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

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

At the time, I was trying to impress him with all my knowledge of tv and business his question had me stumped.stumped.  Not because I didn’t have an answer.  It was because I had SO MANY answers to something, that as a woman in business seems so obvious (BLOOMBERG being a HUGE supporter of women, I am confident he knew but simply wanted to see what I thought).  Answers like, “We think long term, we collaborate as oppose to compete 24/7, we share knowledge, we support one another”.

Then there is of course the proverbial GLASS ceiling that I had tried to kid myself in my 20′s didn’t exist only to learn in spades and in sometimes incredibly painful ways that the GLASS ceiling is more prevolent now in some ways then it ever has been.  I think part of this is the fear, and I will go out on a limb on this one, I have experienced some men having in realizing that a girl can do it better than the boys.  For example, just this past year I was told by a guy that “he didn’t see my value” only to have another one of his partners want to find out all that information and knowledge about people I knew who were helping our business grow in California from “my pretty little head”.  We no longer work together for a number of reasons, this, and being told that my questions around wanting clarification around a business deal were “F-ing rediculaous” were only a few of the reasons why.  Now, I get calls from buyers of the company asking to please come back and help.  The GLASS ceiling absolutely exists.

All of those things happening are not easy.  For me, I use it as fuel to be stronger, more focused and more deliberate about bringing the feminine power into the workforce to do good AND make money.  For those inspired corporations I am blessed to work with- you are a gift.  Thank you.  I hope articles like this one continue to shed light on what continues to unfold as one of the largest opportunities of our world today- the power of women…We LOVE and can’t wait to do more with you as you continue to change the world.

http://bit.ly/l0mpF6

http://buswk.co/km8oUy

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.

On March 30, 2011, DELL hosted a DELL Customer Advisory Panel Day (CAP Day) to focus on sustainability.  Dell is now the world’s first carbon-neutral computer company, effectively setting an example for the entire IT industry. Dell already powers many of its facilities with green energy and has announced a plan to further reduce its worldwide facilities’ greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2015.

“CAP Days started as a way to have open and honest conversations with some of our most vocal customers in social media. Discussions have ranged from everything from Dell products to dell.com to customer service and support.  [We're] inviting a group of 15 green experts, bloggers and enthusiasts, who are active in social media, to participate in our CAP Days program. We’re bringing together Sustainability leaders across Dell to listen to the ideas of these customers and experts and to discuss topics that our customers have told us they care about: recycling, greener products and packaging to name a few.” says Carly Tatum, Dell CAP Days organizer.

With AIESEC Organizers and Speakers In Mexico City to Speak on The Future of Women + Green

Present in over 107 countries and territories and with over 50,000 members, AIESEC is the world’s largest student-run organisation. Focused on providing a platform for youth leadership development, AIESEC offers young people the opportunity to be global citizens, to change the world, and to get experience and skills that matter today