By Lynn Fujino

Looking for inspiration for your work life? Need help negotiating with a colleague or a boss? Ann Sado knows just how to help. She's been there, done that, and then some.

Sado, a marketing and cultural change specialist, seems pretty darn close to being a balanced individual. Born in Seattle, Washington, to Japanese parents, she says she has learned how to combine the nurturing Japanese side of her upbringing with the more risk-taking American side. I have to say, though, after listening to her speak for just over an hour, there's more to it than that. This woman is a go-getter!

As she began speaking, I tried very hard to keep track of her corporate history so that I could relate it here. Not only could my pen not keep up with all her achievements, my head was swimming trying to imagine fitting all that into one career. And though she's been at it for a few years, it would seem that her career's only just begun. From her start in marketing with a major soft drink chain, she then moved into the cosmetics field, where she was advised by one boss to refer to the company's main product as her "boyfriend." She obviously took this suggestion to heart, since sales of that product quickly soared in this country.

From foods, to cosmetics, to banking, to sports apparel, it seems that Sado can market almost anything. But that's not all she can do. She's also a graduate of Waseda University's School of Japanese Classical Theatre and Dance and holds a teaching certificate from the Iwai School of Japanese Classical Dance. In addition, she is currently Representative Director of A-to-Z Sado Enterprises, a small niche company that acts as an East-West conduit, and Vice-President of GEWEL, an NPO that focuses on "supporting Japanese businesswomen to expand and develop their leadership abilities impacting their success in Japan and globally." (See a full look at Ann Sado's professional background.)

How does she do it? According to Sado, it requires focusing on five "Ps": Purpose, Patience/Perseverance, Professionalism, Peak Performance, and Paradise. All of these five fall under the one big "P"-Passion. "When you combine passion with responsibility," says Sado, "you can do anything."

There's also a little trick of knowing your authentic self. As she led us
through an interesting exercise to decipher our own authentic selves, she mentioned that this is something she enjoys asking Japanese women in their 20s or 30s to do. "Once we know that part of ourselves," she says, "we can build on our strengths."

And it is our strengths that take us where we need to go, according to Sado. Through her vast corporate and entrepreneurial experiences, she has had to learn how to negotiate with many different individuals and personality types. Drawing on her own strengths to deliver her message, Sado augments her empowerment strategies with tips from other well-known motivational speakers and negotiating gurus such as Jack Canfield and Dr. Tessa Albert Warcshaw. During her presentation, Sado took us quickly and effectively through an exercise in negotiating techniques that she has learned from Dr. Warschaw. And while we didn't have enough time to reach the full potential of this exercise, Sado's incredible energy during the presentation gave many of us a fabulous taste of what is possible.

Had it not been for the time, I'm sure we would have kept her there answering our questions most of the evening. As it was, Sado was only able to touch upon another technique that she swears by-affirmations. She mentioned how effective this technique has been for her personally. For example, when she wants to improve her body shape, she pastes a photo of Marlena Dietrich on her computer screen, so she can see it everyday. This is her way of reminding herself what she can become.

I'm all for affirmations, and I think Marlena Dietrich is great, but for now, I'll be pasting a photo of Ann Sado on my screen.