Name: Melissa Grossman
Location: Colorado
Company: Portmanteau Partners
Professional Industry: Real Estate
Job Title: Managing Partner
WIXII-ISM™ FROM MELISSA:
“I don’t think there is ever a perfect mix because it is always a moving target. However, it can be made less frustrating by changing our expectations and by realizing that there is no such thing as “having it all.” Be happy with what you have when you have it, and look for ways to stay happy as you keep walking down the path. Sounds simple, but I’ve found that making things complicated doesn’t make it better or easier. ”
“I had a range of successes and failures, learning a great deal from each one and loving every minute of it…Changing industries is scary, but it is also incredibly exciting. Having a broad set of functional skills and experience along with a willingness to embrace temporary uncertainty is critical, but the reward is also great.”
MELISSA’S STORY:
Meet our featured Wixii™, Melissa Grossman. She is 44 years old and mother to two sons ages 11 and 9. She has her B.A. from Duke University in Psychology and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She recently became a Managing Partner in a commercial real estate development company called Portmanteau Partners. A little known fact about Melissa is that she got engaged while scuba diving!
MELISSA’S CAREER PATH:
I began my career in stretch roles in large high profile media companies in New York City where I was encouraged to take risks and build new business lines. That gave me the entrepreneurial bug. From there, I worked almost exclusively in start-up companies across multiple functional roles in a variety of industries. I had a range of successes and failures, learning a great deal from each one and loving every minute of it. Even though I learned a lot from the school of hard knocks, I wanted to go to business school to add structure to my experience. I went to Harvard where not only did I gain a new perspective, but I gained an even more valuable network of friends and colleagues.
I recently took a year off in between jobs. I had just completed a role in a small start-up where I had done some of the best work I had ever done, and I was very proud of how I had built on all of my prior experience and contacts to contribute a great deal of value in a short period of time. I was thinking very hard about what to do next (as well as taking a lot of time to just hang out with my kids, husband, family and friends.) The last several roles I had been in were all in small, entrepreneurial companies. While I had enjoyed them all and learned so much from each situation, I also felt I could potentially benefit from returning to the stability of a more corporate position. However, when it came time to make a decision about my next job, I ended up choosing another start-up, and this one was in an industry that I knew nothing about – commercial real estate development. Why would I do that? First, the person who asked me to join him as a partner in the effort was someone who had been in the industry for a long time, someone who I trusted, admired, and who believed in my ability to learn and add value quickly. Second, the industry was one that was on its way up again after a long slump. Third, and most importantly, I had been working almost my entire career in “idea”-capital businesses, that is, businesses whose assets were primarily intangible such as consulting, patents, services, etc. I thought it was a wise choice to migrate to an industry where the assets were hard goods – real estate. I felt that it would give me a new perspective and the ability to apply my experience in an entirely new way. I am lucky to have a supportive business partner and a situation that will allow me to learn, and I look forward the next phase of my career. Changing industries is scary, but it is also incredibly exciting. Having a broad set of functional skills and experience along with a willingness to embrace temporary uncertainty is critical, but the reward is also great.
MELISSA’S MINDSET AND WORK-LIFE MIX:
I have an optimistic attitude toward life. I strive to do things well and take great pride in my work. I like to have a good time, I like to laugh, I enjoy my family and friends, and a healthy work/life balance is very important to me. I’ve learned to take the good with the bad, to learn from my successes and my failures, and to forgive myself for making mistakes (because I make them a lot more than I care to admit.)
I work full time, but I also exercise three to four days a week (at 6 am), and am home to pick up my children from the bus at 4 pm each day. My husband and I (mostly) share the household duties. If anything suffers, it’s usually my work, but I have a very understanding business partner. This is quite unusual for a start-up company, and I am lucky in that regard. I sought out this type of situation because it is an important time in my boys’ lives, and I wanted at least one us (parents) to be around for them when they are home. My husband and I tend to take turns in our careers being that designated person, and now it’s my turn. I’m enjoying it very much.
Please share specific tips for effectively managing your time and schedule.
You have to literally schedule your days and weeks in advance, including your personal time, to ensure that you get everything in that is important to you. For example, if I do not schedule in my gym time, I don’t go. If I don’t schedule in picking up my boys from school or camp, I don’t leave enough time to get there and I’m late. As a multi-tasker to the extreme, I will get distracted with too many things on my plate and then get nothing done really well, so I have to force myself to focus on the critical things.
Is there anything you would like to share about work-life mix?
The ideal balance of work and life changes over time as we change as individuals. The things that are important to us shift. As they do, often our work lives don’t change pace at the same rate or we may lack the power to make a change at that moment. This leaves many of us frustrated, wishing we had more time to do one thing or another. This is an almost universal truth, both for women and for men. I don’t think there is ever a perfect mix because it is always a moving target. However, it can be made less frustrating by changing our expectations and by realizing that there is no such thing as “having it all.” Be happy with what you have when you have it, and look for ways to stay happy as you keep walking down the path. Sounds simple, but I’ve found that making things complicated doesn’t make it better or easier.
