Michele L. Sullivan: Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness
Michele L. Sullivan: Proszenie o pomoc to okaz siły, a nie słabości
Michele L. Sullivan is known for her sustainable and collaborative approach to philanthropic investing. Full bio
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that we remember so vividly.
które pamiętamy bardzo wyraźnie.
was when I was entering kindergarten.
and by golly, it was my time.
nadszedł czas i na mnie.
że prawie się posikałam.
with a warm welcome,
little cubbyholes, don't we --
until class starts."
and plopped down like I owned the place,
jakby to było moje miejsce,
with blue shorts.
i niebieskie spodenki,
I didn't think he was talking to me.
bo nie sądziłam, że mówi do mnie.
Let's just play. We're happy.
and about a minute later,
in a white shirt and a pink skirt,
w białej koszulce i różowej spódniczce,
na biodrach i powiedziała,
why do you look so different?"
Again, let's just play."
Nie jestem mała. Bawmy się!".
all around the circle I was in,
and they were all looking at me.
i gapiły się na mnie.
it would be "OMG" or "WTF."
czy WTF [Co do cholery?!].
that I went in with that morning
wchodząc rano do przedszkola,
before I went home,
outside of the circle.
like nobody could see me.
żeby nikt mnie nie zauważył.
another child's curiosity,
that the real world was not built
both literally or figuratively.
dosłownie i w przenośni.
as you can probably tell,
through our lifetime.
różne życiowe wyzwania.
with a mental illness,
z chorobą umysłową,
with their gender identity,
or what I go through.
przez co muszę przechodzić.
walk in someone else's shoes,
wczuć się w czyjeś położenie
a new way of giving of ourselves.
what it's like to be you
jak to jest być wami,
what it's like to be me.
jak to jest być mną.
or chase your dreams,
i nie dogonię waszych marzeń,
in each other's shoes,
wczuć się w czyjąś sytuację,
of giving of ourselves.
different than most people,
inaczej niż większość ludzi,
I was on equal footing with,
które mogę robić na równi z innymi.
I excelled in the classroom.
I discovered as I grew older
gdy kilka lat później odkryłam,
to do a physical job.
of everyone for employment,
o krok przed innymi, żeby dostać pracę.
an advanced university degree,
What am I going to wear?
W co mam się ubrać?
who I've known all my life
the building you're going in has steps."
w budynku, do którego idziesz są schody".
about how am I going to get there?
and got in and had a great interview.
znalazłam windę towarową
for the day and that's OK.
przez co musiałam przejść tego dnia.
challenge that day was the interview,
była dla mnie rozmowa
without getting run over.
in certain situations:
I travel quite a bit.
for all of us these days.
run through security, get to the gate.
przebiegacie przez kontrolę do bramki.
Did I get my upgrade?
Dostałem lepszą klasę?
I don't run through anything.
the personal patdown.
that my parents said I was born with,
urodziłam się z darem wymowy,
"By the way, my scooter weighs this much,
"Mój skuter waży tyle i tyle ,
to the door of the plane."
the city where I'm traveling to
do miasta docelowego,
in case mine gets broken on the way.
skuter, gdyby mój się zepsuł w drodze.
it's a little bit different.
z mojej perspektywy.
to put my bag up, and they graciously do.
przy włożeniu bagażu na górną półkę.
get up and walk on the plane,
it knocked and I answered.
do przedniej części samolotu,
I can't reach the lock."
Nie dosięgam do zamka".
and the door flies open.
a tu drzwi się otwierają.
that he was sitting right across from me,
że siedzi naprzeciwko mnie.
as much as I am?"
not talking about it publicly, I am.
o tym publicznie, a ja tak.
our families, sports, work,
someone put your bag up.
że twój bagaż jest na górze.
with that embarrassment,
tego zażenowania,
in certain ways.
I start to talk to the agent.
i wykorzystuję to, że mam gadane.
about their culture and so forth,
o kulturę i takie tam.
getting up the steps."
while we waited for the flight,
czekając na samolot.
for both of us that day.
uległ zmianie tego dnia.
and wished me well,
i życzył mi wszystkiego dobrego,
to remember that experience more
zapamięta to doświadczenie,
and there was a bit of hesitation.
my friends, my colleagues
przyjaciele, współpracownicy
that we all have a support system.
wzajemnie wspierali.
of other people's support systems.
in our own successes,
dążąc do własnego sukcesu,
in other people's successes,
w osiąganiu sukcesu przez innych.
every single day.
dla mnie każdego dnia.
that we help each other,
placing people in silos
coraz częściej szufladkuje ludzi
i wyrażanych ideologii.
that you cannot see.
z rzeczami, których nie widać.
tym doświadczeniem,
those experiences together
I mentioned earlier in my stories.
o których wspominałam.
wczuć się tylko w swoją sytuację.
courage and understanding,
on only what you can see.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Michele L. Sullivan - Social innovatorMichele L. Sullivan is known for her sustainable and collaborative approach to philanthropic investing.
Why you should listen
Michele L. Sullivan has held various globally influential leadership positions at Caterpillar during her 29-year career. She currently is Caterpillar's Director of Corporate Social Innovation and President of the Caterpillar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Caterpillar Inc.
Throughout Sullivan's career, she has dramatically grown the reach, influence and impact of each role. Her time with the Caterpillar Foundation is no different. She has taken the Caterpillar Foundation from a transactional Foundation into a global and strategic Foundation. She has moved the Foundation from Corporate Social Responsibility into Corporate Social Innovation. This strategy places the human need first, not as an afterthought of profit. Sullivan is well known for her global expertise and sustainable and collaborative approach to philanthropic investing.
Sullivan strongly believes monumental and sustainable change in our largest global challenges can only happen through partnerships and collaboration between public, private and non-profit entities. This strategy resulted in the Caterpillar Foundation's transformation into one of the most influential corporate foundations and, ultimately, the launch of the Foundation's collaborative impact platform, Together.Stronger.
Determination and resilience have been present throughout Sullivan;s life. She endured many years of orthopedic surgeries and other challenges. She provided leadership starting in the Little Prairie Chapter of Little People of America as a teenager. She was named by Inside Philanthropy as one of the 50 most powerful women in philanthropy and she served as a US delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. She is a member of the ONE board of directors and chairs the Greater Peoria Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Advisory Board. She earned her MBA from Bradley University, and she is the first woman to be President of the Caterpillar Foundation.
Michele L. Sullivan | Speaker | TED.com