NewsBytes: Her Turn, Snooptunes and A “New” Women’s Wine
1) Wise words from Vicki Donlan, author of newly released book on women and leadership, Her Turn: “Women have figured out how to be CEOs, run our own companies, get into
the boardroom; we’ve figured out how to do just about any job a man can
do. What we have been unsuccessful in doing is showing men how and
allowing them to be the child rearers, the nurturers, and the
homemakers. This country must get to the point where we allow in our
society both men and women to feel comfortable at home or at work.” I came across Vicki via her Cool Friend interview for the Tom Peters site, and then took a look at a copy of her book. One thing that struck me was that she framed it societally, putting men and women in the same boat together (i.e. they must work together toward better gender balance success in the workplace), rather than pitting them against one another.
2) It isn’t just the younger generation that is iPod and music-sharing obsessed, but the desire to stand around in a group with each person able to tune into what the other’s iPod is playing (without having to share earbuds) may be. I just got an email from a 17-year-old entrepreneur named Kristyn Heath who invented/developed an accessory to help people do just that. Her Snooptune product is pretty cool, and has gotten some initial publicity, but Kristyn is looking for funding sources for the further launch of this product and a few other, probably great, ideas. Talk about “her turn”! (ShinyShiny, take note!)
3) Why does “Bordeaux” evoke a room full of men smoking cigars (or is that a “hearty burgundy”…)? Because that’s what “tradition” might have us believe. Not so, says Julie Brosterman of Women & Wine. Julie pointed out in a recent blog post that Bordeaux tends to get a lot of play in retail wine stores where men have traditionally purchased wine, but not so much promotion in grocery or box stores where women tend to buy their wine. Plus, there continues to be an education gap. However, once women know a little more about the varietal (like it is often $25 or less and comes from a family/community history) - they get very interested. A switch of perspective and, look what happens - a market suddenly expands!
