It’s great fun to break the mold once in a while and do something fun and different, like inviting a chef into your home to cook a meal for a special occasion!
I first invited Cheffrey to create a surprise intimate dinner for Larry’s birthday, we went shopping in the afternoon, had a cocktail at Bing Crosby’s, and then went home, to find Cheffrey having already prepared a delicious dinner for us! Cheffrey and I had made all the arrangements ahead, Cheffrey did the shopping and the preparation, some in advance and some in our kitchen.
When I knew Janine Benyus and several others were coming to dinner, I immediately thought of Cheffrey! Once again, with very little effort on my part, we had a fabulous dinner experience — the watermelon and heirloom tomato salad was unbelievably delicious! — and I got to enjoy our guests.
Larry and I have joined a peer community of leaders gathering with the purpose of making a difference, each member moving their own world in the ways that move them.
Vy is the trajectory of an airplane’s flight. Vy is not just focused on arriving at a destination, but is equally concerned about the optimal rate of climb for the journey ahead. Vy is a peer community for successful senior level executives and accomplished entrepreneurs, an invitation-only opportunity.
What draws me to Vy is that it brings me back to what is important. I came to Vy through Tom Hill, who at one time came to speak to one of my Vistage groups when I was chairing. We hit it off, and he persisted with his invitations to the Eagle Summet, until I finally said “Yes” to his invitation only by now the Eagle Summit had taken on partners Mike Frank and Mikka Olsson and become the inaugural Vy Summit. The overarching gift of being there was the significant reminder of the importance of community.
Here’s Tom, speaking about principles and with a word about leadership.
Biomimicry is a new discipline that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems. My husband Larry was introduced to Janine by her board member and lawyer in San Francisco, Susan McCormick. Based on her enthusiasm, Larry bought Janine’s book, Biomimicry, Innovation Inspired by Nature. He hadn’t been able to get that book out of his head, so when he learned Janine was speaking at the San Diego Zoo on October 2nd, he invited her to dinner and she accepted.
Larry envisions San Diego being part of Janine’s future plans for Biomimicry to commercialize some of the myriad of possible innovative products. San Diego is an incubator city for technology and biotech in a collaborative way. In attendance were Joe Panetta, President and CEO of Biocom, Duane Roth, CEO of Connect, and Ruprecht von Buttlar, Director of Connect’s Commercialization and Finance Programs. They tangibly substantiated the collaborative nature of our fine city. Duane, for example, shared the growth of the Sorrento Mesa area into fifty research institutes today.
I like Janine, she’s genuine, warm and quick. This video clip from our evening provides an example of her witty humor and her grasp of a future view. Toward the end of dinner I couldn’t help myself. I turned to Janine and said, “Most entrepreneurs are trying to develop ONE product. Biomimicry is a veritable thing-a-thon!” While we had a good laugh, it is true. Biology makes way for so many innovations it is mind-boggling. Janine’s book Biomimicry was based on research into at least 2,000 strategies for potential products that could be commercialized. Need I say you should pick up a copy of that book?
