????薩麗?克勞切克與帕蒂?斯通西弗各自在之前的公司都曾是位高權重的女性——兩位對于如何從頭再來有著切身的體會。

????金融危機期間，克勞切克失去了美國銀行（Bank of America）財富管理部門負責人的工作，而頗受關注。今年春天，她收購了職業女性組織85 Borads，后者約有30,000名會員。

????帕蒂?斯通西弗之前是微軟(Microsoft)職位最高的女性，后來負責運營數十億美元的比爾和梅琳達?蓋茨基金會（Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation），今年她也找到了自己的新工作。如今，她是華盛頓特區非營利組織Martha’s Table的總裁兼CEO。這個組織為有需要的人提供食物和支持服務。

????她們是在“自降身價”嗎？斯通西弗說，當然不是。在上周四召開的《財富》最具影響力商界女性峰會（Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit）上，她說：“這是一種橫向的改變。我現在失敗的風險，要遠遠高于在微軟的時候?！?/p>

????克勞切克與斯通西弗的心中都有各自雄心勃勃的事業。克勞切克曾經是花旗集團（Citigroup）和美國銀行平步青云的華爾街女強人，她的事業便是女性在公司生活中的進步——她認為這是美國經濟繁榮的重要因素。

????克勞切克說：“我看過的調查研究無一例外地表明，女性從事較高職位對公司很有好處?！北热鐜韽妱诺幕貓蠛徒档褪袌霾▌有裕约翱s小男女薪酬差距等。

????她認為，85 Broads在這方面有用武之地。她說：“要想在商界取得成功，最重要的一條不成文規則就是拓展人脈——對任何人都是如此?！?/p>

????而對于斯通西弗而言，Martha’s Table的使命便是幫助人們擺脫貧困。她表示，在蓋茨基金會的時候，自己必須“大處著眼”。而她在蓋茨基金會任職的那段時間，美國的兒童貧困率激增。斯通西弗說：“我曾一度被認為是一個慈善的官僚主義者。”

????來到Martha’s Table之后，她甚至曾經嘗試依靠發放給貧民的食品券生活——每天約有4美元。她堅持了一周。有些家庭要將配額分配到整個月，所以到第三周的時候，家庭的購買力便會日漸萎縮。她說：“如果你只有那么少的錢，你會怎么辦？你甚至都不敢去想。”

????至于如何應對未來的挑戰，斯通西弗對聽眾表示，她對推動自己的兩件事有敏銳的直覺。第一件是“積累知識”的渴望，微軟在這方面令她非常滿意。另外一件是社會公平，這正是她現在所關注的重點。

????至于如何在“職場攀爬架”上順利攀登，斯通西弗建議，“要承認自己正在以不同的方式尋找激情?！?/p>

????這也意味著何時選擇離開。斯通西弗在40歲的時候便從微軟退休。她說：“就算是世界上最好的工作，也會有‘保質期’?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W）

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓?

????Sallie Krawcheck and Patty Stonesifer -- once among the most senior women in their corporate fields – know a thing or two about starting over.

????Krawcheck, who famously lost her job as head of Bank of America's (BAC) wealth management division during fallout from the financial crisis, this spring bought 85 Broads -- a network for professional women with some 30,000 members.

????Patty Stonesifer, previously the highest-ranking woman at Microsoft (MSFT), who then went on to run the multi-billion dollar Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, also got a new job this year. She's now president and CEO of Martha's Table, a nonprofit in Washington, D.C. that provides food and support services to those in need.

????Are they "downshifting" their careers? No way, according to Stonesifer. "It's a sideways move," she said Thursday at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit. "The risk of my failing is greater now than it was at Microsoft."

????Both Krawcheck and Stonesifer have ambitious causes in mind. For Krawcheck, who shot up the Wall Street ranks at Citigroup (C) and BofA, it's women's advancement in corporate life -- which she sees as paramount to U.S. economic prosperity.

????"Every single bit of research I see says that having women in higher roles does good things," Krawcheck said -- from producing strong returns and lower market volatility, to shrinking the wage gap between men and women.

????And she believes 85 Broads can help with that. "The number one unwritten rule for success in business is networking -- for everyone," she said.

????For Stonesifer, the pull of Martha's Table was helping families break out of poverty. At the Gates Foundation she got to "think big," she said. But during the same decade as her tenure there, childhood poverty rates in the U.S. soared. "I was done being a benevolent bureaucrat," Stonesifer said.

????Once at Martha's Table, she even tried living on a food stamp budget -- about $4 a day. She lasted one week. For families who have to stretch their allotment for an entire month, buying power all but dwindles by the third week. "You don't even want to think about what happens when your dollars get down that low," she said.

????As Stonesifer tackles this next set of challenges, she told the audience she's always had a keen sense of the two things that drive her. One is a desire for "increasing knowledge," which is what she found so fulfilling at Microsoft. The other is social justice, where she now is focused.

????To navigate the "career jungle gym" well, Stonesifer advised, is to "recognize that you're seeking passion in a different way."

????Which also means recognizing when to walk away. Stonesifer retired from Microsoft at age 40. "Even the best jobs in the world have a sell-by date," she said.