Nicholas Kristof posted “The Most Important Job in America” on his blog “On the Ground” at The New York Times on Saturday, January 21, 2012.  The esteemed columnist writes that, “I think education is, in the long run, the most important challenge America faces and the one where we’re in greatest difficulties. If we want to maintain economic competitiveness and chip away at poverty, we simply have to improve high school graduation rates and college attendance — and that in turn will depend on an overhaul of the entire education system, starting with early childhood education.”

Kristof’s blog post introduced his next day’s column:  “How Mrs. Grady Transformed Olly Neal.”  The short story is that Neal, an incorrigible elementary school boy who brought his English teacher Mrs. Grady to tears one day, picked up a book in the library, read it, liked it, returned it then was delighted to find another book by the same author.  He found a third book, then a fourth, etc.  Thinking that Neal didn’t want to be seen reading a book, Mildred Grady always placed the new book where he could find it.  Not until he was an adult and saw Mrs. Grady at a high school reunion did she tell him that she drove to a book store 70 miles away to buy books by the same author for him to read.

Thanks to the generosity, patience, and forgiveness of Mrs. Grady, Kristof writes about Neal that, “His trajectory changed, and he later graduated to harder novels, including those by Albert Camus, and he turned to newspapers and magazines as well. He went to college and later to law school.  In 1991, Neal was appointed the first black district prosecuting attorney in Arkansas. A few years later, he became a judge, and then an appellate court judge.”

As someone who last year earned Baruch College’s Presidential Award for Distinguished Teaching, I agree with Kristof about the importance of the job of teaching.  I like to think and have been told that I offer students the opportunities to transform their lives and grow into a career they love.

My first semester teaching on the college level was in the Marketing Department at New York City Technology College in downtown Brooklyn in 1990.  “Why I Teach” is the title of a blog that I posted that includes a letter of gratitude from one of students who was in my first Public Relations class.

Following is the note a brilliant student sent me in a Thank You card at the end of my first math class.  It will give you an idea of how my teaching style motivates and inspires students.

Our last scheduled class ends today and I can honestly say that I’m going to miss it!  I’ve learned a lot more that math this semester.  I have learned about caring, sharing, and friendships.  You have built up my confidence and I feel as though I can accomplish just about anything.  You have given me a direction in life which I plan to follow.  I thought this was just supposed to be a math course! 

I greatly appreciate everything that you’ve done for me.  Thank you for caring enough to motivate me.  You’re doing a great job!

Sincerely, Steve Armand

Over twenty years later, I will begin teaching another class with the same respect for my students and the belief that my job is the most important one in America.

Today while reflecting on strong women who have persevered under dire circumstances, I remembered a woman who was the keynote speaker at the Women in Business: Pearls of Wisdom 2010 Conference at Baruch College—but I forgot her name.  Searching my blog for my post on the event—I was the moderator for the panel discussion—I found the name I wanted:  Diane Garnick. 

“About” on her Facebook page describes Garnick as the “Princess of Perseverance,” a good description based on her difficult past that included having her first child at age 15 and then finishing grades 9-12 at high school in two years.  She found work in a bank but could not be promoted because she did not have a degree.  Leaving the bank, she started college at Suffolk Community College, then went on to earn her a degree from Hofstra University then an M.B.A. at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.  Her work at Wall Street companies such as Merrill Lynch & Co. earned respect for her intelligence and ability to manage the business.

When looking for more information on Garnick, I found “Diane Garnick Seeks Lift for Wall Street Women With New Firm,” an article written by Jeff Kearns and Margaret Collins published in Bloomberg Businessweek on January, 20, 2012.  I was very impressed by learning that the tenacious investment strategist had opened an asset management firm, a firm that Garnick hopes will help to balance the much needed gender makeup of Wall Street jobs.

The authors state that Garnick opened Clear Alternatives LLC with three other women and hopes to grow the company to 12 by the end of 2012—the same time she set a goal to have raised at least $500 million in assets under management.

“One of the biggest challenges is for women to find an organization that’s willing to accept them back after they leave the work force to raise children without taking a cut in compensation and responsibility….Our objective is to solve that problem,” Garnick, the active mother of two children, told the authors in a phone interview.

Garnick and Clear Alternatives will serve as a catalyst to hire and inspire women graduates from the best business schools to earn their way up the ladder to senior management roles in financial services.  My hopes are with her!

“Writing to Be Heard” was posted on July 16, 2007, the first time I used my blog.  After writing hundreds of posts since then—especially this year—I decided to share my favorite posts of 2011 with you.

The posts below all have a story behind them, a reason to share the information, and a desire to help you on your career journey.  The posts could have been written to address an issue that came up during a coaching or consulting meeting, a topic that was discussed in a management class I teach at the Zicklin School of Business, an opportunity to expand horizons, etc.  The focus of each one is categorized by one or more of the tiles above the post which include Career, Coaching, College, Culture, Economy, Health, Leadership, Life Business, Management, Technology.

Below is a month-by-month list of posts that I hope you will find relevant, inspiring, and even fun.

January 17:  Are You Afraid of Feedback?  The topic emerged from two different threads.  The first was to offer guidance to decision-makers who were working with a very resistant executive.  The second was the loan of an academic colleague’s DVD on feedback.

February 21:  The Price of Ignoring Corporate Culture  As I told my students in an “Organizational Behavior” class, teaching corporate culture is my favorite unit to teach.  It is because of the environment executives create and how it impacts employee’s behavior.  In this particular case, the executive did not take into account his behavior in an established culture.

March 10:  Women’s Month 2011: Shake the World  To acknowledge the progress women make in a range of fields, I wrote about their accomplishments including that of Justine Siegal who had fulfilled her dream of throwing batting practice for the Cleveland Indians in spring training.

April 4:  Lasting Impressions  I am impressed by the number of people who even when we have not seen or spoken with one another for months or years, still remember me and the work I do.  The need to make a good first—and subsequent—impact on everyone you come in touch with is an important part of career development.

May 27:  Shakespeare in a Management Classroom  In April 2010, I attended a workshop on teaching Shakespeare in the workplace.  To my delight and my students’ reluctance, I developed a class session on emotional intelligence by having students get on a stage with a partner and recite excerpts from scenes in Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet, their favorite because they get to yell!

June 17:  Ten Guideposts on Your Reinvention Highway  Exploring a new career can be stressful and tiring.  Since I have reinvented myself a few times—I like to call it evolution—I share ideas on how to practice active patience to realize a new career.

July 7:  Holistic Professional Resume  In addition to teaching a business course, I also teach a program called “SuperCharge Your Career” at Zicklin.  What I don’t see on many resumes is Activities or another heading that can fill out the profile of a candidate and give an interviewer a sense of their lives outside the company.

August 30:  Career as a Farmer:  Sasha J. Farkas  Not everyone wants to work in an office in New York or any urban environment for that matter.  USA Today’s headline on December 26, 2011, “More Young People See Farming Opportunities,” confirmed that those in their 20’s and 30’s who have been downsized or unable to get a job, are seeking ways to survive on a farm.

September 13:  LockerDome:  The Facebook of Team Sports  Gabe Lozano, Co-Founder and CEO of a website for young athletes, read my post Women’s Month 2011: Shake the World and left a comment.  That comment led to a conversation, two interviews—his and Justine Siegal’s—and my own profile on LockerDome’s social media site.

October 29:  Disability:  A Second Career for L.I.R.R. Workers  Last year, I wrote about the ethical behavior of Long Island Railroad workers who claimed disability when they were obviously fine since they played golf sometimes daily.  Recently, I read that the cost of disbursing those on disability can be close to $1 billion.

November 12:  Walking Meetings  One of the many takeaways I had from reading Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson was learning the pleasures of a walking meeting.  A friend gave me that opportunity and I’m very grateful for it.

December 24:  Dear Santa:  My Wish List  It had been ages since I wrote a “Dear Santa” letter so I put tongue in cheek and infused my humor into the serious requests I made for the greater good—and not just the sweater and earrings I hoped Santa would bring!

Thank you for your time to browse and read my posts.  Looking forward to writing more in 2012!

Very best wishes for a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

“Margin Call” is not just another Wall Street movie.  It is the best movie I’ve seen in this genre and one that tells the inside story of how a financial institution collapsed.

“The movie is a fictionalized account of a disastrous twenty-four hours in 2008, when ‘financial instruments’ that had seemed solid dissolved into air. The rush of panic is halted, now and then, by moments of disbelief,” writes David Denby in “All That Glitters” in his New Yorker column “The Current Cinema” (October 31, 2011).

To set the scene, Denby writes that “the executives working late at an imperilled investment firm in Manhattan stand in an office tower and stare at the lights and the streets below, wondering if the great city isn’t a dream.”  It was a bad dream that night.

There are three major elements of management that I found of interest in the movie.

1.  Respectful listening.  As the movie opens, personnel executives are on a trading floor to find and speak with those who are being let go that day.  Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci) sits in a state of shock while one woman recites what is included in his package and the deadline for accepting it as the other woman hands him her card in case he has any questions.  When Dale is back in his office, he looks up to see the ‘pit boss’ Will Emerson (Paul Bettany).  Dale tells Emerson that he needs more time since he had to finish an important project.  Emerson follows company policy and tells Dale that other people can finish his work.  Knowing the importance of his work, as Dale is escorted out of his office he slips a thumb drive to one of the analysts and says, “Be careful.”

2.  Risky business.  The young analyst, Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto), gave up an evening of drinking with other analysts to remain at work and take a look at Dale’s files.  It didn’t take him long to see that:  “if the mortgage-backed securities currently on the company’s books, which are heavily leveraged, decline in value by an additional twenty-five per cent, the company’s losses will be greater than its total market capitalization.”  What had become a quiet office with only the custodians at work became overnight a scene of people trying to make good on what was a devastating reality. 

Sullivan called another analyst, then the pit boss Emerson who called the longtime head of trading Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey) who called his boss Jared Cohen (Simon Baker) who called in more staff and finally called CEO John Tuld (Jeremy Irons).  While sitting around the table with quickly prepared bound documents summarizing what Sullivan found, those who could read the numbers understood what was happening; other senior people seemed to have forgotten or never learned how to read projections and, instead, trusted a 28-year-old analyst with a Ph.D. in rocket science to convey the implications of the data.  Sullivan took the risk to open the files Dale left him and found himself being the point person for telling the top executives the truth about their company.

3.  Motivated blindness.  I read this term in David Brooks’ op-ed column “Let’s All Feel Superior” which appeared in the New York Times on November 15, 2011, about the sexual abuse scandal at Penn State.  Brooks defines motivated blindness as “they don’t see what is not in their interest to see.”

Top risk officer Sarah Robinson (Demi Moore) took the fall for the financial fiasco that developed.  However, during the first meeting she attended Sullivan’s finding, she reminded her boss Cohen that she and others had brought the topic to his attention on previous occasions and he had ignored them.  “…the toxic assets were assembled in the first place, and were sold well past the danger point, because the fees from doing so were high enough to extinguish caution,” Denby writes.  Cohen had motivated blindness and didn’t see what was not in his interest.

“If Wall Street executives find themselves at a loss to understand what the protesters outside are getting at, they could do worse than watch this movie for a few clues,” Denby wrote.  I agree with him.  Go see “Margin Call.”

Perhaps its time for Occupy Wall Street to refocus its energy and take a look at the $1billion and more that Long Island Railroad (L.I.R.R.) workers are hoping to use to fund their disability careers while playing golf, doing aerobics, biking, etc.  When people are desperate to find jobs that can support their families, it is irresponsible to hear about perfectly healthy and unethical workers ‘earning’ money that is not warranted.

“Ethics on the Long Island Railroad” is the title of a post I wrote last December about “A Disability Epidemic Among a Railroad’s Retirees” by Walt Bogdanich, (The New York Times, September 20, 2008).  In 5,000 words, the article described how retired L.I.R.R. employees as young as 50-years-old would retire, go to the same doctor colleagues used, then—as 97% did in some years—apply for and receive disability.  Since there was a low bar set for those who could receive disability, the retirees could spend their time, for instance, playing golf on publicly funded links.

Two recent articles on this same topic in The New York Times describe the arrests and the costs of the ethical violations of retired workers who treated disability as a second career.

According to “11 Charged in L.I.R.R. Disability Fraud Plot” by William K. Rashbaum and Mosi Secret, (October 27, 2011), “The fraudulent payouts in the scheme, officials estimate, could end up costing a federal pension agency more than $1 billion if fully disbursed.”

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation took ten of the defendants into custody early on Thursday morning.  Those in custody included:  seven former railroad workers—including a former union president; a former federal railroad pension agency employee who helped the workers file claims; a doctor who ‘certified’ the employees were disabled even though they could play golf regularly, take a 400 mile bicycle ride, do aerobics for hours, etc.; and a doctor’s office manager.

Rashbaum and Secret write that, “A sampling of hundreds of cases approved by two doctors showed that $121 million had been paid to workers whose disabilities were either fabricated or exaggerated, according to court papers, though the total was quite likely more. It was unclear if officials would try to stop the payouts, or could even legally do so, before the disbursements hit $1 billion.”

After talking about the “Ethics on the Long Island Railroad” in my management classes, one of my students raised his hand and asked me a very good question:  “Did the employees have to pay the money back?”  I didn’t have a definitive answer then.  However, the second recent article, “Disability Filings at Rail System Remain High, Despite Attention to Abuses” written by Michael H. Grynbaum (October 28, 2011) gave me a partial and overall disappointing answer.

Grynbaum wrote, “On Friday, the general counsel of the Railroad Retirement Board, Steven A. Bartholow, said he had no comment on the matter.  Later, an agency spokesman, Michael P. Freeman, wrote in an e-mail that in any case of proven fraud, previously paid benefits would be ‘subject to recovery’ and benefits would be cut off. But he declined to say whether the agency would conduct any type of internal review.”

It is interesting to note that, “After The New York Times reported in 2008 that virtually every employee of the Long Island Rail Road had applied for and received federal benefits for occupational disability, the retirement board said it would enact new measures to protect against fraudulent claims.”  Since 2007, the number of claims has been reduced to about half.  However, “Of 189 workers who retired last year, 110 applied for occupational disability benefits, according to figures provided by the railroad.”  It is indeed disappointing that the number is still higher than the usually disability rates for railroads of 20 to 40 percent.

My question now is, how many other railroad or other workers have claimed disability but are perfectly healthy to live their second careers?

Happy Labor Day!  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor Day “is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.  It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”  Given how the economy is teetering on destruction and jobs continue to be scarce, I question our country’s leaders’ commitments to their constituencies.

“American Idiots:  How Washington Is Destroying the Economy…and What We Can Do to Fix It” by Allan Sloan was published in the September 5, 2011 edition of Fortune Magazine.  His column put into words what I was thinking and brought into print thoughts that need to be shared.

Sloan, a writer of business stories for more than 40 years and about national finances for more than 20, presented answers to the lead in to his magazine piece, “What the hell is going on?”  The author states that “Today’s crisis was completely avoidable.”  He goes on to write that, “…the Tea Party types bear primary responsibility—but they couldn’t have done it without the cowardice and incompetence of the Obama administration, which let things get way out of hand.”  I appreciate his honesty, “This whole fiasco enraged me.”

I’m pretty mad myself and that is the reason I writing this post to my blog.  Instead of seeing to the ‘jobs’ issue, those in Washington were facing off like little kids over ownership of their favorite yoyo.  Sloan writes that, “The root of our current problem is that there are no grownups in positions of serious power in Washington.”

Since it is Labor Day, what about jobs?  Has anything been done to create the positions for the working class laborers or the over 50 worker with years of expertise whose chances for a job are reduced by a wrinkle or grey hair?  “The percentage of U.S. adults with jobs is down to 58.1% from 64.7% in 2000, according to the St. Louis Fed,” Sloan writes.  He doesn’t predict that change will be positive; instead, he says that it will be worse.

Where are the effective leaders in Washington, on Wall Street, or behind the scenes creating the needed initiatives to ‘fix’ our country’s economic situation?  Why didn’t leaders set priorities and offer rational instead of hysterical solutions?  Sloan suggests that, “We’ve got this problem because our leaders rolled over to pressure from big companies instead of breaking them up into pieces small enough to be allowed to fail.”

I’m worried about the state of the economy, my ability to continue to find work, and my golden years that are far out there since I’m going to be working to be a leader for a long time before I retire.  I want leaders who will risk their re-election in order to do the right thing for the greater good and for America’s labor.

“What I want to suggest, though, is that what’s being built in the name of 9/11—a staggering $11 billion worth of government-sponsored construction on the 16 acres we now call ground zero—is an example of just about everything wrong with modern government,” Joe Nocera stated in “9/11’s White Elephant” (The New York Times, August 20, 2011).  He goes on to recall that last year he wrote about “1 World Trade Center, pointing out that its $3.3 billion price tag made it, by far, the most expensive office building ever constructed in America.”

The numbers only represent the extravagance that is being made about the site of the deaths of 2,753 victims.  The tenth anniversary of the falling of the World Trade Center Towers is less than a month away yet the 9/11 memorial is being “hastily constructed.”  It is disappointing to see elaborate planning that has challenges producing what should be a simple and fitting modest memorial that is being remembered and honored in all parts of America and the world.

“Oh, no.  Where is this?”  My initial reaction after turning a page in the local Tuolumne County newspaper and seeing a picture of skyscrapers engulfed in smoke and fireballs of paper was that another terrorist attack had taken place.  However, my fear was eased when I read the headline in the local California paper: “Memorial planned on 10^th anniversary of 9/11” (The Union Democrat, Friday, August 3) and learned that the local area fire and police departments would participate in the ceremonial remembrance.

Baruch Community Book

I reacted so quickly because I had earlier that day finished reading, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, a novel about a nine-year-old boy named Oskar Schell whose father was killed in the World Trade Center’s terrorist’s attack.

Safran Foer’s work is a moving and thoughtful book that was chosen for the Baruch College community to read and discuss.  It is specifically targeted to all entering freshmen who receive a copy of the community book at orientation and participate in the book discussion during the Convocation.  (Last year’s book was The Bitter Sea:  Coming of Age in a China Before Mao by Charles N. Li.)

Faculty members are encouraged to put each year’s Community Book on their fall reading list.  After reading the book, I came away with five thoughts that I could share with students in my “Organizational Behavior” class of junior and seniors.  It is also a good read for adults who want to understand the grief a child can experience at a sudden death of a parent.

My Thoughts

1.  I think that Oskar’s intelligence and curiosity to understand and accept his father’s death—especially since his father’s body was never found—would be a very good read for my students who were on the average 15-years-old when the planes hit the towers.  Grieving the death of a loved one, especially a parent, is a long and complicated process, one that is often not discussed in families.

2.  Oskar’s grandparents witnessed attacks similar to those at the World Trade Center during World War II.  His grandfather stopped speaking and would only write in a notebook—or on his hands—to communicate his thoughts.  He also stopped loving for years.  It is only when he decides to reunite with his wife does he finally see his grandson and develops a healing relationship.

3.  Withholding the truth about the last five telephone messages from his father before the tower collapsed, Oskar was able to at least hear the voice of his best friend, the one who gave him mysteries to solve.  He never told his mother that he has the message machine; he had bought a duplicate one so he could keep the messages from her.

4.  Oskar went on a journey to solve a mystery, one that challenged his usual routines of walking and not taking a subway, bus, or taxi.  He was cautious but direct in finding the truth he sought about a key he found among his father’s possessions.  His curiosity took him to new areas and new opportunities to understand the adults he met.

5.  Unlike other novels, there are many pages of graphics in the book.  Although some critics question their inclusion, I feel that these images enhance and carry forward the story.  Especially poignant are the final fifteen pages of the book, a series that summarizes the resolution Oskar sought about the death of his father.

My Memories of 9/11

When reading the novel, memories of the morning of 9/11 came back to me.  I was a block away from a client’s office in a 20 story building near 120^th Street and the Hudson River in Manhattan when I heard that a plane crashed into a building.  Although the men who told me were looking downtown, my thoughts were that a small plane headed into a building in a small town.  When I entered the office where I was scheduled to do coaching and consulting, a staff member came up to me and asked, “How can I get CNN on my PC?”  As I went past other offices, I heard snippets of reports from radios and the news about a second crash into a building, but it wasn’t any building.  It was the World Trade Center.

I stayed at the office and called family members to tell them that I was fine.  However, after hearing about the terrorists’ planes at other locations—the Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania where a plane bound for the Capitol Building or the White House was downed by the passengers—I thought for certain that the next plane would take out our building.  All I could think of was that if I died, I would be with very good people.

Very good people helped me get through the grief of watching the towers crumple to the ground, looking at the efforts of those at Ground Zero searching for anyone still alive, mourning the deaths of those I knew and knew of, the ongoing hope that there would be no more further attacks.  Even very good people couldn’t bring back those that died.  Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close can help those who are still in need of closure, of taking each day one step at a time, of understanding that life must go on.

Today is my birthday and one of my wishes is that President Obama use his power to influence, educate, and guide his followers for the greater good of all.  I propose that he shows us that he will do not use the money he’s raised for a series of ads, videos, town halls, picnics, black-tie dinners and other campaign activities.  Rather, he will use his influence and money to create jobs.

Many wonderful birthday wishes have been arriving from friends, colleagues, clients, and family members like my sister Pegi.  Gifts from long-time New York friends have come in the shape of a delicious home-cooked meal and an evening of sharing travel stories; lovely napkins and napkin ring holders for my new dining table; a dinner at a wonderful restaurant; etc.  My gifts to myself are Estée Lauder products and an extended writing vacation in California while I am animal sitting a niece’s dog, cat, and horse!

The celebration of my birth is very fulfilling.  What I don’t have is the assurance that the leadership in Washington is wisely doing what is needed to keep the American spirit alive and the global markets stable.  The global economic, environmental, and educational crises are challenging not just Obama but leaders everywhere and at all levels to not just do the right thing but to find the right solutions.  And, in my opinion, the right solutions are based around ‘concrete’ measures that can benefit those who are looking for work.

My birthday leadership wish is that President Obama will show us what he will do and not tell us what he will do while on the campaign trail.

Nicholas Confessore’s “New Stable of Wealthy Donors Fueled Obama Campaign’s Record Fund-Raising Quarter” (The New York Times, July 17, 2011), writes that “President Obama recruited about 15 new elite donors, who raised as much as a half a million dollars each.”  For what?  More high-end dinners?  Flyers?  Banners?  Paper that is so readily discarded?  Events that give you the opportunity to add more to your financial resources?

“More than half a million people have donated to the president’s campaign or his joint fund with the Democratic National Committee since Mr. Obama formally entered the race in April, and the two accounts gained a combined record-breaking $86 million for the campaign by the end of June,” Confessore states. 

My wish is the same one that I had during the 2008 presidential election.  That wish was that Obama and all the presidential and other political candidates would take the money that they and their parties raised and put the money into creating jobs, putting their promises into real action.  You wouldn’t have to worry about paying for ads; media of all types will rush in to promote your resolve to break the mold and to actually do something so positive that even republicans will be impressed and you will win the 2012 election!

President Obama, instead of making videos of what you will do to create jobs, do it, reach out to your donors who have the influence and the money to create millions of jobs for the middle class and middle age worker who is told too many times that they are ‘overqualified,’ the students who graduated in June and are still looking for a position that four years of college prepared them for, the people who can use technology as a tool not a replacement for their expertise and decision-making wisdom, and everyone who wants to be actively engaged in commerce to support themselves and their families.

What I want you to do is commit to the greater good of our entire country.

Think about it.  And then let me know that my birthday leadership wish will come true.

Women's Revolution in Mideast Finance

“It may at present be only a whisper.  But it could get louder and louder.  It is the voice of Islamic women in the Middle East protesting their longtime political and economic second-class status,” John Hughes wrote in his essay, “Islamic Women Rise Up” published in the Christian Science Monitor on June 29, 2005.

“Are women in the United Arab Emirates on the verge of breaking barriers to advance to top jobs in the field of Islamic finance?”  That was one of the many questions I asked two years later when I was interviewing resources for a series of interviews I was writing for an international publication.  Unfortunately, the article was not published but I did come away with a good education on the environment for women in finance at the time.

One person I spoke with was Dr. Lynda Moore, a professor at Simmons School of Management in Boston, Massachusetts, and recipient of a Fulbright award that allowed her to spend a year studying women business leaders in the UAE.  She told me, “There has been a huge generational shift in the Middle East and the UAE.  Education is encouraged and accepted for women because it translates into economic advancement as well as women’s advancement, both national priorities.”

The whisper Hughes heard has gotten louder and the shift Dr. Moore found has gained traction.  In fact, the whisper evolved into a chorus proclaiming a Middle East women’s revolution in the burgeoning area of finance.  A revolution fueled by a growing number of women at all economic levels.  It is a revolution that’s empowering women to achieve acceptance in the financial workplace where they can break stereotypes with their professional acumen.

“Women Break Down Barriers in Mideast Finance” by Chris V. Nicholson appeared in the New York Times on June 27, 2011.  The article profiles Hoda Abou-Jamra, the founding partner of a $40 million private equity health care fund that is based in Dubai; Maha Al-Ghunaim, founder of Global Investment House based in Kuwait that was initially a brokerage firm and investment bank but expanded into a private equity firm overseeing about $1.5 billion in four funds; and other women in finance.

Evolution of a Revolution

One woman in finance I had the privilege to interview was a Kuwati-born Managing Director of a United Kingdom-based financial services group.  Based in Dubai, her responsibilities included managing and expanding high net worth business in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey.

This banker left Kuwait to attend college in the United States where she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and an M.B.A.  After that she worked at a Wall Street firm for over a dozen years in various capacities that included assignments in the United States, South America, and Europe and became head of the company’s London International Private Client Group.

Although she knew the Middle East well from her family connections, what she found moving back to the region was not the climate for women that she left almost twenty years earlier.  And even though she was one of only a handful of top women, she found a major evolution of the role women played in the Mideast financial industry.  She told me, “There is a dramatic evolution going on where women are moving into high profile jobs in the government and business sectors.”

When I asked, “Would you consider this more of a revolution than an evolution?” the woman responded, “Revolution is perfectly apt to describe what is happening.  There is a groundswell of women’s voices and women taking advantage of opportunities in the political and business world.”

Challenges in Finance

“What are the greatest challenges you face?” brought interesting comments.  “My major one is not about gender.  We have a very competitive market here.  We want the best talent we can find.  Recruiting to get that talent is not easy.  There is a talent gap in the area and seeking out the best people to work at our firm is an ongoing process.”

Being a woman in finance was not easy and the banker found, “It’s not a very level playing field here.  I’ve been challenged to be taken seriously.  The hard part is getting in to see the client then demonstrating my knowledge and expertise.  Once I earn their respect, I am treated as a professional they can trust.”

When asked if she had any words of wisdom to share, she offered, “Knowledge and consistency will earn you respect.  In financial services, it’s how you put together the product.  You have to demonstrate your knowledge of the product and what the client needs.  The client wants to see the value that you are bringing to them.”

“Why is this ‘revolution’ happening?” I asked.  “Ten years ago I would not be here.  Ten years ago I would not have even imagined this environment today.  It is not a level playing field, as I said.  But there is a tremendous amount of government and corporate support in making the transition for women to take on bigger roles in our economy.”

Painting the big picture, she said, “It’s not just one issue driving this but a convergence of issues.  There’s the liberalization of the business environment and policies in general, not necessarily all about women.  The UAE is in the forefront to provide opportunities for women.  Women are gaining political power.  And technology in many different areas is making life easier so that women are able to establish a work/life balance.”

According to a 2004 UAE government report, 37.5% of women held professional positions in financial institutions.  Women had made their way into office buildings.  However, I wanted to know if women would be able to work their way up the corporate ladder and I got this response, “Maybe in five to ten years.  The number of women in banking is growing.  Is it easy for them?  No.  But the environment is changing dramatically.  It is going to much easier to walk the stairs.  These women have role models plus lots of government and corporate support.  Women are getting smarter and will be part of our best talent.  Easier doesn’t mean, though, that there will be a level playing field.  It will be tough.  They will need guts, determination, and good business acumen to get to the top.”

Over the past six years, the shift has gained momentum and women are breaking down barriers in Mideast finance.  Perhaps they heard and acted on words from this banker who suggested, “Remember tenacity.  Continue to make sure you’re at the cutting edge of your field.  Get the education you need.  Acquire the knowledge you need to be the best.  Do not take ‘No’ for an answer.  The opportunities are increasing for women.”

The opportunities are there for a financial career, a career that will become part of the women’s revolution in Mideast finance.

On Saturday mornings, I listen to “Car Talk” on WNYC radio (820 AM in New York City).  I listen to the show not because I want to learn about cars—I don’t have one—but because of the raucous laughter of the hosts, Tom and Ray Magliozzi.  If I wasn’t in a good mood before, I get in a much better mood listening to the outrageous responses to those who call in with car problems.  Laughter energizes and relaxes me so that I can totally forget about my business and projects—or the state of the economy—at least for awhile.

The Atlantic

“The Triumph of New-Age Medicine” by David H. Freedman appeared in the July/August 2011 issue of The Atlantic.  “Again and again, carefully controlled studies have shown alternative medicine to work no better than a placebo,” the subhead reads.  “By now many doctors admit that alternative medicine often seems to do a better job of making patients well, and a much lower cost, than mainstream care—and they’re trying to learn from it.”  The article profiles Dr. Brian Berman, the director a research center on alternative medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center.  Steven Salzberg, a prominent biology researcher at the University of Maryland at College Park and an outspoken critic on integrative medicine states that, “There’s only one type of medicine, and that’s medicine whose treatments have been proven to work.”  Many doctors don’t agree, and I don’t agree either.  Major hospitals all over the country are investing in ‘new age’ centers to generate revenue from patients who believe in alternative medicine.

Newsweek

By chance, former President Bill Clinton was on the show that followed “Car Talk.”  “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me: The Oddly Informative News Quiz” is hosted by Peter Segal and Carl Kasell.  Clinton was on the “Not My Job” segment of the show and Segal first question was about the former president’s upcoming meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in Chicago.  Clinton said that it was an experiment to see if there was a meeting folks would attend and make a commitment—enough commitments to make a difference.  He also felt that the act of having a meeting would receive enough attention to inspire others to make a commitment.  The goal, the 42^nd president of the U.S. said, was to get beyond talking to start doing.  As a former president he doesn’t have the power he once had when in office but he does have a lifetime of experiences and the energy of influence to bear on a small number of things that can make a difference. 

To learn about the way Clinton hopes to improve the economy, read the still very active leader’s “It’s Still the Economy, Stupid:  14 Ways to Save America’s Jobs” in the June 27, 2011, issue of Newsweek.  Speed the Approvals, Cash for Startups, Jobs Galore in Energy, Copy the Empire State Building are four of the 14 items on Clinton’s list to help the 14 million people who are out of work, “a waste of our greatest resource.”  It’s an impressive list.  However, reading the callout on “The Real Minimum Wage” was depressing.  Although the minimum wage is $7.25 in the U.S., there are people in the country who are willing to settle for 25 cents an hour.  Newsweek posted online jobs of short duration at Amazon.com and lowered its offer to find out how little a person would take to work.  It was more than shocking; it was an insult to those desperate to have any sort of income and be engaged in work that should bring in at least a minimum wage.

The New York Times

“Justices Rule for Wal-Mart in Bias Case” by Adam Liptak appeared in the Times on Monday, June 20, was disappointing.  Since then, there have been numerous discussions on the legal issue and the failure of the “enormous class-action suit against Wal-Mart that had sought billions of dollars on behalf of as many as 1.5 million female workers.”  The suit was filed because “Wal-Mart’s policies and practices had led to countless discriminatory decisions over pay and promotions.”  Wal-Mart is not alone.  Women are behind the counters at drug, grocery, big box, and other stores while the men, who make more money, are the managers, the ones who more often can get promoted more easily, the ones that have the potential to make more money.

There is still a lot of work to do for those working to be a leader and, as one of my students said of my efforts, being passionate about making a difference.  But it’s still Saturday and I’m going to find more radio shows that will make me laugh, a healing medicine.