AWNY’s November 17 “Reinventing Yourself” event with Mary Lou Quinlan, Founder and CEO of Just Ask a Woman, held at Turner Broadcasting, drew over 50 AWNY members and guests. This event marked the launch of the Professional Development Committee’s a series of ongoing professional development seminars.
Keynote speaker Quinlan’s career has evolved through a series of reinventions. She started out as director of advertising for Avon and rose to CEO of a major New York ad agency, NW Ayer. Reinventing herself again—this time as an entrepreneur--Quinlan has built a national reputation as a marketing strategist, compelling speaker, successful author and TV personality by asking “what women want” to develop strategies and innovations for companies such as IKEA, Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Wal-Mart, and over 90 others.
The event drew a completely female crowd, and although only two hours long (including a full hour of networking) allowed Quinlan to dive deeply into the essence of reinvention. She did this by summarizing key points from her newly released book, What She's Not Telling You: Why Women Hide the Whole Truth and What Marketers Can Do About It, authored with Jen Drexler and Tracy Chapman (see http://justaskawoman.com/wsnty/).
Quinlan started her presentation by pointing out that female consumers tend to disclose “Half Truths” (what a woman willingly admits) while hiding “Whole Truths” (what a woman actually believes, does, and buys). By understanding this female consumer tendency, women can better understand themselves as they undergo the process of reinvention. “Half Truths” are not lies; rather, they are just part of the whole story (the “Whole Truth”). Author Quinlan humorously and candidly pointed out that women often tell ourselves, and others, “Half Truths” like we “exercise” or “don’t smoke” or “only have a bite to eat,” but may omit the other half of the truth, such as we “exercise only occasionally” or that we “don’t smoke when anyone is looking” or that we have “only a bite to eat until we get home to overindulge in private.”
There are five key motivators that drive a woman’s “Half Truth”, she said, summing them up in an acronym – GAMES. To illustrate each element of the acronym, she walked audience members through an exercise of GAMES. Members asked themselves questions to reveal, or hint, at the “whole story” that might be hiding under “Half Truths” told to others, oneself, or both.
Good Intentions – This “Half Truth” is driven by a woman’s optimistic and hopeful nature and desire to do the right thing. It is earnest and well meant. For instance, a woman may have every good intention of starting to exercise regularly and, in fact, only do so occasionally yet her “Half Truth” is that she exercises.
Approval Seeking – This “Half Truth” is driven by a woman’s desire to be liked and to fit in. For instance, women frequently comment on the appearance of other women such as the “nice dress” or outfit another woman is wearing.
Martydom – This “Half Truth” is delicate in nature, driven by a woman’s need to tell every little detail of her hard day.
Ego Protection – This “Half Truth” is driven by a woman’s desire to reinforce the story that she sees and treasures about herself. It is the cover story portraying the way she wants others to perceive her.
Secret Keeping – This “Half Truth” is driven by the truth that a woman doesn’t want you to know because she believes you’ll think less of her. Health care, for example, involves a lot of secret keeping.
For GAMES to relate to reinvention, Quinlan walked the audience through the exercises to reveal the true intentions, goals and motivations of what each person “really does want to do” in her career. Some audience members expressed the intention to be filmmakers, others to be entrepreneurs, and others to regain a title of prestige in a prominent firm.
The exercise also helped each individual whether she was willing to “put in the work” and “seek out the opportunities necessary” to be that filmmaker, entrepreneur, or high ranking officer. It was acknowledged that our current economic environment makes this process trickier than in the past and makes working harder all the more critical. However, the current economic climate also makes it vital to be even more clear and honest with oneself regarding one’s goals so that sufficient energy is directed to working hard at the right things, surrounding oneself with the right people in the right field to meet one’s goals.
Quinlan concluded by pointing out that as women undergo a process of reinvention, it’s important to be honest with ourselves about what we really want in our careers. “How will you really make your goals and wishes a reality, if you can’t face the truth?,” she asked. At all times, but in these times particularly, it’s important to feel good about oneself and to be as clear and specific as possible with the direction one wants to take. She summed up the evening by suggesting that audience members ask themselves “does the script we are writing match the effort we are making?”
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