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Pooja Dang
Women's Leadership & Executive Coach | Career Strategist | Manager to Leader Promotion Expert | Author
Pooja Dang is a Women's Executive Leadership Coach with over a decade of experience helping women achieve their highest potential. Pooja's educational background includes studying Women's Executive Leadership Program, Professional Program in Women and Leadership, and Certificate Program in Leadership and Management, Business Administration and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. Pooja also studied BSBA in Actuarial Science & Finance at Drake University.
Pooja has worked as a Career Consultant at Career Contessa, Leadership Executive Coach at Slate Advisors, Behavior Change Coach at UC Berkeley, and Director of Analytics at SageSpring Partners. Pooja's expertise includes coaching, leadership, behavior change, communication skills, and career planning.
In her career, Pooja has helped over 700 women rise into more MONEY, more RECOGNITION, and more INFLUENCE. She believes that women need more support and resources to succeed in the workplace, and she helps women overcome barriers such as fear of failure, self-doubt, and the quest for perfection.
Highlights
Do you have a microwave mentality?
This idea that if you try something a few times, you should be good at it or see results right away?
If you do, you’re not alone.
Our culture has a way of celebrating the entitlement to be phenomenally good at something overnight. If we aren’t, we get bored and we switch. With so many options, we must be good at something so we get an inch into everything without ever fully exploring anything. We blaze through a list of hobbies, skills and careers at the speed of light because we want success and want it yesterday.
But what we’ve lost in the process is the art of mastery and everything it takes to become truly accomplished.
The time. The effort. The practice. The intention. The process.
All the unsexy stuff that doesn’t gather a crowd because you’re often doing it alone, after work or on weekends. All the deliberate toil that, as Anders Ericsson describes in his book, “Peak”, is “the key to achieving mastery.”
We are unwilling to invest what it takes, so we put things down as fast as we pick them up. We risk the discovery of a true passion because we can’t get over the beginner’s hurdle or first attempts.
We lack patience for greatness, so we’re not finding it.
The good news?
We can shift this with a few intentional steps.
Start with something you like. Sounds obvious, but trying to master something you don’t like is not a test of professional aptitude. It just makes you hate doing it. Choose something you have a natural inclination for and you’re already halfway there.
Create a plan with specific goals. It’s easier to figure out how to achieve something when you know what you want, so find goal markers on the marathon that are far enough out that you have to work for them but close enough that you’ll experience a win sooner. Celebrating progress helps make more of it.
Ask for feedback. Don’t keep your efforts a secret. Share them with people you trust and respect; ideally, someone experienced in the field who can help you tangibly improve.
Embrace the work. There’s no short-cut. There’s no easy way. You have to put in the time and effort when you feel like it, when you don’t feel like it, when you’d rather be doing something or when you’re into it. It doesn’t matter. Every master knows there is no replacing showing up and doing the work.
Let yourself be a beginner. You will hit wrong notes. You will write shitty first drafts. That’s what beginners often are, so let yourself be a beginner. The only way to become an expert is through the weeds and work of those starting stages. It’s a beautiful process, if you let it be.
Trust me, it’ll be worth it.
You’ll make progress, actually get better at it and you’ll be so much more satisfied with the outcomes knowing the sweat you put into creating them.
It’s a feeling only true masters know.
To become a master, you need to hire a master.
Book a FREE 30-minute coaching consultation (https://lnkd.in/gt-YdZVt) with me today.
Last year, I got an exciting download:
I should record videos of myself offering quick strategies and tips to women on how they can grow in their careers. Post them on LinkedIn, on social media and on my website as a resource for my clients and audience.
Awesome.
But when I went to do my first one, I immediately hit a few typical speed bumps.
What should I wear? What does the background need to look like? Should I script it out or just improv it?
I hit a wall of classic over-thinking.
Then I had another idea.
“Do the crappy version first.”
Frustrated from being in my head, I tossed the idea of a bad version out the window, of doing it perfect right out of the gate, of making sure I did it “right” out of the room.
I sat there in a sweatshirt with my hair up and hit record.
No ring light or crisp white backdrop. Nothing fancy or pre-planned.
I simply captured what came out instead.
The pressure lifted. My internal chatter slowed down. The weight on my shoulders dissipated.
Why was I taking this so seriously?
This isn’t so bad. This background works just fine. I know enough about this topic that I don’t need to script it to death.
Then I thought,
“Okay, let me go and change my shirt and try again.”
This is how I approach everything now.
I don’t go into an idea with the promise of an immediately-postable outcome - something that’s perfect and polished that I can put up right away.
I only focus on recording a version - a “bad” version, a shitty first draft, an attempt - because when I get that on the board, it shakes off some of the jitters, helps me iron out some kinks and gives me clarity about what the end result needs to be.
All the practice helps me get to the best version of my original idea.
Try this technique the next time you’re stuck or doing something new.
A pitch. A cold email. A presentation.
Anything.
Instead of putting it off or not doing it at all, just get a version in.
Any version.
See if that doesn’t grease the wheel for the best version in the end.
Are you struggling with breaking it through to Director level and beyond? If you’re seeking expert guidance, strategic advice, and a partnership that propels you to level UP, book your free consultation now. (https://lnkd.in/gt-YdZVt)
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Mesh is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Mesh centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Mesh's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.