WPO

THEWOMEN PRESIDENTS’ ORGANIZATION chairs as long as they’re involved with us. Their job is to bring the genius that already exists out of the group. That is a very important point. “We use an adult learning model for our edu- cational programming. And that model says that adults learn best when they define what they’re going to learn, when they’re going to learn it, and how they’re going to learn it. So, that’s an addi- tional important piece of what we do. “And one more thing: the Five Cs.We are an organization that Collaborates in a Confidential setting with non-Competitive businesses, who make a Commitment to support and help each other and to introduce each other to Connections that can help support their businesses.We like to use those Five Cs as a way to describe the WPO.” sues to be addressed on behalf of women-owned and women-led companies, and we pass on that information to our members. But we are a busi- ness education organization– that’s our goal, so we do stay as far away as we can from the political scene. First of all, we’re non-profit. And we have members who are absolutely involved in both parties. So, we have made the decision to focus on business education.” BVM: What does the long-term landscape look like for WPO and how will the organization con- tinue to be a resource for your members? Firestone: “WPO is a ‘high touch’ organization. I know that there is a lot of focus on the growth and development of the digital age, but our members also like to be connected to each other, to the sponsors, to the chapter chairs, to the me- dia, via high touch. I see that continuing. “I also see that the women-owned/led busi- nesses are becoming bigger and bigger. I always say that being an entrepreneur is the great equal- izer. You control your own time, have more power and more influence. It is the one place where women can also pay themselves as much as their male counterparts. So, I see an increase in entre- preneurship for women in the future.” BVM: Anything else you would like our readers to know about the WPO? Firestone: “In our proprietary peer learning program we train and continue to train chapter