Taking the Time to Absorb the Moment

The last night of my trip to Davos is always, by far, the most fun. I can finally let my hair down, relax and enjoy the moment. For the three days while I'm in Davos I rarely stop to look at the beauty around me, to digest the moment, to take in the fact that I am a kid from the Lower East Side of Manhattan standing in a room with some of the most powerful people in the world. I am so wrapped up in being prepared, getting it right, not embarrassing myself or the network, that I don't take the time to absorb the moment. On the last night I do.

The night started with a beautiful, but slow, ride up a mountain cable car to a private women's dinner on maternal mortality at the Hotel Schatzalp in Davos. If you read my blog last year (link to last year's blog with title), you'll know that 1 in 7 women die during childbirth. Sarah Gordon, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's wife, Indra Nooyi, CEO of Pepsi, and Wendi Murdoch hosted the dinner. This is the third dinner of its kind. It is one of the most important events at the World Economic Forum. The likes of Melinda Gates, Liz Smith, president of Avon, Unicef Director Ann Veneman, Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld, Dupont CEO Ellen Kullman, Head of the World Bank Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and

 Melinda Gates, Sarah Brown, Wendi Murdoch and Indra Nooyi
others join together in their commitment to improving maternal health and ensure that all the Millennium Development Goals are met. A vital task given the enormous level of poverty.

I planned to stay at the maternal mortality event just for cocktails because I had to make my way back to a dinner hosted by Robert Thomson head of the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch. Murphy's law I got stuck in the cable car for 20 minutes at the top of the mountain. Just imagine me sitting in a cable car by myself knowing that I'll be embarrassingly late for this sit down dinner, dressed up in a dress and high heeled boots with a 15-minute walk at the bottom of the mountain to the hotel in single-digit weather. Not pretty!

After several conversations with God the cable car moved and I made it to the bottom of the mountain. I walked as fast as I could to the hotel noting that I was a complete idiot to keep the high heeled boots on while carrying my warm Uggs in a plastic bag. I convinced myself that I was too late to change and afraid to waste any more time switching boots when I made it to the hotel. I made it, but I was late.

I walked in, had no idea what to expect and found 20 people seated around a big conference table. The ground rules for the dinner; everything is off the record and everyone has a minute to tell the group a couple of observations about the forum both good and bad. When I arrived guests were still thankfully working their way around the room although my side had already spoken. To say that I was slightly intimidated would be a fair assessment. I didn't know ahead of time who would be in the room. It took me a couple of minutes to register the fact that Jean Claude Trichet, the Head of the European Central Bank was sitting several seats away from me. Can you say SHOCK and AWE? Sir Martin Sorrell of WPP, Richard Edelman of Edelman PR, Dave DeVoe CFO of News Corp as well as Peter Chernin President and COO of News Corp and Les Hinton CEO of Dow Jones were all happily familiar and safe faces. Allan Murray of the Wall Street Journal, a friend dating back to my year at CNBC, moderated the discussion. He's really good.

After he let me digest what was happening he called on me. At first you could hear the faintest crack in my voice (my heart palpitating) and then I did what I do every day on TV, talked, although this felt much more intimidating. I introduced myself by saying that I worked at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley for the vast majority of my career specifically for some of the executives running the financial institutions that are feeling the worst pain. I talked about Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's speech and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the Middle East discussion that resulted in the Turkish Prime Minister walking off the stage in a shouting match with Israeli President Shimon Peres. Until I arrived here this week I hadn't realized how dangerous the economic fallout could be for political instability across the globe. It's was very scary to see, hear and witness what happened in Davos this year. 

We have a tendency to focus on our own domestic issues but this financial crisis is being felt everywhere from Russia to Bahrain to Israel to Spain to Iceland to the United States. I noted the impatience on everyone's behalf. It takes times for Central Bank rate cuts to work there way through the system. I talked about our need for instant gratification, immediate results. I talked about the tone. That some CEO's were dampening expectations so that they could provide some upside surprises. Not all, but some, were setting the stage, writing off 2009 because it was convenient, popular and because it could provide them an opportunity for a back half surprise if things did improve well before economists and experts predict. I looked around the room as I spoke at Rupert and the other faces thinking please get me through this. I'm not sure I belong in this room with all of these scholars and executives. The other names and faces were some of the top in the world. I couldn't begin to name them here and I want to abide by the rules of the engagement so that I get invited back next year. What a way to end a trip!

It was just past 10:00 and the dinner was over. I introduced myself to several of the people after the dinner ended. We spoke for about a half hour. I made my way back downstairs and directly in front of me was the line to get into the Google party. Considered the finest, most sought after invitation of the WEF nightly events. Duncan Niederauer (CEO of NYSE Euronext) was hosting a dinner behind the huge line and called me in to meet some people including the head of Geox, a fantastic shoe company in Europe and here in the U.S. It was pure coincidence but my kids and I wear Geox sneakers and shoes all the time. They're awesome. I ran into Niall Ferguson again who I adore. Then former Vice President Al Gore comes walking by. I ran back into Peter Chernin and some of our News Corp colleagues and made my way into the Google party. I didn't go last year. Once again, I had no idea what to expect.

It was mobbed. Everyone was sweating. The music was great. The dance floor packed. The bar overflowing. The strobe lights on. The mood thankfully, more upbeat. Former Vice President Al Gore, heads of corporations like Lazard, Credit Suisse, Applied Materials, Google (Larry Paige did come despite all the rumors that he and his colleagues were not going to make it), Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg the founder is so young and yet so powerful....I met him as I walked in. His sister is adorable. So sweet.), MySpace, WPP, you name it, they were there. I have never been in one room with more wealth, power and influence. It was the first time I saw anyone relax and enjoy themselves. Imagine a room full of a hundred to two hundred navy blue suits with a sprinkling of women, some good music with waiters serving sushi and deserts including chocolate mousse. There you have it!

The trip is over and I am now on my way home. I can't wait to see my three little boys. I missed them so much. As ordered I am arriving home with all kinds of goodies. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed. I slept about 12 hours in four days. Can't wait to make it back into the gym, eat some American food and find a comfortable seat to watch the Super Bowl.

At the end of it all, it's the simple things that make me the happiest. I give credit to the leaders of this world and their corporate counterparts. I don't know how they do it. It must get old. They must get tired of going from one meeting to another, one cocktail party to another, always being on, with everyone watching. They get paid the big money but is it worth it?