The World Needs Women Entrepreneurs
There's a gradual but steady global shift which will result in women is the inevitable future leaders of our own societies. If not, anyway the current imbalance will be redressed.
On a smaller scale there is also a huge opportunity for any organization or organisation that could step out of its limited, "safe" traditions and bring forward a more rounded, holistic and balanced strategy for doing things. Ladies and their inherent creativity are uniquely positioned to accomplish this.
But the game of company is a game created by men. What a procreation thing, governed by genetics. Men regularly utilized to venture forth and conquer other civilizations, raping and pillaging while they went. They would kill the men and impregnate the girls because it was a few survival - about fulfillment with their bloodline. That's what they used to. Now they do it in operation.
Men typically work from a win-lose point of view. From other perspective "For me to win, you will need to lose. The 'pie' of commercial is only so big, and my job is usually to go and carve out as big an item of pie as I can."
In contrast the attitude generally taken by women is, "Well listed here is a pie that's only just too large. Why don't we see how we are able to make that pie go further? Or why don't you share the pie and get it? Or we will work at making another pie - i then can have a pie, and you may have a pie and we'll convey more pie." Therefore it is very much about win-win.
Throughout the last 25 years it's been my observation that better company is done by people who are playing win-win.
Men should go to extreme lengths to compete and win while women need a completely different business experience.The critical challenge for females comes when they venture out into the world and declare "I desire to play win-win in business", and all sorts of men go "Yes, we want to play win-win too!"
Nevertheless the reality is that the men are still playing win-lose. This will overwhelm every time. It is because if somebody is playing win-lose but suggesting that they are playing win-win, as being a win-win player you'll believe in them. You'll go along with it and be taken advantage of every time.
Precisely what do most women do? A few will play along with the men's rules, but many will start their own businesses. Women can (very slowly) change corporate culture from the inside, or they can affect the world by starting their own companies. Becoming an entrepreneur doesn't require any shifts in corporate culture.
The past century or so, we've been addressing business issues as if they are linear, independent, and containable. To research the world and you'll find it hard to agree this is true. But if, as Einstein said, the thinking skills that induce an issue are not the thinking skills you have to resolve that issue, we require more people with a different perspective about the problem and a new set of skills and abilities.
What is needed running a business today is a better grasp of (and comfort with) relationships of all kinds. And this is the kind of thinking and problem solving that is most natural to women as typically:
Women are intuitively systems/relationship thinkers;
Women seek balance;
Women care more about solutions than who gets credit;
Women are experts on collaboration;
When they may be passionate about something, women never quit.
As a result, women entrepreneurs intuitively create companies that are better for themselves, their families, their employees, their communities, their customers and the world. Women tend to be more holistic about their knowledge of their place in the universe. By way of example, they will operate coming from a perspective of abundance as opposed to scarcity, and they appreciate the energy and vibration of their actions in the business (and broader) world. They more readily bring "soul to business" when you're more in touch with their spirit and emotions capable to converse openly about them.
Women's measures of success also tend to be much broader. These are by nature, equipped for that Triple Bottom Line challenge. In reality, they assume this is the goal, although they will get sidetracked by the try and play a game the guidelines of which we have established have essentially been developed by men.
It is the tendency to make holistic enterprises that make women so effective at entrepreneurship. This really is enabled by being able to see an issue from a lot of angles at once.
On a deeper level, women have an interest in other people. They invariably notice items that are outside the awareness of most men. They actually do the right thing, they treat people well, plus they listen to other people.
Women entrepreneurs are fantastic. But not because they're caricatures or stereotypes of some altruistic awesomeness, but because they often bring an alternative set of experiences that are equally valid from what men bring. Greater we have of both, the richer everything gets. How could we do without the action and results orientation that face men?
And before we over-glorify women, we have to recognise that they are just as diverse and varied as men, coming with their own set of issues and idiosyncrasies. Indeed, women end up being selfish and obnoxious, just like some men are really sensitive and thoughtful.
Practically we need women entrepreneurs, we require growth oriented women entrepreneurs. Women are starting businesses twice as fast as men. However they are not all growth oriented, employment producing businesses. Most of them end up employing just one single person.
A transformative and participative leadership style just isn't enough. For example, women need to read all the regular business skills necessary like raising capital to advance growth. Furthermore they require role models of growth oriented women entrepreneurs which aren't behaving like Machiavellian males.
Everything is continuing to change in the 21st Century with regards to more opportunities for females. But they are still the underdog, which suggests they'll continue to work harder - on the benefit of all.
