Memo

  • The Dad Biz
    A library full of books have been written for working moms. But what about fathers who want to balance responsibilities at the office with those at home? Business Dad: How Good Businessmen Can Make Great Fathers (and Vice Versa), by Tom Hirschfeld with Julie Hirschfeld (Little, Brown), attempts to reconcile the briefcase and the diaper bag. The book is sometimes too cute by half--thank goodness, there's no real degree known as a Master of Baby Administration--but Hirschfeld gives useful advice to the businessman who wants to make a difference in his children's life. "Companies get bought and sold," he counsels, "but family is permanent, for better or worse. Do it right and you're set for life." --Andrea Sachs

    Women Run the World
    There's no longer any doubt that women are in the workplace for good. In fact, increasingly they own it. Over the past 12 years, the number of female-owned U.S. firms has doubled; workers employed by such firms have quadrupled; and sales have quintupled. According to the National Foundation for Women Business Owners, there are now 9.1 million women-owned companies, making up 38% of all U.S. businesses, with a work force of 27.5 million and annual sales of $3.6 trillion. Among the fields in which female ownership is growing fastest: construction, wholesale trade, transportation and communications, agriculture and manufacturing. --Megan Rutherford

    Listen Up!
    Today's workers need soft skills even more than technical expertise. Fully 80% of a diverse group of senior executives recently polled by staffing organization Select Appointments North America said they want employees to be good listeners. They would also like them to interact well with others and to solve problems effectively. The skills are coincidentally the ones they find most lacking in the work force. While technology forces workers to communicate more often with more people, more quickly than ever, managers in particular must be able to hear what others are saying, since they spend 60% of their day listening to their staff and customers. --Valerie Marchant