Many of you might recall the trouble EY found themselves in last week (and still in the news today) after a training session for women, titled Power-Presence-Purpose, was criticised for perpetuating gender stereotypes. I’ve no doubt the training was well intentioned, although advice such as not wearing body flaunting clothing and having well-kept nails just doesn’t seem to come close to the realities of the skills and knowledge young women will need to forge ahead in today’s business world.

But rather than join the voices of condemnation it got me thinking what are the 3 Ps behind the Reignite Academy? We’re 3 female co-founders which in itself is unusual. What are the 3 Ps behind the success of our business?

Pragmatism

One of us is from Yorkshire and two of us hail from Australia. Pragmatism is in our blood. All three of us believe in working with what you’ve got and facing realities head on. Don’t get me wrong, we love a good pie in the sky idea, but inevitably we come back to dealing with realities and focus on breaking them down one by one. Getting to the crux of a problem is at the heart of everything we do.

Perseverance

The 3 of us have a healthy streak of stubborn. I suspect when little we would have inevitably all being labelled ‘bossy’. When we get excited about something the shoulders go to the wheel. Often things don’t go the way we want but we don’t give up.

People

Ideas are one thing. But persuading people to come on the journey is another. Fortunately all three of us enjoy people. We enjoy meeting people, interviewing people, understanding people, and helping people. We put our people (our candidates) at the heart of our business and watching them reignite their careers gives us our job satisfaction.

So if I was speaking to my younger self here’s my personal 3 Ps:

1. Be pragmatic.  You’re going to have to work with what you’ve got. Do your best at all times. And understand that sometimes there will be things out of your control. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Focus on one step at a time and invest your efforts where you can make positive change.
2. Persevere.  Dig in. You’re going to want to quit many times. But remember the people who make it are the ones who don’t quit. You may not be able to have everything you want at the same time, but it doesn’t mean you have to give up. Keep going.
3. Put yourself out there. Meet new people. Always continue to expand your network and invest time in people. Louise Webster, whom I met at the school gates, introduced me to Lisa Unwin who introduced me to Melinda Wallman. And the Reignite Academy was born.

What are the 3Ps you would give your younger self?