Women-run companies are more likely to stay in business than the average
U.S. firm, to grow at three times the average rate, create jobs at
twice the average rate and produce profits faster, according to former
CEO and BBC producer Heffernan. To find out how and why, she interviewed
hundreds of women business owners. Although the way her results
confirmed stereotypes about gender differences made her queasy, it
turned out that women business owners typically possess the
characteristics experts think are needed in 21st-century businesses:
combining "discipline, focus, detachment, and systematic thinking with
playfulness, empathy, and design." She found that many women started
their own businesses after working for corporations that didn't respect
or listen to them. In charge of their own companies, their abilities to
assert their values, nurture their employees and customers,
"orchestrate" rather than "command and control," emphasize collaboration
rather than competition, stay open to change, ask for help, learn from
mistakes and make time for family became a formula for success.
Heffernan's tone matches the frenetic pace and idealistic underpinnings
of her interviewees' packed lives. Although aspiring entrepreneurs may
wish for more specific details, this book inspires hope for a holistic
alternative to the profits-only mentality.
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