The Real Deal: Success for Women in Business

Can you make verbal sunshine?
April 13, 2008, 10:20 PM
There’s something that’s not found in copious quantities in the business world. It’s odd because with it, work and productivity would be greater. Are you curious about what it is? It’s not very complicated. It’s giving compliments to others. It seems to me that the only times compliments are intentionally given are at performance reviews. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Which big cheese is going to be moving?
April 06, 2008, 10:30 PM
You may have read the parable Who moved my cheese? It’s been very popular in business these last couple of years. The point of the story is that change is inevitable and employees need to just get over it—or something like that. I’ve got no problem with change or cheese. I do have a problem with some of the big cheeses causing all the movement. Here’s what I mean.

Separate But Not Equal
March 30, 2008, 8:30 PM
What's your passion? Mine is math and science education. As a volunteer I support the efforts of the Kilby Foundation (www.Kilby.org), IEEE (www.IEEE.org) and Sci-Tech (www.mindstretchingfun.org) In my local Dallas work with IEEE I was thinking about putting together a training program just for women engineers. Why not? The experience of dealing with gender, preconceived ideas and other obstacles is different for a working female professional. So did I develop a program just for women? I didn't. I think I made the right decision. Here's why.

Out of Control
March 23, 2008, 8:50 PM
Have you ever done everything you could to complete a business deal and then suddenly something beyond your control makes it all go away? Now what do you do? You really do have choices after disappointment.

Do You See What I See?
March 16, 2008, 4:55 PM
Where is your company going to be in five years? Do you know? Do you want to know? Most companies do long-range planning. I’m all for planning and making long-range plans, but I would like to see it done differently.

Quality Progress in Business
March 09, 2008, 12:55 PM
Joseph Juran, one of the founders of the quality field, recently died at 103. Seems like leading a quality life leads to longevity! The quality process also leads to longevity in business. Juran said that 80% of a firm’s problems stemmed from 20% of causes. Management should concentrate on the “vital few” rather than the “trivial many.” In a career, concentrating on the vital few offers the same guide for business success. Here are the vital few for you to focus on for your business success.

Hillary’s Doing it Wrong and You Can Do it Right in Business
March 02, 2008, 9:45 PM
Did you know that you were in sales? Please don’t groan. It’s not as bad as you think. In fact, it might make you more successful in business. All women are in sales—whether they think they are or they think they’re not. Selling is persuading someone to do something. Isn’t that what business is all about? All women–and men, too, have to persuade other people to do something in order for them to do their jobs. The way Hillary Clinton is approaching her politics and selling is all wrong for getting the results she wants. Here’s what she’s doing wrong ...

It’s Nice to be Important but Is It Important to Be Nice?
February 25, 2008, 9:30 AM
You may have heard the saying “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” I’ve heard that saying a lot over the years. I began to wonder if success in business really is dependent on being nice or is being nice a liability in business today? After I looked around at the successful managers I’ve seen, I think I have the answer. I’m curious what you think.

What’s with All the Boobs?
February 17, 2008, 4:55 PM
What’s with all the boobs? Imagine how this thought could come up in a business conversation. Could it be a manager at a meeting filled with incompetent people wasting his time? That could be one situation, but it would be wrong. This statement was actually made in a bank. It was an 80 year old woman who recently said this to her daughter. Her daughter accompanied her mother to a meeting with her banker. The mother was commenting to her executive daughter on the attire of the women bankers and employees with whom she had just done business. All were ...

Would Have Been Nice to Know That
February 10, 2008, 9:30 AM
In the world of business there are a lot of those “aha” moments. They’re the times when you suddenly realize how the system works. Often it’s different than what you thought. It’s at that time, as you reflect on your previous lack of knowledge, and you say to yourself, “It would have been nice to know that.” Here’s one of those aha moments that would have been nice to know in business.