Most women have lived as the side dish – supporting everyone else while putting themselves last. When I shared that line with my wife, she didn’t hesitate: “That’s me.” In this episode of 97% Effective, I speak with Deborah Grayson Riegel — executive coach, leadership communications expert, and co‑creator of TheMeMenu, a new personal growth platform designed for women over 50 who are ready to reclaim agency, imagination, and momentum in their lives. Deb shares how she teamed up with celebrity chef Carla Hall to build something that blends coaching, creativity, and AI — all through the metaphor of cooking and their Six Flavor framework. We discuss what’s different for women 50+, how AI can democratize coaching (and where humans still matter most), and what partners can actually do — practically — to support the women they love. I also share what surprised me most in this conversation — including what I learned after asking my own wife what actually helps (hint: “How can I help?” isn’t always it). By the end of this episode, you’ll see cooking as a powerful lens for work and life. While The ME Menu is designed for women over 50, the key message — navigating obligation and agency — applies to anyone ready to write their next chapter.
SHOW NOTES
TheMeMenu story
Why so many women spend decades as the “side dish,” what it means to reclaim main-dish energy – and why that matters
How Deb connected with Carla Hall, celebrity chef, and why the collaboration clicked so well
What TheMeMenu actually is: A way of thinking and being + 6-week self-paced coaching program + An AI-powered “Sous Chef” for spot-coaching
What makes TheMeMenu unique: Built by women over 50 for women over 50, Carla Hall’s “secret sauce”, and a mission to democratize access to coaching
Why Deb sees AI as a complement to human coaching, not a replacement
Inside the Collaboration
Deb, Carla, and Kirsten: three women, three strengths
Their creative process: cooking vs baking
Why “nothing works if the raw ingredients aren’t good”
The importance of creating their “mise en place”
Over 100 iterations – and why “there’s no such thing as done”
Building a product while the technology was still emerging
Practical Takeaways
What partners, spouses, kids, and friends can most do to support the women in their lives
Two powerful questions to ask – and 1 micro-behavior that matters
Why “How can I help?’ can be taxing – and why it’s often better to just make offers
Thinking in terms of a lifelong conversation, not a one-time check-in
Lightning Round laser insights: Deb on the hard truth about personal change, the key to collaboration, the power of her summer in Spain, and the focus of her new book, Aim High and Bounce Back: A Successful Woman’s Guide to Rethinking and Rising Up from Failure
BIO AND LINKS
Deborah Grayson Riegel, MSW, PCC is a keynote speaker, leadership communications expert, executive coach, and author. She is the co-creator of TheMeMenu.com, a self-paced coaching platform designed to help women reclaim purpose and momentum in midlife and beyond. Deb is a regular contributor for Harvard Business Review, Inc., Psychology Today, Forbes, and Fast Company – and author of multiple books include Go to Help, Overcoming Overthinking, and her newest book, Aim High and Bounce Back (2026), which explores how women experience failure differently — and how to rise after setbacks. She is a certified executive coach (ICF PCC) and holds a BA from University of Michigan and MSW from Columbia University.
Deb’s new book, with Fiona Macaulay – Aim High and Bounce Back: A Successful Woman’s Guide to Rethinking and Rising Up from Failure https://a.co/d/05NJJNcn
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