Sylvia Lafair welcomes inquiries and invitations for speaking engagements and media interviews. Contact maryjane@ceoptions.com.

Media Kit

Press Releases

Sylvia Lafair PhD wins SEVENTH AWARD for Leadership Book “Don’t Bring It to Work”

White Haven, Pa. March 23, 2012 – Another award for Dr. Sylvia Lafair, President of Creative Energy Options (CEOinc) with her important book “Don’t Bring It to Work” (Jossey Bass).

The seventh award is from the London Book Festival, an annual competition celebrating books receiving recognition from this international publishing capital.

“I am thrilled that my book is being honored.  Knowing the competition was strong and my book continues to be a resource for understanding the core of business relationships means a lot to me” said Lafair who speaks frequently about leadership development and communications at corporate and association conferences.

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Author Scores with GUTSY Women Retreat

White Haven, Pa. February 9, 2012

Women leaders in business know the dilemma – too many demands on home front, as well as at work: how to juggle so everyone is happy and nothing crashes and burns?

Sylvia Lafair, PhD, author of award winning book “Don’t Bring It to Work”, knows the problem well. “With all the advances women have made in the business world, the demand to still be point person at home has not changed over the decades. In my executive coaching I still hear the complaint that there is never enough time for self-care” says Sylvia.

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Influential Speaker and Author Sylvia Lafair Wins Spot in Top 20 Business Books for Emerging Leaders and New Managers

December 27, 2011 – White Haven, PA

They call her Dr. Transformation! While Sylvia Lafair PhD, president of Creative Energy Options (http://www.sylvialafair.com) and author of award winning book “Don’t Bring It to Work” (Jossey Bass Publishers) knows the biggest and most costly problems in the work environment today are conflict and related stress, she also knows that once leaders and managers learn to observe, understand, and transform what pushes their buttons they can help all employees overcome the distractions of arguing and disputes – and as a dynamic speaker she shares her insights with audiences around the world.

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Do It Differently in 2012 –Company President Reveals New Version of GUTSY WOMEN WEEKEND RETREAT

December 19, 2011 – White Haven, PA

There is a huge demand for women’s leadership programs that go beyond motivational seminars to the heart of how women can be change agents in today’s competitive work setting.

The GUTSY WOMEN WEEKEND RETREAT offers answers to start the New Year with new perspectives. It will roll out in 8 U.S. cities in 2012, including San Diego, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Manhattan hosted by women leaders and facilitated by Sylvia Lafair PhD, President of Creative Energy Options (CEOinc).

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Business Leadership Expert Sylvia Lafair Wins Third Prestigious Book Award

June 30, 2011 – White Haven, PA  
“Don’t Bring It to Work” published by Jossey Bass and written by Sylvia Lafair, PhD, President of Creative Energy Option, Inc.,(CEO), won a third book award from the New York Book Festival. This annual competition celebrates books deserving greater recognition from the world publishing capital. The judging is a multifaceted process going through several tiers of evaluation.

“I’m honored to have been acknowledged knowing the competition was strong and I’m proud to be recognized with such a distinguished group of authors,” said Lafair.

Her award winning book “Don’t Bring It to Work” has been ranked in the top of Amazon’s Best Selling Workplace books.

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Business Leadership Expert Hosts “GUTSY WOMEN” Leadership Program

June 6, 2011 – White Haven, PA
Sylvia Lafair PhD, award winning author of “Don’t Bring It to Work” and President of Creative Energy Options (CEO, Inc.) will host the powerful GUTSY WOMEN Week-end Retreat August 5-7 at her corporate training facility, The Country Place in Pa.

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GUTSY Women Leaders Make Change

White Haven, PA – May 23, 2011

In honor of Women’s Health Month and International Women’s Day, Sylvia Lafair PhD, is doing a double launch of her newest book “GUTSY! How Women Leaders Make Change” and her “GUTSY Women Week-End Retreat” May 20-22.  The new event will be held at her corporate training facility, The Country Place in Northeastern Pa.  Women, at the forefront of business, are making positive changes happen every day in every way by redefining leadership, and Dr. Lafair is here to give the short cuts to amazing success.

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How to be Calm, Comfortable, and Relaxed during a Speech or Presentation

January 26,2011 – White Haven, PA 

Results First Training, Inc. and Creative Energy Options, Inc. are teaming up to offer a new workshop to improve your presentations skills. Whether you’re making your first big keynote address, presenting a new concept to your boss, or making a sales presentation, this workshop from business and communication experts will give you the confidence and skill needed to be calm, comfortable, and relaxed during your speeches and presentations.

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Business Leadership Expert to Host Women’s Leadership Program.

January 6, 2011 – White Haven, PA
Sylvia Lafair, PhD, award winning author of “Don’t Bring It to Work” and President of Creative Energy Options, Inc.(CEO)  will  host the popular WELL, “Women Executive Leadership Learning” program. The two-day event, “REINVENT YOURSELF”, will focus on determining what it means to be a female leader in today’s world. This workshop puts the spotlight on what women leaders want and need in today’s complex world.

The session will be held at The Country Place Retreat and Conference Center located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Pre-registration is suggested. The session begins at11:00am on Wednesday, March 2^nd and will conclude at 4:00pm on Thursday, March 3^rd.

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Build and Give Team Building Helps Kids and Teams

October 14, 2010 – White Haven, PA
The staff of Attalus Capital, a Philadelphia based investment management firm, recently participated in “Build and Give”, a unique team building event facilitated by Mary Jane Saras, Vice President of Leadership Development  for Creative Energy Options, Inc., a consulting firm focused on optimizing workplace relationships.

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Business Leadership Expert and Keynote Speaker Sylvia Lafair Wins Prestigious Book Award

September 21, 2010 - White Haven, PA
“Don’t Bring It to Work” published by Jossey Bass and written by Sylvia Lafair, PhD, President of Creative Energy Options, Inc.,(CEO), has recently been named “Best Book” from Nautilus Books in the Business and Leadership Category. The book was featured at the Book Expo in New York City. The judging is a multifaceted process going through several tiers of evaluation. Judges include editors, college professors, writers and publishers.

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Book Reviews

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Is your boss a bully who needs to feel important and boosts his ego by withholding important information from you? Or maybe you work with someone who is so fearful of argument or criticism that problems go unsolved because she won’t discuss them.
-Anne Fisher, Writer, Time.com
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Radio and Podcasts

(Click play button to listen to each show. Click again to stop.)

Wayne Turmel – TPN Working Week
The Bonnie Graham Show
Dr. Howard Gluss segment 1
Dr. Howard Gluss segment 2
WHYY Voices – Philidelphia Public Radio
Elizabeth Grant Show
Savor The Success Talk Show
Greg Voison – Inside Personal Growth

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Articles by Sylvia Lafair

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Money and Meaning
It’s all interwoven with the story of family.
Leadership Excellence Magazine
By Sylvia Lafair

THINK ABOUT THE WORD money. Do you experience tightness in your gut worrying about cash flow, or notice a smile on your lips, knowing assets are safe, or feel the beginning of a nasty headache around recent losses?
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Q and A

1. Why did you write this book and what do you hope to accomplish with it?A: I’ve been writing this book in my mind ever since I began to see the powerful impact that leaders who are aware of life patterns can have in revolutionizing the way employees react and teams cooperate. I felt that my work in business was making amazing headway. As I offered executives and their teams the secrets of why we interact the way we do, I could see less on-going conflict and lots more innovative solutions. My hope is that organizations take a deeper look at what we need from our places of employ besides a paycheck. We are coming out of a time when greed and deception have been nailed and that more is not necessarily the royal road to happiness. Understanding how relationship systems operate is crucial work today. What better place to create a real learning environment and culture of trust than where we spend so much of our time – at work. Then we can take what is learned to our partners, children, and communities.
2. What does the title mean “Don’t Bring It to Work: Breaking the Family Patterns that Limit Success”?A: I often hear “Damn, I wish she wouldn’t bring her angry boyfriend stories to work. Or, I wish he would shut up about his annoying father.” I started to think about what we bring to work that is not part of the contract we sign. The TV series “The Office” is a great example of what not to bring to work and it is successful because it speaks to us at a very primal level. We do, as my subtitle says, bring our family patterns to work until we learn to transform them. Basically, we can behave in a grown-up manner much of the time and be respectful and responsible. Yet, when stress is activated, especially during this unprecedented economic crisis, there is a natural inclination to revert back to behaviors from childhood embedded as survival mechanisms. We take on the behavior of a three or five or twelve year old and it can become an emotional virus that takes over the whole team, the whole company. I was in a meeting with leaders at a major hospital and I kept getting the image of these well respected people sitting in high chairs banging their spoons and throwing oatmeal at each other.
3. What convinced you that your approach would work with business organizations?A: It was one of those “Aha” moments when two non-related ideas connect and suddenly all kinds of possibilities open up. In my early work life I had a psychotherapy center with a focus on couples, families, schools, and healthcare. With relationships you have to think systems, interactions, reciprocity, and connections. Relationships have a whole set of invisible rules and we all take on roles, just like being in a Broadway play. It’s utterly fascinating. Once we decipher what is going on, make the invisible visible, relationships are so much easier to manage. One day a man asked if I would be willing to work with his senior management team. They were, as he said, “backbiting and fighting, just like a family.” Then the “aha” moment! Families are connected through genetics, the work world through economics! Genetics, economics, both are deep drivers for our behavior. My results from working with this leadership team were striking. They started to cooperate and soon had more contracts than they ever believed possible.