A Successful Bootcamp|What’s It Mean For My Future Success?

The following can be sung to the tune of the Kingston Trio‘s MTA.

Let me tell you the story
Of a woman named Cherry
On a tragic and fateful day
She put money in her pocket,
Kissed her son and family
Went to ride on DC’s sub-way

Cherry gave her metro card
At the Ballston Square Station
And she headed for G. W. U.
When she got there the conductor told her,
“One more nickel.”
Cherry could not get off that train.

If you’re familiar with the song then you know that Cherry  [Charlie] never returned, destined, in his case, to ride the streets of Boston for the rest of his life. I’m willing to blame that song for the fear that I have of taking a subway after a long hiatus (there are no subways where I live).

DC Subway Map

But no amount of subway apprehension was going to keep me from attending and participating in the pilot SisU Bootcamp: Your New Mission in the Sisterhood of Success at the George Washington University School of Business, Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence. Sisterhood University™ is the testing ground for research gathered by the Hot Mommas® Project, which is the world’s largest collection of teachable role models and mentors (aka case studies) for women and girls particularly in the area of leadership.

Riding the Orange Line and attending SisU bootcamp were well-worth it. I connected with amazing women. I met face-to-face with Kathy Korman Frey, with whom I’ve tweeted @ChiefHotMomma and participated in a coaching call with but never met. I learned about the power of a structured forum (click on the link for an explanation written by another participant, Cindi Thomas), as well as the magic of five for increased success in our work:

“We all need a group of 5 supporters in our professional life if we are going to reach our potential. Period.” Kathy Korman Frey, professor and researcher

So, as part of my boot camp assignment, I’ve identified 5 supporters/mentors to work with that can help me in the 5 areas I’ve identified where I need help in order to be more successful. SisU will provide a template for me to follow when working with my mentors. I’m excited, looking forward to the process, and will let you know my results.

By the same token, if any of you need a mentor in the area of Borderless Thinking please contact me.

Upon leaving the session after gaining ideas, contacts and hope I can tell you that my preliminary results showed am improved outlook by me – I was smiling broadly and looking forward to getting on the subway…so much easier than driving in DC traffic.