As some of you know, my the VECCI Women in Business events are my favorite networking event in Melbourne… and that’s not just because Caroline Potter and her team have kindly sent me a double pass to give away to sphinxx readers for the next event on Thursday 31 March 2011.  Women in Business provides a unique opportunity to catch up with contacts and meet new customers, mentors and friends over casual drinks and canapés. The guest speakers are some of Australia’s most successful female entrepreneurs, whose insights and achievements will inspire and motivate. I always have a fun time and make great business connections at these events.
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I’m sending this blog from Sydney International Airport where I’m waiting to board a big bird to Kuala Lumpur where I’ll be attending the Womens Summit Malaysia at the invitation of the Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Dato'Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.  I am one of two international keynote speakers at the Summit, the other being Aviva Wittenberg-Cox, CEO of 20First and Author of Why Women Mean Business and How Women Mean Business.   Read More

What happens when you gather together 200 female architects to discuss the advancement of women in this archetypal “old man’s profession”? They “trade horror stories” and sympathise with one another, as described by event organiser Sandra Kaji-O’Grady, a professor at Sydney University. Read More

A new Harvard blog this week really struck a chord with me in its career advice to forget mentors and employ a personal board of directors instead.  While acknowledging the exposure and connections that a corporate-sponsored mentoring program can bring, Priscilla Claman argues that ‘hitching your career to some rising manager’ is rapidly becoming outdated because in the world we now live and work in ‘changes in direction, restructuring, downsizing, acquisitions, mergers and, of course, recessions, mean your mentor is just as likely to move on or be laid off as you are’.  Claman argues that a board of directors for your career - a group of people you consult regularly to for advice and feedback - may deliver a greater return.   Read More

Thank you to Kim McGuinness from Network Central who has kindly offered a complimentary pass for a lucky sphinxx reader in Sydney to attend the Network Central breakfast this week.  I'll be heading along and will look forward to seeing one of you there - it's always a lovely way to start the day, be inspired and make some new connections, especially now that the days are a little longer :-)  Details for are: Read More

For those of you working in the blokey world of finance, here's an event that might take your fancy.  sphinxx will be there and you might like to join us! Read More

If you’ve ever been responsible for establishing employee development programs, conferences or leadership offsites, you’ll know just difficult it can be to find fantastic, out of this world, leading-edge service providers.  In a sea of social media and spin, my vast network send me calls for help every day – by email, LinkedIn, twitter and the sphinxx website - all looking for advice about who they should hire for their own professional development needs, or to supplement their in-house women's programs. Read More

Sometimes the tips to get ahead can be nowhere near as formal as we expect. But this one, about socializing more with your boss and male coworkers is straightforward and easy to action.  Read More

Congratulations to Karen Stace, Emily Beverly, Rowena Ferrarotto and Sally Symonds who are the lucky winners of our Network Central businesswomen breakfast passes. You will be hearing from the fabulous Wendy McCarthy this week in Sydney and a panel of experts in Melbourne next week on the theme of "my brilliant career" with advice on how you can get the most from your career. Expect to be provoked - these speakers are no wallflowers!  I believe there are still a few passes available - you can register online for the Sydney event on 26 August and Melbourne event on 7 September. Read More

Simply post your comment here, about your number one tip or story about what you think women bring to business - just because you're a girl. Best ones received by this Friday win the tickets!  Many of you are familiar with Network Central events - they've been around connecting women in business for 10 years now!  First up in Sydney on the 26th of August, from 7-9am is “Because I’m a girl – the state of the worlds girls” Business Breakfast at the Queen Victoria Building Tea rooms. The wonderful Wendy McCarthy AO is speaking, and for those of you not familiar with her very impressive career, Wendy has been there and done that when it comes to leadership, and is one of my personal heroes. Read More