How many times has this happened? You’ve had a super-stressful day at work: phones ringing off the hook, boss yelling in your face, long on hours and short on appreciation. You lean back, close your eyes for a minute. You picture yourself letting go and flying through the air, weightless and unburdened. Soaring like a bird, looking down on your office building, which suddenly looks tiny. After a few deep breaths, you are refreshed, ready to finish up that report in time to have it in your boss’s inbox by 8:00 am.
While its possible that you are a bit less mental than me, and don’t often engage in this fantasy as frequently or at work, every girl has dreamed of flying at least once. So, you can imagine my childlike glee when I learned that I could fulfill my lifelong dream by enrolling in a lesson at New York’s Trapeze School. Along the West Side Highway in downtown Manhattan’s Hudson River Park, the trapeze school operates outdoors in the summer and under a big-top tent when it gets colder.
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The More You Have, the More You Spend
Money TalksA recent article in Pink Magazine called The Devil Wears Handbags cited the statistic that those with incomes over $150,000 spend three times more on luxury goods than those in households with incomes ranging from $75,000-$99,000. While it’s intuitive that people with more money would spend more and would have more disposable income for luxury items, that’s not the whole story.
When it comes to high earning single women, it seems that the more you have, the more you spend. Among my group of friends, all successful young female lawyers, shopping is huge. It seems that every time we get together, someone is wearing a new designer outfit, showing off a new Marc Jacobs bag or sporting the latest Manolo Blahniks from the resort collection (or sometimes all three).
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Intrepid Women Series, Part 2: Trapeze School
Intrepid Women SeriesHow many times has this happened? You’ve had a super-stressful day at work: phones ringing off the hook, boss yelling in your face, long on hours and short on appreciation. You lean back, close your eyes for a minute. You picture yourself letting go and flying through the air, weightless and unburdened. Soaring like a bird, looking down on your office building, which suddenly looks tiny. After a few deep breaths, you are refreshed, ready to finish up that report in time to have it in your boss’s inbox by 8:00 am.
While its possible that you are a bit less mental than me, and don’t often engage in this fantasy as frequently or at work, every girl has dreamed of flying at least once. So, you can imagine my childlike glee when I learned that I could fulfill my lifelong dream by enrolling in a lesson at New York’s Trapeze School. Along the West Side Highway in downtown Manhattan’s Hudson River Park, the trapeze school operates outdoors in the summer and under a big-top tent when it gets colder.
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Entrepreneur Magazine Names Top 50 Women-Owned Businesses
NewsThe November 2007 issue of Entrepreneur magazine published a list of the top 50 fastest growing female-led companies in North America.
The study, co-sponsored by the Women Presidents Organization and Entrepreneur magazine, solicited applications from women-led businesses in North America that met the following criteria:
Companies were ranked according to a sales growth formula and the top 50 were selected.
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The Role of an Executive Coach
Next LevelTwenty years ago, if a person mentioned having a coach most people would have assumed that they were an elite athlete or that they drove a tour bus in their spare time. Today, having an executive coach has become an increasingly common feature of corporate life – but why?
In the past, organizations were relatively simple structures. There was usually one leader to whom a number of sub-leaders reported, each being responsible for a department related to their own specialization. There was usually a clearly defined hierarchy, explicit reporting lines and specific job descriptions. Of course this led to its own set of problems, in that departments did not always collaborate to the extent necessary, but it was at least fairly simple to manage. With globalization has come a complexity which was not present in the old traditional structure. Companies today have numerous different structures and matrices which overlay each other in a complex web of local market and centralized resources.
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Spotlight on People: Pat David, Citi Markets & Banking
Voices of ExperienceThis piece is the first in the Spotlight on People series, in which the editors of The Glass Hammer ask high-ranking women in business to share their secrets to success.
We first interviewed Pat David, MD and Head of Diversity for Citi Markets & Banking, about her experiences in banking and her advice on mentoring, balancing your work and your life, and getting ahead. Pat had the following wise words about mentoring to offer young women beginning a career in finance:
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Why is Sexual Harassment Back in the News?
NewsThis past month in the news, sexual harassment in the workplace has been mentioned almost as many times as Lindsay Lohan’s efforts at rehab. First, it was the suit brought by Anucha Browne Sanders, an executive with the New York Knicks organization, who accused Knicks coach Isiah Thomas of sexual harassment and gender discrimination. A federal judge in Manhattan ruled that the company and its chairman had to pay Ms. Sanders $11.9 million in punitive damages, with a possible $9.6 million in compensatory damages to be decided upon shortly.
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One Woman’s Perspective on WOWS
Next LevelAs a young professional woman attending the 13th annual Women on Wall Street conference, I was impressed by what the panelists had to say. Their advice was pertinent, somewhat sassy and all together entertaining. They talked about changes in the work force, changes in their professional careers and changes that helped them achieve personal success.
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National Women’s Conference 2007
NewsCelebrate the 30th Anniversary of the National Women’s Conference (Houston’77) and join women and girls from around the U.S. at the Freedom On Our Terms Conference. There will be panels, workshops, issue caucuses and a concert. Rosie O’Donnell will be the special guest. Featured Speakers include Liz Abzug, Gloria Steinem, Carol Jenkins, and more.
Women on Wall Street Conference WOWS the Crowd
News, Next LevelLast night at the Hyatt Hotel in New York, Deutsche Bank held its annual Women on Wall Street (WOWS) Conference. The theme for this year’s conference was “It’s Your Move: Driving Change in Your Career and Life.” Over 2000 women in finance packed the main ballroom to hear motivating speeches and frank advice from a panel of distinguished guests.
Brenda Barnes, Chairman and CEO of Sara Lee Corp. gave the keynote address, in which she emphasized the importance of creating a culture of diversity and inclusion where every employee is valued. She outlined five categories for how to achieve this. First, get people who do the work to know the answers, and create a culture that is conducive to encouraging people who know the answers to speak up. Second, change the representation of women in the company. Instead of just relying on “the pipeline” of female graduates from top MBA programs, companies need to do more to make sure women are represented at the highest levels. Third, create diversity and affinity groups in the workplace and put support networks in place so that those groups can thrive and flourish. Fourth, put your money where your mouth is by paying people more for engaging in behaviors that further diversity efforts. Fifth and finally, work on ways for companies to become more flexible, not just towards women, but towards all of their employees.
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Corporate Fallibility
Expert AnswersI was recently having a cupboard clear out and found a stack of corporate paraphernalia. Hidden in my ‘Museum of Corporate Artifacts’ were pens, pads, desk clocks, stress balls and – most strangely – juggling balls.
When I was first earning my pinstripes, almost every management course seemed to start with a juggling lesson. The purpose was firstly to put everyone on level terms (although invariably there was always someone with a Masters Degree in Jugglement Studies) and secondly, to illustrate that keeping everything going is hard and at times you would drop a ball. On reflection, that’s nonsense – I think they taught circus skills to prepare you for those days when you feel like a performing seal.
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