Babette Bensoussan - Gratitude is a key word

Babette Bensoussan

Gratitude is a key word

Babette Bensoussan, known as the Decision-Making Maverick, is a Strategy and Competitive Intelligence Specialist, Business, Leadership and Life Coach, Author, Speaker and Adjunct Professor.

Born in Casablanca, Morocco, she came to Australia as a small child. She has two younger brothers. Her father was a University Professor in French Literature and her mother, “a wonderful stay at home mum.” She was brought up on the North Shore of Sydney where she went to school. When she finished high school, she did a secretarial course and started working with multinational companies which only increased her urge to travel.

Babette Bensoussan - Reflections on life

What did you want to be as a child?

For a while, I wanted to become an Ambassador for Australia.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

I draw my inspiration from women in all walks of life. I find the courage, resilience and strength of women awesome and the more I learn of women’s lives the more I am encouraged to achieve more in my own life.

What led you to this life?

Like most immigrant Australians, I love to travel, so I started my global jaunt only to stop and live in Los Angeles for two years. The respect that American women received in business blew me away and I wanted to be very much like them. They all had one thing in common – an MBA (Master in Business Administration). So I said I had to get one of those.

“No material object should give you grief. You can’t take it with you, so all material objects are irrelevant to the deeper meaning of life!

Significant person, event or thing that had a great impact on your life?

I returned to Australia to study for a Masters in Business, and found out you had to have an undergraduate degree. That meant it would take me about 10 years of parttime study to get my MBA. I was so disheartened. A wonderful friend of mine, Lila, pointed out that whether I did my studies or not, I would still be 10 years older in 10 years, so what did I have to lose. My goodness what amazing advice that was.

I applied to undertake a Bachelor of Business as a part-time adult student at the University of Technology Sydney. I was accepted and started my six-year journey of part-time studies. I ended up with a Bachelor of Business with double majors in Marketing and Economics and then went on to do my MBA at Macquarie University Graduate School of Management. I graduated exactly 10 years after! During my final year of my MBA, I started my own consulting firm, specialising in strategy, competitive intelligence and strategic marketing. My goal was to create a boutique consulting firm that was renowned in the Australian market for its expertise. I gave myself 10 years to achieve this.

Was it hard work, good luck or fate that got you to this point?

With hard work, and clear strategic focus, my business – The MindShifts Group Pty. Ltd. - became well known not only in Australia but overseas as well. I was made a Fellow of the Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals within five years of starting out. I was running workshops, speaking and teaching all over the US, Asia and Europe. I co-authored six books which became best sellers used predominantly in university programs across the world, translated into more than seven languages.

Ten years later, I was awarded the Meritorious Award for outstanding contributions to the field by the Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals – the first women outside the USA to receive this acknowledgement. Then I received the Alumni Award from Macquarie University Graduate School of Management, and a little while later I was appointed an Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology Sydney.

Wow……I had more than surpassed everything I had wanted to achieve. All because of hard work and a clear strategic focus.

If you could tell your younger self something, what would it be?

If you really want it, and are willing to work for it, you can achieve anything you set your mind to. Learn, learn, learn.

How has life changed you – a few perspectives on life:

All my experiences have moulded me to be the person I am today….and I like who I am! It has taken time to get to this stage. I believe it comes with age and a great deal of inner reflection and soul searching. When I reflect on all my past experiences good and bad, they have shaped me into who I am today. And I say to myself how lucky am I.

What would you say is the greatest lesson you’ve learnt in life to date.

When I was living in Switzerland, I asked a top jeweller to repair a watch-ring that my parents had given me on my 17th birthday. My first piece of jewellery from my family. To cut a long story short, these top jewellers claim the ring was lost in the post. I cannot tell you how devastated I was. I grieved deeply for the loss. I was inconsolable at the time. The lesson – no material object should give you this much grief. You can’t take it with you, so all material objects are irrelevant to the deeper meaning of life! I still hold this view. It is our relationships that define the quality of our lives.

If you had your time over, what, if anything, would you change?

Nothing, I like who I am!

If you could name just one thing, what would be the highlight of your life/career?

The highlight of my career is the global recognition I have in my field. The highlight in my life was finding a good and kind man to share my life with.

And the future?

To keep learning and growing in my coaching practice. Explore more deeply psychology and neuroplasticity of the brain. Volunteer as a coach somewhere. There are so many books I would like to read. I want to explore a little more spirituality, philosophy, my creativity especially my collage work. I want to learn new skills such as ikebana, flower arranging, playing bridge or mahjong. Travel a little visiting family overseas, more time with friends. Such a busy future – where can I fit it all in???

Three words to live by?

Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude!