In a new ranking of public companies without women in top leadership from Bloomberg Businessweek.com, it was revealed that 5.8% of the companies in the S&P 500, "remain all male in decision-making roles, with no women on the board of directors or among the company’s top five highest-paid officers." Perhaps the most surprising company on this list is Discovery … [Read more...]
Be an Advocate for Yourself
A recent Catalyst study demonstrates that mentoring does not help career advancement to the degree that sponsorship does. Mentoring is defined as career advice and guidance and sponsorship is advocacy. Usually sponsors have more senior positions than mentors, and it is their responsibility to advocate for an individual and pull them up the ranks to a top level position in … [Read more...]
Work Drama Mimics Family Drama
“Can you believe it?” said the frustrated voice on the other end of the line. .. “She did it again!” the voice was getting louder. “I think it may be time for me to quit, I can never please her.” This was the essence of the frantic phone call from one of my coaching clients. “Real life is much more intriguing than fiction” was my thought as I began to dig into the drama … [Read more...]
Channel Your Inner Donut: Be Consistently Good
Writing in a last week’s issue of New York Magazine about the surprising quality renaissance of the just ended television season Michael Hirschorn leads off with the punch line-- “When all else fails, try being good.” Our relentless quest for perfection can distract us from the power of being consistently good. But if you’re consistently good over time you’re probably … [Read more...]
Corporate Exec or Entrepreneur – Which is Better?
Post by Jane K. Stimmler, contributing Women on Business writer If you are an entrepreneur, you’ve probably experienced the look of envy on the faces of people in the corporate workforce when they find out you run your own business. They are likely thinking things like “wow, if it’s a beautiful day, you can just take the afternoon off” or “you’re so lucky you don’t have … [Read more...]
Learned Anything Recently?
Are you one of those people who “knows” you should keep up with reading a certain periodical but has a tall pile of unread copies on your bedside table or office floor? The benefit continuous learning brings is summed up in one old-fashioned phrase “You don’t know what you don’t know.” What we do know takes us only so far. New information opens up new methods, strategies, … [Read more...]
Why Critical Mass is Important
Post by Jane K. Stimmler, contributing Women On Business writer I was meeting with the top decision-makers at a client organization recently to plan out an important event for 2010. As we began to discuss the speakers they had invited to participate, and the ones they planned to recruit, I realized there wasn’t a single woman – or minority – among them. Though, in fairness, … [Read more...]
Leadership and “Process till you Puke”!
In every business, in every life, it is vital to process all information and even emotional content to make sure that you are making the best decisions you can make. Yet, there are extremes and when you get caught at one end point of the spectrum or the other, there is a tendency to either deny what is going on, or indulge in over-thinking the process. One of our best … [Read more...]
Top 10 US Cities to Capture Small Business Recovery Act Dollars
Uncle Sam wants small business entrepreneurs to lead the nation to economic recovery--and has billions of dollars to make it happen. Small business owners are in line to receive low-interest loans and government contracts through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). To secure your little corner of the recovery, you'll need to be at the right place with the right … [Read more...]
The Plight of the Pleaser
In graduate school I was in an experiment to see what happens when emotionally laden words are presented to you. The question was “can just one word make a difference in how you react?” I’ll give you the answer straight up, one that I guess you already intuitively know. The answer is “Yes! Words, even simple words, not linked together in a sentence can cause us to shake and … [Read more...]