ioana
in quest for genuine
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About Me
- Name: ioana
- Location: Bucharest, Romania
I experiment with myself and the world around me. I always seek for that small sparkle of what's real and authentic in things, people, nature...
Archive
Friday, December 14, 2007
To all my girls out there
Just a few questions about what and who makes a better leader:
Who manages more things at once?
Who puts more effort into their appearance?
Who usually takes care of details?
Who finds it easier to meet new people?
Who asks more questions in a conversation?
Who is a better listener?
Who has more interest in communication skills?
Who is more inclined to get involved?
Who encourages harmony and agreement?
Who has better intuition?
Who works with a longer “to do” list?
Who enjoys a recap of the day’s events?
Who is better at keeping in touch with others?
And the score? Women: 13.Men: well ... uh …zero.
This is not some cheesy feminist statement, this is one harsh business reality! The fact is, business make 80% of purchase decisions! 80%!!!!!!!!!! I don’t know if you realize this but 80% is not a majority, it is one OVERWHELMING majority! And I’m not talking here about household items one would expect women to buy, I’m talking about women buying most of the “previously-seen-as-manly-stuff”, like computers, cars, gadgets, financial services, even stocks! You think I’m over talking here? Hmm...you must be a guy :) Hey, you don’t have to trust my opinion, just read THIS special report from Business Week!
The thing is that although this is our current reality, there are numerous social and economical changes implied, but not happening. Just how many companies do you know to market to women? And again, I’m not talking about household items and beauty products, I’m talking sports gear, motorcycles, beer! There are examples, but you can count most of them on one hand’s fingers. Or how many companies have women as CEOs? I’m looking at the top 100 companies in Romania and I can find .... one!!! Ok, I go down the list...two ....three...ok, four, we’re making progresses :)
I don’t know if it noticeable or not, so I’d like to make it clear: I’m not making a case against men here! Really, I am not! I’m just saying that our society is changing dramatically in some ways, and has already changed in some other ways. Weather we accept it or not, weather some of us like it or not, this is our current reality. We’ve passed the age of “functional economy”, where the PRODUCT was the main differentiator, the TECHNOLOGY was the progress booster, and MANAGEMENT meant a clear set of army-like rules. Today we live in the world of “relational economy”, where the BRAND is what makes the difference, the TALENT boosts progress, and those ahead of the market need to have strong LEADERSHIP abilities, instead of being merely managers. All these are traits mostly associated with the word “Feminine”, while the previous ones were “Masculine”.
Just pick on some reading like Tom Peters, Faith Popcorn, Kjell Nordstrom & Jonas Ridderstrale or Fara Warner for more on the subject.
I’m just wondering what will us, women, do with all this new-acquired influence and freedom. Romania is still behind this trend, as our economy is still emerging. So I still have the chance to see plenty of women who rely on their bodies for professional success, or some who act tougher than men, and climb the hierarchy ladder by stepping on the bodies of their (usually female) counterparts. Not to mention a lot of jealousy between successful women working in the same area/department/company, practically catfighting over a drop of extra success. And I could make the list a whole lot longer!
It’s upsetting to see all this, especially if I take a look at the other half of the world, where women are not so lucky! Because of course, all the above is valid mostly for the US, EU, and mostly in economically developed countries. The situation is quite the opposite in the developing world: women illiteracy is 40%, compared to 22% male rate. And to add to this, access to employment, earnings or even basic healthcare is much lower than that of men. You can read more about it in UNICEF's Women & Children Report 2007!
So my sisters, it seems that the future is ours. What are we going to do with it?
Who manages more things at once?
Who puts more effort into their appearance?
Who usually takes care of details?
Who finds it easier to meet new people?
Who asks more questions in a conversation?
Who is a better listener?
Who has more interest in communication skills?
Who is more inclined to get involved?
Who encourages harmony and agreement?
Who has better intuition?
Who works with a longer “to do” list?
Who enjoys a recap of the day’s events?
Who is better at keeping in touch with others?
And the score? Women: 13.Men: well ... uh …zero.
This is not some cheesy feminist statement, this is one harsh business reality! The fact is, business make 80% of purchase decisions! 80%!!!!!!!!!! I don’t know if you realize this but 80% is not a majority, it is one OVERWHELMING majority! And I’m not talking here about household items one would expect women to buy, I’m talking about women buying most of the “previously-seen-as-manly-stuff”, like computers, cars, gadgets, financial services, even stocks! You think I’m over talking here? Hmm...you must be a guy :) Hey, you don’t have to trust my opinion, just read THIS special report from Business Week!
The thing is that although this is our current reality, there are numerous social and economical changes implied, but not happening. Just how many companies do you know to market to women? And again, I’m not talking about household items and beauty products, I’m talking sports gear, motorcycles, beer! There are examples, but you can count most of them on one hand’s fingers. Or how many companies have women as CEOs? I’m looking at the top 100 companies in Romania and I can find .... one!!! Ok, I go down the list...two ....three...ok, four, we’re making progresses :)
I don’t know if it noticeable or not, so I’d like to make it clear: I’m not making a case against men here! Really, I am not! I’m just saying that our society is changing dramatically in some ways, and has already changed in some other ways. Weather we accept it or not, weather some of us like it or not, this is our current reality. We’ve passed the age of “functional economy”, where the PRODUCT was the main differentiator, the TECHNOLOGY was the progress booster, and MANAGEMENT meant a clear set of army-like rules. Today we live in the world of “relational economy”, where the BRAND is what makes the difference, the TALENT boosts progress, and those ahead of the market need to have strong LEADERSHIP abilities, instead of being merely managers. All these are traits mostly associated with the word “Feminine”, while the previous ones were “Masculine”.
Just pick on some reading like Tom Peters, Faith Popcorn, Kjell Nordstrom & Jonas Ridderstrale or Fara Warner for more on the subject.
I’m just wondering what will us, women, do with all this new-acquired influence and freedom. Romania is still behind this trend, as our economy is still emerging. So I still have the chance to see plenty of women who rely on their bodies for professional success, or some who act tougher than men, and climb the hierarchy ladder by stepping on the bodies of their (usually female) counterparts. Not to mention a lot of jealousy between successful women working in the same area/department/company, practically catfighting over a drop of extra success. And I could make the list a whole lot longer!
It’s upsetting to see all this, especially if I take a look at the other half of the world, where women are not so lucky! Because of course, all the above is valid mostly for the US, EU, and mostly in economically developed countries. The situation is quite the opposite in the developing world: women illiteracy is 40%, compared to 22% male rate. And to add to this, access to employment, earnings or even basic healthcare is much lower than that of men. You can read more about it in UNICEF's Women & Children Report 2007!
So my sisters, it seems that the future is ours. What are we going to do with it?
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
When the shark turns into an octopus
I spent last week working on a conference of one our largest clients, a huge Romanian based company, that was holding its annual meeting with the management team. The owner of the company just sold a majority stock package to a foreign company, so this was obviously one of the hot topics of the agenda. But our aim was to bring people to talk about the changes needed to be made in the company’s intangibles, like values, culture, behaviors.
I have to say, I was a bit worried about what would come out. These guys are tough guys (and when I say guys, I mean guys, from the 130+ participants you could count the women on your fingers). Their business is tough, they’ve been around for a couple of decades, and are real killers, sharks! So I was expecting them to be bored to death and wonder why they have to talk about “cheesy things”. To my positive surprise they’ve been really interested and proactive, and most of them told us that they feel the company is doing great on targets and strategy, but really needs to work on people relations, otherwise it will not have a long term future. WOW! Respect!
One cool opportunity of being there was to hear the CEO of the company speak to his VP team. He is one of most controversial Romanian entrepreneurs, mainly because of the industry he activates in, and of course the media loves to take on people who have loads (LOADS!) of money! So being richer than Donald Trump only draws more attention, and not always the kind you’d like to have, I guess. Bottom line, the guy was impressive! Totally upfront about everything, about the changes they were passing, about how people behaved, about what his objectives are for the following years, and how selling a large part of their shares will help them achieve that!
He compared the company’s history with three animals. First, they were like a shark, cruel and ruthless, eating everything they could on the market. Then, they were a whale, large and heavy from ingesting other companies, most of them larger than themselves. And now he said, they are like an octopus. Flexible and agile, with a central nervous system, but having attached 8 tentacles that are independent but connected in the same time.
My learning point from all this can be resumed in one of his questions: “So who can state what is our core business and what is not?”
They started off as a production company, but now have expanded their business in retail, consumer marketing and services. All interconnected but independent. Like the octopus’s tentacles.
But I’d go even further and challenge any business to rethink and reimagine their core business! Just picture…Coca-Cola, IBM, General Electric….In today’s world, who can really tell what their true core business is?!?!
To quote someone famous: We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are!
I have to say, I was a bit worried about what would come out. These guys are tough guys (and when I say guys, I mean guys, from the 130+ participants you could count the women on your fingers). Their business is tough, they’ve been around for a couple of decades, and are real killers, sharks! So I was expecting them to be bored to death and wonder why they have to talk about “cheesy things”. To my positive surprise they’ve been really interested and proactive, and most of them told us that they feel the company is doing great on targets and strategy, but really needs to work on people relations, otherwise it will not have a long term future. WOW! Respect!
One cool opportunity of being there was to hear the CEO of the company speak to his VP team. He is one of most controversial Romanian entrepreneurs, mainly because of the industry he activates in, and of course the media loves to take on people who have loads (LOADS!) of money! So being richer than Donald Trump only draws more attention, and not always the kind you’d like to have, I guess. Bottom line, the guy was impressive! Totally upfront about everything, about the changes they were passing, about how people behaved, about what his objectives are for the following years, and how selling a large part of their shares will help them achieve that!
He compared the company’s history with three animals. First, they were like a shark, cruel and ruthless, eating everything they could on the market. Then, they were a whale, large and heavy from ingesting other companies, most of them larger than themselves. And now he said, they are like an octopus. Flexible and agile, with a central nervous system, but having attached 8 tentacles that are independent but connected in the same time.
My learning point from all this can be resumed in one of his questions: “So who can state what is our core business and what is not?”
They started off as a production company, but now have expanded their business in retail, consumer marketing and services. All interconnected but independent. Like the octopus’s tentacles.
But I’d go even further and challenge any business to rethink and reimagine their core business! Just picture…Coca-Cola, IBM, General Electric….In today’s world, who can really tell what their true core business is?!?!
To quote someone famous: We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
The essence of life from which the evolutionary process unfolds
Or in one word: Baraka! One of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.
Baraka is a nonverbal movie, without actors, or plot, or anything you would expect from a movie, and it’s not a documentary either. It’s just profound and beautiful!
Just imagine…the silhouette of Everest projected high in the horizon, a red sunset casted on Ayers Rock, the perfect ring of diamonds of a Solar eclipse, waves of pouring clouds in the sky
Now see…the endless round movement of a whirling dervish, the painted face of an Amazonian native child, hundreds bathing in the holy river Ganges, the big brown eyes behind the veil of an Arab woman
Now hear….water pouring in the Iguazu Waterfalls, the sound of a thousand wings flipping together as flamingos take of a lake, prayers mumbled at the Wailing Wall in Israel, rush hour in a NY subway station
All the beauty and ugliness we are capable of!
Trailer:
More images, without the original soundtrack (which is amazing), but the visuals speak for themselves:
Baraka is a nonverbal movie, without actors, or plot, or anything you would expect from a movie, and it’s not a documentary either. It’s just profound and beautiful!
Just imagine…the silhouette of Everest projected high in the horizon, a red sunset casted on Ayers Rock, the perfect ring of diamonds of a Solar eclipse, waves of pouring clouds in the sky
Now see…the endless round movement of a whirling dervish, the painted face of an Amazonian native child, hundreds bathing in the holy river Ganges, the big brown eyes behind the veil of an Arab woman
Now smell…the mists over the volcanoes of Java, incense burning in a Tibetan monastery, the stench of tobacco in a cigarette-making sweatshop, the wet smell of the rainforest
Now hear….water pouring in the Iguazu Waterfalls, the sound of a thousand wings flipping together as flamingos take of a lake, prayers mumbled at the Wailing Wall in Israel, rush hour in a NY subway station
All the beauty and ugliness we are capable of!
Trailer:
More images, without the original soundtrack (which is amazing), but the visuals speak for themselves: