Women with purpose

Over the weekend I finished reading my first book for the year, which is one by Indra Nooyi, former chair and CEO of Pepsico, My Life in Full. It’s a very descriptive account of her beginnings from Madras, India and how she raised two girls with a supportive husband Raj Nooyi whilst running a huge food and beverage conglomerate.

It’s a good book for women managers to read and for men to understand how to make way for more women CEOs. She talks about a few men who paved her way, gave her much respect and actually coached her but got out of the way as she led the company.

What I really admire is her purpose in making sure she left the company with a sustainability plan in place. I also admire how she made sure they measured their impact on use of water, use of the bad stuff in snacks and increasing the number of products that were healthier vs the “junk” that they admittedly marketed for a long time. She thought about the future and left the company with a future plan.

Then I watched two fund managers on Bloomberg Wealth, both women, who were interviewed by my favorite host, David Rubenstein, on cryptocurrency, investment tips and what they would advice someone who had $100,000. These two – one from JP Morgan, Mary Callahan Erdoes and the other from Columbia University, Kim Lew – spoke about how their jobs could be the best in the world. Why? Because their investment strategies may mean the retirement income of a family for Erdoes, as many pension funds invest with their advice, and for Kim Lew, it means the sustainability of a revered institution like Columbia University. So it’s not just about making money, making it grow for their clients and beneficiaries or donors, but having a purpose in raking the investment profits in.

It is not everyday that you meet investment advisers who have a higher purpose than just making money. Our investment portfolio managers should take some tips from these two women, who think beyond the interest or yield rates, and think of their purpose while being good at their jobs. It is not just about yield, but sustainability and purpose. It is not a “one time, big time “ jackpot but a future-looking investment portfolio management. How is your money helping Environment, Social and Governance issues?

Though some may say their answers to Rubenstein’s questions are “clean and predictable,” nevertheless they mean well and their passion for their jobs is apparent. Look for it on Youtube if you do not have Bloomberg on subscription. I like weekend programs in this channel for the interviews with interesting people.

And finally, before I went to bed, I caught Anya Hindmarch, a British fashion designer on Leaders with Lacqua (still on Bloomberg TV). She is the fashion maven who designed the first “I am NOT a Plastic bag” tote in 2007, almost 15 years ago when single-use plastic was still the norm. How did she deliver her message to UK’s fashion crowd? She filled a store with plastic bottles to the roof and made a statement. She got her word across and had 80,000 women (and maybe some men) line up to get the iconic “not a plastic bag.”

Today, during the pandemic, she delivers a message about sustainability whilst being a fashion designer. And talks about leadership with emotions. She believes that her leadership cannot be without emotions because that is where her strength and passion come from.

Emotions. Too many men think women are too emotional. But maybe that is the one thing we should not get rid of. It is the heart that makes us decide better for the benefit of people and nature and not just for the big bucks. It is the heart that makes us choose our partners in business. It is the heart that guides us in choosing paths for the future. So emotions have their place in leadership.

And now we come to our national elections. What if two women make it? I am sure you are having a laugh and thinking it might be impossible. But what if?

It’s time to think about women leaders and what makes them tick. What makes them different? Maybe if we had more women leaders someone will think of child care while women work, health care for the pregnant and elderly, and stuff that we wish more women in government thought about.

Maybe if we had women leaders we could have more mothers staying to raise their children than leaving them with grandparents while they go abroad for better pay.

Maybe if we had women leaders we could have less rape cases and more protection for the young and elderly.

Maybe if we had women leaders we could have less trade in the flesh, child prostitution and trafficking.

I really admire the men who helped Indra Nooyi get to where she did. It starts with her father who did not think twice about educating a girl child, her husband Raj who was so supportive of all her plans and did not feel emasculated, and all her bosses in her various jobs who saw her potential and made it easy for her to rise up the corporate ladder.

So this is not just about women with purpose. It is also about the strong men who make it possible to break the proverbial glass ceiling. What makes men think that way? It is when they are sure of themselves and are secure enough to agree that there are women out there who can get the job done. And do it with purpose.

Thank you to the men who have started to change their mindsets about women leaders. We need more men – and sometimes more women, too – to believe in women as leaders. Then and only then can we say we are a mature society, ready for change and ready for the future.