A Pink Mouse & More-10 Secrets of The Power of Women
No mistaking the 'pink' bling
Last week I attended as a guest and participant in an amazing event in Rio de Janeiro called Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network or “DWEN” (you can learn more HERE at our Linkedin Group). This was the 2nd one I have been to, the first being last year in Shanghai last year.
As much as I believe in the power of networks and women’s groups, this is the only gathering that is truly a “Don’t Miss Event” and I’m honored to have been invited. The reason(s)? Some of the top women CEO’s, visionaries and entrepreneurs in the world are present and it’s the one place that together – we can let our hair down and “get real”.
DWEN is a gathering where guests can openly talk and collaborate on our vision for business success, global prosperity and contribution (mine being “Empowering a Billion Women by 2020”). It’s a place that when you share your vision with other empowered women and collaborate to make it happen.
Following DWEN I hosted a “Tweetup” (thank you DELL) and it was suggested by one of the male participants (thank you Lyn Graft!) that the guys would like to understand how women do things in business differently than men. I thought it was a great idea and to kick it off, below is the “Top 10 Secrets to Women Doing Business Differently Than Men”. (Please note these are my personal opinions and don’t reflect the opinions of other women or DELL.)
1. Before we (when I refer to “we” I am talking women) would EVER do a deal with someone, we want to understand his or her background, family, children, husband and intentions for the future. The guys? I can’t tell you how many men I have worked with that have no idea that I am one of 4 children, married, have no kids and have a dream of changing the world for good.
2. We think holistically like an integrated circle whereas the guys think like squares in a more linear pattern
3. While we love to compete, but we don’t use intimidation as a regular business strategy.
4. We celebrate other women and their success – even if they are competitors to us – because it is better for the whole. When we succeed, we view it as both a personal success and a success for all women. The guys celebrate their kill and move on to the next one.
5. We believe prosperity in this order – people, planet then profit. We also know that knowing the numbers and collaboration is key to winning on the business, social and financial front.
6. We bring chocolate to [almost] every meeting.
7. Men compartmentalize. Women look at all the variables; determine how taking action will affect each of them and the integrated whole and then make our decision to move forward.
8. We think long-term success with short-term results. The last deal I worked on- the lead guy told me “we want money from investors who wont ask questions” (I left that deal).
9. As women, our biggest competition is within ourselves. Our biggest opportunity is our ability to collaborate with one another.
10. The Pink Mouse. I have never been to a global meeting of the top CEO’s in the world where a man has blinged out his mouse. Why?! As women we celebrate the beauty in one another, the companies we create, the impact we have on society, the money we make and it manifests in all we do.
Ingrid Vanderveldt (iV), Daphne Duprese, Lauren Flanagan (Belle Capital), Amy Millman (Springboard Enterprises), Pam Contag (Cygnet BioFuels) Chris Shipley (Guidewire Group) & Vanessa Yanez (Axicom)
Karen Quintos, Dell’s CMO, made a profound statement during the event that really struck a chord with me and with many others: ‘Businesses and organizations thrive on the entrepreneurial spirit of women leaders who take risks.” I strongly believe that some of these ‘secrets’ listed above are why this happens. Together, women are joining forces to change the world for good. From gatherings such as this, you can only expect to see more mothers becoming entrepreneurs, women CEO’s grow their companies bigger/faster, and 3rd world women become empowered with technology to build their local communities. I often get asked how I can envision massive change – my response: “To create the global change in the world we want to see, we must do it through a new set of eyes, the eyes of women.”
Thank you to all you amazing women for all you do- and to those men who support our efforts. We appreciation what you and organizations like DWEN are doing and look forward to participating in the positive change that we are creating together…iV
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Women Entrepreneurs-The Tipping Point To Pull Us Out of the Recession
Steve Felice, President Consumer, Small and Medium Business, Dell Inc. opening DWEN Conference
Greetings all from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil!!!
I’m down here to be part of the Dell Women Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) Conference for 2011. This is such an amazing gathering – it consists of 125 of the top women entrepreneurs, CEO’s and thought leaders in the WORLD brought together by Dell and Axicom that is all about connecting, engaging and embracing women in business and those that support them.One statement that I immediately wanted to share with you while I’m here was a statement that Steve Felice, President Consumer, Small and Medium Business for of DELL Corporation, shared this morning when the DWEN Conference opened. He said:
“Women will be the tipping point of companies coming out of the recession”
WOW. I LOVE that!! He when on to say that while 53% of the entrepreneurs in Brazil are women (having more women entrepreneurs than men second only to China)- the #1 focus of the country is “eradicating poverty” from Alessandro Teixeira, Deputy Minister of Industry & Commerce from the Government of Brazil.”The biggest issue for entrepreneurs is not the money, its financial planning” from Fernanda De Lima, CEO of Gradual Corretora Investments. I so wish we could have more women entrepreneurs to be part of this incredible event, but I’ll do my best to share some of the top learnings and information with you. …. XOXO ~ iV
From left Cindy Gallop, Amy Millman, President Springboard Enterprises, Pam Contag Founder Cygnet Biofuels, Riva Lesonsky, writer
Oil vs. Renewable Energy- All about Money
This weekend, my colleague Lyn Graft sent me this alarming article from Bloomberg. For those of us who focus on doing business with a triple bottom line focus (people, planet, profit)- and who actually care about the future of our world- get a look at what Prince Alaweed has to say about oil prices. Bottom line- lets drop the price to keep the urgency to find alternatives low.
There aren’t a lot of things in my world that get me riled up- but this is one of them. Look, Prince Alaweed, I am a capitalist just like the rest of anyone who enjoys making money doing what we love. When you INTENTIONALLY do it at the cost of the health, safety and well being of the world?
I get that our world will take time to transition to a renewable economy. I get that we need oil. I get that there is a lot of money involved.
I look forward to the day that I get to meet you in person and bring to you the power, passion and vision of women from around the world working to change your short term focus. I am confident you are aware that companies that actually stop to think, plan and act with a triple bottom line focus have the tendency to outperform the stock of other companies by 25%.
Price Alaweed, you give oil barrons a bad wrap. To say this article and your comments are a disappointment would be a major understatement. Imagine how the world would respond if you instead made a statement about transitioning from oil and moved your money to fund building a renewable fueling infrastructure to build market confidence so that consumers could buy vehicles powered by renewable energy and fuel (and know they would never be “stuck” not having a place to fuel up). Imagine that!…You an T.Boone and his PILOT deal could go head to head in competition and I am sure that would be equally as entertaining and financially lucrative as you dropping your oil prices. Instead of positioning yourself as public enemy #1, you could actually become an inspired, global hero.
Read More »The Importance of Where “Hunches” Might Lead You….My Conversation with Gerry Laybourne
Geraldine Layborne is known for many things: trailblazer, mother and partner to Oprah Winfrey in the Oxygen Network. She’s also known as a huge supporter of women. Last June, we both had the opportunity to speak at the DELL Women’s Entrepreneur Network in Shanghai, China. On the last day we were there, we had breakfast together and talked about the future of women in politics. More specifically, she is the first person who got me to stop for a moment and consider the hunch, “Is getting involved politically something in my future as a way to contribute more fully to my community”?
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