The Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO)
on Gender in Business June 2009 // Interviewed by David Gee
The new business environment: There is better
awareness of diversity in the market. More companies understand the concept and are looking
for ways to incorporate women-owned businesses
into their overall spend. –Jennifer Smith, owner
and president, Innovative Office Solutions
reacting to your circumstance: Some things are simply beyond our control, but we can change the way we
interpret and react to them. Be decisive and keep being
decisive, empower employees, build cash reserves and
constantly reinvent your business.
–Deborah Callahan, CEO, CTS Corporate Travel Solu-tions/American Express
Changing role of women: There are more
women in leadership roles today, which means
there is far more mentoring for the new generation. –Rose McKinney, president, Risdall McKinney
Public Relations
The power of novelty: The uniqueness of being a
female owner in the liquor industry has made me more
noticeable. Hopefully, that works to my advantage.
–Nancy Rosenberg, owner, Big Top Liquors/Sid’s
Discount Liquors
Critical difference: Women have always played
a large role in manufacturing and retailing. The
difference is that women were more in service roles
previously, not heading up their companies as
today. –Camille Thomas, president and CEO, JMC
Marketing Solutions
respect and gender: I think gender doesn’t play as an
issue for a woman business owner if she has the respect
of those who work for her. –Terri Krivosha, partner,
Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand
Gender as obstacle: I was fortunate to find courageous men like Curt Carlson, who gave me my first
commercial account and believed in me at a time
when women-owned companies were rare. –Marie
Bak, president and CEO, Sdq. Ltd
Men vs. women: Men tend to push me harder to see
if I will give in. They are pleasantly surprised when I
won’t let them decide, as the client, how I will run my
business. As a woman you have to be firm, but not a
b----. Guys are considered good businessmen when
they are tough. –Ruth Murman, owner, Auntie Ruth’s
Animal Care & Wellness Centers
Bill George december 2009 // interviewed by beth labreche
Reputation: it can take 30 years to
build a reputation, and it can be de-
stroyed in 30 minutes. reputations are
extremely fragile right now. reputa-
tional issues come out of the blue that
you never expect, and then you have
to deal with them publicly.
Leading publicly: we used to think
we could share confidences with small
groups, or keep things internal for
employees only. wise executives are
realizing that everything is transpar-
ent, so they might as well be transpar-
ent themselves.
Tell your story first: you need
to tell your story so others don’t
tell it for you.
Keeping your reputation fit: every
leader concerned about his or her
reputation must develop an enclave
of unbiased people willing to give you
feedback. i consider it healthy to func-
tion in somewhat of a paranoia [state].
Resilience: resilience in leadership
position is paramount. you need to
find the resilience to let inappropriate
information roll off your back, and to
have the strength of dignity to rise
above these
things.
Losing our
manners: our
society is really
split on how we see
our society. there is not
a common point of view on so many
things right now.
Citizenry: we have to go back to the
citizenry. we need to return to a civil
discourse, especially around complex
issues.
Leadership now: i think leaders need
r
to recognize that they are the carriers
of the reputation for their organiza-
tions. they must step up to that role; it
cannot be delegated.
Authentic leaders: we have to focus
on character instead of charisma. we
have to look for character and integ-
rity, not image.
