WHAT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY MEANS TO ME, A MAN
WHAT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY MEANS TO ME, A MAN
Worrying fact of the day, google searches for ‘International Men’s Day’ spike one day a year, on International Women’s Day. Classic men behaviour, feeling wronged because women get a ‘day’. Aside from the fact there is an International Men’s Day (it’s in November), when are we going to realise since time immemorial, every day has been men’s day. As a group, when will we collectively remove our heads from our backsides, dust down our ego’s and recognise that a balanced world is a better world?
I’d like to share a bit about the incredible women in my life who have helped shape who I am. Let’s start with my mother, she was a woman. Nothing new or interesting, maybe, but I sometimes have to pinch myself to appreciate the positive and empowering influence she had not only in my early years but throughout my laborious adolescence and beyond. Overlay this with having an older sister who, whilst having our ups and downs, treated me with a respect I never experienced from my male sibling. I don’t think she pre-empted the concept of gender neutrality but some days she dressed me as a boy, some days a girl and some days not at all! Either way, she made happy and happiness in myself helped grow my confidence. And when I hit my mid-thirties and I had a brush with anxiety, who did I turn to for my happy place? My sister.
I left home at 18 and went to University and who made up the bulk of my new friends? Women. They added a dimension to my friendship circle I didn’t have growing up in a small village in Wales, playing rugby and drink beer. And if I’m being completely truthful with myself, they dragged my through my studies and I would never have earnt my Law degree without them.
Then I got married, to a woman. Again, nothing new, but seeing her perform a big professional role whilst being a “working mum” is inspiring and we’re proud to be able to balance our busy lives and take care of our son together. And if our son ever gets a sibling, I hope he gets a sister, just like mine. My wife is one of the biggest fans and harshest critics of my career to date and is the one who encouraged and supported me to leave a comfortable job at GBK. And if I hadn’t left GBK, I would never have met a guy called Patrick Marrinan, and if I hadn’t met Pat, I wouldn’t have been introduced to Ken and Emma and wouldn’t be leading this incredible business, Tonkotsu.
And there it is, on a plate (or in a ramen bowl), living, breathing proof of balance in action. There are many reasons how Ken and Emma have built this business, but why we have been successful has to be down to the fact that a balanced business is a better business. And as we grow, and it doesn’t matter how hard things might get, our Omoiyari has to shine through. It’s far too easy to employ and work with people like ourselves, but a life full of diverse people forces our brains to process complex and unexpected information. The more we do this, the better we become producing complex and unexpected information and this is the hallmark of creative thinking.
Happy International Women’s Day