Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Empowering women
We had the pleasure of attending and presenting two sessions of the i3 personal branding workshop at the White House
Project's Minnesota women's leadership training last weekend. In addition to Geena Davis, several other amazing women were there: Marie Wilson, founder of Ms. magazine and the White House Project, Anne Bancroft, arctic explorer, Nila Gouldin, health advocate extraordinarre. The conference was organized by Liz Johnson, super-community organizer.
As you know, Insight 303 was founded by the two of us- and with an abundance of estrogen we have a special place in our hearts for helping other women find and live their passion.
Geena gave a powerful speech about the importance of being in touch with your authentic self - she admitted to having
spent the better part of her life reacting to other people's criticism of her, and bending to change whatever was not liked, rather than having conviction about herself. She told a funny story about one of the turning points in her life, on the set of Thelma and Louise, when she saw Susan Sarandon passionately arguing with Ridley Scott...and her realization came when she realized Susan wasn't getting fired...in fact, she was respected for standing up for herself.
This story, coming from any one of us, would be entertaining at best, but coming from Academy Award-winning Geena Davis, made us really understand how even the strongest among us can fall victim to criticism...and how powerfully it can affect our lives when we refuse to accept it.
When it was our turn to take our photo with Geena, I barely managed to find the words to tell her how much her speech
meant...but I did blurt something along those lines out, and she was every bit as genuine and humble as I thought she'd be. I'd like to go out on a limb and add Geena Davis to the 8 in '08 field of women running for President in the next election.
There were over one hundred women at the conference - many running for public office currently. And at least three young women (under the age of 21) who declared they'd make their bid for the Presidency before 2020. It's our hope that after the inspirational weekend, even more women will decide that now is their time to run for office or take a leadership position in their company. As one of our workshop participants said, "I have lived, therefore I lead." What better qualifications are there to help others?
In case you missed it, NY Times columnist Bob Herbert wrote a provocative letter about a woman candidate for President being "handicapped by her gender." Read his letter here.
and Marie Wilson's response here.
We had the pleasure of attending and presenting two sessions of the i3 personal branding workshop at the White House
Project's Minnesota women's leadership training last weekend. In addition to Geena Davis, several other amazing women were there: Marie Wilson, founder of Ms. magazine and the White House Project, Anne Bancroft, arctic explorer, Nila Gouldin, health advocate extraordinarre. The conference was organized by Liz Johnson, super-community organizer.
As you know, Insight 303 was founded by the two of us- and with an abundance of estrogen we have a special place in our hearts for helping other women find and live their passion.
Geena gave a powerful speech about the importance of being in touch with your authentic self - she admitted to having
spent the better part of her life reacting to other people's criticism of her, and bending to change whatever was not liked, rather than having conviction about herself. She told a funny story about one of the turning points in her life, on the set of Thelma and Louise, when she saw Susan Sarandon passionately arguing with Ridley Scott...and her realization came when she realized Susan wasn't getting fired...in fact, she was respected for standing up for herself.
This story, coming from any one of us, would be entertaining at best, but coming from Academy Award-winning Geena Davis, made us really understand how even the strongest among us can fall victim to criticism...and how powerfully it can affect our lives when we refuse to accept it.
When it was our turn to take our photo with Geena, I barely managed to find the words to tell her how much her speech
meant...but I did blurt something along those lines out, and she was every bit as genuine and humble as I thought she'd be. I'd like to go out on a limb and add Geena Davis to the 8 in '08 field of women running for President in the next election.
There were over one hundred women at the conference - many running for public office currently. And at least three young women (under the age of 21) who declared they'd make their bid for the Presidency before 2020. It's our hope that after the inspirational weekend, even more women will decide that now is their time to run for office or take a leadership position in their company. As one of our workshop participants said, "I have lived, therefore I lead." What better qualifications are there to help others?
In case you missed it, NY Times columnist Bob Herbert wrote a provocative letter about a woman candidate for President being "handicapped by her gender." Read his letter here.
and Marie Wilson's response here.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Who the hell are the Insight Grrls?
Who the hell are the Insight Grrls?
Stacy Graiko:
provocateur.
brand loyalist.
question-asker.
picture-taker.
party-giver.
connector.
ex-ad-slick.
prone to running into metal posts when walking down city streets.
Faith James:
Child of the world
Often heard saying "I'd like to thank the Academy"
Heat Seeker
Defender of the truth
Frustrated singer
Fashion celebrator
Chameleon at heart
Have e-ticket; will travel
Rails against the oft used excuse "that's the way it's always been done"
Together, we founded Insight 303 - a brand strategy company designed to be a friend to small and mid-sized agencies that don't have their own planning departments. We're a swat team for that big pitch, new campaign, or wow-generating workshop. We talk a lot: to groups around the country, about topics ranging from brand planning and qualitative research to personal branding and empowerment. We'd love to talk to you!
Stacy Graiko:
provocateur.
brand loyalist.
question-asker.
picture-taker.
party-giver.
connector.
ex-ad-slick.
prone to running into metal posts when walking down city streets.
Faith James:
Child of the world
Often heard saying "I'd like to thank the Academy"
Heat Seeker
Defender of the truth
Frustrated singer
Fashion celebrator
Chameleon at heart
Have e-ticket; will travel
Rails against the oft used excuse "that's the way it's always been done"
Together, we founded Insight 303 - a brand strategy company designed to be a friend to small and mid-sized agencies that don't have their own planning departments. We're a swat team for that big pitch, new campaign, or wow-generating workshop. We talk a lot: to groups around the country, about topics ranging from brand planning and qualitative research to personal branding and empowerment. We'd love to talk to you!
