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it takes a village, people!
Any economists out there reading? Would love to hear from you on this one.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking on a distinguished panel of “Women of Influence,” hosted by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Los Angeles chapter. The theme was “mentoring” – and it got me thinking.
After eons of collective, cooperative shared work, where young people learned at the elbow of a master, the Industrial Revolutions changed everything. Replacing mentoring and apprenticeship traditions: the individualistic, every-man-for-himself brand of capitalism which has now reigned in commerce for close to two centuries.
Women can bring the practice back. Part of the reason is not because we are morally superior to men, but because we have never been fully vested into the Good Old Boys network. Yes, for the past few decades, stilettoe’d and pin-striped women here in the prosperous and progressive West have taken delight in proving that they can be excessively selfish and ruthless in business. Point taken, ladies.
But in most of the world, where business is done in more traditional ways, women are lower down the food-chain. They must work together like dolphins rather than prowl alone like sharks, and I think that there is a lesson here for all women, and for the world economy.
In more depressed economies, people work collectively because they must. While personal initiative is rewarded, the larger truth of interdependency is recognized and embraced.
This concept is illuminated so beautifully in Malcolm Gladwell’s book “OUTLIERS,” where he explores the notion that seeming disadvantages can become great opportunities. In the shadow of centuries of oppression, women are fluent in mentoring, apprenticeship and networking. Aren’t these skills the pillars for a new business template, as we step over the charred remains of our old paradigms?
Remember – dolphins are smarter than sharks. I think that this is because they share ideas and collaborate. Start swimming, ladies!