On frank lin in washington about the relationship between Benjamin Franklin and george washington. Watch book tv this week and every weekend here on cspan2. Robert and eileen are here with us today. She recently retired as director of corporate social innovations and president of thef caterpillr foundation. With philanthropic arm of this manufacturing giant, caterpillar inc. In addition to the 30 year career holding various leadership positions at the company, she recently helped transfer form the foundation into one of the worlds most influential corporatel foundations and launch a collaborative platform that together stronger a catalyst for prosperity, unites businesses, nonprofits, government, and citizens to combine their strength to alleviate povertys for millions of people worldwide. Please give a warm savannah welcome to michele sullivan. [applause]. Michele thank you so much and and thank you so much to this fabulous event. And savannah, my first time here i absolutely love it and i will definitely return it and i also love the weather when i left home yesterday in illinois yesterday, is minus eight. So i greatly appreciate the 60 some degree weather today. [laughter]. And i also thank you for your time today. Take your home and treat her like everybody else. That is the advice that the doctor gave my advice over five decades ago. On the day i was born. This is after he took an extra because i had the nevada clubfoot and he discovered that i had a type of dwarfism which few years later they found out is very rare type of dwarfism and like to think that my parents wouldve done that anyway take me home and treat me like everybody else but the acclamation is always nice that information and you may not think it was a big deal but back in the 60s, people who are born with a disability, were not treated like everybody else. And to some extent, that is true today unfortunately. But things have definitely improved. It did know i was any different. Until i went to kindergarten. My big brother had gone to school and i was ready my mom dropped me off in a walk down the like i own the place and stuck my chest out, went into the classroom and the teacher told me to go into the circle and play with the kids until class started. So did that, i went over to pop myself down and got right into it. And didnt take but a few minutes, the boy next to me, i remember like it wasas yesterda, he said in a very loud voice, hey, why are you so little. What is wrong with you. I didnt think he was talking to me, i had nothing to do. It didnt take very long and the other side of me, said jan, why are you so little. And then i looked up and i can see all of the other kids staring at me. I could feel the confidence go right out oft me and did not understand why. Have you ever had the feeling of being overlooked or underestimated or not being included. Most people have sometime in their life. My first time was when i was t five and in kindergarten. I had no idea what just happened. And just today, as the day went on from i was outside of the circle. Both literally and figuratively. I was certainly not sitting inside of the circle. So i got into the car, mom said, so how was it. It and i love to have that as it is there something wrong with me. And she said, she paused. Camy mother never paused or hesitated so it kind of scared me. She goes well, we are all born different. And it is the way god made us and you will be smaller than most people but youre still going to be able to do whatever you want to do. Maybe in a little different way, no pun intended but you will be able to do whatever you want. And of course i had no idea what she was talking about. And he did notot make me feel ay better at the time read but as i would into first grade, and then into second grade, against i was in the same classroom so that really kind of got over it. Lets know me and was on an issue. But when i went out into public, the stairs were always there. There came a point where i did not want to go out at all. And when i did i had behind my parents. I wanted to t find. I didnt understand what was happening. And it was all because i was shorter and of course as we got older, the gap increased. So came into second grade teacher introduced us to the math game called around the world. Somebody stood next to somebodys desk and whoever gave the answer first, but to move to the next desk and kept moving and whoever one, lets keep moving. I come to realize, i was good at math. I was great at math and i waste one around the world. Anyone you cant take your animal out of the cage on the Bulletin Board put it outside of the cage. And of course i picked the giraffe. [laughter]. Right, install and had a neck grade both of which i am not. So i put my animal on the outside. Because of when the game and you know, it was the first time that i started to realize what my parents were trying to tell me. Theres really two kinds of growth. In this one of the first chapters in my book. Looking up. We spent about the first 18 20 years, growing on the outside and for me it was ten years. [laughter]. And then we spent the three quarters of her life growing on the inside. Because these kids started to say, you know michelle, the one in math, it wasnt, you know michelle, that little girl. It was the first time that i noticed that i was known for something other than my size. And it was a great feeling. I had never had that before. G and keep in mind only had that feeling at school and so when i went out into public it was not there. But i started to realize that i still am growing on the inside. And you grow all your life. And l think about your emotional stability in your emotions, your relationships, your psychology, all of these things that makes who you are continuously evolved the rest of your life. So then comes grade, his rainy days and the teacher taught thomas chest and we would play lots. Guess what, i was great at chess. To the point where i would win tournaments. It in there i was again. I would go into these holes and i hated walking into the chest full, it is a huge room, so many tables and when i would walk in, everybody was staring and i was just like please god, just get me to my table. I would climb up the table and it is sinema needs or cannot see. And most of the times, mostly boys and they would be staring at me and think we are playing again. A lot of times i would beat them in ten minutes because they were busy talking. I would win. I then get the trophy at the end. In the first time it happened, this boy brought his mother over when the parents came over to pick us all up. And i thought oh, what is he going to say. And regarded. He said mom, this is that girl i told you about she wanted, she won the whole thing. A girl. This girl. So once again, i was looked up to. And so is life goes on, we learned the lessons and it still did not help a lot when i went out in public and i still needed other tools and resources. My mom boys told me, start we are, use what you have, and do what you can. And that is what we all do in life. And we go at a w different pace and support. Then it came time to do with my orthopedic problems. Type of dwarfism has a lot of hip and knee problems. I like to say that i was born with my check engine light on. That is how it is. So my parents took me around the country to find someone that could help with my skeletal dysplasia and we were introduced by someone who happen to be the first little person io ever misread and never met another little person until i was 12 and i thought it was the only one. Keep in mind this was before you at cable to be in 300 channels right. So we went out to baltimore to john hopkins to meet my doctor who specializes in schedule dysplasia. And along the way, he called us and in first thing he started to talk to me about my personal self. All the doctors i met because i do have a very rare type of dwarfism. After the never saw another person like me who had that type of dwarfism. So they treated me like a specimen. But not this doctor. He asked about school in my personal life and was i going to college and all of these things. I am 12 and have not even thought of that myself yet. His point was that i was more than just my skeletal dysplasia. So i had a series of surgeries. First i went was a 1979, nims june 12. At that i remember it but i do remember it very well. After the surgery, i have this nurse named kathy who was a student nurse. She is about seven years older than me. And she was there the whole ten days that i was there and joyce came in and we really had a connection. I dont know what it was but she nds so open and so caring and she teased me a lot to love to but a lot of fun. Was not the most enjoyable environment for kathy made it enjoyable that was so cool and choose she was going to college and being a nurse. It is time to go home and she said, give me a t call make the back, for physical therapy. So excited to go back and so mom and i should recall or should not bet calling my dad said, cl if you want. Weve got to t lose. And we didnt even get a word in edge wise and she said oh youre back in town. She came back. And i stayed there for therapy, my parents had to go home, he was counting into me out. She took me to her house, she put me on her kitchen count cancer and she would your homework and we would chat. And i just thought she was the coolest person. She was my mentor. I looked up to her so much. Thats all for kathy that taught me and my parents had tried for years but you know takes other people tune you finally realize that you have to let your guard down. For people to come in. I always have my guard up. Even today, you never know when somethings going to come up and say so youre always kind ready for anything. She really taught me that you have to let your guard down and let people get to know you. I do that, i did that for school and people really started to know who i am and what i was about more than my size. But i had be more than that. The only time you walk in the room, do you t ever scan the ro, and you think you can i talk to who will be respect deceptive to me. And he looks more like something might be interested in whether you there for a particular reason, anyone to go talk to. People sometimes would go right over me like im not only there. I understand that, it is a little awkward so i have learned, to make the first move my parents joke with me that was born with the gift of gab. And i cant they say that what it was. And so i really use that to make the first move and talk to people. And they get comfortable and you just start chitchatting. What goes along with that is a bit of humor. For instance at the hotel, i needed to go to floor ten, i can only reach three. And there is money in their sum, so you know what, i would really like to see how the view is on ten, would you hit the button. And they are laughing. When that really came in handy, traveled quite a bit for my job. So im on an airplane and nature calls once inth a while. So get up and i wanted to the restroom in itasca Flight Attendant, would you mind watching the door for me. Because i cant reach the lock. I am 4 feet tall by the way so im in there doing my duty and the door flies open. And it is a man. [laughter]. He said hello. [laughter]. Why these points are important, its in the chapters of the book. Think about the two types ofgr linear guard down, making the first move, and for me, asking for help is a strength, not a weakness. I had to ask the Flight Attendant to help me. I need all the time. If you are here earlier, i need help on the stage. It really is a strain. The other piece of that story would in one of the chapters, it was also important, whenever someone steps in and i will say, it is always important that you try to have them stay safe. That man felt a lot worse than i did. I sat in there a little longer than normal. And i thought, what to my going to do. I gotta get out of here right. It is a plain, turn 50 people. What are the odds be sitting by me. I probably wont see him again. So come out and was on the i o and there he was on the other side of the aisle. And i think he was put there on purpose because it gave me an opportunity to walk up to him. His face was all red. So was mine. I walked up to him in arlington, and i said, are you going to remember this is much as i am. [laughter]. He laughed. And he said probably. However, it sure is not talking about it publicly like i am. [laughter]. But any time somebody does Something Like that, or says something and i going to detail and one of the chapters about this because looking up is about elevating the viewpoint and the value of others. We all have value. I look up to people my whole life. Literally. But tell me the most important posture which is to look up to people figure relatively free because we all have value. Were all dealing with challenges everyday. You can see one of mine. But is not my only one. So when you see people and they may not be the best mood or whatever but think about some help making adjuster that gives them a positive feeling. Because you do not know what they are dealing with. Early dealing with financial problems, the dealing with mental illness. Are they dealing with infertility, any type of issue. Couldnt you just dont know. The book is about why you cant walk in my shoes, minor size one by the way. We can walk sidebyside each other and that is vitally important. And to get to know people, just like this gentleman in the plane, we talked the rest of the flight created he was a sports person in sunlight. And we really got to know each other and it started to break the ice and the most important for me on the plane ride was to make sure that he would talk to someone it was different the next time. It would not shy away and never look at them and always look right past them. Nobody likes to be overlooked for whatever reason. It was so important for me that day, to leave him with a positive moment. I stoped with the plane landed, the companys initial i notice, he sat down somebody lifted your suitcase up and i said yeah, i will catapult that thing into there. And he said, can i get it down for you. And i saidd yes, thank you so much. That would not have an eye do not started to talk to him and get to know each other. So when you try to influence people, intimacy always works better than influence. When you start to break the ice, and you start to get to know people and much guard down, you really come together with someone. And you start to look up to them. This is important because all of my life, said michele, you need to write a book. I said what about. If they said much like. I said well have a life in a story. I did not think it was ready yet to write a book. As my life went on, particularly as a starting at caterpillar, i started to notice a few things. I may have something to contribute, but im not ready yet. So when i graduated college, i interviewed caterpillar for instance night of job. This was 31 years ago. There really werent handicapped people are not very many. And they hired their smallest employee. An top of that, a woman. I had a variety of jobs. It, marketing, arts, product exporsupport. It was in the north American Commercial Division which was the most important division in terms of sales for the company at the time. I was in the 80s. I remember walking down the aisle on each side, all glass windows, you know the managers, halfway up, there is bowl and glass. Swimming walked by, they saw from here up, they saw the top of my head that was it. Unlike my kindergarten day, i remember the first day walking in there. And all they saw was the top of my head neck your people like drop things like what is that. Right by the window and it happened in every office. They do not know me. Mica said, getting to know people, intimacy works better than influence so here i went along the offices, and i should not have giggled but i it was funny. They had no idea. It was one office after another in the more i went the moray giggled. And that it was my turn to show my value. My job. Grout with the requirements were so that they could do their job better predict what information they need. And then feed that into it and work to get that information to them. It was me who had to make the first move is to talk about in my book too go in to go into these white allamerican looking males which they were back then and introduce myself and theyre going, what you want. Well im here to help you. And they went, yet really. And i would say yeah really. And we would start talk. I went to all of the managers and started realizing they a all needed similar type of reporting. And so i worked on that read and not long after that, all the reporting came online and they started using it. And go back and ask how its going and is the god familiar with it, its going really well. And then, funny enough, i remember the day that i started walking back down and instead of all of the hustle and bustle try to figure out who just walked by. It was, michele come in. I would come in and they would say this is what i need now, this is great. And i would say oh okay. I couldnt go down the aisle anymore without getting called into every office. Because its all value and what i was doing. But they had to get to know me and what my value was. In the book i talk about dont we all have that role to play. You have to show your value to people. They have to be open to see it. Because at the end of the day, we all have choices to make everyday. One is, we all have challenges and differences. Am i goingng to live on this and hide in the world and just let it be there. Im i going to try to fit into the world as it is today or embrace your differences arees your challenges, treat them as assets and realize they could be used to impact other people. And we make a choice every day about whatever your challenge is. I have to do it too. My parents kicked me in the butt when i needed it. We all have pity party and nobody likes a pity party but you did get down once in a while. I completely understand that. And to this day, kathy and i are best friends. She has impacted so many peoples lives and it all started in 1979 in june when i met her. And when you think about someone like that in a friendship that long, there is Something Special there. And kathy has looked up to so many people because she is now a hospice nurse. A job i could not do. But god bless her. And when you think about the types of impact that will have on eachhi other, and that we can make, that is very important. In the book i go one to highlight people who i have looked up to in my life i kathy and we only people to hang around with and lean on when something really good happens and when something not so good happens. I call it my Kitchen Table. When something you probably go to something really bad happens, dont use you people, it is like a Kitchen Table, we stay have dinner every night a moment at go how was your day. And of course in your kid, the most exciting thing is charlie puked today. He really dead and went all over the floor. And he went into detail right. But other than that, how is your day. Theyre trying to get out, what did you learn today and so forth. So my Kitchen Table was very important in