Because style is strategy
Every time I try to write something creative, my inner legal mind objects. Relevance. Scope. Hearsay. Legal training doesn't fade, it follows you into every sentence. On why professional conditioning shapes how we communicate, and why that's not a flaw.
We praise men for ageing into authority and tell women to pause at the point of decoration. In The Age Illusion, Emerald de Leeuw Goggin examines how beauty standards quietly limit professional power and why every decade can, and should, be a new phase of leadership.
In Cult of Constant Improvement and the Courage to Shine Anyway, Emerald de Leeuw-Goggin explores the quiet forces that keep women from stepping fully into their power — from the endless cycle of professional self-improvement to the pressure to conform and the subtle “sparkle-dulling” that follows visibility. Drawing on her own experience leading global AI governance, she argues that success isn’t…
After hundreds of keynotes, panels, and studio lights, I’ve tested more makeup than I’d like to admit. These are the five products that actually hold up on stage — from the cult-classic Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation to the €5 Essence Lash Princess mascara. They’re reliable, travel-friendly, and proven to survive long event days and bright lighting. Some are high-end, some are under €10, but…
Note: This was a fairly popular post of mine dating back to 2020. Posting here so you can find it if you too are preparing to give a TEDx talk. This is a piece in a series on preparing and delivering a TED talk. There is not just one way to prepare, this was my process. I hope you find it helpful in preparing for a TED talk or any other talk you want to give without any support from a Powerpoint…
You need to get your team on board with a significant strategic shift. Maybe it's adopting new technology, expanding into a different market, or restructuring how work gets done. Whatever the change, you're facing the same challenge every leader encounters: people don't automatically embrace new directions, even when they make logical sense.
Your outfit is making a statement before you even open your mouth.
Note: this is an old post, originally published on July, 2022. Reposting here as it may still be useful. Ten years ago I started my career in privacy and data protection when started writing my LL.M thesis on the first published draft of the GDPR. I’ve gotten so much from the privacy community that I want to mark my decade in privacy by giving back. This post will be part of a series on the topic…
For my friend s birthday, I decided to treat both of us to something we d never done before: professional colour analysis in Seoul. I d stumbled across an article in Harper s Bazaar about Korean colour consultancies and figured it would be a fun cultural experience. What I didn t expect was to walk away with genuine insights about [ ]
You have 4 minutes to make your mark. The moderator just introduced you. Three other experts sit beside you, all armed with impressive credentials and polished talking points. The audience is checking phones, half-listening, chugging coffee, waiting for someone to say something worth remembering. This is your moment. Don t waste it rambling through background context [ ]