Lean In - Sheryl Sandberg (Part I)

I am part way through reading Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In - it will no doubt doubt form part of a later blog entry as a "Book Pick" but for now I just want to note down some of the things that have stuck with me so far:

• Rather than telling an organisation what your skills are and why they should hire you, try asking "what is your biggest problem and how can I help you solve it".

• She says "as sappy as it sounds I hoped to change the world".  This is exactly how I feel, and I think it is a very positive motivator in my life.   It drives me, energises me and keeps me believing that 1 person can have a big impact.  Naive, yes but definitely very positive.

• Never ask "will you be my mentor" as this is awkward and the mentor relationship needs to be natural.  Instead be prepared, ask good questions (ie not things you could google) and follow up afterwards to tell the person how their advice impacted you.  Something I found interesting was her thoughts on who she likes to mentor, people she thinks have potential and people who she thinks she could offer a lot to in terms of advice.