Women born for the boardroom

It might not be what some men would like to hear, but women were born to lead. "As leaders, women rule," said business speaker and management guru, Mr Tom Peters, at a seminar in Dublin yesterday. "New studies find female managers outshine their male counterparts in almost every measure."

Women will be the dominant force at higher executive levels in the future, says Mr Peters.

"Go back to you office and fire all your male sales managers," he said tongue in cheek. Why? Women have all the necessary attributes to make better sales people, he said. Which gender asks the most questions? Which gender makes better listeners? Who manages more things at once? And let's face it, who puts in more effort at their appearance? Point taken.

If that was not bad enough for men, firms should embrace women not only as great managers, but also as the essential consumer. Mr Peters recalled a conversation he had with a Nike executive. While Nike was having difficulties selling sports shoes, its women's apparel section was growing by 50 per cent.

"The big breakthrough was made four years ago when we realised women are not just small men," the executive told him.

But all is not lost for the male species - particularly those creative ones, with weird and wonderful quirks. Find weirdos, hire them, nurture them is Mr Peters's advice. "The people who will save the company over the long haul are the craziest. These are the people who will drag you into the future," he said.

Quoting a psychiatrist's bumper sticker he once saw, Mr Peters said: "The cracked ones let in the most light." It will also help to fill your firm with young talent - "grovel before the young" is one of his mantras. "I would look suspiciously at any firm that doesn't have two members of the board under 30. This is a young person's game," he said.

And while he may be a modern management guru, Mr Peters is not adverse to borrowing a phrase from a past great - Michelangelo.

"The greatest danger for most is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but it is too low and we reach it."