Uniting Our Voices May 22, 2013Expert BlogsOff

“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.

Her words really resonated with me. I’d just finished a keynote in Amsterdam on Best Buy’s WOLF movement with the European Women’s Professional Network, a group of fantastic, successful, diversified women. After the presentation, all of the women were scratching their heads as to why more companies don’t focus on the growth of women’s spending power in every industry you could possibly imagine.

Immense hope filled the room as a result of all the conversations. The paradox was that this warm, can-do energy was present at the exact moment that every TV around the world was reporting on plunging stock markets and employee lay-offs by the thousands. How could the conversation in this room be so different from the news flooding the airwaves?

On this particular European tour, there was a shared vision and drive – a shared HOPE. It didn’t matter where I was or which woman I was talking with… Amsterdam, London, Istanbul… the look in their eyes was the same. Their spirits were the same. Their willingness and desire to make dramatic changes in business, politics, and their lives was as focused and determined as any other place in the world, including the United States.

The hope in the women that night filled the room with energy and “we can do this.” “This” is business reinvention and growth with a focus on females – consumers and employees. The hope was the certainty that we, together, can make this change happen. It is about women driving the Porsche with their leadership styles, insights, and ideas leading to immense financial returns for business, politics and organizations. And they are driving because they have the unique perspectives on what women want as consumers. That’s the growth!

Every woman who spoke did so in a soft, deliberate tone with accents from their heritages, but each woman had the intensity of meaning and passion lighting up their eyes with a sparkle. We all agreed that the key was not one woman’s voice in each room, but all our voices in the rooms together galvanizing teams (or Wolf Packs, as I call them) to dramatically change business from the “inside out” with female employees and from the “outside in” with female customers, and partnering across companies in the process to build the strongest network ever built. A network built on respect of and appreciation for different voices from all walks of life. A network built on respect of backgrounds, passion, and unique ideas. A network built on supporting each other even in difficult times

The proof was in the pudding as we cheered Best Buy’s progress… not based on one voice in one room but thousands of women’s voices innovating new ways of marketing to women, new products, new services, new ways of leading. Progress around business growth for the female consumer to the tune of more than $3 billion in revenue, millions in savings in female retention, increases in the numbers of women in positions across the board, and increases in brand affinity by women. And the same could be true for every single company in the world regardless of industry. And, we all agreed that we can utilize the business case as our medium to reinvent the lives of women regardless of where they live, build them a network of support, share skills and relationships across the globe to enable innovation and new lives to emerge.

On the plane ride back to the States, what flashed into my thoughts were the eyes and passionate voices of Yelda and Bedriye in Turkey, Linsey in London, Rosemary of Amsterdam, Sinead and Carol from Ireland, Karen from Gibraltar and Val from the United States. The reflection was clear! If we all stand together with our voices unified, we can make change happen for all and we can drive it through business into politics and into the lives of so many. It is no longer, if it ever was, a nice thing to do, but it is our responsibility to revitalize business, capitalize on the growth that sits right in front of each business that could ensure the safety and financial viability of businesses and also employees’ lives. And, it has been sitting there the whole time! Ladies… let’s go!

By Julie Gilbert

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