Women's Wisdom

My blog seems like a good place to brag (a little). We’ve just wrapped up our fourth annual fall conference tour, bringing nearly 3,500 ambitious women in seven cities face to face with America’s most influential businesswomen.

We showcased impressive leaders – from the head of global innovation at GlaxoSmithKline, to the CMO of McDonald’s, to the most powerful women at Turner Broadcasting, MetLife, Best Buy, FedEx, Delta Air Lines and Dell. Plus women entrepreneurs like Gloria Mayfield Banks, who brought in more than $20 million last year for Mary Kay; the owner and head chef of Boston’s hottest restaurant, the Rialto; Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell; and luminaries including Marian Wright Edelman, a woman of few words who ignited a standing ovation when she spoke.

In all, more than 35 women of this caliber shared their time, their wisdom, and their candid thoughts and experiences with the rest of us at fab Omni Hotels across the nation.

I learned something from each one of them. For example:

“Focus on results, not hours worked.”

“Get away from your desk and your e-mail. Instead build relationships at lunch or on the golf course.”

“Rushing back to work right after having a baby does not set a good example.”

Marilyn Carlson Nelson, America’s top woman business owner (Carlson Cos. earns $6 billion a year), soothed our anxiety by telling the audience not to worry so much – that it is possible to have a good marriage, raise four happy kids (and six grandkids) and leave a legacy. “You don’t need to do it all at the same time,” she says. Whew!

Our panelists also shared their stress-relief tricks, like exercise or seeing funny movies. Turner’s Kelly Regal talks to her sister. Remember to “be vulnerable,” she says. Another added, “Buy expensive shoes.”

We laughed, and sympathized, when they talked about being left out of men’s conversations and workplace decisions, or the inappropriate comments we’ve all heard. One said her approach is to respond, “Let me repeat to you what I just heard you say…” Another, fed up with the men’s bringing Playboy to work, resorted to bringing in Playgirl. While it worked, she and others among these most powerful women in business admitted to not always doing the right thing or winning the day. Dun & Bradstreet COO Sara Mathew urged attendees to “make so many mistakes that you have no right to be where you are.”

They told us to “get dirty, then get up, dust yourself off and get back in the game.” They cautioned us that for a leader, “there is no time for a bad day – maybe a bad hour, but not a bad day.” That we’re always “on” at work and at home. It’s not easy.

Wall-Mart’s Betty Marshall, vice president and regional general manager for Sam’s Club, told the crowd that she looks herself in the mirror every morning and tells herself that she can do whatever it takes to win – that nobody is going to get her down.

What an honor to be on the same journey as these great women, and to be in the audience with thousands who want the very same thing as I do: the chance to succeed, to improve the world, to live a beautiful life – with purpose, passion and meaning. These leading women warned us that running things is “not for those who don’t have the energy.” But if you have the great privilege of doing work that you love, with a purpose, there’s nothing better.

P.S.: Those attending also raised about $5,000 for the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement to combat heart disease. We thank you!

By Cynthia Good