Phrases from Women of Silicon Valley 2023

The speeches at Women of Silicon Valley 2023 took my breath away. Here are the phrases that have stuck with me that I'll ruminate over for a long time.


“Beacon” (Carrie Beckstrom, PowerSpeaking, Inc., Welcome Remarks)

– Who we, each woman, are while overcoming biases and challenges to serve as a guiding light.


“Best practices” (Sophie Ross, FTI Consulting, Altered State: Digital Risk Management In The Wake Of Business Disruption And Technology Acceleration)

– What every leader needs to have in place in shaping organizational culture when no regulation is available.


“Gorillas” (Jameeka Green Aaron, CISSP, Okta, How Identity Is Driving Modern Businesses And Their Workforces)

– How AI technologies recognize dark-complexioned people due to biased data training. A shocking moment for me. I was also deeply moved by her words "Position yourself where you shine" during the Q&A.


“Human problems” (Elaine Zhou, Change.org, Beyond Ethics: The Right Data Is Key To Business Profitability In The AI-Enabled Era)

– How training and utilizing AI technologies represent the core of issues surrounding AI.


“Influencers” and “onboard terrorists” (Alex Baren, IPC Systems, Inc., Embracing the New Age of Organizations: Navigating Transformation and Empowering Employees for Success)

– The people to start with to build a coalition as change agents.


“Human sense of purpose” (Meeghan Salcedo, IPC Systems, Inc., Embracing the New Age of Organizations: Navigating Transformation and Empowering Employees for Success)

– What each member of an organization needs to drive organizational transformations.


“Own your initiatives” (Nupur Srivastava, Microsoft, Unlock The Power Of OpenAI, ChatGPT And Large Language Models)

– How to build relationships and drive results when leading change.


“Emotional loyalty” (Kshama Swamy, Punchh, Revolutionizing Customer Experience: The Power Of Technology In Acquiring And Retaining Customers)

– What results from personalization through discounts, rewards, gamification, lifestyle, identity and purpose.


“Hyperautomation” (Maria Yuin, Salesforce, Embracing Automation - Key To Scaling Your Business)

– What prompted Gartner to predict its relentless growth.


“Test DSAR” (Milou Lammers Meier, Merit, Modern Privacy Requires Proactive And Repeatable Action)

– How an organization can identify who responds, how and when to Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs).


“Consequences of errors” (Eileen Krepps Page, InVision Communications, Embracing Our AI Workforce)

– How to choose projects to apply generative AI using risk-demand graphs.


“Change appetite by persona” (Rani Pangam, ServiceNow, How To Lead Complex Change in Uncertain And Disruptive Times)

– How readiness to change varies, which requires different alignment strategies and for various team members within an organization.

#HeartbeatsofSiliconValley