This week a conversation from almost a decade ago popped into my mind. In it I was speaking with a brainy friend of mine who was a coder at Microsoft. He and I were talking about how small teams of coders were independent but highly linked. For example, one team might be given the challenge to build the “slide show” function for Powerpoint; another might be given the “inserting pictures” function. Each group would work on their own piece. Every night they would run a routine to integrate all of the code written that day by the various teams. Sound groundbreaking?
Voices of Transition #3: A transition journey….
“From now on you’ll be traveling the road between who you think you are and who you can be,” said a letter addressed to Anne Hathaway in her role as Mia in the Princess Diaries, a 2001 movie that my 8-year-old daughter and I enjoyed over the holidays. Hathaway went on to read more of the letter by saying, “the key is to allow yourself to make the journey. Courage is not the absence of fear but the judgment that something else is more important that fear.”
I frantically jotted down this exchange. It seemed more profound than the typical Disney “G” rated movie. Maybe I’d had enough of turkey and relatives? Continue reading…
A 2012 Challenge: Innovation
“Workers are dropping out of the labor force in droves and they are mostly women,” boasted a front page New York Times headline just before New Year’s. “They are not dropping out forever; instead, these young women seem to be postponing their working lives to get more education.” What can I say? It caught my eye during a rare moment of peace over the holiday vacation. Continue reading…
Leading with gratitude….
“I lead with gratitude,” said Roland “Boot” Boutwell, an effervescent spirit who last Monday evening led a thought-provoking program on the Winter Solstice for The Friends of the Fells. The group is a not-for-profit association that supports a 2,500 acre nature reserve that was established in 1894 about 8 miles north of Boston. I’d venture to call him a naturalist. Although I’d really be selling him short with such a description. Continue reading…
Is there a choice you need to make?
“Make the right choices now. Don’t choose out of negativity,” said Marion Jones, former five-time Olympic medalist and the morning’s keynote speaker at the Massachusetts Conference for Women on December 8, 2011. Continue reading…
The Best Holiday Tradition…..
“Moms get to define holiday traditions,” said my friend Pam as we sat at Starbuck’s having a coffee almost two years ago. I was on the cusp of transition; going from a full-time ‘extreme‘ job into a consulting status for the same company. Truth be told I was somewhat catatonic. Continue reading…
MA Conference for Women: Treat Yourself!
Are you local to Boston? Planning a personal day over the next few weeks for holiday shopping? Consider skipping whatever you’d planned to attend the 8th Annual MA Conference for Women on December 8th. Continue reading…
Risk & Transition
Transition has changed my relationship with risk. I understand it now at a whole new level. The only parallel I can liken it to is my understanding of men now that I’ve parented a son. An entirely new level of comprehension… Continue reading…
Voices of Transition #2: An ode to networking
“I couldn’t believe it. No one had ever done that for me before. I was having a conversation with a venture capitalist who said ‘you have to meet so-and-so’. He immediately turned and picked up the phone to call the person while I was sitting in his office,” said Karen, a food industry executive and dear friend from HBS. “I didn’t really know this guy. His wife and I connected one day during pick-up at our children’s school. She said ‘you have to talk to my husband’ once she understood my status.” Karen was sharing the positives – the surprises if you will – of transition after having navigated two unexpected transitions within five years. Continue reading…
Her Place at the Table and Thanksgiving Treats
I’ve had Deborah Kolb on the brain since last spring. I registered to attend a day long event last June that she was hosting at Simmons College. It fell during one of the those weeks when I got three days notice for an end-of-year event from my children’s school. It still amazes me that such short notice exists. The summary is that I missed the Kolb event… and missed her book on my summer book tour. Not sure I can cite the school alone for being disorganized!
Kolb is a noted lecturer and educator on the topic of negotiating – particularly women & negotiation. This week – I jumped on a pre-Thanksgiving TABLE twist and finally read her 2004 missive, “Her Place at the Table.” Continue reading…