13I Saw the Sign!

If you're going down a winding road and you see a sign warning you to slow down to 30 miles per hour when making the turns, you slow down. Similarly, when you see a vulnerability sign, the smart thing to do is pay attention to it and become more aware of your surroundings and how the other person might be feeling. These signs should tingle your vulnerability spidey senses. Sometimes these signs are just that—signs that don't turn into anything or don't manifest. However, sometimes these signs will be very useful guides to help you and those around you.

Ilham Kadri is the CEO of Solvay, a 21,000‐person chemical company. She was raised in Morocco by her illiterate grandmother who told her that young girls had two choices or exits in life. One from her parents' home to her husband's home and the other to the grave. Ilham found her third exit in the form of education. She spent many years studying and working around the world, ultimately getting her PhD and becoming the CEO of Diversey in the US and now of Solvay in Belgium. She is also the chair of the nonprofit World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Ilham also suffers from dyslexia, which made it particularly challenging for her to achieve her current level of success. Despite all of these obstacles, she conquered everything thrown her way, and vulnerability was a crucial element of her success, not just in terms of how she practiced it but also in terms of how she responded to others when they ...

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