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| MARCH 2008 NEWSLETTER ARTICLE |
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Silicon Valley Women Leaders Gather to Invent Their Future
Over 250 corporate women, entrepreneurs and graduate students from across the Bay Area gathered February 26-
27, 2008 for the 2nd annual Invent Your Future Conference for Women (IYF) to learn the secrets of innovation,
influence and career growth. As always when women get together, there was great energy, laughter, sharing,
greeting old friends and making new ones—but attendees are also raving about the value this unique event offered
for driving business value, arming attendees with highly-tuned strategies and practical resources to take their careers
and companies to the next level before they walked out the door. One attendee from Sun Microsystems calls it “an
eye opening awakening experience that jolted me to start inventing my future”…one that is “relevant and appropriate
to the challenges that women face in the workplace today.” Three remarkable women were also honored as “Diamond
Leaders”: Jeanne Beacham (Delphon), Cathy Benko (Deloitte & Touche) and Titina Ott (Oracle).
The conference, held at the Microsoft Conference Center in Mountain View, showcased nationally known and
respected women authors, thought leaders, professors, CEOs and senior executives, combining expert speakers with
experiential learning, networking opportunities and best practices sharing. The variety and depth of experiences over
the two days was exciting, energizing, educational and empowering!
Here are just a few highlights you can explore with other attendees and speakers on our new IYF online “Ning”
community – our new virtual meeting spot on the Internet.
Diamond Leadership Awards
Invent Your Future congratulates the 2008 recipients of the Diamond Leadership Awards; Jeanne Beacham, CEO,
Delphon Industries; Cathy Benko, Vice Chair and Chief Talent Officer, Deloitte & Touche USA; and Titina Ott, VP,
Organizational Effectiveness, Oracle Corporation.
We salute these outstanding leaders for their personal leadership style as defined by the Vision-Relationships-
Execution (VRE) Leadership Model and their commitment to advancing women in the workplace.
Click here to see the graphic session notes.
Attendee Favorite: Power, Influence & Authority
Communications expert and author Sam Horn led a high-energy presentation on the use of CLOUT, the combination of
power, influence and authority. We learned the difference between undermining our CLOUT and adding to our CLOUT
by becoming credit accepters and constructive name droppers instead of modest credit spreaders. In Sam’s insightful
session, she taught us to laugh more, ask for help through the creation of mastermind groups, use our six degrees of
separation by introducing contacts to people who can or need help, and encouraging people to listen by using the AIR
technique: Alliteration – Java Jacket vs. cardboard sleeve; Iambic meter – Put to a beat – easy to repeat; Rhyme – is
sublime.
Click here to see the graphic session notes
Special thanks to Shikha Verma from Symantec who remarked, “This conference exceeded my expectations completely! The
sessions were relevant and appropriate to the challenges that women face in the workplace today. I look forward to next
year.”
Attendee Favorite: Getting (More of) What You Want in Negotiations
Attendees were enthralled with the funny, intelligent, powerful, no-nonsense style of Maggie Neale, PhD from the John
G McCoy – Banc One Professor of Organizations and Dispute Resolution, Graduate School of Business, Stanford
University.
Margaret described the groundwork necessary for entering into any negotiation. She pointed out that the goal in
negotiation is to get a good deal, so you must take the time to assess the quality of the deal by knowing: your
alternatives if the deal fails, your bottom line, your aspirations for the deal and your options. She also dispelled
several of the most common myths around negotiating.
Click here to see the graphic session notes
Attendee Favorite: The Hard Truth About Soft Skills
Have you ever felt like any day now, someone at work is going to figure out that you really don’t know what you’re
doing, that you’re an “imposter”? No matter your position in the workplace, we ALL do this to ourselves! Workplace
Communication & Leadership Expert Peggy Klaus, author of "Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing
It,” presented Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome, a humorous experiential session offering strategies for
overcoming these inner fears. We met our obnoxious “inner roommate” and learned how to tell her to get lost. We
created inner dialogues and said them aloud in an exaggerated manner in preparation for meetings or presentations.
Finally, we wrote and practiced statements about why we deserve to be doing exactly what we’re doing. According to
one conference attendee: “It was FUN, LIBERATING and FABULOUS! “
Special thanks to Vivian Wong from Oracle who tells us, “I didn’t know what to expect from this conference, but it totally
surprised me with the quality and rich content! I highly recommend it to ALL female leaders and leaders to be!”
Business Challenge
Leadership, work styles and the desire to win emerged immediately as groups began the brainstorming process in the
popular Business Challenge. Teams solved a business challenge based on a real life issue facing many Silicon Valley
companies. The teams were given less than two hours to develop innovative and cost-conscious solutions relative to
the retention of female employees. As individual competencies and solutions were identified, sub-groups formed to
refine recommendations and complete their slides within the allotted time.
Five teams were selected to present to the attendees. First and second place prizes were awarded to the winning
teams by audience vote. It was an incredible example of the power and creativity that comes from the formation of
mastermind groups!
Click here to see the winning presentations - innovative solutions you can put to work right away
Breakout Sessions
Twelve one-hour breakout sessions were offered over the two-day conference. The content was rich, varied and
highly relevant, ranging from “Negotiating the Ultimate Employment Contract” to “Understanding Your Mobile Tools.”
The moderators were an outstanding group of female authors, entrepreneurs and executives. It is rare to have
access to this level of experience and talent in such an intimate setting. Attendees took away usable life/work
strategies and contacts to integrate immediately into their lives.
Networking
Building and maintaining healthy networks is imperative to ongoing success in business today. Our social networks
have value in terms of utilizing them as a resource to expand on our own knowledge base via a mastermind group,
ask for help regarding career growth, use influence and provide support through personal recommendations, job
referrals or volunteerism, and further our careers by asking others for job referrals. This theme was reflected
throughout the two-day conference. Structured networking time was built into the agenda and specific sessions,
“How to Leverage Social Networks” and “Networking Naturally,” provided the “how to.”
What an Event!
Response to the conference was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. We encourage you to utilize the network and resources
available through IYF to expand your influence and build your career success. We look forward to seeing you at future
IYF sessions and conferences.
Click here for more upcoming events
Madhura Dudhgaonkar from Sun Microsystems tells us she felt the conference was an “An eye opening awakening
experience that jolted me to start inventing my future. You provided tips, tools and networking opportunities to meet bright
ambitious women across industries.”
Several valley firms brought groups to the event and reaffirmed their commitment to the continuous development and
retention of women: Northrop Grumman, Symantec, Genentech, HP, Ernst & Young, Microsoft, Oracle and Intel.
The entrepreneurial spirit was also thriving at the event, with entrepreneurs in attendance including the CEOs of
Lypro Biosciences, WeMeUs, Inc., College Company, My Pet Street, Frigid Fresh Ice Cream, Reach
Communications, Exponential Edge and Swiss Avenue Partners.
Producing events as content-rich as this is not possible without the generous support of our sponsors, so a HUGE
thank you to Microsoft, HP, Robert Half International, Wells Fargo, Pink Magazine, New York Life, SBA and Burke
Williams Spa for helping to make the conference such a big success.
Thanks to Paula Hansen who captured meeting content for the major presentations utilizing graphic facilitation. It was
hard to miss Paula’s colorful large-scale visual charts, using words and pictures, to capture meeting content.
Click here to see a PDF of one of the session graphics
Over 250 corporate women, entrepreneurs and graduate students from across the Bay Area gathered February 26-
27, 2008 for the 2nd annual Invent Your Future Conference for Women (IYF) to learn the secrets of innovation,
influence and career growth. As always when women get together, there was great energy, laughter, sharing,
greeting old friends and making new ones—but attendees are also raving about the value this unique event offered
for driving business value, arming attendees with highly-tuned strategies and practical resources to take their careers
and companies to the next level before they walked out the door. One attendee from Sun Microsystems calls it “an
eye opening awakening experience that jolted me to start inventing my future”…one that is “relevant and appropriate
to the challenges that women face in the workplace today.” Three remarkable women were also honored as “Diamond
Leaders”: Jeanne Beacham (Delphon), Cathy Benko (Deloitte & Touche) and Titina Ott (Oracle).
The conference, held at the Microsoft Conference Center in Mountain View, showcased nationally known and
respected women authors, thought leaders, professors, CEOs and senior executives, combining expert speakers with
experiential learning, networking opportunities and best practices sharing. The variety and depth of experiences over
the two days was exciting, energizing, educational and empowering!
Here are just a few highlights you can explore with other attendees and speakers on our new IYF online “Ning”
community – our new virtual meeting spot on the Internet.
Diamond Leadership Awards
Invent Your Future congratulates the 2008 recipients of the Diamond Leadership Awards; Jeanne Beacham, CEO,
Delphon Industries; Cathy Benko, Vice Chair and Chief Talent Officer, Deloitte & Touche USA; and Titina Ott, VP,
Organizational Effectiveness, Oracle Corporation.
We salute these outstanding leaders for their personal leadership style as defined by the Vision-Relationships-
Execution (VRE) Leadership Model and their commitment to advancing women in the workplace.
Click here to see the graphic session notes.
Attendee Favorite: Power, Influence & Authority
Communications expert and author Sam Horn led a high-energy presentation on the use of CLOUT, the combination of
power, influence and authority. We learned the difference between undermining our CLOUT and adding to our CLOUT
by becoming credit accepters and constructive name droppers instead of modest credit spreaders. In Sam’s insightful
session, she taught us to laugh more, ask for help through the creation of mastermind groups, use our six degrees of
separation by introducing contacts to people who can or need help, and encouraging people to listen by using the AIR
technique: Alliteration – Java Jacket vs. cardboard sleeve; Iambic meter – Put to a beat – easy to repeat; Rhyme – is
sublime.
Click here to see the graphic session notes
Special thanks to Shikha Verma from Symantec who remarked, “This conference exceeded my expectations completely! The
sessions were relevant and appropriate to the challenges that women face in the workplace today. I look forward to next
year.”
Attendee Favorite: Getting (More of) What You Want in Negotiations
Attendees were enthralled with the funny, intelligent, powerful, no-nonsense style of Maggie Neale, PhD from the John
G McCoy – Banc One Professor of Organizations and Dispute Resolution, Graduate School of Business, Stanford
University.
Margaret described the groundwork necessary for entering into any negotiation. She pointed out that the goal in
negotiation is to get a good deal, so you must take the time to assess the quality of the deal by knowing: your
alternatives if the deal fails, your bottom line, your aspirations for the deal and your options. She also dispelled
several of the most common myths around negotiating.
Click here to see the graphic session notes
Attendee Favorite: The Hard Truth About Soft Skills
Have you ever felt like any day now, someone at work is going to figure out that you really don’t know what you’re
doing, that you’re an “imposter”? No matter your position in the workplace, we ALL do this to ourselves! Workplace
Communication & Leadership Expert Peggy Klaus, author of "Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing
It,” presented Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome, a humorous experiential session offering strategies for
overcoming these inner fears. We met our obnoxious “inner roommate” and learned how to tell her to get lost. We
created inner dialogues and said them aloud in an exaggerated manner in preparation for meetings or presentations.
Finally, we wrote and practiced statements about why we deserve to be doing exactly what we’re doing. According to
one conference attendee: “It was FUN, LIBERATING and FABULOUS! “
Special thanks to Vivian Wong from Oracle who tells us, “I didn’t know what to expect from this conference, but it totally
surprised me with the quality and rich content! I highly recommend it to ALL female leaders and leaders to be!”
Business Challenge
Leadership, work styles and the desire to win emerged immediately as groups began the brainstorming process in the
popular Business Challenge. Teams solved a business challenge based on a real life issue facing many Silicon Valley
companies. The teams were given less than two hours to develop innovative and cost-conscious solutions relative to
the retention of female employees. As individual competencies and solutions were identified, sub-groups formed to
refine recommendations and complete their slides within the allotted time.
Five teams were selected to present to the attendees. First and second place prizes were awarded to the winning
teams by audience vote. It was an incredible example of the power and creativity that comes from the formation of
mastermind groups!
Click here to see the winning presentations - innovative solutions you can put to work right away
Breakout Sessions
Twelve one-hour breakout sessions were offered over the two-day conference. The content was rich, varied and
highly relevant, ranging from “Negotiating the Ultimate Employment Contract” to “Understanding Your Mobile Tools.”
The moderators were an outstanding group of female authors, entrepreneurs and executives. It is rare to have
access to this level of experience and talent in such an intimate setting. Attendees took away usable life/work
strategies and contacts to integrate immediately into their lives.
Networking
Building and maintaining healthy networks is imperative to ongoing success in business today. Our social networks
have value in terms of utilizing them as a resource to expand on our own knowledge base via a mastermind group,
ask for help regarding career growth, use influence and provide support through personal recommendations, job
referrals or volunteerism, and further our careers by asking others for job referrals. This theme was reflected
throughout the two-day conference. Structured networking time was built into the agenda and specific sessions,
“How to Leverage Social Networks” and “Networking Naturally,” provided the “how to.”
What an Event!
Response to the conference was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. We encourage you to utilize the network and resources
available through IYF to expand your influence and build your career success. We look forward to seeing you at future
IYF sessions and conferences.
Click here for more upcoming events
Madhura Dudhgaonkar from Sun Microsystems tells us she felt the conference was an “An eye opening awakening
experience that jolted me to start inventing my future. You provided tips, tools and networking opportunities to meet bright
ambitious women across industries.”
Several valley firms brought groups to the event and reaffirmed their commitment to the continuous development and
retention of women: Northrop Grumman, Symantec, Genentech, HP, Ernst & Young, Microsoft, Oracle and Intel.
The entrepreneurial spirit was also thriving at the event, with entrepreneurs in attendance including the CEOs of
Lypro Biosciences, WeMeUs, Inc., College Company, My Pet Street, Frigid Fresh Ice Cream, Reach
Communications, Exponential Edge and Swiss Avenue Partners.
Producing events as content-rich as this is not possible without the generous support of our sponsors, so a HUGE
thank you to Microsoft, HP, Robert Half International, Wells Fargo, Pink Magazine, New York Life, SBA and Burke
Williams Spa for helping to make the conference such a big success.
Thanks to Paula Hansen who captured meeting content for the major presentations utilizing graphic facilitation. It was
hard to miss Paula’s colorful large-scale visual charts, using words and pictures, to capture meeting content.
Click here to see a PDF of one of the session graphics