Client Success
“I would like to thank you and compliment you for the session you conducted for our Information Technology Division last month, “Achieving Work + Life Fit, Strategically Managing Your work + Life in Partnership with Lehman.” We have found that the approach your take in your book, Work + Life, Finding the Fit That’s Right for You, and in your training session sends exactly the right message for Lehman Brothers, that “fit” is best achieved in partnership between the firm and our employees.
It is important as an employer to show support for employees as they balance their personal and professional obligations, and your partnership approach helps us do this. Through feedback, our employees also told us that they appreciated your candid, creative approach in helping them think through the process of combining successful work and personal lives. And, you did this all with clarity and humor that made the time fly by!
We are all looking forward to working with you on more projects in the future. Sincere thanks once again for your important contribution to our work life dialogue!”
Suzanne J. Richards
Lehman Brothers
Senior Vice President
Global Diversity and Inclusion
“There is no company which doesn’t struggle with how to enable its associates to successfully integrate the various aspects of their lives such that they meet the ever increasing demands of work, family, self and community. Cali Yost provides perspectives and answers for companies and their associates that are win-win for all involved. She recognizes that the burden for successfully integrating these demands rest first with the associate. They must be clear as to their needs and desires and it is they that must design solutions (whether its job sharing, flex hours, assignment changes, etc) that not only meet the associates needs, but lead to increasing productivity for the company as well. She also encourages leaders to be more flexible in considering ways to increase retention, job-satisfaction and productivity. To look beyond the policies they have created in these areas to the environmental and cultural norms which are often at odds with their own policies. Cali’s written words are insightful and her presentation manner is equally engaging as she uses real life situations and examples to illustrate and her points. She clearly is on the forefront of helping corporations and individuals find creative, win-win solutions to problems that have plagued us for years, but are only now becoming fair game for dialogue.”
Doug Smith
Chairman
Best Brands Corporation
“Cali Williams Yost is an exceptional work/life partner. Her approach is to get to know your company prior to making recommendations or speaking to your employees. She understands that in order to be the most effective, she must first learn the company’s culture, policies, management etc. She then tailors her presentation to meet your expectations and relate to the employees and managers in a way that makes sense and fits into their daily grind. She doesn’t just preach to them. She engages the audience and addresses fears that employees and managers may have in a light, comical manner in order to make the point. And, it doesn’t stop there! Cali ensures that a follow up conversation is held within a few months of her presentation to address any questions, concerns or challenges. After speaking to our employees and managers, she received a rating of exceeds expectations on the follow up survey.”
Nicole Petralia
Human Resources
Novo Nordisk, Inc.
“On behalf of the entire Committee, we could not have been more pleased with Cali. Her unique approach and style were instrumental in the Committee achieving its initial goals…Cali is extremely personable and has em listening and communication skills. These skills enable her to draw out the points of view and ideas of the committee members and coalesce that information into long-term goals. Finally, Cali’s top-notch presentation skills earned her the respect of the entire Committee as well as our National Director of Human Resources. We all look forward to working with her in the future.”
Barbara Taylor
General Counsel
BDO Seidman, LLP
“Thank you again for the wonderful Work+Life teleconference you conducted for The University of Chicago, GSB. The number of participants exceeded our expectations…Both the prework and program were concrete, practical and enlightening and very appropriate for our constituents who are engaged in a variety of functions and industries globally. The feedback from the students and alumni was excellent…”
Anita R. Brick
Director
MBA Career Advancement Programs
The University of Chicago
Graduate School of Business
“What a pleasure it was to work with you in preparation for One Small Step’s recent annual conference!..Here is a sampling of feedback we received from the evaluations about your particular session: “A much needed perspective,” “Great ideas on how to effectively implement our Flex progam,” “Cali has great points. Wished we had more time to cover more,” “Excellent—helped me think of ways to help my employees take initiative,” “Very practical tools for addressing flexibility. Excellent speaker,” “This session helped me both personally and professionally. I plan on discussing the ideas with our HR Director.”
Judy David Bloomfield
Director
One Small Step
“My crowd it still raving about you, your book…One of my favorite clients used your book to engineer a major life change—he is now in a PhD program to work on fixing his industry, the electric utility industry. He is very excited and credits you and your book. I love stories like that.”
Amy Reece
Principal
Leadereview.com
“I wanted to take a moment to thank you for delivering an informative and dynamic keynote speech at the recent Corporate Real Estate Executive Women’s Luncheon in Chicago. Our members very much enjoyed hearing about your Work+Life framework, a process that will definitely help us all more effectively address the ongoing challenges of combining work and life both as individuals and as employers…Your professional experience coupled with your research and personal stamina made the event a true success. We all enjoyed not only you and the presented topic but your book as well!”
Mirela Gabrovska
Programs Chair
CREW–Chicago
“The information you presented (at the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association’s Annual Leadership Conference) opened many eyes as to the way in which work can fit into life. Many people in the audience seemed to have discovered a new path and energy in shaping the course of their career. Much of this had to do with your super-confident and encouraging presentation style. It’s a “don’t take no for an answer” attitude that makes for greater leadership.”
Stephanie Sorine
Program Coordinator
Annual Leadership Conference
Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association
“(Cali is) A dynamic presenter that captivates the audience with her enthusiasm and passion for Work+Life Fit. She is engaging and extremely credible in delivering her message with the tools that will empower her audience to make the decision to doing what it takes to find the fit.”
Ingrid Abreu
BASF Corporation
Manager, Management Development & Diversity Learning and Development
