It’s Women’s History Month, y’all, and since Brilliant Ink is both woman-owned and led, we thought it would be fun to mark the occasion by sharing our thoughts on some of the women who inspire us.
One of my favorite words is “moxie,” and there’s nothing I like more than a leader with a little bit of moxie and a no-nonsense style. When I think of those kinds of leaders, one person immediately pops to mind: Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz.
In preparation for some consulting work I did with Yahoo! last year, I did a little online reading about Bartz and was immediately impressed. For starters, she’s tough. She was diagnosed with breast cancer the same week she accepted the job of CEO at Autodesk (prior to Yahoo!), and took only four weeks off following a mastectomy. She spent the next seven months working full-time while also undergoing chemotherapy. Plus, she built her career at a time when women weren’t typically found in the boardroom, unless they were dropping off coffee or taking notes.
My favorite story about Bartz is how she taught herself to overcome motion sickness (as told in a 2006 MORE Magazinearticle). Bartz had accepted the job at Autodesk, but didn’t want to relocate her family. As a result, she faced a long commute each way, and although she had a driver, she couldn’t work in the car because it made her sick. So she forced herself to work anyway. When she felt sick, her driver pulled over so she could throw up – then kept going. It took a little while, but it worked. Incidentally, I tried this approach and don’t recommend it.
I was fortunate enough to see Bartz speak to Yahoo! employees on a few occasions, and the energy in the room was always electric. She was refreshingly real and candid, and people responded well to these qualities, particularly at a time when the company needed strong leadership. And what about those f-bombs she tends to drop at inopportune times (during earnings calls or onstage at the D: All Things Digital conference, for example)? Well, they’re just more proof that she is who she is – with plenty of moxie to boot.
Check back next week for more women who inspire us!
@lizkelly
