Judith Scheffler

Beyond the Corner Office: Essays by Nine Women Judith Scheffler

We were nine former corporatewomen, averaging fifty-four years old.¿Active and energetic, too young to reallybe retired, we wanted to have fun, make money, and give something back to asociety that had done so well by us.¿ Wewanted to see whether we could combine the talents and capabilities we haddemonstrated in our successful business careers to create a more enrichingpos-corporate life. In January, 2002 Yvonne Shepardasked us to join in a group we now call NineWomen.¿ We used a formal process to discuss our priorsuccesses and mishaps, joined in creative activities, visited beautiful places,and considered potential projects.¿ Pastmisgivings healed.¿ We accepted the rolewe had played as foot soldiers in the Feminist Revolution.¿ We succeeded at endeavors once consideredbeyond our capabilities.¿ Finally, werealized that the group and processes we used had become an end in itself.¿ We'd already started our first project.¿ This book of essays describes the incredibleimpact of this group on our lives, and provides tools and information to helpother women join us as we work to enrich women's lives, both in the careeryears (Act I) and in Act II.