Although no longer active in the day-to-day practice, Debra and Danielle, founded bltCareers based on the core belief that work should be a place we all thrive, rather than merely survive. We call it the Flourish Factor.

People often ask us where the idea for the Flourish Factor originated. It all started when Debra and her husband purchased a previously owned home in Northern California.

On the back patio, the prior owners had left behind a pine tree in a planter box. It was a perfectly fine little pine tree. It was green; it was growing; it was healthy.

After moving the pine tree around on the patio for a few years, Debra decided she wanted to plant it in the backyard.

Over the course of the next year, the pine tree grew at twice its normal rate -- flourishing in its new environment.

It was then that Debra realized that people are just like that pine tree. There are environments in which we can exist and survive, but in the right environment, we can actually thrive and flourish.

When she shared the story with Danielle, they realized what a fitting metaphor it was for the research they were completing for the book. Thus was born the idea of the Flourish Factor profile.

Check out the Flourish Factor Profile for yourself in our book: FOCUS: Creating Career + Brand Clarity, 2nd Edition.