#356 Mary Shea: From Oboe Solos to Sales Strategy—A Career Reinvented — Part One
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Who is Mary Shea and what is her unique career path?
Mary's story is downright inspiring. Mary, a proud LGBT community member and women's empowerment advocate, has taken a path less troubled. Imagine going from a classical musician with a PhD to an entry-level sales job, from playing music to playing a key role in sales, then rising to become a CEO after working as a forester analyst. If I had to capture Mary's journey in just two words, it would be beyond boundaries. We are our worst enemies, scared of failure or what others might think. But in Mary's case, instead of being paralyzed by the weight of her background as a well-educated musician, a mantle that could have been seen as baggage in her new arena. She chose to reinvent herself. This wasn't about giving up.
It was about moving forward, unburdened. is a powerful reminder of the resilience it takes to truly embrace change and chase success on one's own terms. I'd come to know Mary before I even met her in person. A common friend, so to speak, is her partner, Waverly Deutsch, who was my former professor of entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth. After I heard all the wonderful things about Mary's business success in the sales space, I finally got to sit down with her over dinner when both of them came to Hong Kong before COVID. Other than good food and wine, fun conversation, I was impressed by all the changes she has led, building herself up with so much resilience and intelligence. As I was putting together the guest list for the podcast, I thought of her right away. I emailed her directly. Within eight minutes, I got her reply. There, she said, I would love to be on your podcast. Please send over details. Our team will take a look to make sure it's a good fit for me and Mediafly, which I already assume it is. You bet, Mary. Here we go.
Thank you for having me. I'm thrilled to reconnect with you. It's been quite some time, hasn't it?
Yes, a couple of years, a lot of changes. This podcast is about change. You are the perfect person to talk about that.
Now, let's start with your own change. I don't mean just a resume type of introduction, but more about milestones that you've experienced.
back in your school days studying music and then move through the business landscape and now you are the co-CEO at Mediaflot.
How did Mary transition from music to business?
Start with something brief and then we'll dive into specific details. Sure. Happy to share that with your listeners and with your audience. I do love change. And if you think about me, I've been in the business world and walking the world for a while here now. I'm also a Gemini, which means I constantly like being challenged. I'm intellectually curious. I sometimes am impatient and like to take on new things. So my professional journey is wrought with lots of risk and lots of change. And I'll share with you that the biggest risks I've taken have resulted in the biggest upsides, whether it's professional, personal growth or economics or typical roles that you might think about. I started out my career as a classical musician. I was an oboist.
So for those of you who don't know, oboe is a double reed instrument like bassoon. And it's one of the most difficult orchestral instruments there are. I started playing the oboe when I was 12. My whole life was really geared to being a professional classical musician. I played in a number of youth orchestras. I went to college and earned degrees in music performance. And then I went to Mexico and played in the Mexico City Philharmonic and the Guadalajara Symphony Orchestra. I really lived my dream when I was in my very, very early 20s. which is wonderful because I didn't have to have a midlife crisis then. So I got to do what I wanted from day one.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
Who is Mary Shea and what is her unique career path?
0:56–4:22
2
How did Mary transition from music to business?
4:22–7:20
3
What role did Forrester play in Mary's career transformation?
7:20–10:12
4
How does Mary view sales as a tool for social change?
10:12–12:05
5
What are the key motivations in Mary's career journey?
12:05–22:04
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Chief Change Officer™: Ensemble
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