Twelve dynamic women speakers gathered together this week at
an upscale Houston restaurant to share in the holiday season, swap gifts and
check each other out. Invited to
this soiree, I didn’t know quite what to expect except that it would be loud
and I wondered how we would even begin to have a conversation since each of us
is used to having center stage all to ourselves.
The women speakers began to arrive one by one. Smiles, hellos, hugs and handshakes were
exchanged, again with all eyes checking the new arrival and sizing up the competition
as in “Is this who’s up for that
corporate speech against me?”
As food and stories were passed around and the gift exchange
began, I realized that these eleven women weren’t competition after all; they
were the best support network a girl could ask for.
So, I highly recommend lunch with the competition, especially
if it’s friendly competition. Get together, compare notes and see where it takes
you.
Here are the twelve reasons I will do it again:
- New friends
- Motivation to improve
- Good food
- Excellent conversation
- People who actually understand what I do for a
living - Kind words
- New ways to solve old problems
- Tried and true ways to solve new problems
- Books to read
- Events
to attend - Other
speakers I should be listening to - And,
an amazing network to call on in the future
Follow @FastCoLeaders for all of our leadership news, expert bloggers, and book excerpts.That and I walked away with a bottle of Chardonnay in the
gift exchange. Now that’s a great lunch!