Jobs like this – the kind of job of which there are many, the kind that are definitely good but that no one teaches you to want – are found only with an open mind and a willingness to do your own thing.

That might be the difference between men and women: Women need to know they are right before they stand up. Men are OK objecting if they just think they might be right. I thought, but I didn’t know.

Never brag about your ability to type. It will never get you anywhere you really want to.

What you realize is that everyone has her own priorities – her own constituency. Often, being a leader is not about making grand proclamations or telling people what to do; it’s about balancing all these priorities and constituencies.

If you do it responsibly, quitting something that isn’t benefiting you – whether it’s dance classes that “everyone is taking” or a soul-sucking job that has nothing to do with anything you’re interested in – can change your life.

There is no bigger compliment than being intellectually curious about what someone else spends his or her days doing – it turned out that not having the answers did me no harm.

But the point is that things change, times change, and you will change. A shift in perspective is almost always a good thing.

There is no bigger compliment than being intellectually curious about what someone else spends his or her days doing – it turned out that not having the answers did me no harm. The feedback I got was that the WHMO directors all “felt good about my leadership.

I thought it wouldn’t work, but I didn’t know it wouldn’t work, so I didn’t say anything. That might be the difference between men and women: Women need to know they are right before they stand up. Men are OK objecting if they just think they might be right.

Senator Kerry walked into the room. He blew past me and into his office, but then I heard him ask who I was. His team told him I was interviewing. He asked for my résumé, and I heard him say, "She worked at Sotheby's—she must be good." Forward motion is always better than no motion—even if you don't think it's taking you in the direction you wanted to go.