In a world where companies are attempting to define what is “manly” or “womanly,” last night was a breath of fresh air. I attended Girl Power Hour last night, after being invited to their only event of the year where men can take a peek inside this popular women’s networking affair. It was tailored to women in every sense, (no I didn’t have a rose colored lens on the iphone), yet us guys were able to share in the glamour.  And guess what, the men I ran into there we are all perfectly comfortable being surrounded by the pink, the make up stations, and shreeks of friends seeing each others dresses. Why?

Power.

Just like in the events name. The event just had a feeling of woman power. One that someone like me really appreciated being around. Women who are mover’s and shaker’s. Women who have serious social media game.  Women who are interested in experiencing something new and different. Women who are just fun to hang out with.

I recently heard a quote from one of the all time great college quarterbacks and noted feminist, Don McPherson.  He said, “we don’t raise our boys to be men, we raise them to not be women.”  This event last night was created, run, and attended by very successful and action taking women. They are women who have skills, abilities, and talents I will never have.  Sure the differences between genders are obvious, yet the more I move away from the traditional and outdated ways of doing business, or being social, or making an impact, the more I run into women.

Thus where I am headed, many of my role models are women.  Having grown up with three sisters, I am so happy to see there are leaders we all can follow, (they never wanted to be “like Mike” as I once did).

In preparation for the first event for InnovateLive (more to come on the company), I am in sponsorship mode. Still six months out, but now is the time to build relationships and identify the corporate partners who I can help with the platform I have built.

In case you missed it, the key word here is “help.” I am looking for sponsors who I can help promote and generate an ROI from the platform I have create for before, during, and after our event.

Here are some thoughts about progress thus far.