The following quotes are from an interview with Charlotte Beers, former chairwoman and C.E.O. of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, and meant specifically for women leaders.

As usual, I find that such insights and advice focused on a certain demographic is applicable to a much broader audience.

Don’t let someone tell you who you are. Keep your own scorecard, and it has to include the good, the bad and the ugly.

This is a humongous insight that qualifies as real wisdom.

Too often our perception of self is, in reality, a reflection of how our various worlds see and treat us; worse, that perception is often colored by negative experiences that happened to the person we were years ago and bear no relationship to who we are now.

Sometimes a company’s culture is a big influencer in how you see yourself, and you have to sift through that and see if it’s a fit. Part of it is knowing yourself so well that you know where you fit, and knowing yourself so well that you know why you work.

I would disagree and say that all of it, “it” being anything you do/try to do/want to do, is knowing yourself (the good, bad, ugly and inane).

Company culture as an influencer is more than sometimes, it is all the time. Culture is the atmosphere you breathe and the values by which you work. If you are not at least synergistic with the culture going in you will either leave or be co-opted into its vision of values.

Beers also talks about what she looks for when hiring.

I’m trying to understand how they used the power to hire and fire and promote and make those kinds of invisible choices that really affect other people’s lives. If they don’t have some generosity of spirit and some quality of teaching, I worry that they’re not going to bring along a strong culture.

I’m trying to find out if they have confidence about the things that matter, their own ability to think and to get to the true center of things.

The importance of these traits to a potential manager pales in comparison to their importance to the individual.

Understanding these things about yourself in conjunction with your scorecard provide a firm foundation on which to tweak the you-you-are, as well as to build the you-you-want-to-be.

Take a minute and read the entire interview—it’s well worth your time.

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Today is a collection of provocative, personal opinions on a variety of subjects. I hope you’ll take time to comment if one hits hard.

Since Steve Jobs died there have been dozens of tributes and a more recent outpouring of reality checks, because Jobs was not a saint—but then who is? I found the mortal Steve touchingly described in his sister’s eulogy and the business side balanced by Jesse Larner on products and Geoffrey James on management.

The articles on Groupon’s IPO have been inundating the media since it was announced. Keith Ecker provides a look at the repercussions from a changing culture beyond the analysts’ discussions of share price and value.

I’m sure many of you are following the heated debate sparked by a screening of the November 18 episode, “The New Promised Land: Silicon Valley,” from the CNN documentary series, “Black in America.” One result was a Twitter fight over comments by Michael Arrington, claiming in one breath that he doesn’t know of an African-American CEO and in the next that Silicon Valley is a pure meritocracy (which you would only believe if you are an under-30 white male with access to a great Rolodex). Read this commentary by Hank Williams, a successful, black entrepreneur.
Speaking of entrepreneurs, check out Josh Petersel’s, Harvard Business School Class of 2013, take on entrepreneurism.

Cindy Ronzoni, a communications and social media consultant, had heard a lot about the Zappos culture. See what she thinks about it and her experience when she took the Zappos tour at its headquarters in Las Vegas.

Finally, Gene Marks, offers up his thoughts on Why Most Women Will Never Become CEO. At first reading it comes over as pretty sexist, but read it again and the reality of what he says is plain, although I don’t completely agree with his final statement.

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I owe my Saturday readers an apology. Expand Your Mind was absent last week and I have no excuse; worse, I have to admit I just plain forgot. That is embarrassing. I hope today makes up for it.

A rude awakening for all the companies and managers who believe they can treat their people any way they choose comes from an Aflac survey-based report saying otherwise.

77 percent of adults employed full/part time, and not currently self-employed, stated they would leave their current position to become an independent entrepreneur.

However, PeopleMetric’s 2011 survey on employee engagement says the opposite when compared to 2007.

…more employees intend to stay with their employer, feel motivated to put forth extra effort, recommend their companies as a great place to work, and say they love their current organization.

What’s the difference; why such disparate results?

More research from Harvard shows that what excites and engages people has nothing to do with money and everything to do with managers (you knew that).

According to recent research, the single most important factor is simply a sense of making progress on meaningful work.

Next, two excellent survey-based articles about women and work.
First, research from Harvard Business Review, looks at the factors that impact both women and men when competing.

…how women and men perform at work may be strongly linked to the gender of the person they are competing against.

And from McKinsey comes advice based on feedback that focuses on changing deeply embedded attitudes.

…a survey we conducted earlier this year indicated that although a majority of women who make it to senior roles have a real desire to lead, few think they have meaningful support to do so, and even fewer think they’re in line to move up.

Finally, a word about the poster boy of engagement, Richard Branson.

He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him, he is always doing both.

Not a bad way to live!

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No theme today, just six features that will add to your education and are good for dinner table chat.

According to Anne Hardy, a vice president of technology strategy at SAP Labs, companies “are building on masculine norms.” Why should we care? What would it take to change and what would happen if we did?

Are you or your boss as good as you think you are? While “87 percent of managers rate their overall leadership skills as “excellent” or “good,” and 74 percent think they have a good understanding of their strengths and development areas” actual studies show a different story.

What do you think of the thesis that people prefer and companies prosper when they act like museum curators, e.g. Groupon, which provides “a very limited amount of choices at a time, along with a brief, engaging description of each offering,” as opposed to an abundance of choice? This is new research from Harvard’s Assistant Professor Ray Weaver.

What do you think of the idea of legalizing an illegal act as a way to root out corruption? That seems to be what is on the mind of Infosys co-founder and outgoing chairman Narayana Murthy. He contends, “If bribe giving, and not bribe taking, is made legal then the bribe giver shall indeed cooperate with the authorities to expose the bribe taker.”

What would you do if someone not only used his offer from your organization as a springboard for publicity for his own startup, but also showed himself as an alumnus of your organization before even starting? That seems to be what Mike Moradian is doing to the Harvard Business School.

Want to take a course in AI (artificial intelligence) from Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig, two of the world’s best-known artificial intelligence experts for free? You can thanks to Stanford’s computer science department that wants “to extend technology knowledge and skills beyond this elite campus to the entire world…”

That’s it for today. Enjoy your reading and enjoy your weekend!

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There are hundreds of sites that highlight Independence Day with stories, articles, quotes, etc., so I didn’t feel the necessity of augmenting them. However, I did like the idea of finding some interesting quotes on the subject of independence.

Applying the freedoms recognized by the Declaration of Impendence to woman was a radical idea when Leland Stanford said, “I am in favor of carrying out the Declaration of Independence to women as well as men. Women having to suffer the burdens of society and government should have their equal rights in it. They do not receive their rights in full proportion.”

But it was Susan B. Anthony who recognized that true freedom comes from being able to take care of oneself. “I think the girl who is able to earn her own living and pay her own way should be as happy as anybody on earth. The sense of independence and security is very sweet.”

It was Henry Ford who recognized that money itself wasn’t the key to independence, “If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.

Henry Van Dyke saw independence as a first step only, “In the progress of personality, first comes a declaration of independence, then a recognition of interdependence.”

Where as Marianne Moore celebrated impatience in the quest for independence, “Impatience is the mark of independence, not of bondage.”

The thought of bondage is what kept Samuel Dash out of politics, “I’ve always wanted to be my own person and stand by the things I believe in and I thought I might lose that independence if I ran for political office.”

Alexis de Tocqueville made this comment back in the first half of the Nineteenth Century; sadly, it’s just as true, if not more so, today. “I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America.”

Personal independence has great value, just as it offers great satisfaction to those who achieve it, but, as Stephen Breyer warns, “Independence doesn’t mean you decide the way you want.”

I would phrase it a bit differently; your independence doesn’t give you the right to interfere with someone else’s.

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A fascinating study of successful women brings to light some interesting and unexpected facts about women who know when and how to turn off “masculine” traits, i.e., aggressive, assertive and confident.

They received 1.5 times more promotions than masculine men, and about two times as many promotions as feminine men, regardless of whether the men were high or low self-monitors. They also received 3 times as many promotions as masculine women who were low self-monitors, affirming that masculine behavior alone does not garner success. … The study also showed that self–monitoring masculine women received 1.5 times as many promotions as feminine women, regardless of whether those women were high or low self-monitors.

This is researched proof of my own attitude of “work for an ideal, but you have to function in the real world” and the real world requires flexibility.

I’m guessing that these women were smart enough to apply whatever was needed to a given situation, instead of approaching them all the same way.

This seems to be the “why” to the results of a previous study by the same people.

“…learned behavior patterns — not biological sex — may be the greatest determinant of workplace success as measured by salary and promotion.”

If you are a woman, accepting the accuracy of the research does much to put career control directly in your hands. And that’s a good thing.

Of course, along with personal control comes personal responsibility when you can no longer blame external forces.

You need to take a hard look at your own actions; request input from those you trust to tell you the truth (not just what you want to hear or what fits their world view), then assess where you are, where you want to be and how best to get there.

Start your voyage immediately.

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The effect of culture is extensive, but in some cases the ripples it sends out travel further than you would imagine. Such is that case in the culture of lies that surrounds the implementation of Title IX as it affected the unequal treatment of male and female athletes on college campuses. Rather than creating new women’s sports or, heaven forbid, reduce football teams, for the last 40 years many colleges have turned to “roster management.” Roster management is a fancy term for lying and cheating to make it seem as if you complied with the law.

Just as culture is the main reason people join companies it is also the reason they leave. Not just the overall culture, but the specific culture fostered by their manager. A new study shows that the majority of women leaving engineering do so because of the culture.

The sexist MAP in the medical profession is nothing new, but you would think that it might have changed a bit more over the last few decades. Nope. Dr. Lazar J. Greenfield, a top surgeon and professor emeritus at the University of Michigan Medical School, was forced to resign his position as president-elect of the American College of Surgeons because of his really stupid comments in a column he wrote in the organization’s newspaper. Among other comments he termed semen a mood enhancer for women.  Good grief and shades of 1970.

I guess some things never change.

PS I’ve never added to a post once it’s published, but after reading this morning’s paper I’m making an exception today.

I guess it proves just how naive I am, but I honestly thought the days of it being a woman’s fault if she is raped were gone. How wrong I was.

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Oh, the irony of it. Today is International (Working) Women’s Day, but it’s also Be Nasty Day!

International Women’s Day dates back to 1911, while Be Nasty Day seems to be only a few years old.

(International Women’s Day has always focused on workers, but, for my money, all women work—ask any stay-at-home mom if she works, but be sure to duck when you ask!)

The odds and ends I found about Be Nasty Day all recommend reducing it to being gently naughty and not cruel.

But nasty is rarely gentle and is often cruel. It makes me wonder who thought of Be Nasty Day and if celebrating on March 8 was an accident or intentional.

There are thousands of bosses out there for whom every day is Be Nasty Day. You will find them at every level, in every industry and in all walks of life.

There are thousands of individuals, from professionals to laborers; they are police, firemen, men and women of the cloth, politicians, you-name-it for who nasty is a daily occurrence.

Bullies are obviously nasty, as are mean girls—and boys.

Nasty inhabits people regardless of race, creed, color, gender, politics, economic level, height, weight, or any other label you care to apply

Most people don’t admit to being nasty, they rationalize it, excuse it, dress it up as something different or laugh it off.

Just as nasty has been embraced and accepted into our culture, many individuals drank the nasty Kool-Aid and it’s become part of their MAP.

So, in honor of Be Nasty Day, make being nasty a conscious choice.

And if you do choose nasty at least stop apologizing for it.

That way you’ll have the courage of your convictions to keep you warm, since you certainly won’t have any friends.

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Women provide a lot of value to society in a variety of ways. Schools have counted on them for decades to support activities, raise money and, in recent years, to supplement staff. But as need explodes a lot of moms are rethinking their actions.

Speaking of moms, are you familiar with Heather Armstrong? Talk about a mom with (social) influence!

Have you heard of Madam C. J. Walker? She was an independent woman who built a beauty company along with the factory in which it operated at the start of the century—the Twentieth Century, that is.

110 years later two other women with vastly different approaches and MAP have both risen to the top spot in two vastly different companies.

Finally, what do Hedy Lamarr, Danica McKellar, Mayim Bialik and Natalie Portman have in common? Try serious science creds (think PhDs, research, patents, etc.)

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I have some eclectic offerings to start your Labor Day weekend right; a bit of this and that, with no unifying theme.

First up is a gift for my women readers.

Goldman Sachs and Knowledge@Wharton have teamed up to create a portal for women entrepreneurs in emerging economies as part of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative. The portal will feature articles, case studies, podcasts and videocasts highlighting 10,000 Women scholars’ businesses in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. In addition, the portal will provide women entrepreneurs around the world with business insights that can help them grow and lead their enterprises.

Next, two new articles in the Your Brain on Computers series running in the NY Times. The first looks at five neuroscientists who spent a week in late May in a remote area of southern Utah completely unwired—no cell phones (except one for emergencies), no internet, no watches. The second looks at the polar opposite—constant stimulation.

Loren Frank, assistant professor in the department of physiology at the university, where he specializes in learning and memory. He said he believed that when the brain was constantly stimulated, “you prevent this learning process.”

Since we’re on the subject of social media, I’m sure you heard about Mike Wise, a sports columnist at The Washington Post, who was suspended for tweeting made up information about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback to see how fast misinformation would spread online. Wise thinks the suspension is fair, not an overreaction.

“I’m paying the price I should for careless, dumb behavior in the multiplatform media world.”

Finally, a comment in response to ways to help Social Security survive really grabbed me.

Charles Jaecksch, a 65-year-old retired IRS agent in Millersville, would tax all income, including stock options and executive golden parachutes.

“Imagine, for instance, if the outgoing executive of Hewlett-Packard was required to pay Social Security withholding and Medicare on his [$40 million plus] buy-out,” Jaecksch says. “Multiply this by all executives and employees earning millions of dollars per year, and it would go a long way to boosting the Social Security trust fund.”

I wasn’t aware of the exemptions Jaecksch mentions, but now that I know I am really pissed—sorry, that is the technical term for my reaction.

What do you think?

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