Danielle Folsom

In March, I broke my foot. Slipped in a puddle. Just... a puddle. Landed wrong, and that was that. No dramatic backstory. No good explanation. Just a completely avoidable moment on an otherwise unremarkable piece of ground. My foot was throbbing but my ego was even more bruised. To add a little more fun to the mix, I had a cruise already booked for the following week. So I went. Boot, crutches, and eventually a scooter that turned out to be more of a conversation starter than I expected. Who...

February gave me two moments that, at first glance, could have easily been labeled as rejection. They weren’t dramatic. There were no hard “nos.” Just silence. The first was with a senior-level executive I had been hoping to connect with. I sent an email. No response. I followed up. Still nothing. It would have been easy to assume the answer was no and move on. Instead, I tried a different route. I reached out in a different way. They replied. We connected. Now we’re discussing potential next...

A few weeks ago, I had my first “real” interview for someone to hire The Productive. It was the kind of conversation that feels like a milestone. They had a clear need. They were asking thoughtful questions. They were looking for HR support and strategic guidance. For a moment, it felt like momentum. On paper, my background and experience were a strong match for what they needed. That’s what made the “no” harder to sit with. They told me I was too expensive. If I’m being honest, that part...