Sabotage.

So here's what's up, I've landed in Philadelphia, right, and I've been pretty psyched about blogging about television ads from over here because I love the delicate, quirky humor in the ads over here...but the cable's out! Imagine that. Also, due to Hurricane Irene, the cable man won't be here for days. So my original plan to blog about advertising has been sabotaged by Comcast and Hurricane Irene. What a combination.

Logically, the next best thing to blog about is my arrival in the US of A and then attach a theme song...where would be be without a theme song each day? Once upon a time when I worked in politics, my office would delegate song of the day each morning and it would brighten everyone's day. Believe me, when it was your turn you did not want to miss your chance to shine in your DJ capacity.

Here's my DJ capacity for today cleverly themed to my fresh arrival in Americano. Hope that doesn't give anything away. Go on, bop away at your desk, no-one's watching.

The Power of an Extraordinary Teacher

Throughout my life I've had some brilliant teachers and some not-so-brilliant teachers. Throughout my entire education, I have had nothing like my teachers at Bond University. I'm not trying to plug my university here, I'm trying to plug the difference a knowledgeable, passionate teacher makes on a student’s life. 
 
A teacher who is passionate about their expertise and is excited to share their knowledge with others, not only motivates students to attend every class, it invites students to read on, further discuss topics with their teacher, and commit to study and learning. This is so because they know how awesome this knowledge is. When these students go to sleep each night, they do so with great pride in their accomplishments. Passion and excitement about education is contagious. 
 
This is the type of education I wish for all students, from the time they enter school as five-year olds through to university (if they choose to attend). Imagine the future of a child who is surrounded by this nurturing and encouraging educational environment. Awesome. Imagine our society if our children are constantly surrounded and supported in this manner. Brilliant. 
 
I believe education is one of the most important aspects in a person's development, and teachers who mirror this belief and then act it out in the classroom everyday are legends. The power of an extraordinary teacher is exceptional. The people who are committed to educating, inspiring, encouraging and supporting students have the ability to shift a person's life and have a positive impact on society. Let's give it up for these teachers. 
 

Hey! That's my red.

So Christian Louboutin is currently seeking an injunction to stop Yves Saint Laurent from designing their Spring/Summer 2011-12 Cruise collection with a red sole. How exciting!

Obviously, as far as the red sole space goes, Christian Louboutin absolutely and completely owns that branding space....and has done for years. Girls, have you ever seen a red-soled shoe and assumed it was YSL? That red sole is the symbol of quality, style, and glamour from Christian Louboutin.

I agree that anyone can have a red-soled shoe and historically, Christian Louboutin is not the first house to come up with a red sole; but it is so famously the branding of Christian Louboutin that why would YSL want to allow anyone confuse their product with another luxury brand? YSL shoes, in my opinion, have more elegance and grace and can stand on their own two heels. 

YSL have submitted documents to show they've been designing red-soled shoes since 2004. A judge found these documents inadmissible, however. Whatever the solution to this branding disagreement, I hope it ends with more innovation from YSL. Stefano Pilati is the brilliant and major force of creative design at the head at YSL. This is a house that has both the financial and human capital to come up with design that blows us away on the runway. I want to see YSL design and surprise, not cut, paste, and repeat. This is why I watch high fashion with admiration; it opens my mind, sparks my imagination and entertains me.

Red is not the only colour.

Christian Louboutin Bibi 140 Suede Platform Pumps

Yves Saint Laurent High Heel Pump, Electric Blue Suede

I'm Almost a Graduate

I'm pretty thrilled to be graduating in a mere three weeks and I can honestly say I've worked my caboose off and have achieved the highest grades possible in every single assessment for every single course. I feel an immense sense of achievement knowing I have done everything within my power to attend and participate in class, read chapters ahead, find further readings on topics, trawl brandchannel and Adweek every day, work hard in my teams to achieve awesome business plans and assignments, keep up to date with business and financial news, and always remain motivated to the cause of being a University Graduate. Those two words just brought tears to my eyes.

With this degree comes a multitude of options for my future and an ability to follow pretty much any path I feel passionate towards. And I have a degree to back me up. It's like my 'Bachelor of Business' written on my resume backed up with high grades on my transcript says "See, she could do it, if you give her this chance". That's pretty exciting.

And what better way to ensure I have a multitude of options than move to Philadelphia with my fiancé and commute to New York each day? Yep, it's going to happen; I'm hitting PR in New York, why not? Some of my Professors have advised staying in Australia, getting some experience and then hitting the big time. Some Professors tell me to pack my bags tomorrow and give it a "bloody good shot" (Australian Professors have colour in their expression, you see). I'm going with the latter.

So here goes, in just over a month I'll be leaving my beloved Australian shores, my beautiful family and friends and giving it a "bloody good shot". Just so you know, I'll be the girl walking around as if I'm floating amongst clouds....See you over there.

Make That Ceiling a Floor.

Often I read in media "(insert female name here) breaks glass ceiling" and it makes me wonder…why is this news? Why should this be news? Women should be in boardrooms and in the C-suite, making major firm strategy decisions. This should be common. 

Indra Nooyi became the CEO of PepsiCo five years ago and began the push to move PepsiCo's portfolio to include healthy alternatives. She also headed the acquisitions of Tropicana, Quakers Oats and Gatorade, and has just launched a meteor-sized television advertising campaign in the US with Coca-Cola's Santa Clause sipping on Pepsi. The girl's got game.  

Today I read that of the 491 reporting companies in the 2011 Fortune 500, only 15.9% of Directors in the US are women. A worse statistic: 2.1% of Directors are African American women. I'm so confused. The most original and strongest ideas come from collaborative teams comprising people of different genders, races, cultures and opinions.  Companies that embrace a collective culture, such as Proctor & Gamble, IBM and Google are the highest earning companies worldwide. A 19-year longitudinal study by Roy Adler (Pepperdine University) found a correlation between companies with a track record of women in the executive suite and profitability. Three measures of profitability were used to demonstrate that the 25 Fortune 500 firms with the best record of promoting women to high positions are between 18 and 69 percent more profitable than the median Fortune 500 firms in their industries." How is all this ignored?

Sisters have got to help sisters. Networking is such a huge part of business. I know men are out having beers after work. Are women having cocktails? Are we thinking of each other to help leverage each other to the next level? I want us to compliment each other on our shoes, then say "Hey, I know this position opening up that would be a great next step for you". I want to see women grow. From this day on I will not read another glass ceiling article published. I will instead spend this time helping another sister out, or take the time to focus my own growth.

I know of an amazing program for women to get in touch with women-in-business; it's called shesays.us.com. This is a great place for women to find mentors, jobs, workshops and events. They're scattered all over the world and there is even one for us Aussies in Sydney. Go on girl, join in.

The only glass ceiling I want to see is the one above my desk in my office on top of New York City. I can handle that.

The immaculate Katherine Hepburn

My blog got blogged

The past few weeks have been manic and I have neglected one of my favourite things to do; write my blog.

I love having the platform to write and be creative to my hearts desire. My brain storming time (also commonly known as showering) has had me bouncing ideas around and then I haven't had the time to sit down with my blog and even get one out correctly.

I can reassure you I have still been having my one kit kat a day. 

Sitting down to arrange thoughts, write, fix grammar, explain life, my ideas and everything else is so much fun and a hugely rewarding mentally stimulating exercise. I'm going to get down tonight to write about something new that has my attention. New blog coming soon! 

Thank you for my platform Google blogger, I love you. 

Free

I am free to choose how I create my day.

Thoughts like this empower me each morning, and adjust my view of the world. Hello, Monday.