 |
Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse, a leading self-service direct marketing provider to businesses of any size.
SEE BIO BELOW. |
As a woman CEO, I'm around men a lot. Three out of the four people who report directly to me are men, and my board is made up of men. I have a ton of testosterone around me including my very non-egocentric husband. I have to say all of it is superb, but then again, I'm lucky! Sitting on the opposite side of the table doing deals with men who have huge egos is truly a different story for a woman. These men generally act as though they know everything, know more than a woman, and are surprised when a woman CEO or sales "gal" is sitting across the table attempting to negotiate. So what do we do? We laugh at their jokes and appear intoxicatingly interested at each and every story they tell. Then we walk out annoyed.
On the other hand, if we take the approach and become the guy's "equal," he's probably going to be on the defensive. He's thinking, "Wow, this 'chick' is actually smart, maybe smarter than I am, only I'll never let her know that." He's probably thinking we're into "women's rights" stuff. For all he knows after the meeting we're heading down to a women's rally to burn our bras.
Once I had to do a deal with a VP who had an enormous ego. I introduced myself along with my company's background. "Is this your company? You co-founded this company?" he kept asking with surprise. He then went on to tell me it was a cute little "widget" that we've developed, and he couldn't believe I actually built a company around it, completely belittling what we have accomplished.
