No girls allowed

Photo by Miryam León on Unsplash

Several years ago, I had dinner with a man who became one of the most powerful executives during the 80s and 90s. He started as a lowly radio repairman in the UK and rose to the very top of tech companies then—huge names like Panavision and Atari. 

As he shared some of his experiences, there was no boasting or pretentiousness. He seemed to walk the talk. 

I imagined he’d earned his way to the upper echelons of Corporate America by working smart and working hard. But I had to know his secret: How did you do it?

I repeated the question several times—the answers simply didn't suffice. Finally, he said something to the tune of, “When you love what you do and do what you love, people will recognize what you bring to the table,” implying effort, innovation and results will be rewarded with recognition and the next level up.

Maybe that works for men, but not for women. Much of Corporate America is still very much a boy’s club. Sadly, many women have joined too.

Devil's in the details, as they say. It’s time to take the devil out.