Monday 4 June 2012

The rule

cloudy, showers, cold temps 15

VERY cold...thinking of taking a hot shower just to warm up. Am in Montreal, trying to get some quiet time to move the first draft ahead. It's going very well, but I find I'm much happier, more relaxed and the writing goes better if every now and then I remove myself and concentrate simply on the book.

had a lovely walk yesterday - over to Victoria Ave in Westmount. Picked up some things for dinner and a couple of DVDs.

Today, staying in to write.

In the June newsletter I sent out, I used a quote at the top. Indeed, each newsletter has a quote I've found. This one was slightly different in that I didn't know who said it, but I have it taped to the top of my laptop.

It's from a newspaper article I read while in England. I liked the headline, so I cut it out, but didn't make note of the attribution. The quote is:

The rule now is, be humble and play to your strengths.

Thanks to some keen detectives among the readership of the newsletter, I now know who said it. It comes from an article in The Independent, about the Icelandic Banking system. And its collapse. The quote came from Birna Einarsdottir, a female bank exec put in to replace the man who'd made the mess. I mention their sexes because it's a point made in the article. Thank you everyone who sent the link. I thought you might also be interested. Here's a fuller quote:

Birna Einarsdottir, one of the bank CEOs appointed to displace the male immediately after the crash of 2008, said that the big lesson Icelanders had learnt in emerging out of recession into growth had been "to stick to what we know; not to get too clever". "Who said Icelanders were the best bankers in the world? Where did that come from? So the rule now is, be humble, know your limitations and play to your strengths. And instead of thinking you know everything, ask questions; seek help." Which is what women do, not men.

And here's a link to the full article:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/a-nordic-revolution-the-heroines-of-reykjavik-7658212.html?printService=print

Hope it works. In the meantime, the quote continues to inspire me.

4 comments:

Linda said...

Why women don't run the world is baffling to me... on second thought, some of them, when given the chance, become as non-humble as their male counterparts. So the journey continues...

VT Slajer said...

"Be humble and play to your strengths" - need to say it again to remember. Thanks Louise, thanks once more, this is EXACTLY what I needed to hear today.

Anonymous said...

Just take a look at a superb example of a woman who remained true to the vow she made sixty years ago.
strong, reliable uncompromising . Old fashioned some would say. Surely tho, a worthy advocate for the women who fought so hard for the right to be called "a person ".

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