeen years. The U.S. Small Business Administration recognized her work with a “Women In Business Advocate of the Year” award.

Dr. Condren interviewed 500 women for her national bestseller book, Ambition Is Not A Dirty Word: A Woman’s Guide To Earning Her Worth and Achieving Her Dreams (Random House/Broadway Books). Grab your complimentary MP3 or CD “Unleash Your Most Ambitious Dreams” plus receive free “Break It Down, Debra! Updates On Ambition + Life” at: AmbitionIsNotADirtyWord.com

Dr. Condren has coached over 5,000 clients—men and women—including: executives of start-ups, small-, mid-, and large-cap companies; professionals focused on performance and career development; small business owners and consultants; budding entrepreneurs; and college-bound students and recent graduates. Her partial client list includes testing-based executive coaching, organizational and leadership development work, selection assessment, derailment turnaround, and succession planning coaching with individuals and groups from the following companies or organizations: Google, Roche/Genentech, 3M, Stanford University, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Siemens, Medtronic, Chevron, Sprint, American Red Cross, YWCA, Whole Child Initiative (a Dr. Jane Goodall and Marion Wright Edelman project), Immigration and Naturalization Service, City of San Jose, Federal Reserve Bank, Children’s Hospital and Research Center, T. Rowe Price Associates, Pacific Bell, Hewlett-Packard, Coldwell Banker, Incyte Genomics, and many others.

Dr. Condren’s speaking engagements have included: New York Women’s Agenda, New York University; Columbia University’s Women in Business; Boardroom Bound and Women’s Initiative Pipeline Diversity Training, Harvard Club New York City; Fordham University M.B.A. program; Women’s Campaign Fund, Parties of Your Choice, honored guest speaker, multiple years; Women’s Financial Association of San Francisco; Women Who Launch; over 300 live Women’s Business Alliance events; numerous keynotes and motivational presentations for private and publicly-traded companies.

In addition to writing a weekly career column that ran for three years for Metro New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, Dr. Condren’s advice has been featured in major media outlets including: New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, BusinessWeek, Inc., Fast Company, Entrepreneur, ABC’s Nightline, CNN, Oprah and Friends Radio, NPR’s Morning Edition, Forbes, Fox Television National News, Goodhousekeeping, and numerous national radio appearances.

A brand new empty nester – with three recent college graduate children plus multiple newly-on-their-career-path nieces and nephews floating in and out of her orbit – Debra currently divides her time between New York, San Francisco, and St. John, USVI.

Archived Shows

• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – Brand New Savvy Secrets for Using Linked In To Fast-Track Your Career In Just 15 Minutes A Day

  Today’s guest, top LinkedIn expert Wayne Breithbarth, is back by popular demand. After Wayne’s first appearance on AMBITION radio, listeners flooded my inbox with “Encore!!” requests for more from the masterful and entertaining author of THE #1 selling LinkedIn book of all time, “The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success: Kick-start Your Business, Brand and Job Search.” As Wayne approaches his three-year anniversary of helping people use LinkedIn to turn their business and professional goals into results using this matchless search platform, he’s noticing a change. In the beginning, most of the people Wayne met really had no idea what they were supposed to do with their LinkedIn accounts — other than connect with people they knew and some they don’t knew. LinkedIn was viewed as just another pretty Face[book] and not worth the effort. Now he meets many businesspeople who have mastered beginning LinkedIn techniques and are ready to step it up and leverage the full power LinkedIn’s proprietary search algorithm has to offer to business people, companies, and organizations. Tune in as Wayne and I discuss ALL NEW secrets and super fast action steps he has shared with more than 10,000 attendees at his 250+ training classes and in his book. Log on to your LinkedIn account and have it in front of you during today’s show as you learn these winners’ secrets: When is a 100% complete LinkedIn profile NOT complete? Do you know about this brand new information section you must add in order for your profile to STILL be 100% complete (and why, if you’re not a 100%-er, you’re competitors will blow right by you)? How to optimize your profile for search results — you want to be at the top, don’t you? How to save three of your searches — it’s like having a 24/7 LinkedIn virtual assistant searching for potential prospects for you. How to join groups with lots of the right, targeted members so that you’re talking to the largest possible bull’s-eye audience. How to communicate powerfully with your network so that your voice is heard across multiple channels. Why and how to connect with the “most connected” — You want to be connected to the most connected people in your industry, region, specialty area, etc., don’t you? Plus, grab a pen as Wayne serves up six new whiplash-fast actions you can do in just 15 minutes a day (or save the up for a weekend morning) to power-up your presence on LinkedIn. Wayne Breithbarth inspires and quickly shows you exactly how to use this hot platform to get from where you are to where you want to be!

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – HEADHUNTERS: PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN

  One call from a headhunter can change your career and your life. Today’s guest expert,
  talent scout and founder of Renaissance Search Partners LLC, Andrea Henderson, pulls
  back the curtain on headhunters and executive recruiters, revealing what you need to
  know to find and work well with them to achieve your most ambitious goals. You may
  be between jobs and searching. Or in a company you can’t stand, working alongside people
  who are burned out and miserable, but everyone says you should pretend you like your job
  and be grateful you have a paycheck. You may feel like you have no right to look for
  meaningful, challenging work in this economy and job market. Or maybe you’re a recent
  college graduate, or just completed your advanced degree, trying hard to land your first real
  job – you know, the one that uses the talents you trained and lands you working in the field
  you spent all that time and money studying for. Whatever career situation you are in,
  Andrea Henderson, also a Certified Internet Recruiter who has built a career in executive
  search since graduating from Columbia Business School with an MBA, along with
  an MA in International Affairs from Clark Atlanta University – answers your burning questions
  about how to get noticed by talent scouts. What exactly is a headhunter anyway? What’s the
  difference between an executive recruiter and a headhunter? How do you get yourself on the
  right headhunter’s radar? What are the ins and outs of developing a professional relationship
  with a great-fit headhunter? What are the do’s and don’ts of working with a talent scout? Tune
  in for an exclusive look behind the curtain!

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – Get Financially Naked

  Today’s show empowers women to own their finances so they can own their lives. Did you know that a $100 pair of jeans could end up costing you almost twice that much if you pay only the minimum balance on your credit card each month? Or that 90% of American women will be the sole keeper of their personal finances at some point during their lives? Whether you’ve been living paycheck-to-paycheck, are trying to save for a down payment on your first home, or are hoping to one day retire in comfort, my guest today can help. Personal finance expert and commentator Manisha Thakor, CFA, maps out how to balance your desire to live well today with the need to save and invest for tomorrow. Listen in and discover: how much of your income to save; how to avoid the perils of credit card debt; how to create a budget you can live with (and still have fun!); how to invest wisely using a powerful, keep-it-simple plan; how to deal with real life situations – such as figuring out how much home or car you can afford, whether or not you should finance your child’s college education at any cost, and how to overcome financial anxiety by changing your mindset. Discover easy, proven tools to create the financial life you’ve always dreamed of. The sooner you apply the basic financial concepts highlighted on today’s show, the more likely it is that you’ll achieve common life goals such as owning a home, providing for yourself or your family, taking fun vacations, and retiring in comfort—all free from financial stress.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – The Secret To Happiness at Work and at Home

  It is a popular myth that you can have either a fulfilling career or a happy personal life,
  but you must choose one over the other. The truth? You can have both. How? By learning
  how to answer, on your own terms, certain key questions. What exactly is happiness anyway?
  What specific things will make you happy? Is it more money? (Hint: It isn’t always true that
  money can’t buy you happiness.) Is it making a radical course correction in your career? What
  simple and steps can you take right now so that you can be happier at work and at home? Unlock
  the secret to happiness by listening in as I chat with Gretchen Rubin, an attorney-turned-author,
  researcher, and writer who launched “The Happiness Project” to answer those questions for herself and for others. Rubin’s #1 New York Times bestseller is the memoir of the year she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Today she shares a few nuggets of wisdom gleaned from the hundreds of experiments she conducted in the daily pursuit of happiness. Because happiness is not a dirty word.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – LICENSE UP: The Ins and Outs of Licensing Your Sexy Brand

  One night in an Aspen ski house Icebreaker Entertainment President & Founder Christi Scofield realized she was bored with traditional board games and decided to make up her own. That night the idea for a new company was born. What started out as a company that created and sold one board game has become a multi-faceted consumer products company with products ranging from t-shirts to books, school supplies, greeting cards, iPhone apps, board games, beauty supplies and more. Christi was putting together her business plan and getting ready for game production when she met Ted, her future husband, a Southern gentleman charmer who also happened to be a rockin’ attorney and biz dev pro. It wasn’t long before Ted was on board and they became the Icebreaker Entertainment team. The first game, Sexy Slang was a hit! Soon they had a popular brand, hot-selling products and great slogans. Fans were asking, “Where can we get stuff with your message on it?!” They think, “Time to put our cool catchphrases on t-shirts, notebooks, beverage coolers, and novelty lighters. A mind-bending slew of conundrums ensued: “Do we manufacture products ourselves and put our slogans on them?” “But multiple t-shirt styles come in five different sizes and ten different colors, so doing it ourselves means going from a two- to a several-hundred-products company. Now what? Is licensing the answer? What the heck is licensing anyway?” Tune in as I talk with Christie and Ted about what to do when you realize that if your designs and slogans work and sell well on t-shirts, they’re going to work well on any number of other products. But you don’t know anything about the apparel or magnet or coffee mug or beauty products businesses. You’re not manufacturers, you don’t have warehouse space, you don’t have manufacturers making those products. Still, your fans love your “sexy slogans” and want them on their stuff, so how can you extend your brand – and give your customers what they want? What are the pros and cons of licensing? How do you build a platform? Fend off naysayers? Get an agent? What are the challenges of international expansion? If licensing is the answer, what do you do first? Today’s show is a sexy primer on the ins and outs of licensing.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of The New Girlie-Girl Culture

  Tune in today as Dr. Debra Condren chats with the acclaimed author and journalist Peggy Orenstein who, as a new mother, was blindsided by the persistent ultra-feminine messages being sent to a new generation of little girls—from endless permutations of pink to pressures to be “a hot tot” and a “spoiled brat princess.” When Orenstein published an essay in The New York Times Magazine about the “princess-mania” that has overtaken a new generation of little girls, she was not prepared for a firestorm. But “What’s Wrong with Cinderella?” swiftly shot to the top of the Times’ website’s “most emailed” list and elicited hundreds of reader responses. Orenstein, who had garnered a reputation as an expert on girls’ development, thought she was simply musing about her own observations and reactions to her young daughter’s obsession with Disney princesses and predilection for the color pink. Clearly, though, she had touched a cultural nerve. Today’s show reveals the dark side of pink and pretty in this wake-up call to parents: the rise of the girlie girl is not that innocent. What does it do to girls’ ambition to grow up in a culture that pressures them, from a very young age, to define their sense of self according to a junk culture’s ideals and from the outside in, rather than from the inside? Nothing less than our daughters’ identities and their futures is on the line as we explore how Cinderella Ate My Daughter.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – Discover the Hidden Cornerstone of Your Business Success

  Everywhere we hear advice about discovering the secret sauce to business success and achieving that entrepreneurial edge, from gold-standard education and training to marketing, sales, technology, and public relations savvy. But rarely do we hear about the true cornerstone of success – our health. Listen in as today’s guest Sheila Wagner reveals the number one secret snapped up by her ambitious clients, whether they are Fortune 100 CEOs, founders of Inc. 500 fastest growing firms, ambitious solo entrepreneurs, or small business owners: If you want to beat out your top competitors, you must become your own health detective. Sheila Wagner, a lifelong competitive athlete, licensed physical therapist, certified nutritionist, and founder of the thriving San Francisco-based health care practice Finally Fix Your Health™ reveals how being a successful entrepreneur is very much like being an elite athlete. Discover simple tools to maximize your physical and mental well being, maximize your brain functioning, and become a fat-burning high-efficiency business superstar. Fixing your health is your secret, competitive advantage. It gives you the very highest possible return on investment, financially and in terms of feeling great while making the contribution you were born to make.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – 5 LinkedIn Secrets To Fast Track Your Career

  Debra Condren chats with Wayne Breitbarth, author of the #1 selling LinkedIn book,
  “The Power Formula for LinkedInSuccess: Kick-Start Your Business, Brand & Job Search.”
  Why should you not only be on LinkedIn, but be *active* on LinkedIn? Even if you’re
  stretched to your social media limit from keeping up with Facebook and Twitter, and even
  if you just don’t like or understand LinkedIn, you’re missing out if you’re not leveraging this
  powerful platform. Listen in and discover the most important strategies on LinkedIn, the
  most common mistakes people are making on LinkedIn, why it is important to have your
  profile 100% completed, when you should have a paid versus free account, the difference
  between a personal page and a company page, and how much – or how little – time you
  should be spending on LinkedIn to be effective. Jumpstart your ambitious goals and efforts
  on the world’s largest professional networking site. Tune in and quickly grasp the simple,
  fast and easy actionable steps and ideas that have brought Wayne Breitbarth rave reviews
  from audiences all over the nation.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins

  Debra Condren tells stories with Annette Simmons, author of The Story Factor,
  recently named one of “The 100 Best Business Books of All Time.” What’s your
  story? Who are you? Where do you come from? When you seek to influence
  others you face these questions and more. Whether you’re proposing a risky
  new venture, trying to close a deal, or leading a charge against injustice, you
  have a story to tell. Tell your story well and you will create a shared experience
  with your listeners that can have profound and lasting results. Listen in as we
  explore when, where, how, and why story transforms relationships.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – How to Be Your Own Champion To Find Your Niche and Achieve Your Career and Life Dreams

  Today’s guest in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is Tandalea Mercer, a professional diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity champion. She is the current executive of compliance at the Professional Diversity Network (ProDivNet.com). Tandalea’s message is that everybody wants to do something meaningful; everyone has a purpose and unique talents that, if valued, developed and leveraged will undeniably lead you to achieve your most precious goals. Her message inspires listeners to believe that they can do and be anything they want to be, regardless of the circumstances they come from.

  As a woman of color, Tandalea understood from a young age that the stakes would be higher and that “certain things would not be given to her” as a result. Against the backdrop of a tumultuous upbringing, the message of the importance of education was very clear to Tandalea early on and she always aimed for her personal best in school. With many circumstances pushing her in the direction where she easily could have became a statistic, Tandalea knew that an effort to break the cycle of poverty and to be more than some of the women in her family or others she grew up with had settled for was a non-negotiable life goal she would set and achieve. Observing that many people in her community were not as motivated to move up in the world as others had a profound influence on where Tandalea knew she wanted to go. Throughout her career, Tandalea Mercer took ideals and lessons she learned from childhood and used them to guide her to achieve her most ambitious dreams. Listen in today as she shares: how to make certain you never allow yourself to be taken advantage of; how and why to always be respectful, no matter what; how to be a strong, confident communicator, even in the face of naysayers; nuts and bolts advice on how to tap your network – which equals your net worth – and become a powerful team player. Today’s show shows you how to be your own very best champion – how to have your own back as you go for meaningful, challenging work and getting what you are worth.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – Everything I Know About Business I Learned From the Grateful Dead

  When you think of the Grateful Dead the first thing you probably think about is tie-dye, Volkswagen buses and, of course, drugs, sex, and rock and roll. What you probably don’t think of is that the Grateful Dead invented social media. Or that for an extraordinary thirty years the Dead improvised a business plan and realized their vision – all while making huge profits. Deadhead and business scholar Dr. Barry Barnes, author of the book Everything I Know About Business I Learned From the Grateful Dead: The Ten Most Innovative Lessons from a Long, Strange Trip proves that the Dead’s influence on the business world will turn out to be a significant part of their legacy. Without intending to, the band pioneered business and leadership ideas and practices that were subsequently embraced by American corporations. The Dead were masters of “strategic improvisation” – the ability to adapt to changing times and circumstances – and their success lay precisely in their commitment to creating and delivering superior customer value, incorporating and establishing a board of directors early on, giving away their product for free to increase demand, founding a merchandising division, and constant change and relentless variation. Listen in as we discuss how one of the most popular bands of all time did it – and how entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies alike can use these innovative business lessons from the Dead’s illustrious career.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – Guarantee Growth For Your Business This Year

  How can you guarantee predictable growth and revenue for your business this year? How do you uncover hidden assets in your company? What are the three things you can do that will change everything for your business this year – in spite of the fact that today 71% of American workers are not emotionally engaged? The economy has changed, the world has changed. What if your particular business model is no longer working? You know you have to shift from what you have been offering to something new. You and your team are stressed, thinking, “I don’t know this new world. Am I going to get fired, replaced? Am I no longer going to be relevant? Today’s guest has your back. Bill Gates calls her “super high bandwidth.” Bill Clinton has thanked her for “fostering American entrepreneurship.” Listen in as New York Times bestselling author Christine Comaford maps out how to move beyond blind spots, pull out of a stall, reignite creativity, and expand your vision. You can successfully navigate growth and change using Christine’s proven strategies to massively increase sales, product offerings, and company value.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – Power Is Not A Dirty Word: From the Boardroom to the Bedroom Power Up to Live a More Unlimited Life

  So often women wake up one day and realize that we aren’t really steering our own lives or careers because we’re constantly giving away our power. We don’t set firm boundaries for ourselves—at work or at home. We don’t negotiate and end up making “The $500K+ Mistake.” We put up with a job or personal relationship that is sucking our soul because we don’t believe we have the power to change it. We put others’ needs ahead of our own, placing our own priorities at the bottom of the pile. We try to fix things for people who work for us, even when they aren’t suited for the job. We wait too long to fire people, accept less than excellence, and take on more work than we should. We turn ourselves into pretzels trying to fix loved ones’ problems, instead of letting them fight their own battles. As my guest today is famous for saying, people don’t love you more because you have sacrificed yourself or your dreams for them. From the boardroom to the bedroom, public office to personal relationships, feminist icon and best-selling author Gloria Feldt knows that nobody is keeping women from parity—except themselves. Listen in as Gloria shares powerful inspiration, hope, and courage—as well as concrete “power tools” to shift your attitude about power, manifest the change you desire, and live life without limits.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – How to Escape Career Burnout and Find a Job You Love NOW—Even in Today’s Brutal Economy

  Does your corporate career leave you stressed out, burned out, or just plain bummed out? But you feel you have no options? There IS a way out—and you’re holding it. Today’s guest talks with me about nuts and bolts strategies cubicle-bound and corner-office-cornered listeners can use, starting right now, to break free and create the career of your dreams—without going broke. Whether you’re looking to launch your own small business, or craving an opportunity in a brand new industry, or you simply want to find a “corporate job that doesn’t suck” in a cool entrepreneurial company that inspires your creativity and pays you well, you can make it happen NOW—yes, even in today’s rotten economy and job market! Listen in as I talk with Pamela Skillings, entrepreneur, career expert, corporate escapee, and author of Escape from Corporate America: A Practical Guide to Creating the Career of Your Dreams. Skillings has helped hundreds of clients—from new college grads to CEOs—to achieve greater success and satisfaction in their careers. On today’s show we spell out how YOU can map out your own escape route to YOUR dream job.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – How Entrepreneurs Can Make More Money and Succeed In Any Economy

  Decide to become an entrepreneur and you will inevitably hear naysayers warn:
  “Are you crazy? You might earn money here and there, but you’ll never have financial
  or career security, the ability to move up the ladder, retirement plans, paid vacations, or
  peace of mind.” Today’s guest argues that, in fact, just the opposite is true: If you do it
  right, not only will you make a LOT more money being your own boss, you will actually
  have MORE security than you would working for someone else. The man known globally
  as “The Rock Star of Consulting,” argues that working in the corporate world is the exact
  place where you lose control of your fate and your future. Alan Weiss, Ph.D., founder and
  president of Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has written 32 books translated into 9 languages,
  including the classic bestseller Million Dollar Consulting. If you’ve got entrepreneurship in
  your blood, listen in as I talk with Alan Weiss about how to raise capital, attract clients,
  create a marketing plan, and grow your business into a $1 million-per-year firm. Find out
  how you can not only survive – but thrive – working solo in any economy under any conditions.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word – If At First You Don’t Succeed, NEVER Give Up

  We want to make good money doing work we love. We want job security. So, of course it’s incredibly frustrating when we haven’t yet cracked the code. But we forget that it takes a long time to become an overnight success. No one knows that better than today’s guest Barbara Corcoran whose credentials include straight D’s in high school and college and twenty jobs by the time she turned twenty-three. It was her next job that would make her one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country when she took a $1000 loan to start The Corcoran Group. She parlayed that loan into a five-billion-dollar real estate business which she sold in 2001 for $66 million. Today Barbara is the real estate contributor to NBC’s TODAY Show. She is also an investor/shark on ABC’s reality hit Shark Tank, now in its third season, and the author of three books including her most recent, Shark Tales. Listen in on my interview with Barbara as she talks about her inspiring, down-to-earth true story and her best advice for anyone going after their own ambitious dreams.

  
• AMBITION Is Not A Dirty Word - Overcoming Underearning—How To Thrive in Any Economy

  Like most of us, in this uncertain economy, here you are (regardless of your track record) working your tail off, drowning in debt, and struggling to survive. You lie awake at night worried about your job security. Or you search feverishly for new opportunities. Unless you’re Oprah or Warren Buffet, you’re constantly aware that you’re not earning what you know you’re worth. You’re not doing meaningful, challenging work that pays you well. But you don’t have a clue what to do about it. Join us as we talk to author Barbara Stanny, the leading authority on overcoming underearning. Discover the proven, simple five step plan that will free you up to overcome your money fears, earn what you deserve, and thrive—in any economy under any economic conditions.