Outside of Your Comfort Zone
November, 2018
Well that was scary, for a minute, anyway. When I was given the honor of being this month’s editor for the special Women in Parking edition of Parking Today Magazine a few things immediately went through my mind. At first, I was wondering just what the heck John Van Horn was thinking, then I thought, well, maybe he just wanted the month off. I later found out that he may have done just that (well deserved, of course)!
Oh, sure, I have put together countless newsletters before (like the OOOM News for the Official Order of Mongoose in my youth – really, that’s a thing). I have never edited anything of this scale or importance though, so it seemed more than a bit daunting. Then I thought this could be a rather interesting journey, so I took a deep breath and dove right in. Here we go.
This month we explore the topics of Women in Parking, Human Resources, Training and Professional Development Management, Consultants and a bit of general Diversity as well. The idea was to make this edition interesting to all, not just the women folk. So, fellas, don’t be put off, there are some useful insights contained herein.
This has been a rewarding and educational experience and I hope that the following pages will be of interest to everyone. I have really enjoyed reading all of these great articles. I particularly enjoy reading about others’ experiences in the industry. We share quite a lot of similar circumstances, but have different experiences. We are all on our own paths, and those paths converge more often than not.
We have contributions from a variety of voices in the parking industry, and the majority of our contributors are members of Women in Parking (including a couple of the male members). We have a thought-provoking viewpoint from the UK, a European perspective, and close to home we hear about professional development and challenges in hiring.
We have some great insights from consultants and we have a one-on-one with our favorite woman in parking, as well as our favorite man (he might have paid me to say that). We have a tribute to mom, as well as a get-tough attitude article, and coincidentally, a step outside of our comfort zone. We also take a hard look at diversity.
My deep personal gratitude goes to everyone that contributed. To John Van Horn, of course for your generosity and advice. To Marcy for all your guidance. I literally could not have done this without you all.
By the time this hits your mail box I will be just back from observing the cacophony, ordered chaos and wonder of parking and all other things in India and Nepal. Once you understand the way things work it’s not that scary at all. In fact, it can be rather exhilarating.
KAREN BLASING PRADHAN
Sales Channel Professional, SKIDATA, Inc. is the special editor for this month’s Parking Today and Treasurer of Women in Parking. She can be reached at Karen.Pradhan@skidata.com
