Do We Fold or Do We Fight – A CEO’s Lessons from One of Her Earliest Setbacks

At 16, Shellye Archambeau already knew she wanted to be a CEO. And early in her career at IBM, after closing a massive deal with RiteAid, it felt like she was well on her way. But then, at the last minute, the deal fell through. Shellye felt utterly defeated – until a conversation with her husband helped her realize that there had been a failure … but that didn’t mean she was a failure.

Shellye went on to have a thriving career at IBM and beyond, with the lessons learned from that early setback helping her overcome all the challenges she faced along the way. By the time Shellye became CEO of the software company Metricstream, she felt like she was ready to handle anything. But then the Great Recession of 2008 hit. Just like that, business dried up. Suddenly, Shellye was faced with one of the most difficult decisions of her career. Would they fold? Or would they fight?

In this episode, Shellye joins Brenda to talk about the importance of demonstrating resilience as a leader when times get tough, why a great team is everything, and how you can turn your lowest career moments into a productive story to share in your next job interview. 

For more, check out Shellye and her work…

On LinkedIn – /shellye-archambeau

On Instagram – @shelarchambeau

On X – @ShelArchambeau

On the Web – shellye.com

And check out Shelley’s latest book, Unapologetically Ambitious

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Our guests contribute to this podcast in their personal capacity. The views expressed in this interview are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology or its employees (“AnitaB.org”). AnitaB.org is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of the information provided in the podcast series. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast series does not constitute legal or other professional advice or services.

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B The Way Forward Is…

Hosted and Executive Produced by Brenda Darden Wilkerson.

Produced by Avi Glijansky

Associate Produced by Kelli Kyle

Sound design and editing by Ryan Hammond 

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Additional Producing help from Faith Krogulecki

Operations Coordination for AnitaB.org by Quinton Sprull.

Creative Director for AnitaB.org is Deandra Coleman

Executive Produced by Dominique Ferrari, Stacey Book, and Avi Glijansky for Frequency Machine 

Photo of Brenda Darden Wilkerson by Mandisa Media Productions
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