Mergers and Stars

I attended two wonderful events in Chicago last night. First, Debra Snider read and spoke at the Senior Business Women's Forum at the Mid-Day Club in the JPMorgan Chase Tower. Debra's new book, A Merger of Equals, offers insight into how business women think. Some key take-aways from her talk:

• Finding your passion isn't a luxury; it is a requirement.
• You don't get to define success for yourself, you have to define success for yourself.
• When considering a change, ask yourself: Do the irritations outweigh the exhilarations? If yes, change something - procedure, perception, something. Or, move on.
• Success and talent are easier to recognize in packages that look like themselves. [Challenge: Look beyond the obvious.]
• Half of a life is not a life.

Then, off to another great i.c. stars event. The passion that is generated around this group is simply awe-inspiring. The who's who [companies and people] of the Chicago technology community always shows up big for these events. And, I was able to spend more time with the superstars who build my blog - Brandies Dunagan and Shana Robinson.