Eve's Powerpoint summary of the women's conference.

  To say that we are PowerPoint Monkeys (PPM) here at Microsoft Worldwide Enterprise Services & Support would be an understatement. To one of my pleas to the recruiting committee on news and articles they want to share with the rest of the world - This was Eve's entry summarizing the Women's conference held at Redmond. Yea - shez a PPM too!

Ø 5,000 participants (mostly women J yes! There were some few brave men)

Ø 3 days: Jan.10-12

Ø Focus on Inspiration, Professional Development, The Whole You and Leadership

Ø Lots of cool speakers: external (Denise Harrington, Patricia Fripp) and internal (Mich Matthews, Lori Brownell, Kathleen Hogan and Jeff Rakes)

Ø Some key takeaways:

o Use your natural strengths to your benefit (relationship building, collaboration, ability to communicate)

o Be competitive but don’t compete with other women – instead depend on a network of women

o Stop being “behind the curtain” – Be present and take a bold role

o Dress for success

o The road to success in leadership is not always a ladder (male paradigm) but a spiral (centered, builds momentum)

o Characteristics of powerful females

§ Teacher / Coach

§ Mentor

§ Collaborative / Team Player

§ Intuitive / Vulnerable

§ Passionate