1. Adventures of Sylvia Lafair
President, Creative Energy Options Inc
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women play within industry and business. Experience inspirational, real stories by real women; Interested in being
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Hi, I am Sylvia Lafair, President of Creative Energy Options , Inc., White Haven, PA 18661 USA.
I began my career as a family therapist and expected to follow this path, well, just about forever. I loved the action of
working with that whole complex group of individuals who did not necessarily “choose” to be involved with each
other, and yet there they are.
One evening my entire career took a surprise left turn. I had a room full of parents whose adolescents were challenging
every rule. I was giving tips on how to find better ways of communicating. At the end a man approached me, told me
he was CEO of his company and asked me to work with his senior leadership team.
He said they were fighting; to which I replied, “so what does that have to do with me?”
His next sentence was the turning point. “You work with people and the power of genetics; I want you to work with my
team and the power of economics. These folks, like families do better when they get along”.
Genetics and economics are two major forces in this world. I was super curious and went to facilitate and, as they say,
the rest is history.
Quickly I saw the power of working in the business world. Individuals were making changes faster because their
careers depended on it. They were then taking what they learned home, so it was a double win.
I love this field of business consulting and coaching and I have never looked back. I am always challenged to find the
right formula for how individuals and teams can be helped to become the best they can be.
Over the years I developed the 13 most common behaviour patterns in the workplace that get in the way of success and
how they can be transformed into their positive opposites. This area is a passion for me and I love to work with
corporations, family firms, entrepreneurs, and non-profits.
When all is said and done, the “evergreen” part of my research is that people are more similar than different and we all
want two things: to be heard and to be acknowledged. My book “Don’t Bring It To Work” goes into detail about these
ideas and I have been grateful that it has won 9 book awards to date.
I think the field of organizational development is perfect for today’s fast paced world and I would encourage young
people to find a wonderful program and get credentialed. Helping people understand their underlying strengths and
weaknesses so they can excel at work and at home is rewarding on both the psychological level as well as the fiscal
level.
2. Guiding teams to become experts at working together is my biggest success in the work world. What is wonderful is
that individuals and teams who have mastered the skills of relating at work also end up at the higher level of
productivity and financial success.
I love to write. And putting on paper the stories of what I have learned over the years is a perfect balance of career and
hobby. I love to go on adventure trips with my husband and then write about being in Peru, Singapore, and Costa Rica.
So it really is a winning way. My newest book “GUTSY: How Women Leaders Make Change” was so much fun to
research. “Hot off the press, I just found out that GUTSY won first place in the “How To” section of the Paris Book
Festival. Guess that means another adventure trip to the city of lights.
I do believe this is a power time for women to find their courage to be daring. In our GUTSY WOMEN Weekend
Retreats and evening programs we encourage women to be pioneers, to give up being pleasers (pattern from the past)
and find their own unique ways to speak out and tell the truth.
What I hope to hand to those who come after me is the courage to change. I love to encourage others to look at their
patterns. I show how I went from “drama queen” to “storyteller” and from “rebel “to “community builder”. I hope that
learning about our internal motivators and how to transform them will make an impact.
My favorite quote is from the epitome of a GUTSY woman, Helen Keller, who without the ability to use the senses of
sight and hearing made a full life for herself and said “Life is a daring adventure, or it is nothing”. Let’s all play full out
and give back at the same time.
Sylvia Lafair
President
Creative Energy Options Inc
“Hot off the press, GUTSY has won first place
in the “How To” section of the Paris Book
Festival.
