Looking Up: How a Different Perspective Turns Obstacles Into Advantages

Imagine being born into a world where fitting in was never an option.

Michele Sullivan, one of the most powerful women in philanthropy, was born with a rare form of dwarfism. Meaning she has spent her entire life looking up. As the first female president of the Caterpillar Foundation, she has used her unique point of view to impact countless lives around the world.

As a child, Michele decided to life a life of meaning, by:

• Tailoring her differences into something more suitable for the world.
• Hiding from the world and live on the fringe.
• Embracing her differences to turn them into assets.
• Recognize that there was a strength within her that could help others.

Looking Up is the story of how Michele became the smallest woman at the largest earth-moving manufacturer in the world. While her height has presented challenges that are different from most, it has allowed her to see things that others do not, literally and figuratively.

Embedded in this narrative are unique (and often hilarious) takeaways for individuals about the importance of making the first move, being wrong at first, choosing intimacy over influence, and learning that asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.

Michele Sullivan is the recently retired director of Corporate Social Innovation and president of the Caterpillar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the $46-billion manufacturing giant Caterpillar, Inc. In addition to her thirty-year career holding various leadership positions at the company, she recently helped transform the foundation into one of the world’s most influential corporate foundations, through the launch of its collaborative impact platform known as Together.Stronger.™, a catalyst for shared prosperity that unites businesses, nonprofits, government, and citizens to combine their strengths to alleviate poverty for millions of people worldwide.