The Children's Book Author turned CCO at Point of Reference ft. Alison Bukowski

Allison Bukowski wanted to be a children's book author at age five. Today she's the Chief Customer Officer at Point of Reference. And the through-line between those two things is storytelling. In this episode, Allison walks KristI through a career built on writing, advocacy, and a fierce belief that customers deserve a seat at the table and not just a mention in the mission statement. Reflecting on her career journey, Allison shares the real talk: the years she slowed her own climb by refusing to self-promote, deprioritising the the VP title she worked really hard after her second daughter was born, and the moment she finally realized that advocating for customers and advocating for herself were the same skill. She also gets candid about women competing instead of collaborating, the guilt of being a traveling mom, and why imposter syndrome is actually a green light and not a stop sign. Timestamps 0:00 - Preview & Introduction 0:30 - Meet Alison Bukowski, CCO at Point of Reference and a mom 2:52 - Childhood dream of becoming a children's book author 5:07 - Changing writing style in the light of AI writing 6:45 - First job out of school and career waves 9:12 - Alison's Mission to take customer advocacy from a single role to an organization-wide discipline 12:00 - Moving from execution to influencing strategy and speaking CFO language 13:50 - Lessons from the career journey 16:50 - The challenge of not being good at politics and learning to advocate 19:22 - How she started advocating for herself 22:55 - VP before 30 and Titles matter, but so does timing 27:57 - Being asked for mentorship and watching someone she mentored get promoted 29:00 - You can have it all, just not all at once 30:10 - Empowering women: Collaboration over competition 38:17 - How Alison balances work and life 40:26 - Phone boundaries and being present for the "last firsts" 43:15 - Imposter syndrome means you're ready Connect with the guest: Alison Bukowski:   / alison-a-bukowski   Connect with Kristi Faltorusso: Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kristifaltorusso.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠  / ⁠⁠⁠⁠   Follow the Podcast YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0Pf1SZM... Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... To learn more about Wednesday Women check out their Website: ⁠https://www.wednesdaywomen.org/⁠ LinkedIn page: ⁠  / ⁠   Connect with the Show Producer: Manali:   / manalibhat   _____________________ About She's So Suite Podcast: Embark on a journey with Kristi in each podcast episode as she engages in insightful conversations with accomplished women in the C-suite. Explore their unique stories, triumphs, challenges, dreams, and valuable advice that will inspire and empower you. Tune in for an enriching experience as Kristi delves into the depth of their professional journeys and brings you closer to the dynamic world of female leaders at the top.