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Cherie Neyrey

People, Planets & Paying It Forward

Updated: Feb 6



Why Mercury?


I’ve had a few people ask me why I named the company Mercury. “Is this about mercury they put in thermometers and such?” Nope. “Does she love the atomic number 80?” Or “Is she interested in liquid metals?” Nope. “Was her first car a Mercury?” Nope.


When I started out, I didn't want to use my name. I wanted to make the company bigger than me; to work with others who believed in their purpose of helping leaders transform themselves and their organizations.


Back in 2019 when I started the firm, “Mercury” kept coming up in my short list of company names. I’m a fan of astrology (pause the eye roll, please) and the effect of planetary energy and what not. I have been forever fascinated by the effect of the moon on the flow of the ocean; the mysteries and truths that come from the galaxy in our 365 days each year around the Sun.


Mercury facts: [which I clearly got off the internets]

  1. The planet Mercury is said to rule communication in all forms—listening, writing, reading, speaking, and so on—as well as activities closely related to communication.

  2. Three times a year, the planet Mercury appears to travel backward across the sky. We refer to these periods as “Mercury retrograde.” During retrograde we are said to experience confusion, delay, and frustration. Sometimes, it can appear (from our perspective) that a planet has switched directions and has started to move in reverse across the sky.


How Mercury relates to Mercury


As the founder of a company specializing in Leader and Organizational Transformation the concept of “seeing things from a different perspective” struck a chord with me.


Beliefs:

  • Leader and organizational transformation can be all the things we experience during Mercury retrograde - confusing, delayed and frustrating.

  • In times of expansion and personal or team growth, it is always communication that creates the way forward. Effective communication must inspire the team to willingly change their perspective; to come along on the journey to change.

  • For real transformation to take place you cannot remain locked in your current perspective. The truths may not change, but how you see them must if you plan to evolve.


How I relate to Mercury


I shouldn’t be where I am today. Today I am Chief Executive Officer of a growing company, a successful business woman, a semi-retired mom, and the partner of a wonderful woman. My childhood was a sh!t show. My parents split up when I was six. We had no money. My mom did the best she could, but…let’s just say I was a smart kid from New Orleans with mediocre social skills and a really loud voice (it’s hereditary, but still). I had a kid in my early twenties and raised him as a single parent. I worked to pay my way through college and graduated with a business degree in my early thirties. I worked in the restaurant business, which most people thought was a second-rate job. I struggled with money. I struggled with self-esteem. I struggled (and still do) with anxiety. I made a ton of mistakes. I shouldn’t be where I am.


Many kids with similar stories end up never breaking the cycle of poverty and self-destruction. Believing that you CAN is difficult. People who believe they CAN fight hard to win, never give up hope, and strive to fulfill their purpose in the world. The two most important things I did were 1) change my own perception of what my future could be and 2) ask for help.


Along the way kind and loving people supported and encouraged me; family members, teachers, bosses, friends and mentors. People who challenged me to think forward. People who told me I was good. People who saw a light in me. People who dared me to find a better outcome. Let’s just say they helped me to transform the way I saw myself which changed my life for the better. There is a higher power keeping me on track. It is because of those experiences - good and bad - that created my purpose. The truths may not change, but how you see them must if you plan to evolve.


As for my cheerleading squad, you know who you are, THANK YOU. You can rest assured I'll pay that love and kindness forward.


Which is WHY Mercury


So far I’ve spent over forty years in a role of supporting transformation in others. I see a connection between Mercury The Planet, my own experience of transformation and what happens when leaders must change the course of a business to achieve success. The same is true for those I coach and develop. When a business’ (or life’s) trajectory needs to change direction, a leader (or support system) must inspire positivity and confidence in the future.


My work has helped companies maximize the efforts of their employees, earning them millions of dollars over time. By developing sound leaders and rallying teams around winning culture, I’ve helped businesses accelerate their success.


I’ve worked with a variety of leaders; those who have the vision to build a brand and those who can rebuild a struggling brand. I’ve also worked with some who are lost and who can’t get out of their own way. Those leaders on the struggle bus, despite good intentions, lack clarity and do not understand the toll it takes on the people they lead. The Mercury Retrograde effect is seen inside organizations when change efforts are not purposefully communicated and teams aren’t brought along on the journey. What’s the takeaway here? Do two important things: change the perception of the future and ask for help.

At Mercury, we have a passion for defining, communicating, and transforming culture. We understand how to connect the dots between beliefs and behaviors. We get that people need and want to work in environments with a strong purpose and clear path to success. There is no more important task than winning the hearts and mind of those you lead. And one of the coolest things about humans is the capacity and willingness to contribute when they believe in the future, even if what they’re doing is frying chicken or bartending.


The truths may not change, but how you see them must if you plan to evolve. Which is what I’m sayin…

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