Creepy School Administrator Demonstrates How He Spies on Kids Using Computer’s Camera

Greek workers refuse to pay for crisis

Wii fit

Women in Leadership: Action Plan for Change

November 18, 2008 results of the UC Davis annual study of women in leadership in the top 400 companies in California.


Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen Fund, shares lessons in leadership from her work in venture philanthropy.

MARCH 2009

As a venture philanthropist, Acumen Fund’s Jacqueline Novogratz leads entrepreneurial projects across the globe—many of which put women at the helm of emerging local businesses. In this video interview, she discusses her experience developing other women leaders, the way they have shaped her own approach to leadership, and the different leadership cultures she sees at play in the public and private sectors.

This interview was conducted by Bill Javetski, an editor with the McKinsey Quarterly, in February 2009. It was recorded in the New York office of Acumen Fund.






The Quarterly: One of the secrets of your activity in building entrepreneurialism is focusing on women as workers. Can you talk about that?

Jacqueline Novogratz: I had been in Rwanda where I worked with a small group of women to start the first microfinance organization in the country and, simultaneously, a bakery with 20 unwed mothers. My own background has taught me a lot about the power of investing in women, because you do end up feeding a family and not just an individual.

I worry actually that the international-development community may, in focusing so much on the women, end up demoralizing and devaluing men even further. I don’t want to be glib about just investing in girls. We have to build healthy societies and we have to recognize that boys and girls develop differently and [we have to] find ways really to include, to value, to have high expectations, and to provide opportunity.

And so there’s this big, philosophical question around how do you hire, how do you encourage different behavior. Can you—in the dormitories—bring in other activities to bring in reproductive health, to help with microfinance and savings? There’s a really interesting platform here.

The Quarterly: Your story of the bakery in Rwanda was in large part a story about developing the women that you worked with there. What did you learn about leadership from their experience of developing into owners and operators of that business?

Jacqueline Novogratz: I went in as a leader with pure audaciousness. I didn’t have as much humility in that I just assumed—I’m the eldest of seven, I can do the Bad News Bears thing really well, I’m just going to cheer them on—without having the humility of really understanding what their starting place was.

After many mishaps, including having them steal from me and having them not really know how to sell—I mean they would look down the whole time and have to explain to me that they were considered prostitutes by many; for them to go and look somebody directly in the eye and shake their hands was not exactly a Rwandan-woman kind of thing—so I had to learn to have the humility myself to really listen to their perspectives, and yet not stop there; to have the audaciousness to say, “It’s a good starting point, but we want to get you to this other place.”

The real lesson for me was how that dignity is so much more important to the human spirit than wealth. And that what these women, as all of us, needed was to know that we could cover basic needs, but to have the power of being able to say no to things that we didn’t want, that we didn’t want to do. And so leadership as a way of inspiring, listening, and letting people, you know, grow themselves in their own way.

And it was a small experience in some ways, and yet one that I think about all the time that taught me so much about listening and dignity—and laughter as a really, really key component. The more stressed I got, the less anything worked; and the more we could laugh, the more we got done. And so that was probably another really big lesson.

I’m a big optimist. I really believe in setting impossible goals and then making them possible. And I really love people—and I think people feel that from me. So it’s probably that sometimes very confusing mix of optimism, idealism, but also high expectations, lots of discipline, and pragmatism.

Part of the journey that those of us who are privileged, which is pretty much everyone in this country, has to make is not being embarrassed by privilege or guilty for privilege or confused by privilege, but to start from that place of recognizing that your responsibility is to use that privilege in the best way you can to serve the world. And there are lots of ways of serving the world.

The Quarterly: Many women work in social sector, fewer in finance. Let’s say actually fewer lead in finance. You’ve succeeded in both. Any thoughts on the skill set, and why one isn’t more prevalent in the other area?

Jacqueline Novogratz: I think that girls really are relational, and what I love about finance—and what I love about accounting even, which is kind of embarrassing to admit—is it’s another form of storytelling. And if you could teach young people to find the stories in the combination of the balance sheet and the income statement, I think we would see a lot more girls taking leadership in finding that comfort.

I just did a panel for women on Wall Street, and what they spoke about was how rigid our financial institutions continue to be around integrating women into the workforce—particularly after they’ve had children—and that the rules are so driven by a different kind of discipline that the social sector has taken upon itself to reinvent. And that may be more to the point as to why we don’t see as many leaders—women leaders—in finance. It’s a much older club. It’s been driven by a stricter set of rules and expectations.

I have four brothers who all work on Wall Street, and I remember when one of my brothers’ wife had a child. And I said, “Well, is there, you know, paternity leave?” And he said, “Oh, yeah. We have the most liberal paternity leave on Wall Street—but I would never take it, because if I did, everybody would think I was, you know, wimpy.” And I think there’s great truth to that. So there’s a cultural piece that needs to be looked at. Whereas in the social sector, as a woman leader, you have the opportunity to invent the culture in which you want to work and thrive.

Young people often will come to me and say, “I really want to do this, but first I feel like I need to do A, B, C, D, and E.” In some ways I think we’ve put young people, especially, on a track where they have these expectations that they’re going to do one thing after another because that’s what everybody else does—and then they will get this freedom. And I think there are lots of different paths and that the path isn’t always clear, but you just should start; that work will teach you; and that I can’t imagine a more joyful way of living than a life when where you are serving in the spirit as equally of adventure as you are of change. Q logo

Interview Skills

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=43559

The Bloom Box

Watch CBS News Videos Online


February 21, 2010 5:00 PM

Large corporations have been testing a new device that can generate power on the spot, without being connected to the electric grid. Will we have one in every home someday? Lesley Stahl reports.

Koplovitz Discusses Venture Capital for Women-Led Firms: Video Bloomberg Feb. 16, 2010. 12:56 PM EST

http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/play/1310117


Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Kay Koplovitz, chairman of Springboard Enterprises, talks with Bloomberg's Betty Liu about how her company fosters investments in start-up companies led by women. Koplovitz also discusses the availability of venture capital funds. (Source: Bloomberg)

Vons Hermosa Beach

Just so you know what you are getting into in Manhattan Beach, here is last weeks event

How to Quickly Chill Wine - Screw It #28 - SuppleWine.com

You're thirsty and all you have is warm wine. Fortunately you don't have to wait hours for a cool, crisp and refreshing glass. More info at SuppleWine.com.

Chef David Dibari Old World cooking with a new twist

Get to know the hottest up coming Chef David Dibari and his new restaurant the Cookery in Dobbs Ferry NY.

Buenos Aires Tours: Culinary Adventures With Teresita

Buenos Aires Tours is all about Cooking Traditional Argentine cuisine. Immerse yourself in our culture by eating and drinking as the locals do. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves for a hands-on experimentation in Teresita's kitchen. We will share regional techniques, ingredients, and family recipes that have been passed down over the generations.

My Life as a grape, Tolosa Winery

Join Tolosa Winery to look into the life of a Pinot Noir grape in the Edna Valley.

Time to Wine Episodes

Time to Wine with Zita Keeley. Food and wine pairing featuring Chef Jesse Jones.




Time to Wine with Zita Keeley. Find out how to make your own wine at A Little Taste of Purple in Livingston, NJ.



Wine Appreciation show presented by Zita Keeley aka "The Wining Woman" www.allidoiswine.com

Winter in the vineyards: pruning with Dana Grande

Vineyard Manager Dana Grande of Jordan Vineyard & Winery talks about the most important vineyard work in winter months -- pruning -- and Jordan's approach to double-pruning its estate vines each season for increased efficiency and vine health

Tallowing oak-cask doors for 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

Before blending our Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon each December, the Jordan cellar team practices the old-world tradition of tallowing (with wax) the doors of our oak-cask tanks. Our 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon was blended with Merlot and Petit Verdot, and will reside for three months in our 6,000-gallon oak casks (originally constructed in 1976) before moving to French and American oak barrels for an additional 12 months of aging. http://blog.jordanwinery.com/2010/01/tallowing-cask-doors-2009

2009 Jordan olive harvest report with Dana Grande

Vineyard Manager Dana Grande of Jordan Vineyard & Winery discusses the 2009 olive growing season and harvest. http://blog.jordanwinery.com/2010/01/2009-olive-harvest-report-with-dana-grande/

Martin Ranch Winery - Cooking for Solutions Monterey Bay Aquarium

Dan & I had the pleasure of pouring our wines at the Monterey Bay Aquariums Cooking for Solutions gala event. This is an annual sustainable cuisine event held at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Great chefs, gourmet cuisine and fine wines make this the culinary event of the year—an elegant way to discover how your healthy choices protect the health of the soil, water and ocean wildlife.It was fun to be able to pour at this snazzy event, and the Aquarium at night was spectacular!

Floral design at Jordan with Nitsa Knoll

Director of Hospitality & Events Nitsa Knoll tells the story of how she became enamored with flowers, and also discusses Jordan's approach to floral design and continuing education. http://blog.jordanwinery.com/2010/02/flower-power-my-inspiration-and-continuing-education/

Pizza and Pasta Wines

Tom from Vino 100 Newburgh discusses wines to pair with Pizza and Pasta dishes. To learn more about wine visit www.freewinetip.com

Tour of Yorkville Organic Vineyards

Vineyard dog, Shadow, helps Deborah and Edward Wallo show their organic vineyard in Mendocino County, CA.