3 Business lessons to learn from Ita Buttrose

Ita-Buttrose

Ita Buttrose is an intriguing and inspiring woman who forged an exceptional and often inconceivable career in journalism and publishing. You Legal was honoured that she offered a Testimonial for our new book, Kingpin: Legal Lessons from the Underworld. Much of Ita’s career beat a path through unchartered terrain during a time when women were not seen in the upper echelons of the business world, and most certainly not throughout pregnancy and following the birth of their children.  Ita, however, with the conviction of someone having found their true passion, questioned it all: “Why shouldn’t we strive? Why shouldn’t we have it all if that’s what we want? ”Ita Buttrose wasn’t just a pioneer for women but an innovator and leader in her industry. Editor of the Telegraph at just 23 years, first female editor of an Australian newspaper and Board member of News Ltd, editor of Australia’s eminent Women’s Weekly magazine and Co-founder of ‘break-all-the-rules’ Cleo magazine featuring the first nude male centrefold. Australian of the Year 2013, president of Alzheimer’s Australia, Vice President Emeritus of Arthritis Australian, Founder of Capricorn Publishing and The Good Life Publishing Company, Author, and the list goes on… We can learn a few things from Ita’s career and perseverance.

1. Put your Foot down

Modern technology has given us the capacity to communicate instantly, 24/7.  With it comes the expectation that we are available 24/7 and the pressure to respond instantly. With this in mind, it is no wonder that flexibility can sometimes feel like an illusion – as you respond to that email while pushing your kid on the swing at the park. Ita is a firm believer in putting your foot down.  Creating boundaries between work and home life is good management.  Allowing staff to have personal lives is good management. As someone who works 24/7 from both home and office, I understand all too well that this is easier said than done, but I’m going to try and take a leaf from Ita’s book and ‘put my foot down’.

2. Passion & Perseverance

Ita knew from a very young age she wanted to be a journalist and left school at 15 to begin working as a copygirl. Her passion and perseverance driving her to succeed saw her very quickly become an editor at just 23 years old, and her career has continued to go from strength to strength. Perseverance without passion can feel like drudgery, and passion with perseverance can be directionless, but together they make a sure-fire recipe for success.

3. Don’t Pussyfoot

Ita has been known to say, ‘Don’t pussyfoot. Make a decision. Especially if you are a leader or a boss.  Make a decision, and don’t pussyfoot around. I was once given a similar piece of advice: Indecision ultimately results in the decision to leave things as they are. It is right.  We cannot move forward if we are afraid to move at all. Want more lessons? Click the button below to download our e-book and learn some legal and business lessons from the Kingpins of the Underworld.

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