Our recent She Rocks Business event was an inspiring evening dedicated to collaboration, community, and empowerment for female leaders. Created as a joint initiative between Cooper Parry and Shakespeare Martineau, She Rocks is designed to feel different from traditional networking events. It’s a space that encourages sharing of skills, experiences, and support in a positive, inclusive environment.
Our guests were welcomed with delicious food provided by Change Kitchen, a social enterprise that reinvests profits to help disadvantaged and homeless people in Birmingham. This set the tone for an evening rooted in purpose and impact.
Michelle’s Story of Survival and Transformation
The highlight of the evening was our speaker Michelle Mills-Porter, who shared her extraordinary personal story. She experienced a journey that began with success and ended with a profound shift in purpose. More than 20 years ago, Michelle was a young CEO running a thriving marketing company. Her business was winning awards, and she believed she was living her life on purpose. But everything changed during a diving holiday in Sri Lanka in December 2004.
Michelle and her partner were staying at a beach hotel when the Indian Ocean tsunami struck. She vividly described the terrifying moments as the water surged, engulfing buildings and sweeping away everything in its path. From the third floor of her hotel, she watched palm trees thrash in waves that reached 30 feet high. The devastation was immediate and overwhelming. Boats and debris littered the landscape, and the smell of sewage and diesel filled the air.
In the aftermath, Michelle and over 100 other survivors gathered in a garden two miles inland. With no power, no working toilets, and limited resources, they formed a makeshift community. Hierarchies disappeared. Job titles, wealth, and status became irrelevant. What mattered was survival. And collaboration. People pooled resources, shared skills, and supported one another. Someone who could build a fire or dress a wound became invaluable. A person who spoke multiple languages helped maintain communication. Even small items, like a fan or a packet of cigarettes, became tools for bartering.
Michelle recalled organising the group to ensure everyone could make one phone call home using a mobile phone pieced together from spare parts. It was a moment that underscored the power of connection and collective effort. “It’s in adversity that you see straight through to the core of humanity,” she said. “And when we collaborate, we can create something far greater than the sum of our parts.”
Lessons Learned: Collaboration and Human Magnificence
From this experience, Michelle drew lessons that resonate deeply in both life and work:
- Adversity reveals humanity’s core. In moments of crisis, competition and politics fall away, leaving empathy and cooperation.
- Everyone has unique value. Often, the skills we take for granted, because they come naturally, are the ones others need most.
- Shared goals unite people. Whether it’s survival or success, a common purpose brings individuals together and drives extraordinary outcomes.
- Collaboration is dynamic. Michelle likened it to surfing; you catch the wave, ride it for a while, and when you fall off, you get back on. It’s not permanent, but it’s powerful when it works.
She also spoke about the importance of recognising that adversity is not comparable. Whether it’s losing a job, moving countries, or surviving a tsunami, the brain experiences it as adversity. And like the Japanese art of Kintsugi, which repairs broken pottery with gold, people who have been through hardship can emerge stronger, more empathetic, and more valuable to society.
A New Purpose
Michelle’s ordeal led to a complete recalibration of her life. She retrained as a behavioural profiler and now works with leaders to unlock people’s potential, foster inclusion, and build collaborative cultures. Her mission is simple yet profound: to help individuals recognise their own magnificence and understand that everyone has something valuable to bring to the table.
She closed with a powerful reminder: “Collaboration is the only way we will survive and thrive. It’s how we beat division and create a better future.”
What’s Next for She Rocks
The evening ended with a call to action. Attendees were invited to join the private She Rocks LinkedIn group to continue the conversation and share ideas for future topics. The organisers reaffirmed their commitment to creating spaces where women can connect, collaborate, and support one another. Because together, we are stronger.
