Womenomics

Write Your Own Rules for Success

Claire Shipman and Katty Kay New York: Harper Business (an imprint of

HarperCollins Publishers). (2009).

“We will trade duties, a title – even salary increases – for more time,

freedom, and harmony. We don’t want to quit – far from it -- but time

has become our new currency. [p. xvi]

Quotes from Womenomics:

Write Your Own Rules for

Success

In this handout 2

5 Presentation Outline

Claire Shipman and Katty Kay, if not household names, are recognizable faces and voices. Claire Shipman is a regular on Good Morning America, and Katty Kay is often heard on radio and seen on news shows on television — she works for the BBC, and is a regular on NPR. They have some things in common. They are successful journalists — in demand, good at what they do. They are mothers. And they are juggling home and career as so many women do in this era. In, Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success, they make the case that what women bring to the table is of great value to any company or organization, and that organizations must develop the flexibility to hire/keep/nurture the talent in such women. This book is designed to help women make it in the modern work era, and for organizations, to help them understand the unique strengths and needs of such women.

7 Questions for Discussion

2 Womenomics

Our talent, experience, diligence, and

commitment, they are coming to see, are more

than a fair trade. [p. xviii]

Quotes

We worried that anything that smacked of lack of ambition, of working but not always aiming for the pinnacle, just wouldn’t be professionally correct. The overwhelming majority of women are longing to kick down that corporate ladder, flee the 8 A.M.–to-day-care-closing dash, but at the same time hang onto some real status… We’re the ones who want more time – for our children our parents, our communities, ourselves. Most educated women don’t want to quit work altogether, even if they could. We want to use our brains and be productive professionally, but we don’t want to keep tearing at the fabric of our families or our lives outside of the workplace. We need to slow down. We want to slow down. The situation is so dire that a majority of us will opt, when asked, for less responsibility. We will trade duties, a title – even salary increases – for more time, freedom, and harmony. We don’t want to quit – far from it -- but time has become our new currency. (pp. xiv & xv & xvi).

The First Lady wants to put a national spotlight on the frustrating balancing act that so many face, and which she herself had to master… “No matter what decision you make at any point in time, you feel like you should be doing more on the other end.” (Michelle Obama, to Claire Shipman). (p. xvi).

We have to be valuable to the bottom line in order to force change. (p. xvii).

Our right-brain multitasking and problem-solving skills help us make good corporate decisions… Throw in the fact that we’ve got more degrees than men do and that there is an approaching talent shortage, especially of college-educated workers, and anyone can do the math. We have never been hotter. (p. xvii).

Over and over again companies have told us that retention of valuable talent is key in tough economic times, as is the need to get smart about how to accommodate employees. “You want the best and the brightest when you’re going through difficult times.” (Cynthia Trudell, senior VP and head of personnel, PepsiCo). (p. xvii).

We’re not looking for a better company cafeteria, a free dinner after working late, or a fancy gym – all glittering handcuffs to keep us on the job. We want freedom – to make our own decisions, to control our own work lives. Our talent, experience, diligence, and commitment, they are coming to see, are more than a fair trade. Technology and power and plain common sense are freeing us from that antiquated morning-to-evening prison in ways we could not have imagined a decade ago. (p. xviii & xix).

“I don’t think I’m a jumper.” (Claire Shipman, not willing to say “How high?”) (p. xxi).

3 Womenomics

“Our core fantasies revolve around having emotionally

richer and saner lives.” [p. xxvii]

The pessimistic assumption is that we can’t do both career and motherhood successfully. Well, we don’t buy it… “The New All” – that’s what we like to call our aspirations, what we’ve managed to pull off. This “New All” – enough professional success, balanced by time and freedom. (p. xxii & xxiii).

We will help you find more time in your day by cutting your time at the office. We will help you shake the stress but keep the income and clout. We’ll teach you how to come clean about what you really want, how to ignore what the traditional careerists say you want, and how to say no to what you don’t want. We don’t care what your time is for. We just know you need it. (And… the men want this too and can learn from the way women are remaking the future). (p. xxv).

A study in France found that companies with more women in management positions did better during 2008 – had higher profits – that those with fewer women. “Feminization of management seems to protect against financial crisis… In conditions of high uncertainty, financial markets value companies that take fewer risks and are more stable.” (Michel Ferrary, Professor of management at the CERAM Business School in France). (pp. xxvi & xxvii).

Our core fantasies revolve around having emotionally richer and saner lives. (p. xxvii).

Women deliver profits, often in big numbers, and we are worth hanging on to… By every measure of profitability – equity, revenue, and assets – Pepperdine’s study found that companies with the best records for promoting women outperform the competition. (pp. 1 & 2).

Companies with women in top leadership positions have “stronger relationships with customers and shareholders and a more diverse and profitable business.” (University of California at Davis study). (p. 3).

As journalists, when we start to read successive reports that come up with similar conclusions, we call it a story. When the results are this conclusive and this notable we may even call it a headline. (p. 3).

The knowledge that as professional women we are high performing allows us to become more high maintenance. (high maintenance = able to be more demanding re. flexibility issues – RM). (p. 5). Companies now realize they perform best when they have the right mix of male and female management styles. (p. 7).

“We’re in a brain race – we win if we get the best brain power.” (Dan McGinn, CEO of a consulting group in Arlington, Virginia). (p. 9).

Women add something different. Sometimes its intangible, but switch one of us out for a man and the product won’t be the same. (p. 11).

We would argue that there is no one more efficient than a working mother. (p. 11).

Companies that get a reputation as bad employers or bad producers for women risk jeopardizing their good names… Businesses that cling to outdated structures risk being out of business. (p. 14).

The talent shortage is bigger, broader, and deeper than any one economic cycle. (p. 18).

4 Womenomics

“If you are going to work less and still achieve, you need to understand where to direct your precious energy resources...”

[p. 109]

“We are very much a time-famished nation. People want more control over their time.” (Kathleen Christensen, the Sloan Foundation). (p. 33).

We actually don’t want to make it to the very top of the ladder if it costs us so much else in our lives. (p. 49).

The status trap is like a pool of professional quicksand that, the farther into it you get, the more it pulls. (p. 62).

If you come to the conclusion that you’re being guilted so someone else can gain, throw the guilt away. (p. 87).

Work smarter, not harder… If you’re going to work less and still achieve, you need to understand where to direct your precious energy resources… The trick, of course, is not just distinguishing between the useful and the useless but actually putting this knowledge to work. (pp. 109 & 112).

438 million is the estimated number of vacation days Americans failed to take in 2007… You get vacation for a reason. You need it. Take it. All of it… Workers perform better if they have had a rest. (pp. 128 & 129).

Think “good enough.” By “good enough” we mean absolutely, definitely, not our very best, not perfect. We are actively encouraging you to perform occasionally below standard… Men are better at saying, “OK, this is good enough in my eyes.” (p. 136).

Self-promotion is a basic part of business life. Informing others of a success is just as much about keeping them in the loop as is informing them about a failure. (p. 140).

We are talking about a world where Monday morning feels (almost) like Friday afternoon. Where going to the office is no longer a depressing duty but a chosen pleasure. Where work is rewarding but not regimented. That’s our nirvana. It can be yours too. (p. 162).

This is so important that you have to overcome your fear of confrontation and have that talk… Underpinning your entire negotiating strategy is a simple tactic – you have to sell this as a win/win. (p. 164).

(National data clearly indicates that) Flexibility increases productivity. Now make that specific to your situation. (p. 173).

It’s getting harder for companies to disguise their true natures… Flexibility is moving quickly from being a favor to being the industry standard… those companies that do it best have one of these two traits: either a commitment to full-scale institutional flexibility, or thoroughly modern managers who understand that productivity and talent retention are essential. (p. 200).

This book is essentially the proposition that professional women can finally live and work the way we’ve always really wanted, though most of us have never dared to ask…. Our desire for a saner work life will soon be embedded in all work practices. (pp. 215-216).

Most (employers) think that within a decade the world of work will be unrecognizable. (p. 220).

Womenomics

[Street Address] [City], [State][Postal Code]

Presentation Outline • About the authors: Claire Shipman (ABC) and Katty Kay (BBC) are both accomplished journalists, which means they know how to find the details of a story… • About the book: each chapter ends with a terrific summary called “News you can use” – read these summaries, and you get much of the book.

• And, there is a “Womenomics gut check” test that is absolutely worth taking – but it is thoughtful and demands a true block of time (pp. 53ff). (And, quite a few more sets of self-discovery, introspective, career planning questions pop up throughout the book.)

• Womenomics n. 1. Power. 2. A movement that will get you the work life you really want. 3. The powerful collision of two simple realities: a majority of women are demanding new rules of engagement at the very moment we’ve become the hot commodity in today’s workplace.

• Key findings and points:

• Women “at the top” produce more profits and success in all economic categories

• Women have more college degrees (undergraduate: 57% cited in book -- now 60%; graduate – 58%)

• To be successful (i.e., truly useful and valuable) women should act like women, not try to act like men…

• Women have “a more open and more inclusive style of management;” more likely to encourage participation in meetings; more nurturing of subordinates; prefer consensus to confrontation; prefer empathy to ego… -- and women superstars take their abilities to other companies better than men superstars do (because women are better at building new relationships)

• The war for talent favors women because of their education and their unique gifts/style

• We’re time-famished – but scared

• Even men want more of a life

• “The millennials are influencing expectations for the entire workforce” (“The next generation has no interest at all in the sixty-hour work week”)

Women are different from men.

And what women want, and need, in a career is different

from what men want.

They want genuine flexibility: time to live their lives as women,

as mothers, as wives,

while still doing a good job

at work.

They are beginning to get what they

want.

The trend is called Womenomics,

and it will become the dominant work

and world-view in the years to come –

for women, and for men.

5

Womenomics Write Your Own Rules for Success

New York: Harper Business (An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers). (2009). by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay

6 Womenomics

Presentation Outline, continued • Time is the currency of Womenomics

• Women need to learn to say “no,” without guilt…

• Set meetings, deadlines, schedules early – and on your own terms.

• At times (maybe frequently), aim at “good enough”

• Learn to, and actually do, delegate – hand things off

• Big Little facts

• Women do most of the buying…

• Women now buy more cars than men (“car designers have even changed the shape of door handles to accommodate a woman’s longer fingernails” – that’s power!)

• How to say no

• Mind your manners; keep it clear; take your time; keep it simple

• How to self-promote:

• Try for an informative, casual, but straightforward tone; don’t simply rattle off a list of accomplishments; be self-deprecating; see yourself as others might see you; tell a story.

• Ultimate news you can use

• We’ve got the power. Companies want us and can’t afford to lose us.

• We’re not alone. Four out of five of us want more flexibility at work.

• Know what you really want from life and you can write your own rules for success.

• Work smarter not harder and ask for what you want.

• Flexibility is NOT a favor. Major corporations are embracing it – because it makes business sense in any economy.

• Nine Rules to Negotiate Nirvana (How to Change Your Deal)

1) Rule One: Negotiate From A Position Of Fact-Based Strength 2) Rule Two: Perform Well And Know It 3) Rule Three: Never Negotiate In Anger 4) Rule Four: Know What You’re Asking For 5) Rule Five: Be Prepared To Reassure Your Boss, On Every Level 6) Rule Six: Remember – You’re Dealing With A Jittery Child.

There Will Be Worries You Haven’t Even Thought Of. 7) Rule Seven: Use Economics To Your Advantage 8) Rule Eight: Now That You’ve Got Your Deal, Don’t Take It For

Granted, Or, “It’s The Communication, Stupid” 9) Rule Nine: Know When To Quit

• The book:

One:

Womenomics 101

Two:

What We Really Want

Three:

Redefining Success –

It’s All In Your Mind

Four:

Good-Bye Guilt

(And Hello No)

Five:

Lazy Like A Fox:

Work Smarter,

Not Harder

Six:

Value Added:

Redefine Your Value,

Value Your Time

Seven:

Nine Rules To

Negotiate Nirvana:

How To Change Your

Whole Work Deal

Eight:

A Womenomics World

7 Womenomics

Strategic Questions Strategic leadership focuses on transforming the organization from what it is to what it aspires to become. This fourth dimension of leadership requires a long term and change-oriented perspective for an organization to envision the future and develop a practical, achievable and yet aggressive strategy for shaping its destiny. At this level of leadership, employees follow the leader because they believe in the leader’s sense of vision for the future, even if they do not fully understand what the journey will look like. A willingness to leave the past behind and follow the leader into the future is heavily influenced by their understanding of (1) how the organization treats people (relational); (2) how competent the organization is (operational); and (3) whether the organization walks the talk of its stated values (systems).

1. “We are in a brain race – we win if we get the best brain power.” (Dan McGinn) What role do women play in this race? How is it different than the role that men play? How should this affect our strategies?

2. “Women add something different. Sometimes it’s intangible, but switch one of us out for a man and the product won’t be the same.” What is the current male/female ratio of the executive team? How would the “product” (vision) of the group change if this ratio were changed?

3. [Women’s] core fantasies revolve around having emotionally richer and saner lives.” What is your vision regarding the future of work/life balance in our organization?

Systems Questions Systems leadership designs, implements and ensures the effective functioning of healthy systems that govern how all underlying operations are managed. It relies heavily upon trust-building to institutionalize and operationalize the authentic values of the organization. In this third dimension of leadership, the leader transitions from managing daily operations to creating an operational environment that facilitates excellent performance by shaping the culture and core values of the organization. At this level of leadership, people choose to follow because they trust that the leader is developing well-run and healthy systems that rise above individually weak supervisors and managers. But building trust in the organization’s systems can happen only when building upon a foundation of widespread relational and operational leadership competency.

1. Since “flexibility is moving quickly from being a favor to being the industry standard,” how are we keeping up with this emerging standard?

2. The author refers to “The New All” which means having both a. Professional success and b. Time and freedom.

What system-level changes could be conducive to this ideal? 3. “Companies now realize they perform best when they have the right mix of male and female

management styles.” How balanced is our mix of male and female management styles? Are any changes needed?

8 Womenomics

Operational Questions Operational Leadership focuses on supervisory and managerial effectiveness. In this second dimension of leadership, the individual progresses from managing relationships to managing the performance of employees and operations. At this leadership level, people choose to follow primarily because of positional and intellectual authority – they assume that the supervisor or manager knows more than they do about the job at hand. However, Operational Leadership builds on Relational Leadership--if you cannot manage relationships, you can never achieve excellence in managing the performance of your employees and operations.

1. “Companies that get a reputation as bad employers or bad producers for women risk jeopardizing their good names . . . Businesses that cling to outdated structures risk being out of business.” As a supervisor, what can you do to ensure that your organization has a good reputation in this area?

2. “We are very much a time-famished nation. People want more control over their time.”

(Kathleen Christensen, the Sloan Foundation). Is this true for you? Is it true for those who work under your authority? How should this reality affect your supervisory practices?

3. “Self-promotion is a basic part of business life. Informing others of a success is just as much about keeping them in the loop as is informing them about a failure.” How can we give employees the freedom to share the successes along with the failures? Do we acknowledge and appreciate successes?

9 Womenomics

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Relational Questions Relational Leadership is the foundational competency upon which all other leadership dimensions are constructed. At this leadership level, people choose to follow primarily because of how the leader treats them. Many otherwise qualified managers never achieve excellence as leaders because they do not manage relationships well. High-performance organizations place a priority on developing the Relational Leadership skills of all employees, from front line workers to senior executives.

1. The author asserts that both men and women want more of a life. Do you agree? How could “having more of a life” improve your relational abilities at work?

2. “Work smarter, not harder… If you’re going to work less and still achieve, you need to understand where to direct your precious energy resources… The trick, of course, is not just distinguishing between the useful and the useless but actually putting this knowledge to work.” When leading relationally, what are some “useless“ things? When leading relationally, what are some “useful” things?

3. “Women add something different. Sometimes it’s intangible, but switch one of us out for a man and the product won’t be the same.” How can this “difference in the product” be good for our relationship with the community? (For example: are there times when a citizen simply needs to speak to a woman – or a man?) Why is this “difference in product” important to understand when relating with co-workers of a different gender?

Prepared by Randy Mayeux

For more information on Executive Book Briefings, please contact Krisa Delacruz at Krisa@GovernmentResource.com.