“I’m a firm believer that when you have this job you have the privilege and responsibility of influence – influence to every constituent, to your associates, to your community, influence to your consumer. And that influence can be translated into passion in the work. It gets you through all the tough parts of the job – the extraordinary ability to change women’s lives through the work,” said Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO of Avon Products Inc. during her luncheon keynote dialogue with Ilene Lang, President of Catalyst at the recent Catalyst Awards Conference on March 30th.
When asked of how she felt about the purported dwindling number of young women going for MBAs because the perceived lack of social utility in business, Jung responded, “It’s killing me that the CEO role is being perceived as it is at this moment. [The job has] got huge responsibility and privilege but these are critically important jobs for the continued growth of America and the world. So I’m proud to be a CEO. I’m proud–I think we can make a difference. It’s not just my company but all of our companies can make a difference in the community and in this country which needs it.”
And if anyone can do it, Andrea Jung at the helm of Avon can. CEO of AVON since 1999 and Chairman since 2001, Jung holds the title as the longest-tenured CEO of the 15 women currently serving as CEOs in the Fortune 500, an interesting point in light of the fact that it is never a position she went into business with the intention to reach. “I never…set out to be CEO. I think you have to want to be in a role where you can make a difference. For me I realized…that I wanted to be a leader and make a difference in the future of the company and that really was the important thing for me.”
It was that perspective that allowed her to stay on at Avon when she was first passed over for the CEO role in 1997. With all the media hype around it–a New York Times article called extra attention to it as yet another example of a woman being passed over for promotion to C-suite–Jung began to get offers from many outside companies to become CEO. She was torn as to whether to stay with Avon and possibly never become a CEO or to leave to take advantage of the various advancement opportunities.
“Ann Moore, CEO of Time and my mentor for many years…said something that changed my life. She said, ‘Follow your compass, not your clock. Make this decision from your heart, not your head.’…And I made a decision… I felt that it was a tough moment for the company and that the company needed me…It really was a moment [where I thought] I can add value in the role as [number 2]. And I decided in that moment even if it meant [never] being CEO that I would do that because I love the company. It was the best decision I ever made.”She ended up getting promoted to CEO 18 months later but she says she wouldn’t have regretted the decision even if that hadn’t happened. “You really learn that….you have to have a passion for the company – a deep love affair for the work you do or it doesn’t matter what will happen.”
For the first five years of her tenure as CEO, Avon saw, in Jung’s words, “5 years of major double digit earnings.” And then, in 2005, “they hit the wall” and Jung was faced with a potential crisis of confidence. “We had missed earnings guidance twice – the pressure was on. Ram Charan came into my office late one Friday night…and said, ‘Look, they love you. Everyone wants you to win but if you can’t fire yourself [on Friday]…and come back in on Monday morning as if [you were just] put in the job to do a turnaround and do all the objective things that somebody with fresh eyes can…If you can’t do that, this is going to be a tough haul.”
Read more
Voice of Experience: Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO, Avon Products Inc.
Voices of ExperienceWhen asked of how she felt about the purported dwindling number of young women going for MBAs because the perceived lack of social utility in business, Jung responded, “It’s killing me that the CEO role is being perceived as it is at this moment. [The job has] got huge responsibility and privilege but these are critically important jobs for the continued growth of America and the world. So I’m proud to be a CEO. I’m proud–I think we can make a difference. It’s not just my company but all of our companies can make a difference in the community and in this country which needs it.”
And if anyone can do it, Andrea Jung at the helm of Avon can. CEO of AVON since 1999 and Chairman since 2001, Jung holds the title as the longest-tenured CEO of the 15 women currently serving as CEOs in the Fortune 500, an interesting point in light of the fact that it is never a position she went into business with the intention to reach. “I never…set out to be CEO. I think you have to want to be in a role where you can make a difference. For me I realized…that I wanted to be a leader and make a difference in the future of the company and that really was the important thing for me.”
It was that perspective that allowed her to stay on at Avon when she was first passed over for the CEO role in 1997. With all the media hype around it–a New York Times article called extra attention to it as yet another example of a woman being passed over for promotion to C-suite–Jung began to get offers from many outside companies to become CEO. She was torn as to whether to stay with Avon and possibly never become a CEO or to leave to take advantage of the various advancement opportunities.
“Ann Moore, CEO of Time and my mentor for many years…said something that changed my life. She said, ‘Follow your compass, not your clock. Make this decision from your heart, not your head.’…And I made a decision… I felt that it was a tough moment for the company and that the company needed me…It really was a moment [where I thought] I can add value in the role as [number 2]. And I decided in that moment even if it meant [never] being CEO that I would do that because I love the company. It was the best decision I ever made.”She ended up getting promoted to CEO 18 months later but she says she wouldn’t have regretted the decision even if that hadn’t happened. “You really learn that….you have to have a passion for the company – a deep love affair for the work you do or it doesn’t matter what will happen.”
For the first five years of her tenure as CEO, Avon saw, in Jung’s words, “5 years of major double digit earnings.” And then, in 2005, “they hit the wall” and Jung was faced with a potential crisis of confidence. “We had missed earnings guidance twice – the pressure was on. Ram Charan came into my office late one Friday night…and said, ‘Look, they love you. Everyone wants you to win but if you can’t fire yourself [on Friday]…and come back in on Monday morning as if [you were just] put in the job to do a turnaround and do all the objective things that somebody with fresh eyes can…If you can’t do that, this is going to be a tough haul.”
Read more
The Women’s Leadership Forum: Innovation Strategies for a Changing World
NewsThe future is built one innovation at a time, one leader at a time. The Women’s Leadership Forum at HBS Executive Education is designed to enable this future by bringing together an elite group of successful businesswomen to nurture innovation and enhance leadership skills. In this program, you will acquire new strategies for creating environments that foster and sustain innovation. Returning to your organization, you will be prepared to inspire your colleagues, act with confidence, and lead with lasting impact.
What You Can Expect:
Joining an exceptional group of women, you will explore the latest management theories on the ties between innovation and leadership. You will learn how to develop new solutions to the challenges surrounding innovation, while crafting a winning leadership style that works for you.
Your Course of Study:
Through an intensive program that combines lectures, case studies, and group discussion, you will analyze management and leadership challenges and explore topics such as negotiation, the strategic impact of innovation, and moral leadership. Exercises will prompt you to evaluate and enhance your leadership approach while building new skills.
Who Is Right for the Program:
This leadership development program assembles a diverse group of successful women business leaders from around the world, including corporate officers, business owners and entrepreneurs, and nonprofit executives.
Apply online or download an application here
In Case You Missed It: News Round-up
NewsIn case you were too busy to have kept up with all the news, contributor Martin Mitchell has gathered some important market events from last week to help you start this week well informed:
Mergers and Acquisitions
The expected deal for Barclays to sell its ETF business, iShares to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners was completed. The $4.2bn deal is the UK’s biggest private equity deal for almost 2 years. Barclays is providing a $3.1bn loan to CVC to facilitate the deal. The agreement is also subject to a ‘go shop’ provision that would allow another bidder to make a higher offer for iShares in the next 45 days if Barclays pays CVC a $175m break fee.
Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian miner has a back-up plan for its deal with Chinese mining group Chinalco. The deal that involves Rio raising $19,5bn by issuing $12.3bn of convertible bonds, plus a $7.2bn asset sale to Chinalco is facing threats from Australian regulators and some shareholders. The back-up is a rights issue of about $10bn, with plans already drawn up with underwriters JPMorgan Cazenove and Credit Suisse.
Innocent, the smoothie drinks group is selling a minority stake to Coca Cola for £30m. The money will be used to fund European expansion.
Microsoft and Yahoo have restarted talks about forging an internet partnership that will provide a credible challenge to the increasing influence of Google. Talks are at ‘a very early stage.’
Read more
Happy Easter!
NewsDouble Attractions: Exploring Networking Styles and A Time to Celebrate
NewsYou already have some networking skills! Come to discover what they are and how to enhance them. This is an educational and fun event that you don?t want to miss! This event is designed for participants to become aware of various networking techniques while sharing their own style. Draw from others networking successes and design your own personalized presentation.
A Time to Celebrate
GWWN is encouraging you to invite someone to recognize. Individuals making a significant difference in your life would like to hear it publicly. Time will be given to acknowledge them.
Click here to register.
Catalyst Award Winner: CH2M Hill
Industry Leaders, Leadership“We’ve always had an inclusive culture,” said Catherine Santee, CFO of the full-service engineering and construction leader CH2M Hill, “so we built our [goals for a more inclusive environment] on that.” Their award-winning U.S.-based initiative “Constructing Pathways for Women Through Inclusion,” includes strategic programs for the recruitment, development, retention and advancement of women. Last week, CH2M Hill was recognized for the “Constructing Pathways…” initiative at this year’s Catalyst Awards.
Santee has been with the company almost 14 years and has seen the difference made by the inclusion initiative. “When I first started [at CH2M Hill], even though we thought we were pretty good, it wasn’t comfortable to have open discussions of diversity and wanting to have more women included. That has really changed for us over the past several years. And so now it is not uncomfortable at all—it’s an open discussion—and it’s just a part of who we are.”
Read more
Women’s Automotive Association International (WAAI) Breakfast
NewsWomen’s Automotive Association International’s Power of Branding and Surviving the Economy in the Automotive Industry.
Money raised goes towards scholarships for women seeking careers in the Automotive Industry.
Email carfink@bellsouth.net to register
The Glass Ceiling: Who Said That?
Spotlight on PeopleWe all talk about the glass ceiling, but do you know when the term began? Or whom we have to thank for it? Take a guess:
A) In 1971, Gloria Steinem coined the term in the premiere issue of Ms. Magazine.
B) Carol Hymowitz and Timothy Schellhardt used it in a 1986 Wall Street Journal.
C) Family Circle editor Gay Bryant first said it in a 1984 Adweek interview
D) No one knows. Perhaps an unknown woman stuck in middle management in Boston or Toronto or New York said it to a colleague in 1978, and then it spread by word of mouth.
E) None of the above
B is a popular answer on the Web. Even a Forbes story says the term originated in the Wall Street Journal. But keep clicking on those Google results and you’ll find your way to sources that say “glass ceiling” appeared in print two years prior when Gay Bryant said it in the Adweek interview. So answer C is close. But so are answers D and maybe E. Gay Bryant is probably the first to use “the glass ceiling” in print, and she did throw it out there in her Adweek interview. However, the very first time she put those words on paper were on page 19 of her book, The Working Woman Report. In chapter 1, Where We Are, Bryant writes:
Want to Get Home Sooner? Stop Multitasking Your E-mail
Expert AnswersAs women, we pride ourselves in our ability to multitask. We often smirk when men put laundry in and stand over the washer or read the paper straight through until it’s done. We gals think multitasking is an advantage—and maybe it is – but maybe it has gone too far.
Let’s face it – multitasking isn’t really doing two things at once. Multitasking is alternating among tasks. In other words, you hit the print button and then you shift to making a phone call while the print job is delivered. And yes, women are darn good at it.
But there’s a limit. The constant barrage of e-mail messages is testing those limits.
Read more
Ask-A-Recruiter: Phantom Job Postings
Ask A RecruiterLast week, my coaching firm hosted our monthly free coaching call, where we answered questions from jobseekers about the hiring process. Not one, but two questions were submitted about phantom job postings: Why do recruiters post listings for jobs that don’t exist? Why do companies consistently list job openings, bring in interviewees, extend offers, and go far in the hiring process, only to put positions on hold and sometimes close the positions?
Read more