2016 was a fantabulous year. It came along with its set of hardships, but it brought along many happy surprises too. I am extremely grateful for all the opportunities that came my way.
Herstory asked intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs across India to review lessons learnt in 2016. I was one of them. Here is what I wrote for them. The original article can be found here.
Excerpts from Herstory
As 2016 wraps up and we find ourselves on the threshold of 2017, it is yet again time to look back on the year that was, what we learnt, and what we can (hopefully) carry forward into the year that awaits. As we look forward to 2017, we spoke with some women in business to discover how 2016 went and to understand the changes and developments they hope can become realities in the year to come.
2016 was a great year of fabulous challenges and achievements. Three lessons I learned are:
- We have to fight our own battles. Our near and dear ones might walk along and help us cope with our battles, but we still have to walk the talk.
- We have to choose which battles to fight, wisely. One comes across several battles in a lifetime — some with ourselves and some with others. One needs to choose wisely which ones to fight and which ones to ignore in order to maintain sanity.
- There is enough goodness for everyone in this world (a recurring lesson I learned again this year).
Changes we need to see in 2017
In general, it is best to create ecosystems where men and women come together and solve women’s challenges inclusively rather than setting up purely women-centric groups (some of which end up as gossip groups, with due respect to such groups). Having said that, we need to create secure environments where women can speak about their challenges in open forums without fear of being judged or stereotyped.
There have to be better funding platforms for women entrepreneurs. Government policies for supporting women-led enterprises have to improve. Talent and skill, rather than gender, should be the parameters that matter.
What are your lessons?
