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Will the Suns Keep Shining?

This entry may seem a bit out of place because it’s about sports…but one thing that I love besides fashion, media, technology and pop culture is basketball – but not just any basketball, Phoenix Suns Basketball! (I’m also a devoted University of Arizona Wildcats fan, but that’s a story for another day.)

I just got home from the Phoenix Suns vs. New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden and it got me thinking – has all this media frenzy in recent seasons around The Phoenix Suns’ “amazing collection of talent”, “innovative playing strategies” and predictions to FINALLY take home the championship this season be detrimental to the overall success of the team? Let me explain a bit about each of these characteristics before I explain my concerns...

Amazing Collection of Talent: sure, the players play like a real team should – they feed off of each other’s strengths and don’t allow just one player to carry the team unless it’s absolutely necessary. They try to stay out of fights (again, unless absolutely necessary like Raja Bell’s clothesline on Kobe Bryant in the May 2006 game against the LA Lakers.) Above all, the team functions with all the ups and downs of a family…but mostly, it helps that the team is composed of players who possess the most diverse playing skills in the league – Steve Nash, Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw and as if that wasn’t enough, we now have Grant Hill, as well! What a talented (and gorgeous) team!

Innovative Playing Strategies: “:07 Seconds or Less” – need I say more? This is a great book by Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum about his experience shadowing the Suns for a whole season. Wouldn’t that be incredible? What I wouldn’t give to see my Suns day in, day out for a whole season! Ok, back to my point, for those of you haven’t read the book, have you ever wondered why most Phoenix Suns games seem to be more fast-paced and higher scoring than most NBA games? Well, this is why – the Suns believe that it only takes :07 seconds to set-up and take a shot. So if the shot clock is set to :24 seconds, why not try your shot in the first :07 seconds rather than waste the first :17 seconds with the potential to miss? Sure, there are some requirements for this strategy to work: 1) The Suns must maintain a high shooting average, 2) they must be very good at rebounding their own missed shots and 3) this strategy works best if the opposing team is a relatively low shooting average (otherwise, there would be more time freed up for the other team to take extra shots).

So that’s the great stuff…then why am I afraid for the Suns this season as are many basketball analysts? I was at the game tonight and the Suns won 115-104, but they actually struggled against the Knicks in the second and third quarters. There should have been NO struggle. There was expected to be NO struggle! Seems that there’s been something wrong with the team chemistry lately. They need learn to leave personal issues off the court and just support each other – without going overboard like jumping off the bench when a cheap shot is called on the team MVP! Also, since both Marion and Stoudemire will be sharing the spotlight this season, Marion needs to get over his petty jealousy issues and hug it out with Stoudemire. Either that or he’s got to go (and I hope it doesn’t have to come to that). They can’t rely on Steve Nash to be the team's band-aid for yet another season - he has more important things to focus on, like continuing to play like the MVP that he is!

While I'm on the subject... I'd like to send my love out to my original Suns: Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle and Charles Barkley!

Bringing it all together...A Phoenix Suns Widget!

Get With It with Widgets

Next time you’re in line at Starbucks during the morning rush, you know you’ll be there for a while so entertain yourself by doing a bit of marketing – help educate consumers about an impressive phenomenon known as Widgets. Turn to the person behind you in line and ask them “Do you know what a widget is?” Chances are they’ll say “no.” So seize the opportunity to give them a brief description of a widget and they’ll likely respond with a sudden expression of familiarity and realization that they have, in fact, used a widget before.

Widgets have existed since the beginning of the World Wide Web, but have only recently begun to see their full potential as a strong marketing tool. Many people have downloaded and used widgets assuming the widget is just a helpful tools created by a company to make their user experience more engaging and successful. While this is one of the goals of a widget, what the companies really had in mind is marketing - the opportunity to own prime real estate on the consumer’s desktop.

One very popular widget is Southwest DING! – travelers and non-travelers have downloaded DING! when searching for a well-priced fare. It’s simple to use and is not disruptive to the user. From Southwest’s perspective, they own this consumer before any purchases have even been made. In the future, it’s more likely that the consumer will conduct a quick search on DING! prior to checking any other airline’s website.

Another fun widget is The Gap ModelMaker which allows consumers to add their face to a Gap ad. However, this isn’t where the genius ends. The user can then select the outfit for their picture and also add accessories. Although the consumer simply thinks they are dressing their own little Gap ad, they are actually browsing Gap’s online store. Even if only a small percentage of consumers visit Gap Online or walk into a Gap store as a result of the widget, The Gap will have succeeded in accomplishing their goals.

Some of my favorite widgets include The Simpsomaker, My iTunes, PopSugar and Forbes.com: Top Lists. On the other hand, instead of downloading widgets created by companies, websites like GoodWidget allow users to create their own widgets and send them to friends. Now this is even more brilliant. Companies are now able to get consumers to essentially do their marketing for them! Genius.

Strikers See the Green

The writers can start writing once again…the strike is finally over (well, sort of)! It seems the unseen heroes behind the scenes that we know so well have come to an agreement with studios over their contracts. Hallelujah! But what I don’t understand is why the Studios waited so long to come to terms? Were the hashing out the numbers? Ever wonder what the executive conversations sounded like over at Walt Disney, “$34.3Billion minus a small fraction of $130M over 3 years…oh boy, that’s steep. Maybe we should just let our writers go and just run syndicated shows forever. We still have advertising, right?”

The writers had a very valid argument against the studios in asking for revenues for online replays of TV shows so what puzzles me is why this strike didn’t occur last year when replays of online shows were a bigger threat to TiVo than DVR. Especially when advertisers will soon pay more and more for online ads that can’t be skipped and can be more targeted than traditional TV advertising.

Also, there was another strike going on at the same time on Broadway - that strike is also over and the theater district is back in the cash-collections business. With all the revenues lost given the inconvenient timing for this strike, I expect ticket prices to ultimately increase for consumers. Nevertheless, this was the first Broadway strike in the union’s 121 years of existence, so hopefully this is will be the last we ever hear of a Broadway strike…unless, of course, Broadway shows begin to play online, as well. Now there’s an idea!

Are we there yet?

We’ve all seen the films, TV series , books and songs that reference the future. And the future is always depicted as a world where everything is optimized and the world as we know it today seems pre-historic! Well, I’ve been waiting for this future to become the present….so are we there yet?

2001
“2001: A Space Odyssey” (Film & Novel)
A classic Kubrick film from 1968 with a supercomputer named Hal who has a mind of his own – today, we call this artificial intelligence. So, did we accomplish AI in 2001? Not really. But then, this was a sci-fi film and it was Kubrick so I suppose I shouldn’t expect this to come to light for perhaps another century.

2008
“Franchise” (Novel)
A short story written by Isaac Asimov in 1955, set 53 years later in 2008, Asimov’s hopeful thinking was that the US presidency would be selected by a computer program that could automatically select the most “representative citizen”…..well, one can dream, can’t they?

2010
“Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows” (Film & Novel) & “Transformers” Season 1986-1987 (TV Series)
Really? So I suppose we should expect wizards walking amongst us – keep an eye on those close friends who always seem to get everything want. Also, be weary of the electronics who may be “more than meets the eye.”

2015
“ Back to the Future II” (Film)
Filmed in 1989, our beloved hero, Marty McFly, travels to October 2015. In this world 26 years in the future for Marty, but just 8 years away for us, the world is unimaginable. Flying cars, “Hoverboards”, holographic people working in diners, holographic newscasts and tiny frozen pizzas “dehydrated” to create large piping hot dinners in a matter of seconds - do we think this future world is actually just 8 years away? Dehydrated pizzas, ok, fine. “Hoverboards” have been mimicked by AirBoard – a decent attempt, but still not even close and costs $14,500. How about flying cars and holographic people with real jobs completely eliminating the need for people? All this by 2015? Unfortunately, I think we’re a little behind schedule. Another fun prediction worth noting is the prediction that the Chicago Cubs win the World Series in 2015– this hasn’t happened since 1908 so I suppose it’s possible. Afterall, with flying cars, anything seems possible.

2016
“Ghostbusters II” (Film)
This infamous movie predicted the end of the world to be February 14, 2016!

With that, I conclude my trip to the future. Knowing all that there is to come, doesn't life today feel like the simple life? Not so much…time for me to refresh my Facebook page on my iPhone so I can see what my friends are doing and thinking at this exact moment! "See you in the future!"

Gimp-Addict

I’ve recently been introduced to a fun little free-ware photo-editing program called GIMP. I was looking for a free version of Adobe Photoshop to create fun holiday cards when my brother told me to check out http://www.gimp.org/. After a several frustrating hours of playing around , I finally figured out how to extract photos from backgrounds and place them strategically into other pictures. Now I'm addicted to this fun little program - check out some of my creations...for example, me hanging out with my favorite rat pack cuties:

or, my husband and me posing for the paparazzi with our with good friends, Tom, Katie, Vic, David, Jada and Will:

So, as a beginner, GIMP is absolutely ideal for all my photo-editing needs. If you have ever found yourself struggling with cut & paste pictures to create picture to make your friends laugh (or jealous), you should definitely try GIMP!

Social Butterfly

The term "Social Butterfly" is used to describe someone who befriends everyone, attends every party, every event and is simply well-connected. In fact, in the not-so-well-known Marvel comic book, Livewires, there is an android named "Social Butterfly" - her role is to extract information from individuals using her powers. Well, today, "Social Butterfly" wouldn't need to use force field induced direct brain manipulation or artificial pheromones to accomplish this task....she would simply become a member of Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Hi5, Dodgeball, Flickr, Twitter, myYearbook, orkut, WeeWorld, Bebo, Classmates, SecondLife and perhaps even LinkedIn and Doostang. She might even consider getting a Master's Degree in Social Networking - which, believe it or not, is an actual degree offered by the University of Michigan!

I have to admit, I aspire to be somewhat of a social butterfly myself - as a member of nearly half of the social networking sites listed above, I feel I'm as good a candidate as any teenager around the world to offer my unbiased thoughts on some of these sites.

Facebook
Let's start with the one that has been in the spotlight the most in recent weeks. The applications available on Facebook are endless. And did you know that there is actually a class offered at Stanford University dedicated to teaching students how to build Facebook applications?? Mark Zuckerberg, the lucky 23-year-old, took the social networking trend to a whole new level by somehow getting the world to work for him...for free! Of course, there can always be improvements, such as searching within your own friends to see who is in your neighborhood for the weekend - similar to what 2 NYU students did with their start-up, Dodgeball (now owned by Google, of course!). Perhaps this application already exists and I just haven't come across it yet....but in any case, I have no doubt that if it doesn't, someone young genius will create it the very near future. Either way, I'm addicted, as are 73.5M other users.

MySpace
Perhaps I just haven't explored this site enough, but to tell you the truth, I just never got addicted the way I did to Facebook. I was sucked into creating a profile for MySpace because my 10 Year High School reunion committee decided that this would our online portal for all reunion details! Well, of course since all my former high school friends would be visiting my page, I had make an effort to make my page look amazing. So I joined....now, with the reunion come and gone, I seldom find myself visiting or updating my MySpace page. With nearly 300M MySpace pages online, I'm definitely in the minority.

Friendster
Ahhh, my love before Facebook. I visited religiously and thought the idea of putting the "6 degrees of separation" theory to the test online was pure genius. There was, of course, SixDegrees.com developed in the late 1990s, but they were just too ahead of their time to really make an impact. Nevertheless, despite Friendster's timely launch and innovative approach, the young geniuses of MySpace and Facebook quickly out-performed by creating more creative applications and allowing users to personalize their pages with more flexibility. Friendster followed the trends, but in the fast-paced world of online social networking, they were already too late...still 26.5M users remain loyal.

Classmates
Just when all the social networking sites were coming into the mainstream, we all wondered, "why didn't anyone think of this before??" Well, they did - Classmates.com launched in the mid-1990s but their demise came in the form of something green. They started charging real money for full access to the site. They had missed mark on this one - with the target market being young high school kids or poor college students, who has the ability to pay as much as $19.99 for a monthly membership? Sorry, Classmates, the idea was great, but the execution was off target... but who am I to judge, they still have 40M accounts.

Dodgeball
I love this site for two main reasons: 1) it takes social networking to another level by being predominately on the mobile platform and 2) it was created by two NYU graduate students thus making me feel more proud being an NYU graduate student, myself. Needless to say, this operation has been and is still a success...after all, Google bought them, didn't they? They're only just getting started!

WeeWorld
What a fun social networking site!! Crazy addictive and 1.7M others agree - I could keep changing my "WeeMe" forever! As you can see from the picture with this post, that is my "WeeMe" right now - it's always changing to reflect my current mood. Today, well, I'm feeling like a true butterfly and am in the mood for a Margarita...and of course, my blackberry is always in hand. The fallback here, WeeWorld is making the same mistake as Classmates, they are charging real money to purchase new clothes and accessories for your "WeeMe"

SecondLife
I joined and came up with a great avatar name and then the frustration began. Has anyone else found it difficult to move around in SecondLife and make your avatar look drop dead gorgeous like everyone else walking around? My avatar is way out of proportion and horribly dressed - not a fan and as addicted as I expected to become to this site, it never occurred. And even more frustrating...Linden Dollars? Seriously?? Just because you call it something other that "The Real Dollar" doesn't make it less real - it's still real money that's being used to dress and house a made-up character. I'm still in awe of the Second Life realtor who made $1M real American dollars on the site!

I could go on to provide my thoughts on more social networking sites, but there's no need. I think it's clear that I'm ridiculously impressed with Facebook and that's where I'll be spending my time. See you there!

Sapphire for Your Thoughts...

Here are some random stories that have added some amusement to my life in recent weeks....feedback always welcome!

- Dining - I was at Burrito Loco in Greenwich Village last weekend (a spectacular place to eat) and was seated next to a group of four 22-24 yr old girls (my best guess). They were all immaculately dressed and looked stunning from head to toe as if they had an amazing gala to attend after dinner - I was impressed. Nevertheless, this all changed when the bill arrived - it took them 30 minutes to divide the bill to determine exactly how much each owed...down to the penny! Then they proceeded to calculate the tip....after another 20 minutes of deliberation, they ultimately ended up leaving change as part of the tip. The whole ordeal made for great dinnertime entertainment.

- Shopping - have you ever noticed that you don't always get your money's worth in terms of product quality with shopping for luxury brands? So, why do we pay so much for brand names? And I'm certainly not ragging on anyone who loves the labels, because I am guilty as sin of this charge! However, in my latest shopping excursions, I've come across the following: Sweaters with buttons falling off, unsewn seams and loose threads at Henri Bendel, Joe's Jeans with missing buttons at Barney's and the latest, a pair of boots from Prada that get more worn out after 2 weeks of wear than boots from Nine West after 2 years! Correct me if I'm wrong, you don't come across such oversights in quality when shopping at Banana Republic or Ann Taylor, do you? Despite all of this, I'll still continue to shop at these places without a thought or doubt in my mind that I'm making a mistake, but nevertheless, it's been amusing. On a related note, check out Bendel's wonderful new website - just launched this week, you can finally shop Bendel's online!!

Until next time... have an amusing weekend and gather the tidbits of sapphire - they make for great small talk!

PraDa

Ok, so I stopped in at Prada on 5th Ave in NYC this morning and saw the most outrageous thing - a story that'll definitely make you say "no freakin way!"

While I was perusing the store, I saw a bag (a gorgeous black bag) that ...well, the picture says it best! The "D" in "PRADA" is backwards!! Seriously?!? At Prada on 5th Avenue?? Don't they have any Quality Assurance process in place to check the bags anywhere between Milan and NYC?

I still can't believe it. I did point it out to one of the Prada reps and I'm pretty sure she was embarrased - after all, I was embarrased for them!!! It's humorous to know that sometimes the fake might actually look more real than the real thing! At least the counterfeiters TRY to make it look real!

The Sapphire Award goes to...

It's been nearly 3 weeks since the Fall TV lineup commenced and I've tried to keep up to date with as many of the new and returning shows on network TV as possible. And some CLEARLY stand out amongst the bunch! Here are my thoughts on some the best and worst - plus my pick for this season's Sapphire Award!

Mondays....I think it might the first time I like Monday TV!
Dancing with the Stars
I have to admit, I never watched this show prior to this season. I always got my fill of any reality talent shows by watching 3 months of "So You Think You Can Dance" during the summer. This season, I decided to tune in specifically to see Jennie Garth and Mark Cuban. The talent on this show is truly spectacular! Jennie "tripped up" at the beginning of the season, but I think she's made a great comeback - I'll probably never vote but it should be noted that she's my favorite. And the other end of the spectrum, we have Mark Cuban....I just had to see the celebrity zillionnare try to be graceful after years of banter with the Dallas Mavericks. It's been amusing to say the least!

Aliens in America
Perhaps, I expected too much from this show - with the innovative and untapped basis for a sitcom, I anticipated so much more than than the usual high school comedy about the unpopular, but thoughtful kid. The acting is impressive and comical, but the characters are far too familiar and story lines are predictable. Despite the humorous tidbits, I don't think I'll be tuning in every Monday for this show. Nevertheless, I would like to see newcomer, Adhir Kalyan, showcase his skills in other productions.

The Bachelor
I just don't understand how this show is on every season - it's always the same! Let's spice it up, ABC...throw some ex-girlfriends in the mix of choices or better yet, let's see what a bachelor would do if presented with 25 super intelligent and career-minded women looking for a companion rather than girls looking for a sugar daddy.

Two and Half Men
I just got into this show due to the late night re-runs on CW. Love it! Light and amusing - it's brilliant. Enough said.

The Game
What an unexpected suprise. I tuned in randomly last season but caught the season finale, which had me looking forward to the premiere this season. It has been a great source of short entertainment, somewhere between a purely comedic sitcom and a primetime drama. Above all, I've been blown away by Tia Mowry's acting ability. I'm guessing she has truly experienced the reality of the cheating boyfriend - there's no other way to explain how she can act out the pain and frustration so well! Emmy-worthy if you ask me!

Tuesdays...the night of the familar shows we all have grown to love!
Boston Legal
Always a treat - love the cases. This week's case about the 15-year-old girl suing her school because she had unprotected sex and contracted HIV and winning - brilliant! But I want to know how many teenagers are now seeking out legal advice about how to mimic that in reality. Simply put, Boston Legal is David E. Kelley's not-so-new, but improved version of The Practice.

Law & Order: SVU
Love it! And the cases this season have been so much more compelling and eerie. Like a bad car accident, you don't want to look, but you can pull your eyes away.

Wednesdays...might just be the new Thursdays!
Dirty Sexy Money
It's so familiar, yet I can't quite place my finger on it. Why does it seem like we've seen other primetime dramas that are similar? Nevertheless, I'm hooked! (Most of) The characters are deep, fascinating and shocking. There is the underlying secret of "who killed the father" that is the premise for the story, but it's not the only driving factor or storyline in the show. The individual storylines are quick to be uncovered instead of being drawn out over weeks. This is one of the few shows that I will actually watch on abc.com if I miss it during the original broadcast.

Gossip Girl
Spotted: The highlight of my Wednesdays! What a great show - and this is where I'm going to contradict myself...yes, it's familar and we've seen it a million times in shows like Laguna Beach, The OC and The Hills. But, it's different somehow. And the fact that's it set in the very neighborhood where I live, the Upper East Side...well, perhaps that's biased my opinion, but I've definately become an avid Gossip Girl watcher. Until next time: I need to go back and read the books! I hear they make a great light read for that boring commute to work.

Private Practice
I never expected this show to do well, but I also never expected to be such a drag! It's horrendous - I mean, Taye Diggs is certainly my McChoclatey, but come on, Taye, seriously?!! With Dr. Addison as the lead, this show is as ready for cancellation as Cavemen (which I didn't even bother to review as it's no more than a 22-min weekly Geico ad).

Thursdays...ahhh, the infamous Thursday - need I say more?
Grey's Anatomy
I hate to say it, but it's been disappointing. Izzie's character is simply irritating. Meredith is more tolerable this season, but, the sister rivalry storyline is so last decade! Hasn't that been done way too many times. And how predictable is it that she'll likely hook up with McDreamy? Christina Yang - love her character and even moreso because I'm a Sandra Oh fan. She's so real and raw - it's refreshing. I hope they do more with her chanracter - that may just help salvage their ratings this season. And of course, George, I like him, but less and less as he moves away from Callie and closer to Izzie.

The Office
Always a pleasure! It was a bit much for the first 2 weeks with hour-long episodes. I've become too used to the 30-min quickie so I'm looking forward to going back to the usual pattern at some point. The comedy is still just as fresh and clever as ever although I am curious to see where they go with the Pam and Jim story! Hope they don't break-up. How sad would that be?!?!

Big Shots
Another great shocker of the season. Love the focus around the entrepreneurial men - wish they had thrown in a super successful woman in the mix to spice it up, but maybe that's an idea for a later episode. And Michael Vartan - how endearing is he?? Does he have to be the one who gets cheated on? I'm looking forward to seeing this show grow....although I am a little afraid of cancellation for this show - not sure why, just seems like it might be headed towards the chopping block for no apparent reason like The Nine last season.

Ugly Betty
Well, done, Salma, and thanks for bringing America to stardom in America! The talent is great and although predictable, a great source of comic relief every week.

Fridays...I would only watch TV on Friday if it was absolutely worth it!
Friday Night Lights
And this show makes it worth it! What a great show that attracts boys and girls! Boys like to say it's about football, when all of us girls know that it's really just another high school drama! But it's so well made with the perfect music, lighting, movement, etc. I don't have any experience in cinematagraphy, but if I did, I'd say this is how it should be done!

Saturdays....I got nothin! Does anyone watch TV on Saturday nights anymore? SNL, perhaps?

Sundays...since when did Sunday become a prime TV night?
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
I still like this show, but I'm finding myself less and less likely to tune in with my 100% attention. Better for just background noise and to see what amazing things they can do with rooms...and how far they'll go to design a room for a child who will likely grow to hate it in 3-4 months, if not less!

Desperate Housewives
It's better this season - it was starting to go downhill last season and I almost didn't watch the premiere. But I'm glad I did - impressed with the new twists and turns and introduction of serious events to the story line. I was a little disappointed that Edie didn't "leave the show" as they made us believe she would, but soon enough, I suppose.

Brothers & Sisters
I think I'd only seen 3-4 episodes last season, but this season has been great. I'm sort of caught up on what happened in the past, but nevetheless, I've never been a Calista Flockhart fan and she's somewhat bearable this time around. And of course, the best part is the eye candy in the form of Rob Lowe and Dave Annable! They are reason enough to stay home on Sunday nights!!

Now some of you may have noticed I've left out some of the usual suspects (i.e., Heroes, CSI, House, Las Vegas, 30 Rock, etc), but I somehow never got into those shows. At some point I may have to rent the first season DVDs and catch up, but that's certainly not going to happen anytime soon.

Ok, so with all that said, the Sapphire Award goes to..... Dirty Sexy Money! I really wanted to give it to Gossip Girl, but just couldn't do it because it's more of a guilty pleasure with little depth than well-made, all-rounded entertainment! So, until next time, enjoy the season...I know I certainly will!

Bombay Sapphire

Early this week, I attended an event that has had me glowing for the past few days! It was more than likely the most inspiring and interesting speaker panel I've ever attended. This panel was called "Women & Global Leadership" and was held at the Yale Club in NYC. The event was organized by the CII as part of the Incredible India at 60 celebration that's ongoing in NYC (FYI - 2007 marks the 60th anniversary of India's Independence).

The panel consisted of 4 incredible Indian women who have quickly become role models and inspirations for many young women around the world:

Indra Nooyi - CEO & Chairman, PepsiCo

Naina Lal Kidwai - CEO, HSBC India; First Indian Woman to graduate from HBS

Rohini Nilekani - Journalist, Novelist, Human Rights Activist

Shabana Azmi - Actress, Activist

Each of these women has accomplished so much in their lives despite all the challenges they faced as females growing up in India during the tumultuous post-independence era. There were many insightful questions asked and even more insightful answers given by each of the rockstars. I could never do any of them justice by simply paraphrasing in transcript-style in my blog – you really had to be there to fully experience their spirit.

Nevertheless, I will do my best to summarize some of the highlights…
Positive Facts about India
- There are 1.4M women in political power in India today
- The gap between boys and girls in school in practically closed
- 80% of men in India say that they would like their spouse to be a working woman (unfortunately, this number drops to 60% when including married men and drops even further to 35% when including small villages)

Facts that Still Need Some Work
- The number of women who die from pregnancy-related deaths in India in ONE DAY is the same as the number of people who die in airplane crashes in the US in ONE YEAR
- Although more and more women in India are joining the workforce and gaining independence, they still have the burdens of the household chores upon them – none are shared with husbands thus putting more pressure on women of being the homemakers as well as the breadwinners.

Final Question: “What has been your greatest challenge in getting to where you are today?”
- Indra Nooyi – Being a “trailblazer” and role model has it’s challenges and added burdens. People expect more of you and there are only 24 hours in a day thus you have to be even more careful with “crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s”
- Naina Lal Kidwai – As an Indian woman, you tend to place a glass ceiling on how far you can go and it’s challenging to push that glass ceiling further and further as you progress
- Rohini Nilekani – When you have big goals such as sending every child to school and bringing safe drinking water to all Indian villages, it keeps you going but you also lose control of your own time and need to manage that carefully
- Shabana Azmi – Need to remember that it’s not about only empowering women, but also about finding the right balance of power between men and women for each has their strengths

While I have always been a great admirer of Indra Nooyi, this event introduced me to 3 other similarly great women. These women, as well as the the many others who have defied all rules and stereotypes, should be celebrated for providing guidance to women like me - women who hope to someday be in that spotlight and experience the flip side of admiration.

Thanks, ladies…you’re truly amazing! :)