About Samantha Hartley

One day at corporate, my buddy Roy and I went out to lunch. (Almost no one ever left campus during the workday, which I found quite unhealthy.) Over lunch we talked about a problem we’d been working on in our group and came up with a cool idea.

When I got back to my cubicle (a place you put someone from whom you expect no concentration or work to be done), I put together a PowerPoint to make our idea easier to understand.

When we showed my boss, her response was not “Oh, that IS cool” or “That’s the dumbest idea ever.” Nope. She said, “How long have you been working on this?”

Instead of initiative, she saw conspiracy.

Although I haven’t worked at corporate in years, I bring this up because many of my clients are ex-corporate too. They’ve escaped environments that were sometimes toxic, where new ideas were viewed as a threat. Where creativity and innovation were impossible, because those can only thrive when people feel safe.

In self-employment we create our own spaces, and choose our own clients.

Importantly, to me, many of my clients go back and work with corporations, often in roles that make things better for those in cubicles. In fact, I see my work, in lifting up corporate consultants, as helping that person who really wants to stay at corporate and make it the best company she can.

Earlier in my career I was the marketing manager for a business that grew from $48 million to $120 million in just three years. That explosive growth spoiled me and sparked my obsession for getting jaw-dropping results for my clients.

When I’m not working, I’m in deep spiritual discussions with my husband and our friends or enjoying the beaches and trails with my dogs.