What Was “New”?

So, what was “new” about the Women in the Boardroom event held May 22, 2012 in Los Angeles?

Sheila Ronning worked hard to elevate the content of the latest LA program, the "301 advanced event", and succeeded admirably. We’ve watched many other groups “compliment” Women in the Boardroom by emulating the basic program, even to the questions asked of panelists.  Yesterday’s WIB event took it up a notch in the following respects.

First and foremost, of course, no panel would be complete without an excellent moderator, and Teena Hostovich of Lockton fit that bill perfectly. Just enough introduction to whet our appetites, and a steady hand on the questions, guiding us through the day’s event.

Two of the women panelists were corporate investors, which is a very strong path into the boardroom.  Kimberly Alexis, CFA, has a background as a financial expert and technology hardware analyst for major Wall Street firms. She founded her own investment firm, Alexy Capital, which invests in businesses and builds boards for same.  She serves and has served on major corporate boards largely because of her financial and technology acumen plus a reputation as a collaborative governance advisor.

Sharon Stevenson, co-founder and managing director of Okapi Venture Capital, with her focus on life science investments, came up the clinical path as a veterinary surgeon, and also acquired an MBA from the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, a PhD in Comparative Pathology from UC Davis, and a Master of Science in Veterinary Pathology and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University.

The third panelist was Dr. Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College, former dean of engineering and professor of computer science at Princeton University and previously at the University of British Columbia, IBM Research in California, and University of Toronto.  Dr. Klawe’s impact has been significant on elevating the percentages of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields in undergraduate studies at Harvey Mudd, but also through her extensive leadership roles in academic and government organizations advancing educational opportunities for all.

Clearly, these are women who “love constant learning.”

The women elevated the concept of “networking” as building a reputation on a foundation of performance and delivery of valued results, rather than simple card-swapping or schmoozing. They redefined “mentoring” as speaking well about the women we know who perform outstandingly well. Interesting that many have been asked, “Would you mentor me?”  They suggested, instead, that women focus on what they could offer of value -- something that makes them “worth mentoring.”

Their stories re-affirmed the reality that many opportunities are serendipitous consequences, not entirely directly, of initiatives or actions or deeds taken many steps beforehand and often long ago.  The idea that we could chart a continuous, carefully-constructed linear path into the boardroom was replaced by the impression that good results take time to stew, that good deeds do mature into benefits, but that it may take more time and certainly less control, and much more sheer persistence, than we might have expected.

But, results happen. That is what matters. And it is especially impressive to see women in leadership so absolutely “comfortable in their skins,” so authentic in their delivery, and so open in their honest communications with the next generation of leaders who would follow in their footsteps.

A Definite Change in Tone

Jack Welch and Women Clash at WSJ Women in the Economy Forum: - May 4, 2012

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303877604577382321364803912.html

How Women Can Get Ahead -- Advice from Female CEOs - May 18, 2012

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303879604577410520511235252.html

There is a definite change in the tone of this exchange compared, say, to the clash that occurred in January 2005 when Lawrence Summers made his now infamous quote about alleged “innate differences” between men and women among top academic ranks. These comments from both Welch and some of the Women CEOs suggest we are finally beginning to focus on performance as the criterion of success for women as much as men.  

Interesting, too is that the 11 of the 18 current women CEOs of F500 firms interviewed by John Bussey pretty much agreed with Welch. “Their advice is practical. And notably, it echoes much—but not all—of what Mr. Welch had to say, albeit with a bit more nuance and finesse.”

One woman stated that now that she is in leadership, she has the capacity to make change happen from the inside. Heather Bresch, CEO of Mylan said, "What I found was that expectations of women were simply lower, and this resulted in being overlooked for certain opportunities. Now as a leader, I strive to create an environment different than the one I faced, an environment where good ideas can come from anyone—young, old, men, women, assistant, executive—and opportunities are open to everyone."

"The biggest myth that I'd like to set to rest is that women can't have a family and a successful career," says Ilene Gordon, CEO of Corn Products. "The skills that make a good business leader—organization, drive, trust, delegation and compassion—also go a long way to balance the responsibilities of work and family life."

It’s clear who, exactly, is perpetuating this myth.  In the video of Alan Murray’s interview with Suzy and Jack Welch, Suzy said that once her children reached the age when they could talk, they started to intimidate her by giving her a guilt trip about her leaving home.  She couldn’t stand it, so she stayed home. The most obvious comment would be that a woman who cannot train her own kids to develop positive expectations about her contributions as a professional probably would be challenged to lead adult employees through the very same briars of workplace mythology.

Even putting that aside, Bussey and Welch are “celebrating” the positive contributions women are making among leaders in the workplace.  That, all by itself, is a major change in the tone emanating from this debate.

Constructing a Resource Base

If you are an entrepreneur, another “must read” research piece is this:  “From initial idea to unique advantage: The entrepreneurial challenge of constructing a resource base” by Candida G. Brush, Patricia G. Green, Myra M. Hart and Harold S. Haller (1 February 2001: Academy of Management Executive, pp. 64-78; Vol. 15, Issue 1).  If you’ve read my book, Women Leaders at Work, you will recognize the Brush-Green-Hart trilogy as the three women of the Diana Project. This is another example of their excellent collaborative research.

In summary, the article’s premise is “You can’t succeed alone. Here’s what you need to do.”

An entrepreneurial strategy to attain competitive advantage can only be accomplished if you develop and configure -- transform, literally -- existing resource strengths into a valuable and unique resource base. As an entrepreneur, you are alone, initially, until you recognize the wealth of resources that you have developed yourself to this point, that are available to you through your network, and that you potentially could attract to your endeavors.

The shortages you face too typically overwhelm at the beginning. You have:

            No customer base

            No reputation for performance

            No shared experience as a management team.

Most enterprises fail within 5 years due to lack of resources:

            Ineffectual management

            Under-capitalization

            Human failings

            Inability to attract or keep qualified personnel

Those enterprises that do succeed are the ones most adept at attracting basic resources:

            Money

            People

            Information

The “trick” is to know what you don’t know and get what you don’t have.

Brush, Green, Hart & Haller describe the successful path to resource development and value transformation.  Resources can be dropped into six “buckets:”

            Human

            Social

            Financial

            Physical

            Technological

            Organizational

First, it’s a case of knowing what you have now and what you need to grow and succeed.  Resources can be simple (tangible, discrete, property-based) which means they probably are easy to get, but limited in impact.  Complex resources, on the other hand (intangible, systematic, knowledge-based) hold a greater capacity to be transformed and combined to lead to a unique competitive advantage for the enterprise.

Second, it’s a case of knowing what resources directly solve problems versus those that could be leveraged for strategic advantage.  Resources can be utilitarian (machinery, trucks, office space) versus instrumental (like money, capable of generating other resources).

The more resources are developed at the simple, utilitarian levels, the more likely the enterprise will stay immature.  The more effectively resources are identified and gathered at the complex and instrumental stages, the more transformational they will be for the business’ strategic and competitive edge.

When resources become an integral part of the enterprise, combined and integrated well together, the company can perform or produce with greater effectiveness and efficiency.  When knowledge, skills, and enabling resources are “institutionalized” into the company’s operating routines and tacit knowledge banks, they become the core competencies that propel the company forward to “strategic wealth creation.”

The steps to this transformation are as follows:

1.         Assemble a team from the entrepreneur’s “personal resource endowment.” Who do you know who has the education, experience, reputation, and industry knowledge to complement your own?  Build a core team with the key skills to start the new venture.

2.         Attract resources needed to start up the trajectory.  “Use the time-relevant language or symbols… to create an image of success that will encourage providers to commit resources to the venture.” These language and symbols are business plans, pitches, prototypes, or offices/amenities that will prove sufficiently persuasive that you and the enterprise are credible.  Leverage these suggestive resources to attract substantive financial capital, assets, equipment, vendors, or customers.

An example is the formation of a credibility-building advisory board of experts in law, marketing, advertising, technology, management, or other specific functionality not yet within the enterprise.

3.         Combine resources based on the entrepreneur’s different beliefs about the relative or comparative value of resources and their potential returns to the firm.

4.         Transform personal strengths and resources into an organizational foundation on which the enterprise can build unique business advantage over all possible competitors.  The “institutionalization” of knowledge and skill resources is what transforms the venture into an entity capable of sustaining growth, complexity, and value.

As an entrepreneur, you must build a plan of action to construct a powerful resource base.  There are seven essential steps to this process:

1.         Resource specification: what do you have, what do you not have, what do you need?

2.         Quantity, quality and timing: what is the sequence of delivery and design of the “manufacturing process” or the essential assembly of resource components?

3.         Stage resource acquisition: when do you need what, how much do you need when?

4.         Avoid over- or under-estimating; fine tune the acquisitions

5.         Identify suppliers and providers and their comparative costs, timing, and reliability

6.         Use your core asset base to attract additional resources: reputation, capability, commitment, conduct and performance

7.         Transform: create organizational or institutional predictability by creating “formalized learning experiences” to produce value-extending strategies.

Entrepreneurs are in the business of making “something” out of “almost nothing.” But, from a core of credibility, intelligence, integrity, reputation, and a personal knowledge base, amazing and valuable resources can be attracted, grow, and thrive. That is the heart of entrepreneurship.