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Lessons from Linda Tarr-Whelen
By Barbara Bartlein RN
 Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ambassador Linda Tarr-Whelen who spoke at the Annual Reception of the Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation. WWBIC is a nationally known business center with a primary focus on minorities, women and low-income individuals that provides access to capital and business education.
In the last twelve years, it has served over 12,000 individuals, directly financing more than 100 business start-ups and 90 expansions. Led by Wendy Werkmeister, it is part of a national and global movement for entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency. Consider:
- The employment rate among women-owned business has increased 420%--creating millions of jobs. The number of employees in these firms jumped from 6 million to 27 million in 12 years ending in 1999.
- One out of every four Americans works for a woman-owned company. Women now own more than 1/3 of all businesses
Ambassador Tarr-Whelan has been an advocate for women nationally and globally for many years. Appointed as Ambassador by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the Senate in 1997, she was the US Representative to the UN Commission on the Status of Women (1996-2001).
She was on the US Delegation to the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 and deputy chair for the Special Session of the UN General Assembly, "Women 2000" for the US. Named as "One of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Washington," by the Ladies Home Journal, I asked her the secrets of her success. Here are some of her words of wisdom:
When a door opens…go through it. Ambassador Tarr-Whelen related that every big change in her life occurred when she least expected it. One contact led to another, which resulted in a role for her. These possibilities would have been lost if she hesitated or "played it safe." You don't reach big rewards with minimal risk. Go for the opportunity when the door opens. And if there is no door? Build one.
Stand up for what you believe. Or sit down. Tarr-Whelen related how she was fired from her first nursing job because she refused to stand up when a physician entered the room. As she could see no correlation between standing and her clinical expertise, she said simply, "They are wrong." She did not let this "failure" affect her self-confidence or her future.
Follow your sense of calling and care passionately about your work. A sense of calling gives your life purpose and creates passion for your work. Passion drives energy, and energy makes it happen.
Know what your goals are and how to implement them. Outline your goals with a clear plan on reaching them. It helps to measure the small steps on a calendar or graph. It you don't measure it, it won't happen.
If you're President calls, you must go. Tarr-Whelen described how inconvenient it was for her life when President Clinton called to interview her for Ambassador. However, her family urged her to take the position in spite of the personal lifestyle changes it demanded. Sometimes we are called in life to do something and we must respond.
As Woody Allen once said, "Eighty percent of success is showing up."
About the author:
Barbara Bartlein, R.N., M.S.W., is President of Great Lakes Consulting Group, LLC, which helps businesses sell more goods and services by developing people. She can be reached at 888-747-9953, by e-mail at: balance4u@aol.com or visit her website at www.successmatters.org. Free E-Mail Newsletter. Simply sign up at www.successmatters.org or e-mail balance4u@aol.com.
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