Mentor Me: GA=T+E—Oprah Winfrey
As I sat behind my desk staring at the weekly sales numbers, pouring over their meaning, I could feel the heat coming off the styrofoam cup in my right hand as I gently placed it on my lips…sipping, the steam pouring off and filling my nostrils with that sweet aroma of morning wanton wakefulness. My eyes never breaking their gaze from the sales numbers lit up in front of me on the computer screen.
Ring…the sound of the office phone on my left breaking the mesmerizing glow and grasp of the gleaming patterns of light and numbers commanding my gape. “Okay”, I thought…”gently put the cup down first…then pick up the phone”. It would not be the first time I had a momentary lapse of muscle coordination in the morning splashing a swig of coffee on my desk, nearly missing my computer keyboard.
Great…coffee down…pick up the phone with my right hand, pivot to the left in my chair to face the window and give the phone my full attention.
“Hey…thank you”, she said. A familiar friendly voice from Human Resources greeted me.
“What did I do right?”, I quipped,with a small chuckle as I leaned back in my chair.
“…for your new hire Investment Officer…you hired an African-American female”, she said with a semblance of glee that seemed to have some meaning behind it. As if this new hire had made her job somewhat all the easier.
I was a bit taken aback, as the phone call and the subject matter were completely unexpected. I replied, “…she was the best person for the job. She has incredible presentation skills – one of the best I have ever seen, if not the best, high energy, very positive, and a great track record of success.”
“Well…I just called to say thank you…have a great day…bye!”, she continued with the gleeful tone of her voice until the phone hung up and I sat there…receiver still in my hand staring out the window.
My first thought…what just happened? Why was I being thanked specifically for hiring an African-American female for an officer position with the bank? Then I thought about those numbers I had seen floating around the bank once before in some management meeting…the “Diversity Program”. Now I realized why the regional Human Resources manager was so happy…with one hire she was not just checking off one box for African-American or female – she was checking off both boxes – both African-American AND female for her statistical, reporting tallies for upper level management.
The hire to me was a non-event. I had an open position for an Investment Officer/Financial Advisor – I interviewed candidates just as I had previously. It just so happens this time the best person for the job was an African-American female – doesn’t everyone fill positions like that? Hire the best person for the job?
I think the fact there are “Diversity Programs” in companies; the fact we have to keep statistics, as well as such government programs for banks, like “The Community Reinvestment Act” answers my question. The day we stop keeping statistics – the day we no longer think about “Diversity” in the workplace or scrutinize fair lending practices to make sure they are non-discriminatory in nature – is the day we can finally say there is equality in America. That day has not yet arrived.
As per a recent report I read with regard to the banking industry as a whole – you can see for yourself at this hyperlink: banking industry scorecard on “Diversity”.
Embarrassing and Excruciatingly Painful Moments of Youth
I sat and each time I moved I could hear the sound of that crinkly, waxy-like paper as it clung to my underwear and slipped on the vinyl, padded seat….the antiseptic, clinical smell permeating the air. “Nowz…relax zyour legz”, she said in a thick German accent, clutching a hammer-like mallet – the one with the red triangle on the end.
She struck me just below the knee and it felt a bit funny as my leg twitched involuntarily. “Nowz, zee ozherz one…okay…goot”, she said, looking over, smiling, nodding her head at my mother.
“Now standz up”, and as I stood those huge German hands yanked back the strap of my underwear in the front to take a peek. As the strap gently reformed its familiar shape she looked over at my mother and said, “zou have a healthzy boy”.
Yes…the joys of being the only boy and having two older sisters – our family pediatrician was female. It is not that I did not like or respect Dr. Fuchs, but for a male child it is not the most comfortable feeling in the world having some large German woman yanking on your underwear and peeking at your manhood. Yes…the embarrassing moments of youth.
What my mother would later share with me is the utmost respect she had for Dr. Fuchs and the almost awe she held for the fact Dr. Fuchs had become a doctor in the first place. As my mother explained to me, when she was growing up women had very few choices in the workplace beyond the roles of secretary or nurse. My mother – a strong and very intelligent women, had chosen to become a nurse – she is a RN. This was my first conscious memory with respect to the fact discrimination existed in our society here in America.
The resulting discussion left an impression on me – maybe it was the embarrassment of the moment just before or the excruciatingly painful thought of having my underwear tugged on by some large German woman with huge hands…but it left an impression.
The real excruciatingly painful aspect to that moment was realizing for the first time, my mother, who was my umbilical cord and conduit to all that was warm, loving, and caring in the world, never had true freedom of choice in the opportunities life presented to her when she was growing up. Her only culpability – strictly because she was born female.
Mentor Me Chapter I – Who Has Motivated, Inspired, and influenced YOu?
Oprah Winfrey. Who doesn’t admire Oprah Winfrey? From humble beginnings and with much adversity in her life, she has created a veritable empire. Yet, she kept her integrity along the way and made a conscious choice to give back to society with her philanthropy.
That would be enough to admire someone, but to know she accomplished this at a time when it was especially difficult for women in the workplace and even more so for minority women speaks volumes about her character and her personal strength. Let’s face it – she had to be stronger, better, and more talented than her male counterparts in order to build this life for herself. I admire her strength, tenacity, courage, integrity, and character. In spite of all the obstacles and barriers for Oprah Winfrey – she broke threw them all, rose above them, and she achieved success.
As I wrote in Mentor Me:
“The other person I really admire is Oprah Winfrey. I cannot possibly tell her story any better than it is told here on the website biography.com, so I will quote:
‘American television host, actress, producer, and philanthropist Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi. After a troubled adolescence in a small farming community, where she was sexually abused by a number of male relatives and friends of her mother, Vernita, she moved to Nashville to live with her father, Vernon, a barber and businessman. She entered Tennessee State University in 1971 and began working in radio and television broadcasting in Nashville.
In 1976, Oprah Winfrey moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where she hosted the TV chat show People Are Talking. The show became a hit and Winfrey stayed with it for eight years, after which she was recruited by a Chicago TV station to host her own morning show, A.M. Chicago. Her major competitor in the time slot was Phil Donahue. Within several months, Winfrey’s open, warmhearted personal style had won her 100,000 more viewers than Donahue and had taken her show from last place to first in the ratings. Her success led to nationwide fame and a role in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film The Color Purple, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Winfrey launched the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986 as a nationally syndicated program. With its placement on 120 channels and an audience of 10 million people, the show grossed $125 million by the end of its first year, of which Winfrey received $30 million. She soon gained ownership of the program from ABC, drawing it under the control of her new production company, Harpo Productions (“Oprah” spelled backward), and making more and more money from syndication.
In 1994, with talk shows becoming increasingly trashy and exploitative, Winfrey pledged to keep her show free of tabloid topics. Although ratings initially fell, she earned the respect of her viewers and was soon rewarded with an upsurge in popularity.
Needless to say, through all of her adversity in life, she found the strength to make her tomorrow better and to succeed. Furthermore, she gives back to society with her philanthropy and has driven herself to never rest on her laurels, becoming more and more successful, now even having a television network, OWN.’”
So in light of my experiences in the workplace, and my childhood impressions, maybe now you have a better understanding of why Oprah Winfrey is one of the two people I most admire.
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Warmly,
Ken Poirot
Financial Professional and Scientist of Life
