photo: laughlin
On WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 7-8pm, the Ad Club held a “Twitter Party” talking about “The Best Advice You Ever Got.” I was the moderator. Four questions were asked over the course of an hour. Over 50 people joined in. The best answers will be used for a coffee table book being put out by the Ad Club for their Women’s Forum Event.
Here are my answers to the questions asked that night:
Q1: Inspired by Women’s Leadership Forum speaker, @ellynletters, book “What I Know Now”: What do you wish you knew when you were younger that you know now?
That learning, just learning for the sheer joy of discovering something new – is awesome.
It’s ok to ignore people who say “you can’t do that.”
That knocking down the walls between professional and personal is really quite awesome.
Q2: What do you see as the greatest struggle for women today?
How to deal with growing old in society which cherishes young, beautiful women.
Helping to solve the universal problems which should be solved: poverty, war, hunger, abuse.
Q3: Who has been the most influential female figure in your life and why?
My daughter(s). Who taught me resilience and courage and joy and surprise and showed me how to love me.
Q4: What’s the best advice you ever got?
The reason men get paid more than women is because women don’t ask for as much pay. Figure out what you’re worth. Ask for it.1
Don’t be the person out there looking for a job, be the person doing something interesting.2
There’s a difference between “networking” and “needworking.” 3
“My philosophy of deal making is this– it’s usually about figuring out how to make the other person rich *first.*”4
Give away the credit.5
Where I got the advice above: 1) Nugget discovered years ago, in some Harvard Business school article. Advice I have thought about before going into every negotiation since that day. 2) I used this line in my shortshort appearance in the movie “Lemonade”. It gets re-quoted quite a bit, so I know it works for people. However, I cannot take credit for originally saying this. I read it online somewhere. If anyone finds the original source, please let me know. 3) Just discovered this on LinkedIn. I’ll take that advice to heart, thanks. 4) Advice from Tom Matlack, former venture capitalist and Good Men Project co-founder. It’s advice that can be used not just for financial deals, but for networking, client relationships, employee/employers. It’s that word “first” that’s important and counterintuitive. 5) Always give away the credit. I was taught that at the start of my career and never looked back. Funnily enough, people recently have been telling me I don’t take enough credit. But then, 5 minutes later, there asking me “so how DO you stay so busy in this economy.” Hmmmm…
Please see The Ad Clubs website and blog for more details on the event. Thanks all who participated!
