April 3rd, 2009
I have been a bad blogger this week. But it has been good things and good work that have had me otherwise occupied. As I work on catching up with the world on this Friday, April the 3rd there are a few thoughts and themes that are bouncing around in my head:
1-Iowa…You Make Me Smile. In a unanimous decision, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the right for gay couples to marry. As individuals and as a nation we can make decisions based on love or based on fear. I see this as a decision that is based on love and one that truly values love. This makes me happy and hopeful.
2-Leadership Will Be Redefined. I spent Thursday with about 1,500 women at the ICAN Women’s Leadership Conference. As someone who has been to a lot of conferences, seminars and retreats on “leadership”, this was something very different. I had the privilege of facilitating a conversation about transformational leadership and we were all inspired and challenged by powerful messages from Suze Orman, Dr. Christiane Northrup and others. One thing is clear to me…as we approach a point in time where more and more women are going to be moving into senior leadership role…women are going to lead in a different way. And it might just save the world.
3-I Love My Work. I do. And sometimes I forget how blessed I am to be doing work that lights my fire everyday.
4-Twitter Rocks. There are many reasons why twitter rocks, but the value of the connections made is immeasurable. This week alone, I got to spend some face time with: @benstone @impromptustudio@danielshipton @abbieshipton @debroulliard @careerdiva @liznead (and probably some others I am forgetting), and I would likely not know any of these people with Twitter. Not only did I get to spend some time with them, we exchanged ideas…we added to each others networks…some of us are going to end up collaborating on things. Twitter rocks. If you are not there, you lose.
5-Cool People Do Cool Stuff. (and you should find them!) Coworking has been around (in some places) for some time now, but it continues to spread and evolve. One of the highlights of my week was to spend a bit of time at Impromptu Studio in Des Moines which is a very cool coworking space. I am a big fan of places and efforts that create intersections, and coworking does that and more. I think that coworking is going to be more and more common in the future, but the really exciting thing about it is the opportunity that it represents for rural communities. I think that technology and social media are leveling the playing field geographically in many ways and here is a way small rural communities can invest in it and engage some of the creative and entrepreneurial folks they have. Find cool people doing cool stuff…connect them and be around them.
-be good to each other
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