Amanda from Koogar interviewed Cindy Gallop at iStrategy 2013 in the Hague.
You can either watch the interview or read the transcript below this video [[02:08] minutes];
Amanda: Hi Cindy. I would just like to ask you one question with regards to, “With discomfort comes greatness.” A lot of people that I deal with; businesses that I deal with, do the same thing as their competition… a lot!
What one thing or a couple of things would you tell them that would be different, to stand out, make themselves not do the same thing essentially?
Cindy: I’m Cindy Gallop and I’m the Founder and CEO of If We Ran the World and Make Love Not Porn.
In answer to your question about what is the one thing that any company should do to make itself stand out from the competition; to get over what I describe as the centre of collaborative competition which is where everybody in the sector competes with everyone else in the sector by doing exactly the same thing everybody in the sector is doing.
The one thing any company should do immediately is examine every area in your company. Identify all the areas that are all male or male-dominated and change that.
Put women into places and positions and scenarios of power within your company where they are not currently and just that one small thing will instantly set you on a more innovative and disruptive path.
Women challenge the status quo because we are never it.
Women think differently from men. We have different perspectives, different mindsets. But because business is predominantly male-dominated, businesses can get into a close loop of men talking to men about other men and women help break out of that loop just as diversity born of racial, ethnic. Any other form of different perspective or background has the power to do the same thing.
So if you want to be truly competitive, if you want to own the future in your business, get to a gender-equal company because the future is going to be 50-50 equally influenced, managed and informed by women as well as men and if you get there ahead of time, then you will blow the competition away.
Amanda: Thank you very much for your time.
Cindy: Pleasure.
