People often mispronounce my name. When it happens, I politely correct them and inform them it’s “LaNella,” like “Vanilla with an e.” I usually get a surprised look at first, but then it quickly registers with most folks.

In a former position, my team and I were responsible for putting together global communications meetings. The live webcasts involved an in-house audience of approximately 200 employees from North America, as well as a few hundred employees from around the globe in Latin America, AsiaPAC, and Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA).

This week we celebrate Valentine’s Day. Love is in the air, and a plethora of cards, roses, and chocolates abound both at home and work.

But what happens when the sweetness of relationships goes sour at work? In my corporate life, a woman leader allegedly entered into a romantic relationship with the CEO of the company. According to the rumor mill, the board got wind of the situation and eventually forced the woman leader to resign. What made this situation even more uncomfortable was that the CEO was already married!

Ever since I was a little girl, I couldn’t wait to finish my schoolwork so I could curl up with a great book.  I loved escaping to the fictional stories in a Danielle Steele or Harold Robbin’s novel.  At the end of the school year, my favorite trip was to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to check out several books to read during my summer vacation.

During my book club meeting a few weeks ago, one of my friends mentioned she had been refraining from eating dessert because she was trying to help her husband lose weight. She indicated he has tried just about every diet and has not been successful. His latest splurge was purchasing a Peloton bike that now sits in their bedroom collecting clothes.