ZKQ Blog

Why I do What I do

I'm of the mindset that if you bring the right people together, problems will get resolved. I'm also of the mindset that our lives are enriched by the people we know and if I know someone wonderful then maybe that person will want to know others who are also wonderful.

With that in mind, I invited some women I knew to be wonderful to join me for wine and sushi at a local restaurant in our town of Blacksburg. I knew everyone. Some had met before, but now we all know each other.

There was no particular problem to solve or an agenda to follow, yet problems we did not know existed or how to solve, got solved. Business relationships were formed. The seeds of friendship were sowed and a much needed sense of community among women in business was born (at least, that was my take away).

It's amazing the resolutions a corporate trainer, an executive director of a nonprofit, a social media entrepreneur, a mediator, a hyperlocal business entrepreneur, a writer, a financial planner, and a marketer can produce.

Left to right:  Mary Johnson (HHHunt), Gail Billingsley (YMCA at Virginia Tech), Anne Clelland (Handshake 2.0), T'aiya Shiner (BetterAgreements), Monica Hebert (NRVHub), Z. Kelly Queijo (me), Sara Bohn (Northwestern Mutual).  Not pictured: Melissa Farmer Richards (Virginia Tech)

Photo taken with Olympus Stylus Tough 6000, on loan to me by Olympus.

From Twitter to Triathlons: Table Talk Stimulates Ideas and Friendship

I've been following the Tweets, blogs and videos from the SXSW conference, green with envy. It's been a year since I've attended or worked a large conference or trade show. After four years of averaging 7-8 conferences a year I did not think I'd miss conference travel, but I was wrong. Call me crazy, but the from set-up to tear-down, the time spent face-to-face with clients, business associates, friends, and new contacts just can't be replaced. The communication I followed from SXSW confirmed that no matter how much we all love social media tools, we still need to connect on a social human level. Social media is simply an extension of that human connection.

Fortunately, last night in Blacksburg, I was able to meet my need to connect on a social human level that was reminiscent of what happens at a conference. At dinner, four of my friends, who were not close friends with each other (for some, it was their first meeting), came together to exchange ideas, make new contacts, and learn from one another. Our gathering was more like South meets Northwest since one woman hailed from Orgeon.

Fueled by good food (Italian) and wine (Chianti) from Sal's, we covered topics ranging from Twitter to triathlons, blogging to business, and fun to fund raising. Just like at the end of a conference, I came away, renewed and energized by these smart women, entrepreneurs and directors in their own right, who filled me with a list of ideas to explore, people to contact, and topics to write about.  All very good stuff and my trip home only took 10 minutes!