True Blue Entrepreneur

Woman of the Year Nominee

May 1, 2008

Conchita Robinson’s life changed when she wasn’t waking up before her alarm clock. To her, that meant she was no longer inspired and raring to go to her job at IBM. “I had a wonderful career at IBM,” she says. “I was Blue Blood all the way. I was true blue. I was the poster child for IBM, and the company fast-tracked my career. I joined the company when I was 19, and when I was 38, I was the vice president of sales initiatives for ibm. com. I had managed a $4 billion sales operation budget and directed a 1,200-person team. I wanted to be at the top level, and I always woke up before the alarm clock so I could get to work. And I always said that I would leave if that ever stopped.”

She started sleeping later around her 38th birthday. Today, Robinson is the founder and CEO of C. Robinson Associates Inc., where she delivers customized programs to senior executive management teams and is very involved in the community. In addition, she recently formed a partnership to serve the Florida market with the Atlanta-based executive leadership firm Turknett Leadership Group.

“Conchita has extraordinary intellect, energy, and ability to do any job she sets out to do! She is fantastic,” says IBM’s Ann Cramer. “She absolutely inspires others to succeed – and is therefore the epitome of an effective leader! And as an entrepreneur, she can see the future well before others, so she is way ahead of the business curve!” Alexis Scott, publisher of The Atlanta Daily World, says that Robinson is “fabulous. She is a dedicated supporter of great causes and women’s causes in Atlanta.”

Robinson’s success can be traced to her upbringing and being “totally anal. I want everything planned out, and I wanted to be able to walk away from a job by the time I was 40.” Robinson grew up in the segregated South but in a middle class family. Both her parents were teachers, and her father, Dr. Andrew Robinson, was highly respected in her hometown of Jacksonville, Fla., and was the interim president of the University of North Florida at the time of his death.

“Education was always very important, and I went to segregated public schools until I was in the third or fourth grade. Then the schools were integrated. For middle school I went to a private school. I was always comfortable being in the minority or in a diverse environment, and I believe it worked in my favor in my career. It’s similar to kids who travel early in their lives; I think they’re just a little ahead of those who don’t.”

She went to Newberry College, a Lutheran college in South Carolina, majoring in math and determined to graduate by the time she was 18. She didn’t make it.

“My father graduated when he was 18 and I was competitive. I would have graduated at 18, but I went to IBM instead,” she says. The company had a 10-week program for college students, particularly math majors. And, they were looking specifically for African-Americans. “I planned on being a teacher, but my father said this was an opportunity not to be missed. So I put on a dress and went down and talked to them. I did the program, and it caused me to graduate when I was 19. Then they offered me a job as a systems engineer at twice a teacher’s salary. I was blessed.”

She also mapped out her future – that’s where the anal part comes in. “My father sat me down and we discussed my goals. You have to dream it, but you also have to plan it so you know how you can have it.” Saving money was a big part. Determined to be able to retire by the time she was 40, Robinson banked half of her salary and rose through the ranks.

She acknowledges that IBM earmarked her early as a leader, and she benefited from coaching and leadership conferences. She also understood how to play the game.

“Succeeding at IBM is a game. You have to know the culture of the company you’re in and live by it; otherwise, you won’t succeed. I played the game and was given opportunities to build my skills, and I appreciated strong leadership. Within 90 days at the company, I was promoted. Oftentimes, you’ll find that the person that is standing in the way of your success is you. You do what you have to in order to succeed. Now, I can’t turn myself into a white man, but I can bring my skills up to a level that I’m meeting you more than halfway – and that’s enough.”

She quickly moved up the ranks, especially for an African-American woman, and she relocated to several cities, including twice to Atlanta. It all started to crash around her. Now the mother of two sons, her father died and her mother suffered a stroke and needed to come live with her. IBM wanted to transfer her overseas. “All the things that were working suddenly weren’t working. I couldn’t do it all,” she recalls. “I’m good at juggling, but not that good.”

And that pesky alarm clock was still there. “I knew I had to make a decision. Front and center I knew that I wasn’t going to go as far at IBM as I wanted, so I needed to leave, even though I loved it, and pick out my own experience. And, because I had planned my strategy from the time I was 19, I was able to do it.” She left in 2000 and was recruited by an executive search firm for a CEO position. She didn’t get it but was offered a COO position, which she turned down. “COOs do all the work and don’t get the top title,” she says. Still, the experience left her thinking about the executive search field as a career. She joined Spencer Stuart as a director and led executive searches for its high-tech and e-commerce practice. She left two years later, citing the slowdown in business after Sept. 11.

In 2003 she started C. Robinson Associates, aimed at helping corporations with their professional development, mentoring, consulting and executive search needs. At the same time, she also intensified her volunteer work with such organizations as the United Way, the American Kidney Foundation and Teach for America. But the soft spot in her heart was for Cool Girls Inc. She served as chairman of its board from 2002 to 2004. Cool Girls, which helps low-income girls, was looking for a CEO, and Robinson agreed not only to head the search committee but also to serve as interim president.

C. Robinson Associates works with high potentials in Fortune 1000 companies across the country. Robinson also started Leadership Development U, a comprehensive program to advance personal, professional and networking skills. Designed with the young and emerging professional in mind, Leadership Development U is a nine-month program featuring individual coaching sessions, team learning labs and group seminars.
“We discuss a variety of topics; leadership, personal branding, energy versus time management. The workplace is changing. It’s a more open environment, and
you have the generational issues. But at the core of every successful company and leader is respect, responsibility.”

She tries to impart her philosophy of not only hard work but also of identifying goals and working toward them. “I did want it all, and you have to figure out how. And if that means putting your job before your family, well, maybe that’s how you get things for your family. I have a lot of opportunities because I’m an ex-IBMer. But my dream was always clear. I knew who I was first and foremost, and no one can take that away from you. Have clarity and selfesteem. Know what you’re good at. You can put up with stuff, but your values are never negotiable. If you keep that in mind, you’ll succeed no matter where you are.”