Speaking of Company...

Who do you have in your corner? Business is a bizarre beast. It requires us to build relationships even if our personality is such that we would prefer to be alone.

During a sales workshop with Rocky Lake Crossfit, we talked about how nice it would be if we were all in a position to hire a professional sales team. But let's face it, in the early days we have to wear many hats, and some of those hats we may not be fond of. Learning to get out there and connect is not such a bad thing, is it?

The other company that matters is peer support. Do you have peeps in your corner that you can turn to when life is tough? Do you have folks around you who know more than you do – so that you can reach out to them on a tough day? If not, get out there and make it happen. Who you network with makes all the difference in the world.

Business is all about the company you keep. (click to tweet this)

Birthing a New Era - Men and Women as Team

We are at a pivotal time in our history. Many women of a certain age are learning the real secret - life is not like we thought it would be. For many of us we are on the cusp of bringing in a new way of doing things - whether it is relationships or who gets the remote after a long day of work. Things are changing.

It's not a case of women becoming empowered, it's more of a case of women and men realizing that the old model "women as caregiver, men as provider" does not work. We're birthing in a new era - we're going to be a team and it's about time.

Cardinal Rules for Women in Trades

So you have chosen a career in trades and you want to be amazing in your profession. They are lofty goals and many of us who have gone down that road have a real appreciation for what it takes to be someone who is respected in that workplace. What kind of person do you need to be to achieve that goal? You need to be the type of person who imposes rules upon herself even when those rules are not stated.

Here are my three cardinal rules for women in trades:

1. “Don’t get your honey where you make your money.” Show up on Day One as a professional. You’re not in a meat market. It’s not a pick-up joint. It’s a work place. Act accordingly. When we were young women in the army, we had a strict rule against fraternization. We tried to break it, of course. We also saw what happened to the people who did. If you ignore the rule, there are consequences. Maybe you won’t be called back to work next time you’re laid off because too much drama is hard to deal with. Women always get the blame; you don’t have to like it, but it is the truth.
2. Don’t tell dirty jokes, use sexual innuendos or comment on people’s body parts. Don’t open that door. You give them an inch and they will take a mile. Actions escalate. Today it’s a joke, but six months from now it’s a charge of sexual harassment with him saying, “She started it.” Don’t get yourself in that situation. Don’t accept the rope and you won’t hang yourself.
3. Observe the 3B rule: no breasts, no bellies and no bums. People who know me know that I’m well endowed in certain areas and I am proud of the girls, but when it comes to the workplace, it is minimize, minimize, minimize. Not the time or the place to be a diva.

Seems like common sense, but people who get in trouble have often ignored one of these cardinal rules.

photo by expertinfantry / Flickr