Results Count 2008

Atlanta Women in Business announced the recipient of its fifth annual Results Count award on November 14, and recognized her accomplishments with a celebratory luncheon in Sandy Springs. "And the winner is . . . " - Peggy Parks of The Parks Image Group.

Actually, the Results Count awards do not have "winners"; they have "recipients". I think it is especially for women in the business world important not to talk about "winners", because the immediate connection is that for every "winner" there is at least one "loser". As women in the business world, we cannot afford to have losers. There are too few of us in leadership positions, too few in the C ranks, and too many earning 70-some cents for every dollar a man in the same position earns. So, in the Results Count award system there are only winners - and every year there is a recipient!

We've Got Authors!

The leadership of Atlanta Women in Business decided a few months ago that it should support the publication of a co-authored book. About a dozen members came forward and expressed an interest. In the end, six stalwarts are carrying the project forward, under the leadership of Angela Durden (center). The other authors are, from left, Marla Brown, Barbara Giamanco, Eleanor Morgan and Peggy Parks. Not in the picture, but equally enthusiastic and committed: Sue Lawrence.

"Do as I say . . . ."

When I tell my PR clients that they need a blog, and update it at least once a week, many recoil. "I don't have time for that", they tell me.

Well, I know the feeling. And I am certainly as guilty as others, when it comes to updating this particular blog. So, "do as I say; don't do as I do" . . . .! Keep your blogs updated, as otherwise your visitors (prospective clients!) will not come back to you.

Sarah Palin - Is It Fair?

When I heard, last Friday, that John McCain had picked Sarah Palin as his V.P. choice, I knew two things about her: that she was the Governor of Alaska and that she had a child with Down Syndrome. Then I learned that she has five children and a sexist thought entered my mind: “How in the world does a mother of five become Vice-President of the United States and do justice to her family?” I confess – if her husband had been McCain’s choice, the thought would not have occurred to me.

Then I learned that it is her youngest, who is the family’s special needs child, and that he is just an infant, born this year! How does a mother with a nursing baby (she is a good conservative woman, with family values, so she would breast feed, wouldn’t she?) travel all over the world, to represent the United States? Or does she tell the President: “Sorry, John, I can’t go to Ukraine next week, because I’m trying a new brand of diapers with my baby, and he seems to be a little fussy”?

She strikes me as a feisty woman, and I like that, but it seems to me that running the State of Alaska is already a pretty big job for someone with as many family obligations as she has. Aren’t Republicans into work-life balance?

That was Friday. Then came Monday and the revelation that Governor Palin’s 17-year old daughter is pregnant. One, I have since then learned, of 750,000 teenagers in this country who have experienced or will experience a pregnancy this year. A number that is up since the current government began stressing an “abstinence only” policy in sex education, by the way. So, O.K., the daughter, Bristol, is going to marry the baby’s 18-year old father (I wonder who pointed the shotgun at him!) and they will keep the baby – the Republicans currently gathered in St. Paul for their 2008 convention love it!

But what a family under stress! The birth of a baby with Down Syndrome, a teenager’s unplanned pregnancy, a son (18 or 19 years old) who is getting ready to deploy to Iraq, and becoming a grandmother too soon – all in one year! Is it fair on Sarah Palin and her family that she has, quite willingly, even delightedly, been propelled into the vortex of a presidential election campaign? And, is it fair on the country to elect a Vice President – a heartbeat away from being the leader of the free world, as one is often reminded – whose personal life seems to cry out for a great deal of attention and care?

The MBA Tour Comes To Atlanta

As you already know, if you have been involved with Atlanta Women in Business for a while, we are ardent supporters of the idea of "lifelong learning" and are therefore eager to promote events that are connected to this idea.

The MBA Tour will be in Atlanta again this year, on the 9th of September, and if you are at all thinking about pursuing an MBA degree, by all means, sign up and be sure to go and check it out.

Results Count

"Results Count" has been an annual award of Atlanta Women in Business. It recognizes a corporation for its promotion of women to supervisory, managerial and executive positions, and a woman-owned company for its consistent growth.

Mastermind Groups

Also known as “Success Groups”, Mastermind Groups in the business arena bring together people from different industries or professions, but with similar aspirations – usually, to grow their businesses – who support one another in achieving their individual goals.

I am currently in my third Mastermind Group.

The first one included a member who, in hindsight, should not have been in it at all, because she was not a business owner (she was “toying with the idea” of starting a business of her own); when she brought a moral personal dilemma to the group, the group’s cohesion began to crack and in short order it fell apart.

My second Mastermind Group stayed together for more than a year (it’s not unusual for these groups to last for decades!) and was disbanded when one member moved away, one sold her business and another began making plans for selling hers.

Earlier this year, Barb Giamanco proposed the formation of a Mastermind Group, together with Ruth King and BB Webb; I accepted and now, nearly three months later, I am delighted that I did. We meet by telephone once a week, for an hour and a half, and in person once a month, for three hours. The biggest benefits are that we offer solutions to individual business challenges, that we brainstorm ideas and that everyone holds everyone else’s feet to the fire; accountability is a huge factor.

If you are interested in forming a Mastermind Group, do it!

Art Exhibit Opening

Several of us accepted Miroslava Torres Young's invitation for an art exhibit opening at Sunrise Bank of Atlanta, where she works. Excellent event! In the picture are, from left to right, Christina Van Slambrook, Deidra Cunningham, me, Miroslava.

Welcome!

After having been an "Atlanta Biz Woman" for a while, I founded Atlanta Women in Business in 1992 - a membership organization of business, career and professional women that provides networking and educational opportunities.

Over the years, this organization has had its ups and downs (know of any that have not?), and today we are once again on an upswing, with new members, new interests, new initiatives - and a few discards. With regard to the latter, we are not necessarily doing away with our annual Results Count award, but I will give up its web site.

That is a "less". Now a "more": we have started a book project in which all members can participate (limit: 20 - first come, first in!) as chapter authors. The project is under the leadership of Angela Durden, a writer herself and a longtime member of our organization.

I have a wonderful Advisory Board for Atlanta Women in Business this year: Patricia Bowen (like me, an international business woman who is choosing to stay closer to home these days), Pamela Van Fleet (banker) and Jennifer Wightman (project manager for a technology company and, like Pam, one of our career members). That reminds me, I should explain what I mean by "business, career and professional women". Business women are entrepreneurs, working for themselves, either by themselves or as employers of others; career women work in the corporate world, and professional women are members of what is generally considered "the professions", e.g. attorneys, engineers, physicians, scientists, etc. The breakdown of these groups within our organization is roughly 40%, 50%, and 10%.

There is, by the way, a membership application form on our web site - in case you'd like to join us. You are welcome!