1. If you could have dinner with any 2 people (living or not), who would they be?
One person I would like to have dinner with is Steve Jobs. I have always been a fan of Steve Jobs, long before he rekindled the flames at Apple. In 1987 my sister asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I told her I wanted the Steve Jobs biography, "The Journey is the Reward." Even after he left Apple the first time, he always struck me as someone who had a clue.

Another person I'd like to have dinner with is Bobby Hull. I am a long-time Chicago Blackhawks fan and he was my childhood hero. I played women's ice hockey for over 10 years on some pretty competitive teams. Back in the 70s, I knew everything about every Blackhawk player on the roster. As a kid growing up in northern Illinois I always wished that my father had been a Zamboni driver. (He was actually an attorney.)

2. What was the last book you read? What books do you love to recommend?
The last book I read was "The New New Thing." I'm actually still reading it. I really enjoy reading books about people, and finding out about who people are. Michael Lewis has an uncanny sense of noticing the small things about a person who make them uniquely themselves. He also clearly has an appreciation for the strong-willed and highly-oppositional genius in people, otherwise he wouldn't have chosen to write about Jim Clarke.

One of my favorite books to recommend is a children's book called The Phantom Tollbooth." It contains a lot of metaphors about existential topics such as setting personal expectations and finding meaning in everyday circumstances.

3. If you couldn't do what you are doing now, what profession would you choose?
Hmmm, that's a tough one. I suppose if I had to start from the get go, I might consider being a psychologist. I like connecting with people, and especially kids. I think that there are too many kids who don't get the kind of attention they really need. If more energy were put into children there would be less crime and poverty.

4. What is your definition of success?
My definition of success is being able to leave the world a better place than how you found it, and alleviate as much suffering as possible along the way. Alleviating suffering and empowering others is one of the best ways to replenish your own energy supply. It is an upward cyclone of positivism.

Laura Taylor answers these questions:
1. What was your first job in technology?
2. Who has been your most significant mentor? Why?
3. What has been your greatest challenge and what strategies did you use to overcome obstacles?
4. Who has been the most influential person in your life? Why?
5. What lessons have you learned that would be valuable to women beginning their careers in technology?
6. What new technology do you believe will have the most positive impact on the world in the next 20 years? The most negative impact?

On the lighter side:
1. If you could have dinner with any 2 people (living or not), who would they be?
2. What was the last book you read? What books do you love to recommend?
3. If you couldn't do what you are doing now, what profession would you choose?
4. What is your definition of success?