It’s all about the feminine

The following blog is made up of the best bits of editorial, articles and blogs that I’ve come across in my 38 years of working life, 30 of which I spent as my own boss at a very successful Creative Agency.

I thank all those that have inspired me to make (and write!) my own observations on these subjects. I now want to switch my focus to helping the next generation find the success that I did, and hopefully avoid a few of the pitfalls I didn’t!

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COMPANY TRAITS:

The assertion that ‘female’ companies will fair better in the 21st century than ‘male’ ones is an intriguing one - and one which can prove remarkably relevant for the modern company.

The basic notion that a company is able to have traits which can be categorised as ‘male’ or ‘female’ is naturally a tricky one. Of course, we are clearly stereotyping here - obviously not all men and women hold or exhibit the characteristics listed in this blog, nor are these lists exhaustive.
Let’s begin with an exercise. Read the list below and tick all the traits that you believe apply to Apple, Google, Amazon, John Lewis and any other of the World’s biggest companies that you can think of. Give them each a plus score for ‘female’ traits and minus for ‘male’ - what would Apple’s total score add up to for example?

‘FEMALE’ traits

Flexible
Sincere
Teamwork
Honest
Reasonable
Cooperative
Kind
Listening
Sensitive
Gentle
Adaptable
Dependable
Patient
Supportive

‘MALE’ traits

Aggressive
Rigid
Decisive
Focused
Daring
Overbearing
Confident
Straightforward
Selfish
Distinctive
Self-reliant
Direct
Career-orientated
Ambitious

Now do this with your organisation - how did you fair? Were you leaning more towards ‘male’ traits or to ‘feminine’ ones? What are you going to do about it?

Obviously the best companies will have struck a good balance between the two - but out of both lists the most attractive brands are blatantly ‘female’.

Or do you disagree? It’s certainly something to think about. It’s very subjective of course and it can be argued both ways but I’ve certainly come to the conclusion that this change has happened without any of us noticing - until now!