What #Shesays on the Topic of Entrepreneurship and Creating your own Job ✌

Hi Steemers,

Yesterday I was happy to join the #Shesays conference as a panel member where the topic was centered around woman working within technology and design. Among the audience were entrepreneurs like @susanne, people working in design & technology. All in all there were three steller keynotes, and the whole thing ended with five of us debating the different aspect of work, technology and challenges in between. Here are my 5 take-aways:

• Say Yes

The first keynote was by a veteran technology advisor whom been working over a decade in the Telecom industry, working on various projects, often undertaking a huge responsibilities and pursuing her passion. Her message to the rest of us sitting in the audience was to say yes when we faced with great opportunities - however frightening, and audacious. It's a great point and definitely something to consider when setting goals for yourself and where you want to spend your time. She ended by highlighting a great point: once someone has asked you to take on a challenge, they have given you their trust, thus - we shouldn't be afraid or terrified, but find comfort in the fact that someone has placed this responsibility in our hand.

• Forget the imposter

The second keynote focused on the so-called imposter syndrom. This is actually quite interesting. It turns out that many of us, at some point, experience the imposter syndrome which is defined as the inability to internalize their accomplishments and develop a persistent fear of being exposed as a "fraud". The speaker related on her own career, and how she had many times felt her success was a result of luck or random events. Apparently this is very common among high-achievers, which is, when you think about it, totally ironic. Here are some of the different tips she gave for fighting the imposter syndrom - 1) know that it is normal 2) reflect on your CV, acknowledge your achievements, 3) Teach others, because you'll be surprised of how much you know, and 4) seek out a mentor who can help you navigate intimidating environments. Great points.

• User Experience for the win

The last keynote focused more on the industry and how there is a huge gap between the demand for UX skills and current supply of those skills. He showed us some pretty funny examples of why User Experience is so important, and how it is one of the most relevant and sought after traits in every technical app, solution, or platform that's currently being built. I couldn't agree more - I've worked 5 years for a technology & design consultancy prior to starting my own business and got to experience first hand what happens when this phase of a project is neglected.

• Discussions and wrap up

During the discussion a lot of interesting topics came up, but there was particularly one I found worth debating. Everyone seemed to agree it was important to accept failure in the workplace, and I stressed this point. Yes, I think accepting failure is a great, and having spent a lot of time in Silicon Valley I know that the most innovative, creative and forward-looking environments in the world praises failure as part of the process. However, this is not the case in the Nordics. We still struggle with the concept of failure, and have a long way to go before this becomes a normal and accepted part of our working culture.

Anyways - that was a quick summary of a totally awesome night. Anybody here been to a SheSays conference?