Blog

Designing Women…. (NOT the TV show)

Published by Francine on April 11, 2013

Having decided to really focus on helping build women’s confidence, I keep wandering back to the topic of women and innovation. Mind you, the two are related. One of the factors inhibiting women’s ability to innovate is lack of confidence and its cousin, fear of failure. In a previous post, I had written about Female Interaction, a Read the full article…

Bulldog, bulldog, bow wow wow….

Published by Francine on March 23, 2013

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet Peter Salovey, President-Elect of Yale University. The reception was held on the Stanford campus- where Salovey earned his BA and MA degrees. I was invited to attend because I’m an alum- having received my MA and PhD from Yale. [I actually was on the faculty of the Stanford Read the full article…

Executive Women: Damned if they do and damned if they don’t

Published by Francine on March 11, 2013

This Time cover image says it all. When male executives write books, it’s rare to hear someone criticize them if they suggest others take their advice on how to be successful. Sheryl Sandberg writes a book encouraging women to “lean in” and she spends her own money to create a non-profit organization to support other Read the full article…

SpaceX- ‘Failing’ forward to success

Published by Francine on March 6, 2013

Last week SpaceX launched its most recent flight to supply the International Space Station (ISS). Following a flawless launch, there was a problem with the thrusters on the Dragon capsule itself. Thanks to a quick analysis of the failure and rapid problem solving, the engineers were able to fix the problem, enabling completion of the Read the full article…

The Opposite of Superiority Complex

Published by Francine on March 1, 2013

Last night was the SVForum Tech Women program I organized for February. The topic: ‘Using Technology to Improve the World’. [I was going to call it ‘Using Technology to Save the World’- but thought that sounded too over-the-top; isn’t that telling…..]. The panelists were 4 women who have started and/or are heavily involved with non-profits Read the full article…

Contemplating confidence

Published by Francine on February 24, 2013 | 1 Response

One of the greatest barriers to being innovative is reluctance to take risks. Why do people hold back? Fear of failure, looking foolish, making a mistake, being judged. This is true for both men and women. That said, women generally are more risk-averse than men. That can be useful as demonstrated during the most recent Read the full article…

Innovation is in the eye of the beholder/rater

Published by Francine on February 17, 2013

A couple of days ago I got the latest issue of Fast Company. The headline story is the 50 most innovative companies. Top of the list: Nike, Amazon, & Square. I also happened to be looking at BCG’s latest report on most innovative companies. Apple, Google, & Samsung top that list. I checked out Insead’s Read the full article…

I have met the enemy and it is me…

Published by Francine on January 26, 2013 | 2 Responses

Whenever I ask women what’s the biggest barrier to their success, the most common answer is: lack of confidence. Strongly related to that is fear of failure, of looking foolish, of losing everything. Like the lion in the Wizard of Oz, we believe life would be so much better “if I only had the nerve”. Read the full article…

“If “commitment to excellence” can be defined as motivation and determination in an unrelenting pursuit of your goal, then Francine Gordon personifies a commitment to excellence. Her global network, including myself, looks to her for leadership, partly due to her ability look at problems and conflicts as opportunities rather than obstacles, and also her uncanny and consistent ability to provide a fresh perspective and approach, simplifying complex issues, and delivering positive results.”
Sheryl Chamberlain, Director, VMware Technology Alliance, EMC

“Francine helped us build an innovative training course for front-line managers working in the high tech industry. She served as our subject matter expert, and helped us translate the traditional “soft” skills of management and leadership into outcome-oriented tools that our audience valued greatly. She was a great collaborator, and rock solid in terms of meeting her commitments on a tight timeline. I’d recommend her without reservation.”
Top qualities: Great Results, Expert, High Integrity
Mike Flanagan