A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WORKING MOM

Wisdom for life and business

"When you have a great and difficult task, something perhaps almost impossible, if you only work a little at a time, every day, suddenly the work will finish itself."   

-Isak Dinesen

"This very moment is the perfect teacher, and lucky for us, it's with us wherever we are."

-Pema Chodron, American Buddhist nun

Not Everyone Gets It Yet!

When advertising executive Neil French was in Toronto at an advertising business conference on October 6, 2005 it seems that he both wanted to comment about women in the workplace and prove that he's a complete jerk.  Guess what, folks, he did it!

"Women do not make it to the top", he said, "because they don't deserve to."  He suggested that women in business tend to "wimp out and suckle something".

There is a happy ending to this ridiculous story:  Mr. French resigned from his job with WPP Group, a British marketing and branding company, after outraged women executives at the company complained.  Mr. French later defended himself in an interview in Ad Age, but didn't improve his position much.  "I didn't say all female creative directors are c--p," he protested.  But, "if you can't commit yourself to any job then, by definition, you're c--p at it.  If you can't commit 100% to your job, don't pretend you can.  Nobody deserves a job unles they can commit to it."

It is interesting to note that Mr. French was out of a job at the time he made these remarks.

-excerpted from the Winter 2006 edition of Brain, Child magazine www.brainchildmag.com

A New Resource - Fit For 2

We met a fabulous woman this week, Lisa Stone!  She is the president and founder of Fit For 2.

The companies mission is to provide a safe and effective total body fitness program for pregnant women and new mothers worldwide through high-energy medically-based classes, workout videos, and licensing sales. Their success comes from a strong presence in the marketplace, so that pre- and post-natal fitness becomes a staple in pre- and post-natal care.

http://www.fitfor2.com/Home/index.html

Lisa has her finger on the pulse of the 'mom's' marketplace, both literally and metaphorically speaking.  She is available for speaking events and on a consulting basis.  We are excited to have listed Fit For 2 on our resouce page. 

http://www.momcorps.com/moms_mr_moms/MomsMr.MomsResourceGuide.html

Get a Life!

We've all read so much about the challenges faced by so many women juggling professional and personal commitments. We know those women. We work with those women. We are those women.

Last week's Fortune magazine article "Get A Life" confirms that it is not just accomplished women looking for a "new deal" at work, and that men and women are far more alike in their desires than the debate over these issues has assumed. Fortune surveyed senior Fortune 500 male execs and dug up some fascinating insights, including the fact that 84% say they'd like job options that let them realize their professional aspirations while having more time for things outside work . . . and that 87% of them believe that companies that enable this and other changes will have a competitive advantage in attracting talent.

"The biggest challenge in humanizing work may not be how to get the work done but how to persuade corporate leaders to view the desire for a complete life as legitimate." It suggests business leaders need to do four things to make headway on this agenda:

1. Quit defining the desire for do-able jobs as a "women's issue". Men want this too.
2. Start viewing efforts to humanize senior jobs as a competitive advantage and business necessity, not as one-time accomplishments for the CEO's pets.
3. Realise that progress is actually possible; there are examples to show that work at the top can be retooled.
4. Make it safe within companies and firms to talk about these things.

Some great real-life examples. Pick up a copy. Its worth a read. It will give you some hope.

When shall we live if not now?

And now for a few historical thoughts on living life with passion and to the fullest . . . .

I’m one of those people who like inspirational quotes. I know, I know . . . they can be corny. But here are a few from Seneca (a Roman philosopher and dramatist who lived from approximately 5 B.C. to 65 A.D.) that have stood the test of time. Seneca knew a bit about life, and balance, and doing what you love, in the here and now.

   "He [or She!] who is everywhere, is nowhere."

   "That part of life that we really live is short."

   "As a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters."

   "When shall we live if not now?"

Isn't this what we're shooting for? Making choices in our lives so we are living and enjoying the "now"?

What to do when "Mother" is on your resume

There is activity everywhere! One company we spoke with this week is focusing on a much neglected need in the workplace. "Mothers Can Do It" is helping ease the transition of highly-qualified women back into the workforce with a series of career workshops and job fairs attracting  top-tier employers. Founder Rhona Kisch says the response from women and firms has been phenomenal. To get on their mailing list for future events and to learn more about the company see www.motherscandoit.com

Let's beat the crowds.

I've posted previously on the various thoughts and meanings we all have for "work-life balance". We use the expression all the time around here, and most of us have a pretty good sense of when things are out of balance. (In fact some of us are working hard at blocking some "work-life unbalanced" memories from our collective consciousness!)

Since I like to regularly remind myself what we're shooting for . . . here's another nifty little definition statement from a Work-Life Balance Initiative currently on the go in New Zealand ( yes, even those folks downunder have wised up to the fact everyone needs it):

"Work-life balance is about effectively managing the juggling act between paid work and the other activities that are important to people. It's not about saying that work is wrong or bad, but that work shouldn't completely crowd out the other things that matter to people like time with family, participation in community activities, voluntary work, personal development, leisure and recreation."

So, what are you crowding out today?

Top firms for working moms unveiled

CNN Money lists Top "Family-friendly" firms

The companies named were cited for such qualities as ability to take a leave or work from home, company-sponsored college plans, peer mentoring, and paid maternity and paternity leave.

"The companies are very interested in having top-tier talent," said Carol Evans, founder and chief executive of Working Mother. "If you don't have flexibility programs in place, that talent will walk right out the door."

Evans said programs like flextime, which allow for compressed work weeks, telecommuting and job sharing, is the most popular perk this year.

"we've seen more and more women concerned about the creative career path," she said. "They don't want to loose out on a career but they really want it to work out at home too."

Evans said this preference for flexibility is also good news for companies because it's much cheaper than, say, longer maternity leave or on-site day care, which have been popular programs in the past.

You can view the top 100 companies at http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/12/news/economy/family_companies/index.htm

What do you mean "work-life balance"?

Everyone has a slightly different view of what "work-life balance" means. And that's not surprising. Work and life are both inherently personal and unique things, so balancing them must surely mean something different for everyone.  But I came across one definition recently that struck a chord:

"Work-life Balance is about people having a measure of control over when, where and how they work. It is achieved when an individual's right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society"

Lofty ideals maybe. But wouldn't it be nice  . . . . ?