When They Go Low, We Go High. How Woman of Color Master the Art of Persuasion to Win Big Battles is rich in detail, but a quick read-book for any one that wants to be at the top of her game and up her power and influence in all sectors. They know that mastering grace under fire is both skill and art. This book is about helping Black women beat the odds.

Yes, Black women are strong. Yes, Black women are warrior sistas that take care for others before we take care for ourselves. Yes, we are raised to resist and persist no matter how difficult the challenge and how big the threat. In this book, the author shares some of the secrets of what it takes to maintain integrity when locked in tough negotiations and critical battles we encounter every day in a wide range of power struggles to advance ourselves.

Applying lessons learned from leaders like Michelle Obama and addressing the needs of millions of women of color influencers and persuaders, this book is about cracking the code on how Black women master persuasion, influence, negotiations, and life in general. Our stories are personal, yet our challenges are shared. Without exception, it is a new day and it is our time to rise-up as leaders and claim our seats at the leadership table.

 

 

How do women master a plan to rise up and beat the odds in an age of workplace disruptions and corporate invisibility at the leadership table for Black women in all sectors? America is facing a leadership crisis of insufficient women in general and an absence of Black women in particular in the C-suite at major Fortune 500 companies. In addition, the #MeToo movement and the eruption of the #TimesUp initiative promise to shift the balance of power and forge new definitions of equality and inclusion for women in general. Now more than ever, women and Black women in particular need to hone their leadership, power, and influence skills in all sectors in order to beat the odds. This book is about women and Black women influencers who want to be at the top of their games and master the art of persuasion and know that leveraging grace under fire is both a skill and an art.

 

In this book, When They Go Low, We Go High. How Woman of Color Master the Art of Persuasion to Win Big Battles, Raye Mitchell, Esq., a Harvard Law Schooltrained attorney, speaker, negotiator, and power and influence expert, utilizes over 30 years of legal and business acumen in negotiation and persuasion to share some of the inside secrets of what it takes to maintain integrity when locked in the tough negotiations and critical battles we encounter every day as we engage in a wide range of power struggles to advance ourselves. In an age in which the emphasis is on outrageous behavior, the Trump presidency and its legacy demonstrate the urgent need for women to master their persuasion skills in order win big battles. 

While numerous books cover the subject of persuasion in general, few examine the subject matter through the perspectives of women and Black women, our experiences, and our journey to become highly effective persuaders and influences. Few of us could imagine getting away with the antics of Trump that emboldened his candidacy and have persisted into his tenure as President. This book is a quick read and primer that is part of the expanding How Women Master Series offered by Raye Mitchell. This series provides insights and an integrated journal all in one place. Focused on assisting women in general and Black women in particular, this book, the book series, and the interactive companion workbooks and courses help them beat the odds.

 

 

When They Go Low, We Go High and the companion courses help them beat the odds by deploying outside-the-box thinking, strategies, and a few lessons learned from a veteran fighter and advocate for change and disruption of the status quo. This book is for every Black woman who wants to be an effective influencer and make a difference in a noisy world of competing issues and opportunities. It is not only for lawyers.

Chapter Excerpt When They Go Low, We Go High

Winning Edge  

When my grandmother, Mrs. Louise Mitchell, born March 4, 1891 in Galveston, TX, first talked about how her childhood was disrupted when the church and the school for Negro children was burnt down by a midnight terror run of the local Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and by their repeated efforts to sexually exploit, de­mean, and attack the Black women and girls, she always said, “if it’s not one thing, it’s another and a girl child always needs to know how to take care of herself.” She lived into her 100th year of life and left us on August 29, 1989. By the age of almost 100, Grandmamma had outlived all her siblings, her one and only husband, her earthly friends, all of her children except one, my mother Dorothy Mitchell, and most of her grandchildren, except for about five or six of us.

Grandmamma rarely talked about her life experiences when we were younger, but near her final years before her departure, she stopped talking to others all together, but in the middle of the night, she often held long and very coherent conversations with me about life, her life and her spiritual journey. In listening to her stories, I gained a new sense of strength, insight into being a Black woman, and without knowing, I re-learned my first lessons in what it meant to have a winning edge, even when not always winning. I saw the world through her eyes, and I saw that she was a survivor of and a victor over the circumstances of her life.

Grandmamma, a small framed Black woman with medium toned brown skin and dark blue eyes, managed to achieve a fourth-grade education in rural Texas until, “the white folks” burned down the church where the school was also housed. Later in life, Grandmamma quietly persisted in her quest to protect the women and girls of her family and would start her own church and school as a place for women and girls to thrive, but it never seemed to take root as they tried to “burn her out again”, she said, “if it’s not one thing, it’s another.”

Despite these circumstances, Grandmother as the matriarch that raised us all, rarely lingered on her past, and simply said times were hard, and while it was hard to keep a smile on your face, she always tried. A spiritual woman, she was never bitter, angry, or dejected. She only mentioned the KKK terror when talking about the need for me to go to school, but her real fear was harm to me in a world that was hard on a “black girl child.” She mentioned staying safe when she described my deceased grandfather, Will Mitchell. I never met him. I was the inquisitor in the family and

The two females, who were also the bookends of the seven children, were both the strongest and yet the most vulnerable of the six living children respectively. Aunt Willie Mae was the oldest child closest to Grandmother and much an-in-control-take-charge person. Aunt Willie Mae was strong in will, firm in stature, and determined as the protector of her mother and her role as the oldest child and oldest female child. Aunt Willie Mae and Grandmother were a fierce leadership team of the Mitchell women and the few Mitchell family men that lived past tragedy after tragedy. Some were lost to violence. Some were lost to crime. Some were lost to alcoholism and drugs. Some were just lost.

My Grandmother, Aunt Willie Mae, and my mother have long since passed on and have concluded their physical presence in my life. However, together, the endearing spirits of these three very different women shape my life experiences to this day. They were all not simply survivors of worldly violence, and domestic violence, they were survivors of all forms of violence hurdled against them as Black women, undereducated women, unskilled laborers, yet spiritually strong women who always found a way to make a way out of no-way.

My family was poor and in fact, based on history, statistics and the odds, I was destined to be trapped in poverty through crime, domestic violence, early pregnancy, absent men, segregated communities, poor school systems, dilapidated housing, and a poor inner city transportation system that left us isolated in low income communities with limited community resources. But that did not happen. Why?

While these women have left me, their lives demonstrated to me the meaningful difference between winning and having a winning edge. Few things in their lives could or would meet the traditional definition of winning. Every day was a challenge to just exist. Every day was a fight for existence, food, keeping the lights on, and keeping a place to live for the family. Thus, this book is really about the living and past spirits of different women of color who all found a way to make a way out of no way and of women of color who have found a winning edge despite not always being in the winning position based on life circumstances. In one-way or another, we all have a Louise Mitchell, an Aunt Willie Mae, or a Dorothy Mae Mitchell in our lives.

   

Purchase When They Go Low, We Go High by Raye Mitchell 
How Women of Color Master the Art of Persuasion to Win Big Battles 
Paperback  |   Nonfiction (management, leadership)

 

Books by Dr. Raye Mitchell

https://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Raye-Mitchell/e/B0061ONNV2

 

 

This work, When They Go Low, We Go High, is a stand-alone piece, also provides the back story as the companion Rise-Up book series and online courses. These innovative books and new courses designed to meet the needs of Black women to negotiate and make deals in all sectors from the arts to the boardroom and hosted by Raye Mitchell and The Winning Edge Institute’s (www.TheWinningEdgeInstitute.com).

 

 

 

 

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Intimate Conversation with Dr. Raye Mitchell

 

Raye Mitchell is an award winning humanitarian and both a trainer in the field of leadership as a social entrepreneur leadership and a practicing social entrepreneur as the Chief Social Entrepreneur (“CSE”) of The New Reality B-Corp, a California benefits corporation. (“NRB”) a Certified Social Impact Enterprise™, a boutique legal and business firm providing expertise and services for social entrepreneurs and social impact ventures.

Raye Mitchell is the founder of the New Reality Foundation, Inc., and CEO at the Winning Edge Institute Inc. She is a power and influence expert, attorney, author, speaker and activist. Mitchell is a member of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund network providing legal support for women and girls affected by harassment. Mitchell has received national acclaim for her work mentoring women and girls of color to beat the odds and excel as leaders.

She is a graduate of Harvard Law School, the University of Southern California (USC), the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy (B.S.) and the USC Marshall School of Business (MBA). She is a native of Los Angeles, California.

 

BPM: What made you want to become a writer? How long have you been writing?
I have considered myself a storyteller and writer all my life in one form or another. In spite of this, a different question is when did I decide to go public with this passion and persistent drive to be a writer of non-fiction and fiction works and why? As a marketing and branding professional and litigation attorney in the entertainment industry, I was always involved in persuasive writing, storytelling and trying to get others to listen to the stories of my clients.

But, several years ago, my inside voice that craved to be a writer succeeded in overtaking my outside voice that consistently focused on perfecting my skills as an entrepreneur, businesswoman, and an attorney. Upon reflection, it is now clear that I had been fully engaged as a creative writer all the time by merging my professional commitment to advocating, justice, and fairness by writing about my experiences with the civil justice system and persuading juries to return justice for my clients in situations of injustice.

 

BPM: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
I think I have evolved creatively by honing my craft as a writer in multiple sectors by and expanding my creative decision-making zone-which is my way of saying I have permitted myself to write. outside of my comfort zone. I am always yearning to learn how to write better and how to take unique writing skills from one sector and apply to another. It is my way of shaking myself up to find a new perspective on a familiar storyline.

 

BPM: Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?
Yes. I went public with my creative writing projects in about 2010. I gained my courage when I was so humbled and yet inspired by my humbled encounter with an apparently homeless woman, Margie, I began assembling a collection of words of self-respect and success from notable female role models, past and present and produced an anthology based on quotes to inspire and inform. The story of Margie first appeared in my first significant book entitled, The Evolution of Brilliance: Voices Celebrating the Importance of Women“.

The story of Margie began outside a high-profile restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia. Margie approached me outside of this very expensive restaurant. For some reason, Margie, who appeared to be homeless, singled me out of a group of at least twenty people. Looking me directly in the eye, she said, “Can you help me?” She was carrying a cup meant to collect loose change. Assuming myself to be polite and assuming she only sought money, I turned to leave and simply said, “Sorry. I cannot help tonight.”

I turned to leave. Margie stepped in closer, and the men in my group started to make a protective move, but we all stopped. Margie then said, “Can I ask you something?”

“Yes,” I replied. Without hesitation, she added, “How can you say you cannot help me when you do not know what help I need?”

I stopped, and for the first time that night, I looked into Margie’s eyes and made a personal connection, realizing that she may have just been trying to advance her life utilizing the only tools she had at her disposal. I said, “You know, you are right. What help do you need?” All Margie wanted was prayer and the chance to be counted as a person in this world as she strived to rebuild her life.

Even though I was a stranger and she knew nothing about me, I was humbled that she entrusted me with her simple request for help. Margie’s story and my decision to be a published writer thus came to life in 2011. I turn to my writing to tell stories about experiences and stories that sometimes you just want to share with God because God has no judgment. I want to write stories about our experiences as Black women and girls being judged and how we deal with that burden and opportunity to rise above the judgment.

 

BPM: How has writing impacted your life?
My writing has helped me be a better person. My quest to shift gears from being a full-time entertainment attorney with my law firm to being a full time humanitarian and writer has not been easy. I thus began translating these challenges, hurdles, setbacks and disappointments into my creative energy to tell the story. I then discovered the personal power of telling the story, no matter how difficult the journey. My writing has transformed my sense of well-being and wellness. My writing has also helped me find another way to merge my passion for helping others, especially women and girls with my technical skills as a writer, storyteller, and even a persuader.

 

BPM: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
The most surprising thing I have learned in crafting my books is that one story leads to another story and so I have to find the discipline to keep each story contained and interesting without giving away the elements of the next story. It is entertaining to have this connected series of creative storylines.

 

BPM: How do you find or make time to write? Are you a plotter or a pantster?
I steal time to make it happen, and I collapse time from other events to give myself thinking and writing time. As an example of collapsing time, I will save my favorite shows, movies and audiobooks to enjoy while I am working out and on the treadmill. I will steal time from other events and obligations by becoming more efficient in getting those projects completed. Mostly, I see myself as a writer first, and all else second.

I am very focused on my writing right now. I think I am a combination of plotter and punster. When a concept comes to me, I immediately write the contours of the story down on any piece of paper, iPhone or iPad I can find. I can even think of a quick title to frame my concept. Then, this sounds funny; I secure the URL for the name of the book, check a little around the Internet to see if the idea has been written before and then put it all away. I rarely start writing, and I let it simmer for a while. I have no shortage of stuff to write.

 

BPM: How did you choose the genre you write in? Have you considered writing in another genre?
I rarely start out by thinking about which genre to in because I start with stories inspired by and or based on facts. I let the story decide the genre-nonfiction, creative nonfiction or traditional fiction. I tend to stay away from genres that I would not read myself or genres where I have no life experience, and I don’t know anyone who has life experience in that segment. Finally, there are those genres that just don’t move my interest to learn more about romance novels, war, true murder crime, or police dramas.

 

BPM: Tell us about your most recent non-fiction work. Available on Nook and Kindle?
Yes. The books will be on Nook and Kindle. I write about women and girls beating the odds. I like to write about power and influence and who has it, how to get it and how to be fair when you have power and influence. 2018 is my most exciting year ever as a writer. I have spent the last two to three years working on a series of nonfiction and creative fiction books that will release in 2018.

All of my works focus on the experiences of women and girls, and how we claim and reclaim our power, influence, and visibility. While the books are nonfiction, I work to speak truth to power by importing personal stories and experiences.

Invisible No More. Empowering Young Black Women and Girls to Rise-Up as Leaders is not a call to action, but a plan of action on how to help strengthen the leadership training programs for our young women and girls. Everybody has a stake in the outcome. When Black girls do well, we all do well.

I have another new release titled, When They Go Low, We Go High. How Women of Color Master the Art of Persuasion to Win Big Battles. We are all familiar with Michelle Obama’s famous quote, “When They Go Low, We Go High.” In my book of the same name, I focus on how women of color get things done and navigate with grace under fire. Michelle Obama is a fellow Harvard Law School alumnae, as with Michelle, I focus our strengths and how we as Black women find the strength to excel in the face of adverse forces.

 

BPM: What was your hardest scene to write, the opening or the close?
There is an old established African proverb that says, “If you want to know the ending, you have to look at the beginning.” The opening is the challenge. As a trial lawyer, I know that the opening statement is where you grab your jury and tell your story. Decisions are often made at the beginning, and so the hardest scene to write is the opening section. I think that is the make-it or break-it moment for all books, both fiction and nonfiction.

 

BPM: Share one specific point in your book that resonated with your present situation or journey.
In both Invisible No More and When They Go Low, We Go High, I revisit my journey growing up as a young Black girl, often feeling or made to feel invisible and powerless in the world because I was different; my skin was too dark, I was not the right size, etc. I have come full circle on my journey of self-love and self-acceptance, embracing my unique power and influence and my present journey is focused on helping other young women and girls champion themselves, and rise-up as leaders.

 

BPM: Is there a specific place/space that you find inspiration in?
It may sound funny, but I find inspiration when I am on the treadmill working out at the gym or working with my personal trainer. My time on the treadmill or working with the trainer is all my time. My mind takes me on journey after journey into the realm of what-if. When I am working with my personal trainer, and he gives me a particularly challenging exercise, I turn the exercise into an experience of one of my characters and envision writing about their efforts to beat the clock, or lift more weights, etc. I love the freedom of exercise, and creative writing merged for my well-being at the same time and space.

 

BPM: Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
I love writing about all of the BigCompanies and BigLaw firms that I have battled over the years. The lawyers and their clients are all characters in and of themselves. I studied them individually as I prosecuted or defended a case for my client or myself when I was under siege. My favorite theme is about women and girls and how we rise-up with grace and candor even in some of the most challenging situations.

 

BPM: Do you want each of your books to stand on their own or do you prefer to write series?
All of my books are intended to stand alone, but if a reader engages all of them, they will discover a through line in the concepts of champion women and girls, faith, determination, and optimism.

 

BPM: Does writing energize you?
Yes. Writing feeds my soul and fuels me. Writing, like my physical exercise and my mental health well-being exercises, gives me a rush of euphoria and endorphins. Likewise, I get a rush reading excellent writing, whether a screenplay, a novel or great investigative journalism. I have high regard for writers, storytellers and other creative types that help us all transcend our daily realities. All of the proceeds from my books go to support my foundation, The New Reality Foundation, Inc. (www.TheNewReality.org) that helps young Black women and girls.

 

BPM: Do you believe in writer’s block?
No. I do believe that the right concept and the right energy have to come together at the right time. Sometimes that magic moment can happen on demand. Other times, that magical moment takes time to rise to the surface.

 

BPM: Do you try to deliver to readers what they want or let the characters guide your writing?
I let the story and the character or participants in the story in the case of nonfiction guide my writing. I try to allow the facts to develop the story, even in creative fiction writing.

 

BPM: Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it?
Never say never, but I am not inclined to write about satanic, Gothic or gory violence. I don’t see myself writing romance novels or love stories either. I love writing about real-life drama, legal drama and quirky stories of life experiences.

 

BPM: Is there a certain type of scene that’s harder for you to write than others?
Love scenes, death, and violence are hard for me to capture. Somehow, I have not found that workable moment to write these scenes with an authentic voice and perspective. I used to write love stories, but I have not written such stories in recent years.

 

BPM: Have you written any other books that are not published?
As mentioned, I have 4-5 books set to publish or release in 2018! I have been on this writing binge, and the books have all been written, most printed and ready to go. Included in my inventory coming forward:

Obstruction of Justice: Finding Grandma’s Bible, a creative nonfiction work, is a story about faith, determination and protecting family legacy and tradition.

How Women Negotiate From a Position of Strength: Protecting Branding and Intellectual Property Rights is the first nonfiction book is a six-part Rise-Up leadership and online training series focused on how women build positive power and influence. Release date May 1, 2018. Other books in the series will release every 6-8 weeks in 2018.

 

BPM: What projects are you working on at the present?
In addition to my power and influence series on leadership, I am working on my first novel series under the title of The Harvard Litigator (www.TheHarvardLitigator.com). The Harvard Litigator, Zola Penelope Robinson, a Harvard Law School-trained attorney, who is a fixer for the little guy, who leaves the practice of law to work on essential programs protecting women and girls.

When something goes wrong, it takes the right woman to fix it. Somehow, she always finds herself back in the practice of law helping former clients, mostly women, and families, dead with some pretty sticky, difficult, dangerous and even deadly situations and cases. Zola’s experiences are all inspired by my true life events and litigation case experiences.

I am working on finishing, Homeless. The Fight to Protect the American Dream of Homeownership. The foreclosure game goes from ruthless to deadly when Zola goes on the run and finds herself homeless as she fights a cutthroat BigBank bent on foreclosing on her client at all costs, including trying to make Zola abandon her clients, give-up the case and disappear for good.

 

BPM: How can readers discover more about you and your work?
Find all of the books written by Dr. Raye Mitchell
https://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Raye-Mitchell/e/B0061ONNV2

 

Personal Website: http://www.DrRayeMitchell.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rayemitchell
Twitter: @drrayemitchell or https://twitter.com/drrayemitchell
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/NewHopeNewReality
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/author/rayemitchell

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Obstruction of Justice is not just legal jargon or the self-inflicted wounds of a President striving to avoid discovery of his involvement with the Russians meddling in the 2016 US elections or a probe into his sorted financial history with Deutsche Bank; it is also the obstacles ordinary people face every day in their search for justice and fairness when facing high-powered, wealthy opposition and BigCompanies who do wrong. But, how far will wrongdoers go to block an investigation into the truth?

This non-fiction story is really about justice, fairness and being Black while litigating. What is life like for a badass Black female litigator fighting to find justice in an unjust civil justice system? Part mystery, part commentary on race and gender inequality in the civil justice system, Obstruction of Justice. Obstruction of Justice. Finding Grandma’s Bible tells a story of what happens when a Black woman attorney takes on BigCompany and BigLaw intent on winning at all costs.

Even as the majority of Americans demand accountability and justice from the President, we are being put on hold. Let’s be honest: justice comes easier to some people than others. In this book, the reader gets an inside look at how big money players and their BigLaw firms try to kill the search for the truth, even as to everyday matters such as the theft of a cherished family bible.

Purchase Obstruction of Justice. Finding Grandma's Bible by Raye Mitchell 
https://www.drrayemitchell.com/books

 

 

 

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The Harvard Litigator Series 

After 20 years running a successful entertainment law practice, Zola decides to leave the full-time practice of law to start a foundation helping girls and women. She spends her time as a writer, globe-trotter and aspiring film-maker. Like many writers, Zola is always working on that next bestseller while she spends her time

Working in the community is how Zola defines herself. She has always worked hard through her life to achieve the “greatness” that she now passes to girls and young women. Despite tough times in her past, she has proven to be a cunning and resilient victor, attaining many impressive accomplishments academically and professionally. Presenting a delightfully friendly smile and temperament, Zola is not one to be crossed when it comes to protecting her clients from injustice, unfairness and wrongdoers.

Her passion and purpose for fighting for women and girls is also the reason she will come out of retirement to take on BigCompanies and BigLaw firms that try to manipulate the civil justice system and deny justice to the little guy. She is not an Olivia Pope or Annalise Keating or Olivia Pope, she is a fierce competitor and would never walk away from or back down from a fight.

Zola, now officially retired, is having the greatest time in her life freeing herself of the old rules of what it takes to make an impact in this world. In this new series, Zola finds herself taking on complex cases that often prove dangerous to her own safety. This series gives the reader an inside look at what it is really like to be a Black woman litigator. Zola’s adventures prove that high stakes civil litigation can be anything but civil. Despite being a woman of passion and purpose, ZP is known for her love of a good pair of shoes. She does not live for a great pair of Prada™, Christian Louboutin™ or Manolo Blahnik™, but would definitely work a little overtime to get a pair.

Purchase The Harvard Litigator Series by Raye Mitchell 
https://www.drrayemitchell.com/books

 

 

 

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