Archive for April, 2009

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Family Friendly AND a Pay Cut!

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Working Mothers and the 5% pay cut.

Thank you for all the emails of support. Many have reached out to me as fellow working mothers who are feeling the effects of the economy. For those who do not know, EMC announced a 5% base pay cut for employees. I have read through the emails and I can relate to all of the emotions within them. Believe me I did not bounce up and down for joy when reading the internal EMC announcement about the pay cut. I immediately went to that “knee jerk” place of what this was going to mean for me, my family, and our situation. The truth is that it took a critic to snap me out of it. In the blogosphere EMC took heat saying that this decision shows that EMC is not a family oriented company. I was angry, because for me, this decision shows that the truth is the opposite. EMC is thinking about us as a family. WE are saving 2000 jobs.

Think about it, if you sibling or parent were in trouble wouldn’t you sacrifice to help them? A small pay cut to save 2000 people is the right medicine, even if it is a tough pill to swallow for some of us. Polly Pearson posted a tweet from our all hands a post saying that there was applause at an employee all hands when this decision was discussed. EMC is made up of many incredible people. Smart people that are aware that banding together is the right choice for our business and our families.

I admire that the executives took pay cuts first, and will take another along with the rest of us. I think it is right that the least paid levels of employee will NOT be asked to take a cut. These are not pretty times in our global economy. I am comforted by the fact that I am on a winning team and that I genuinely believe EMC has a very bright future.

Dad always said,  “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. LETS GO EMC!

P.S. Dad also said, “When things are too tough for everyone else, they are just right for a Corridan.”  That is another blog post for another day, but suffice to say I think I am in the right company at the right time.

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Meet EMC Working Mother — Barbara “Bobbi” Newman

Friday, April 17th, 2009

Barbara “Bobbi” Newman

Senior Software Engineer, USA

Mother of one: one youth

Excerpt from Bobbi’s essay (p. 102)

“Recently, she [my daughter] showed me how much it means to her to be included in the things I do. My boyfriend and I took her Brownie troop out to the airfield to see the planes we fly. We let them sit in the planes and talked about what it was like to be a pilot. Before we went out to the field, we met with the girls to talk about safety issues. I hardly got a word in edgewise; my daughter kept raising her hand to explain one point or another.
… I’m not always sure if I’m doing the right thing by including her in some of my activities rather than focusing strictly on her in our free time. I guess I have my answer.”

Why she wanted to contribute her story to the book: The project was, in some ways, an outlet for me. There’s a lot about my story that I’d like to tell. There is a misconception out there that because someone is a single mother, she is automatically a low-income earner, or dependent on someone else for support. Oddly, I have also found that, in recent years, there’s been increased pressure to be a stay-at-home mother. This was a chance to say out loud that I’m a working mother and this works well for us. Naturally things are often rushed because both my daughter and I are so busy. But even with my working full time, my daughter and I can still have a positive relationship. This is due in part to the flexibility and acknowledgment of the professionals around me at EMC.

To order a copy of the Working Mother Experience

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Meet EMC Working Mother — Catherine McKeithan

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Catherine McKeithan

Principal System Test Technician, USA

Mother of five: two teenagers; three adults

Excerpt from Catherine's essay (p. 184)

My husband and I have always stressed strong family values for our five children. We’ve taught them that good manners, honesty, and hard work are essential to building a good life. We’ve promoted teamwork and responsibility with our children through daily chores and employment in the family business. We’ve also stressed the importance of good grades and the importance of striving to achieve your best. Consequently, we’re proud to have three who have graduated from college, one preparing for college, and one who entered the Marine Corps in September ‘08.

Why she wanted to contribute her story to the book: One of the best things about this project is that it shows working mothers that they can face just about anything. My story is a perfect example; changing careers at forty can be scary and going back to school even scarier, but that is exactly what I did when I came to EMC ten years ago. At the time, my oldest son had just graduated from college, and I had two others still in college. I also had a son in second grade, with my youngest in the first grade. Somehow we managed, as a family, to get through those busy years.  A culmination of faith and hard work makes anything achievable!

Posted in Meet the Working Mothers of the Working Mother Experience (a series), WME Book Project, WME Essayist Profile | No Comments »

A few photos

Monday, April 6th, 2009

Above:  A happy group of  people involved in the book and launch event come together for a photo before the festivities begin.

Below:  A display of  some of the books at the registration table.  It was a beautiful sight!

Natalie kicking off the Working Mother Book Launch festivities at EMC on 4/3/09

Photos courtesy of fellow EMC’er Tom Faidell

More photos and reactions to come, but wanted to get a few up on the site as soon as we were able.

Polly Pearson wrote a terrific recap of the day here complete with a short wmv video of compiled pictures from the event.  Enjoy.

Posted in WME Book Project | 1 Comment »

Book in the Local Press

Monday, April 6th, 2009

The Metrowest Daily News was in attendance at the book launch on 4/3/09 and wrote an article. Posting it here for everyone to enjoy.  The photo is my favorite part of the article.  It shows Polly Pearson with her daughter, Margo, whom she wrote about in her contribution to the book.  The photo really captures the reason the book was put together…connecting  people at a great company at the level of family.   BTW, it was Margo’s birthday.  What a fitting way to celebrate; balloons, cupcakes, and her picture in the paper!

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LAUNCH!

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

What an amazing, energy filled day! We officially launched the Working Mother Experience book and in our employee cafe and it was a wonderful event. Much like my experience of the book. It was better than I could have imagined. I was honored to kickoff the event. I was able to share the story of how the the book came about to a room of about 150 people enjoying color coordinated cupcakes. The event gave me a brief forum to talk about how important this project was to me and how much I love being a working mom. Most importantly I was able to thank the people ( from the contributors themselves and the extended team who helped us create something really special to the employees in distribution who got 3000 copies shipped out and into the right hands. Yes, I said it all and still managed to keep it under 5 minutes.

My open was followed by Frank Hauck, EVP of Global Marketing and Customer Quality who spoke to the crowd about how he loved reading the book. He spoke to the fact that the stories resonated with the same themes internationally. People want to be good at their jobs, and good members of their families and communities.

ML Krakuer, new executive co-sponsor for EMC’s Women’s Leadership Forum and Sr. VP for Delivery, spoke about how the book touched her and made reinforced her choice to come to work at EMC. She is relatively new to EMC, but says that she has seen we have great people and looks forward to getting to know us better. A working mother herself, she said that the book was very real and relevant to her.

The last, but not least, formal speaker was our EVP of HR, Jack Mollen. Jack had the crowd chuckling about the experiences he has had as a working dad.  He talked about the importance of family as part of the EMC culture worldwide.  The crowd seemed to nod in understanding when he spoke about the caliber of employees we have at EMC and how he is proud of our accomplishments as a company.

It was outstanding to see so many thought leaders at EMC attend the event. Here are some of the names of those who attended that have an external presence so that can get to know them better. (I highly recommend it). Barry Burke, Polly Pearson, Gina Minks, Steve Todd, and David Spencer.

Overall, the event was the perfect culmination of the connections we have built during this book process. Stacey Yeoman, Project Coordinator wrote a whole piece about those connections at the open of the book. It is definitely worth reading (PDF link is in upper right hand corner of this blog).

Thank you to all who participated in the book’s completion. From the reactions today at the book’s unveiling, it is clear we created something very special!

P.S.  Thanks to all who tweeted today #WME!

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Posted in The Book, WME Book Project | 3 Comments »

Meet EMC Working Mother — Shelly Donaher

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Shelly Donaher

Area Sales Process Manager, Canada

Mother of one toddler

Excerpt from Shelly's essay (p.36)
The hardest time is in the evening, when I have to finish some things from work, do schoolwork, and try to fit in some quality time with my daughter. So I’ve learned to take my job hat home, applying a sense of urgency to things that need to get done. My job at home is definitely the second shift, and I try to be just as organized there as I am at work. If I have a deadline in front of me, I like to just get the job done, rather than getting anxious about it. … I sometimes think life would be just perfect if I had a wife, cook, or maid.
Why she wanted to contribute her story to the book:

I wanted to contribute for a couple of reasons:

  1. I think it is important to share your story.  A lot of people think that they are alone in juggling motherhood, marriage, home, work, school etc.  As you see that is not the case since we have enough stories for a book
  2. It is important to share how difficult and busy a woman’s life is.  We have that added responsibility that most men don’t.  We actually have another full time job waiting for us at home.
  3. Most important, EMC is a great company to work for.  In saying that, a lot is expected of you because EMC hires the best of best people.  I think that the women in this company are absolutely amazing to be able to excel at their job at EMC and excel at what they do at home.  This shows the fantastic talent that EMC has working for them.

Posted in Meet the Working Mothers of the Working Mother Experience (a series) | No Comments »

Real stories bring a book to life (a series)

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Why EMC’s working mothers contributed their stories to

The Working Mother Experience

The Working Mother Experience contains real stories written by EMC women (and one man) from around the world that provide candid perspectives on being a working mother in a fast-paced business environment.

This book showcases the unique choices, daily challenges, and victories working mothers experience in today’s business world and in their personal lives. The essayists are the perfect examples of individuals who each day creatively and successfully manage the balancing act that is the working mother’s experience.

We hope you’ll enjoy reading short profiles of some of the book’s contributors, including excerpts from their stories and their reasons for becoming storytellers.

These stories will start with the title “Meet EMC Working Mother”

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Be the CEO of your life

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Successful working mothers share one trait in common.  They are the CEO of their lives.  They take responsibility for their lives, their happiness, their boundaries and their success.  They are able to prioritize on the fly and have the gift of perspective.  Many of the women who wrote in the Working Mother Experience book talked about the concept of CEO of your life either directly or indirectly.  One woman went so far as to give titles to each member of the family!

One amazing thing occurred to me while reading the book.  The traits are the same everywhere in the world.  Working Mothers cherish their communities and take charge of their lives.   The women who wrote inspired me with their skills.  We always worry about getting it all done and having work and life balanced.   What I got from reading the book was that balance is not defined as a constant even keel, but the ability to emerge from moments of chaos with a plan or path back to balance.   We have not failed when our lives are out of balance unless we give into the chaos and feel powerless.

One of the reasons working mothers thrive so well in the high tech workplace is that they have mastery of concepts like teamwork, accountability and delegation.  Their negotiation skills are well practiced.  Any mother who has ever talked a toy out of a toddler’s hands at Toys R Us without a scene, into a dentist chair, or to leave a birthday party is a fierce negotiator.

The one role that working mother CEO’s could use some more bench strength is in marketing.  We are statistically less likely to talk about our successes and strengths as our male counterparts.  We have proved we are fast learners so this gap will likely fill in soon.  We have come far from the Rosie the Riveter days.

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Greetings & Welcome

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

This blog is in support of a book published written by employee volunteers and published by EMC Corporation.

The book started out as an email.  One working mother recounted a day spent with her newborn and sent it to a friend, another working mother.  That friend replied with a story of her own.  A deeper connection was formed between these two moms.  They chatted about how reading each other’s stories positively impacted them and mused that other working mothers might feel the same.  They wondered how many others were out there.  The seed was sown that this might be “something”.

The idea was pitched to a mentor, an EVP at EMC.  One woman asked for financing and support to create a book.   Within moments the answer was yes.  An amazing team was assembled and employees volunteered their stories from around the world.

EMC is a unique culture inside of the high tech world, a company that prides itself on planning and execution.   Innovation is the cornerstone of this culture.

An idea like this book could never have been strategized or mandated.  It was based on a network of women and the credibility of the team entrusted to create it.

Every woman’s story different, all are compelling.  A new way for these EMC working mothers to connect, contribute, and be celebrated.

Posted in WME Book Project | 1 Comment »

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