From strategic plays to power dressing, 6 important lessons we learnt at Adelaide’s Vogue Codes In Conversation breakfast

This morning, guests took their eggs with a side of tech at the Vogue Codes In Conversation breakfast presented by Audi. The breakfast, held at Adelaide’s 2KW Bar and Restaurant, included a panel of Canaria Technologies CEO and head designer, Alex Moss, and Australian Olympic cyclist (and two-time gold medalist), Anna Meares.

Upon arrival, guests settled in over tea and coffee while Audi Australia chief marketing officer Nikki Warburton welcomed the room, and shared how the automotive business is working to champion women through their various female ambassadors, and initiatives like #DriveProgress—a program designed to advocate for equal female professional opportunities, both within and outside of the automotive industry.

Interestingly, the two intersected remarkably, highlighting that the tech industry, and the women within it, are an incredible bunch (and thus why the Vogue Codes event series was originally created). Both Moss and Meares served up multiple pearls of wisdom that left the room feeling inspired, the best of which we’ve rounded up below. Keep scrolling for six lessons we learnt at the Vogue Codes In Conversation breakfast presented by Audi.

Career transitions aren’t always easy

Moss actually worked in fashion, art, and design prior to founding Canaria—a tech company that manufactures life-saving medical devices for miners. She came to a point where she felt a little lost and lacking purpose, and made the decision, albeit a difficult one, to course correct. “My shift was wild, hard, and unorthodox. I was working 10 hours a day trying to take what I’d learnt in design, and integrate it into real-life.”

Meares’s experience was a similar one when she retired from the world of elite sports three years ago. “I was overwhelmed at the loss of routine. Whilst competing, the highs were incredibly high. When I stepped away, there was far less attention, and normal was a foreign concept,” she told guests, before adding: “My dad told me I needed to find a new passing.” Meares has re-enrolled in art school, and recently become a foster parent: a role she describes as “incredibly fulfilling and rewarding.”

But your skills will likely translate

Moss might have made an unimaginable jump from fashion to tech, but it was essentially her underlying skill set that put her in such good stead. “My experience in art, fashion, and architecture design was what got me interested in technology design, specifically medical devices. The applications were somewhat the same.” If you are considering jumping industries, know that your knowledge, skills, and even your way of thinking will serve you, if not give you an edge, as it did for Moss.

Take ‘what if’ and turn it into ‘what is’

Seven months out from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Meares fell off her bike at 68 km per hour, and broke her neck. The injury was so severe, that she was a mere two millimetres from a clean break that would have likely rendered her either dead, or a quadriplegic.

While the physical effects were obviously huge, it was the mental anguish that was holding her back (Meares told guests it took two weeks and a psych team to even get her back in the same room as her bike). Incredibly, she went on to recover and win the silver at the Beijing Olympics. Her biggest takeaway? “I learnt to separate the ‘what if’ from the ‘what is’. I spent a lot of time thinking, ‘what if I had broken that extra two millimetres—I might have died’. I was terrified to ride again, let alone competitively, until I changed my perspective to ‘that two millimetres is what saved my life’. That was my tangible reality, and I was in a whole new headspace from that point. Without that accident, I would never have had the success I’ve had.”

Be strategic

When Meares wanted to win the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, it was fellow cyclist and main opponent Victoria Pendleton who stood in her way. But aside from working on perfecting her own performance, Meares also strategically analysed Pendleton’s: “My team and I watched 300 hours of race footage [of Pendleton], analysing her riding, and using data to draw the conclusion that 95 per cent of the time her rival was in front of her in the race, she [Pendleton] would win, whereas it was only a 60 per cent win rate if they were behind.” While there was a lot more involved, it was essentially this strategic play in her positioning that saw Meares take home the Olympic gold on that occasion—proving that while luck is often a factor in success stories, strategy and hard work are paramount.

Dress to feel powerful

They say dress for the job you want, not for the job you have, but Moss looked every inch the tech genius at this Vogue Codes event wearing a futuristic jacket made to resemble the look of recycled iPhone screens, complete with leather pants, patent heels, and a killer winged liner. The archaic idea of women not being taken seriously in the tech space isn’t a cliché lost of Moss, but she’s a huge believer in using her dress as a signifier of power. “If I’m going to stand out, why not stand out in a way that conjures up power and panache?” Whether it’s a theatrical element, like Moss, or just a swipe of red lipstick, there’s no shame in empowering yourself professionally through dress.

Seek external help, and surround yourself with smart people

It was Meares’s raw talent that ultimately afforded her success, but she was surrounded with a team of experts focused on bettering her performance. Coaches and mentors are obvious ones, but Meares even shared that her bike was kitted out with a mini computer under the seat that collected data pertaining to her physical performance. This was then passed on to a team of sports scientists who were able to use their expertise to perfect her training regime. Proof that teamwork really does make the dream work.

Similarly, Moss told guests that a huge part of her success is in part due to getting out in the field, and asking the right people for their opinion and to validate her idea before she acted on it. It was at a networking event held by Richard Branson that Moss got to talking with a venture capitalist who had previously invested with Twitter. He directed her to Australia, specifically Brisbane, to target the mining industry—a move that has been paramount to Canaria’s rapid upwards trajectory. While most of us don’t have access to Branson or venture capitalists, the advice here is to seek external input, and find your success with the help of others.Click Here: Celtic Football Shirts