Successful You: An Interview

| Aimee Sprung

Since its inaugural event in 2010, The Successful You has inspired over 500 women to become more successful in both their personal and professional lives.

From keynote speakers and panels, to workshops and one on one sessions, the forum  allows women to connect through personal stories and success practices that happen in their everyday lives. Each year, Microsoft, MITX and The Commonwealth Institute, encourage women, from both the business and technology communities, to attend this day-long forum, to not only enrich themselves with new information, but to bring these practices back to their co-workers, friends and families.

Pamela Conway, Vice President at CompuWorks, has attended The Successful You for the past two years. We sat down with her to see what she took away from the last year’s forum and what excited moments she is looking forward to this year.

Q. Why did you decide to attend The Successful You?

A. The incomparable Barrie Mirman invited me as her guest to the inaugural conference two years ago.  I found the day so enriching, it was a no brainer to sign up again last year.

Q. What do you like most about The Successful You event series?

A. I like hearing from other successful women, either through the speakers or just in meeting other women throughout the day and sharing stories.  The networking – actually scratch that, networking is too antiseptic a term – the relationship building I’ve done over the past two years at the conference is very meaningful from a personal and professional standpoint.

Q. What are you looking forward to seeing at The Successful You 2012?

A. I’m looking forward to meeting new people, reengaging with women I’ve met previously and listening to the keynote speaker [Naomi Fried].  I am looking forward to seeing what’s offered in the breakout sessions as well.  The topics are always interesting.  I know Diane Ripstein will be speaking again, and she’s terrific.

Q. What is your favorite memory from The Successful You?

A. I love the round table discussions where three or four women just sit and talk with a moderator about their experiences.  The stories are often funny and always inspiring.  But, specifically from last year I really enjoyed the group session with Suzanne Bates.  She walked us through an exercise of how to take an idea we wanted to communicate and turn it into a story for greater impact.  That process was very enlightening.

Q. State one thing that you took away from last year’s The Successful You.

A. During the first year of The Successful You, I learned about the concept of ‘my personal brand.’  I’d never thought of that before but in hearing a speaker talk about it–it made such sense.  Of course I have a personal brand, and of course it’s crucial to cultivate it and craft it properly.  During last year’s event, my major take away was a continuation of that concept specifically through the lens of my communication style and communicating through story telling as discussed by Suzanne Bates.  I felt as if I did a fair amount of storytelling anyway, but Suzanne really highlighted the process and I’ve spent the past year working that into my ‘brand.’

Q. How does The Successful You compare to other conferences you have attended in the past?

A. I like the condensed, 1-day format and, naturally, I love having it right here in my backyard in Boston, but the thing I like the best is hearing firsthand the stories of highly successful women.  It is inspiring and affirming and important to hear.  A woman’s path to success is usually very different than a man’s, so to hear these types of stories is very valuable.

To learn more about The Successful You visit microsoftcambridge.com/successfulyou and don’t forget to sign up today to attend the forum!

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Aimee Sprung

To keep up with Aimee you need to be up early. Like 5 AM early. Then you have to squeeze in Crossfit, grow STEM education programs, collaborate with community leaders and still keep up with her family - 2 boys require high energy. Or you can hit the snooze and sleep soundly knowing Aimee has that all covered.