Lessons from the life of Ursula Burns, the first African-American Woman CEO of a Fortune 500 Company
May 22, 2009
Today on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, Ursula Burns is announced as the first African-American woman to lead a Fortune 500 company, Xerox, as CEO. Here are a few things I learned about Ursula from the article.
• “She has a reputation for pushing hard to make the company move faster and for making the company’s research labs focus more directly on products to help the bottom line.”
• Her predecessor says about her, “The decision to move on is made easy only in the fact that Ursula Burns is so well positioned to take Xerox to the next level.”
• Ms. Burns grew up in New York’s public housing, served Xerox first as an intern then obtained her Master’s degree in engineering.
Taking a quick look at this Succeeding Woman’s life inspired me! Ms. Burns grew up and out of a difficult situation. She positioned herself -and continues to do so – for success. She understands that movement creates momentum and pushes her company to move fast and focus on the essentials (one of which IS the bottom line.)
Consider these questions with me:
• How well-positioned am I for moving myself and my company to the next level? What changes could improve my position?
• What is my current focus? How does this focus effect the profits of my company? Should my focus shift to improve my company’s bottom line?
• Am I using my past experiences as stepping stones or roadblocks? Am I currently in a poor or dependent position? If so, what steps can I take to grow out of this position?
• Finally, how fast am I moving toward my business goals? What can I do to accelerate my career or the success of my company?
Ms. Burns will take the reins of leadership at Xerox on July 1 modeling for all women in business what is possible when we choose to grow, strategically position ourselves, move fast and focus. Whether you are developing a career, financial, relational or even a social media strategy, the lessons from Ursala’s life apply. Congratulations to Ursula Burns on leading the way for all women in business and to each Succeeding Women who has positioned herself to grow and has achieved her goals. Do you have a success story to share? We’d love to hear it at succeedingwomen.com.
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