What I Have Learned from WOMEN

International speaker, author, investor, Business Mentor and regular contributor to Business Fit Magazine, Arnon Barnes, shares with our readers what he has learned from the women he has worked with.

Over the years I have worked with some amazing business owners and entrepreneurs, some being men and some being women. Before we get into this I would just like to clarify, I am not an expert in sociology, gender diversity or anything of the sort. I am just a successful (by my own standards) guy who has been blessed to have met some amazing women in my lifetime. And due to the fact that it is International Women’s Day in March, I have decided to share with you what I, a street-smart, rough around the edges, businessman, have learned from the powerful ladies I have worked with and met along the way and how I’ve applied these learnings in my own company.

But it’s logical!

As a man I often think and live in the world of logic. This trait comes in handy when doing business deals, making plans and decisions. To me logic is simple. No emotions, no additional layers, just clean-cut logic. Great strategy, if I were a oneman show living on an island. The fact is, I am not, and my company is made up of a team of actual human beings. If I were to make all of my plans and decisions based on logic, I would lose my team and many business deals I have made over the past years. The women I have worked with have helped me understand that by adding more consideration and empathy to my negotiations, conversations and decisions, I am able to go the distance with everyone involved. By working together we all achieve more. As the saying goes; “Alone you might go fast, but together you will go further.”

Let’s race

For me, business and everything to do with it, used to be one big competition and one big race. Who had the biggest company, who was operating in the most countries, who was making the most money, you name it. Still a part of me gets my juices flowing and becomes excited just thinking about this competition. But always racing and competing, comparing even, isn’t very sustainable. The women on my path have taught me to be more humble and that it’s not all about competing, but being good at my craft.

Let me clarify in a more logical way (see what I did here?): Who has the bigger pay-check? The general practitioner or the surgeon? Obviously, the surgeon, a specialist, of course. In the beginning this was difficult for me to grasp. As a visionary, I see opportunities everywhere and with my confidence levels, I know I can succeed at anything I put my mind to. However, after a while I started to relax because by shifting my energy and focusing on becoming a master in my field, I started to reap the rewards.

Together with my team, led by a female COO, we make sure to keep track of all the opportunities the visionary in me spots and we re-evaluate every quarter if and which opportunities we want to incorporate into my business models. This allows me to keep on doing what I love and stay open to all opportunities whilst at the same time keeping me focused on my expertise and how I can best help people from my passions.

Balance

I used to be really bad at keeping a healthy worklife balance. I would wake up and sprint, day in and day out. Work hard month after month, year after year. That is how I was programmed; that is what I saw my father do when I was a little boy. That is how I became financially free at the age of 28. Growing up as a man and as a business owner, working with some powerful women in my business, on stages around the world and with the many multinational teams around events it has helped me understand that business is not a sprint, it is in fact a marathon. Nowadays, I make sure I sleep enough, my eating habits have become super healthy and I make time for exercise and spending quality time with my son. Taking care of me from a holistic standpoint enables me to go the distance in my businesses and personal life.

The biggest take away for me is that we men can learn a lot from women. Adopting traits of the opposite sex makes us better individuals. Man or woman? One is not better than the other. We need each other to develop into well rounded, understanding leaders of the future. Thank you, ladies for all the love, light and teachings you bring wherever you go.

Arnon Barnes

Arnon Barnes started his first business at age 11 and built and sold his first multi million euro company by the age of 28! In the past 7 years Arnon has personally trained and coached more than 90,000 people from well over 65 different countries. Arnon is an explosive international speaker, author, investor and one of Europe’s leading and most exciting business mentors. 11