Women in senior executive positions enhance ROI.

I just finished reading, Womenomics, Write You Own Rules for Success by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay.  They had some fascinating insights into the value of female leaders and their contributions to ROI.

If you want your organization to increase its ROI, then you might want to know about recent research done in France. The findings show that companies with more women in management positions did better during 2008 than those with fewer women.  For example, the share price of Hermes rose by 16.8%.  Keep in mind that 55% of the firm’s executives are women.

At Pepperdine University, a nineteen year survey of 215 Fortune 500 companies and took three different measures of profitability:  equity, revenue, and assets.   The companies that had the best records for promoting women outperformed the competition.  These companies beat the industry average by 116% in terms of equity, 46% in terms of revenue, and 41% in terms of assets.  It concludes women are good for profits.

What is the link between gender diversity in the top leadership and U.S. corporate financial performance?  In the late 1990s, Catalyst, an independent research organization, completed a study of 353 of the Fortune 500.  A higher number of women in senior management results in a higher return on equity and a higher total return to shareholders by more than one third. 

In an effort to make their firms more competitive in the global economy, the minister of trade in Norway demanded that 40% of women be on the board of each company.  

If your company wants to make more money, then one solution is to employ more women in senior leadership positions.  It seems women are now the hot commodity in today’s workplace.

What can you do to attract and retain top female talent?   Women place a high value on flexibility because it allows them to more effectively live their dual lives as professional women and as mothers.  To retain these employees, companies are offering alternative work schedules, furloughs, unpaid vacation time, and reduced schedules. 

Flexibility is viewed as a way to keep up morale and avoid mass layoffs.  During harsh economic times, this is a way to cut labor costs.  Yet at the same time, companies are able to accommodate the wishes for flexibility desired by many women.

What will the future bring?  Women earn 57% of bachelor’s degrees in the United States and 58% of all graduate degrees.  In business, women comprise over one third of all graduates.  From 1996 to 2002, the senior ranks of women in Fortune 500 companies grew from 10% to 16%.  This is more than a 50% increase in just six years.  The feminization of leadership is a trend worth watching.

Do you think seeking out women for senior executive positions is a good business strategy?

An electric jolt of creative ideas can lead to change!

1. Do not provide a budget for any creative projects. Everyone knows that when you are measured on a quarter by quarter basis, the ROI is simply not there to make your performance look good on a timely basis. The long term consequences of stifling creativity will become someone else’s problem after you are promoted for achieving short term ROI.

2. Make everybody dress the same in bland colors. A good recommendation, if you truly want to kill creativity, is to have everyone dress in blue or grey with white shirts or blouses. Color inspires creativity and this is dangerous to entrenched ideas.

3. Do not allow laughter. If you hear laughter in the hallways this means employees might be having fun and everyone knows creativity flourishes when individuals are having fun.

4. Schedule meetings where only the presenter is allowed to speak. Too much interaction might spark a creative idea from your employees.

5. Promote employees who say, “Yes” to all your ideas. Strangely enough one technique for becoming more creative is to say, “Yes, and …..” However, in this case the employees simply said, “Yes.” They forgot the part where you add to an idea with “and.” Watch out and do not promote any employees who say “yes and ………”

6. Do not allow animated facial expressions. Be sure to reward and cultivate a poker face where there is no visible reaction to anything that happens or is expressed. If someone is animated then there is great danger that they will inspire other employees with unusual ideas. Employees must keep their facial expressions under control at all times. Showing emotion is a clear danger sign of creative thinking being formulated.

7. Make every effort to have a homogeneous team that looks like you. Diversity in physical appearance and in thinking styles should be avoided. When you have people who think differently it just takes too much time to reach consensus.  Diversity just leads to disruptive thinking.  If you want similar thinking, then homogeneity is the way to accomplish this.

8.   Do not become proficient in the latest social media or social networking. If you allow your employees to blog, tweet, and connect on LinkedIn, then they might be exposed to radical ideas from other industries.  Do you really want to expose your organization to the possiblity that these radical ideas will be brought to team meetings?

9.   Do not allow time for employees to pursue creative thinking pursuits. This is such a time waster. If you insist on everyone doing things the way they have always been done, then they do not need to learn new things.

10.  Do not schedule any specialized training for creativity. If your leaders and employees learn how to be creative on demand by using the tools and techniques available to stimulate their brains then they might start generating hundreds of great ideas. This leads to more work for you and the management team.

Can you think of any other innovative ways to stifle creative thinking?

Bala Kanayson, Whole Mind Success

How often have you wished you could silence the constant talking that is going on in your head? You are trying to be an effective leader and grow your business, yet all of this chatter is interfering with your productivity. I recently heard Bala Kanayson address this issue. His solution includes developing your inner creativity.

How would you like to be able to learn proven methods to increase your creativity and productivity? Imagine being able to use your left and right brain, your conscious mind, and your subconscious mind in a deliberate manner.

Bala Kanayson uses Whole Mind Success as a unique method of using the whole mind in both our business and personal lives. He uses recent developments in neuroscience and psychology, combined with methods of silencing the mind to reduce the constant “noise” in our heads.

Extensive neurological research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) demonstrates how you can actually change the internal structure of your brain. Bala Kanayson uses proven scientific techniques to build new neuronal circuits that enhance creativity and develop new skills.

I asked Bala, “Now what kinds of skills do you mean?” He outlined some of the crucial skills we all need to be exceptional performers in our lives such as:

• Becoming a more effective leader.
• Reducing stress in your life.
• Finding new ways to solve difficult problems.
• Using both sides of the brain for maximum productivity and creativity.
• Mastering the art of silencing your mind.
• Setting goals and empowering yourself to achieve them.
• Communicating effectively with others.
• Defining your path for success and achieving it.

I was astounded. It seems you can overcome decades of social conditioning and preconceptions. The outcome results in a more complete transformation of each individual’s thinking and behavior.

I asked Bala, “Do you mean I can have increased self-esteem, improved study skills, and become more effective with my business decision making ability?

“Absolutely, you are correct!” Bala responded.

Now think about the significance of the impact upon your life if you decide to develop your creative thinking by using both sides of the brain for maximum productivity and creativity! If you are an engineer you could create new engineering designs. If you are an artist you could develop more creative artwork. If you are an athlete you could improve your performance in sports.

Now, you must go to to listen to Paul Lawrence Vann’s interview of Bala Kanayson on The Wealthy Speaker Show on blogtalkradio.  You will be pleased you followed my recommendation.

Author: Kirpal Singh

Back in the 1950’s, when I grew up in a tiny rural community in Texas we pretended we were all one skin color, we all spoke English and we all went to the local Christian church on Sunday.  Ours was a society that valued homogeneity.

Our world has changed dramatically since then. Our ability to travel and do business globally has significantly increased the likelihood that we will meet people from other cultures. Sometimes, we are confused by their assumptions and their behavior. It is unavoidable; we now live in a pluralistic society.

Imagine if you lost a $25 million business deal because you failed to research the cultural expectations of your potential business partner. This is a true story relayed by Kirpal Singh who spoke to the (CSTC) Creative Skills Training Council about the impact multiculturalism has on business and other aspects of our life.

Professor Kirpal Singh, the author of THINKING HATS & COLOURED TURBANS: Creativity Across Cultures, works with governments, non-profits and multinationals, on the issues and challenges surrounding the sensitive arena of cross/intercultural engagements. He is internationally renowned as a creativity guru and futurist.

Since 9-11, there is a new urgency to gain better understanding and knowledge about other cultures. We all have choices to make on how to interact with other cultures. We can demonize those who are different from us or perhaps we can invite them for a cup of tea, get to know them, and understand their perspective.

We are all invaluable as human beings; we bring many gifts from our respective cultures. We can create a world where we value multiculturalism, we can take pride in acquiring knowledge about other cultures, and we can make the choice to celebrate our differences and to live in harmony.

Kirpal Singh speaks about Creativity and Innovation – The Cross-Cultural Dimension. If you listen and learn, you may save your next multimillion dollar business deal.