Maximize The Moment

[Thais Sherell Jackson]

Greetings Ladies! For the last couple of days I have browsed this website in search of something great happening. I realize that the “something great” is contained in each and every one of us. You are all amazing women with great wisdom, insight, talent and ideas. The task before us is maximizing this network opportunity for more than occasional “shouts of encouragement”. Currently I am finishing my Master’s Degree in Public Administration so my focus has been on completion by August 2008 and less on utilizing this site; however, to take our place in society we need to “maximize every opportunity”.

It would be awesome if we could pick 4-8 women monthly to collectively support in advancing their dream. This could incorporate concept building, planning, collaboration, investment and/or other needs.

I could take some time to develop this concept; however, it would be most beneficial if we brainstormed this possibility together. If there’s a serious interest in developing this idea we can begin brainstorming on the following:

1. Identification of resource- skills/capabilities within the network
2. Criteria for selection
3. Commitment

All the best.
Thais Sherell J (ty-ese)

I am excited about your enthusiasm. I have created a group entitled "MAXIMIZED- Leveraged Opportunity" which will allow for better management of our ideas, uploads, postings etc. Please join the group for continued progress on this exciting initiative.

[Stacy Bayton]

Thais you are a mind reader! I was just speaking with my brother about this project and what was happening with our network. I told him that this started with the concept of attending the training, and afterwords, when many of us were not chosen, we were left with a network in which to communicate with like minded women and discover our own paths. It would have been exceptional to have been given the opportunity to attend the training and receive the direction that many of us need, but since many of us are not going, to create this amongst ourselves will be just as wonderful.

The hardest thing I think we will have to determine is the criteria by which we select those who will be helped at that time because everyone has someplace they want to get to in life and no one wants to wait, but I think we have a level of maturity in this group that will be beneficial as the selections are made. However, I think perhaps it would help if we broke everyone down into the same type of categories that the training application did, and then select one woman from each category (i.e. politics, non profit, etc.).

The second most difficult task will be to evaluate the skills of all those in this network and who can do what to help. I shouldn't say this will be hard as much as it will be time consuming. I think most of us are communicating what we are capable of and some of us have already begun to assist each other in our life's ventures. Perhaps as we categorize our skills and abilities we can also create teams who will assist others with similar goals.

I have not really thought this over too much, I just wanted to reply and let you know that you were not alone in your thoughts. I know several other women who will jump right into this, and I suspect that most of the other members will as well.

I will mull this proposition over and get back with you tomorrow. Thank you again for your leadership!

[Thais Sherell Jackson]

Stacy,

Your promptness exhibits your leadership stance. Great! I will begin to layout a framework to bring to the table as well. I will also invite some ladies from my current leadership network. I am a current leadership recipient along with 38 other leaders chosen across the United States. We were awarded not only a 2-day training but a 14 month leadership training which required that I relocate from NYC to Seattle for 9-months to assist Seattle leaders while I earn my degree. I have left my two pre-teen daughters home due to the constant traveling involved but what I have learned will not only help other women but my daughters as well. This leadership program concludes in July and I am ready to utilize my skills to make an IMPACT NOW.

I think we should allow everyone to give their immediate thoughts and establish a date in which to come back to the table with details. Stacy I would ask that you co-chair this initiative with me. Once others come on board and we have a layout a formal setup can be established.

[Evelyn Ferrara]

Hello, Thais and Stacy,

I have been reading your comments and feel very excited and exhilarated by the energy I am feeling as a result of your plan to start a network of women who will help each other to reach their goals. I am very willing to participate in this group whether or not my specific idea is selected. I presently am finding myself in a position in my life where since I have been working for the past 37 years I am eager to share my experience and the knowledge I have gained professionally, with others. My idea for the Women's Leadership Project was to develop a program to help young women develop into future leaders. I see from your comments that you all are accomplished leaders in your own professional and personal lives and it would be a pleasure to work with this group and contribute in whatever way I could.

I think we are on the verge of spearheading an awesome project that could not only benefit the women whose ideas are chosen but possibly thousands of others who will benefit from the programs that grow out of this think tank.

[Kimberly Jenkins]

You are so right! As soon as I was informed that I was not chosen to participate in the training the overachiever in me said I'll just organize my own training session some kind of way. We need to organize networks in each state geared toward making this a reality. It will take a lot of teamwork and commitment but it will be worth it. Let's work together to make it possible.

[Thais Sherell Jackson]

Kimberly I believe this is true across the board. If over 2,000 women applied where are they? True leadership does not stop at one closed door. Like everyone else I was initially disappointed but only for a moment. What I wanted most from the 2-day training was to broaden my network with people who are "action doers" and not just "action seekers and speakers". As I stated above I am in a process of an award leadership opportunity so the training for me is here. With the representation of women on this network, the training opportunities for the group is right here, right now. It is not what someone places in your hand that makes one great. It's what one does with whats in his/her hand that makes him/her great.

What now? We write down our ideas and I will come back with a date in which we can lay it all out on the table and work it.

[Stacy Bayton]

Thais-

How wonderful an opportunity you have earned! It is such an important step to take, and yet at the same time a difficult one in the fact that you have had to leave your children. I applaud your strength and courage.

For now, I agree that the best thing to do is take a step back and prepare a plan and meet up again to pound out the details and take our next steps. You are right that in cases such as these we must be active in our actions and not just hopeful in what we might be able to do. Thank you for the invitation to co-chair, I accept and will do whatever necessary to facilitate this program. I think a week is a good time to go through basic ideas...what do you think? As for our discussion I have a conference line that holds up to 10 people...I will find out if it can handle more and then we should have the next meeting, or should I say the first meeting via call. I will check with the company and see how many people the line can accommodate and then we will set a date and time for the discussion. Prior to the call we should all have our ideas put in here to view. If we have everything in a few days in advance I can prepare a summary of what will be discussed so we can best utilize our time. Give me your thoughts and we will proceed from there.

This will be a great resource Thais...I look forward to preparing this program with you and watching our team as we work to help women not only discover their dreams, but make them happen!

[Thais Sherell Jackson]

Stacy-

That will work fine. Below is a proposal for the implementation of Phase 1.

Phase 1:
(a) Stacy will establish a conference line to take place within a week.
(b) Women interested in participating in the setup should flesh out their ideas for this initiative on paper and submit it prior to our phone discussion.
(c) We need someone to volunteer (one who is good at simplifying diverse information in a coherent format) to be the recipient of these submission. This person will then email the simplified version to those in the "setup" group to be reviewed before the conference call.
(d) Stacy will set the agenda for the conference line (keeping us focused on the objective)
(e) We need a volunteer to take notes of the conference suggestions etc to be utilized in Phase 2.

Is there anything else someone would like to propose to Phase 1?

[Kimberly Jenkins]

I would be more than happy to participate any way that I can. I would be more than happy to work with everyone who wants to be involved. One suggestion I feel in order not to as Thais states reinvent the wheel, a canvas of White House Project leaders who would be willing to jump on board should be sent out and a group specifically signed on for this project should be established. Only because there are so many talented people and we should have as many creative people involved. Maybe a 24-48 window is all you need to garner a good number of people to move forward. Just a couple of suggestions.

[Stacy Bayton]

Kimberly had some good points. One I would like to focus on for now as it is important when you are creating a new structure that you have a small diverse group of people to set the bare bones of the program up and then add teams to assist in certain operations as we go along. By keeping the "advisory team", as I will refer to it as, to a small group we will get things done in a quick, efficient manner. I hope I said that right. I am just thinking of every time I begin a new venture, we always work in a small six person team to get things structured and then everyone else jumps in from there. I will also need a number of individuals who will be on the conference call, so I can set it up accordingly.

Other than that I think that you have covered everything. As long as we get the suggested topics and suggestions for the plan in before the call we can get the merged ideas and agenda set and out in email to those who will be on the call. Anyone really good at taking notes? I am a writer, but I am afraid that when it comes to note taking they are long and wordy. Thanks to everyone who has jumped into this. Thais started the ball, but there have been a lot of awesome responses and excitement, and that makes for the start of a great team.

[Stacy Bayton]

I do not know about the rest of you but the middle of the week is usually better to add in meetings and appointments, so I am proposing that we meet Wednesday, May 28th at 1 pm EST. We will set the call time for 30-45 minutes. I will place the conference number and instructions up with the meeting agenda.

As we have no real knowledge of each other at this point, it would help if along with your suggestions you include a short summary of your professional skills and abilities. Not your resume, just where you feel your strengths lie. As we are looking at jump starting this program as quickly as possible, we need to set our team up in a manner that best suits the needs of the program. Some of you write business plans; some of you have strength in media and marketing...all of these things are equally important and will benefit us all as we begin to assist each other. So do not be shy, but do not feel pressured for a resume, just a few sentences so we can get to know each other a bit better.

Thanks ladies...regardless of the fact that I was not chosen for the training , I am most appreciative of the WHP for bringing me together with such talented, strong women leaders. I am excited to work together to make each of our dreams a reality!

[Kimberly Jenkins]

Thais you have a wonderful idea. I live in Nyc and I just formed a group called New York Leaders and I want to see how many people in my area join. In our state there are millions of successful women who if we pooled our resources we could make such an impact on our world. Please keep in touch with me because I know together we can make a difference. I'm also would like you to contribute to my discussions because your voice needs to be heard. My email address is [e-mail].

[Stacy Bayton]

Hello Kimberly and Jennifer! In the zest of my response I forgot to respond to you as well. I apologize and welcome your voices in this team. I call it a team because that is what we are when we take an active position. I have learned over the years that groups are great, but they are mostly for discussions and mingling...teams are for action.

Lets list our ideas and a loose structure for our program, and prepare to create the program structure together and implement the beginning steps within a few weeks time. Your thoughts and ideas will be instrumental in the development of this program. Everyone has their own view what needs to be addressed, so by creating your outline and sharing with everyone we will be able to draw together a well rounded program that meets the needs of as many women as possible.

Jennifer, I see that you have the book mentioned on your page which is great. I see from others who write and offer books that this is what they do as well. I am not sure what you have done to market this book, but what you might want to suggest in your outline is that this book be gifted to each woman as we help her on her way. Did you cover the costs of the book with grants? If you did, and there is no money that you need to recoup then this will serve you well, but if you need to recoup costs of printing, etc., then you might want to write a grant to cover these expenses and offer these books for free to Dr.'s offices, women's groups such as ours, Chamber of Commerce members, and other such organizations. I am putting together a women's educational program and all of our funds are generated through grant funds. I believe yours would qualify for this as long as you have a non profit with a 501 c3. I hope this helps.

Thank you for your patience...I apologize again for my oversight. Have a great day and I look forward to working together on this program.