Women Mean Business

Dear Steve,

You broke my heart! iPad?! Seriously?! Let’s get together for lunch. You let us down on this one. Please hire and empower senior female execs! It is difficult not to feel completely disrespected.

This morning, I awoke from sleep still passionately frustrated about the naming of your new product, iPad. I have admired and cheered on Apple for many years. I’ve purchased, in their first release, nearly every single product you have launched. You have been a forward thinking game-changer.

The most amazing and beautiful experience a woman can have is to become pregnant. The miracle and initial flutter of a little person growing inside of you is profound and indescribable… something neither words nor feelings can adequately express. The amazement and wonder of the mere ability for a woman’s body to, in an instant, turn from years of routine activity into a manufacturing plant is astonishing.

There once was a little girl full of imagination and positivity who went to sleep each night in her twin bed tracking the brightest star in the night sky until she fell fast asleep, dreaming of what life would bring. She regularly awoke early in the mornings with a sense of adventure and excitement, leapt from her bed, quickly got dressed so she could take out her baby doll.

Imagine a day when I, as well as you, can give a White House Project gift card to my beautiful nieces Sophie and Mikayla, or your beautiful daughters, granddaughters, and nieces for their birthdays, and they can go to The White House Project site on their mobile phones and their home laptops and take the first of many tiered courses on leadership relevant to their age group.

At the risk of upsetting the apple cart, I am going to risk it. Yes I am! I want to ask a simple question and I so hope I am completely dead wrong because frankly, I have had it! Ladies, if you are one of these, look out; you are about to be moved over, Rover!

Recently, I had the pleasure to meet an amazing executive business leader who happened to be an Asian woman. She was beautiful, successful, and passionate about life and, in particular, the paradox of what she had experienced in business with... men? NO, with women. She passionately shared an experience with me where she desired to join a sophisticated club in a prominent city. She knew two professional women who were members, so she logically reached out to them to write her recommendation to the club.

Yes, we have all heard this many times, but have you thought about it in terms of leadership and how you engage everyone from new people you meet at a restaurant to your team, and of course, your partner? And, what possible difference it makes in the reaction, willingness to partner, or frankly, other’s interest in even standing next to you or saying hello? Have you ever walked into a room and said “hello” to someone only to get a cold stare or no response at all? What if it happens a second time?

“I want you to look inside yourself and find your passion; get in-tune with your authentic self, and start walking that journey in your life and career; build upon it and create your life legacy one day at a time,” I recently told a large group at a keynote presentation on business growth and innovation. Everyone wins in this dynamic yet, unfortunately, many people do not give themselves the gift to go on the journey to look deep and make some changes.

"Really, you think I should take the buyout package and leave my Senior Vice President post at Best Buy to launch WOLF Means Business to grow other companies to be THE place for women to shop and work?” I responded inquisitively staring into the eyes of a friend who had known me for many years.

“One voice can easily be diminished, but united voices stand strong! The time for growth and reinvention is NOW! One voice is easy to be diminished; together, united voices stand strong,” she said as she spoke with the intensity and focus exuding from her eyes and words.