I had the opportunity to attend the Atlanta Business Conference of the Women’s Leadership Exchange  (WLE) this morning.  “The WLE mission is to provide the knowledge, tools and the connections women need to be successful in their own businesses, the corporate world and the non-profit environment.  To change the perception of women as business leaders by impacting their success and increasing their visibility.”  The keynote speaker was Ping Fu who is the co-founder and CEO of Geomagic, Inc.  She shared an amazing story with us about her upbringing in China during the Cultural Revolution, about her transition to the US when she only spoke three words of English, and about her transformation into a successful business leader.   She closed with a quote that really resonated with me.  She said, “It takes tenacity, the belief that failure is not an option, to be successful.”  I love the word ‘tenacity’ and all it conjures up in my mind.  The next speaker was from a global financial services and investments company who shared that these economic times are truly among the toughest we have seen in a long time. It was a reiteration of what I read in the newspaper every morning.  Bailouts.  Auto industry failures.  Unemployment rates.  The list goes on.   We need to demonstrate tenacity!  We need to join together to think positively, do what we can for our economy, and recognize that failure is not an option.   With Thanksgiving on our horizon, we at the ISHR Group want to simply say ‘thank you’ as we recognize our many blessings.  May you be thankful for your families, your friends and your colleagues.