Imagine yourself as an eleven year old girl. Guys, you can skip this one if you prefer. Anyway…you’re a young girl, in the last quarter of the 19th century. And your first job is working for your dad in his machine tool company. Do you think you’d resent it? Or do you think you’d develop a strong interest in mechanical engineering and mechanical arts? Well, a young girl, named Kate Gleason, went the mechanical direction. And she came up with some concrete solutions to get in gear.
Of course, I used a play on words to highlight a couple of Kate’s amazing accomplishments.
After working with her father, she went to Cornell University and Sibley College of Engraving and Mechanics Institute so she could take her mechanical skills to a whole ‘nother level. In fact, she developed her abilities so much that she and her dad designed a machine that could produce beveled gears faster and better and for less money. But so what, right? Who cares about beveled gears?
Well, get in gear and check this out.
Would you believe Henry Ford? Yeah, THE Henry Ford. And he was so impressed with the machine that he said it was “the most remarkable machine work ever done by a woman.”
But Kate (whose grownup name became Catherine Gleason) wasn’t through. Not by a long shot.
She also headed up the sales and finance divisions of her dad’s company. And during that time, she helped it expand into international markets. But she was only getting warmed up.
Evidently the president of First National Bank of Rochester stepped down from his position to join the military during World War I. And Kate…uh…Ms Gleason became the first female president of the bank. At least for a while.
After that (and after the war) she conquered concrete and the construction industry. Well, actually she invented a new method of pouring concrete. And then, she even sold low-cost concrete box (or blocks) houses in East Rochester. So, she was a pioneer for the way lots of other future suburban developments would be built.
OK, I’m pretty sure that, by now, you wouldn’t be surprised to learn how Catherine became the first female member at the American Concrete Institute. Oh yeah, AND the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Ms Gleason only lived to be 67. But in those 67 years she built an impressive list of accomplishments. And I’m sure her mechanical skills played a big part in her ability to stay organized and on schedule.
Because you don’t do all that by accident.
And her life is another example of why I’m always harping on the importance of systems and schedule control. So important that my first RondaReady UNversity class will be deeper, how-to info on schedule control.
But, you better get in gear. Because the deadline to enroll in the monthly RondaReady UNversity sessions…and be in time for the first one in February…is January 31st. After that, you’ll be too late for February’s session. You could still enroll, but you’d have to wait for the next class in March.
For hands-on how-to coaching on how to build your business better and faster with a proven system, monthly tuition is only $15. Remember, tardiness won’t be tolerated. You can cancel anytime. But dropouts will drop out forever.
Join today, and Get Ready to Be Ready and be the highly organized CEO of your own business, and…
Stay Ready,
Ronda