Tell us about a project or accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career
The two most significant career markers for me to date, have been the Socially Speaking™ iPad App I launched in May 2012, and The NICE Reboot book on female entrepreneurship I wrote, which was just published by Maven House Press. Both share a common goal: to use iPads in different ways to achieve your goals. Both also reflect what I’ve learned about balancing humanity and technology for the greater good.
What was the most difficult period in your Career life, and how did you deal with it?
I think that 2013 was the most difficult year for me. I was in transition; professionally and personally. Professionally, I was well respected in my field but considered a bit of a maverick. I had launched my iPad App and Socially Speaking™ iPad Seminars but still had to convince people who attended my seminars that the iPad was a real game changer in the world of entrepreneurship and education; more than other tablets out there. I had traveled North America for 3 years on a regular basis, but still had to convince people I met that I was a bona fide woman entrepreneur who rented space in the tech arena, given the unique nature of my service/product. Personally, 2013 was a challenging year for another reason. I was reeling from the loss of my late childhood best friend and mentor, Dr. Natalie “Nechah” Hochstein. She had convinced me to become an entrepreneur while fighting breast cancer. She lost that battle on December 12, 2012, but not before encouraging me to write my book and try to give voice to what other women in entrepreneurship are saying/thinking/feeling. So I tried to deal with 2013 the best I could; becoming much more active on social media, writing The NICE Reboot, and continuing to be an iPad Evangelist in the female entrepreneurship space. It led to me being invited to speak in November 2013 at the Hack for Big Choices Event in Palo Alto, CA. I was the lone female panelist at an entrepreneurship event in Silicon Valley, discussing and debating the role of technology in global education with great minds such as David Mosby, Bill Reichert, and VivekWadwa.
In your experience, what do you think is severely lacking within the Tech Communities?
I believe that there is a fundamental lack of understanding of the power of
• Process vs. Outcome
• Creativity
• Collaboration
All impact on work/life and Me/We balance when inventing and using tech. All impact the disruptive innovation i.e. the process of designing and bringing tech to market, and using that tech to solve real problems around the world. WhatsApp and Snapchat are the flavors of the year, and time will tell if they are still benchmarks for the type of technology male entrepreneurs are so quick to praise and try to emulate. Women have a higher level of emotional intelligence which makes for great creativity and collaboration at work without ruffling feathers or getting into ego trips. That’s why women around the world were watching closely when Tim Cooke fired Scott Forestall (who helped design the iPhone) as one of his first tasks as CEO, because of a reported lack of collaboration. That’s why women entrepreneurs around the world are now watching Guy Kawasaki take on the mantle of Chief Evangelist at Canva, a graphic design App on my radar for a while. We’re waiting to see what others will do with Canva, not just what Guy says we can do with it.
What are the most important things you have learned from your work experience?
1. Helping others learn; whether it’s technology, entrepreneurship, or something else, promotes happiness and social good all around
2. The balance of humanity and technology is an ongoing daily struggle, but it’s worth it; personally and professionally
3. Technology is redefining our attempts to harness time and reconfigure work/life balance re: being busy vs. being productive
4. Technology is essential to fostering more women thought leadership, actual leadership, and social entrepreneurship, so that we can all promote change and make a difference
5. More people are likely to use technology if it
• Helps them solve problems with it
• Contains an element of play, so that the brain relaxes and “connects the dots”
What is your career advice young women entering the technology sector?
1. The world of tech changes so fast that content curation using Apps such as Zite, Twitter, Evernote, and Pocket are not just a social media marketing strategy to provide your client base with useful information. It’s your lifeline; especially if you take time off to have kids/be home with them!
2. You have unique visual, cognitive, and social skills which make you valuable team players and reverse mentors who can and should barter services/opportunities for lateral and overt promotions! You can’t have it all, and will need to devote time to hone your craft. But you should speak up and be heard and seen while doing so!
3. Perfectionism is a real problem for women at work, especially in this sector. Multi-tasking is the enemy! Re-framing success and failure is your friend!
4. In technology, the end-product is the focus, but the journey along the way is where you learn the most and gain the most; intangible lessons that help you maintain momentum in life, not just in the office
Stay updated on Penina Rybak’s NICE Initiative by following Penina on the following social media outlets:
Facebook: Socially Speaking LLC
YouTube: socialslp, storytellergal
Google+: The NICE Initiative for Female Entrepreneurship
Pinterest: PeninaRybak
Twitter: @PopGoesPenina
Websites: sociallyspeakingLLC.com, niceinitiative.com
