There’s a petite woman in Atlanta whose impact weaves through the city in surprisingly large ways. Formerly CIO and Chief People Officer at MAPICS, Inc. – a software company that was a spin-off from IBM – Sandy Hofmann’s sabbatical clarified for her that building relationships and making connections between people would become one of her life’s purposes.
And she does it with verve. Once a month, Sandy hosts elaborate, themed dinner parties and invites 11 people to join her in her home. The events – down-to-the-last-detail productions in every aspect – are designed to create new connections between diverse personalities and to promote learning.
“The teacher in me thought, ‘How can I transport people from the everyday to share a learning experience?’” Sandy says. So, for example, as coffee is being served, she’ll have coffee flash cards about the origins and social impacts of coffee around the world. Guests learn about the topic of the evening – and one another.
“The dinners allow me to explore and utilize things that have given me pleasure all my life – to create,” she says.
For herself, Sandy has focused on creating a life that is no longer so “task-oriented” but is instead “program-oriented”. She says: “I’ve thought about what’s the programs of my life versus the specific projects, and they’re clear now: building relationships, developing people, learning, and sharing a joy of learning.”
The result isn’t surprising. She claims “a much greater sense of purpose” and a “focus of how I’m utilizing my time and energy.” And she measures all work by how the opportunities allow her to continue to “create” and stay tied to her life’s programs. Opportunities that make the cut are currently several board positions, including AAA Auto Club South, Women in Technology, and TechBridge. Check out her LinkedIn profile – she’s busy.
Ask her about what “work-life balance” means to her, and she’ll tell you it doesn’t exist. “The only thing you balance with life is death,” says Sandy. Life is all about work, she explains, as well as play, family, friends, responsibilities, contributions, pleasure, etc. “If someone takes at a break from their work, they may find on the other side of that break what life should have been all along – integration.”
How are you integrating work and life?
One Response so far (add yours)
Sandy is a remarkable woman, so it is not surprising that she is leveraging her skills in such a fun and interesting way!