Game-Changing Women, Presented by SAP

The buzz: Wardrobe! For the first time in 30 years, small business closures outpace start-ups. While women continue to start businesses at a faster rate than men, the percent of women owners grossing at least $1 million has declined from 3 to 2 (Forbes). But when it comes to reigniting a failing business, some women’s scrappiness, agility, multi-tasking, and culture-building strengths give them a competitive edge. Are you one of them? The experts speak. Susan Solovic, THE Small Business Expert: “Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else” (Judy Garland). Valerie Shondel, The Business Strategist: “My mother said, ‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general, if you become a monk you’ll end up as the pope.’ Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso” (P. Picasso). Joseph Petrafesa II, Strategico: “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun” (Katherine Hepburn). Tune in for From Red to Black: Women Business Turnaround Gurus.

The buzz: The Full Monty. A great offer package isn’t just about salary, but how do you get it all – remuneration, flexibility, professional support, and mentoring? Hint: Negotiate. Game-Changing Women Radio executive producer, SAP CLO Jenny Dearborn: “You don't get in life what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” Our experts will share first-hand stories, insights and lessons about negotiation and what real women, companies and public entities are doing to close the pay gap. The experts speak. Katie Donovan, Equal Pay Negotiations LLC: “Never allow a person to tell you No who doesn't have the power to say Yes” (Eleanor Roosevelt). Susan Solovic, THE Small Business Expert: “Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else” (Judy Garland). Katica Roy, Learner Experience and Impact, SAP: “I shall never do a man's work for less than a man's pay (Clara Barton). Join us for Negotiating Your Career Game-Change: The Whole Package.

You’re a woman with an exciting new business idea? Impressive! But will you stay the course if your path to success is less smooth than your male counterparts’? Take heart. An experienced startup coach can help you build a strategic network, navigate the business ecosystem, and survive unfair and sexist setbacks. Executive producer, SAP CLO Jenny Dearborn says, “I feel empathy for smart, talented, hard-working women not getting the breaks in life they deserve. That’s why we’re bringing you a coaching session today.” The experts speak.Doug Johnson, Innosphere: “You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there” (Yogi Berra). Susan Lucas-Conwell, Growth Resources Inc.: “Done is better than perfect (Sheryl Sandberg). Lindsay Roselle, Candescence Group: “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do” (Brené Brown). Join us for Coaching Women Entrepreneurs: Starting Smart – Part 2.

The buzz: Numbers game. Girls in the US are more likely than boys to study algebra and pre-calculus, yet college women earn only 18% of undergraduate degrees and less than 4% of doctorates in computer science and engineering. More disturbing, women fill only 25% of jobs in technology fields, and held just one-fifth of Fortune 250 CIO positions in 2012. “The need for more women in Silicon Valley is one reason that’s kept me here. I love a good fight,” says Game-Changing Women executive producer and SAP CLO Jenny Dearborn. What challenges await women entering and eager to succeed in tech? The experts speak. Rathna Kedilaya, TCS: “You must do the thing you think you cannot do” (Eleanor Roosevelt). Kinsey Ann Durham, GoSpotCheck: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined” (Henry David Thoreau). Nicole McCabe, SAP: “Culture eats strategy for lunch” (Peter Drucker). Join us for Women in Tech: Decoding Diversity in Silicon Valley and Beyond – Part 2.

The percentage of women CEOs is dismally low, especially in top companies. How bad is it? Women are just 4.6% of S&P 500 CEOs and 4.8% of Fortune 500 CEOs (an all-time high, up from 1998). Game-Changing Women Radio executive producer and SAP CLO Jenny Dearborn is committed to correcting this. “Every day should be International Women’s Day until equality is achieved.” What are the success secrets of the women who've made it to the corner office? What is their advice for women aspiring to break through the so-called ‘glass ceiling’? Our panelists will share first-hand stories, insights and lessons about how they've managed managing and made it to the top. The experts speak: Colleen Abdoulah, WOW! Internet, Cable and Phone: “The game of business is very much like the game of tennis. Those who fail to master the basics of serving well, usually lose (Unknown). Sharon Matthews, eLynx: “Strategy beats strategy (Sun Tzu paraphrased). Join us for Views from the C-Suite: Women CEOs.

You’re a woman with an exciting, game-changing, evolutionary or revolutionary idea for a new business? Impressive! Hold that thought. Your path to success may not be as smooth as your male counterparts’. Wouldn’t you like an experienced startup coach to guide you in building a strategic network, navigating the business ecosystem, and keeping your eye on the end-goal despite unfair or sexist setbacks? Executive producer and SAP CLO Jenny Dearborn says, “I feel great empathy for smart, talented, hard-working women who are not getting the breaks in life they deserve. That’s why we’ve invited two startup mentors for a mini-coaching session today.” The experts speak. Susan Lucas-Conwell, Growth Resources Inc.: “If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it—then I can achieve it” (Muhammad Ali). Doug Johnson, Innosphere: “If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman” (Margaret Thatcher). Join us for Coaching Women Entrepreneurs: Starting Smart.

In the 21st century, too many women struggle to manage a double shift at work and at home, while grappling with unrealistic pressure to be, do and have it all, aka a modern-day “Wonder Woman.” Yet while women work more hours than ever – a median increase of 80% between 1979 and 2012 – too few companies provide the kind of support that women need to be successful. Even President Obama, in his 2015 State of the Union Address, called for guaranteed paid maternity leave. Executive producer and SAP CLO Jenny Dearborn says, “I look forward to hearing our panelists discuss the role of corporate – and government – policy in rebalancing the load, including job-shares, flex-time, parental leave, and more.” The experts speak. Dr. Ritu Anand, TCS: “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage” (Anais Nin). Jennifer Anglehart, B/E Aerospace: “Accept no one's definition of your life, define yourself” (Harvey Fierstein.) Join us for The Wonder Woman Myth and The Modern Corporation.

The buzz: Your game. So you want to start a business? It helps to start at the very beginning, but first you need to know the steps to take and the sticking points you may encounter along the way. What do you know about seed-money and funding, business model versus business mission, engaging the right advisors and a board of directors, and building your own staff? Game-Changing Women Radio executive producer and SAP CLO Jenny Dearborn invites you to tune-in as three bold women entrepreneurs share their stories to help you figure out the possibilities and identify the pitfalls of changing your own game. The experts speak. Jane Wesman, Jane Wesman Public Relations: “If I had to live my life again, I’d make the same mistakes, only sooner” (Tallulah Bankhead). Andrea Cutright, Foodily: “Building a company is for wimps, build a mission.” Molly McCoy, hrQ: “Fail fast or win big” (Bernhard Schroeder). Join us for Changing Your Game: Steps to Starting-Up on Your Own.

In her Oscar’s acceptance speech, actress Patricia Arquette made an impassioned plea for gender pay equality for women everywhere. Since then, it seems everyone has voiced an opinion, from Marc Benioff to the Pope. Game-Changing Women Radio executive producer Jenny Dearborn’s take: “It’s time for organizations to examine, admit to, and erase their pay gaps. As employees and consumers we must hold companies accountable to right the decades of wrongs in denying women equal pay.” It’s time to get the facts and move this important challenge forward in our global workplace. The experts speak. Aniela Unguresan, EDGE Certified Foundation: “What gets measured gets done (Tom Peters) – and it is no different when it comes to pay equity.” Dan Briskin, Gap Inc.: “We find comfort among those who agree with us, and growth among those who don’t (Frank A. Clark). Bianca McCann, SAP: “If better is possible, good is not enough” (Unknown). Join us for Gender Pay Equality: How to Make Real Progress.

You probably have a ‘boss story’–good, bad, ugly. But how we see and talk about a boss–and the nature of being a boss–change when the boss is a woman. Game-Changing Women Radio executive producer and SAP CLO Jenny Dearborn notes, “Trying to navigate organizations from a position of authority can bring out the best and worst in a woman. Until we understand why, power equity will elude us.” Tune in for boss stories, the push for women in high positions to be beyond perfect, and how to ensure stories about YOU are good. The experts speak. Caroline Turner, DifferenceWORKS: “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women” (Madeleine Albright). Mary Kosita, The Timken Company: “The reward of a thing well done is having done it (Ralph Waldo Emerson). Jane Miller, Janeknows.com: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” (Warren Buffett) Join us for Best Boss, Worst Boss, Woman Boss.

Girls in the US are more likely than boys to study algebra and pre-calculus, yet college women earn only 18 percent of undergraduate degrees and under 4 percent of doctorates in computer science and engineering. More disturbing, women fill only 25 percent of jobs in technology fields, and held just one-fifth of Fortune 250 Chief Information Officer positions in 2012. The need for more women in Silicon Valley is one reason that’s kept me here. I love a good fight, says Game-Changing Women executive producer and SAP CLO Jenny Dearborn. What challenges await women entering and eager to succeed in tech? The experts speak. Rathna Kedilaya, TCS, Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're probably right -Henry Ford. Sarah Allen, Bridge Foundry, The best way to predict the future is to invent it -Alan Kay. Nicole McCabe, SAP, We must move beyond putting policies on paper, and start putting them into practice -Hillary Clinton. Join us for Women in Tech: Decoding Diversity in Silicon Valley and Beyond.

The Buzz: A seat at the table. Look around the average American corporate board room: women occupy only 1 out of 6 seats. Why should gender imbalance matter to you? How can you get on a board and help other women get there? More broadly, what approaches, policies and strategies could help make this happen? SAP SVP, CLO and series executive producer Jenny Dearborn observes, “The status quo won’t change until we can gently pry open the hands of those controlling our corporate board rooms.” The experts speak. Dr. Dana Ardi, Corporate Anthropology Advisors: “Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it.” (George Carlin). Dr. Patti Fletcher, IHS and PSDNetwork: “Your job as a transformational leader is not to change people. It is to enable people to change themselves.” Dr. Lauren M. Doliva, Heidrick & Struggles: “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity” (Amelia Earhart). Join us for Getting On Board with Women in the Boardroom.

The Buzz: In or Not? A debate has been raging since Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's LEAN IN hit bookshelves and became a best-seller in 2013. Fans hail her pro-feminism messages and pragmatic advice, while detractors say her views are misguided, mistaken, and can backfire for women aspiring to soar through the ranks. Does leaning in help or hurt women at work? SAP SVP, CLO and series executive producer Jenny Dearborn says, “Perhaps the key achievement of Sandberg’s book was to awaken us to this long overdue dialogue.” The experts speak. Geeta Vallabaneni, Luminix: “Definition of character is how a person behaves when no one is watching them” (13-year-old nephew). Ginger McCullough, Brookshire Grocery Company: “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). Kellie Drenner, SAP: “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value” (Albert Einstein). Join us for a lively debate on For and Against “Leaning In”.