This is a family publication so I couldn’t use the actual phrase. But why would a sweet lady dog be associated with vile attributes? We have a dog-who-is-female and she seems as nice – or not-nice- as dogs of the other gender. Whether it is this word or catty or shrew they all seem to stereotype female assertiveness.

In this episode Jessie Paul shares anecdotes to bring to life her view that diversity is essential but it is often quite painful to implement because of how our brain is wired, to like "people like us". And yet, as one boss described it, diversity hires are the irritants required to create pearls in the oyster.

For a not-your-usual-corporate-speak take on Diversity listen to the podcast.

I'd rather be a director, plain and simple. I'm also a lady engineer, a lady MBA. Sure, I used to cry in business meetings - living up to the stereotypical image of a "lady executive". But when I gained confidence and negotiation skills and agency, I stopped crying.

Much of the leadership style differences between women and men is caused by the environment and conditioning rather than any inherent wiring. When we praise a gender-based style, we are perpetuating traditional iniquities - and also limiting our hiring pool.

In this episode of my weekly podcast I make a case for dropping "lady" or "woman" in front of any work role. I also tell you about my trip to Vietnam, the other side of resume fraud and Dr Kadambini Ganguly.

Grab a coffee and join me for this fun chat!

If you're more of a reader than a listener, you can read my newsletter "Women as leaders are the same as men. Almost."

Nothing happens without a plan. Whether it is life or business, we need to have a process. In this episode Jessie talks about how she put in a process for affirmations in her family, and how companies have used models to make their values come to life. Bonus: What are the 5 design principles to design our life.

Did you know there are 5 love languages? And that most of us speak only 2 or 3 of those! If you and I don't speak the same language clearly there will be confusion - and a lack of love :) Customers also have their favourite love languages and the key to efficient marketing is to understand that and build a program that addresses each individually.