There was a quote that struck Kathy Kinloch when she became the president of BCIT: "The world needs more BCIT."
But who said it?
She did her research and discovered it was none other than Dominic Barton, the London-based global managing partner of McKinsey & Company.
Intrigued, she dared to call him and ask if he would meet with her.
It turned out he was accepting an award at the Vancouver Board of Trade so they arranged to meet that morning. They ended up spending two hours in engaged conversation about BCIT and its potential to provide the world with skilled and talented people. However, because she was worried that the meeting wouldn't happen, she had also booked a seat at the awards luncheon.
She sat with two men who didn't pay her much attention until, during his awards speech, Barton said, "The world needs more BCIT. I just met the president and she's the one who will do it."
Suddenly, the two men at her table were asking for her business card.
Kinloch told this story when she accepted a 2017 Influential Women in Business award from Business in Vancouver on Wednesday at the Fairmont Waterfront. The story was part of her second piece of advice to the crowded banquet room: build a network of people outside of your workplace and industry. "If you're authentic in your interest, they will be as authentic back."
Her other advice is as follows:
1) "For those setting out, take time to know your values and be true to them no matter what. Your values will be your guideposts."
3) "Do your absolute best no matter what job you're in."
4) "Don't ever say no to a bizarre assignment. You don't know where it will lead to."
5) "Find ways to escape work. There are times you have to lean in but have a group of friends who don't care about your role and who are just fun to be with."
The awards luncheon was held on International Women's Day. Kinloch told the story about how she was on the campaign team for Flora MacDonald who, in 1976, aspired to lead the federal Progressive Conservative party. MacDonald went into the race against Joe Clark with more than 300 pledged delegates but got only 214 votes on the first ballot.
"I hope we don't have any more Flora Syndromes where people say they are going to support you and don't.
"Don't wait for someone else to do it," she told the crowd. "Go out and change the world."
You can read BIV's profile of Kathy Kinloch here.
