Beyond the Boardroom: Alpha Brand 217's Ally Sehy
Nov. 27—No matter whether she's leading a team at one of Champaign County's largest employers or running a one-woman operation, ALLY SEHY's status since kicking off her consulting career this fall,her one unbreakable rule of the workplace remains the same.
"Own it," says the former Busey managing director. "Own your responsibilities, your concerns, mistakes, attitude, work product, your time and your style. Run it like you own it."
An alumna of Centennial High and the UI's Gies College of Business, the mom of three opted to "step away from the corporate world" over the summer in favor of a new challenge.
As of last month, she's the president of her own consulting shop — Alpha Brand 217 LLC, with a focus on business consulting, marketing strategy and commercial real estate.
The 2018 Dancing with the CU Stars champ and 2019 Central Illinois Business magazine Forty Under 40 honoree took time out to answer questions from in the 156th installment of our weekly speed read spotlighting leaders of organizations big and small.
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On my office walls, you'll find ... white space. My longtime friend and Chicago roommate has worked at Anthropologie for nearly 20 years. In 2004, she introduced white space into my life.
White space can be found as a literal blank spot on a wall where your eyes take a rest and allow your brain to imagine things rather than absorb content.
White space also travels further: onto a presentation and into a conversation. Try it — you may like it.
Aside from white space, I have always appreciated a handwritten note and great quotes — the most precious to me are pinned to my workspace walls.
Pictures of family and friends have earned their spots, too. Like music, the right words and memories can ground and inspire me — so you'll find those types of mementos on my office walls.
My philosophy on meetings is ... know when to be efficient, and when to allow time and space for creativity and open thoughts.
It is important to set the tone for an honest and supportive environment, even when there are hard messages to deliver or subjects to discuss. When your words and actions are consistently in the best interest of others, and you expect the same from them, meetings can positively influence a culture and create sustainable and successful partnerships.
If I could trade places for a week with any other local leader, I wouldn't mind switching with ... Jennifer Gunji-Ballsrud, director of the Japan House and co-owner of Suzu's, a Japanese bakery.
Jennifer's positivity, appreciation for tradition, creativity and energy are magnetic. Her gifts have created and enhanced some very special places in our community.
It would be an honor to step into the shoes of this woman who maintains a strong connection to Japanese culture. I would love to learn the history, preparation and presentation of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. It would be a treat to spend time in the kitchen working with the recipes for savory and sweet goods at the bakery.
Japanese culture is especially close to my heart because of my family and friends.
Runner-up: Josh Whitman, director of athletics, University of Illinois.
The hardest thing about being a leader is that ... maintaining patience can be a challenge, especially when you have extremely high expectations; you are tested by the time it takes for learning and execution.
I can't live without ... professionally: my notebook. At any point in time, I have one which holds my meeting notes, ideas, to-dos, schedule updates, lists, quotes, books to read, all the things.
I am very picky about the design, paper weight, size and style. My notebook is the not-so-secret ingredient to capturing details which would have otherwise fallen to the wayside.
When it comes to a professional role model ... I find Sarah Blakely, CEO of Spanx, to be interesting. She is an uncomplicated problem solver. She is an encourager of creativity and hard work. She offers personal and relatable advice for opportunities and challenges.
I wind down after work by ... changing into cozy clothes. When my "big girl shoes" — high heels — are on, I'm moving at a quicker pace and rocking my day. My husband and kids know: it's go time.
After work, when the slippers come out — ahh, a deep breath, and a noticeable slowdown occurs. This apple did not fall far from the tree.
The last luxury in which I indulged was ... wine country in California with three incredible girlfriends. After a sunshine-lit lunch of oysters and fries overlooking the bay just off the Embarcadero in San Francisco, we made our way into the valley.
We walked to dinners at restaurants you can read about in top food and wine magazines. We leisurely sipped bubbly on the terrace of a French-inspired château in Napa. We tasted grapes off the vine. We cooled off during a cave tour where gravity moves wine into barrels.
We were spoiled with rose, pinot noirs and zinfandels at an estate run by the sixth generation of winemakers. We learned about their history and the vision of 19th century Black abolitionist and businesswoman Mary Ellen Pleasant, while touring their orchards, gardens and visiting their grazing animals — and yes, that's where we held the babydoll lambs, with a wine glass in hand.
We hiked, talked, laughed and relaxed. Time in great company with coffee or wine, is a true luxury.
The most beneficial college class I took was ... Principals of Marketing through the Gies College of Business. The concept of PPP — product, price, placement — has played a role in my professional endeavors regularly.
In business, bringing the right product, at the right price, to the right place can take you well past the halfway mark to achieve a goal. This simple guide can create clarity where fog tends to exist, it begs for commitment to a direction, it is explainable and understandable.
As for when I'm up and at 'em every day ... "up" is different from "up and at 'em." I'm frequently "up" by 6 a.m., hearing one of our early-rising kids turn on music and helping themselves to breakfast.
"At 'em" status requires a coffee in hand — or recently, a coffee alternative like a chai mushroom latte, which for the record is meh — around 6:45 a.m.
My exercise routine consists of ... coaching eighth-grade girls' basketball, which sure feels like a workout. A 60-second wall sit and some defensive footwork, when done correctly, gets my attention.
Outside of coaching, I'm still in the lifting-and-carrying-kids stage of life. Our baby is 3 years old — read: > 30-pound weight lifting.
Also, you get a full-body workout doing house projects with me by ripping out granite and blasting tile with a rotary hammer.
The worst job I ever had was ... one summer, about 25 years ago, when I was a runner for the family business. My responsibilities included picking up/dropping off blueprints, making deliveries to engineering firms, daily post office runs and site visits.
While I enjoyed getting to know our business, other businesses and meeting owners and their teams, it was not my jam. No doubt this is when I was gaining an appreciation for being efficient; I grew a distaste for tracking mileage, and it is certainly why I value every member of a team and their contributions to a business' operations.
