Something to Muse About - "How She Does It" Dinner Recap

by Susan McPherson, Senior VP at Fenton

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to speak at a NYWSE "How She Does It Dinner". Naturally, I accepted the gracious invitation and was asked to speak about my career in corporate social sustainability (CSR) and how I manage to incorporate social good and "shared value" into my daily life.

Not knowing quite what to expect, upon arrival, I was greeted warmly by the enthusiastic, Cynthia Hellen (@CynthiaHellen). At the lovely Crepes Du Nord restaurant, she was surrounded by 15 other accomplished, professional women, staring at me with hopeful eyes.  With their gaze, I immediately put myself in their shoes and determined to be uplifting, optimistic and hopefully inspirational.

Over the next two hours, we dined, clinked wine glasses and connected in a way that only women do – with honesty, sincerity and a bit of humility. My career has reached that magic mid-life timetable (25 years of employment, gasp) and I have developed the confidence to share both the good and the bad, along with some very embarrassing tales of woe.

Questions ranged from what is the difference between CSR and social entrepreneurship, to how to make a career transition from working for nonprofits to doing so for for-profits (although, I recommended to the group that we use the new verbiage coined by my friend Adam Braun (@adambraun) to use the term, "profitable purpose.") I cautioned against disregarding a position in the nonprofit or social entrepreneurship world, due to a fear of low-salaries or less than stellar benefits and explained that many such entities are competitive especially here in New York City. I also recommended diving head first into all the key social media platforms including Twitter (to engage and listen more than "talking"), LinkedIn (especially due to its terrific group option covering thousands of interests), Tumblr (great for short bursts of ideas) and of course, the power of writing blogs/content. Still more advice ranged from the importance of networking as much as possible and not being afraid to request meetings and informational interviews.  Although my schedule is completely wacky and crazed, I make a point to meet with those looking to work in the "social good industry" and I surely can't be the only person maintaining such a mantra.

We also spent several moments talking about the fear of starting-over. I opened my kimono, and shared my experience of going through a divorce at the ripe age of 38 and moving 3,000 miles to reboot. My candor opened the flood gates and the stellar crew began sharing their own experiences.  My top advice given to me by my late father was as follows: "nothing is a prison sentence, you can always go back if you need to." Retelling those words in my brain has enabled me to take risks and that’s what I recommended overall. Taking risks is healthy and empowering – we should all do more.

In the two weeks since the dinner, I've connected with most of the women and look forward to getting to know them better in the future. Thank you, NYWSE, for a wonderful and uplifting event.