Janis Renay Schiffner is a four-time #1 international best-selling author, international keynote speaker, and accomplished sales and market-management leader whose career spans telecommunications, wireless technology, print, coaching, and publishing. Her journey includes multiple President’s Club achievements, national sales recognition, team leadership, and a deep commitment to mentoring others.
With the upcoming release of Profiles in the Dark, her first psychological-fiction novel, Schiffner is entering a new creative chapter exploring trust, perception, technology, and the complexities of human behavior. Business Now spoke with Janis Renay Schiffner about the experiences that shaped her understanding of passion, leadership, trust, success, and the courage to see people and circumstances clearly.
1. What experience early in your life changed the way you saw your own potential, and what did you start doing differently after that moment?
Janis Renay Schiffner: One of the earliest experiences that shaped how I viewed my potential was becoming a lifeguard while I was still in high school. I had always loved swimming, so taking the required courses felt like a natural progression. Still, earning the position required much more than enthusiasm. I had to complete demanding classes, pass rigorous swimming and lifesaving tests, and develop the discipline and judgment necessary to remain calm when someone else’s safety might depend upon me.
That experience taught me an important distinction: loving something does not make the work easy, but it makes you willing to do the work required to become exceptional at it. I discovered that passion and discipline are not opposing forces. Passion gives discipline a purpose.
That lesson followed me throughout my professional life. I have always been able to power through difficult situations and demanding jobs when necessary, but determination alone can become exhausting. The greatest growth in my career occurred when I found work that genuinely energized me. When I entered the cellular industry and, later, the print industry, it did not matter how many hours I had to work or how much I needed to learn. I was fascinated by both businesses and deeply committed to succeeding in them.
“Because I loved what I was doing, I engaged at a level that was difficult to manufacture.”
Because I loved what I was doing, I engaged at a level that was difficult to manufacture. I wanted to understand the industries, the customers, the technology, and the possibilities more completely than was required of me. That enthusiasm radiated outward. Customers could feel it, colleagues responded to it, and the people I led became energized by it. Growth became a natural result of that deeper engagement.
The lesson I carried forward—and one I believe remains highly relevant in business—is that lasting achievement occurs when talent and discipline are matched by genuine passion. When people find work that connects with something authentic within them, they stop merely performing a role. They become more curious, resilient, persuasive, and fully invested. That is when work becomes more than a job—and potential begins to turn into meaningful achievement.
2. With Profiles in the Dark, you are entering psychological fiction for the first time. What drew you to this story, and what did writing it reveal about you that your previous work had not?
I was drawn to Profiles in the Dark by the contradictions we encounter in people—the distance that can exist between who someone appears to be and who they truly are. We live in a world where identities can be carefully constructed, intimacy can develop without physical proximity, and words can create an emotional reality that feels every bit as powerful as something we can see and touch. I became fascinated by what happens when trust, longing, perception, and technology begin to overlap.
Although the novel is psychological fiction, its emotional questions are very real. How do we determine what is authentic? Why do intelligent people sometimes ignore what their instincts are trying to tell them? What makes us hold on to a beautiful possibility even after doubt has entered the room? I wanted to explore those questions without reducing the characters to heroes and villains. People are rarely that simple. They can be sincere and deceptive, vulnerable and manipulative, loving and damaging—sometimes almost simultaneously.
Writing the novel revealed a more fearless and psychologically curious part of me. My previous work often centered on optimism, perseverance, gratitude, and overcoming adversity. Those qualities remain deeply important to me, but Profiles in the Dark required me to enter less comfortable emotional territory. I had to examine obsession, betrayal, loneliness, desire, self-deception, and the shadows people carry within them.
“Optimism does not require us to look away from darkness.”
Perhaps most importantly, the experience showed me that optimism does not require us to look away from darkness. Genuine hope can emerge from seeing the truth clearly, removing the filters through which we once viewed it, and still choosing to remain open to life, love, and possibility.
3. Your career includes many high points, yet what is one failure, setback, or difficult period that had the greatest impact on how you approach people, decisions, or success today?
Some of the most difficult periods in my life have come when I placed my confidence in people or circumstances that did not ultimately prove worthy of that trust. Those experiences were painful because I have always preferred to see the best in people. For a time, I believed that working harder, remaining positive, or giving someone another opportunity could resolve almost any problem.
What I eventually learned is that optimism and discernment must exist together. Trust is essential, but it should not require us to disregard patterns, excuse repeated behavior, or silence our own instincts. A person’s words can be compelling, but their consistent actions reveal far more about their character.
Those lessons changed how I make decisions. I still approach people with warmth, hope, and an open mind, but I pay closer attention to whether their behavior supports what they say. I am more willing to ask difficult questions, establish clear expectations, and step away when a situation repeatedly compromises my values.
The experience also changed my definition of success. Success is not simply the achievement of a title, an award, or a financial objective. It is the ability to reach those goals without losing your judgment, compassion, integrity, or sense of self. Sometimes our most important success is recognizing that something is no longer right for us and having the courage to choose a different direction.
4. You have placed a strong emphasis on mentoring others and building teams around transparency and trust. What experience shaped that approach, and how do you recognize when someone needs guidance rather than simply greater accountability?
My leadership philosophy developed through years of working in highly competitive sales environments, where results mattered and expectations were demanding. I saw that people performed at their best when they understood what was expected of them, trusted their leaders, and felt safe enough to admit when they did not know something or needed help. Fear may produce short-term compliance, but trust creates commitment.
I also learned that transparency cannot be expected from employees unless it is first demonstrated by leadership. People need honest communication, clear goals, consistent standards, and the confidence that problems can be discussed before they become crises. When leaders create that environment, accountability no longer feels punitive. It becomes part of a shared commitment to excellence.
The distinction between someone who needs guidance and someone who needs greater accountability usually becomes clear when you look beyond the missed result. Does the person understand the objective? Have they been given the knowledge, tools, and training required to succeed? Are they asking thoughtful questions, applying feedback, and demonstrating genuine effort? If so, they may need coaching, confidence, or a different approach.
Accountability becomes necessary when expectations are clear, resources have been provided, and the same behavior continues without meaningful effort to improve. Good leadership requires both compassion and discernment. Mentoring is not lowering the standard; it is helping someone discover how to reach it. Accountability ensures that the responsibility for doing so ultimately remains with them.
5. When you started selling mobile phones in the 1990s, you had to educate businesses about a technology they barely understood, eventually building relationships with organizations such as the San Jose Sharks. What did that experience teach you about creating demand for something unfamiliar, and what can today’s sales leaders learn from it?
When I began selling mobile phones in the 1990s, the technology was unfamiliar to the general public and had not yet been widely adopted by businesses. People did not automatically understand how mobility could transform communication, productivity, customer service, or decision-making. I was not simply selling a device. I was helping customers imagine a different way of conducting business.
That taught me one of the most valuable lessons of my career: people rarely become excited about unfamiliar technology because of its features alone. They become interested when they can clearly see how it will solve a problem, create an advantage, save time, or make something possible that was previously difficult. My responsibility was to understand each organization well enough to connect the technology to its actual needs.
Building relationships with prominent organizations such as the San Jose Sharks also reinforced the importance of credibility and preparation. Significant clients do not want a generic presentation. They want to know that you understand their operation, respect their time, and can deliver on your promises. The relationship does not end when the contract is signed; that is when trust truly begins to be tested.
Today’s sales leaders work with technologies that are far more advanced, but the human element has not changed. Artificial intelligence, automation, and digital platforms may alter what we sell and how we communicate, but customers still want to be understood. The strongest sales professionals are not merely persuasive; they are curious, prepared, credible, and capable of translating complexity into meaningful value.
Creating demand for something unfamiliar begins by making it relevant. Sustainable success follows when the customer discovers that the person introducing that new possibility is someone they can trust.
Follow Janis Renay Schiffner