Meaningful life with meaningful work

Last week, I was fortunate to meet Andrea Jung, CEO of Avon, who was the keynote speaker at the Sloan’s women celebration. She embraced a vision that I aspire for: having a meaningful life with meaningful work. In this post, I want to recount some of her “lessons learned” that have motivated me to do the same.

1)     Follow your compass, not your clock. Do you want the company, the work, or the title? Many people find jobs but not careers. She advises to find passion by finding the work that brings you both passion and compassion.

2)     Thank your parents. Andrea discussed her traditional Chinese upbringing (reminds me of my Indian-American childhood!) and the principles and values she learned along the way. This has counted to be most important in dark moments. At the end of the day, human values and human relationships are why companies survive and thrive.

3)     Reinvent yourself. Every month, reflect on your decisions. Are you being objective and opening up to listen?

4)     Innovation. George Bernard Shaw said “You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’” Be a transformative thinker.

5)     Use technology. Social media is transforming business and the world.

6)     Be open to stamping your passport. We live in a global marketplace now. China is the second largest consumer market in the world.

7)     Social responsibility. It’s not an option anymore, it can be part of your job. Any private company can do good. It is not only for what we do that we are responsible, but also for what we don’t do.

Andrea reminded me to stretch myself and find balance between all sectors of my life: my work, my home, myself, and my community. When asked about work-life balance, she said “It can be done, but you need to make decisions prioritizing the two.” As an example, she spoke of a time she declined an invitation to meet President Bush at the White House in order to send her daughter off to Paris for summer camp because “she will remember forever that I wasn’t there… [whereas] President Bush would never have even noticed.”

This fall, I am forming a women’s entrepreneurship circle with a group of Sloan women to share ideas, exchange ideas, and learn from one another. If you know any great speakers or organizations we can partner with, please let me know.