Innovative ideas come from diverse leadership. That’s a fact. Minette Norman, VP of Engineering at software leader Autodesk was the only person who could demolish the silos restricting progress; Maureen Chiquet led Chanel and Banana Republic through a decade of retail disruption; and Margot Lee Shetterly is the author of the #1 bestseller Hidden Figures, about the black female mathematicians who helped win the space race.
When female liberal arts major Minette Norman led 3,500 male engineers at one of the world’s biggest software companies, she was able to demolish the entrenched attitudes and immobilizing silos that were holding them back. How? With “radical collaboration”—employing empathy, championing inclusive diversity and rewarding communication. In talks, she breaks down not only how she made it work, but why it works too.
Instead of commanding authority and enforcing control, when former global CEO of Chanel Maureen Chiquet was feeling challenged by the technologies disrupting the retail industry, she admitted to her employees that she was afraid, and that she needed their help. Using empathy and emotional connection, she was able to successfully steer her brand through the decade of disruption that took down many other retailers.
Margot Lee Shetterly wrote Hidden Figures—the bestselling book and Academy Award-nominated movie about the black female mathematicians who helped win the space race. She's a writer, researcher and entrepreneur who, in talks, takes audiences through the gripping and unbelievable true story of NASA's hidden figures, using it to prove the need for a greater diversity of voices in STEM.
