MEET US AT JOE’S
 Dear Women’s Leadership Circle Members,
The Women’s Leadership Circle (WLC) had the first meeting of our new WLC Advisory Council and we came away brimming with ideas and suggestions for up-coming events. First off the mark will be a MEET YOUR WLC ADVISORY COUNCIL Reception on December 5 at Joe Fortes Restaurant from 5 to 7 p.m. It will be a great way to meet the talented members of your council in an informal setting and connect with other WLC members and prospective members.
Other plans for WLC include a panel of young business and community leaders, and stronger partnerships with organizations that have similar goals to the WLC. As well, several of our WLC Advisory Council will be hosting WLC tables at upcoming Board of Trade events. Keep an eye out for event details!
Best regards,
Evi Mustel
President, Mustel Group
Chair, WLC Advisory Council
Some members of the WLC Advisory Council at the October 2011 meeting
Thank you to Elise Rees, Partner, Ernst & Young, LLP (far left) for hosting this meeting.
YOU TOLD US…
 In the last WLC Newsletter, we asked you to tell us your pet workplace peeves. If some of the complaints shown in the list below sound like your office, perhaps it is time for a ‘reset’ of expectations. As management guru Peter Drucker said, “manners are the lubricant of business.”
- People not taking ownership for their actions
- Constant complainers
- Dirty common areas
- Starting meetings late or going too long
- People who don’t respond to emails
- People who eat other employees’ food that they have put in the communal fridge!
- Getting conflicting requests from different people. Hard to get things done if you’re being given inconsistent requests
- Over-explainers
- Staff who always talk behind others’ backs, especially with nothing nice to say
- Staff who think the rest of the office doesn’t notice when they are constantly checking out Facebook, Twitter, and texting with friends
QUOTABLE
 “That leadership is fuelled by a passion for everything that Lisogar-Cocchia does, and the Vancouver Board of Trade is no exception.
In fact, she jokes about the depth of her attachment, saying, “I love the Board of Trade… it’s okay, my husband knows.”
Read the article in the November 2011 issue of BC Business magazine.
UNSTACK THE DECK
 A contingent of B.C. women attended the first-ever APEC Women and the Economy Summit held this September in San Francisco. The room was packed as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the audience: “structural and social impediments that stack the deck against (women in the workforce)” must be removed to achieve global, shared prosperity.
Hillary Clinton went on to say, “We must commit to giving women access to capital so women entrepreneurs can turn their ideas into the small and medium enterprises that are the source of so much growth and job creation. Here, at the beginning of the 21st century, we are entering the Participation Age, where every individual, regardless of gender or other characteristics, is poised to be a contributing and valued member of the global marketplace.”
Listen to Hillary Clinton’s keynote speech.
$117 BILLION IMPACT
 “Women-led businesses in Canada represent a huge economic opportunity for our country,” says Dr. Barbara Orser. “Majority women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises represent over $117 billion per annum of economic activity in Canada.”
The Canadian Taskforce for Women’s Business Growth is chaired by Dr. Barbara Orser, from the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management. Dr. Orser, who is Canada’s leading researcher into women’s entrepreneurship, was in Vancouver last September where she kicked off the first of a series of Canada-wide roundtables on women’s business enterprises that were organized and co-sponsored by the Women’s Enterprise Centre, Sauder School of Business, UBC and the Women’s Leadership Circle. As a result of those roundtables and other extensive research, a report entitled, Action Strategies to Support Women’s Enterprise Development, was released in Toronto this month.
The taskforce is calling for governments at all levels to do more to support Canadian women entrepreneurs through a five-point strategy:
- creating a national women-focused economic development strategy;
- creating business-stimulation programs to develop new markets and grow globally;
- creating and implementing measureable supplier-diversity procurement objectives for all federal agencies and departments;
- enhancing women’s financial literacy and their awareness of gender influences in firm capitalization through training and other incentives; and
- increasing the adoption of technology in women-led firms through training and other incentives.
Read full report, Action Strategies to Support Women’s Enterprise Development (PDF)
THIS MONTH’S ABSOLUTE MUST-READ
 Walter Isaacson’s latest book cracks open the mind and actions of Steve Jobs and it’s an epiphany. This is how innovation gets done! This book will inspire you to do something bold and game changing. While many of the book reviews have focused on Steve’s quirky habits or his sometimes cruel and mercurial manner, that’s not the essence of this inspiring book. Ten years ago, sitting at my desk, trying to figure out how to download my photos using a fire wire and some impossible software, or looking at that maze of wires and cords under my desk or schlepping to the store to buy a CD, I only wished I had known there was someone who thought “this is nuts.” Actually there was. Steve Jobs. Now with our iPhoto, Air Ports, and iPods, we have almost forgotten that it wasn’t always this way. Steve Jobs was a flawed but spectacular force of nature.
Did you know that Vancouver mining legend, Robert Friedland, was one of the formative people in Jobs’ early adult years? Friedland owned an apple orchard/commune where Jobs often spent time. Apple orchard. Apples. APPLE.
Join the Steve Jobs book discussion on our WLC LinkedIn page.
I LOVE MY DEVICES
 There were some surprising results from a just-released Cisco study of two groups of people from 14 countries: college students and recent college grads, many working in their first full time jobs. To quote the 2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report press release: More than half of the study’s respondents could not live without the Internet and cite it as an "integral part" of their lives. In some cases, they call it more essential than owning a car, dating, and going to parties.” Pretty amazing.
So what do these people want when it comes to employment:
- One in three would prioritize social media freedom, device flexibility, and work mobility over salary in accepting a job offer.
- More than two of five would accept a lower-paying job that had more flexibility with regard to device choice, social media access, and mobility than a higher-paying job with less flexibility.
- At least one in four said the absence of remote access would influence their job decisions, such as leaving companies sooner rather than later, slacking off, or declining job offers outright.
- Three out of 10 feel that once they begin working, it will be their right to be able to work remotely with a flexible schedule.
Read the report, The Cisco Connected World Technology Report (PDF).
SPIRITED EVENT
 Here is a perfect opportunity to bring together some of the people in your network at an inspiring event. Friday, November 18, The Vancouver Board of Trade will announce the winners of The Board’s Spirit of Vancouver Awards at a special luncheon. Amazing Vancouverites have won these awards for Individual Spirit Award(s), Corporation Award, Community Organization Award, and Special Event Award. Who will win this year?
There will also be a special presentation to the Police Officer and Fire Fighter of the Year and a draw for two tickets to the 99th Grey Cup at BC Place being held on Sunday, November 27!
BONUS: Register to join the WLC table at this event hosted by the WLC’s Advisory Council Chair, Evi Mustel.
MORE GOOD CAUSES
 JIBC Foundation Awards for Justice and Public Safety celebrates the contributions of British Columbians to justice and public safety across the province. This year they will be honouring:
- Thomas Berger, QC, OC, OBC
- Honourable Mary-Ellen Turpel-Lafond, SJD, IPC
- Firefighters Without Borders
- Captain Trevor Greene (Retired)
- Robert MacKay
- Allan De Genova (Honour House)
on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 6 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver.
NETWORKING TIP
 Remember 80 per cent of people are uncomfortable in networking situations even at a ‘permission to network’ place like The Board. When you walk into a room, have a “host mentality” – make others feel more comfortable. Rescue wallflowers (we’ve all been one!). Remember to “open the circle” to others, and if you see someone hesitating about taking a seat at the luncheon table, say “Please join us.” Sign up for a free Weekly POSITIVE NETWORKING®.
7,000,000,000!
 We cracked the 7 billion mark. Yes, there are 7 billion of us on the planet as of October 31. Why are we telling you this? We don’t want you using that old ‘6 billion people’ thing. FYI Canada’s population? 34,108,752.
YOUR FEEDBACK
We would love to hear from you. Send your comments, ideas for this newsletter, for speakers, for content to: info@wlcircle.com
| 
