How women can achieve what they really want
Sara Laschever, 11 December 2008
Women don't ask"... but they answered
the call of Food For Thought
How to captivate the audience?
The menu of that day was pretty appetizing: Sara Laschever, US best-selling author, top speaker and passionate about female empowerment was, of course, the main entree. But to sharpen the intellectual appetite of our guests, the whole Food For Thought team managed to set up a renowned discussion panel to create an enriching experience.
They were all representing top Belgian or international companies: Mary Pitsy, Managing Director of Boyden Global Executive Search firm and Elke Jorens, HR Manager at Microsoft Belgium. Etienne Van Keer Executive Director R&D Europe, Hudson and only man on the program, was completing the panel, which was moderated by Cristina Vicini, President of Professional Women International Brussels. In a few words, we could say that all the ingredients needed to create a high level moment were being united.
Sara Laschever, from the first words of her lecture, proved that she did not forget one of the main journalistic tricks she learned during her 25 years long collaboration with the famous New York Times: how to captivate the audience? In order to do so, she was going, throughout her speak, to alternate humor, statistics and impressive examples.
5 minutes bringing … 750.000 € !
She introduced her lecture with one of those: all the participants were surprised to hear that social discomfort during five minutes at the very beginning of your career could help increasing women’s money earning of more than 750.000 euros! That is the kind of teaching that can be found in her last book, “Ask For It – How Women can use the Power of Negotiation to get what they really want”… and the kind of advice no one will, for sure, forget!
After her lecture, Sara Laschever joined the panel for a more intimate and informal part of the session, focusing the discussion to the Belgian universe. And to illustrate it, what else than the great example mentioned by Cristina Vicini could have been used? “Les hommes savent pourquoi”, well known Belgian beer watchword, could also be used to the Belgian working world… maybe until that session!
Minutes before Elke Jorens would explain her view of the HR-female market, Mary Pitsy brought an answer to the preoccupation, in form of a simple question: for a woman, is the time of applying for a job, the right one? Following the Managing Director of Boyden, that should be the main question, instead of the traditional “Do I have the capacities to apply?”
The best way to reach something? Ask for it!
Another interesting moment, among a myriad of those, arrived when the speaker told her audience about a (female) high qualified student who could not be a grant holder. All she received from her professor was the answer: “I didn’t know you wanted it” …by this example, Sara remembered that the best way to obtain something was really the easiest, too: simply ask for it! Murielle Lona, founder of Food For Thought, is the living proof that … it works! Unknown at the time she started her talking with Sara, she persuaded her to come over to Belgium. And the result was visible and enjoyable for all the guests of that day: a great success.
"It’s amazing how much you can get if you quietly, clearly and authoritatively demand it”
To conclude, as Sara did during her speak, with a funny note, we should remember the American actress Meryl Streep, saying, with a lot of class and grace: “It’s amazing how much you can get if you quietly, clearly and authoritatively demand it”. This shortcut between the Hollywood’s Golden Globes ceremony and Brussels’ Wolubilis is another proof of the diversity of the panel regarding the potential negotiation-needing people. And, by creating that feeling, in Europe’s Capital on a cold day of December, for Sara Laschever, is was a mission accomplished!