Kerry Wekelo, MBA, is the Chief Operating Officer at Actualize Consulting, a financial services firm. Her book and program, Culture Infusion: 9 Principles for Creating and Maintaining a Thriving Organizational Culture and latest book Gratitude Infusion, are the impetus behind Actualize Consulting being named Top Company Culture by Entrepreneur Magazine, a Top Workplace by The Washington Post, and Great Place to Work-Certified.
In her leadership, Kerry blends her experiences as a consultant, executive coach, award-winning author, mindfulness expert, and entrepreneur. Kerry has been featured on ABC, NBC, NPR, The New York Times, Thrive Global, SHRM, Inc., and Forbes.
- Culture Infusion: 9 Principles for Creating and Maintaining a Thriving Organizational Culture
- Gratitude Infusion: Workplace Strategies for a Thriving Organizational Culture
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you ended up writing a book?
When I went to college, my mom encouraged me to pursue something “practical.” While I did enjoy what I studied, I ended up double majoring in finance and marketing based off that suggestion. I also made room for something I really enjoyed, psychology, with a minor. Right out of college, I got hired by a big consulting firm, which is how I got into consulting. Consulting was a good mix for me, allowing me to use my business acumen and knack for people. Then, in 2005, when my brother founded Actualize Consulting, he asked me to help build out the internal operations of the firm.
I always joke I have three kids — my biological children, and the other child I helped raise, Actualize. Actualize was like a passion project for me. Even after the internal operations were built out and we were externally becoming successful as a firm, we still had high attrition rates. Internally, I saw this as a failure. We really strived to transform the culture of our workplace by focusing on our people. I’m happy to say that we took our attrition rate from 33% to less than 4% after implementing numerous changes. That’s exactly what I wrote my book, Culture Infusion: 9 Principles to Create and Maintain a Thriving Organizational Culture, about. It’s the case study of how our corporate culture came to be as successful as it is today, by infusing the same principles I value in my own personal life. I’ve really found that my passion lies in making our workforce mindful and leading by example with balance. I’ve also been inspired by gratitude, which I consider a piece of mindfulness. I’ve found success by being grateful – I spend less time worrying, less time stressing, and overall, I am happier. It has totally changed my life. So much, in fact, that I was inspired to write a supplement to Culture Infusion, called Gratitude Infusion, which talks about the power of gratitude in instilling an environment of respect. While I’ve always liked to write, each book came about naturally. I was writing articles to support a corporate culture service offering, and I ended up having so much material it effortlessly became two books.
What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
I’d like for readers to learn how they can create and maintain thriving cultures while instilling gratitude into their daily operations. Our focus on our people has been extremely successful not only in terms of retention, but also in terms of profitability. Happy employees produce great work, so I would love for other leaders to incorporate many of the principles I outline. I’m a firm believer that change starts from within, so being intentional with your goals, your communication, and connections can really strengthen the foundation of your organization and leadership style. The tips in these books are inexpensive – they cost next to nothing. As long as you take time and put energy into doing this work, it can transform any environment.
What are the top three tools you are currently using to write, publish, and promote your books?
LinkedIn, Twitter, and appearing on podcasts have been the most helpful in terms of promotion for my books. The beauty of social media is that you can really tap into a niche market and use the power of your own network to market your books. It makes it a very personable experience, I think, as I can connect with others through my own content and on a more conversational, less formal platform. I think it leaves room for connection that doesn’t exist in traditional marketing campaigns.
What were the top three mistakes you made publishing your book what did you learn from it them?
Luckily, I have been through the publishing journey many times before, so I didn’t have nearly as many growing pains. One of the most helpful things I learned was that I prefer to focus on writing the content and lean on others to help with other pieces, like editing and fine-tuning grammar. Since I knew this when writing Culture Infusion and Gratitude Infusion, I had the help of my team to pull the content together and offer a third-party view into what I was writing. It’s all about making sure the pressure isn’t all on you – it takes a team. It can be done alone as well, but if possible, try to outsource some help along the way.
When will you consider your book a success?
Personally, since the books are just case studies of how we lead Actualize Consulting, I find them successful already. Actualize continues to win awards like Top Workplace by the Washington Post and has been certified as a Great Place to Work. These awards are a testament to the work we have been doing internally. Building a thriving culture is my passion – if I can help even just one person with my tips, I know I have succeeded.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
Overcoming perfectionism was a big challenge for me. I had this mindset where I thought everything needed to be seamless. In reality, all that matters is that you put your best effort in. Nothing will ever be perfect – there’s always something that can be improved. I have a very type A personality, so to calm and center myself I employed mindfulness. I began to recognize my feelings and emotions so I could pivot out of negative patterns. Naturally, it also helped that I had a team of people to help edit. That way, I got all kinds of feedback and perspectives. For example, I got to be deep in the process and details, while also having the privilege of what a high-level view looked like!
What is the one thing you wish you knew before publishing your book?
It takes time to build an audience and brand, so be patient. I hustled to get on podcasts and get interviewed, but as I’ve taken a step back, I realize it’s not a race. Building quality connections with readers doesn’t happen overnight, nor does it need to. Enjoy the process in all of its stages. For example, I have been focused on wellness and culture for 11 years now… way before it was mainstream. Now with the pandemic, firms are finally jumping on the bandwagon that mental health is important. If you are passionate and believe in something, your time to shine will come! Stay true to yourself and watch your authenticity do the rest.
Tapping into your own network is a great start in terms of marketing tactics. Share with those you are close to because it is very likely they are also interested in similar topics as you or they know someone else who is. Social media sites like LinkedIn make sharing content especially easy, and you already have a massive audience from people you know who like and comment on your posts. I have even enjoyed swapping book reviews with other authors – we share our books with one another and offer to write an honest review. A lot of times that opens up doors to content you haven’t seen before and unlocks more people who are interested in similar topics. Continue to support other entrepreneurs and their endeavors and they will support yours.
If you had the chance to start your career over again what would you do differently?
I personally believe that everything happens as it is supposed to happen. You learn from the most challenging roles you take on. I wouldn’t do anything differently. Good or bad, everything happens for a reason.
If you only had $1000 dollars to promote a new book, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
I would spend the money on hiring a social media manager to make sure I have good branding and a good online presence. Social media has changed the way we market, so being active and constantly repurposing content is useful – but it can also take a lot of time. Luckily, I have this in-house through my internal team at Actualize Consulting.
Hire editors – I used one to edit my content and another to focus on the grammar and sentence structure at the granular level. Having a team in place can help you focus on what is most important to you, and then you can have an extra set of eyes on the areas that you don’t enjoy or aren’t your strong suit. Of course, if for some reason you can’t hire a team, take your time with the process and try to break the project into more palatable chunks.
How can we get in touch with you?
I would love to connect with readers Actualize Consulting.com– you can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. If you want to send a direct message, email me at kelam@actualizeconsulting.com.
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