The Frontier FemiKnowlogist

I sat in the kitchen with The Man, wondering how I had once again messed up my life. My motivations where pure. My integrity intact. My work ethic and standards were impeccable. Yet here I was…up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

I was reading to him from the opening pages of the book “Know-How: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform from Those Who Don’t” by Ram Charan.

Know-how is what separates leader who perform – who deliver results – from those who don’t. It is the hallmark of people who know what they are doing, those who build long-term intrinsic value and hit short -term targets.

Certainly intelligence, self-confidence, presence, the ability to communicate, and having a vision are important. But being highly intelligent doesn’t mean that a person has the knack for making good business judgements. How many times have you seen people confidently making decisions that turn out to be disastrous? How often have you heard a vision that turned out to be nothing more than rhetoric and hot air?

Personal attributes are just one small slice of the leadership pie, and their value is greatly diminished without know-how.

Command of these know-hows enables you to diagnose any situation and take appropriate actions, lifting you out of your comfort zone of expertise by developing skills that prepare you to do what the situation requires, not just what you’ve traditionally been good at.

Know-How is about what you must both do and be…

“This is what I’ve been talking about,” I exclaimed! “Women need Know-How to succeed in life. Success has to be about more than positive character traits or good intentions. Females must have knowledge and skills that allow them to be women with positive character and make smart decisions that help them create a good life. What we need is the Know-How to create a plan for life that keeps us out of hot water.

“Sounds like you’re talking about FemiKnowlogy”, he replied.

“FemiKnowlogy? I wonder if that is a real word? Can I use it?”

I headed for my computer…and the rest, as they say, is history. My search led me to the discovery of a Mme. Marguerite Souley-Darqué who taught a “course on feminology” between 1900 and 1905 similar to today’s women’s studies courses. Although I was interested in women’s studies I thought that FemiKnowlogy had to be about more than women’s history and rights. It had to be about the Know-How every female must have if she is to create a lifestyle that allows her to move past survival mode and into a place she could thrive. I mean, how could a female make better decisions if she was unaware of what her options are?

I also discovered the Pacific Northwest’s Mother of Suffrage, Abigal Scott-Duniway, who argued that if women were granted education along with the rights of political and economic self-determination; poverty, vices and abuse would decrease because women would not depend on men of vice or low moral character, they would instead have improved choices and opportunities for self-determination leading to self-sufficiency.

I began talking to every woman I knew about the concept of FemiKnowlogy, female know-how.  Slowly principles began to form.

In contrast to certain popular feminist opinion, FemiKnowlogy is not about hostility towards men. FemiKnowlogy is about personal responsibility and self-sufficiency. It is about education, empowerment and the forming of partnerships for the purpose of nurturing and positively impacting our homes and our communities physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

The foundational principle of FemiKnowlogy states that the female who is determined to be her best self will provide for her basic needs and develop within herself positive personal and moral characteristics, then she is able to provide herself with a safe and secure home, instill within it healthy and nurturing relationships, create sustainable neighborhoods and communities, and affect positive change in the world.

Who are FemiKnowlogists? We are. Each and every female reading this post is the cornerstone of her home and her community. We are the influencers, the connectors, the nurturers, the mothers of nations. We are sisters and daughters, we are wives and mothers, we are visionaries and entrepreneurs. We are women of ordinary – and sometimes extraordinary – accomplishment, strength and humility. And each of us has a unique set of talents, skills and knowledge to share.

I am so grateful that you are here with me today at the launch of this blog. And it is my most sincere desire that within its posts and pages you will find the resources you need to discover and develop your unique FemiKnowlogy so that you too can create a lifestyle that allows you to make a positive difference in your world.

We’re just getting started here. But over the next few days and weeks I will be adding what I trust you find as valuable content to aid you on your journey of personal growth and development.

I hope you will feel free to partner with me by leaving comments, suggestions, questions as well as your resources as you see fit. And promise I will do my very best to come to you each day as my most authentic self as we walk this journey together.