Paula Shaifer

I think I've had an opportunity to be in rooms and have mentors that seen things in me before I seen them in myself. So, just being able to have that around you, have people that want to see you win, that want to pour into you has truly been where my success has come from. Having those mentors and supporters who believed in me and invested in me made all the difference in my career journey.

The best career advice I ever had is that failure is not truly failure, it's just an opportunity to grow. This perspective has helped me reframe setbacks and challenges as learning experiences rather than defeats, which has been invaluable throughout my 20-plus years in business operations.

I would say the best advice that I would give to someone entering into the operations industry is to be open-minded, know that operations is very creative, and you can build it how you want. Don't let anyone box you into thinking operations is rigid or one-dimensional. There's so much room for creativity and innovation in how you approach building systems and solving business challenges.

I think right now with operations, some of the biggest challenges is just knowing how to adapt to the changes of society and where we're going, because we're a constant, evolving society. A lot of times in operations, you have to adjust your business based off of what's going on, real-world things. The ability to stay flexible and responsive to societal changes is critical in today's business environment.

Relationships are the most important value to me in both my professional and personal life. Building strong, meaningful relationships is the foundation of everything I do. Whether it's in business or in my personal world, I believe that the connections you make and nurture are what truly matter and create lasting impact.