Changemaker Susan Willig, Chief Brand Strategist and Founder, TrueNorth

Susan Willig is transforming the landscape of women's healthcare through strategic advocacy, network building, and empowering female leaders. Her work with the SoCal Women's Health Collective brings together founders, funders, academics, industry leaders, and advocates to address critical gaps in women's healthcare innovation and delivery.

Through her firm TrueNorth, Susan helps organizations establish strong brand and marketing foundations that align with their core purpose. She emphasizes the importance of understanding one's "true north"—the guiding purpose that directs all decisions and resource allocation. 

Ready to support women's health innovation? Expand your awareness of women's health issues, advocate to your representatives, and build diverse networks that can drive meaningful change. Because as Susan reminds us, advancing women's health isn't just a women's issue—it's about creating a healthcare system that truly serves everyone.

Welcome to the Agency for Change podcast.

Connect with Susan and TrueNorth at: 

·       TrueNorth Website – https://www.truenorthsw.com/

·       Email Susan – susan@idtruenorth.com

Chapters

• 0:00 Susan Willig: Women's Health Pioneer
• 5:36 Creating SoCal Women's Health Collective
• 11:23 Women Founders: Underfunded Yet Outperforming
• 17:08 The Critical Gaps in Women's Health
• 27:10 True North: Building Strong Brand Foundations
• 41:56 Starting Where You Are: Final Thoughts

Transcript

Connect with Susan and TrueNorth at: 

·       TrueNorth Website – https://www.truenorthsw.com/

·       Email Susan – susan@idtruenorth.com

Susan Willig: 0:01

So often it’s like ‘Well when I, when I, then I.’ It goes back to just showing up and stepping out so start where you are.

Announcer: 0:05

Welcome to Agency for Change, a podcast from KidGlov that brings you the stories of changemakers who are actively working to improve our communities. In every episode, we'll meet with people who are making a lasting impact in the places we call home.

Lyn Wineman: 0:19

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Agency for Change podcast. This is Lyn Wineman, President and Chief Strategist at KidGlov. I have known today's guest for quite a long time, so this is going to be a real treat. Susan Willig is a true pioneer in advancing women's health and leadership. She has dedicated her career to helping women rise, ensuring they have a stronger voice in healthcare as executives, as founders and as innovators. Her passion lies in creating opportunities where women can lead change and bring forward solutions that directly impact lives. She is also the CEO and Chief Brand Strategist of TrueNorth, a firm she launched after a career with global leaders like Edwards, life Sciences, Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis. At True North, Susan helps growth-minded organizations discover where to focus their time, their money and their energy for the greatest impact. It is a powerful combination of purpose and strategy that makes her work truly transformative. Susan, welcome to the podcast.

Susan Willig: 1:51

Hello Lyn, I'm very glad to be here after knowing you for all these years.

Lyn Wineman: 1:57

It has been a long time and you and I we live across the country from each other, so every time I get the opportunity to see you, whether it's virtually or in person, I am very excited about that, Susan, and I am really excited to hear about some new projects that you are working on, because I know that you are a real advocate for women's health, but for yourself, for leaders, for innovators, and I really want to hear more about your work in this space.

Susan Willig: 2:30

Well, I'm going to start where I am now, and that is I have a brand strategy advisory and I seek to work with women founders or women-led companies and women-focused innovations. I also enjoy working with any firm that leaves a positive footprint in healthcare, but that's where I am now. It's been a journey to get here and I feel like this moment is really the convergence of all my experiences to date.

Lyn Wineman: 3:04

I love that and you know I feel like I've heard that a lot on this podcast too. Susan, and you're perfect for Agency for Change, because we love to talk to people who are making a positive impact. But often when I hear people's stories it's not that straight line, Like I knew that I wanted to be here and I just went straight there. Right, it's often I started here and then I took this turn and then I had this experience and then sometimes even it's like, hey, I had an unexpected thing happen that didn't seem good at the time, but now all of those pieces go together to make me perfect, and I know that's part of your story too.

Susan Willig: 3:54

So much, so much, and you know the corny silver lining. But looking back, of course, hindsight, but so many bad moments in my life I would say I see led me to this moment, and many of the gifts that I have in my life and I'm grateful for that you can't take those away. It would change everything.

Lyn Wineman: 4:16

Yeah, you know, before you dive in. I think that's such an important point Because so many of us are so success oriented. We're drivers, we're perfectionists right, I know that to be true about you, I know it to be true about me. And sometimes we'll have something happen that doesn't go exactly as we plan and we think, oh no, that's a horrible setback. If I could go back to my younger self, I would tell her there are no setbacks. These are experiences that I know it didn't go exactly the way you thought it would or you wanted, but you can build on this. You are going to learn something from this that will take you forward.

Susan Willig: 5:02

Oh my gosh, and just keep stepping out. Keep getting up and stepping out. The way that I assuage any fear is to think that I'm to know that I'm resilient, to look at my history and know that I can rise again.

Lyn Wineman: 5:19

Absolutely All right, Susan, I love that spin that we were able to take. But I am really curious because I know you are doing some exciting work in the women's health space and I really want to hear more about it.

Susan Willig: 5:35

Yes, okay. So I recently started with six other women, something called the SoCal Women's Health Collective. Yeah, it is most simply bringing women and men. We're open. We had men in our last two together in the women's health and healthcare space Founders, funders, academics, industry advocates, lobbyists. And the how that came together is I recently joined an advocacy group called women's health advocates. It is bipartisan, focused on whole women's health, and I'm on the steering committee and through them I was sharing that I wanted to bring so many amazing women in my life together and men, but like women joining forces, like meeting you. I say, lynn, I want you to meet so-and-so. And so I said I shared with them that I was actually working with UCI when public health to have a joint gathering. We couldn't swing it this year, but we hope to do it next year. And this women's health advocates group said well, there are other women in our group in Southern California that want to do that.

There's so much activity and so we're sharing resources like investors or studies, or you know, the business of women's health makes sense. And there's a group called Women's Health Access Matters, WAM Carol Lee, and she is proving the business case for women's health. And while we're at it, I'm just going to plug, because women founders, while they make up 13, 12 to 13% of founding companies, they get only 2-3% of funding, but they exit faster, they're more capital efficient and their multipliers are higher. So you're like it's illogical, like let's not even you know, worry about gender wars. It's just illogical that more women are not funded.

Lyn Wineman: 7:44

That's fascinating, Susan. I have heard that stat before as well. As a matter of fact, I think it's from another one of our Agency for Change podcast guests, Estelle Gerard, who is the founder of a startup called Trellis Health. Estelle was on and I know they've made great strides since we talked to her, but she shared a similar, if not the exact same, stat right and the importance of really, I think, empowering, embracing, supporting women who are in this space.

Susan Willig: 8:21

Well, and I'm on the board of women investing in security and education. It's a nonprofit board, but what I'm learning is how important understanding the flow of capital is. And there's a woman named Sylvia Kim who founded Rebel for Good and it's helping teach young women coming from wealthy families how to use their money for good. I've been in business, so it's not that I don't understand and a P&L and you know budgets, but I didn't truly understand how important understanding capital flow is, which is why I seek to help women succeed through my agency and to help create innovation, because by having more seats at the table, having more capital, we can influence more things.

Lyn Wineman: 9:16

Right. I think the world of capital is very different from the world of just understanding the finances of your business right and understanding how to pitch yourself, understanding you know what, even within the whole universe of investors, which investors you should approach and go after who's going to be most likely to connect with the impact you are creating in the world. So, Susan, the stat that you shared, I think, starts to tell the story, but I'm really curious why is this work so important right now?

Susan Willig: 10:05

Well, I would actually say it is overdue. It's so much more than right now. I entered healthcare about 20 years ago from tech, as you know.

Lyn Wineman: 10:17

Yeah, we worked together in the tech space. That's how you and I met so, but I love that the healthcare space feels so much more purposeful, I would have to say, than the tech space. Do you agree with that?

Susan Willig: 10:33

I can't go back. Someone asked me why healthcare and I really paused and then I thought I can't do anything else, there's no choice now and I purposefully entered healthcare. It took me two years actually to get into Edwards Life Sciences. I understood the company and because I didn't come from healthcare care but leaving a positive imprint.

But 20 years or so through health care business women's association, I learned that women were underrepresented in studies and that was probably 15 years ago and I was like how could this be? This doesn't make sense. But our physiology is complex so we're harder to study and more expensive. And when you have a deadline for a study and you have a business, sometimes you make choices as a business. I was shocked and then once you start seeing it, you can't unsee it. Even just in January there was a study published about CMS reimbursement looking at procedures and they're under they're reimbursed approximately 35% less than the equivalent male procedure. It just defies logic to me.

So certainly the current administration forged my resolve, like so many other women, but it was already my passion and part of when I broke out what I was seeking to do and, like you know, and so even the companies that I work with. They may not all be women founders, but certainly what they're doing will help positively impact healthcare, including women, and I do want to take 30 seconds to say you know, when we talk about women's health, a lot of people think they joke boobs and tubes, but it is disorders or conditions and diseases that disproportionately, differently or solely impact women, and so autoimmune diseases more greatly impact women. At the rate of 80% are women. So these are just things to be aware of, but even still many today, still women are understudied, and now at least the FDA is requiring in some cases to put on the label that this product has not been studied in women. So we're taking medications that have not been studied in women. 

Lyn Wineman: 12:56

Yeah, yeah, you know I'm going to say something here, Susan, that you may disagree with, and I'm okay if you disagree with it, but you know, I think what you just said. It's so easy to think about women's health and joke boobs and tubes, right?

And I think so many women are. We tend to be a bit self-effacing, we tend to put others first, so we like live with the joke, right. And then I think that translates to often and I know you're more focused on founders and investors but women as patients, I think tend to be not listened to. I just was speaking to a dear friend whose daughter was having in high school a high school athlete, very physically fit, very smart young woman. She was having stomach pains and they kept going in and you know they kept saying well, it's just stress, it's just stress. And it turned out that finally, after quite a long time they found out that it was a serious medical condition that required surgery. But it was just kind of brushed off, right. And I think getting to the point where women feel they deserve to be listened to and they are listened to, I think is an important point to get to. 

Susan Willig: 14:20

110% There is bias in the system, and even women to women. So Dr Bio, if you look her up on LinkedIn, she had a postpartum hemorrhage and she's a physician. She was giving birth and said something's not right, Something's not right. Everyone was like no, no, you're fine, it's fine. Finally, she called her doctor because she's a physician, she could call the doctor was like something's not right. She was having a hemorrhage. So to your point, a hundred percent, I mean a hundred percent Part of health equity initiatives is bringing awareness to bias and even people of color, to people of color, or they're there, everybody's acknowledging we have biases, right, which is why I think it's so critical that we have diversity, because we will see things that others don't you know what I mean?

And that's why I think diversity at the top and throughout is critical Gender, racial, ethnic is because we are going to see things and it's proven that it increases innovation, it's better for business. This is also what I don't understand, but we have to start to build if I'm just going to bring it full circle the networks that are going to do this, and that's where SoCal Women's Health Collective is like. I can refer out. Oh, we need, you know, we still have manels, all male panels, and I am surprised, in this day and age it's even possible. But I think it's simply because not simply, not solely, but it is because the networks that are creating maybe don't have the reach. So part of my goal is like let's just infuse some more people into the mix so that you choose the best candidate from the total pool, a hundred percent.

Lyn Wineman: 16:09

Yeah, I love that, Susan. Susan, you've touched a little bit on your journey into this space, but I'd love to go a little bit deeper on what inspired your focus, because you've really gone deep into this health care and women's leadership in health care focus. Could you talk a little bit more about that?

Susan Willig: 16:32

Well, I'm going to expand slightly to that is in 2001,. When I was with a startup, I saw them so many startups squander their resources for good solutions by not having what I call their true north brand and marketing strategy. That strong foundation. But so then, fast forward. I choose to go into healthcare, get closer to strategy, get some great experience and I thought it is, but we're still seeing a lack of innovation, especially in smaller markets. Now for clarity, women's health is not a smaller market. In fact, it's a bigger market. But so when I decided to break out and leave corporate America to start my firm, I wanted to work with smaller early stage or restart any you know, Lyn any seismic shift in the business.

Lyn Wineman: 17:37

Right, because that's when you can make the impact. Right, yeah.

Susan Willig: 17:44

it's just about creating a purposeful moment. So getting I'm going to bring it full circle to answer your question but this purposeful moment where you look at the business and the brand and marketing strategy and then, whether you have $1, $1 million, $10 million, you're spending it in the right place. So for me, though, with women-led companies and it shouldn't just be women-founded but women-led or innovations that positively impact women's health is if I can work with them and help them succeed and grow and deliver their solution to market by setting a true North brand and marketing strategy foundation, then I succeed. And I know what I'm good at and I know what, for example, I want to let experts like KidGlov do right.

We can be allies and partners and you can focus there. I'm never going to be as well-versed on all the channels and tactics, especially with digital, even though I started in digital. It's going at warp speed. So I'm looking at partners like you, right and philosophically align brand strategy minds right. You aren't going to do anything that isn't purposeful, right and on strategy, I know this about you.

Lyn Wineman: 19:08

We love working with you, Susan, and I think you're exactly right. I mean, when you get into marketing strategy and brand strategy, having specific knowledge about an industry and a target audience and you know you just the way you talk about and understand the industry is so important. And having that niche I even think you know sometimes we talk about branding. Branding doesn't make you attractive to everyone in the universe. Branding makes you attractive to the right people. So, in a way, right it's a process of elimination, so that you're not out there being everything to everybody, because that is not where you want to be.

Susan Willig: 20:03

100%, I mean there are companies that I have approached that don't want to invest in what I'm offering and they want to go right to a tactic and that's not a good fit for me. There are others that'll be a great fit but that I should not be. I won't, I mean I wouldn't engage with that company because I think it's a lose lose for everyone. And even my personal brand strategy is true self to true self. So showing up as my authentic and seeking to attract. And you know, I as any human I was about to say as a woman, but I think this is just humanity yeah, sometimes I get uncomfortable in imposter syndrome and that's where knowing my purpose and my authentic self helps me show up with more courage and sometimes confidence. But that's where I believe a good brand strategy will let the companies true self, or the founders true self, and that will attract because it's not a bait and switch. That's and that's when you can create delighters for your audience. And then there's one quote about brand that is when you know someone binds themselves to you. Could you, as though I was, like that is awesome. You are ready to bind yourself to a company because you just know that it's an authentic, you know, alliance.

Lyn Wineman: 21:28

I love that, susan. I love that so much and I want to dig in more into True North in a minute because I love the work that you're doing In the realm of women's health, though I'm really curious because you are deep in this space with so much knowledge when do you see right now the biggest gaps and or opportunities?

Susan Willig: 22:02

Well, certainly we need to innovate for women and address women's health. Like I said, there are some big gaps. I'm going to have a bias, I'm just going to speak it out. Yeah, I have a real bias on the gap in, but it's, it's starting to be addressed in menopause, yes, or actually hormonal changes. Certainly it's pronounced in menopause, but we have not adequately communicated nor addressed the gaps in hormonal changes. And I just feel for the women that have gone before us Lyn, who didn't have, and I know there's complexity around hormone replacement, but we know, we now know estrogen is essential to our mind, our joints, our cardiovascular disease. You know menopause and cardiovascular disease or even pregnancy, hormone changes, is real and so understanding that and solving for it. So I think the biggest gap is both in research and innovation around women's health.

Lyn Wineman: 23:02

You know, Susan, as an entrepreneur and business owner myself too, I employ a lot of women actually predominantly women at KidGlov, you know, we have women on both ends of that spectrum women who are, you know, having their first or second child, women who are on the beginning of the menopause stage. And, as an employer, even understanding and being supportive during these times of life too because we've all seen the data on how expensive it is to replace an employee, how expensive it is to have an employee or a team member who doesn't feel supported, and what that does to productivity and engagement and so even really understanding that part of life and supporting your workforce, I think is important, right.

Susan Willig: 24:10

Yes, and I think not. I think I know that, having started menopause and not had a deep understanding, and thank goodness for my girl tribe, who brought studies to my attention and I started reading, but I had just started my business and I was in the thick of it and I was afraid. I was like what’s happening to me?

Lyn Wineman: 24:31

What's happening? And I, and, and the beginning, those beginning years of being a business founder, you are like in it. You are in it up to your eyeballs, right?

Susan Willig: 24:45

It's mental warfare too, like you gotta get up and get after it, and I was also conscious of you know, oh, if I show up and have a hot flash, is someone not going to hire me because I'm old, yeah, and so, and, and I did go on hormone therapy, so I wouldn't. I mean, I don't like hot flashes, so don't get me wrong, but I was like I, I love thinking, I love intellectual dialogue like this. It invigorates me. I think that's why I'm drawn to brand strategy and having workshops and collaborating with CEOs and I mean the whole team, actually just across the board, hearing diverse perspective and remaining curious, but so having my mind in jeopardy, scared that.

Lyn Wineman: 25:31

Yeah, 100%. Susan, I know that our listeners on this podcast are very engaged and involved in important issues. How can listeners who are really interested in this topic get involved and support the work with some of these organizations or initiatives that you're involved in?

Susan Willig: 25:59

So first, I think, is expanding your awareness of the topic, like CMS reimbursement, even what you were talking about menopause and the workplace, or hormonal, is one of women's health advocates. We had our first ever women's health day, so head to toe women's health on the hill, and one of the topics was women going through menopause in the military.

Lyn Wineman: 26:27

Wow, I never even thought about that.

Susan Willig: 26:31

And so this is what I mean just expanding your horizons, and then it gets to once you see it, you can't unsee it. And in terms of taking action, writing your leaders, you know your Congress people and writing to them on topics around which you're passionate and that makes a difference.

I mean, I think we well I know we've been able to impact some of the proposed changes. Then I think it is just showing up. You know, we had a really good turnout at the last couple women's health collective and I was touched by women gathering but women came up to me, left well, everyone actually there were two brave men that showed up and they everyone was like thank, thank you, I met so-and-so.

I met so-and-so. I needed this. This will advance X and it was all you know, roles, not just people looking for money or people looking for a job, it was just expanding perspective. So I think, gathering like-minded or diverse, actually when there's a bit of friction, I think, and so that's another thing women's health advocates, women health access matters. I also think I started volunteering also for meals on wheels OC, I'm on that board, but I started volunteering and that just expanded. So, looking for opportunities to expand our circles. In this case I would even call to action for men to learn about different women's. The the funny thing is, is it? I was in a workshop once and a man started talking about his wife and her hot flashes at night and I said, oh, you know my soapbox is she on hormones.

He's like I don't know, I don't get into that. I was like, hey, this is a win-win for you. Right, let me I'll share a resource you can share with her and then step out. But this is when, when we're all in it together, I talked to my brothers about all their stuff. I am fortunate to have four older brothers whom I love and a younger sister. What a great tribe that is, but we share stuff.

Lyn Wineman: 28:48

That's awesome, yeah, that's awesome.

Yeah, I think about my husband, who came from a family that only had sons right, and now we have two daughters and one son, and he's had to learn a lot about women's issues over time and we are not a quiet group, so bless his heart for being supportive and doing the things actually that you just said, like educate yourself, take action, show up, volunteer, try some diverse things.

And I got to give a shout out to Meals on Wheels, one of my favorite causes right. Delivering, delivering nutritious meals generally to seniors, but sometimes other folks. But I think what people don't realize is the most important aspect, I believe, of Meals on Wheels is not even about the food. It's about the laying eyes on and having a human connection During the day. There's, across the country, so many great stories of you know, people's lives being saved, changed because Meals on Wheels showed up and you didn't come to the door, and so we figured out what was wrong or we observed something that seems kind of strange and got someone involved. So I think that that's a really, really important one.

Susan Willig: 30:08

So we say it's more than a meal. Yeah, human contact. And they also have a friendly visitor program so you can go. I play chess with a gentleman. I don't know whether it's because he has Alzheimer's or dementia or he knows he's doing it and just pretending. Either way we get a good chuckle out of it.

Lyn Wineman: 30:32

I love it. I love that so much. So, Susan, let's go back a little bit. You mentioned at the top of the show that you started getting involved through client work. Was that kind of your path into some of this women's health issues or board that you served on? What did that look like?

Susan Willig: 30:51

Oh, actually no, I started getting involved on the advocacy. And then as I started to see more and more and participate in pitches and incubators and like occupying web hub, oc, medical mondays, different groups, sbdc, I started to notice not a lot of women were there and or meeting. Actually I'm going to back up South by Southwest. Oh yeah, a number of years ago, when I was still at Edwards, a woman named Brittany Barreto had a networking group for women's health and that's where I met all these amazing women founders and I'm like whoa, this exists. And then I, then I, and again through that healthcare business women's association, saw about studies, so it was. But most of my engagement started on the advocacy side, networking, and then that was even before I spun out. And then when I spun out or I say spun out when I left, I spun out, I wanted to, I was really impassioned.

I guess also I would say just women in leadership in general and personal brand strategy, and I'm trying not to be go down a rabbit hole, but I've always have a had a passion for women in leadership, regardless of industry. I mean I had a, had a career my whole life, you know yeah, 18, and I know that I felt uncomfortable at times showing up, and I was often the only woman in the room, and I watched men succeed. And then I started observing like, oh wait, they're asking for things. Yes, and, and so I don't begrudge them that. I learned even my opportunity to live and work in Switzerland for a year.

One of my moral colleagues had that opportunity and I went to him and I said how did you get to do that? And he said I asked for it. So I asked for it for about five years before the opportunity arose. But this is where, just sharing my story and my journey, if I can encourage other women to show up and ask for what they want and show up as their authentic self. And I did just work with a venture funder. He has a fund that focuses on women-led businesses in health and manufacturing. So not, and so I worked with her to develop her. I would say, not develop, but illuminate her personal brand strategy. That was so fulfilling. And they're based she's based out of Detroit with Bell Fund and her name is Katie Kurtz and she has something called Hello Katie so I just think it was so inspiring, like that was the fulfillment of all my passion, and I met her through women's health advocates.

So I guess all this is just about networking women coming together around women's health, but it was in leadership. Yeah, that was a little bit of a rabbit hole, I'll admit, but that is, I guess, what inspires me and how it all that convergence again.

Lyn Wineman: 34:38

Susan, it's a good rabbit hole because when I asked you for advice, one of your points was show up. You know, you said educate yourself, take action, show up. You have just given us so many examples of where showing up helped you make that next connection. That helped you make the next connection. And you never really know right. You never really know right. You never really know. You know when something's going to come from a connection.

But by being a good person, an interested person, who gets to know people and connects the dots, good things will always, always, always come out of that. So I'd love to connect the dots on True North a little bit. And have you tell us because when after you and I we worked together really closely about 20 years ago and then we kind of went through a time where we didn't really connect, like I could see you on social media that you were doing things and succeeding. But you know, when we reconnected and you told me about your brand, true North, I said, wow, that feels right for Susan, but just tell us more about your brand and what you're doing.

Susan Willig: 35:50

So True North is a brand strategy advisory firm. It's my firm. I love it. I'm very passionate about brand strategy, as you can tell. Where I was surprised in healthcare is how long it takes to change behavior in spite of all the clinical evidence, and that encouraged me to deepen my knowledge and expertise in behavioral science, behavioral drivers in behavioral science, behavioral drivers, cognitive biases, and so that's where I focus is you'll understand this, Lyn building that strong foundation. You know, even encouraging companies and supporting them to articulate their vision, mission, purpose, their category, their value proposition. Getting down, because that will help illuminate the channels and tactics that they are going to choose where they put their time, money and resources for greatest impact. And I wanted to do that again for the smaller, early stage, startup or even restart companies. So a new company that I'm working with they're at a very pivotal moment and so I get to help them reestablish, maybe take a fresh look at their true north so that they can grow and thrive and have greater impact than they're already having.

Lyn Wineman: 37:18

They're in revenue, yeah, you know one of my favorite quotes that relates to that, Susan. I think it was a Henry Ford quote, but it was whether you do know where you're going or whether you don't know where you're going, you'll get there.

Lyn Wineman: 37:35

Right, and if you don't know where you're going. You're just going to waste so much time and energy and opportunity and I think I heard you say that earlier about startups squandering their startup funds by not having their true north and I love that so much about what you do and what your brand is for yourself.

Susan Willig: 38:02

Well, the biggest objections I get is I don't have a budget for this right now. It's too early, but it can be as simple as a brand strategy workshop. I was thinking about it this morning is just dedicating the executive leadership time the brand strategy bringing, ideally, some needs-based primary research on some level. Right, yeah, yeah, understanding your market you know, gateway was kind of guilty of this is like if I can put a button there, I'm going to put a button there, right, yeah. But yeah, it wasn't always needs based. And this is where so many seemingly good innovations haven't understood the clinical workflow and the clinical pathway. And changing behavior is really stinking hard because it is you're you could be introducing. I'll just give the benefit of doubt, you could be introducing risk into the equation.

So that habit, that habit, new habit forming that's also where I shine and thrive is helping. I'm really good at building new initiatives, pioneering new things. I'm better at forging pathways than paving, or then directing traffic. Operational things would not be my strength, but helping forge a new pathway or pioneer an initiative, and it can even be for, you know, an established company. I was very fortunate at Edwards and I'm always grateful that I was able to build many initiatives there, and so that gave me great experience in healthcare that I can take and share with these smaller companies that couldn't have. You know, I'm going to say tested versus experimented. I read recently a paper that showed that. You know, in science hypothesis test is part of life, right, it's not a failure, and it takes at least six hypothesis tests before you get to the optimal. Wow. Not that we want to allow for six failures in business quote, unquote failures but allowing room for hypothesis and test is extremely valuable.

Lyn Wineman: 40:30

I do think that's interesting because I think there are a lot of people who just expect I have this idea, I'm going to do it, I expect it to work, but it's we all know, in life it often is not going to work exactly the way you think it is.

So, Susan, one thing I really appreciate about you when you and I have collaborated together, and even back when you and I worked together with Gateway Computers you worked at Gateway, I was with one of Gateway's many agencies and we got to work together but you always ask the good questions and the hard questions right, and I think you know making sure you ask those questions and understand the situation and you know you're doing something right when you ask a question that just stops people in their tracks and they go oh, I haven't thought about that. And it's like, well, let's think about that, let's play that out a bit more, because we might be uncovering a whole new opportunity or maybe preventing a huge disaster from happening. And you think about and I don't want to call any of them out, but you think about some of the big brand fails that have happened in the last couple of years and you wonder was there anybody on the team who asked the hard questions?

Like, where was everybody when this was going down? Somebody in the room? And I think I always just like to encourage, and I think for my team too, it's like I would so much rather have you ask the question than assume, oh, if I ask that question, I'll rock the boat, or they've probably already thought about this. It's like if you've got the question, ask it because you may be the one you know that's really revealing a new area of information.

Susan Willig: 42:23

I'm going to comments is I learned, I think, to later than I would have liked to in my career. Yeah, is to go into initiatives with an in it together attitude I always thought show up. I had to be bulletproof, you know so nervous, and it didn't make me as collaborative as it could have been beneficial. But once I learned, like you know what, I'm going to show up at my best, yeah, 100%. And if I miss something thank you for pointing that out A boss, a colleague, a direct report Thank you for pointing it out and being appreciative and trying to keep my mind open to that. And then the second thing, in in alliance with that or in alignment with that, is also, if, if you know, a team member invites me to a meeting, ask you know what is my role? Do you? Are you just wanting my opinion? Are you seeking my approval, understanding that, so that I'm not disruptive to the process?

And I've had direct reports call me out on that in a good way, and I'm so grateful they did, because again, once you see it, you're like, oh my gosh, I'm doing this and that's where, even in the area of women's health, if someone's listening to this, being like oh, this is me, this is ridiculous, it's fine, I just ask that they just open their eyes. And then, once you start seeing red cars, you can't stop seeing. So that's the in it together. I wish I would have learned that and been less intimidated or embarrassed when I miss things and have learned to be more grateful, yeah. At my best.

Lyn Wineman: 44:17

Such good advice. Such good advice. I'm with you there because I know you would never advocate for you know not being anything less than your best, but yet sometimes you can’t know all the things, you can’t always be right. And so if you can open your mind to I have done my best, I have what I have, this is what I think but my mind is open to other people sharing different viewpoints, pointing things out that, A it makes your work stronger. B it makes your life better too, because you aren't always in this constant state of anxiety, Right, which I think is just so good for your mental health, your physical health. So yeah, Susan. For people who are listening, who really dig what you're saying maybe they're a founder in the healthcare space or they need a brand strategy how can they connect with you and find out more information about True North?

Susan Willig: 45:17

Thank you. Well, my URL is truenorthsw.com. Okay, and also email me at susan@idtruenorth.com.

Lyn Wineman: 45:30

Great, we will have both of those in the show notes on the KidGlov website for people who want to connect. All right, Susan, I'm going to ask you my favorite question next. We've asked it on every episode. The listeners know that I am inspired by motivational quotes. I like to collect quotes, like other people collect seashells and books and figurines, right? So can you give me a Susan Willig original quote?

Susan Willig: 45:59

Oh, well, it starts where you are, and meaning, I did read it somewhere, so but I've adopted it. Yeah, part where you are. So often it's like, well, when I, when I, then I yeah, and it goes back to just showing up and stepping out, so start where you are.

Lyn Wineman: 46:21

I love that so much, Susan. Thank you for that. I'm sad that we are wrapping up our time together in this conversation, but I'd love to ask one last question, and that is what is the most important thing you would like our listeners to remember about the work that you're doing, Susan.

Susan Willig: 46:45

The most important thing is, regardless if it's your personal or professional brand, take a moment to develop that foundation because at times of fear, at times of uncertainty, at times of imposter syndrome, you can always go back to that brand and purpose and remember. And that fuels me, because every day, actually, Lyn, I have some, you know I can be, I'm afraid.

Lyn Wineman: 47:21

I think any entrepreneur who tells you they're not every day, they're lying.

Susan Willig: 47:28

So every day, I'm afraid, and then I go back and remind myself that I am living my purpose and again start where I am and show up and step out. And so that's, I think, the silver lining. In addition to making good business sense for anybody, whether it's career search or business building, it is a way to infuse with courage and confidence.

Lyn Wineman: 47:59

Absolutely, Susan. That's so good and, honestly, that sounds to me like the definition of true north. So it all comes together.

Susan, I fully believe the world needs more people like you, more people advocating for women's health and leadership, more consultancies like TrueNorth, and I just thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule today.

Susan Willig: 48:27

Thank you, Lyn. I appreciate you and all that you do to build awareness for authentic stories.

Lyn Wineman: 48:34

The feeling is mutual, Susan. 

Susan Willig: 48:36

That will change the world right.

Announcer: 48:41

We hope you enjoyed today's Agency for Change podcast. To hear all our interviews with those who are making a positive change in our communities or to nominate a changemaker you'd love to hear from. Visit kidglov.com at K-I-D-G-L-O-V.com to get in touch, as always. If you like what you've heard today, be sure to rate, review, subscribe and share. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time.