No woman is an island

Many businesswomen attribute their success to a mentor or a group of people who’ve advised them in some way. These women realise and acknowledge to themselves that they didn’t necessarily have all the answers, or all the skills and knowledge and contacts to take their business to the next level. They weren’t afraid, or too proud, to approach people who were experts in their field and ask for their help and input.

Jane Hunter, of Hunter’s Wines wanted an effective team but not a top-heavy staff so she relied on the use of consultants in the areas of winemaking, management, accounting, advertising and PR. Jane, whose expertise was as a manager and viticulturist, said “I believe no one person has a monopoly on good ideas, the more people involved managing a business the more innovative you get. All these people work really well together and it gives me confidence to know I can call on them but they’re not actually sitting at the winery.”
When her company experienced a difficult vintage back in 1995 she said her various consultants who were away from the problem could look at the situation quite logically and in a different light than those caught in the middle, getting stressed out. The consultants put together a plan for the company for the next year to work their way through the difficult time.
Julie Dalzell, past publisher and editor of successful Cuisine magazine, called her advisory group a ‘maverick team’ – a handful of advisors with backgrounds in advertising, direct marketing and finance. Julie said her team were lateral thinkers, who helped to generate ideas and make them happen.
“We sat around with our advertising manager and said we’re either going to stay still and battle for the advertising dollar all the time or we’re going to try and beat the pack.”
The team developed a business plan, a marketing plan and an advertising brief containing some fairly challenging goals for the Cuisine team. Part of the plan was an eye catching and controversial advertising campaign that resulted in a 79 percent increase in circulation.

Napoleon Hill in his classic book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ devotes an entire chapter to the power of the Master Mind. He attributes Andrew Carnegie’s and Henry Ford’s success to their master mind alliances.
There are many variations to the Master Mind and they can be easily set up to assist you in your own business. Some of these include:

Advisory Council
Your advisory council could be made up of consultants, key stakeholders or staff, or experts in their respective fields. Their role is to advise and guide you – so you can learn from their mistakes - not to work for you.
An advisory council may also have networks and connections that can be invaluable to you as you grow your business.
Approach and appoint people into key advisory positions; operations, management, marketing, financial. Aim to meet monthly and from the beginning clearly set out each person’s role, responsibility and your expectations as well as their remuneration.

Mastermind/Brainstorming Groups
While publishing Her Business I set up an informal brainstorming group with a group of four or five business owners from a diverse range of businesses. We met every three weeks at my offices over a bottle of wine and nibbles. We each had 20 minutes to raise an issue or problem in our business and the rest of the group would brainstorm or offer suggestions, and then we’d move on to the next person and so on.
The group offered a popular forum where we could explore staff issues, practise presenting proposals, ask for contacts or referrals and get feedback and a different perspective on issues.

Buddy Partners
I’ve also had a ‘goal setting buddy’ – and again we met every three weeks or so. We’d begin with a ‘check in’ of personal happenings. Then we’d take turns updating each other on our progress towards our goals, we’d discuss any obstacles or issues, as well as share successes and we then set actions to complete over the next three weeks. The meetings were informal, but the discipline of meeting, reviewing our progress verbally and planning ahead pushed our goals forward.
We set parameters around our expectation of accountability to each other (how tough were we going to be?) and in the early stages spent the first few meetings defining our goals and getting an understanding of the other person’s vision for themselves and their business.

Running your own business, whether self employed or leading a team, can be lonely but having some type of advisory or sounding board prevents isolation, and injects fresh ideas as well as making you accountable to your vision, so you don’t get side tracked with the trivialities of day to day issues.

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Tips for Women Who Want to Work Well with Men

Written by John Gray, Ph.D.

John Gray, one of the world's foremost communication experts, offers 32 tips to help you understand, respect and benefit from the differences between women and men and how they operate, both in and out of the workplace. 1. When presenting a proposal or plan of action, talk less about the problem and more about what you think should be done. 2. Be direct when you make a request. Don't talk about a problem and wait for him to offer his support. Often men feel manipulated when women are not direct. It is as if he "should do it" without your having to ask. 3. Give him more space when he moans or groans. Don't give him a pat on the back. Avoid doing anything that demonstrates a feeling of motherly empathy. 4. Get to the point when making a suggestion. Avoid talking too much about problems. Remember, men hear sharing as complaining. 5. Only complain when you have a solution to suggest. Take less time to explain the problem and quickly move on to suggest a solution. 6. After asking for his advice, be careful not to correct his solution or explain in great detail why you are not going to follow his advice. By allowing him to save face, a woman gains points. 7. Give credit and recognition whenever he has achieved something. 8. In public build him up. If you want to point out a mistake or suggest a change, do it in private. 9. Graciously interrupt in a group meeting. Don't say, "Can I say something?" Instead, go with the flow and say something more friendly like, "That's true, I think . . ." 10. Use a relaxed and trusting tone of voice when discussing work problems. Men are repelled by the tone of being emotionally overwhelmed. 11. Stay focused on the task at hand and postpone the sharing of personal feelings. Keep your work life and personal life separate. 12. When asking for support, keep your emotions out of it and focus on stating what you want. Take time to justify your request if you are asked why you need more. 13. If you must complain to your manager or coworker, be objective and avoid making value judgments like, "It's not fair" or "He isn't doing his job." Instead say, "He was three hours late. I was the only one there to do a job that requires two people." 14. If there is too much being expected of you, ask for the support you need, but don't complain. He reasons, "Don't waste time complaining, instead do something to get the support you need." 15. When making a presentation or discussing something, don't be overly eager or automatically reassuring while listening. Let him feel that he is earning your agreement and support. 16. Pace yourself. After listening to a man, let him know that something is helpful before you bring up more issues or questions. 17. Share your experience to back up a request and don't quote an expert. For example, don't say, "John Gray says you should listen to me more . . . ." Instead say, "I would appreciate it if you would listen a little longer before responding." 18. Stay on schedule. Let a man know up front how long you expect a meeting to last. 19. Distance yourself. As a manager, depersonalize your directions with comments like, "We are expected to . . ." and then ask him to do what you want with a phrase like, "Would you . . ." or "Please . . ." 20. Shake hands. When a man comes into the room and you are sitting, stand up and shake hands as equals. 21. When stress increases, act as if everything is OK. Worrying or showing concern about him can be offensive. A more relaxed response demonstrates a level of trust that says, "I'm sure you can handle it." 22. If you are in a supportive role, rather than do everything in an invisible manner, sometimes ask in a friendly tone, "Would you like me to . . ." In this way, he realizes how much you do and can give you the points you deserve. 23. Don't ask a man how he feels about something; instead ask what he thinks about something. By appreciating his logic, you can score a point. 24. Introduce yourself. In a business setting in which many people are being introduced, introduce yourself so that the male host doesn't have to remember everyone's name and introduce each person. 25. When introducing a man to others, always include his accomplishments, expertise, or role in the company. 26. When you disagree or are challenged by others in a group meeting, stick to your argument and do not digress by sharing how you personally feel. Even if you have a better point, you may be discredited because of your emotional delivery. 27. If an argument has already become emotionally charged,gracefully find a way to take a break. Say something like, "Give me some time to think about this and then let's talk again." Overcome the temptation to say, "You're not being fair." or "You are not listening to me." "Excuse me for that outburst." also works well. 28. Don't take it personally. Recognize that most men don't like being told what to do. If your job requires that you give him instructions, to minimize the inevitable tension, prepare him by saying, "Is this a good time to review some changes?" or "Let's schedule a time when we can meet. I have some changes I need to convey." 29. Be clear about the tasks you want. When dividing up projects or tasks, state clearly which ones you want or prefer. Women don't get points from men for being uncertain and saying, "What do you want to do?" You get points for clarity if you know what you want and then even more points if you make a reasonable compromise. 30. Celebrate the completion of a long or important project. Men, and women, greatly appreciate special occasions to celebrate or recognize people and their contributions. Give awards, certificates, or presents. 31. If you don't have an answer or a solution, don't let on right away. Always appear confident. Avoid the phrase, "I am still working that one out." 32. Display your awards, certificates, and degrees on the walls of your office. Display pictures of you with successful people or involved with different work projects. If a man shows interest, describe your success with a tone of confidence. careers, Jobs Indonesia, Indonesia Vacancy