Tom Peters2002
WOMEN
RULE!
I. Born to
Lead!
“AS LEADERS, WOMEN
RULE: New Studies find
that female managers
outshine their male
counterparts in almost
every measure”
Title, Special Report, Business Week, 11.20.00
The New Economy …
Shout goodbye to
“command and control”!
Shout goodbye to hierarchy!
Shout goodbye to “knowing
one’s place”!
“Guys want to put everybody
in their hierarchical place.
Like, should I have more
respect for you, or are you
somebody that’s south
of me?”
Paul Biondi, Mercer Consultants [from It’s Not
Business, It’s Personal, Ronna Lichtenberg]
Women’s Strengths Match New Economy
Imperatives: Link [rather than rank] workers;
favor interactive-collaborative leadership style
[empowerment beats top-down decision making];
sustain fruitful collaborations; comfortable with
sharing information; see redistribution of power
as victory, not surrender; favor multi-dimensional
feedback; value technical & interpersonal skills,
individual & group contributions equally; readily
accept ambiguity; honor intuition as well as pure
“rationality”; inherently flexible; appreciate
cultural diversity.
Source: Judy B. Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret
“On average, women and men
possess a number of different innate
skills. And current trends suggest
that many sectors of the twentyfirst-century economic community
are going to need the natural
talents of women.”
Helen Fisher, The First Sex: The Natural Talents of
Women and How They Are Changing the World
“American women possess leadership
abilities that are particularly effective in
today’s organizations, yet their abilities
remain undervalued and underutilized.
In the future, what will distinguish one
organization and one country from
another will be its use of human
resources. Today human resource
utilization is not only a matter of social
justice but a bottom-line issue.”
Judy Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret
“TAKE THIS QUICK QUIZ: Who manages more things
at once? Who puts more effort into their appearance?
Who usually takes care of the details? Who finds it
easier to meet new people? Who asks more
questions in a conversation? Who is a better
listener? Who has more interest in communication
skills? Who is more inclined to get involved?
Who encourages harmony and agreement? Who
has better intuition? Who works with a longer ‘to do’
list? Who enjoys a recap to the day’s events?
Who is better at keeping in touch with others?”
Source: Selling Is a Woman’s Game: 15 Powerful Reasons Why
Women Can Outsell Men, Nicki Joy & Susan Kane-Benson
“Investors are looking more and more
for a relationship with their financial
advisers. They
want someone
they can trust, someone who
listens. In my experience, in general,
women may be better at these
relationship-building skills than are
men.”
Hardwick Simmons, CEO, Prudential Securities
“Thank you”
17 Men: 8
4 Women: 19
Ass Of The Year2002 (?): Maurice Greenberg, A.I.G., on
the Company’s New (All Male) Leadership Team
“In a lot of countries of the world, it
would be very difficult for a woman to
be a good CEO. … I have a
responsibility to do the best we can for
shareholders.” * **
*Source: New York Times/05.05.02
**Wouldn’t you love to watch him tell that … face-toface … to Margaret Thatcher or Carly Fiorina? (I would.)
Okay, you think I’ve gone tooooo far.
DO ANY
OF YOU SUFFER
FROM TOO
MUCH TALENT?
How about this:
63 of 2,500 top earners in F500
8% Big 5 partners
14% partners at top 250 law firms
43% new med students; 26% med
faculty; 7% deans
Source: Susan Estrich, Sex and Power
Opportunity!
U.S.
M.Mgt.
41%
T.Mgt.
4%
Peak Partic. Age 45
% Coll. Stud.
52%
G.B. E.U. Ja.
29% 18% 6%
3%
2%
<1%
22
27
19
50% 48% 26%
Source: Judy Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret
It’s Girls, Stupid!
1996: 8.4M women, 6.7M men in college (est:
9.2 to 6.9 in 2007); more women than men in
high-level math and science courses
More girls in student govt., honor societies;
girls read more books, outperform boys in
artistic and musical ability, study abroad in
higher numbers
Boys do rule: crime, alcohol, drugs, failure to
do homework (4:1)
Source: The Atlantic Monthly (May2000)
“Boys are trained in
a way that will make
them irrelevant.”
Phil Slater
Read This!
“Winning the Talent War
for Women: Sometimes It
Takes a Revolution”
Douglas McCracken, HBR [11-12/2000]
“Deloitte was doing a great job of hiring highperforming women; in fact, women often earned
higher performance ratings than men in their first
years with the firm. Yet the percentage of women
decreased with step up the career ladder. … Most
women weren’t leaving to raise families; they
had weighed their options in Deloitte’s maledominated culture and found them wanting.
Many, dissatisfied with a culture they perceived as
endemic to professional service firms, switched
professions.”
Douglas McCracken, “Winning the Talent War for Women” [HBR]
“The process of assigning plum
accounts was largely unexamined. …
Male partners made assumptions:
‘I wouldn’t put her on that kind of
company because it’s a tough
manufacturing environment.’ ‘That
client is difficult to deal with.’ ‘Travel
puts too much pressure on women.’ ”
Douglas McCracken, “Winning the Talent War for
Women” [HBR]
“Would Congress [the
Boardroom] be a
different place if half
the members were
women?”
From Sex and Power, Susan Estrich
II. Market
Opportunity
#1.
?????????
Home Furnishings … 94%
Vacations … 92% (Adventure Travel … 70%/ $55B travel
equipment)
Houses … 91%
D.I.Y. (“home projects”) … 80%
Consumer Electronics … 51%
Cars … 60% (90%)
All consumer purchases … 83%
Bank Account … 89%
Health Care … 80%
????
Riding Lawnmowers
2/3rds working women/
50+% working wives > 50%
80% checks
61% bills
53% stock (mutual fund boom)
43% > $500K
95% financial decisions/
29% single handed
1970-1998
Men’s median income: +0.6%
Women’s median income: + 63%
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women
$4.8T > Japan
9M/27.5M/$3.6T
> Germany
Business Purchasing Power
Purchasing mgrs. & agents: 51%
HR: >>50%
Admin officers: >50%
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women
Women-owned Bus.
U.S. employees > F500
employees worldwide
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women
2000-2010
55-64: 48%; 25-54: 2%
65+/2001: M, 14.6M;
F, 20.5M
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women
New golfers … 37%
Basketball … 13.5M
1 in 27 (’70) … 1 in 3 (’96)
1874 … Jock Strap
1977 … Jogbra
1977 ... 25K
1996 … 42
M
Yeow!
1970 … 1%
2002 …
50%
OPPORTUNITY
NO.
1!*
[* No shit!]
91% women:
ADVERTISERS DON’T
UNDERSTAND US.
(58% “ANNOYED.”)
Source: Greenfield Online for Arnold’s Women’s Insight Team
(Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women)
Carol Gilligan/ In a Different Voice
Men: Get away from authority, family
Women: Connect
Men: Self-oriented
Women: Other-oriented
Men: Rights
Women: Responsibilities
Men: Individual perspective. “Core
unit is ‘me.’ ”
Pride in self-reliance.
Women: Group perspective. “Core
unit is ‘we.’ ” Pride in team
accomplishment.
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women
FemaleThink/ Popcorn
“Men and women don’t think the same
way, don’t communicate the same way,
don’t buy for the same reasons.”
“He simply wants the transaction
to take place. She’s interested in
creating a relationship. Every place
women go, they make
connections.”
“Men seem like loose cannons. Men
always move faster through a store’s
aisles. Men spend less time looking. They
usually don’t like asking where things are.
You’ll see a man move impatiently
through a store to the section he wants,
pick something up, and then, almost
abruptly he’s ready to buy. For a
man, ignoring the price tag is almost
a sign of virility.”
Paco Underhill, Why
We Buy* (*Buy this book!)
“Shopping: A Guy’s Nightmare or a
Girl’s Dream Come True?”
“Buy it and be gone”
vs.
“Hang out and enjoy the
experience”
Source: The Charleston [WV] Gazette/06.22.2002
Antaun Hughes, Capital High School,
“Women
enjoy going through the
actual process of
everything, while guys like
to get straight to the point.”
on M-F shopping habits:
Source: The Charleston [WV] Gazette
How Many Gigs You Got, Man?
“Hard to believe … Different criteria”
“Every research study we’ve done
indicates that women really care
about the relationship with their
vendor.”
Robin Sternbergh/ IBM
Women's View of Male
Salespeople
Technically knowledgeable;
assertive; get to the point; pushy;
condescending; insensitive to
women’s needs.
Source: Judith Tingley, How to Sell to the Opposite Sex
(Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women)
Read This: Barbara & Allan Pease’s
Why Men Don’t
Listen & Women
Can’t Read Maps
“It is obvious to a woman when
another woman is upset, while a man
generally has to physically witness
tears or a temper tantrum or be
slapped in the face before he even has
a clue that anything is going on. Like
most female mammals, women are
equipped with far more finely tuned
sensory skills than men.”
Barbara & Allan Pease, Why Men Don’t Listen & Women Can’t Read Maps
“Resting” State: 30%, 90%: “A
woman knows her children’s
friends, hopes, dreams, romances,
secret fears, what they are
thinking, how they are feeling. Men
are vaguely aware of some short
people also living in the house.”
Barbara & Allan Pease, Why Men Don’t Listen & Women Can’t Read Maps
“As a hunter, a man needed vision that
would allow him to zero in on targets in the
distance … whereas a woman needed eyes
to allow a wide arc of vision so that she
could monitor any predators sneaking up
on the nest. This is why modern men can
find their way effortlessly to a distant pub,
but can never find things in fridges,
cupboards or drawers.”
Barbara & Allan Pease, Why Men Don’t Listen & Women Can’t Read Maps
“Female hearing advantage
contributes significantly to what is
called ‘women’s intuition’ and is one
of the reasons why a woman can read
between the lines of what people say.
Men, however, shouldn’t despair.
They are excellent at imitating
animal sounds.”
Barbara & Allan Pease, Why Men Don’t Listen & Women Can’t Read Maps
Senses
Vision: Men, focused; Women,
peripheral.
Hearing: Women’s discomfort
level I/2 men’s.
Smell: Women >> Men.
Touch: Most sensitive man <
Least sensitive women.
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women
Sensitivity to differences: Twice as
many card stacks.
More “contextual,” “holistic.”
“People powered”: Age 3 days, baby
girls 2X eye contact.
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women
Barbara & Allan Pease, Why Men Don’t Listen &
Women Can’t Read Maps: Women love to
talk. Men talk silently to themselves.
Women think aloud. Women talk, men
feel nagged. Women multitask. Women are
indirect. Men are direct. Women talk
emotively, men are literal. Men listen like
statues. Boys like things, girls like
people. Boys compete, girls cooperate.
Men hate to be wrong. Men hide
their emotions.
“When a woman is upset,
she talks emotionally to
her friends; but an upset
man rebuilds a motor or
fixes a leaking tap.”
Barbara & Allan Pease, Why Men Don’t Listen &
Women Can’t Read Maps
We Really … Don’t Get It!
Review of “Unfaithful”: “ … the
latest entry in the category of
male directors’ clueless
fantasies concerning what
women fantasize about in their
nonexistent free time.”
Source: Julie Iovine, NYT (05.19.2002)
Men & Women on Thelma & Louise.
MEN: Sundance Kid; women who
get angry, swear, go to bars, leave
their mate. WOMEN: women
controlled by the men in their lives,
who would rather be dead than
oppressed.
Source: Judy Rosener,
America’s Competitive Secret
[“The Hollywood scripts that
men write tend to be direct and
linear, while women’s
compositions have many
conflicts, many climaxes, and
many endings.”
Helen Fisher, The First Sex: The Natural
Talents of Women and How They Are
Changing the World]
“Women speak and hear a language of
connection and intimacy, and men
speak and hear a language of status
and independence. Men communicate
to obtain information, establish their
status, and show independence.
Women communicate to create
relationships, encourage interaction,
and exchange feelings.”
Judy Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret
[“I only really understand
myself, what I’m really thinking
and feeling, when I’ve talked it
over with my circle of female
friends. When days go by
without that connection, I feel
like a radio playing in an empty
room.”
Anna Quindlen]
Editorial/Men: Tables, rankings.*
Editorial/Women: Narratives that
cohere.*
TP/Furniture: “Tech Specs” vs.
“Soul.” **
*Redwood (UK)
**High Point furniture mart (04.2002)
Initiate Purchase
Men: Study “facts & features.”
Women: Ask lots of people for
input.
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women
Storytelling: Men start
with the headline.
Women start with the
context.
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women
Tomboy Tools. E.g.:
smaller, lighter in weight.
Tupperware “party” model.
Read This Book …
EVEolution:
The Eight Truths of
Marketing to Women
Faith Popcorn & Lys Marigold
EVEolution: Truth No. 1
Connecting Your Female
Consumers to Each
Other Connects Them to
Your Brand
“The ‘Connection Proclivity’ in
women starts early. When asked,
‘How was school today?’ a girl
usually tells her mother every
detail of what happened, while a
boy might grunt, ‘Fine.’ ”
EVEolution
What If …
“What if ExxonMobil or Shell dipped into their
credit card database to help commuting women
interview and make a choice of car pool
partners?”
“What if American Express made a concerted
effort to connect up female empty-nesters
through on-line and off-line programs, geared to
help women re-enter the workforce with today’s
skills?”
EVEolution
The New New Jiffy Lube
“In the male mold, Jiffy Lube was going all out
to deliver quick, efficient service. But, in the
female mold, women were being turned off by
the ‘let’s get it fixed fast, no conversation
required’ experience.”
New JL: “Control over her environment.
Comfort in the service setting. Trust that her car
is being serviced properly. Respect for her
intelligence and ability.”
EVEolution
Lowe’s …
Gets it.
1989:
13%/“lumber shop” … 2002: >50%
Yes!: “Crest Spinoff Targets
Women”—cover story,
Ad Age/06.03.02
Crest Rejuvenating Effects.
“Chicks in charge” team.
$50M launch. Packaging.
Taste. Features.
“Mattel Sees Untapped Market for
Blocks: Little Girls”—Headline,
WSJ/04.06.02
“Last year more than 90% of Lego sets
purchased were for boys. Mattel says
Ello—with interconnecting plastic
squares, balls, triangles, squiggles,
flowers and sticks, in pastel colors and
with rounded corners—will go beyond
Lego’s linear play patterns.”
“Women don’t buy
They
join them.”
brands.
EVEolution
Not
!
“Year of the
Woman”
Enterprise Reinvention!
Recruiting
Hiring/Rewarding/Promoting
Structure
Processes
Measurement
Strategy
Culture
Vision
Leadership
THE BRAND ITSELF!
“Honey, are you
sure you have the
kind of money it
takes to be
looking at a car
like this?”
STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY: I am a
businessperson. An analyst. A pragmatist. The
enormous social good of increased women’s
power is clear to me; but it is not my bailiwick.
My “game” is haranguing business leaders
about my fact-based conviction that women’s
increasing power – leadership skills
and purchasing power – is the strongest and
most dynamic force at work in the American
economy today. Dare I say it as a long-time Palo
Alto resident … THIS IS EVEN BIGGER THAN
THE INTERNET!
Tom Peters
“If we are single, they say we
couldn’t catch a man. If we are
married, they say we are
neglecting him. If we are divorced,
they say we couldn’t keep him.
If we are widowed, they say we
killed him.”
Kathleen Brown, on the joys of female political candidacy
27 March 2000: email to TP from
Shelley Rae Norbeck
“I make 1/3rd more money than my
husband does. I have as much financial
‘pull’ in the relationship as he does. I’d say
this is also true of most of my women
friends. Someone should wake up, smell
the coffee and kiss our asses long enough
to sell us something! We have money to
spend and nobody wants it!”
Psssst! Wanna
see my “porn”
collection?
Ass Of The Year2002: Maurice Greenberg, A.I.G.,
on the Company’s New (All Male) Leadership Team
“In a lot of countries of the world, it
would be very difficult for a woman to
be a good CEO. … I have a
responsibility to do the best we can for
shareholders.” * **
*Source: New York Times/05.05.02
**Wouldn’t you love to watch him tell that … face-toface … to Margaret Thatcher or Carly Fiorina? (I would.)
Ad from Furniture /Today (04.01):
“MEET WITH THE EXPERTS!: How
Retailing’s Most Successful Stay that Way”
Presenting Experts: M =
F=
??
16;
(94% = 272)
“Please … just
one couch or
chair where my feet
hit the ground!”
—Owner,
5 furniture stores, UK
Stupid!
Stupid: “Amazing, now that I
think about it. A bunch of
guys --developers, architects,
contractors, engineers,
bankers--sitting around
designing shopping centers.
And the ‘end users’ will be
overwhelmingly women!”
Instructions: 1. Purchase ticket to
symphony … 7:30 p.m. show. 2.
Drink three large bottles of water
between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
3. X-dress. 4. Wait in queue at
Ladies at Intermission. 5. Realize
what total wretches you are.
6. Seize a microphone and
apologize publicly to every woman
in the hall.
“Customer is King”:
4,440
“Customer is Queen”:
29
Source: Steve Farber/Google search/04.2002
“Women Beat Men
at Art of Investing”
Source: Miami Herald, reporting on a study by
Profs. Terrance Odean and Brad Barber, UC
Davis (Cause: Guys are “in and out” of
stocks more often; women choose
carefully and hold on for the long term)
Purchasing Patterns
Women: Harder to convince; more
loyal once convinced.
Men: Snap decision; fickle.
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women
Investment Club Returns
Women-only clubs 1997 … 17.9%
Mixed … 17.3%
Men-only … 15.6%
Source: National Assoc. Investors
Value Line: Top State* Investment
Clubs 2000
8 … All male
19 … Coed
22 … All FEMALE
* VT & Maine not included; D.C. included
JBQ: Stop Treating Women Investors Like Idiots!
“Why all this focus on women and our lack of
investment guts? A far greater problem, it seems to
me, is trigger-happy speculation, mostly by men.
The kind of guys whose family savings went south
with the dot-coms. Imagine a list of their money
mistakes: Shoot from the hip. Overtrade their
accounts. Believe they’re smarter than the market.
Think with their mouse rather than their brain.
Praise their own genius when stocks go up. Hide
their mistakes from their wives.”
Source: Newsweek 01.08.01
Notes to the CEO
--Women are not a “niche”; so get this out of
the “Specialty Markets” group.
--The competition is starting to catch on.
(E.g.: Nike, Nokia, Wachovia, Ford, Harley-Davidson, Jiffy Lube,
Charles Schwab, Citigroup, Aetna.)
--If you “dip your toes in the water,” what makes
you think you’ll get splashy results?
--Bust through the walls of the corporate silos.
--Once you get her, don’t let her slip away.
--Women ARE the long run!
Source: Martha Barletta, Marketing to Women