PLAN TO ATTEND & BRING MALE COLLEAGUES
 WLC SPECIAL OFFER: Register before Dec. 17 and receive a copy of the book, a $34 value! Register now
Make a note right now to save February 3, 2010 for ‘A Morning with McKinsey’, a special WLC breakfast workshop on How Remarkable Women Lead. This workshop is based on one of the most exciting new (September 29, 2009) books on leadership for women. Written by Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston, both consultants with McKinsey & Company in New York and San Francisco, respectively, it offers a breakthrough model for work and life.
We first heard about this model in an article entitled Centered Leadership: How talented women thrive. Take the time to read this fantastic article and you will, most definitely, want to come to this WLC event.
Author Joanna Barsh, in a Globe and Mail interview with Wallace Immen (November 13, 2009), shared what Shelly Lazarus (former chief executive officer of ad firm Ogilvy & Mather and now chairwoman of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide) realized early in her career when it came to women and leading.
“Another woman she (Shelly Lazarus) worked with asked Shelly to cover for her while she snuck out of the office to see her child’s school play. Shelly told the woman to come right out and tell her manager she was taking off. At that point, Shelly realized that, ‘if you have to be afraid for who you are, you will be afraid all your life.’ From then on, she said, her motto has been: Just stand up, do what you need to do and smile about it. Look them in the eye and say, ‘If you don’t like it, fire me, and I’ll find another job, because I’m talented enough and I’m committed enough.’”
Bring your male colleagues to this event because that is how change happens. It can’t just be women talking to women about their roles in business. Plus, here’s what Warren Bennis says about How Remarkable Women Lead: "What makes this book singular and valuable is its wide-lens focus on the personal qualities that lead to exemplary leadership. Don’t be taken in by the title: men have as much to learn from this book as women." – Warren Bennis, distinguished professor of Business Administration and university professor, University of Southern California, and author of On Becoming a Leader.
 CONGRATS TO TINA OSEN
Congratulations to one of our new WLC Advisory Council members, Tina Osen. Tina was one of nine Canadian women awarded a Women of Influence Award last month as part of the Deloitte Women of Influence Luncheon Series. “This year we wanted to use the women of influence podium to recognize local heroes,” said Carolyn Lawrence, president, Women of Influence Inc. “These women are champions in their communities, families and corporations, and their contribution deserves the recognition and support of this audience.” Tina definitely fits the bill. As the president and chief executive officer for HUB International Insurance Brokers’ Greater Vancouver operations, she oversees 14 offices and 300 employees. Tina is a director of The Vancouver Board of Trade, has been a mentor for the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, and most recently became part of the Net Works Cabinet, founded by the Vancouver Whitecaps Soccer Foundation to promote and support female athletes in B.C.
BET HE WASN’T FOLDING LAUNDRY
 We are always fascinated (and amazed) by women who do it all, so a quote by Carol Greider caught our eye. Carol is a molecular biologist at Johns Hopkins University, and this year she became one of only 10 women to win the Nobel Prize in medicine. In an article by Liza Mundy (Washington Post, October 20, 2009), Greider says that she has always had an ability to focus, ever since she was a kid with dyslexia and had to learn to tune out distraction. "That’s how I deal with family and work. I focus on one thing. I have colleagues that say, ‘I called home four times today to see how the kids are doing,’ and it’s like, really? I never call home. I mean, I try to set things up as safe as I can, and I have my cell phone on and that’s it, and I don’t even think about it."
Her description of how Carol Greider learned that she had won the Nobel Prize is great. Mundy says, “Greider was up, as usual, before five. With time to spare before going to spin class, she was folding laundry and thinking about the mouse she could see nibbling food they had left out for her daughter’s escaped hamster. Just as she was thinking she would have to get a live trap, the call came. After that, ‘I got to send an e-mail and write a sentence that I know has never been written before by a man: Can’t make it to spin class. I just won the Nobel Prize.’”
Several days later, when she heard that President Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize, she thought to herself: "I bet he wasn’t folding laundry."
Read the whole Washington Post article, Success is in her DNA
FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS
 Catalyst, a leading non-profit organization working to expand opportunities for women in business, released a study (August 2009) on how high-potential women and men fared during the recent economic crisis. They analyzed data on almost 900 MBA alumni who graduated between 1996 and 2007 from 26 leading business schools in Asia, Canada, Europe, and the United States and found that from November 2007 to June 2009, women at the top were hardest hit. Senior women leaders were more than three times as likely to have lost their jobs because of company downsizing or closure, than their male peers: 19% for women, 6% for men. It would seem that there are cracks in the glass ceiling–but not in a good way. Read more about the study.
“SOV HOUSE” EVERY FRIDAY A.M.
 The Bay Downtown is going to be one of the gathering places to catch the Olympic spirit (and buy some of those super “hot” red mittens). On Friday, January 15, 2010, Olympic gold medalist (1968) Senator Nancy Greene Raine will be the first speaker in a series of 10 breakfast speaker events celebrating the spirit of the city and Games.
Co-hosted by Vancouver AM Tourism Association and the Spirit of Vancouver®, the events will take place in the sixth-floor restaurant of The Bay’s flagship store on Georgia Street. ‘Spirit of Vancouver House’ will open early every Friday morning for ten weeks between January 15 and March 19, 2010. Learn more or register for the Jan. 15 event.
 ONLINE BOOK CLUB UPDATE
In our November newsletter, we surveyed our members to find out if you would be interested in starting a WLC Online Book Club Blog. Fifteen people said yes and two people even volunteered to be the moderators. In case anyone else is interested in joining the WLC Online Book Club, we have left the survey open.
Take quick survey
MAKING THE CONNECTING EASY
 Thanks to all of you who joined WLC Advisory Council members Rita Bellano and Judy Thomson who hosted the WLC tables at the Christmas Luncheon. It was a fun event complete with Santa and some terrific prizes. And, great turkey carving by Gideon Nurick of Culinary Kids (we think he had an inside edge) and Catherine Matheson of BC Lottery Corporation. Joining a WLC table is a great way to meet other WLC members, and the WLC Advisory Council looks forward to “hosting” more tables at future events.
TRAVEL SAFER
 If you have booked a getaway vacation this winter, you might find this article from Magellan’s, an online travel company, interesting. It contains some really good "Safe Travel Tips " including these on hotel safety:
- Avoid the first floor as ground floor windows and sliding glass doors are much more accessible than those above.
- When checking in, be discreet when disclosing personal information. If the hotel clerk gives you your room number verbally, ask for a different room. If you are a solo woman traveler, check in as Mr. and Mrs.
- Keep the door locked when in your room, and never open the door to unexpected visitors. Use a door stop alarm* to alert you to unwanted intruders, and check with the front desk to verify the identity of maintenance personnel before you let them in. (* You can purchase this product from Magellan’s.)
Read the whole article
 3¢ OFF A LITRE AT PETRO-CAN
Did you know that you can save 3¢/litre on gasoline and diesel purchases at Petro-Canada with your Board of Trade membership? If you have one vehicle, or a fleet, there are savings to be had! Find out more by calling: 1-800-668-0220 or 604-641-1251.
YOUR FEEDBACK
We would love to hear from you. Send your comments, ideas for this newsletter, for speakers, for content to: info@wlcircle.com
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February 3, 2010 
