The “2012 Perspectives: Women Who Excel” Conference was a huge success, with hundreds of professionals gathering in historic Severance Hall to hear the panel, including Zinner Managing Partner Robin Baum, discuss the “power of perseverance.”
After a lively networking breakfast, the sold out crowd filled up Reinberger Chamber Hall for a town hall Q&A session with Robin and the four other female panelists: Esther Potash, CIO of Olympic Steel; Dr. Kandice Kottke-Marchant, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute and Section Head of Clinical Pathology – Cleveland Clinic; Candace Klein, Founder & CEO of Bad Girl Ventures and SoMoLend; and Patricia Adams, President & Founder of Zeitgeist Wellness Group.
The discussion focused on both the professional and personal obstacles these accomplished women had to overcome in order to achieve the success they enjoy today, with topics ranging from turning non-answers into “yes” and tips for being a successful leader to who to turn to for inspiration and book recommendations.
One key piece of advice that all the panelists abide by is the importance of connecting with people on a personal level before worrying about the business side to increase the chances of a longstanding professional relationship; as Robin mentioned, “People do business with people.”
Robin, who admitted that she knew she wanted to be an accountant from the age of six, defined the buzzword of the day, perseverance, as always challenging herself: “It isn’t necessarily getting over people saying no; it’s looking for the opportunities and asking to be able to take advantage of that.”
A nearly two hour discourse was interspersed with bursts of laughter and applause from the audience and panel alike, a fact not lost on Robin Baum who relished the overwhelming support of the predominately female crowd:
“To be able to sit in a room of this many women and realize everyone is here by choice…that’s very inspiring.”
A summary of the conference discussion can be found online here.
Zinner & Co. staff out in support of Robin
