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“The future of the world rests with women,” according to Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo Worldwide. Nooyi explained that more than 70% of the world’s buying power is controlled by women, and therein lies a new source of power. She believes this power is enhanced through mediums such as social media and blogging, democratizing information and amplifying women’s voices.

While an interesting point, Nooyi’s emphasis in her keynote at this month’s BlogHer11 conference was less about thought-provoking stats, and more about urging attendees to challenge their notion of today’s societal norms of power, success, and social good. Her message was simple and empowering—these are tough times for everyone, and we all must strive to embrace a “can-do attitude with a must-do responsibility” by not limiting ourselves in thinking about what is possible.

For many, Nooyi’s remarks served as welcome affirmation. Their power came not only from the idea that an internationally renowned company like PepsiCo can in fact do well and do good at the same time; but that more importantly, an individual can do well and do good at the same time without sacrificing success.

Nooyi also shared how she finds balance between performance and purpose as CEO of the second largest company in the world, mother of two, and a Social Citizen. For Nooyi, combining performance and purpose, both professionally and personally, is critical for success. She cautioned that you cannot have one without the other. The secret to her success — the Five C’s:

1) Be Curious: Don’t be a generalist! To stand out, you need to excel in specific areas that appeal to you, so become a lifelong student continually seeking new information.

2) Have Courage and Confidence: You can be the smartest, most capable person when it comes to a specific subject, but if you are unwilling to share ideas or stand up for them, then why does it matter?

3) Refine your Communication Skills: Nooyi reflected on a required communications class she took at Yale (failed the first time, but went on to pass) as a turning point for her when she realized the importance of being able to clearly communicate ideas.

4) Be Consistent: Here Nooyi noted it is perfectly acceptable to change one’s mind from time to time, but you must do so within a consistent framework so as not to be inconsistent or irrational in your decision-making.

5) Never Lose Your Moral Compass: The most important “C” reminds us to always follow one’s internal compass to know what is “right” and to make the “right” decisions – if one does not, Nooyi warns everything else will come crashing down.

Being a social citizen in business and in life is an ideal that Nooyi strives to achieve. She acknowledged that it is not always easy to do so, and may not always lead to profits, but anything else would fall short of true success.

What do you think about Nooyi’s Five C’s and philosophy? Do you have any “rules” for success? How do you balance performance and purpose?

Last month Allison Fine started an interesting discussion on her blog about women, social media and influence. Allison wondered if social media might be the X factor that would help women make real strides in closing the leadership gap. Among commenters, there seemed to be a general consensus that women, as well as other groups, have been able to circumvent, at least in some instances, the glass ceiling and constraints placed on them by the traditional business world. Women have been able to use social media to get their thoughts out to the marketplace without having to get permission or backing from an organization.

The Women of the Year list by She Takes on the World is full of women who have used social media to champion all manner of causes from the global water crisis and microcredit to idea-sharing and motivating young people to succeed. While all of these women would probably be making a difference without laptops and iPhones, they have been able to multiply their efforts with creative social media use.

Organizations like Blogher work to help women online by create opportunities for exposure, education, community and economic empowerment. A 2009 Blogher study reported that 42 million American women are using social media regularly both to share and find information and advice. The survey also found that more than 60 percent of these women use blogs and social networks to find information about social activism.

A recent Vanity Fair article, America's Tweethearts, discusses how previously unknown women representing different sectors and interests have been able to use social media to gain a unique kind of fame on Twitter. In the article (whose author doesn't seem to be entirely sold on with Twitter) one of the "twilebrities" featured, Felicia Day, points out: “Doors were closed to us before. Now the tools for success have been democratized. It’s just me and whoever wants to talk to me, wherever they are in the world.”

It doesn't take a celebrity spokesperson or even a twilebrity spokesperson to leverage social media for wide reach. Like an online flashmob, scores of women (and oddly, some men) began posting one-word status messages yesterday. "Black," "lavender," and "red" were littered among our news feeds, and quickly people began asking, explaining and commenting over the colorful posts, not only on Facebook, but on Twitter and other social media platforms. The Case Foundation's Allie Burns wrote a post discussing both the buzz and the criticism around the campaign. Whether a quietly orchestrated awareness by a breast cancer organization or a prank by a group of young women, it has created a discussion carried on by common women which has permeated the social media world.

It's exciting to see that social citizen gals are using social media to share their ideas and passions and to advocate for the causes that are important to them. And since Millennials may be the most active and engaged online, Millennial women - as individuals and as groups - may have a greater opportunity to be heard and wield influence at a younger age than the women before us. I hope, and trust, that we will continue to take advantage of this opportunity - not to grab self-serving fame for it's own sake, but to change the world with our creative approaches, open and transparent conversations and inspirational acts.